please help asap!!!

[mommy2one05]

I am so sorry to anyone who I did not believe that the bs and co to try to straighten hair with was a bad idea. Unfortanately I tried it last night ( did not leave on for an hour cause at 45 min. my hair was itchy and tingly)...woke up this morning with tangly, extremely dry, and straw like hair. SO what do I need to do to get it back to my normal state? This morning I panicked so I washed with a vo5 co and left on for an hour then I shampooed with my dove dark blue then I used the same dove co and left on for 20 minutes...it is still airdrying but the parts that are dry now still feel rough. Should I wash again today, wait till tomorrow, or what??? From now I will get alot of advice before I try something new. Please help!!

[zift]

Aw sorry to hear this:grouphug:
I wouldn't recommend washing it today. I'd probably heavily oil it and wear it up until tomorrow and do a CO wash then. Or wear it up until your scalp produces natural sebum to soften your hair and than CO wash it.

ETA: And relax:) :flowers:

[kate46]

I am by no means an expert but I would suggest you give your hair a rest for a couple of days to let your natural oils come through then do a deep condition. Try not to worry, i'm sure there won't be any permanent damage. Hopefully those with better knowledge will reply to your post. :flower:

Snap Zift! we posted at the same time, hope we were both of some help!

[Irishred]

oh my goodness. I am so sorry to hear this. Baking soda is not for every one. :hugs:

Do not wash. Keep it moisturized! Maybe a DT but stay away from the shampoo. Do you have a nice leave-in or light oil? coconut and olive oil can be good choices or cocoa butter. It will take a while for the dryness to go away, I mean like weeks. Have you tried CO washing? This may help until you see some recovery.

Hmm, is Snowy around? She may have some ideas.

more :hugs:

[LisaJaney]

If I'm not mistaken (and I could be), isn't baking-soda one PH and vinegar another on the opposite end of the spectrum? Why not CO wash and use a vinegar-rinse to normalize the pH of your hair again? And don't go nuts with the vinegar; you don't need 28 gallons of double-strength vinegar to do the trick. Just a half-cup in a half-gallon of water shoudl do the trick. When *I* vinegar-rinse, I use that much and then lightly rinse afterwards, so I'm rinsing SOME of the vinegar out, but not all. And no, you won't smell like a douche when it's dry. Only til it's about half-dry, then the vinegar smell goes away.

And I like the ideas of conditioning well. I'm just suggesting adding vinegar in there somewhere to normalize that pH.

[Xanthippe]

I would not shampoo for awhile. Just the conditioner. You've stripped everything off of your hair strands and you need to put it back. I would drench it in conditioner again and not try to fingercomb it or anything unless you have a lot of oil or conditioner in it. Do you have any coconut oil or any other hair oils? Use them too. If I were you, I'd try to go the extreme of over coating your hair for at least a couple of days. You could use aloe vera gel if you have any.

I remember the first time I used this to remove buildup from my hair (I didn't leave it on that long though, I just lightly scrubbed and immediately rinsed so it might not be the same). My hair felt really weird until I coated it thickly with V05 conditioner and left it on for a long time (like over an hour). Then when I rinsed, it felt really soft and not dry anymore. I'm sure in a few days your hair will feel better!

Massaging your scalp too might help speed up the sebum production.

[lora410]

baking soda should never be left on that long and is very drying. anytime you use baking soda always make sure it gets ultra moisturized. i as well suggest a deep heavy oiling. Olive oil is great for that. damped you hair and oil it for maybe a few hours and then CO it out DO NOT shampoo because thats the worse thing you can do when your hair is dry. Don't worry we all go through disasters once in awhile :flower:

[Patrycja]

I second the advice on waiting to wash again.You don't want to overload and over work your hair even more.What about using EVOO as a overnight oiling? That's a heavier oil than coconut and others.

eta-sorry lora! we posted at the same exact time and you already suggested the EVOO :) great minds think alike :p

[eadwine]

I would go for the oil deep treat (read: cover it) too, if possible, and then just put it up in a bun and leave it alone for at least a day.

