Meadowlark Posted July 18, 2016 Share Posted July 18, 2016 I have curly hair and always have. But in the past year (since a 60 lb weight loss), it has dramatically changed in texture and appearance. It was once beautiful curls and very thick. Everyone always commented on my hair. Then, a whole lot of hair fell out and eventually regrew because of the quick weight loss. It grew in thinner and a whole lot curlier. Think wiry ramen noodle curls instead of thick beautiful curls. I'm really bummed. Is it the end of the world? No. But I seriously wake up every day sad because this once beautiful head of hair is now impossible to do and always looked frizzy and crazy. It doens't lay nicely. I've tried different products with no success. My hairdresser suggested that I get it relaxed. I googled the heck out of it (I'm caucasion by the way) and all I can find is how it works on African Americans, and usually people get it stick straight. She said she would just use the weakest one and it would just loosen my curls and take out the frizz. Ever heard of that? I haven't. Problem is, I'm terrified. I would have to touch it up every 6-8 weeks as regrowth occurs. It's a chemical procedure so I'd have to be careful with heat and deep condition. Plus, I just have no idea how it would turn out, and although things can't get much worse, I suppose they could. I'm scared to do something that's permanent. Not to mention, I got my curls from my dad and he'd be very upset. I once tried to straighten my hair as a teenager and he didn't speak to me for a day. What should I do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purplejackmama Posted July 18, 2016 Share Posted July 18, 2016 Are you talking about a Keratin treatment? I do that and LOVE it!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILiveInFlipFlops Posted July 18, 2016 Share Posted July 18, 2016 (edited) Yes! My youngest DD has had one done (to make it possible for her to do her own hair at sleepaway camp next month) and it does exactly that: loosened the curls (just a bit) and reduced the frizz and volume (a lot!), as well as made it easier to get a brush through it. She's gone three months now, and I still find her hair much easier to deal with (though she doesn't, but that's more a manual dexterity thing). I'm not entirely sure exactly what she had done but I can find out. Whatever it was was argon-free, I believe. And we had to switch to sulfate-free, alcohol-free products as well (no big deal, we were halfway there anyway). I'm sorry you're struggling with your hair. I have very curly hair myself and it took me 35 years to figure out how to deal with it. I always hoped my daughters wouldn't have to deal with it too, and when they were little, they had nice soft curls (oldest DD's hair was actually pin straight for a long time!). But now that they're older, my DH's "ethnic hair" genes have kicked in, and their hair is very, VERY curly--much more than mine ever was. Your hair sounds a lot like DD's. I'm completely at a loss a to how to help her other than the processing. I can tell you what products help us though! We couldn't live without Aussie Moist conditioner--not the 3-Minute Miracle, that left a lot of buildup in DD's hair. That does have some junk in it, but I honestly don't think it hurts our hair. Youngest DD (the one with the processing) uses Shea Moisture's Coconut and Hibiscus conditioner, and we all use Shea Moisture's Coconut and Hibiscus Smoothie after showering. Really, we couldn't live without the stuff, and I have tried a TON of products. IMO, if you have the money to spend and you're that miserable with your hair, it's worth at least experimenting with it. Think of it as an investment in your mental health :grouphug: ETA: Oh, I also forgot to add Miss Jessie's Coily Custard. It's a weird texture, and if you use too much, your hair is actually crunchy, but it really smooths out and defines oldest DD's curls very nicely. That may help too. Edited July 19, 2016 by ILiveInFlipFlops 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebel Yell Posted July 18, 2016 Share Posted July 18, 2016 My pasty-white DD has what we lovingly refer to as an "Italian Afro" with two extremely tightly curled sections over her ears. I used a relaxer on them a few times to loosen the curls to match the rest of her hair. So it can be used to loosen curls without straightening them, and it will also change the texture of the hair. Find out if you can do a sort of "patch test" on a hidden section of hair to see how it works. If you don't like it or your hair becomes too damaged, there is no going back. Also, perm solution combed trough the hair (not wrapped on rides, although large rods can also be used) will also loosen curls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILiveInFlipFlops Posted July 19, 2016 Share Posted July 19, 2016 My pasty-white DD has what we lovingly refer to as an "Italian Afro" with two extremely tightly curled sections over her ears. My oldest has that too! I've never seen it before. She actually has three distinct