Best Care For Baby-Fine Hair

**PinkyCat** · December 6th, 2011, 11:10 AM

My hair is ultra baby fine - and curly! It's downright floaty!

Think Dee Snider!

The longest it's been is TBL. It was dry then though, because I used harsh shampoo & cones. So no cones or sulfates anymore. It also LOVES a protein treatment now and then. I never did get many splits either - must be a finey thing. My leave-in cocktail: V05 condish (smells good) with a few drops of EVOO mixed in, coconut oil from shoulder length down, shea butter on ends - then up it goes! When I wear it down, I use MUCH less oils if any - but this is on occaisions when the "big guns" must be out - maybe once every other week.

Oh yeah - no heat either.

**MsBubbles** · December 6th, 2011, 11:18 AM

Detangling after washing was a nightmare for me, and caused me a lot of avoidable mechanical damage and excessive shedding.

Scalp washes were the answer for me. I would probably have a lot thinner, tapering hair by now if I had continued with the full washes the whole time, rather than protecting the ends and only washing my scalp.

It can seem like a lot of trouble in the beginning but now I have figured out the best way to do a scalp wash, for my hair, it's as routine as regular washes were before.

I have a greasy scalp and stretching washes didn't work for me. I do scalp washes about 5 x week.

**UP Lisa** · December 6th, 2011, 11:30 AM

I have used both corn starch and face powders to get more time between shampoos, but I worry about them clogging up hair follicles.

quote=SwordWomanRiona;1895269] I agree about the mechanical damage! Very dangerous for us fine-haired people! I always make sure my hair isn't brushing against anything when sitting down! About the blow-dryer, I don't use it on the length, but I have no option but to use it on the roots (very propense to colds and sore throats, I am!). I haven't noticed any damage, though, I don't blow-dry overmuch and move the blow-dryer a lot.
I try not to wash my hair more than twice a week...I have greasy roots, but I don't want to wash my length more than twice a week...I have to consider scalp washes, but for now, dry shampoo is my friend

About the ponytails and buns on top of the head...I think that depends on the person, I love those styles and I think they look good on me, fine hair and all

. I've never had any problems with my hairline. I try not to make them overtight, of course![/quote]

**UP Lisa** · December 6th, 2011, 11:38 AM

I have done scalp washes, but only a few times in the past. I guess I need to get back into it. I have never felt that it hurt my length to get shampoo on it, since I always condition, and my hair never feels dry. Maybe it does, though.

Originally Posted by MsBubbles

Detangling after washing was a nightmare for me, and caused me a lot of avoidable mechanical damage and excessive shedding.

Scalp washes were the answer for me. I would probably have a lot thinner, tapering hair by now if I had continued with the full washes the whole time, rather than protecting the ends and only washing my scalp.

It can seem like a lot of trouble in the beginning but now I have figured out the best way to do a scalp wash, for my hair, it's as routine as regular washes were before.

I have a greasy scalp and stretching washes didn't work for me. I do scalp washes about 5 x week.

**UP Lisa** · December 6th, 2011, 11:41 AM

I have been wearing my hair in buns for years, and don't like the way it looks so flat against my scalp, but haven't known what else to do. I have trouble french braiding, since my hair is so hard to separate into sections. It wants to stick together like glue. it is spider-web hair!

Originally Posted by Lamb

I'm sure I'm the worst possible person to give advice here (considering my scissor-happy past), but at least I've got experience.

1. Heavy-duty treatments do not work with my baby fine hair. CO, or too frequent conditioning result in overladen hair with lots of build-up. There is no point in having hair of any length if it does not look good, and fine hair treated to the point where it resembles a greaseball is just ugly.
Keep the hair clean and use conditioner where you need to: the ends. Use leave-ins instead of regular conditioner or masks, if need be.

2. Fine-haired people should pay more attantion to avoiding mechanical damage and heat damage. (Abbrasion, sharp combs, combs with too thick tines, BBBs - unless your hair is stick-straight -, flat irons and blowdryers.)

3. The updo that looks fab on someone with 2c / M/C /iii hair will not look the same on someone else with 1a / F /i/ii hair. High ponytails, or buns on top of the head, etc. - updos that leave the hairline visible - rarely look good on people with fine and/or thin hair. More relaxed styles, however, do.

