HELP Can anything repair my relaxed cuticle OR do I have to CUT it all?

[PrettyFit]

Hi ALL! :D

I am new to this community but I have been reading for 6 months now. I have been growing my hair for 5 months, transforming my hair care routine. I have incorporated some weekly co washing and one hennaing. I am also reducing use of heat, sulfates and cones. In doing so, I have revealed that my hair’s real (un-coned, air dried) surface it is not as shiny. I know that relaxers lift and damage the cuticle, but my hair used to appear shiny and strong, so I thought my hair could handle it.

Also, in it's relaxed state, I have always had longer hair than in it's natural state due to less mechanical breakage. I could never grow my natural hair past shoulder length. My natural hair is thick and strong and shiny. However, its natural state, it is very time consuming to manage. Even with muscling through the tangles, it took me 4 hours just to comb it all out and twist shoulder length 3c/4a hair. I can only imagine how long it would take me to carfully untangle longer hair.

My goal is to have shiny, healthy WL hair with a thick hemline. I am not a fan of transitioning with two textures on one head-- so my option would be to cut it all off or keep growing and try to salvage my current relaxed hair.

Through the use of castor oil and my gentle hair care methods, I have regained a lot of thickness. After trimming for 5 months, I have finally reached my goal of having a thick APL hemline. This is my deciding point. I will either grow long from here or start over.

Is there anything I can do to smooth my cuticle before cutting it all off? Here’s what I have done so far:
1 Henna / Indigo two step treatment (planning to do more of those along with other herbal treatments)
Weekly light protein treatments, followed by deep moisturizing
ACV rinses

Please help with any suggestions. I would prefer to keep my length and not revert back to spending hours and hours on detangling my natural texture. Any info would help!

MANY THANKS in advance!

I want to attach pics of my textures (before the relaxer and current), but I am not allowed. :o

[akilina]

There are some super curlies on here :) Maybe they can come along and help you out even more.
As for "repairing" There is no real way to make the hair go back to how it was, once its damaged, theres no real fixing it. You can make it feel better though and nourish it to help it along.
If your cuticle is super blown out, try rinsing with as cold of water as you can stand at the end of your shower. This always makes my hair even shinier too :)

You could always microtrim off your ends little by little. It truly does work!
Again, maybe a curly girl like "CurlyCurves or CurlyCap could help you out with some updo suggestions. And hair care in general :]

May I ask, Do you have ethnic hair? I only ask because that might help in having other members with hair like yours aid you in hair care and updo options. And all other things.
If so, I honestly don't know much about ethnic hair. I am a hairdresser and if handed an ethnic haired client, I want to sink in my turtle shell and run for the hills, FAST! It is intimidating and I never learned much about it. It also doesn't help I was cutting a boys hair once and I hear his guardian basically yell 'She doesn't look like she knows what shes doing!!!" :run:

Perhaps someone knows more about the "curly girl method" and can chime in :D

[Pearly~91]

Hey there, so I might not be much help, but I will try!! I don't have much personal experience with your problem though...

Anyways, first of all, have you seen this article : http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=79 (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=79)
if you have not, it might help you understand the damage that you have.


Also, by "repair my relaxed cuticle" do you mean get your hair back to it's naturally curly state? The only way I know of to do that is to have it permed back into curls, which would likely only further the damage.
But if don't want to completely chop it off right now you could perm it back and if the damage is too severe you could use oils (or go back to cones, one thing they are good for is covering up/protecting damage) to help provide some slip. And then as you grow, cut the damage off the ends gradually with trims, while focusing on not damaging your 'virgin' hair that is growing in. If you did go back to cones, you could try quitting them again when your damage has been grown out and trimmed off.

Another thing is, are you detangling while your hair is wet and loaded with conditioner? Or dry?

And as far as pictures go, I think they really would be helpful, so you could try linking to pictures (on photobucket for instance.) You should be allowed to do that.

Sorry, I don't think I've been much help!! :( The only experience I have with curly hair is from elementary school when I permed mine and with my little sister's hair, which is 3c/4a and really really fine. But if you can link to pictures of your hair, I'm sure there are some curlies here with hair like yours that would be way more help. :)

P.S. I agree with akilina , it would be helpful to know whether you of of African decent or not, so if you can't link to pictures, please let us know.

