Looking for advice on encouraging my hair after decades of mistreating it.
It’s always been pointed out to me that it’s wild that I have pin straight hair despite being mixed and my parents having either coil-y hair or slightly curly hair. However, I now think what’s really been happening has been that my hair spent years with regular heat abuse, frequent bleaching, regular braids, low porosity, and in general, is prone to laying flat or going straight if brushed while wet.
Something that made me wonder about whether or not it was truly pin straight vs abused is because I get hairs around my ears / hairline and at the nape of my neck that are wavy and at certain lengths in the past my hair had a little curl that would pop up here and there. I’ve also been curious about the fact that using a hair brush visually and obviously negatively impacts my hair and unless I’ve been doing something to specifically/intentionally cause knotting in my hair, I very rarely actually have to.
This morning I stole my children’s products (mousse, leave in and gel) and tried soaking my hair, adding a little bit of very watered down shea moisture curl smoothie, and scrunching with mousse and then a little bit of gel. I (tried) to diffuse on cool and based my mechanical techniques on what I see my step daughter do but she’s 13 and just discovering her own hair and based on my research we may both be doing it wrong. <- and on that note I also believe I was scrunching in the product wrong because I wasn’t sectioning it besides having a part.
This is what I was left with after scrunching in a little bit of oil when it felt kind of crispy.
This is quite literally the style I use heat to achieve.
Im wondering if I’ve gone 30 years with mistreated hair if there is anything I can or should be doing that might help encourage what’s in there or repair what I may have lost? I’d also like to hear what products worked best for others with low porosity hair that falls flat with too much products but needs a stronger hold.
Products used: NYM Curly Talk MOUSSE, watered down Shea Moisture Curl Smoothie, watered down Eco Gel, Generic Value Product styling cream, and Paul Mitchell’s Skinny Serum // cold diffusers.