How to begin - taking care of Natural hair

Hello Ladies!!!

I need some serious help.... I am new to this and don't even know where to begin in taking care of my hair. It is all natural but I know it is damaged I have been doing the same thing to my hair and using the same product I used to use when I had a perm. I used to have Lupus and it made my hair thinner on the top. I need to know where do I start, what products to use, the best way to style if you are just wanting to get your hair healthy again...I am a baby in this..... [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Unfortunately no one can tell you what products WILL work for you. I would suggest starting small and requesting some samples from companies or purchasing the trial/travel size of some items. You could find someone with a similar texture and try what they use-that is not always guaranteed. Another suggestion is to take note of products that you see more people than not have success with and start there.

You can also take stock of what you already have, look at the top five ingredients and see if anything is common among the products that work and the ones that dont. ChrsLvsBks did the same thing here: http://www.curlynikki.forumotion.com/butters-n-bars-miss-naturally-beautiful-you-2010-challenge-f14/chrslvsbks-t505-125.htm#19571

Do you have any questions about specific brands?

Good luck on your journey!

Thank you so much. I am going to the the 3m challenge.... I am excited about my natural journey....

@know I was wondering if you were posting anywhere. There is a wealth of knowledge here. I too am new at this and I learn something everyday....

Welcom and have fun on your journey. you will learn a lot on this site. the first thing is to learn what you hair like and dont like take baby steps and everything will work out. Good Luck

@truet Thank you I just learned how to go to all the forums and I have been reading and learning a lot...

@sweetdrk1 No, but I am about to post in the other forums it took me a minute to learn my way around the forums... there is a wealth of info.......

enjoy!!

Have you established a regimen yet?

Here's what I do:

Shampoo once a month
Co wash 1-2x a week
Deep condition weekly
Protein treatment once a month
Oil rinses when needed

This is just to give you an idea of what to do.

@lynnieluve thank you. with the oils rinse what exactly do u do?

If you hair can tolerate oils, they will become your best hair friends. I use oils to pre poo and deep condition as well as when I wash my hair. Here's what I do:

When I co wash, first I wet my hair, then I put the olive oil on my hair. Next I put my conditioner of choice on top of the oil and proceed to co wash as I normally would. I pre poo with oil overnight if I am going to shampoo.

Tia has an oil rinse picture tutorial. Check it out.

thank you very much i am just out done wiTH hoW helpful everyone is.....

@ Know...Looks like you are getting a lot of valuable info

@ Lynnie...I typically hate oil rinses b/c I think I was applying way too much and have just felt beyond greasy after. Think I am going to try Tia's method the next time I do my hair and see how it works.

Oooop2 - I only use a couple of hand fulls of olive oil when I do the oil rinse.

some steps when i first went natural was
1 throw away all harmful tools
like the pressing comb was the first
second the brush/blowdryer
third the flat iron
2 I look up everything natural and found wonderful web sites like this one
3. keep my hair in protective styles and stay away from heat as much as possible.
I have a small but helpful all natural tool kit.
spray bottle- with conditioner and olive oil and water
wide tooth comb mainly use my fingers
olive oil
and conditioner and conditioner and conitioner

oooop2 wrote:@ Know...Looks like you are getting a lot of valuable info

@ Lynnie...I typically hate oil rinses b/c I think I was applying way too much and have just felt beyond greasy after. Think I am going to try Tia's method the next time I do my hair and see how it works.

If you use just the right amount of oil the results are wonderful. I only do it after I shampoo in place of deep conditioning. Next time I will attempt to measure the amount of oil I use...so that will be at the end of this month.

tiashauntee wrote:

oooop2 wrote:@ Know...Looks like you are getting a lot of valuable info

@ Lynnie...I typically hate oil rinses b/c I think I was applying way too much and have just felt beyond greasy after. Think I am going to try Tia's method the next time I do my hair and see how it works.