[dawnss]

Well since you have 3c/4a hair, here goes. What are you're long term goals, do you want relaxed hair in the long term or natural hair? When I transitioned I just let my hair grow out, I did not do the big chop. One thing to remember about relaxed hair is that as the new growth comes in, there is a line of demarcation where the natural and relaxed textures meet. Because of this, you have to be very gentle when detangling your hair.

I think that the regime you have is great, but with kinky and tightly curly hair you will need to moisturize your hair. Co washing and deep conditioning treatments probably won't work that well, especially because you're relaxed. I'd look up information on moisturizing and sealing relaxed hair and go from there.

Because our hair types can really shrink up and tangle on us make sure that you keep your hair, if you decide to stretch your relaxers or go natural, in some kind of stretched out state. So instead of using heat, try doing roller sets or braid your hair in 2 french braids or you can try flat twists. I'd stay away from the heat, unless you really need to use it (health problems or for whatever other reason).

I just want to mention that you can't repair the relaxed cuticle, sorry. Hopefully I was able to help you. If you have any other questions visit the type 4 hair thread in the "mane forum" or you can pm me. I do think though that lhc has really great tips for hair overall, so please keep using those.

[CurlyCap]

Off the top of my head I know that Lacefrost is 3c/4a. Also, check the Kinky/Curly thread for peeps with hair like yours.

You can use a website like imgur or tinypic to upload images. It's an alternative to waiting until you've made enough posts to share pictures through LHC itself.

I'll come check in later, but at work now.

[brave]

So all of your hair is currently relaxed, correct?

According to this post (http://www.thenaturalhavenbloom.com/2009/07/part-2-of-2-porosity-can-you-fix-it.html), no, there is no known way to "close" the cuticle. Your best bet is probably protein treatments I would think, since that might fill in the gaps temporarily. Also as someone said, silicones will make the damage appear lessened and will help protect it.

Your hair might be able to handle relaxing long enough to be WL, maybe. I think it really varies from individual to individual.

If you do decide to go natural, I think your hair type sounds similar to Teri LaFlesh's of tightlycurly (http://tightlycurly.com/technique/therules/), and maybe incorporating some of her techniques would help with detangling. My sister has incredibly tight, thick, 4b curls that took hours to detangle until we started leaving all the conditioner in and using a denman brush instead.

Good luck!

[PrettyFit]

Thank you all for the replied and suggestions!! I really would like to keep my length :)

Yes I am African American and here are pics of my hair. The relaxed pic is in sunlight. Curly pic is indoor.

Pearly-- What I meant by repair was getting my cuticle smooth again. Unfortunately I don't have pics of my natural texture flat ironed, but there was a lively shine and bounce to my hair that is no longer present without the use of cones (which aren't so bad for me). I was only combing my hair when when and loaded with conditioner. Otherwise the curls would not have allowed the comb to pass. :)

Akilina-- Smiling at your post! I would have freaked if a guardian yelled that I didn't know what I was doing either. I don't think my cuticle is completely blown, just not as smooth as I would like.

Dawnss-- My long term goal is thick healthy waist length hair. I do like swingy shiny straight styles and curly fluffy styles. It seems like natural would be the way to go for me but I was natural for 10 years and I don't know whether I can actually manage waist length natural hair.

I will try the other threads as well. Thanks again!!! https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-aHs2n3nxD8I/UBmICmqqmsI/AAAAAAAAALw/oQVJh_h4qzk/s512/0801121539.jpg

Please excuse the red lint from my hat! https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-0EWcpGr1tEE/UBmIbFUiNPI/AAAAAAAAAL4/kDwPDc9UGkw/s640/0801121549.jpg

[PrettyFit]

So all of your hair is currently relaxed, correct?

According to this post (http://www.thenaturalhavenbloom.com/2009/07/part-2-of-2-porosity-can-you-fix-it.html), no, there is no known way to "close" the cuticle. Your best bet is probably protein treatments I would think, since that might fill in the gaps temporarily. Also as someone said, silicones will make the damage appear lessened and will help protect it.

Your hair might be able to handle relaxing long enough to be WL, maybe. I think it really varies from individual to individual.

If you do decide to go natural, I think your hair type sounds similar to Teri LaFlesh's of tightlycurly (http://tightlycurly.com/technique/therules/), and maybe incorporating some of her techniques would help with detangling. My sister has incredibly tight, thick, 4b curls that took hours to detangle until we started leaving all the conditioner in and using a denman brush instead.

