Am I doing it right?

[Makyle]

Hello again all, it has been a while since my last post, I am still on my No Dye/Bleach, No heat and lots of coconut oil hair journey (still aiming at Classic).

I thought I would check in with those that know more and have walked this journey before me... Am I doing this right? This is a little bit of a lengthy post as I put in what I am doing and what I don't do, please impart your wisdom and let me know if there is anything else I can do.

First my hair info :

Length: between APL and BSL (layers from chin downwards which I am growing and micro-trimming out)
Thickness: ii/iii
Wave: 1c/2a (virgin hair seems to be more 1b)
From Chin downwards previous bleach/dye and heat damage (it was severe)
Colour: Brown with the slightest hints of copper

What I do :

1. Coconut oil addict - it rescued my hair so :
I pre-poo with coconut oil 30mins-an hour before
I coconut oil post wash when hair is dry or 80% dry (dependant on time)
I coconut oil daily lengths and ends (and once in a while/once a week I put the lightest amount possible on my canopy to protect from environmental damage)
I do an occasional coconut oil soak with clingwrap (saran wrap) around my head with a towel.

2. I wash my hair once a week or if I break that every 5 days
I switch between a no sulfate & Silicone shampoo and conditioner and a Cone Poo and conditioner, to clarify my hair and remove cone build up to get the best out of my oilings on sulfate free weeks but still do cone weeks to assist the bleach damage and provide some protection (I think)

3. Protective style - this is where I struggle (and one of the reasons I am growing out these layers)
All I can do is : A single braid, or a double braid (pigtails), or a lazy wrap buns all of which I secure with a metal-free hair tie.
I only started this today. (Note : my layers stick out of my braid/s and scratch my neck - the friction on my clothes on these layered ends makes me afriad that it's doing damage)

4. Brushing - I use a TT and a BBB, I do however use my TT VERY gently on my wet hair (not directly out the shower I give it time to dry a little) or it dries all tangly

5. I very occasionally S&D (not many splits AT ALL- if any at all)
I also micro trim when I think its time.

I want to get a silk pillowcase (when I am in the position to get one I will).

What I DON'T do :

1. I don't use any heat at all
2. I don't dye/bleach
3. I don't tie my hair up at night at the moment and wondering if I should braid it - please help.

What I have discovered:

It looks like my virgin hair is actually straighter than my damaged hair (I have heard of bleach destroying waves never causing them, so this was interesting to see and I am very happy as I use to straighten my hair).

The damaged hair finally has strength and movement again and it no longer feels like velcro....YAY.. it is soft (my virgin hair is better obviously).

After month 3 of no heat, bleach etc my hairs improvement was amazing I finally realised I like my colour and my natural hair is everything I was trying to get my hair to be through damaging heat :brickwall: its softer, more manageable, and blows in the wind again (unlike my previously fried bleach- please remember my bleach damage was so severe I had a chemical cut December 2017)

So lay it on LHC ...Am I doing it right? or can you amp it up and show me the way :flower:

Also a quick note here - TLHC was my go to when my hair needed it the most, thank you.

[elfynity]

The only thing i found missing so far in your schedule is the lack of moisturizer for your hair. What are you using for moisture?

You could put your hair up in a bun at night or even during the day which is very protective for the ends.

I personally would start to microtrim as you grow out, I would trim half my growth monthly until all the old dyed / damaged hair was gone. It will take longer to grow, but eventually you'd just be left with healthy hair - and healthy hair grows faster than damaged hair.

I think it is great that you are washing once a week only. It allows your hairs natural oils to build up a bit and coat your hair - which is very protective and goes with the bbb to brush them down. I would be careful about too much bbb brushing if your ends are showing any damage or splits as apparantly the brush can make them worse.

If you weren't aware, just be cautious about using hot water on your hair. Over 40 degress celsius starts to cause irreversible damage. So these goes into the section of not using heat on your hair.

Otherwise it sounds like you are doing just fine, and your new virgin hair growing out sounds stunning, and the colour you described sounds divine. Be sure to start taking photos of your hair now so that you have comparison photos later on - you will be so glad you started taking these right from the start. It took me 7 months to start on this and i wish i had got onto documenting it sooner.

