[RE] The main thing that caused my hair to be thin and damaged was from wearing glued-in tracks continuously. Plus, I'd never let my stylist trim my hair, I'd get relaxers every 5 or 6 weeks and put glued tracks right back into my hair immediately after a relaxer. I simply neglected my hair. I solely relied on tracks for thickness and I didn't care if it was damaging my hair in the process.

me--------> is it bad to perm your hair and then get tracks sewn onto your hair?

2) does sewing in tracks really thicken your hair? and is it damaging?
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I did the EXACT same thing. I would get a relaxer every 5 to 6 weeks and then I’d glue the tracks in right away. I didn’t want trims and I solely relied upon tracks for thickness. I did not care about how thin my hair was just as long as I had tracks. My hair was paper thin and terribly damaged.

I normally recommend that you wait about 2 or 3 weeks after the relaxer to sew the tracks in. If you must have the tracks at the time of your relaxer, then get just a few tracks sewn in with a low-tension braid or braidless method.

Sewing in tracks can HELP you to thicken your hair with proper maintenance. With sew-ins, you can let your hair rest from heat, etc. You must take care of your hair underneath the weave though and in between weaves. Trimming helps to thicken the hair because you can cut the thinning ends off, then as the hair grows, it may grow a little fuller.

Everyone’s hair is different. If you have naturally thin/fine hair, sew-ins are not guaranteed to make your hair thick. However, if you have hair that has become thin due to neglect, bad relaxers, etc, then there is a good possibility that you can regain thickness from properly maintained weaves. I never knew how thick my hair could get because it was so thin for so long because of my negligence.

As with most things concerning hair, yes weaves can be damaging if you do not take care of it. But it doesn’t have to be damaging at all.

beautiful, healthy hair!
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Thank you :o)

Hi. Whats your daily regimen? What products do you use ..Your hair look great, very healthy! :)
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Thanks. My daily regimen is fairly simple. I don't use curling irons every day, and I wrap my hair up every night with a satin scarf. I put Vitapointe on the ends of my hair as needed.

Hi Reniece, Sorry! I didn't take any pictures, infact, I don't even own a camera.(laugh) And I'm not set up on the site yet ;however, I really would like to include you in my growth progess because girl you just don't know how you've helped me. God is so good, I approach everything in prayer and that's where I found these message boards and you, so know that you're a blessing to me. Praise the Lord! I will try to purchase a camera real soon and get set up on this site so I can share my progress with you. It's okay that you don't know of any hair care professionals in Philly, I'm sure the Lord will continue to guide and direct.

Remeber: Always be encouraged, disregard anything or anyone that doesn't edify you. God Bless and Thanks again.
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I'm proud to have helped you Sonya. Just let me know whenever you get your site set up. I wish you the best with your hair :)

Hey Reniece, Yay! Thanks a million girl, I did the straw set and it came out soooo FABULOUS! O girl I want to thank you so much, this is a style I would of never thought to do on my own. I've gotten so many compliments and I didn't have to use heat. This really works for me. It feels so good to have taken off my wig letting my hair breath. Now I'm sure my hair will benefit that much more. I live in Philadelphia, Pa.....And yes there's so many salons here, I would'nt know where to begin. Do you know a good stylist here in Philadelphia, that you could refer me too?
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Great!! I'm glad to hear that it came out so nice! Did you take any pictures? Sorry, I don't really know of any stylists in Philadelphia to refer you to. But it sounds like you're doing pretty good being your OWN stylist for the meantime :D

Thank you for replying sooo quickly! Do you have any products that you would reccomend me getting?
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You're welcome. Organic Root Stimulator's Olive Oil Lotion works great for moisture, ORS' Carrot Oil, and Vitapointe (my favorite),