Good luck!


Yes it is all relaxed.

Thank you for the links. They have been helpful. I will also look into the denman brush.

It looks like I will either go back to cones, or go natural. :)

[PrettyFit]

Off the top of my head I know that Lacefrost is 3c/4a. Also, check the Kinky/Curly thread for peeps with hair like yours.

You can use a website like imgur or tinypic to upload images. It's an alternative to waiting until you've made enough posts to share pictures through LHC itself.

I'll come check in later, but at work now.

I was able to get some pics up! Thanks!!

[PrettyFit]

Well since you have 3c/4a hair, here goes. What are you're long term goals, do you want relaxed hair in the long term or natural hair? When I transitioned I just let my hair grow out, I did not do the big chop. One thing to remember about relaxed hair is that as the new growth comes in, there is a line of demarcation where the natural and relaxed textures meet. Because of this, you have to be very gentle when detangling your hair.

I think that the regime you have is great, but with kinky and tightly curly hair you will need to moisturize your hair. Co washing and deep conditioning treatments probably won't work that well, especially because you're relaxed. I'd look up information on moisturizing and sealing relaxed hair and go from there.

Because our hair types can really shrink up and tangle on us make sure that you keep your hair, if you decide to stretch your relaxers or go natural, in some kind of stretched out state. So instead of using heat, try doing roller sets or braid your hair in 2 french braids or you can try flat twists. I'd stay away from the heat, unless you really need to use it (health problems or for whatever other reason).

I just want to mention that you can't repair the relaxed cuticle, sorry. Hopefully I was able to help you. If you have any other questions visit the type 4 hair thread in the "mane forum" or you can pm me. I do think though that lhc has really great tips for hair overall, so please keep using those.

Do you have any suggestions for moisture and sealing that does not weigh hair down? I currently have been using aloe juice and coconut oil.

[dawnss]

I am with you on managing long natural hair, it seems very difficult. I just want to tell you, that if you continue to relax your hair nothing is wrong with that!! There are plenty of women who have long (wl and longer) relaxed hair. You just have to baby your hair, a lot! Keep up with your protein treatments, protective styles, moisturizing, and find what works for your hair. I'd look up: the long hair care forum, there are plenty of type 4 women on there who are relaxed and who have long hair. Just like natural hair, relaxed hair has its own various challenges.

I would make sure that I do heavy protein treatments and heavy moisturizing treatments right after I relax. And then continue to do moisturizing treatments. How do you detangle your hair? Do you seal in the moisture that you use? Do you wear your hair in protective styles?

I like Teri's method, but I do not like keeping conditioner in my hair and if you decide to use her method, then make sure that you have enough time to do your hair. Also since you plan on keeping your hair relaxed do you have a tightly curled pattern in your hair currently? If not, then I do not know if the tightly curly method will work for you that well. I'd just keep doing twist outs (that is the style in your second picture, correct?). You can also use wigs if your hair is really hard to manage.

[dawnss]

I'd keep using aloe juice and coconut oil (so that's why your hair looks so pretty)! I'd also use SMT for a prepoo treatment http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=128.

And believe it or not grease makes a great hair sealant, coconut oil works great because it penetrates the hair's cuticle. However, because it penetrates it does not hold in moisture. So I'd get a jar of a cheap petroleum filled hair grease that you can use to seal your ends. I know so many women say that grease is bad, but if your hair does not retain moisture, then I'd give it a shot.

[dawnss]

I second the Denman brush, but you need to make sure that your hair is properly detangled before you use it. Also look into getting a brush that works for your hair type, there are so many different kinds of denman brushes, so you don't have to get just the D10 that everyone gets.

Also, if you don't want to buy hair grease, I'd just use regular crisco or vegetable oils. Oh wow, I just realized that you don't want heavy hair, sorry. Maybe you can use grease, crisco, or vegetable oil during the winter and fall.

Here is a fantastic link on cones, from a woman who is a chemist (well even if she isn't she has really great info and she backs it up with scientific articles). I really think you might find her article on cones really interesting: http://www.thenaturalhavenbloom.com/2010/07/silicone-and-mineral-oil-are-good-for.html.

