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View Full Version : Hair that used to be voluminous is now flat



frogs
October 29th, 2012, 10:13 AM
Hi there!
My hair used to have great volume and body - back when i was treating it badly. Now, after almost a year of babying and cutting away damage it has good, if not great quality compared to how it used to be, but all the volume is gone. It can have a little bit of volume right after it has air dried after taking a shower, but a few hours later the flatness is right back.
It wasn´t always this way though, i think it started to get very flat and slippery, even, when i realized my hair did not like protein. I have now cut out all the protein out of my hair-care routine and my hair does look much better but oh, the flatness that came with it.
Is this what my hair "really looks like" and i have always been wrong thinking i have great volume in my hair and the volume came from treating it badly, or is there something i can do about it? Anyone else having this problem?
Thank you for taking your time reading this, any suggestions are greatly appreciated!
Edit: I used to have very wavy hair naturally, too, and my hair used to be able to hold the wave very well. For example, i could sleep in a braid and then have wavy hair the whole day. Now, my hair is wavy for about an hour after taking a shower and then straight again. With braids, its even worse. I sleep in them and five minutes after i take them out, the waves are all gone.

Siiri
October 29th, 2012, 11:15 AM
Mine has gotten flatter when I stopped dyeing - the cuticles lat more flat now so there's not as much "volume" as before. Also when it used to be damaged it hold curl a little better.

So in part it could be how you're hair really is, but also do you think you may be overconditioning your hair? CO-washing, heavy conditioners, oiling, deep treatments too often? A lot of conditioning may be great for some hair types, but for some the hair gets weighed down too much because of all the product build up. If you think this might be the problem, try using less products for a while.

clairenewcastle
October 29th, 2012, 11:35 AM
I lost a lot of hair volume when I gave up using cones, a lot more when I chopped to get rid of most of the bleach that was in my hair and even more when I gave up using conditioner altogether in favour of catnip rinses.

I missed the volume my hair had in the past but I'm happier knowing that my hair is now in its natural state and therefore a lot more healthy.

frogs
October 29th, 2012, 01:57 PM
Mine has gotten flatter when I stopped dyeing - the cuticles lat more flat now so there's not as much "volume" as before. Also when it used to be damaged it hold curl a little better.

So in part it could be how you're hair really is, but also do you think you may be overconditioning your hair? CO-washing, heavy conditioners, oiling, deep treatments too often? A lot of conditioning may be great for some hair types, but for some the hair gets weighed down too much because of all the product build up. If you think this might be the problem, try using less products for a while.

I co-wash and do not use cones. I do have a sulphate-free shampoo that i use ones in a while because i read that wavy hair easily does get over conditioned. So, that could be it except, i do not use any products in my hair (except from conditioner and occasionally apple cider vinegar) and i do not do deep conditioning treatments or oil (i used to, back when my hair was very damaged, but i stopped as my hair "got better".) Maybe i should try to wash it a little bit less frequently?

clairenewcastle: I feel the same way, i obviously prefer health over volume, but if there was a way to get more volume without it sabotaging the health of my hair, i would definitely go for it! :)

biogirl87
October 29th, 2012, 02:33 PM
I've noticed this with my hair after I began using conditioner after shampoo. It seemed to make my hair seem thinner at first, but then my hemline started getting thicker.

HintOfMint
October 29th, 2012, 02:34 PM
... I feel the same way, i obviously prefer health over volume, but if there was a way to get more volume without it sabotaging the health of my hair, i would definitely go for it! :)

I bought L'oreal Everstyle Root Lifting Volume Spray. It's alcohol-free, cone-free, and as far as I can tell, protein-free.
It gives great volume and texture. I use it to make my bangs look a bit thicker and I've used it at my roots for a bit of lift. It works really well, I really like it. I can see it working on the length to help hold braidwaves, although I've never tried this.

frogs
October 29th, 2012, 03:54 PM
I bought L'oreal Everstyle Root Lifting Volume Spray. It's alcohol-free, cone-free, and as far as I can tell, protein-free.
It gives great volume and texture. I use it to make my bangs look a bit thicker and I've used it at my roots for a bit of lift. It works really well, I really like it. I can see it working on the length to help hold braidwaves, although I've never tried this.

Thank you so much for the tip! I will make sure to check it out!

itdontmatter48
November 14th, 2012, 11:57 AM
I have to be careful with conditioner, too much will weigh it down. Maybe a clarifying shampoo? VO5 makes a great one.

frogs
November 16th, 2012, 06:39 AM
Hi again! LHC has been down, and in the meantime, i seem to have somehow gotten my wave back! I donīt do anything different. I showered earlier, and it is now wavy, almost curly in the front with looser curls in the back. This has happened the last times i have showered, i donīt know what i have done but it seems to be working! Thank you for all your suggestions and tips :)