HI, i’m Athena. I’ve just found this forum, I don’t know whether I’ve posted this in the right place or not. Sorry if its in the wrong place.

My hair is really getting me down. I hate it, I don’t know what to do with it. I usually have it in braids or extension twists but it’s not doing my hair any good. My mum suggested me relaxing or texturizing my hair, but i’m really scared about the chemicals and the prospect of breakage etc.

I really don’t know what to do. It’s so thick and coarse. And the back is quite short and it’s hard to comb out :S

I was thinking of ‘flat ironing’ but then loads of sites on the internet are saying that it’ll destroy the hair.
What should I do? Should I texturize/relax it to make it more manageable? And also, my hair doesn’t seem to grow very well.

Does anybody have an suggestions? any styles? any ways to tame it?  :(
i just don’t know what to do and it’s making me really upset.

Here’s the photo of my hair

http://i1196.photobucket.com/albums/aa411/thatgirl07/blurredoutface.jpg

photo of my hair

I’m extremely grateful for any answers

hi thatgirl07!

I’v only been on here a month but i’ve learnt so much have a look at the different topics on the forum, maybe read this first and it may help with the issues your having with your hair, also do a little investigating on natural hair, this was a big thing for me and helped me with my big chop and dealing with the aftermath! is there anyone else you know with natural hair, if so ask for tips and clues!

Hope that helps

Hi Athena

I was just like you when I first went natural.  I was scared to death of my hair and had no idea of what to do with it so I ended up in weaves and extensions all the time. But my hairline was dying from the back to back extensions so i decided to just bite the bullet and learn about my hair - without extensions.

My advice to you would be to experiment.  Not necessarily with lots of different products, but different methods. Like I’ve realised that washing my hair in sections makes detangling a breeze. Also, I deep condition on dry hair with heat. It makes it so much easier and quicker for me to wash my hair.

If you have any questions - just put them out there - everyone’s more than happy to help!

Speak soon xxx

thatgirl07 - 18 July 2011 09:26 AM

HI, i’m Athena. I’ve just found this forum, I don’t know whether I’ve posted this in the right place or not. Sorry if its in the wrong place.

My hair is really getting me down. I hate it, I don’t know what to do with it. I usually have it in braids or extension twists but it’s not doing my hair any good. My mum suggested me relaxing or texturizing my hair, but i’m really scared about the chemicals and the prospect of breakage etc.

I really don’t know what to do. It’s so thick and coarse. And the back is quite short and it’s hard to comb out :S

I was thinking of ‘flat ironing’ but then loads of sites on the internet are saying that it’ll destroy the hair.
What should I do? Should I texturize/relax it to make it more manageable? And also, my hair doesn’t seem to grow very well.

Does anybody have an suggestions? any styles? any ways to tame it?  :(
i just don’t know what to do and it’s making me really upset.

Here’s the photo of my hair

http://i1196.photobucket.com/albums/aa411/thatgirl07/blurredoutface.jpg

photo of my hair

I’m extremely grateful for any answers

Do not be sad and upset about ur hair. I felt the same way until I saw the ‘light.’ Firstly, if ur hair is damaged, this is the last kind of hair u should be relaxing / texturising or using a lot of heat. these have the potential to damage and should only really be done on hair healthy enough to take it. There is sooo much I want to tell u, but I’d be here for ages! The 1st steps u need to take is getting ur hair back to healthy. When I was where u were, I forgot about styling and all of that. That is much easier to do on hair which is healthy and in a good condition. So I would say (and this is just my opinion based on my own personal experiences), forget about twists outs etc and all that styling stuff and focus on getting ur hair in a moisturised and healthy state. Ur hair doesn’t look like should u continue to relax it and if it is breaking, I would suggest stopping relax. People may disagree, but its ur hair and ur decision.

To help make ur hair healthy, u need information. When I 1st when natural I spent hours on the internet trolling for info, which u can do, but lucky for you there are some amazing books out there to help u get ur hair on track. These books have helped me changed hair that barely touched my shoulders and really reached the end of my neck into hair where the back almost touches my armpits. No one in my family can believe it.

So, u should really get the science of black hair http://www.amazon.co.uk/Science-Black-Hair-Comprehensive-Textured/dp/0984518428

This book is like everything from the internet in one place. I wish it was made earlier. This will give you the advice that everyone black women needs. I would stand on street corners handing it out if I could. if u understand the science of black hair, u will better understand how to handle ur own hair

The second book is the 1st one I brought and it really helped me. It largely repeats the 1st, but there are some tips I like and its quite short. I strongly believe that this will give u the advice u need without spending hours on the internet: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0982068905/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_2?pf_rd_p=103612307&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-st

What I did when I was at ur stage was wear wigs. I could focus on getting healthy hair without worrying about stylying. Hope this helps!

your certainly in the right place for advice and help.. Try to resist the relaxer bcus you can get great advice and watch your hair grow and see you pretty curls pop…

i suggest you tube to for hair syle, but you may have your answers now already x

miriam