[moxamoll]

You might want to check out ktani's article on using mineral oil to seal the hair: here (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=225). I'm sure if you do a site search on mineral oil, you'll find threads about those of us who've had success with it. It doesn't add moisture, but it does seal it in well, without weighing down the hair. I've gotten really good results with doing an SMT followed by MO.

Can't help with the curls though, I'm a natural straightie!

[kaydana]

If you wore your hair with its natural texture, would you wear it loose (or in styles like buns), keep it braided/twisted like in your second picture, or do a mixture of both?

I have a friend who wears her hair braided all the time, and she will redo a small number of braids every week, rather than doing them all at once, to make detangling and braiding less time consuming. If you were planning on wearing your hair like this, it might be something to consider as it gets longer. Keeping it in braids would also hide the difference in texture between your relaxed hair and your natural hair, so you could just trim off the relaxed hair gradually as your hair needs trimming rather than losing all your length now.

[PrettyFit]

I am with you on managing long natural hair, it seems very difficult. I just want to tell you, that if you continue to relax your hair nothing is wrong with that!! There are plenty of women who have long (wl and longer) relaxed hair. You just have to baby your hair, a lot! Keep up with your protein treatments, protective styles, moisturizing, and find what works for your hair. I'd look up: the long hair care forum, there are plenty of type 4 women on there who are relaxed and who have long hair. Just like natural hair, relaxed hair has its own various challenges.

I would make sure that I do heavy protein treatments and heavy moisturizing treatments right after I relax. And then continue to do moisturizing treatments. How do you detangle your hair? Do you seal in the moisture that you use? Do you wear your hair in protective styles?

I like Teri's method, but I do not like keeping conditioner in my hair and if you decide to use her method, then make sure that you have enough time to do your hair. Also since you plan on keeping your hair relaxed do you have a tightly curled pattern in your hair currently? If not, then I do not know if the tightly curly method will work for you that well. I'd just keep doing twist outs (that is the style in your second picture, correct?). You can also use wigs if your hair is really hard to manage.

Currently I do not have to detangle because I have gotten good at preventing tangles during my wash:happydance:

I have been trying different things with sealing because I find that oils make my hair stiff or greasy. I am about to order some Camellia oil because I read that it is light. I do not wear many protective styles (never had a sew in) other than buns on my co-wash days. I am not a fan of how my hair air dries, so I have been using roller sets and no heat curling methods or air dried days. I haven't mastered the low manipulation technique. I probably have more breakage trying the low heat styles than I do when I flat iron.... although I know that even on a low setting, flat ironing is not good.

The twist picture is my natural texture. Sadly, I cannot achieve puffy twists like that today.

[PrettyFit]

I'd keep using aloe juice and coconut oil (so that's why your hair looks so pretty)! I'd also use SMT for a prepoo treatment http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=128.

And believe it or not grease makes a great hair sealant, coconut oil works great because it penetrates the hair's cuticle. However, because it penetrates it does not hold in moisture. So I'd get a jar of a cheap petroleum filled hair grease that you can use to seal your ends. I know so many women say that grease is bad, but if your hair does not retain moisture, then I'd give it a shot.

Awesome! Thank you for the information. I have only used honey once (in my henna) but I will definitely try the SMT.

What you say about the grease makes sense to me. My mother used to use a grease called "Hair Food" on me when I was a girl, and my hair was very long and thick back then, even after she starting putting relaxers in my hair. Ever since I have been an adult, I have not put any more grease in my hair and it has never been as long as it was back then. I just have to get over the feeling of the grease. Maybe I can use it on the protective styling days.

[PrettyFit]

I'd keep using aloe juice and coconut oil (so that's why your hair looks so pretty)! I'd also use SMT for a prepoo treatment http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=128.

And believe it or not grease makes a great hair sealant, coconut oil works great because it penetrates the hair's cuticle. However, because it penetrates it does not hold in moisture. So I'd get a jar of a cheap petroleum filled hair grease that you can use to seal your ends. I know so many women say that grease is bad, but if your hair does not retain moisture, then I'd give it a shot.

AND THANK YOU for the compliment!

[PrettyFit]

I second the Denman brush, but you need to make sure that your hair is properly detangled before you use it. Also look into getting a brush that works for your hair type, there are so many different kinds of denman brushes, so you don't have to get just the D10 that everyone gets.

