straightened my hair at home-pics

[Cleopatra18]

Hey all, This is my first hair update in a long time. I have been struggling with my hair since the beginning of summer. It has been (still is) very rough, dry, tangly, clumpy, even oily sometimes (don't know how, i have dry hair), and I have been shedding so much as well. I finally gave up and decided to straighten it because I tried everything and still tangles badly (my hair doesn't tangle when it's straight)..
Anyway, as you can see the result is pretty gross. Even with heat, my hair is looking very rough and dull. I tried everything guys (clarified, deep conditioned, henna, protein and moisture. nothing)
I don't know what to do.
On a positive note, my bangs are finally growing out (a little past shoulder length now) and upper part of my hair feels thicker thanks to that.
My hair is about an inch or so past waist when wet..I gone from an inch past BSL to an inch past waist in roughly 5.5 months.(since big chop in february) .But I was hoping the hemline would be thicker after chopping off the 8 inches in mid february (now the last 2-3 inches are see through again, but not showing well in the pic). But I think I will be doing small trims from now on.
What do you think? Any suggestions on how to fix my hair?
See picture here (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/album.php?albumid=5139&pictureid=109734)

[kidari]

Have you tried styling products or serums with cones? It really helps smooth the damaged ends and give it a ton of slip and shine. I feel like it actually protects the hair as well. My favorite is Paul Mitchell Super Skinny serum. I just make sure to clarify once a week and follow with an SMT. Hopefully it might work out for you?

[Java]

I found that a moisturizing treatment with vinegar gives me so much slip to my hair I can barely contain it to put it up. It also makes it very shiny.
What I used: (pretty much a modified Caramel Treatment)
liquified bananna, coconut milk, shea butter, olive oil, hempseed oil, white wine vinegar, honey, molasses.
I melted the shea butter in a little cup in a pan of water, liquified bananna and coconut milk in blender, mixed it all together. Applied to hair then plastic wrapped and left overnight if desired. If I'm in a hurry I use it like regular conditioner because I love the slipperiness.

If you try it I'd love to hear if it helped or not. Best of luck-

[Sundial]

Hey Cleopatra18! I was just looking through your routines on your User Profile page and your blog, it seems that you use very protein-heavy products. How does your hair react to protein?? Do you really need that much of it?

For me, a protein overload leads to dull and dry hair. I also get tiny breakage on the ends (1-2mm long).

[kwaniesiam]

Did you chemically straighten it or just use a flat iron/blow dryer?

[kittymallow]

How does your hair feel like when freshly washed? Because to me it looks like you should clarify one more time and do a moist treatment. it looks like a heavy build up that needs more than one claryfiyng. :)

[Avital88]

build up! at least thats what it looks like to me..quit the protein, eat avacado's,moisture your hair a lot!good luck

[scorpio_rising]

I agree that it looks like protein overload. Ease up on the protein, clarify really well, and then concentrate on moisture.

[serious]

Have you tried EVOO?
I've been using it mixed with cocoa butter and light conditioner as a pre wash treatment with great results. ( we're not the same hair type though, but it's worth trying )

Fenugreek also gives great slip and shine.

[Othala]

Cleo, have you tried the Curly Girl routine? It might be ideal for your hair type.

[skyblue]

Oh yes your hair looks like it's
crying for moisture, have you tried a
weekly SMT or maybe adding honey to
your conditioner? Also I think the CG thing
that Othala suggested is great advise

[alwayssmiling]

Do you CO wash at all? My hair had the same dry frizzy texture, CO washing has given me defined curls and waves. Serums and heavy conditioners get rid of the frizz but can make my hair a bit lank. I also agree with the protein overload, boy was my hair stiff and frizzy when I tried protein treatments.

[lapushka]

I second everything on clarifying and possible protein overload (and the need for moisturizing conditioners), also the Curly Girl method might do wonders. It certainly beats straightening it.

[Cleopatra18]

I haven't updated my routine in a very long time but I'm very careful with protein products now...I barely use them and If I do I make sure they're atleast 6-8 weeks apart.
I didn't use strong shampoo yet just shampooed several times with gliss or johnson's shampoo (both have SLS)
My routine for the past atleast 4 months has been cowashing only with occasional sls-free shampoo to clarify. I deep conditioned many times with moisturising products that I have been using for a long time so it's not new stuff or anything.
My hair has been like this since the begining of summer (it's insanely hot here) and I also stopped doing oil prepoo around the same time so it could be both?
I don't know the curly girl routine but what I do is after cowashing when my hair is still wet (but not dripping) I apply leave in and wrap in a turbie towel and leave it for about 1 hour to soak up the water then take down the towel and my hair dries completely in another hour maximum......but now when I take down the towel my hair remains wet for hours, and even when it does I feel like there's a slightly oily feeling to it. Usually it's very fluffy and my curls kinda lose the pattern because of how fluffy it gets but now it clumps together (not in a good way) and doesn't want to unwind no matter what. The clumps remain wet for a very long time without drying (porosity issues?)
Thank you for all the replies. Right now I have my straight hair oiled in a bun, don't know what to do now for it.
P.S: I haven't changed products in a long while so it's not a new reaction to something.
ETA: I meant straightening with a flat iron, not chemical. The pic was taken after applying 3x the recommended amount of serum. It disappeared into my hair.

[xoxophelia]

Part of the reason it looks poor in that photo I think is partly because of how you styled it. If you have really stubborn hair it often helps to start when you hair is still damp with a blow dryer first to break up the curl pattern. It is okay if it ends up looking puffy as long as it is generally straight. Then, you want to use an iron section by section with a comb to make sure the hair lays flat as you pass it through. If you want really smooth hair with volume you can then set it to cool in extra large rollers.

I know that sounds kind of complicated though..

As others have already mentioned, the curly girl method may work very well for you. I would also suggest changing your conditioner to see if that makes a difference, do very light oilings after washing, and then wear your hair up for awhile. At least then you don't have to be in too much of a rush to get it figured out.

[Sundial]

I'm getting a bit confused here - you mentioned that your hair used to dry within an hour after you take out the turbie but now it always looks wet and seems a bit oily, but yet when you put a lot of hair serum it all disappears into your hair :confused: your hair is giving mixed signals here.

I would have thought greasy hair points to buildup but you said that you clarify with SLS and that it also soaks up serums.

Are the summers in Eygpt really dry?? Since you said that you haven't changed any products and that you only notice this dryness happening in summer, can you check the ingredient list on your hair products for glycerin or other humectants? I'm thinking it's possible that they may be sucking moisture from your hair if the climate where you're at is dry.

Second theory, are you still using henna? It could be leftover grit that didn't wash out with CO or maybe you're reacting badly to it after long usage. I know a lot of people get good results with henna but I also remember reading about bad reactions to it.