Hi Reniece,
Thanks for the hair style tips. I will try the straw set, and the conditioner,hopefully it'll work out. I just have a few more questions. Can I buy the straws, and set the hair myself, if so what products to use to set the hair? Also, can I do this process without the use of heat? How long does this style last? Would you recommend a licensed professional do this for me? I don't know anyone who's into hair care and you're so far away. I really don't want to go back to my former stylist, this is why I ask. I really don't mean to question you to death, but as you can see I'm really desperate for help and answers. As you can tell I admire your hair growth so much. May God continue to bless you, and hope to hear from you soon.
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Sonya,
You're very welcome. Yes, you can buy the straws and do it yourself. You just need concentrated setting lotion to set the hair. You can opt not to use heat and just let it airdry. However, it will dry much faster under a hooded dryer. It can last up to two weeks if you keep from getting it wet in the shower or rain, etc. If you're not familiar with wet-setting your hair on rollers or rods, then I would recommend that you get it done at a salon. But if you're a determined fast learner, you can do it on your own. Where do you live? Are there alot of salons to choose from in your location?

HI I wanted to tell you that your hair is very beautiful. I have been wearing sew ins for the last three to 4 years and at first it wasn't doing anything to my hair, that's when I found the boards. I started moisturizing about last year around this time and my hair has really benefitted from it. However I was starting to think that the sew ins was thinning my hair but now looking at your hair and seeing how beautiful it is I want to give it another try because it was probably something that I was doing. I wanted to know if you could take a look at my pics and give me some advice. I know they are a little out dated but i haven't been able to get to a camera lately, My hair is only a little longer than the photo. Thank you.
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Hi,
Thank you for the compliments. I looked at your pictures. Perhaps you should refrain from wearing your sew-ins so close to your sides. Give your sides a break from the tension so that they can strengthen and thicken out. You should also try to only wear your weaves for 4 to 6 weeks at a time. Oil your scalp and cornrows atleast once or twice a week. If you shampoo your hair while wearing weaves, be sure to thoroughly rinse out all shampoo and conditioner from the braids. --You don't want any of that left in the crevices of the braids. It can really dry out the hair and lead to brittle and fragile hair.

Incredible growth! Congratulations!
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Thanks!

Hi Reniece, your hair is gorgeous and so are you. I have a few questions for you. First, what products do you recommend. My hair is 4/5 inches long, relaxed, and 4a or b texture. When I let it air dry it's gets thick and it doesn't even look like I have a relaxer.It's so hard to manage, so I just braid it and wear a wig, but I'm noticing my edges are thinning. I don't know how else to wear my hair. Do you have any style suggestions where I could wear my natural hair. Are there any products I could use that will help with the kinkiness? Please Help!
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Thank you! Continuous wear of a wig can gradually "rub out" your edges. So maybe you should take a break from wearing the wig for a while. You can also try to wear wet-set styles like straw sets or spiral sets. That way you can minimize the amount of heat you apply to your hair. Nexxus' Humectress conditioner works well with detangling. You can get that from a local hair salon.

Lookin' good girl!
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Thanks!

Hi Reniece,
When you were wearing your fabulous weaves how many packs of hair did you use per weave? TIA.
cbg
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Hi, when I was wearing weaves, I used no more than one pack of hair.

Love your hair. I have some questions for you though. My hair was thick like rudy's growing up. I got a perm in 8th grade and for a year it was still thick and long. Then every year after that it got shorter and thinner. I wasn't taking care of it because I didn't know I was supposed to. Anywhoo, I grew it out in 2000-2003 then put the perm back in last summer. It is past my shoulders, but I am not satisfied with it's thickness (and yeah I want it to grow some more). I am just shocked to see how thin your hair was 3 years ago and to see it now so thick. Can you please help me. I don't want to put any weave in, but any other part of your regimine. Please. Thank you. Thank you for showing us that it is possible to help your hair reach its potential.
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Hi,

