HELP!
My hair condition is very bad. It looks a state at the moment.

Positive points:
My natural sebum is making it better than it was.
The length is ok.

Eek bit:
It breaks quickly, without much strength.
It looks dry and straw has more shine.
Its frizzy in places.
The ends are splitting.
etc.

Can anyone please suggest a thread/recipe or thing to do?
~*Phoenix*~

Have you considered a protein treatment? Worked wonders for my hair... I've only used Nexxus Emergencee, but I would recommend it.

Other than that, I would condition you hair with more than just oil; even the cone/protein free Vo5 conditioners might be a big help, if you slather it on and let it soak in for a while before rinsing. My favorite Vo5 dish is the Nourishing Tea. No frills - just moisture and a soft, clean scent!

My hair has been doing the same thing. I don't know why- maybe the humidity? My scalp is just as oily as ever but everything else is just how you described. And conditioners always wiegh down my thin, fine hair. I'll check out the Nourishing Tea, tho, and keep an eye on this thread.

It sounds to me like possibly the balance is swinging too far to the protein side and not far enough to the moisture side. I would try at this point to pile it up with as much protein-free moisture treatments as possible. I have really no knowledge about not getting the hair wet ever. My hair seems to demand being wet every day if possible. Most moisture-y things are wet by their very nature, and most of them require some kind of rinsing out after treating with them, too. If you are not OK with that, then I have no idea. If you are, then something like protein-free conditioner with oil over, or aloe juice with oil over, could help. Preferably kept on and wet for a while.

Ok I know nothing about sebum only hair care,may not be helpful. You could try SMT (conditioner, aloe and honey is the original recipe), it has done great things for my over dyed ends. Also the use of oil has helped me. I use coconut oil the most (I put it on my ends at night, I mix it into my cassia, I add it to my SMT). I also use EVOO, but only in my cassia, it's too heavy to use straight on my hair.

This is kind of the state my hair has been in for a long time as well.

I have been wondering if it's protein I need, or if it's just moisture. I haven't really been doing any research on protein at all, apart from a thread I discovered just the other day about the difference in protein-lacking hair and moisture-lacking hair.

Here's the link

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=2999&highlight=protein

It tells you how to find out if your problem is lack of protein OR moisture. As far as I could see from the test I did on my own hair, it stretched a bit, and then it snapped. Perhaps I am lacking both?

A couple of days ago I got a jar of extra virgin coconut oil. I washed my hair as usual, using shampoo bar from Chagrin Valley, then cone free conditioner. I melted a tiny bit of the oil in my palms, and put in ends while still wet/damp. The result was actually really good when hair dried up! Even my BF could tell that my hair got more "live", more bounce, and also more shine.

Elsewhere, if your problem is lack of moisture - there is the wonderful SMT treatment. This leaves your hair really soft and silky. I haven't done it for a while myself as I ran out of the ingredients and just never got around to get new stuff - but I think I'll do it soon again, as it's really great.

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=128

(I do it with melasses instead of honey)

Elsewhere, I'll also keep an eye to this thread to see if anyone else has some good suggestions on how to turn straw into silk. I'm tired of being a straw head!

:)

I'd go in for a moisture treatment without protien.

I second the SMT, but make sure the conditioner you use has no cones or protein hidden in it. Anything saying 'silk, soy, or milk' on the front or back along with 'hydrolized' anything should be avoided. ^_^

More information would help. What's your hair type? What is your current routine? What have you done to your hair in the past, in terms of coloring, straightening or perming? It isn't clear from what you've written if your reference to sebum means you're trying a sebum only or water only routine - and if you are, do you want to try to stick with that, or are you looking to change?

"One easy step" is unlikely to happen. Hair care is a long term process, particularly if you are growing long. Frankly, if someone promises you "straw to silk in one easy step" there are very good odds they're lying.

This is what I do for silky tresses.Now I have long thickish hair so its enough for me.Half cup honey,a third cup oil and 2 egg yolks.Mix honey and evoo together microwave for 30seconds,then mix wait till it gets cool warm then add in eggs slowly so they dont cook.Add to hair covering from scalp to ends for an hour with a hot towel.Wash off as usual making sure to do avc rinse at end of washing:).Might not be one easy step but it sure helped me.Goodluck to you!:)

I see you are SO and I think you would get more specific help from the people on that thread. I have looked over the old thread on it and it has some great ideas for problems with that method. You could go back and check out that thread on the old board also.

