Dark Star
September 25th, 2013, 06:25 AM
I am thinking the my hair is suffering from a protein overload...But I have this rubbery feeling sometimes when it is wet--like gummy pasta or bubble gum. Every time I look this up, it says that is a sign of hair being over conditioned and severely damaged to processing.
I have had virgin, unprocessed hair for 20 years in which I have not even used a heat styling tool on it or again, processed or dyed it in any way.
I made the mistake of using and loving Aubrey Organics, "Blue Green Algae Hair Mask" a little too often for what was healthy hair (once a week or once every two weeks). I felt that my hair had become softer and that it stretched too much. I did this for a few months. I had done this for a full summer once and it was never an issue. My hair just got more and more lush then. Anyway, I noticed breakage starting a few weeks ago. I read something online that convinced me I needed protein (even though the mask is protein-rich, it is combined with moisturizing ingredients too. I felt I needed something stronger but wished not to try anything 'hard'. bought the "Blue Camomile Conditioner" which has milk protein in it. That is when my hair felt rubbery. So I got stupider and decided to use a sample of the, "GPB" I was given for free with an order. I never deep conditioned with either of those two last products. I just left them in for 2 minutes in the shower as rinse-outs One I used twice, the other once. This was over a couple of weeks. I had stopped using the, "BGA mask" before that.
My hair then turned to wirey-thin straw and did not feel like hair anymore. It started to break more and tangle and snarl like mad. Felt grotesquely dry and awful. I had (still have) most every sign of protein overload though things are better (maybe 60% to 65%).
So I got rid of ALL protein/panthenol/coconut oil-laden (though some of my products have minor derivatives like fatty alcohol and decyl glucoside) products over the past 3 weeks. I clarified to start, have been moisturizing as best I can via deep treatments, a leave-in, bagging and occasionally, wet-bunning, cutting way down on shampoos and making sure my showers are at a lower temperature.
Again, yes, there is an improvement--some days my hair feels sort of back to how it used to be but not quite. The white dots at the end of my hair though are upsetting as I now have a number of them. I am not sure if I am doing anything right or wrong. I recently did a trim before all this and it sucks to have to do another one if/when I get through this. Should I just shave my head already? I am new at this--never had a hair crisis before!
As for what products I am using and frequency I am using them and doing:
I initially clarified with a gentle clarifying shampoo and then did a deep treatment with Aubrey's, "White Camellia Conditioner". I then topped it off with a dilute cool apple cider vinegar rinse.
My shampoo is basic--just a few ingredients--natural and is handmade by a semi-local company. I typically dilute it half-half with water when I wash my hair--once a week, though sometimes it has been twice.
I made a leave-in with the, "White Camellia" and bottled water though I am not sure I have the ratio right. Need help there. I spray that in my hair on days I wet my hair which is every other day. One day a week, I baggy that and sometimes seal with shea butter when I do so. I leave it in overnight.
I use, "Paul Penders Herbal Lemon Conditioner" as a rinse-out on some days and have even used it to conditioner wash though I am not a big fan of conditioner washing, I have to say. Note that I have 2A hair and the porosity is probably all screwed up due to the protein saturation of my strands.
I use the "White Camellia Conditioner" as a deep treatment on its own once a week and I apply heat for the first 15 minutes. I then leave it in for anywhere from 20 minutes to a couple of hours. Then I rinse it out. I have to be careful not to use much otherwise it makes my roots oily and I hate living with that but like I said, I wish not to shampoo so much.
I do have, "Honeysuckle Rose Conditioner" by, "Aubrey". First I used it as a dilute leave-in for several hours, and then as a deep treatment for 20 minutes. My hair confuses me as to how it feels about it. It felt better--looked better and was more like itself in ways, was less tangled but yet felt crisper in areas. I have this one area of crispy, candy-wrapper hair that just won't go and that area was worse. Also, the nape of my neck--what a mess since this happened. Looks like spider webs but the, "HSR" took care of that the two times I used it. I do know that the second time I used it, I got way too much and did not manage to rinse it all out but I did not want to shampoo my hair because I had done that a day or two ago. So perhaps that had something to do with the crisper feeling since it is sans protein.
I have found that using less product is more effective. Initially I was slathering this stuff on and it only made my hair feel yucky and forced me to have to shampoo more than I want to right now.
