A bit of help with a new Shampoo Routine

**irishsapphire** · March 31st, 2016, 05:58 PM

Hello ladies! I'd love a few ideas from you about my shampoo routine.... I used to use regular shampoo for color treated hair and a conditioner that deposited temporary red color in my hair (specifically Aveda's brand because I go to their salon and have my hair done), but recently found this shampoo and I'm in love with it but I'm not.... http://bubbleandbee.com/organic-pepp...-tree-shampoo/

The ingredients are : "Product DescriptionIngredients: Saponified oils of organic coconut, olive, and jojoba, vegetable glycerin, organic sweet almond oil, organic macadamia nut oil, organic jojoba oil, organic aloe vera, organic peppermint essential oil, organic tea tree essential oil, organic spearmint essential oil, guar gum, rosemary extract. That's it! No "Bad" Stuff!"

And directions say to follow with a vinegar rinse, I use white vinegar and I found I like how it feels after rinsing twice with the vinegar. Half the times I use it I love it. But the other half I don't. Like today. It looks okay but it feels a bit gummy... I thought it was just the acv so I switched to white, but now I don't know... I'm also going about 3 days before washing, using dry shampoo in between because I do try and work out and dont want my hair a complete greasy mess....

The problem also is that it doesn't feel gummy every wash... This last wash I feel gummy, the wash before not gummy at all, the wash before that insanely gummy, all the previous washes not gummy (maybe 4?), the first two washes slightly gummy (which I was expecting using a new shampoo)

Am I simply using too much product? Last night I put a bit of oil in my hair over night and today after washing I spritzed a bit of frizz control dry oil over the length.... Could it be that because this shampoo doesn't have any harsh things in it at all that I should be super careful using extra oils/products? I'd love to be able to tell you my hair type, but Im not sure! Fine, slightly wavy and picky is as close to an actual classification as I can figure out....

I'm very very hesitant to try baking soda on my hair, it seems to harsh for me. But I'm also trying to baby it a lot after loosing about 1/3 of it and only being about 90% back to where I was thickness wise before I lost it the first time, and dont want to do anything that could damage it more. (Thick and long - bad medication lost 1/3 - cut short - started to fill in to maybe 90% - another bad medication - lost about 10% of what grew back - its filling back in again, so maybe now its 80-90% of what it was originally)

I only color it maybe 3 times a year.... No heat..... No pony tails.... no heavy product (mostly because I'm lazy....)

I want something that is gentle on my hair, that wont weigh it down, and if it's natural I'm for it... But if I have to go back to a commercial shampoo/conditioner I will...

Bowing to your superior wisdom and insights....

**MsPharaohMoan** · March 31st, 2016, 08:05 PM

I'm pretty sure gummy is a symptom of too much moisture and can be corrected with the addition of protein

Are you still using the color depositing conditioner? Does it have any protein in it? Are you using the new shampoo on your scalp or all of your hair?

**Obsidian** · March 31st, 2016, 08:07 PM

That is liquid soap made with lye and oils. Yes its more natural but it also has a high PH which can damage hair, it actually lifts the cuticle. The vinegar rinse it to help lay the cuticle back down. Baking soda is also high PH and damaging.

The gunk could be either soap scum which real soap is notoriously bad at producing or its simply not cleaning your hair enough. I used shampoo bars for two years and I had to clarify every week. Finally my hair became so damaged that it was breaking off in 1" pieces, I had to chop it ALL off. I say I got a pixie but in reality, I got a buzz cut.

If regular shampoo worked well for you, I really suggest going back to it. Its PH balanced to be gentle on hair and clean it properly. I love my homemade lye soap, just not on my hair.

**irishsapphire** · March 31st, 2016, 10:52 PM

Originally Posted by MsPharaohMoan

I'm pretty sure gummy is a symptom of too much moisture and can be corrected with the addition of protein

Are you still using the color depositing conditioner? Does it have any protein in it? Are you using the new shampoo on your scalp or all of your hair?

Don't think so... Is also Aveda, their Madder Root conditioner... I don't see anything that looks like a protein substance.... Maybe I'll look into a protein mask.... hmmm....

**irishsapphire** · March 31st, 2016, 10:54 PM

Originally Posted by Obsidian

That is liquid soap made with lye and oils. Yes its more natural but it also has a high PH which can damage hair, it actually lifts the cuticle. The vinegar rinse it to help lay the cuticle back down. Baking soda is also high PH and damaging.

The gunk could be either soap scum which real soap is notoriously bad at producing or its simply not cleaning your hair enough. I used shampoo bars for two years and I had to clarify every week. Finally my hair became so damaged that it was breaking off in 1" pieces, I had to chop it ALL off. I say I got a pixie but in reality, I got a buzz cut.

If regular shampoo worked well for you, I really suggest going back to it. Its PH balanced to be gentle on hair and clean it properly. I love my homemade lye soap, just not on my hair.

Darn

I was hoping it wasn't as bad since it was oils... Maybe I will go back to regular shampoo.... I'll have to search the threads here to see what options have been tried and proved good for long(ish) hair.... I don't want to risk it breaking!

**lapushka** · April 1st, 2016, 05:17 AM

I am sorry; having trouble reading your OP, such a tiny font!

Maybe try clarifying - it's what all of us recommend when things go bad. And do the lengths too!

**Obsidian** · April 1st, 2016, 06:42 AM

Originally Posted by irishsapphire

Darn

I was hoping it wasn't as bad since it was oils... Maybe I will go back to regular shampoo.... I'll have to search the threads here to see what options have been tried and proved good for long(ish) hair.... I don't want to risk it breaking!

There isn't any oils left in the product, its says saponified, that means all the oils have been turned into soap and soap=bad for hair. It sounds like it would be a nice body wash though.

The opening and closing of the cuticle is what damages the hair. Take a piece of tin foil, fold it in half, then straighten it back out. Do that a bunch of times, eventually it will weaken and break. This is essentially what happens to the cuticle when soap is used on hair. Some people can use soap but not many, especially if you have long hair and it can take years before the damage becomes apparent. My hair looked great until about a month before it started breaking.

Are you against all synthetic detergents or just sulfates? L'Oreal makes a pretty decent sulfate free shampoo.

**irishsapphire** · April 1st, 2016, 08:16 AM

Sorry! I'll have to watch that

Copy and paste doesn't work so well apparently

Oh! I forgot about clarifying! Thanks!

**irishsapphire** · April 1st, 2016, 08:19 AM

Originally Posted by Obsidian

Are you against all synthetic detergents or just sulfates? L'Oreal makes a pretty decent sulfate free shampoo.

Not against against, just would like to avoid

The few times I tried L'Oreal I wasn't happy with it. But I also was blow drying/straightening/being mean to my hair every day back then and that might have been the real issue... I might try a few Herbal Essence products... I noticed Target has a deal on them right now, so I might pop by there and give it a go....

**Chromis** · April 1st, 2016, 08:27 AM

There are many of us who use shampoo bars and other soap-based cleansers for our hair quite successfully. I started using them back at waist-length many years ago.

If your hair is only sometimes gummy, my first guess would be that you just have the acidic rinse off a bit sometimes. I have gotten that in the past from mineral build-up too with hard water (and yes, that happened even with "normal" not-hippie shampoo for me too). I find in that case, using a combo of citric acid and ACV was the magic bullet. ACV is good at smoothing the cuticle and helping the minerals not stick to the hair, but citric acid can help actually remove those that have built up. I like to dip my length in the big measuring cup I use for a few moments before I pour in over my scalp.