This is what I do for silky tresses.Now I have long thickish hair so its enough for me.Half cup honey,a third cup oil and 2 egg yolks.Mix honey and evoo together microwave for 30seconds,then mix wait till it gets cool warm then add in eggs slowly so they dont cook.Add to hair covering from scalp to ends for an hour with a hot towel.Wash off as usual making sure to do avc rinse at end of washing:).Might not be one easy step but it sure helped me.Goodluck to you!:)

This sound interesting! Would egg yolks be as for adding protein? (sorry for asking, but I know so little about protein still...). Is your mixture easy to get out of your hair - do you have to wash it out with poo, or do you just rince with water? I ask, 'case I don't see any CO in the mixture, and then wonder if the oil + honey perhaps would be hard to get out.:)

This sound interesting! Would egg yolks be as for adding protein? (sorry for asking, but I know so little about protein still...). Is your mixture easy to get out of your hair - do you have to wash it out with poo, or do you just rince with water? I ask, 'case I don't see any CO in the mixture, and then wonder if the oil + honey perhaps would be hard to get out.:)

It's fine no need for sorry;).Yes yolks for protien my hair likes it but i need moisture with it so I like this.Yes its easy to remove.Well I do shampoo twice,I dilute my shampoo abit with water and then I condition then do acv rinse cause the residue from honey.

Aisha: :flower:

My hair was doing great, then one day it began looking like straw and felt rough. I also noticed lots of broken hairs when I finger combed.

After searching this site I found out that I should take a strand and pull it between my fingers to see if it stretches or breaks.

If your hair is too stretchy it probably needs more protien, if its breaking without stretching at all then it probably needs more moisture.

Since mine was breaking with no stretch I got 2 different protien free conditioners , I wet my hair then slathered one on, wrapped my head in plastic and took a bath. I did this 3 days in a row and ahhhhhh my hair is now back. Its soft and slightly stretchy before it breaks.

I hope this helps you.

If your hair is too stretchy it probably needs more protien, if its breaking without stretching at all then it probably needs more moisture.


Thanks Suldrun! Now at least I know that I need protien. I think I need to do an intensive hair mask and maybe the eggs. Still wieghing options.

To me it sounds as if your hair has TOO MUCH protein. Try adding more moisture- honey, conditioners without protein, EVOO, etc.

Try going off cones too, clarifying with bicarb, SMT- see if that all helps :)

Ursula,
My hair is one of those annoying hairs, I can't really type. It can vary, if I allow it to style itself from sodden it can be a variety of things -tight corkscrew curls that resemble dreadlocks, ringlets, waves, or a combination of two or all of them.
My current routine is most easily classed as sebum only. I rarely get it wet as I am in a hard water area and it dries my hair out (only when I henna it). I admit I need to do intensive brushing more often. I brush it in the morning with a paddle brush, put it into a plait (secure it with a ribbon) and tie the plait in a knot/bun. There it lies until the evening where I undo the knot, remove the ribbon and replait the unravelled bit. I sleep with it like that. Even though my hair is a state, my hair is a lot better than it was before I changed my routine.
In the past my hair has been affected by many things -my diet was rubbish, I shampooed with harsh shampoo and conditioned everyday, used chemical dye every 4-6 weeks (I hear henna heads cringing now!), I tied my hair up with hair bands (my hair got caught in the elastic and ripped), used straighteners when going out, allowed my hair to curl naturally and then used a synthetic bristle brush (that split my hair) to unravel the curls.

I am also aware that 'in one easy step' is not really possible. However, I was hoping for some people to provide more suggestions to me. I was feeling really 'oh woe is me' about my hair condition, and that prompted me to start the thread.

~*Phoenix*~

Your hair, with the mix of waves/curls when allowed to air dry, sounds a bit like mine - 2c/3a, to cover the range from wave to curl. Not that strange at all!

How tied are you to the sebum only routine? If you're determined to stick with that alone, there won't be many suggestions to help with your problem, but if you're wanting to try something else, that opens a lot of possiblities up.

"Intensive brushing" may not be what you need, given the amount of wave/curl in your hair. It tends to pull apart the curl structure, and create frizz. I've noticed that people who brush tend to be 2a or less of curl/wave - I did a poll on brushing a while back, and it was surprisingly consistant how it worked out, with very few wavies or curlies brushing.

I posted about the "one easy step" bit because sometimes people do come here looking for "one easy step." The quick answer is so heavily advertised in the shampoo ads, that it leads to a lot of false expectations. It wasn't clear from your post if you were joking or not, so I addressed it seriously.

Since you have hard water, you might want to buy distiled water to use for a final rinse after washing. This can help avoid having the minerals stay in your hair. You might also want to look at periodically doing a chelating shampoo or treatment, to help remove mineral bulidup. A mister bottle with distilled water, and a little oil and aloe gel (like Kimberlilly's anti-frizz spray) may help, too. Water can help moisturize and soften hair, and your mostly dry routine may be leaving your length parched. I'd save the distilled water for final rinses and spritzing, since it can be expensive.

Also, you might want to avoid the purple text and funky font - it is hard on the eyes, and I almost overlooked this thread, because it was difficult to read. Save the color/font variations for highlighting a few words, maybe?

Sounds like me. I've never had a problem before and I've changed nothing with my hair routine or products, yet now my hair is dry and weak and frizzy.

I think I'll have to keep watch on this thread and try SMT myself.

Have you tried Nexxus Keraphix?? This has worked very well for me. :)