Losing patience already...
 

I'm going to apologize in advance for my long post, but I feel I need to give my background story and hopefully get some good advice and tips.
Anywho, I currently have almost shoulder length supposed-to-be 3b color treated hair. Last year, my hair was at my bra line while curly, and I very seldom colored or straightened it. I wish SO bad that I had found this website before I decided to chop it all off, but I was determined to have that cute, straight, chunky bob, so I cut all of it off to just above my shoulders at the beginning of this year. I straightened it nearly every day and used the Organix Keratin Therapy shampoo and conditioner and used salon color and at-home color several times. One day, I noticed my hair wasn't growing as fast as it used to, and was beginning to look pretty rough in general, and it wouldn't curl AT ALL. I was mortified! I had always had beautiful, thick, envy-inducing curly hair, and now I had this short, ugly, thin, stringy mop that wouldn't do anything. I started researching and reading and soaking it all in and now I have about 1 1/2 inches of new growth that I've been babying like you wouldn't believe. The part I HATE is the several (or so) inches of straight mess that just hangs there.
I co-wash with Suave Naturals conditioner, and as a rinse-out and leave-in I use Garnier Fructis (silicon-free of course). I did go to a DevaCurl stylist about two months ago, and she restored some of my lost hope, but in order for my hair to look halfway decent using the low-poo, one condition, and gel, I have to use a bowl diffuser and get my hair 90% dry, then use a TON of hairspray to help the "curls" last all day (which almost never happened). I wasn't satisfied with that simply because I didn't want to risk damaging my new growth with almost daily heat styling any longer. Now, for the most part, I just push the DevaCurl products aside. I co-wash, rinse out then use a little homemade spray gel and leave it alone. I've conceded to the fact that I'm going to have bad hair until all the straight ends grow out, so after it mostly dries, I just pin the sides back and pray no one is too judgemental. It's to the point where I cringe going around family or old friends because someone will say something (and believe me, they have). They aren't being rude really, they just can't believe that I damaged my hair so bad.
Just about every day, I add several drops of peppermint EO to my co-wash because I read it helps stimulate the scalp and can help hair grow. I now sleep on a satin pillow case and just this week I think I've finally gotten over my addiction to hair elastics, and I try to stick to just bobby pins or plastic clips. When I can remember it, I take a Biotin supplement and a multi-vitamin since my diet isn't at it's best, either. I've read a lot about weekly deep conditioning treatments and also about protein treatments but the info is so overwhelming. I think one of these weekly treatments would help but I don't know which way to go! If I need a protein treatment but use a moisture treatment instead, or vice versa, I've read that it could further damage my hair and I do not want that!
I don't have a lot of funds available right now to just try a bunch of different products, so I'm hoping someone can tell me which way would probably be best? And which (affordable) products I can try. Also, I am not afraid of trying homemade treatments so any recipes would be greatly appreciated.
I regret this last year of abuse so much, and all I want is my hair to be where it was a year ago. I hope I didn't damage it too much, I hope one day I can have that long, thick, spirally curly hair again.
And btw, as far as the coloring goes, I haven't colored my hair in about 5 months now and you can't really see the line so i got lucky there. I want to get my hair completely healthy again before I even think about color. I actually don't mind my natural color, I just colored in the past to hide the grays but I can deal with those for now!

Thanks for listening to my babble!

Hi there :)

First of all i'm sorry for you loosing your curls, but things will get better you'll see ;)

Since i'm a newbie to this i'm not gonna give you any advice that could turn out wrong in the end - but what i can say is that there are many amazing do-it-yourself recipes on naturallycurly.com you just have to look out for them :)
My second thought was, how many drops of the peppermint oil you've been using..cause if you use to much it can cause health issues on your scalp and probably also on your hair!! So be careful ;)



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Thanks for your reply :) I'll definitely look on the site for some recipes! And I usually use 6-10 drops for my whole head. It seems it takes that many for me to feel the 'cool' sensation, which to me says its working. I'll have to do some research to see if that's too much, I have a tendency to hear of something that might work and just run with it without really researching it. I gotta work on that...

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Haha I know exactly what you mean xD


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Hi Rachel5150 – Congrats on the new growth! I'm glad you're being patient and kind to your hair. Since your hair is color-treated and heat-damaged, I'd recommend a protein treatment followed by a moisturizing deep treatment. An inexpensive protein treatment that is well-loved on the boards is a gelatin PT using – yep! – unflavored gelatin! Do a search for more info. And always ALWAYS follow a protein treatment with moisture.

Once your hair is healthier, you'll want to determine your hair properties (porosity, texture, etc) since that is a better predictor of how your hair will respond to products than curl pattern. This site is helpful: Live Curly Live Free - Curly Hair Basics Your new growth will likely have different properties than your damaged ends.

Keep us posted on your progress and let us know if you have any questions! :)

Thank you so much! The gelatin treatment intrigues me...any suggestions on a moisture treatment?

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There are many good ones out there. I use Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose mostly. You can find it at Whole Foods, Vitamin Shoppe, etc. HTH!

Thanks! I've been looking at Aubrey products (stalking them, really) but I'm trying to cut down on my product buying. I may just give it a shot anyway.

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poemaXX, when you suggested a PT followed by a moisture treatment, did you mean immediately after? In the same day? I just want to make sure I fully understand! Thanks so much for your tips and encouragement :)

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Yep, same day! Protein draws moisture out of the hair but makes hair stronger and more capable of holding in moisture, so you'll want to bring some moisture back in with a DT. ;)

You're awesome. Thanks!

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Ok, so does anyone have any info on the peppermint oil, as far as how much is safe but still effective on stimulating the scalp to help hair grow? Its kinda tough finding that one out.

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It is very safe, unless you have an allergy to it. It can even be ingested. You will have to experiment to see how much your scalp can with stand. I would suggest mixing it with an carrier oil.

I'm gonna ask my mother tomorrow! am pretty curious myself... ;)

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Thanks! And CurlyB_ please let me know what you find out! I usually mix it in when I do my cowash...

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So i went to my moms today, and decided taking my "too shea butter, no fragance conditioner" with me. We ended up making a funny little mixture to put into it (though is smells like old lady). I haven't tried it so far but i am going to try it tomorrow...

Anyway, what my kom said is that it would be ok to mixture about 40 drops of EO with 250ml conditioner. That shouldn't irritate your scalp - but she also said that peppermint oil, when used in abundant amount, can sometines lead to epileptic spasms... So she wouldn't recommend using it every day!

I'm new to this mix-your-own-stuff thing, but i normally do trust in what my mom says about the EOs ammount since she's the one with the books :p


Feel free to do some research and please tell me if you find any interesting infos :)



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Wow, thanks so much! Looks like I'm in the clear... if you happen upon any good concoctions, please share! :)

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