[Xanthippe]

I'm just suggesting adding vinegar in there somewhere to normalize that pH.

I have no experience with this in regards to hair, but I just wanted to warn you that vinegar (acid) + baking soda (base) = fizzing like those volcano science experiments and salt. So, be sure you thoroughly rinse your hair if you do the vinegar because you might still have baking soda residue in your hair or tub and you don't want to leave the salt there.

[FrannyG]

I would recommend that the next time you wash, so a nice deep treatment like an SMT first, and follow with an ACV rinse. Try to use as cool water as you can.

What has happened is that your cuticle has opened up. This is not irreversible. I can't tell you how many people have had this happen.

Your hair will be right as rain again with just a little TLC! :flowers:

[pariate]

Oh, you poor thing! I'd go with resting your hair, no washing. Wet your hair and oil it, leave it in a bun. Everything they've all already said basically!

Good luck, keep us posted :grouphug:

[MusingFrog]

Ditto to what everyone else said. I routinely wash with baking soda but it is on my head for no more than 10 minutes tops and then only on my oily scalp. I'd avoid shampoo for a bit. Using conditioner is probably fine and oiling should help. Oil and then leave it be for as long as you can stand it (I'm talking days here). Your hair will return to normal once it has some oils back on it.

[wintersun99]

............

[mommy2one05]

well tonight i put evoo in my hair and then braided it. tomorrow i will try my first smt and see how that goes.

[jojo]

I would do an overnight oil, don't shampoo as you will strip it further.

I don't want to sound awful but lots of people on your previous post, myself included did warn you of the dangers of leaving BS for long periods, like i say I dont want to sound awful, hope it gets sorted

[lookingglass]

Big hugs to you! Treat it gently, condition and breathe deeply...

[mommy2one05]

Ok well here is an update. Last night I put evoo in my hair and then braided it for bed. This morning I had to go to town and did not have time to wassh before so since it was so greasy looking I threw it up in a messy do. So from 9:30 pm till 2pm today the oil was in my hair. I then rinsed the oil out or at least most of it and then I did my first smt ( I used 1 cup mane n tail co, was going to use vo5 but didn't have enough & 1/4 cup aloe vera gel, and 1/4 cup honey, which was heated for 10 sec. )...I applied the mixture in my hair and put a shower cap on and then a warm towel and left on for 45 minutes ( was aiming for an hour but it got itchy) . After I rinsed I did comb as to get the tangles out ( it was hard but I did not use any detangler). So we will see It is hanging loose and still drying now. Hopefully it is going to be somewhat normal. And then as soon as its dry I am going to have my dh take pics so I can post and see what kind of hair I have.

[wintersun99]

............

[Riot Crrl]

Alkaline and heat open scales. Acid and cold (within reason) close them.

Baking soda is alkaline. You will probably not want any more alkaline, or any heat at this time.

Dilute vinegar rinse, and cold rinses (not approaching freezing, but colder than your hair normally is) are your allies right now. However, so is benign neglect, and these things must be carefully balanced. I would not wet hair again solely for the sake of putting a cold vinegar rinse in it, but perhaps the next time that you have to wet it anyway.

[LisaJaney]

I have no experience with this in regards to hair, but I just wanted to warn you that vinegar (acid) + baking soda (base) = fizzing like those volcano science experiments and salt. So, be sure you thoroughly rinse your hair if you do the vinegar because you might still have baking soda residue in your hair or tub and you don't want to leave the salt there.

That's why I suggested a CO wash FIRST and vinergar-rinse after that, because you rinse like a FIEND after a CO wash, and I don't think Baking soda would still be in there after that. THEN the vinegar to help with the overall pH. I know that CO washing will get herbs out of my hair very nicely; I'm sure it would take-out the baking-soda, but I'm thinking that the length of time that the BS was left on there may have done more to the pH than rinsing can remedy.