kinds of curls. It's amazing to me. Fortunately, she loves her curls now (after a phase of hating them after realizing how much her hair had changed over the course of a year or so), so she's good to go. Youngest DD...not so much *sigh* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted July 19, 2016 Share Posted July 19, 2016 Ouidad's Heat and Humidity Control Gel changed my life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noreen Claire Posted July 19, 2016 Share Posted July 19, 2016 My sister-in-law (husband's sister) has always had very wiry and frizzy red hair. The color is beautiful, but the frizz was awful. She had a keratin treatment a while back and it was GORGEOUS! I couldn't stop staring at how smooth and beautiful it made her hair look. It was still curly, just smoooooooooooth. My other sister-in-law (brother's wife) is a hair dresser and does them all the time. She's been trying to talk me into one for years but, every time I get to the point where I am just about to agree, I just cut it short again. Less work for me. (I joke that I can rock an "Irish afro" like nobody's business.) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted July 19, 2016 Share Posted July 19, 2016 I would try adding moisture before I relaxed, but I grew up in the era of relaxers that were practically toxic. I have very thick curly hair (Caucasian) and I do use Aussie's 3 min miracle as a daily conditioner. I rinse about once a week with apple Cider vinegar. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Negin Posted July 28, 2016 Share Posted July 28, 2016 My hairdresser suggested that I get it relaxed. I googled the heck out of it (I'm caucasion by the way) and all I can find is how it works on African Americans, and usually people get it stick straight. She said she would just use the weakest one and it would just loosen my curls and take out the frizz. Ever heard of that? I haven't. Congratulations on the weight loss! Yes, I have had my hair relaxed and do so about once a year. My hairdresser uses a very weak relaxer, just like yours suggested. A week later, I have a keratin treatment. Neither make my normally frizzy hair dead straight, but help to control the frizz. I could do it all about every 6-9 months, but I tend to wait a bit longer. I use sulfate-free hair products. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoPlaceLikeHome Posted July 28, 2016 Share Posted July 28, 2016 I would try adding moisture before I relaxed, but I grew up in the era of relaxers that were practically toxic. I have very thick curly hair (Caucasian) and I do use Aussie's 3 min miracle as a daily conditioner. I rinse about once a week with apple Cider vinegar. I recently tried this and it seems pretty good. Do you wash hair daily? I do somewhat of a curly girl routine to try and minimize frizz and damage to my almost all grey hair so I don't wash daily. I wonder if I did a co wash and then the 3 minute miracle daily or every other day if I would get better results? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoPlaceLikeHome Posted July 28, 2016 Share Posted July 28, 2016 Congratulations on the weight loss! Yes, I have had my hair relaxed and do so about once a year. My hairdresser uses a very weak relaxer, just like yours suggested. A week later, I have a keratin treatment. Neither make my normally frizzy hair dead straight, but help to control the frizz. I could do it all about every 6-9 months, but I tend to wait a bit longer. I use sulfate-free hair products. Does the keratin have formadelhye (sp?) like the brazilian blow out? I read some articles suggesting that some of these products may still have that disguised as other names? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arnold Posted July 28, 2016 Share Posted July 28, 2016 For you that have done it; how much does it cost? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Negin Posted July 29, 2016 Share Posted July 29, 2016 Does the keratin have formadelhye (sp?) like the brazilian blow out? I read some articles suggesting that some of these products may still have that disguised as other names? Mine is apparently very low dose. I had a long answer ready, but it disappeared. :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meadowlark Posted July 29, 2016 Author Share Posted July 29, 2016 So, I just wanted to report that I've tried a few product changes and they've helped quite a lot. Thanks to all of those who suggested. I'm currently using the Aussie MegaMoist conditioner and the hibiscus/coconut shampoo and smoothie. All of that seems to be helping a ton with my frizz so whoo hoo for that! I do worry a bit about buildup with the smoothie so wondering what you'd suggest for that? I'm still considering the relaxer (very light-weakest one) for my curls though. I don't know...sometimes I'll look in the mirror and absolutely love my curls from the back. I think "I would be crazy to mess with these". I should take a pic and post it here if I could figure out how. Maybe then you could all tell me if I should just leave my head alone. But then other times, I'm so frustrated with them and go back to considering the relaxer. It comes down to the fact that I'm just plain scared. I don't think my self-esteem could handle a hair fail right now. I need to hear more positive experiences from people with hair like mine. