How do I take care of my hair when just starting out?

Hello Ladies,

My last perm was 7 weeks ago. My stylist gave me a curly sew in last week(I love it). I have 4a or 4b hair, I am just guessing based in new growth I have had in the past. What can I do to keep my hair healthy under this sew in. My stylist will redo the sew in every 5 weeks and trim the edges. I am currently putting jojoba oil on my hair underneath the wave to keep it soft. Does anyone have any suggestions to help me with transitioning. By the way I used Dr. Miracles Grow oil on my hair before I decided to go natural and my permed hair felt like straw. I was only putting it on the top of my hair and it was the only part that felt like straw, so my hairdresser and I were able to identify what it was, I stopped but had breakage at the top of my hair. I am tired of perms and thinning hair so I felt it was the best time for me to go natural. I will post pictures later.

Thanks

I may not exactly have the right answer, but when I had a sew in for like a few weeks (I don't really have the patience for them) I was able to wash it. This really helped me out a lot because my hair would become really itchy at times. But my weave was straight so I was able to flat iron it right back. I don't have much experience with sew ins. But I think what you are doing sounds really good with the Jojoba oil. I realyl need to get my hands on some of that.

I did my BC in Oct. Right after that I decided to wear wigs for two reasons. One, it's getting cold outside. Two, it will give me a chance to form a relationship with my hair...find out what works for it and what wont. I only wear my wigs when I'm going out the house. When I'm in the house I can take them off and experiment with my hair to find the right products. I had braids before my BC but I couldnt wait to start finding what works for me. I cowash, deep condition, moisturize, use styling gels and cant wait to do my first henna. Spring 2010 I'll be ready to reveal my natural hair to the world. Good Luck with your journey.

My last weave installment was with curly hair(Halleyscurls.com) and I absolutely loved it. Will never use straight hair again. Anyway, I co-washed my hair in 4 sections and used VO5 moisturizing milks. I made sure to get underneath the hair to condition my natural hair. My edges were left out due to thinning concerns yet they blended very well with the weave. Make sure your stylist isn't braiding too tightly and moisturize your braids with braid sprays, S-curl activating sprays, or a simple H2O/glycerin mix. Seal these moisturizers with your jojoba oil.

Hi Hamptonsfnst,

I just got the Brazillion Curly weave and I really like it. How long have you been transitioning. I see you are in New York, I am in Indiana, so you know about the cold weather(the curly weave helps keep my head warm) My edges are also thin. Have you tried Castor Oil? I keep reading that Castor Oil is great for thinning edges. I will try the H20/glycerin mix I have read several good things about Glycerin.

Hi Delta87,

Surprisingly we haven't had a cold winter/fall season. I live by the ocean and to me, it's been pretty mild for this time of year. I've been transitioning for 14 months. I recently took out my last install of Creole Wavy(Halleyscurls.com)and loved it. Will be using it next year. I haven't read much about castor oil yet I will look into that. Thanks for the tip. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] My boyfriend's mom had given me some glycerin but she used it for other purposes than her hair. Since I'm running low on the braid spray and glycerin is the top ingredient in most moisturizing sprays, I decided to make my own with some agua, peppermint oil and sweet orange oil for fragrance.