Q) Hi, My daughter was born with a headful of curly hair. It is now wirey hair and frizzy and uncontrollable.
The summer before she started k-5 it all fell out and turned into a nightmare of frizz. Now she is 10 and I am trying my best to keep it under control. I was crazy and thought that I could put a straightener on it myself and that made things much worse. It is now extremely wirey and frizzy. Is there anything that I can do to get it back healthy looking? Thanks
Professional Hair Care Answer - There is one product that I used years ago with great success for damaged, wirey hair. Its called Nexxus Emergencee but it's a bit pricey nowadays.
You can also try other emergency packs more inexpensively. There is one called '911 Emergency Pak' by Hayashi. I've never tried it but have heard good things about it. You can also use any emergency hair repair, as rescue products contain proteins and that help fill in and build up your hair. (Your hair structure is composed of protein/keratin.)
Right now you've got to do damage control if your daughters hair is that damaged. Protein packs don't come cheap however, its still cheaper than taking her to a salon and getting salon treatments for her wirey hair:o) If you use protein treatments, follow the manufacturer's directions for use on the package. DO NOT use straight protein treatments too often though, unless they contain a conditioner too! If you do, your hair may become worse than it was in the first place. Too much protein has been known to make hair brittle. Another great cheap product I recommend is Henna N Placenta With Olive Oil Treatment. This stuff is simply amazing! Hask Placenta products rock and are very inexpensive to buy!
Another thing you can do is to keep your daughters hair trimmed. Just keep trimming the ends until it all grows out. You can get a lot of hair cutting tips you can do at home, from my hair tube
If she continues to have wirey hair, I've had good success with John Freida's line of products called Frizz Ease. John Frieda Finishing Creme is one of his products that I use all the time. It really helps lay down the cuticle of your hair and leave it shiny without all the grease.
You might also want to try smoothing shampoos and smoothing conditioners, which also help lay down the cuticle of your hair. These are much less expensive than the emergency treatments. You might also try leave in conditioners. They are good for just about every type of hair problem!
You can also try hair cholesterol. Cholesterol treatments are cheap to buy and although they were specially formulated for African American hair, they work well for any kind of frizzy hair. For best results, use a thermal heat cap when you use deep conditioners. Deep conditioning treatments help restore luster and decrease frizziness.
Don't blame yourself for trying a hair straightener. You'll need to continue to buy shampoos and conditioners for color treated or permed hair though. She will probably have to use these all her life because she was born with lots of curl. The good news is that you can buy these products for a lot less nowadays. They have come a long way and really do a good job.
Unfortunately no product will 'cure it'. Once the hair follicle gets damaged, all you can do is try to 'patch it back' as best as possible until it all grows out.
Try to keep hot irons out of her hair. Hot rollers are fine (especially steam rollers) if she wants some curl but hot irons are out until you get her hair back under control.
I sure hope these products help your daughters wirey hair. Being a cosmetologist, I've had to deal with a lot of damaged hair over the years. Its an uphill battle but doable. (View more suggested products below.)
Have you ever had a bad salon experience? (Post your own or read others' contributions...)