If you use just the right amount of oil the results are wonderful. I only do it after I shampoo in place of deep conditioning. Next time I will attempt to measure the amount of oil I use...so that will be at the end of this month.

I'm going to do this today. Are you completely rinsing out the oil and condish? And how are you styling your hair after? And do you apply any product to your hair after the rinse?

oooop2 wrote:

tiashauntee wrote:

oooop2 wrote:@ Know...Looks like you are getting a lot of valuable info

@ Lynnie...I typically hate oil rinses b/c I think I was applying way too much and have just felt beyond greasy after. Think I am going to try Tia's method the next time I do my hair and see how it works.

If you use just the right amount of oil the results are wonderful. I only do it after I shampoo in place of deep conditioning. Next time I will attempt to measure the amount of oil I use...so that will be at the end of this month.

I'm going to do this today. Are you completely rinsing out the oil and condish? And how are you styling your hair after? And do you apply any product to your hair after the rinse?

I am completely rinsing out with cold water and styling as usual. My hair is so soft and moisturized afterward that I do not need to apply another product. I have applied some shea butter or setting lotion depending on the style but that is only to set the style. This is working great for the winter but I am curious about how the oil rinse will do in the summer. I have a feeling it will not be as great.

tiashauntee wrote:

oooop2 wrote:

tiashauntee wrote:

oooop2 wrote:@ Know...Looks like you are getting a lot of valuable info

@ Lynnie...I typically hate oil rinses b/c I think I was applying way too much and have just felt beyond greasy after. Think I am going to try Tia's method the next time I do my hair and see how it works.

If you use just the right amount of oil the results are wonderful. I only do it after I shampoo in place of deep conditioning. Next time I will attempt to measure the amount of oil I use...so that will be at the end of this month.

I'm going to do this today. Are you completely rinsing out the oil and condish? And how are you styling your hair after? And do you apply any product to your hair after the rinse?

I am completely rinsing out with cold water and styling as usual. My hair is so soft and moisturized afterward that I do not need to apply another product. I have applied some shea butter or setting lotion depending on the style but that is only to set the style. This is working great for the winter but I am curious about how the oil rinse will do in the summer. I have a feeling it will not be as great.

Ok..I am going to do this and take pics to show my results.

I did the oil rinse and my hair feels great...... Thank you for info.. I am at work so I have to post my pictures later on today when I get another break...
@oooop2 I love the shea butter mixture I just need to figure out how much to put on my hair before I do the flexrods. I think I put a little too much my hair was a little greasy but I just used that extra grease for my legs LOL

Yay!! I am glad you enjoyed the oil rinse. I love that treatment!

KnowwhoIam wrote:I did the oil rinse and my hair feels great...... Thank you for info.. I am at work so I have to post my pictures later on today when I get another break...
@oooop2 I love the shea butter mixture I just need to figure out how much to put on my hair before I do the flexrods. I think I put a little too much my hair was a little greasy but I just used that extra grease for my legs LOL

I'll make a batch today and measure it out. I've been using it for so long now, I just pour and whip...

the oil rinse tutorial was very useful, I'm a very visual person so now I know what I can try!

KnowwhoIam wrote:I did the oil rinse and my hair feels great...... Thank you for info.. I am at work so I have to post my pictures later on today when I get another break...
@oooop2 I love the shea butter mixture I just need to figure out how much to put on my hair before I do the flexrods. I think I put a little too much my hair was a little greasy but I just used that extra grease for my legs LOL

I'm glad it worked out for you.

Hello I also have lupus which is why I started the wearing my hair natural. It's one of the few good things that came from having this disease. The main thing that helped me was Biotin supplements which I still take. Once you find the right conditioners you will have few problems. Herbal Essence is good place to start with the conditioners. I hope this forum helps you and good luck. I am new to being natural too but if you have any questions about the lupus meds and the effects on hair you can ask and I will answer if I can. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

i keep my hair journal handy when visiting this forum and i also purchased the book "thank god im natural"