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meadowlark Posted July 29, 2016 Author Share Posted July 29, 2016 Are you talking about a Keratin treatment? I do that and LOVE it!! Could you tell me more about this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILiveInFlipFlops Posted July 29, 2016 Share Posted July 29, 2016 So, I just wanted to report that I've tried a few product changes and they've helped quite a lot. Thanks to all of those who suggested. I'm currently using the Aussie MegaMoist conditioner and the hibiscus/coconut shampoo and smoothie. All of that seems to be helping a ton with my frizz so whoo hoo for that! I do worry a bit about buildup with the smoothie so wondering what you'd suggest for that? I'm still considering the relaxer (very light-weakest one) for my curls though. I don't know...sometimes I'll look in the mirror and absolutely love my curls from the back. I think "I would be crazy to mess with these". I should take a pic and post it here if I could figure out how. Maybe then you could all tell me if I should just leave my head alone. But then other times, I'm so frustrated with them and go back to considering the relaxer. It comes down to the fact that I'm just plain scared. I don't think my self-esteem could handle a hair fail right now. I need to hear more positive experiences from people with hair like mine. :grouphug: I totally, totally get it. I'm so glad the products are helping you. It's been a perfect combo for all three of us. We've been using both of those products for years, literally, and we've had no buildup issues at all. Youngest DD, in particular, is very prone to really awful buildup if we use the wrong products, especially the wrong conditioner. Her hair is so thick that I don't see it until I start wondering why it's getting harder and harder to get a brush through her hair, and then I realize there's a thick, sticky, waxy coating close to her scalp! But with the smoothie, that is never a problem. Keep an eye on it, but I don't think it will be an issue for you. DD is scheduled to have her next treatment on Monday. I can ask exactly what the treatment is called and what's in it (or not in it). Her experience with it has been very positive--it definitely didn't do any damage that I can see, and I spend a lot of time working with her hair! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILiveInFlipFlops Posted August 3, 2016 Share Posted August 3, 2016 OK, the treatment my DD has is an amino treatment, not keratin (which can be damaging). Supposedly an amino treatment is actually beneficial for hair. It relaxes the hair about 20 percent, and it takes down the volume quite a bit, but it keeps the curl. It's still crazy expensive though ($200). Hope that helps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meadowlark Posted August 3, 2016 Author Share Posted August 3, 2016 OK, the treatment my DD has is an amino treatment, not keratin (which can be damaging). Supposedly an amino treatment is actually beneficial for hair. It relaxes the hair about 20 percent, and it takes down the volume quite a bit, but it keeps the curl. It's still crazy expensive though ($200). Hope that helps! oh, thanks so much for the follow up! I will have to ask my hairstylist about an amino treatment as I've never heard of that before. The only thing I worry about is volume. Along with the weight loss, my hair went from super thick to...well, not thin but definitely don't have the volume that I once had. I would not want to lose any of it. I will have to ask her (and save up!) Thanks again. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janeway Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 I did it. And it became much worse after that. It looked great when they first did it. But after that, my hair was a ball of damaged frizz. It was awful. It took a long time to completely grow out. I was miserable and humiliated with how bad it was. And I spent a lot of money on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twigs Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 Resurrected thread reported Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaKim Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 Resurrected thread reported What? Is there a rule now that you can't post to old threads? This one isn't even really all that old. ???????? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILiveInFlipFlops Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 What? Is there a rule now that you can't post to old threads? This one isn't even really all that old. ???????? There was probably spam that has been removed that we now can't see. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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