Also, if you don't want to buy hair grease, I'd just use regular crisco or vegetable oils. Oh wow, I just realized that you don't want heavy hair, sorry. Maybe you can use grease, crisco, or vegetable oil during the winter and fall.

Here is a fantastic link on cones, from a woman who is a chemist (well even if she isn't she has really great info and she backs it up with scientific articles). I really think you might find her article on cones really interesting: http://www.thenaturalhavenbloom.com/2010/07/silicone-and-mineral-oil-are-good-for.html.

I will have to read up on the brushes. I am currently using a generic wave type brush which broke my hair around the hairline during my last relaxer stretch.

Thank you for the article. I am bookmarking her page-- lots of information! I will try the oils if they work. I just want my hair shafts to be smooth and healthy. I can use cones when I flat iron because I like the results. Otherwise I will use a heavier oil to seal in the moisture.

[PrettyFit]

You might want to check out ktani's article on using mineral oil to seal the hair: here (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=225). I'm sure if you do a site search on mineral oil, you'll find threads about those of us who've had success with it. It doesn't add moisture, but it does seal it in well, without weighing down the hair. I've gotten really good results with doing an SMT followed by MO.

Can't help with the curls though, I'm a natural straightie!

This is very interesting as well! I have some baby oil here at the house. I will try it along with the SMT. If it washes out easily, then there will be no harm done if I don't like it.

Thank you for the info!

[PrettyFit]

If you wore your hair with its natural texture, would you wear it loose (or in styles like buns), keep it braided/twisted like in your second picture, or do a mixture of both?

I have a friend who wears her hair braided all the time, and she will redo a small number of braids every week, rather than doing them all at once, to make detangling and braiding less time consuming. If you were planning on wearing your hair like this, it might be something to consider as it gets longer. Keeping it in braids would also hide the difference in texture between your relaxed hair and your natural hair, so you could just trim off the relaxed hair gradually as your hair needs trimming rather than losing all your length now.

That is a good point. I used to start off with it twisted like the picture for a few days, then let it loose and wear it wavy until it swelled up into a wild style. The wild part is what allowed the tangles. I could keep them braided or twisted most of the time to keep tangles away. Thanks for the suggestion. That would cut down my styling time drastically!

[LoveAngelBeauty]

That is a good point. I used to start off with it twisted like the picture for a few days, then let it loose and wear it wavy until it swelled up into a wild style. The wild part is what allowed the tangles. I could keep them braided or twisted most of the time to keep tangles away. Thanks for the suggestion. That would cut down my styling time drastically!

I would advise you to check out http://longhaircareforum.com/ for much more advice from women who are doing the same things with their hair as you :)

Other than that, have you tried mixing apple cider vinegar in your deep conditioner, or just doing a rinse with diluted acv? It helps a lot to make hair smooth and keep it from tangling.

[LoveAngelBeauty]

May I ask, Do you have ethnic hair? I only ask because that might help in having other members with hair like yours aid you in hair care and updo options. And all other things.
If so, I honestly don't know much about ethnic hair. I am a hairdresser and if handed an ethnic haired client, I want to sink in my turtle shell and run for the hills, FAST! It is intimidating and I never learned much about it. It also doesn't help I was cutting a boys hair once and I hear his guardian basically yell 'She doesn't look like she knows what shes doing!!!" :run:


I know you're trying to help, but...I hate the term "ethnic hair." Anybody can be ethnic and, thus, have "ethnic hair." Also, "ethnic hair" is an umbrella term for any black girl's hair and just because someone has "ethnic hair" doesn't mean it's going to be the same as the next girl with "ethnic hair."

[Helix]

Might want to get some Roux Porosity Control. I've heard it mentioned in some of the relaxed threads on another site.

I've never used it myself, but it's gotten good reviews.

[dawnss]

Currently I do not have to detangle because I have gotten good at preventing tangles during my wash:happydance:

I have been trying different things with sealing because I find that oils make my hair stiff or greasy. I am about to order some Camellia oil because I read that it is light. I do not wear many protective styles (never had a sew in) other than buns on my co-wash days. I am not a fan of how my hair air dries, so I have been using roller sets and no heat curling methods or air dried days. I haven't mastered the low manipulation technique. I probably have more breakage trying the low heat styles than I do when I flat iron.... although I know that even on a low setting, flat ironing is not good.

The twist picture is my natural texture. Sadly, I cannot achieve puffy twists like that today.