4. Washing one's hair often is not a sin. Even if it happens every day. It just isn't.

I'm currently growing out my 2c / F /i/ii hair out for the umpteenth time, this time accepting the fact that haircare routines followed by people with more or coarser hair than mine do not suit me. Here's hoping I can make it this time.

**UP Lisa** · December 6th, 2011, 11:43 AM

Where did you get your baby brush? I have one old brush made by Vidal Sassoon that I use. It has the softest boar bristles I have ever found. It would be good to have a spare, though. I have bought other brushes, but they are always too stiff.

Originally Posted by SwordWomanRiona

I qualify! My hair's really fine and delicate, and tangles very easily...The longest it has been is fingertip, I think, and it's now a bit past classic. At the moment, I have to deal with a good number of splits in the last inches of my hair, they're not really visible (I've been told by many that my hair doesn't have splits, actually!), but there. That was because I spent a few years neglecting my fine hair - meaning I wore the same low ponytail nearly everyday and didn't disentangle it properly

. Now I'm back to proper haircare, I think it's much better. My ends are split-free and a bit thicker (now trimming again!!), and the rest of the splits will be disappearing (I hope) with S&D and future trims...
This is what I do to care for my fine hair:

-I never use a comb to disentangle!! Only my fingers. I disentangle my hair very patiently and slowly, morning and night and after washes, and try not to break through tangles, but take hairs one by one from the knots. If I feel the knot is too damaged to save more hairs -and if it's small-, I may be forced to cut it off

...
-I use a very gentle brush, intended for babies. It works and doesn't damage my fine hair.
-I wear my hair down as well as up and in braids, but I tend to alternate between all the styles, and have special care not to sit on my hair or brush it against anything when it's down.
-I use Klorane's shampoo for fine hair...It claims to be able to give fine hair a bit more boost, and take static electricity, and so far, I haven't noticed a huge boost, but my hair seems to like it.
-I use pure aloe vera gel on the length as a leave-in. I have the hope it will help my splits...

-Using henna and cassia has helped my hair too.

Keeping my hair from tangling is my main problem too...For the moment being, I just treat it very carefully, and try to keep it untangled everyday so that I don't have to deal with huge knots...Now I disentangle frequently - and as soon as I begin to notice some tangling-, I've been able to keep it from tangling too much...But still, it tangles sooo easily!
So I'll keep an eye on this thread!

**UP Lisa** · December 6th, 2011, 11:45 AM

Doesn't the rinse-out conditioner leave your hair greasy if you don't rinse it out?

quote=javagrl;1895322]My hair is alot like yours. i have slightly wavy fine hair. I have been using head and shoulders shampoo (duck and cover) recently. It gets my oily scalp clean. Instead of using a rinse out conditioner in the shower, I use it out of the shower on towel dried hair from the ear down. It makes finger combing easier. I might towel dry one more time with a microfiber towel and then comb again and then I'm done. This way your length gets the weigh-down and moisture but your scalp gets the deep clean to unclog your follicles.

If you want to beef up your conditioner experience, you can always add just a touch of jojoba or coconut oil to the conditioner or douse with these overnight and shampoo the next day. I haven't been doing this for too long, but I notice that my hair looks good and feels good at the same time.[/quote]

**MsBubbles** · December 6th, 2011, 11:56 AM

Originally Posted by UP Lisa

I have done scalp washes, but only a few times in the past. I guess I need to get back into it. I have never felt that it hurt my length to get shampoo on it, since I always condition, and my hair never feels dry. Maybe it does, though.

No, I didn't say drying. The shampoo/conditioner wasn't the problem. I said mechanical damage from detangling afterwards.

**UP Lisa** · December 6th, 2011, 12:29 PM

I don't really know if I get any more damage from detangling after washing than I get at any other time.

Originally Posted by MsBubbles

No, I didn't say drying. The shampoo/conditioner wasn't the problem. I said mechanical damage from detangling afterwards.

**FrozenBritannia** · December 6th, 2011, 01:32 PM

I have baby hair too. I have no idea what to do with it. I finger comb and use a very wide tooth comb after and then I leave it alone and put it up. When it gets a bit longer I would like to start wearing it down a bit, so I will be watching this thread to see what I should and shouldnt be doing to it!