[lapushka]

I would use some kind of leave-in (you don't have to use a lot, especially for your length) and/or a serum. Maybe even the LOC/LCO method (see in my signature). It's not just for curly or wavy girls/guys and it's a great way to moisturize your hair.

No matter if you are doing the pre-poo or not.

[Makyle]

Hi ladies , thank you for commenting.
And thank you for the colour compliments.

For moisture I use the cantu deep condition treatment- any moisture suggestions are welcome, I wash my hair on luke warm and end the wash on cold.

I use the Loreal Extraordinary Oil leave in cream.

Quick question : I just ordered a satin headscarf for bed arriving hopefully Monday , how can I do my hair under the scarf to protect without using hair ties or pins as I don't want to stress the hair. And should the hair be able to move around under the scarf OR should I tie the scarf so that it secures the hair flat... sorry I am clueless here. Hope that all made sense.

[lapushka]

About washing luke-warm. Be sure that the water is on the warmer side of luke-warm, because otherwise products might not rinse out well enough, especially conditioners.

[lithostoic]

We can't tell you that. Haircare is abouy trial and error. I do tons of things that other people would say are wrong but they are what's best for me and my hair personally.

[Makyle]

Thank you Lapushka, I have had to discover that the hard way, I had one incident of major residue and now I am careful to get it out.

Hi Lithostoic, I completely understand... first rule of TLHC is YMMV. Some of the ladies on LHC have been with me from the start and have been fountains of wisdom (Here's looking at you Lapushka). So I like to lurk and check in once in awhile.

Also when it comes to wrapping my hair in a scarf and don't know anything, there is always a helping hand here :)

[Ylva]

I agree with lapushka about leave-ins. The oil you’re using is good, but I might look into applying a liquid or cream leave-in before it.

Also maybe buy a cute small flexi-8 to secure your buns with to avoid using a hair tie.

[MusicalSpoons]

Quick question : I just ordered a satin headscarf for bed arriving hopefully Monday , how can I do my hair under the scarf to protect without using hair ties or pins as I don't want to stress the hair. And should the hair be able to move around under the scarf OR should I tie the scarf so that it secures the hair flat... sorry I am clueless here. Hope that all made sense.

The hair can be secured using small claw clips or spin pins perhaps, but it doesn't have to be secured if you don't want to. Lots of ladies who wear sleep caps/bonnets just form a bun to get the hair all together without tangles, but don't secure it under the bonnet. Hope exactly you do it will depend on the type of scarf and how your hair reacts - basically, try different things to find what works for you ;) if you search, there are a few threads about how people wear their hair for bed so you might find some useful ideas :)

Oh yes, if braids aren't protective for you (it sounds like they're not, and that's okay - lots of us have the same problem even without layers) then definitely don't sleep on one. If you want to wear one or two in the day you can keep it up out of the way - yes probably with bobby pins at your length, but if you're careful inserting and removing them they shouldn't be a problem :) double dutch or double french braids with the ends pinned up can look really cute and are pretty protective - actually that's the kind of style you could wrap in the satin scarf and it could be okay for the next day. (It might not be an entirely viable style for every night though.)

Um, for any other protective style ideas maybe peruse the appropriate length thread; they'll have ideas and tips for what works with your length. If forks/sticks don't work you can try spin pins, claw clips, beak clips, and flexi-8s as Ylva suggested. Just as soon as you can, leave the hairties. They were what ruined my ends before I found LHC :shudder: you can get soft, more gentle types but hair elastics are just evil if used on a regular basis :p

[Makyle]

Thank you everyone :D leave in before oil note taken, and thank you Musicalspoons for the scarf and hair tie advice, I always thought they could be damaging , I recently got those spiral hair ties and as they damage less I'll use them once in awhile but going to be looking into a flexi8 ( don't know what it is, so youtube here I come ) :)

As always THANK YOU LHC ladies all my questions answered AND MORE GREAT ADVICE! :flower:

[MusicalSpoons]

There's a flexi-8 thread in the products forum :) and those telephone cord hairties actually shouldn't be damaging - I forgot about those! :doh: but if you get into protective styles that tuck your ends away, that's definitely best :D