Sorry for the really late reply. I would look up different protective styles on youtube. Because I am natural I have to make sure that my hair is stretched out via roller set, blow dry, or flat iron before I can even do decent looking buns most of the time. I really like roller setting, and it is nice because it doesn't really cause me too much pain to do my hair like that. I am with you on the air drying scenario lol.

[dawnss]

I would advise you to check out http://longhaircareforum.com/ for much more advice from women who are doing the same things with their hair as you :)

Other than that, have you tried mixing apple cider vinegar in your deep conditioner, or just doing a rinse with diluted acv? It helps a lot to make hair smooth and keep it from tangling.

I second the lhcf suggestion!

[dawnss]

Currently I do not have to detangle because I have gotten good at preventing tangles during my wash:happydance:

I have been trying different things with sealing because I find that oils make my hair stiff or greasy. I am about to order some Camellia oil because I read that it is light. I do not wear many protective styles (never had a sew in) other than buns on my co-wash days. I am not a fan of how my hair air dries, so I have been using roller sets and no heat curling methods or air dried days. I haven't mastered the low manipulation technique. I probably have more breakage trying the low heat styles than I do when I flat iron.... although I know that even on a low setting, flat ironing is not good.

The twist picture is my natural texture. Sadly, I cannot achieve puffy twists like that today.

Congrats on reducing tangles lol.

[dawnss]

Awesome! Thank you for the information. I have only used honey once (in my henna) but I will definitely try the SMT.

What you say about the grease makes sense to me. My mother used to use a grease called "Hair Food" on me when I was a girl, and my hair was very long and thick back then, even after she starting putting relaxers in my hair. Ever since I have been an adult, I have not put any more grease in my hair and it has never been as long as it was back then. I just have to get over the feeling of the grease. Maybe I can use it on the protective styling days.

Yeah hair grease for me works well I use it over my hair oils lol, it provides extra sealing.

[dawnss]

AND THANK YOU for the compliment!

Your welcome!!

[dawnss]

I will have to read up on the brushes. I am currently using a generic wave type brush which broke my hair around the hairline during my last relaxer stretch.

Thank you for the article. I am bookmarking her page-- lots of information! I will try the oils if they work. I just want my hair shafts to be smooth and healthy. I can use cones when I flat iron because I like the results. Otherwise I will use a heavier oil to seal in the moisture.

Oh I understand, the denman brush can do the same thing, but I really think that it is strongly dependent on how you use it. Because most of the brushes do not have very wide teeth, I would suggest that you use it as the last step when detangling and only use it on wet hair or hair that has been oiled well.

I like using cones as well.

Your welcome, the whole website has great information on it.

[PrettyFit]

I would advise you to check out http://longhaircareforum.com/ for much more advice from women who are doing the same things with their hair as you :)

Other than that, have you tried mixing apple cider vinegar in your deep conditioner, or just doing a rinse with diluted acv? It helps a lot to make hair smooth and keep it from tangling.

Thank you for the pointers! I have done an diluted acv rinse, but I have not tried putting it in my deep conditioner. I will try that next time.


Might want to get some Roux Porosity Control. I've heard it mentioned in some of the relaxed threads on another site.

I've never used it myself, but it's gotten good reviews.

I have see that at Sally's. I will pick some up! Thanks!


Sorry for the really late reply. I would look up different protective styles on youtube. Because I am natural I have to make sure that my hair is stretched out via roller set, blow dry, or flat iron before I can even do decent looking buns most of the time. I really like roller setting, and it is nice because it doesn't really cause me too much pain to do my hair like that. I am with you on the air drying scenario lol.

I just did a wonderful roller set last night! I was so surprised that it came out softer than it does with the flat iron! Progress :) My roller sets in the past have been bushy. Anyway, I wrapped it up last night, and today it has lots of body (which I am trying to tame) :)! Never satisfied-- LOL!

I have gone around and around in my head about whether to start over with my natural texture, or grow with the relaxer. I have decided to stop flat ironing my hair (except for emergencies) and to use all the cuticle sealing / porosity controlling measures that I can manage (cones and all). If my hair doesn't grow past APL in a few months, then I will re-evaluate going natural at that time (and try not to drive myself insane in the meantime). I guess I will give myself until December. That is four months. I should be able to handle that.

Thanks again everyone for all the help! I really appreciate it. You saved my hair!! :D