getting frustrated - losing hope

also how do i know what kind of water i have? what is the difference between hard & soft water?

i think i'll give just the BS wash a try tomorrow, no acv.

updated by @pokolo: 07/23/15 12:34:54PM

Ya know Heather, at first, Bronners and Maylees made my hair sticky...but as my hair has become more damaged and drier it doesn't anymore. I am telling you...you gotta surrender to the damage! I used BS for a long time until my hair was like a haystack and I always use the sea salt spray (ocean water) and then, when I went back to the Bronners and Maylees my hair felt normal and not sticky.

Heather said:

so does the acv help get the residue out that the maylees leaves behind? i love the shampoo bars but every time i try them i get a sticky residue in my hair.

Panterra Caraway said:

I started June 22, I am almost at 10 monthes and I saw almost nothing until 7-8 mos. I have stuck to a routine that I am finding to work. I used to try assorted things and progress was uneven. Here is what is doing the trick for me: I wash every other day with a Maylees Dread bar. I scrub my scalp and just squish the suds through the rest. I rinse and then rinse again with a half cup of ACV, then a final rinse. I then use a spray of ocean water that I have collected just for my hair and then I use the blow dryer in 5 minutes spurts until mostly dry. I used to sleep on a sweater but due to heat I haven't lately. I wore a tam almost non-stop for the first 4 mos. I find that until my hair felt drier than it ever had in my life my hair just wasn't moving forward...

pokolo said:

i wash once or twice a week. and i am more than 6 months in. i started last summer, like june or july.

Unless you pay for a system to filter your water or have a special filter on your shower it is hard...but, some water in some areas is harder than others. Oh, and BTW...I make tams

pokolo said:

also how do i know what kind of water i have? what is the difference between hard & soft water?

i think i'll give just the BS wash a try tomorrow, no acv.

here's a link to a water hardness map. http://www.water-softeners-filters.com/water-softeners/water-hardness-map.html

soft water is best.

you can find tams on etsy or if your crafty you could learn to crochet your own. youtube has great tutorials.

i just wonder if damaging or drying out my hair is the best way to dread. i don't want it soft but i also don't want it so brittle that it starts to break off. how do we find a happy medium?

Panterra Caraway said:

Ya know Heather, at first, Bronners and Maylees made my hair sticky...but as my hair has become more damaged and drier it doesn't anymore. I am telling you...you gotta surrender to the damage! I used BS for a long time until my hair was like a haystack and I always use the sea salt spray (ocean water) and then, when I went back to the Bronners and Maylees my hair felt normal and not sticky.

Heather said:

so does the acv help get the residue out that the maylees leaves behind? i love the shampoo bars but every time i try them i get a sticky residue in my hair.

Panterra Caraway said:

I started June 22, I am almost at 10 monthes and I saw almost nothing until 7-8 mos. I have stuck to a routine that I am finding to work. I used to try assorted things and progress was uneven. Here is what is doing the trick for me: I wash every other day with a Maylees Dread bar. I scrub my scalp and just squish the suds through the rest. I rinse and then rinse again with a half cup of ACV, then a final rinse. I then use a spray of ocean water that I have collected just for my hair and then I use the blow dryer in 5 minutes spurts until mostly dry. I used to sleep on a sweater but due to heat I haven't lately. I wore a tam almost non-stop for the first 4 mos. I find that until my hair felt drier than it ever had in my life my hair just wasn't moving forward...

pokolo said:

i wash once or twice a week. and i am more than 6 months in. i started last summer, like june or july.

Most tams that I see are 100% cotton. Would cotton work to encourage locking?

To the OP: I have hard water and I can tell you that any bar soap or Dr. Bronner's/castile soap will leave a residue. BS/essential oils/sea salt and an ACV rinse followed by a cold water rinse is pretty much the only thing that works well for me.

Are you washing the ACV off immediately after your head has been soaked with it? The longer you let it sit, the softer it will make your hair. All you need to do is alter the pH of your hair and you can do that on contact with the ACV. The sea salt in the baking soda does a good job of roughing up your hair, too.

Heather, for hair to break it has to have tension or being structurally degraded, which is not the same as regular damage. I wouldn't worry about breakage unless you are twisting or using crochet or those methods. I do believe that without sufficient damage you won't get results...trust me, I have tried to go around the damage aspect...it ain't happening (much to my dismay). Damage is in degrees...as a professional, I think my hair is thrashed but compared to many people without hair knowledge...they would think my hair is still very healthy.

Heather said:

i just wonder if damaging or drying out my hair is the best way to dread. i don't want it soft but i also don't want it so brittle that it starts to break off. how do we find a happy medium?

Panterra Caraway said:

Ya know Heather, at first, Bronners and Maylees made my hair sticky...but as my hair has become more damaged and drier it doesn't anymore. I am telling you...you gotta surrender to the damage! I used BS for a long time until my hair was like a haystack and I always use the sea salt spray (ocean water) and then, when I went back to the Bronners and Maylees my hair felt normal and not sticky.

Heather said:

so does the acv help get the residue out that the maylees leaves behind? i love the shampoo bars but every time i try them i get a sticky residue in my hair.

Panterra Caraway said:

I started June 22, I am almost at 10 monthes and I saw almost nothing until 7-8 mos. I have stuck to a routine that I am finding to work. I used to try assorted things and progress was uneven. Here is what is doing the trick for me: I wash every other day with a Maylees Dread bar. I scrub my scalp and just squish the suds through the rest. I rinse and then rinse again with a half cup of ACV, then a final rinse. I then use a spray of ocean water that I have collected just for my hair and then I use the blow dryer in 5 minutes spurts until mostly dry. I used to sleep on a sweater but due to heat I haven't lately. I wore a tam almost non-stop for the first 4 mos. I find that until my hair felt drier than it ever had in my life my hair just wasn't moving forward...

pokolo said:

i wash once or twice a week. and i am more than 6 months in. i started last summer, like june or july.

just took a shower the bs only wash. i'll let you guys know what happens. how long should i wait to expect any results?