It has been, like I said, three weeks. I just want my beautiful, strong hair back. Help!
I have had virgin, unprocessed hair for 20 years in which I have not even used a heat styling tool on it or again, processed or dyed it in any way.
I made the mistake of using and loving Aubrey Organics, "Blue Green Algae Hair Mask" a little too often for what was healthy hair (once a week or once every two weeks). I felt that my hair had become softer and that it stretched too much. I did this for a few months. I had done this for a full summer once and it was never an issue. My hair just got more and more lush then. Anyway, I noticed breakage starting a few weeks ago. I read something online that convinced me I needed protein (even though the mask is protein-rich, it is combined with moisturizing ingredients too. I felt I needed something stronger but wished not to try anything 'hard'. bought the "Blue Camomile Conditioner" which has milk protein in it. That is when my hair felt rubbery. So I got stupider and decided to use a sample of the, "GPB" I was given for free with an order. I never deep conditioned with either of those two last products. I just left them in for 2 minutes in the shower as rinse-outs One I used twice, the other once. This was over a couple of weeks. I had stopped using the, "BGA mask" before that.
My hair then turned to wirey-thin straw and did not feel like hair anymore. It started to break more and tangle and snarl like mad. Felt grotesquely dry and awful. I had (still have) most every sign of protein overload though things are better (maybe 60% to 65%).
So I got rid of ALL protein/panthenol/coconut oil-laden (though some of my products have minor derivatives like fatty alcohol and decyl glucoside) products over the past 3 weeks. I clarified to start, have been moisturizing as best I can via deep treatments, a leave-in, bagging and occasionally, wet-bunning, cutting way down on shampoos and making sure my showers are at a lower temperature.
Again, yes, there is an improvement--some days my hair feels sort of back to how it used to be but not quite. The white dots at the end of my hair though are upsetting as I now have a number of them. I am not sure if I am doing anything right or wrong. I recently did a trim before all this and it sucks to have to do another one if/when I get through this. Should I just shave my head already? I am new at this--never had a hair crisis before!
As for what products I am using and frequency I am using them and doing:
I initially clarified with a gentle clarifying shampoo and then did a deep treatment with Aubrey's, "White Camellia Conditioner". I then topped it off with a dilute cool apple cider vinegar rinse.
My shampoo is basic--just a few ingredients--natural and is handmade by a semi-local company. I typically dilute it half-half with water when I wash my hair--once a week, though sometimes it has been twice.
I made a leave-in with the, "White Camellia" and bottled water though I am not sure I have the ratio right. Need help there. I spray that in my hair on days I wet my hair which is every other day. One day a week, I baggy that and sometimes seal with shea butter when I do so. I leave it in overnight.
I use, "Paul Penders Herbal Lemon Conditioner" as a rinse-out on some days and have even used it to conditioner wash though I am not a big fan of conditioner washing, I have to say. Note that I have 2A hair and the porosity is probably all screwed up due to the protein saturation of my strands.
I use the "White Camellia Conditioner" as a deep treatment on its own once a week and I apply heat for the first 15 minutes. I then leave it in for anywhere from 20 minutes to a couple of hours. Then I rinse it out. I have to be careful not to use much otherwise it makes my roots oily and I hate living with that but like I said, I wish not to shampoo so much.
I do have, "Honeysuckle Rose Conditioner" by, "Aubrey". First I used it as a dilute leave-in for several hours, and then as a deep treatment for 20 minutes. My hair confuses me as to how it feels about it. It felt better--looked better and was more like itself in ways, was less tangled but yet felt crisper in areas. I have this one area of crispy, candy-wrapper hair that just won't go and that area was worse. Also, the nape of my neck--what a mess since this happened. Looks like spider webs but the, "HSR" took care of that the two times I used it. I do know that the second time I used it, I got way too much and did not manage to rinse it all out but I did not want to shampoo my hair because I had done that a day or two ago. So perhaps that had something to do with the crisper feeling since it is sans protein.
I have found that using less product is more effective. Initially I was slathering this stuff on and it only made my hair feel yucky and forced me to have to shampoo more than I want to right now.
It has been, like I said, three weeks. I just want my beautiful, strong hair back. Help!