try an SMT while you look into cassia obvita...
I highlight my hair and it has a dull, flat look to it right now.
I was wondering what you use to make your hair shiney. I am not looking for styling products like a shine spray....I have thin hair and those weigh it down bigtime...
I guess I was hoping there might be something natural I could try...I tried ACV rinse twice and both times my hair did not like it...
Any suggestions?
I mostly CO wash my hair but alternate with Aubrey Organics S&C...
try an SMT while you look into cassia obvita...
Maybe you need to clarify? Then you can either go the cassia route (I really like the shine cassia imparts) or the cone route.
In addition to what everyone else has suggested, I suggest the following:
1. Make sure you have enough moisture (SMT works very well for a lot of people, me included)
2. Deep oiling before a wash (no kidding), my favorite oil is coconut oil. You can find it in the natural foods section of the grocery store or in a health food store.
3. After you've clarified and gotten rid of any buildup from your conditioner, I found that switching to a cone-free shampoo and conditioner worked better for me than a very coney brand (Pantene, for 20 years, and I still have hair on my head ).
4. I also have exceptionally hard water, and mineral deposits from the hard water (calcium, lime, etc.), can make your hair dull. I found that an apple cider vinegar rinse works very well to keep mineral deposits off my hair and it gives you mad shine. Mix 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar in 1 cup of warm water, and just use that as your final rinse.
Check out my album to see what my hair looks like .
ETA: you can't see my album yet (not enough posts) so here's a pic that's a good example of the shine:
Last edited by Fiferstone; February 18th, 2010 at 05:43 AM.
Lady Marigold of the Far Plains in the Order of the Long Haired Knights
Can I use the apple cider rinse on my color-treated hair without stripping out the color?
My usual suggestion would be to clarify with an SLS shampoo, just to make sure that your lack of shine isn't due to buildup. Then follow with some good conditioning. SMTs are great, though I like my latest experiment which involves blending corn syrup and conditioner. Sugary syrups like maple, corn syrup, molasses, and honey all seem to impart shine for lots of people.
I don't think vinegar rinses normally strip any more color than washing. Probably they strip less because they usually tighten the cuticle of the hair. If your hair doesn't like dilute vinegar, though, skip them.
Lady Physis, Lorekeeper of Nature in the Order of the Long Haired Knights
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Long hair hiatus: short hair for now, buzzcut!
Apple cider vinegar wouldn't strip the hair of color; if anything, it'll help seal in the color because it will close the cuticle. Start out using a weaker dilution of ACV if your hair is dry. The first couple of times I used an ACV rinse, it was too strong and my hair dried to an odd undesirable texture (almost like I overloaded on gel, kind of crunchy and product-y). Now I use about 1-2 tablespoons for 2 cups (16 oz) of filtered water.
I have colored hair and haven't noticed any stripping of color with a weekly ACV rinse.
Nope, ACV doesn't strip color (I'm also a henna head, forgot to mention that). In fact, ACV can impart something of a golden color to hair, so people with very light blond/grey who don't want yellow tone use distilled white vinegar instead. Since my desired color is red, the gold from ACV is not a problem to me .
Lady Marigold of the Far Plains in the Order of the Long Haired Knights
Are they bleach highlights?
CO with cones.
Stop cruelty to apostrophe's.
I think a lot of the recommendations here are good.
1) Eating healthy and drinking lots of water (healthy, hydrated hair from within will look more healthy without)
2) Make sure you're getting enough moisture by doing deep conditioning treatments, conditioner & shea butter mixture, or SMT's with conditioner, aloe vera gel, and honey or molasses for the humectant. Consider doing them under a heat cap (I do all my treatments under my heat cap and feel they are much more effective this way)
3) I also agree with the idea of clarifying. Btw, the Aubrey Organics shampoos that I know of won't do much for clarifying as they are soap based (I believe) and do not contain SLS.
4) Heavy oilings either overnight or prior to washing is also a great idea. You could try any number of oils. My personal favorites for overnight oiling are Argan Oil and Ojon Restorative Treatment. I also like an oil mixture (Triple Moon Hair Anointing Oil) sold by Nightblooming (Nightshade here on LHC) on Etsty.
5) I know you said your hair is thin but you may be able to tolerate small amounts of oil as a leave-in after you condition. If you can this should really help with shine. The oil that I have had the most success using as a leave in so far is Japanese Camellia Oil. It is light and will help the hair to shine and help with split ends.
6) One last thing that has really helped to improve my hair health (increase shine, decrease splits, moisturize my hair) is catnip tea soaks. There is a thread about it here on LHC. Basically, you brew some catnip leaves, buds, stems (this can be catnip you grew or plain old pet store catnip). You must brew it around 5 hours. Then after shampooing (I do it after COing) you apply the catnip to your hair as much as you can and put the hair up and in a zip lock bag, shower cap, etc. and then let it soak for an hour. Then rinse in the sink or such. You can use conditioner afterward if you need (I usually do but most people find catnip moisturizing enough).
Hope this helps!
Lady Arduinna, Keeper of the North Forest in the Order of the Long Haired Knights!
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