Please Help,Major Hair Problems?

[Aurora Sun]

So I'm 100% African and my hair is the kinkiest, NAPPIEST of the nappy hair. A couple months ago I started using relaxer to make my hair easier to maintain and also because I wear leave out weaves, so my leave out hair needs to blend well with the weave. My question is Can I still grow long hair even when using relaxers? Because my natural hair isn't the pretty looser kind of curls like that I can just leave out, and it'll be pretty. My hair is so coiled and tight that it looks like a bird nest afro. I'm very self conscious about it and I do not want to leave it out.

Even if I transition to going natural from relaxer, I wouldn't be able to do anything with my hair because it will not straighten or curl even with oils, conditioner, etc. It will pretty much just sit there like a big afro which is not the kind of hair i'm looking for, or will be happy with. I have no problem with not using heat or consistently taking care and moisterizing my hair. I'm even considering Biotin. I just want to know If you think I can get results, and what I should do.

I really need advice, and ANY type of help would be absoultely amazing.

[Sur La Mer]

Your hair is the most fragile of all hair types. They snap & break easily. So you need more TLCs than thin hair. No chemicals. No relaxers specially! No heating styling tools. Finger comb is best or use a wide tooth comb. Do what Oprah & Michelle Obama have been, going natural, using plastic curlers to set their hair. Use oil or conditioner to keep them moisturized. Heat & chemicals are your hair's worst enemies.

The hair of many black women is very fragile and studies have demonstrated that normal brushing and combing the hair can result in breakage. Brushing your hair 100-times a day is a no-no for your hair. Only comb and brush your hair to style it. Also avoid rubber bands or other implements that can physically cut into and break the hair shaft.

You can but I do not suggest you do. Relaxers contain ingredients formaldehyde causing cancer.

The FDA has previously received complaints that the products cause adverse reactions, including nervous system problems such as headaches, respiratory tract problems, nausea, chest pain, vomiting and rashes.
12-12-12

Hair-straightening products are allowed to contain small concentrations of formaldehyde (0.2 percent). But several hair-straightening solutions have been found to contain well above the allowable limit. For example, one popular hair-straightening product that advertised itself as “formaldehyde-free” actually contained 6.8 percent to 11.8 percent formaldehyde.
Another example: Fourteen women, including two from North Texas and one from Houston, are suing Unilever, the maker of a product they claim caused permanent damage to their hair.
"It transforms frizzy, unmanageable hair into hair that's sleeker and easier to style," said the commercial for the Suave Professionals Keratin Infusion 30-Day Smoothing Kit, which is no longer being sold
When she began looking online for more information about the product, she said she found some people who said it worked, but more who said it damaged their hair.
She discovered a Facebook page devoted to angry consumers, and there are multiple postings on YouTube. I've been warning people about relaxers since 2009 and people are giving me thumbs down!
BTW: A variety of hair-straightening products used in professional salons can expose both hairdressers and their customers to formaldehyde. The results show that three professional hair-smoothing treatments labeled "formaldehyde free" can produce the cancer-causing chemical at concentrations above the occupational exposure limits set by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. They tested four products: Coppola Keratin Complex Blonde Formula, Global Keratin Juvexin Optimized Functional Keratin, La Brasiliana Escluso Keratin Treatment with Collagen, and Brazilian Blowout Acai Professional Smoothing Solution. While ChemRisk tested four popular brands of hair straighteners, THERE ARE HUNDREDS on the market. Nov. 11-11

By contrast, beauty salon owners and stylists generally lack a scientific background and don't have a keen awareness of the danger of working with products that contain formaldehyde, experts say.

Watch: Good Hair a documentary by Chris Rock 2009 on BET or HBO. According to Tyra Banks, 80% of the black population are part of the billion dollar hair industry. Clips on youtube videos, also.

Chemicals can enter the body through the skin.

Many Afri-Amer have grown their hair down to their feet, like Asians, but supplements like medications all have side effects than can do more harm than good. If you've straightened your hair in the past, it may grow slowly or none at all.
Google: "Foods for Healthy Hair" http://sg.news.yahoo.com/food-for-healthy-hair.html - or 10 Best Foods for Your Hair.
http://www.channelstv.com/home/2012/07/0...your-hair/
NO MATTER which link you picked, they all suggest the same foods. Your hair may be the fastest-growing tissue in the body but, unlike the skin, it cannot repair itself. That is why getting the right balance of vitamins and proteins is imperative. Don't expect to look like you've stepped out of a hair commercial the day after you've changed your diet. It is likely to take at least three months before you actually see tangible results. Hair is dead, but hair also has electrical energy; the negative charge of damaged hair can lead to flyways and unruly hair.

Growing healthy hair doesn't come from a bottle or pills and hair products do not speed hair growth. Any hair oil, is another form to keep hair moisturized, nothing more. If you're in HS, your hair & nails should be growing normally, and as healthily as possible, since you're eating healthy foods. But when hair isn't growing as fast, it's because they've been tampered with: chemicals, hair straightening, etc. . .