Originally Posted by
snafuish It has been exactly 19 weeks since my EasyStraight nightmare started. Like the rest of you, I've been trying tons of hair products to conceal and less then damage as well as look for ways to speed up my hair growth.
I can't recommend this for every hair type so some stuff may or may not work for you. My hair didn't turn out fried and frizzy, just tons and tons of breakage. Just thought I share my holy grails with everyone.
Protein treatments: This is crucial in preventing premature breakage in your hair. Hair is primarily made up of keratin protein. By applying protein treatments, you are temporarily filling in the gaps in your hair where the breakage are at. Not all protein treatments are equal and too much protein can be drying for you hair.
I highly recommended one called "Aphogee Treatment". You can buy this at Sally's Beauty Supply. It really stinks - smells like cat pee so light scented candles and turn your bathroom fan on. You apply this mixture to your freshly shampooed hair, and let it dry until it hard. Use a hair dryer to speed up the process. It normally takes me 40 minutes or so, while using the hair dryer about 75% of the time (my arms get tired). Do not comb it and do not fuss around with your hair. Your hair can break off at this stage if it’s being mess around with (complete instruction and warning is on the bottle as well). When it is completely hardened, carefully rinse out and towel dry. Follow up with porosity control. You can also pick this up at Sally's. This step is totally optional but it helps to get rid of that stinky cat pee smell from your hair. Leave on for 15 minutes then rinse and towel dry. Use a very moisturizing deep conditioner. I have a ton of deep conditioners but I'm loving Schwarzkopf Bonacure Total Repair (Got mine at Ulta, and I’m lemming Redken All Soft Heavy Cream and Goldwell Kerasilk Ultra Rich. Nature's Therapy Mega Moisture is pretty good too!). Leave your deep conditioner on for 30 minutes or more with a heat cap. If you don't already have one, this is one item you definitely should get. Heat helps with penetration of deep conditioners so it will make your hair super-soft. I have one called the Micro HairCap. They have a website that you can order online for about $15. They cap is made of these gel packs that you put in the microwave. Sally's sells an electric version for about $25 if you prefer that. You can also put a shower cap on and wrap it with a warm towel heated in the dryer or the microwave but I find that it cools down too quickly.
You should repeat this treatment every 6 weeks.
The 5 weeks in-between the Aphogee, use a not-so-potent protein treatment. Do this weekly and leave it in your hair for 15-30 minutes. I have tried Aphogee Intensive Two Minute Keratin Reconstructor, Nexxus Emergencee, Redken Extreme Rescue Force, and Joico K-Pak (Sally's has a knock-off of this). I like them all so you might have to experiment for yourself which ones you like. I also tried one called Ion Repair Solutions Effective Care Intensive Therapy Protein Rebuilder Moisturizer that I didn't care for too much. Always follow a protein treatment with a deep conditioner, preferably both treatments with a heat cap.
When you style your hair on a daily basis, you can use a leave-in protein on the damaged area. My favorites are Redken Extreme Anti-Snap and Sebastian Potion 9 (Sally has a knock-off of this) Apply this to the breakage on damp hair. I do this about 3x a week.
To keep the breakage from being dry and looking dry I have 2 leave-ins in that I love - Schwarzkopf Bonacure Sealed Ends and Smooth N Shine Repair Xtreme Silkener. You can find the Smooth and Shine in the ethnic section of selected Walgreen's and Target. The bottle looks like Elmers Glue. Dab this in on the damaged area on damp hair. You can also use this on dry hair as a finisher. I just started using Redken All Soft Addictive Transformer. It's a spray treatment that you're supposed to rinse out but it works much better if you don't rinse it out. It makes my hair super-soft!
Always use a gentle and moisturizing shampoo and conditioner. There are tons of excellent ones out there, both salon and drugstore (Joico Silk Result, Redken All Soft, Schwarzkopf Bonacure, Kerastase Nutritive, Tresemme Vitamin E, Tresemme Keratin)
Lay off the hair dryer, other heated appliance and don't wash your hair daily. I was a daily morning washer and hair dryer so it was really hard to break the habit. I now wash my hair every other day at night and I blow-dry my hair when it's about 75% dry.
Vitamins - I've been taking 3000mcg of biotin, 3000mg of MSM, 1000mg of calcium, along with my daily multi. I've notice a tad more growth, about 1/8" to 1/4" more a month. I've also read that omega-3 fatty acid and vitamin E helps as well so I just started taking those last week. I've heard rumors that MSM might not be beneficial so I might not buy more when I'm out and see if there's a difference.
If you have dark hair like me, the ends of the breakage are a few shades lighter than the rest of you hair, making it really noticeable. I found that dyeing your hair is actually okay to do. I was very hesitant at first because the last thing I need is more chemical damage. Revlon Colorsilk is extreme gentle and it contains no ammonia and peroxide. It is dirt-cheap too - $3-4 a box. It helped to conceal the damage a lot and gave me tons of shine as well. I also learn to add in 2 oz of a thinner consistency conditioner to the developer to make it into a color conditioner glaze. The color doesn't last as long but it's so moisturizing. Since this is a chemical process, I would suggest consulting with a professional before you proceed.
I don't want to bore you guys to death with my long post but feel free to ask me specific on anything or styling product recommendations and I'll do my best to answer you. I've tried tons of brands from your typical Pantene at the drugstore; to your popular salon ones like Redken, Paul Mitchell and Joico; and the upper end ones like Kerastase. I'm not a hair expert but I've definitely learned so much these past 4 months.
Just remember, hair grows faster in the summer and treat your hair with kidd gloves. You'll survive...we all will!
Excellent and helpful post, Snafu. Thanks!! Still, I cannot believe you dyed your hair after this! Wow! You've got guts. Thanks for the helping everyone!
BTW... what is the immitation version of Potion 9 called?
The only downside I can see so far out of all my conditionings is that my hair feels kinda weighed down and 'dirty'... but I'd rather have it OVER conditioned than dry and straw-like. I still haven't had it cut... and I think I may only go for a slight trim this week - being it seems to be coming back to life - I dont' want to chop it all off if I dont' have to.
I seem to notice that it tangles a lot more now than before... If I'm driving with the window open I have to attempt to separate all the tangles or I'll end up looking like a Lion! It never used to tangle up like this, but I guess since the texture's changed so much, and the smoothness is gone - that's the result. I dug out my "Split-Ender" to help trim some of the fly-aways... seems to actually help! lol I got that thing when it first came out - it was like $35... now I've seen it for $9.99... go figure! lol Guess I'll give you guys another update when i get the Paul MItchell stuff & the K-Pak... maybe out of all these conditioners we're all spending mega $ on -SOMETHING will work! lol