Thank you for writing. I sent you an email :)

i asked you for pointers on my hair earlier but i didnt tell you waht my hair is like- sorry. my hair is thick and ithink is a 3c. it is very nappy and has tight curls all over the head. if i wash it and just leave it to dry. itt gets so sjhrunken and dry i can get my hands or a comb in it at all and it feels lik straw. my shrinkage goes all the way to scalp . so like 5 in of hair shrinks to 2cm. i've nver bought any products for my hair.since i'm a poor highschool student. lol. all i have is some pantene prov 2 in one hair con and shampoo. and some hair grease. i learned about lhcf while may hair was in braids ( recovring from unbeliveable breakage taht left my sides only i cm long.) my hair has been in braids in and out since spt. and its grown to about 4-5 un evenly all round. ii'm really kinda starting a new. i would like it if u could recomend what to buy for starters. and then maybe how to dtart out with taking care of my hair. liek some sort of regimine. so sorry for asking so much and giving u a life story ther. but if u can help me in any way i'd be really greatful.
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Hi,
You should detangle your hair immediately after shampooing since it shrinks and gets dry. Just comb it out one section at a time, then braid the section once it's detangled. That way, once your hair dries, it won't be hard to comb through. Maybe you should also try Wild Growth oil on your hair. Elasta QP Recovery is a pretty good moisturizer. Since you already use Pantene's product line, try the Relaxed & Natural products. See how they work for you. I've heard good things about it for the most part - but everyone's hair responds differently.

Reniece, I'm sure you hear enough great compliments about your awesome progress and healthy hair. It just looks amazing! What products do you prefer to use for shampoo and deep conditioner? Do you use protein conditioners as well? I was truly fascinated by your routine. When I was in the Naval Boot Camp in Orlando, I wore a sewn-in curly bob for 3mo. I knew nothing really about proper hair care, had to swim in a pool daily, and tons of excercise. My hair grew like crazy. But having that done professionally is very costly and not currently in my budget. Do you think I could apply the same routine you used while wearing a full or 3/4 wig. What changes would I need to make to my routine? Have you ever measured your hair length?
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Thanks for writing. I like using Nexxus or Abba shampoos and conditioners. Sometimes I may use Motions' CPR protein conditioner. Yes, you can do the same routine by using a 3/4 wig. That's actually a pretty good idea :) I haven't measured my hair length for atleast two years! I'm not sure how many inches it is.

You are surely an inspiration for me. I just started getting sew ins done. But my hair is shorter than where u started off at. I meant to ask you do sewins normally last for 4 weeks. I just took mine out and was upset bcuz i thought it wld last longer. Im opting for sewins instead of getting braids this time. I did almost the same type of regimen for two years, but would wear the braids for 1-2 mos and thn remove them and relax my hair and thn go back and get braids. But it just got to my shoulders. My texture of ur hair whn ur first started is the same, thin and fine. Did you notice if your texture changed during the past two years? I know I asked this question in another comment that I made but what hair did you find to be the best that doesnot shed as much? Your hair is very pretty. I wish u were down here in Florida. :)
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Thanks for writing. I noticed a slight change in the texture of my hair after wearing the sew-ins. I could definitely tell that my hair grew thicker as it grew out. Janet Collection or Evonne hair doesn't shed as much -- but it does shed some.

oh my goodness! if my hair grew like yours i wouldn't know what to do with myself. i wouldn't be surprised if your hair were down to your knees by next year! you have wonderful hair!
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Thanks so much for the compliments!

Excellent progress within the past 2 years! You are a hair inspiration to all :)
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Thank you!

Wow...I just got a glimpse of your progress pics. You have came a long way!!! Grow girl!
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Thanks!

Hey Reniece I really love your hair!!!! Is that your desired lenght or are you still growing your hair. By the way, I wanted to know when you were wearing your weaves did u keep them moisturized and how did you do it. Did you put Vitapointe between the tracks???? Thanks sooooo much
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Thank you. This is pretty much the length that I like. --But if it grows longer then that's great too. While I was wearing the weaves, I put oil between the tracks (i.e. Kemi Oil or Botanic Oil)