Transitioning 9 months but have damaged relaxed hair

hey ladies,

i've been transitioning for 9 months and i plan on making it to the 2 yr mark (august 11 2011) before big (or little lol) chopping. my problem though is that my relaxed hair was badly split before i even decided to transition. i started off with arm pit length relaxed hair, and ive been trimming it every so often (1/2 to 1 inch every 1-2 months).

i have a dilemma because i dont really know what to do with it. every time i co-wash my hair and detangle (2x/week) and even when styling or moisturizing, clumps of relaxed hair come out in my hand. i have about 4-5 inches of new growth but the majority of my hair is still relaxed. i already know that im not ready for the big chop (hence my loooong transition) but i have no idea how to stop the fairy knots i find, and the breakage i encounter every time i comb, style, or simply run my fingers thru my hair!!

it's making me hate my wash sessions!


any suggestions would be DEEPLY appreciated!

I'm thinking that if your relaxed hair is as damaged as you are describing you'll want to get rid of those ends as quickly as you can but at a speed you feel comfortable with since you aren't interested in BCing for a while. Damaged ends can quickly become all around damaged hair depending on how much you manipulate it, what products and hair tools your using,etc. If your dealing with split ends and breakage you really don't want that to make its way to your new growth. The demarcation line where your natural hair meets the relaxed hair is very sensitive so I'd say:
1. Try limiting your use of combs or brushes on your hair
2. Again, get rid of those ends(relaxed hair) as quickly as you can but at a speed you feel comfortable with
3. Find the balance between moisture and protein that your hair likes
4. Try out some protective styles

How do you wear your hair on a normal basis? I hope that what I said helps a little until someone else can offer some help and I hope that it made sense lol

Maybe just do a mini chop and take off a few inches.

well, this past semester at school i was wearing my hair mainly in buns, but they give me headaches now. So, I''ve been wearing my hair in loose ponytails or doing twist-outs. the problem with the twist-outs though, is just like you said--too much manipulation and my relaxed hair is shedding/breaking.

i dont wear braids on a regular basis, so i don't know what other protective style i could wear that wont give me a headache. (i did some yarn braids in december tho and they came out really good so i do plan on doing them again at some point).

I transitioned for 8 months prior to doing the BC, and I did bantu knot-outs and roller sets on rods (air-dried with both). That seemed to prevent most of the excessive shedding of my relaxed hair. Near the 8 month mark, I started getting lazy, so I did a ponytail or bun most of the time, and that's when I noticed I had major breakage at the line of demarcation, right in the middle of where I would usually position my ponytail. That's when I decided to do my BC, out of fear for the rest of my hair breaking. Like AL said, you should only let go of what you feel most comfortable with, but Sister, that truly is a major part of this natural journey. The shedding is to be expected, but just know that there is a really bright light at the end of the tunnel.

Take care!

I transitioned for 18.5 months and was extremely careful when it came to styling with the two textures. I wore sew-in weaves to ease my transition but I did protein treatments every 6 weeks in between installs. For the last 4.5 months of my transition I wore protective styles such as bantu knots, knotouts and TnCs.

I would advise you to incorporate protein treatment into your regimen until you BC. You could try Aphogee, Motions CPR or any others that you're interested in. Make sure you follow your PTs with a moisturizing conditioner. I would definitely cut off the damaged hair but only when you're ready because it's your hair. You could also try alternating your conditioners with protein conditioners for cowashes. A lot of ladies like Aubrey Organics, Giovanni and other product lines.

thanks ladies for all of the suggestions.

@HAMPTONSFNST--i will definitely try protein treatments/conditioners to see if they help.

@Muz--i'm not continuing to get split ends. What I meant was I had bad split ends before i started transitioning last august, and though i've been trimming since then, i think that the damaged hair coupled with dryness is messing with my hair.

As far as regimen, i co-wash 2x a week and alternate between Suave naturals (tropical coconut), ion curl defining conditioner, or naturelle hemp hydrating conditioner. lately, i've been mostly using the suave to co-wash though.
w=When i need to wash my hair, i use liquid castile soap on my scalp. I put olive oil in my hair/scalp before washing. Since my hair has been so dry, I use a water bottle filled with just water to spritz my hair in sections, and then i apply a conditioner or moisturizer to it, then seal with EVOO.

UPDATE: i went out today and bought a deep conditioner to see if that would help with the nightmarish detangling and styling i've been having. i bought organic root stimulator olive oil replenishing conditioner and i'm SOOOOO glad i did!

what i did was prep my hair with EVOO in sections and then shampoo my scalp with tresemme vitamin e moisture rich shampoo. then i applied the deep conditioner to my hair in sections, and detangled as i went, putting each conditioned and detangled section into a fat braid. then i put on my shower cap and left it on for and hour and a half.

after rinsing it out in the shower, my hair was super soft and i could rake my fingers thru it!!!

OMG! i havent been able to run my fingers thru my hair in like 3 months without breakage occurring. i think i found a staple to help me thru the rest of my long-term transition. hallelujah!!



again, thanks ladies for your suggestions, and i'll be sure to keep them in mind. if anyone has any more ideas, i'm open to them!

Check out IntelligentBeauty's thread too.

Been there. You sound like you are doing great.

I have 2 suggestions- washing your hair in sections will help and will keep you from being overwhelmed on wash day. You can do this either in braids or with scrunchies. Also you may have to do a strong protein treatment. The line of demarcation is the weakest point of your hair. Protein will help make your hair stronger

Are you moisturizing and sealing daily? If not, you may want to. You may want to check out Blondie, BlondeByDesire, and Chrs' threads. It will take some time to read everything, but you'll get a lot out of it. Also, take some time to sit with YouTube and search transitioners. I transitioned from heat damage for almost a year and I eventually just cut my hair. I'm not a twister or braider either and I just wore w'n'gs; which I still wear. Fairy knots are here to stay - sorry. During my transition KCCC was the best thing for me. The clumping it gave me was my protective style while I transitioned and it is now.

@Ekaette--I've been washing my hair in sections for months now. I think my problem was the lack of routine deep conditioning. But thanks!

@SisterBoyd---I do moisturize and seal daily, but maybe i need to do it more than once, like twice a day? my hair is soo ridiculously thick, and it soaks up moisture like a sponge as soon as i put it in. I have a spray bottle of water that i use to mist and that has helped. and i love the naturals on youtube! Thanks for the help!

Even if your hair is thick , your relaxed hair is going to be very porous, so moisture will help.

that olive oil replenishing pack is great, its gonna really help during your transition because thats what i used, but whats gonna happen is as your hair grows more and more youre gonna see that line of demarcation between the new growth and the relaxed ends and that line is going to be the weakest part of your hair during your transition. Deep conditioning will be good to ease the weakness, but its gonna be best to keep trimming on a regular until you BC...

What are you moisturizing and sealing with?