Prone to buildup?

[ejking2]

I tried to go sulfate-free for a while, but it didn't work out for me. I would get buildup after just one or two washes, whether or not I used cones. I believe the buildup is from the fatty alcohols in conditioner. According to what ktani has written, these ingredients do build up on the hair. Nothing short of SLES seems to be able to wash it off.

I see a lot of people on this site who CO or use sulfate-free shampoo and it works great for them. Most of them seem to only need to clarify every month or few months. What gives?

Are different hair types more prone to buildup than others? Perhaps high porosity and/or fine hair?

I am not sure about my hair's porosity. I did a porosity test (floated strands on water) and they did not sink, but my hair doesn't seem to behave like it has low porosity. I will have to try again and wash any oil or product off the strands beforehand. I would guess it is medium or high porosity.

What are your experiences with buildup? I am very curious about this.

[Chromis]

How hard is your water? Where I am now, my water is so hard that I have to do an acid rinse with regular shampoo and conditioner, not just shampoo bars!

How hard is my water? When I boil water for tea, my pot gets a white build up even the first time I use it after a vinegar soak! I have to soak that pot at least once a week and my husband has to run vinegar through his coffee maker at least once a week too.

[ejking2]

My water is soft. Plus I have a shower filter (to remove rust). I also do a weak WV rinse because it seems to help my scalp.
After a little more testing, I think I do have high porosity. Do others with high porosity get buildup easily?

[Chromis]

I'm afraid that I have no help for. I've no idea how to tell even! My build up is all bad water, but I'm sure others will chime in. It seems to be a common issue. You might also try the search tool for past threads for ideas as well or check the articles section.

[SnowWhite]

Stop using your conditioner for a while, see if it makes any difference. If it does, then look for another conditioner with different ingredients that works for your hair and does not build up!

I tried CWC or just shampoo - conditioner with SLS free and cone free poo & conditioner. Didn't work AT ALL.

[silverthread]

Why do you say your hair is getting buildup? Is it becoming tangly or lank? Are you noticing buildup on your scalp as well?

[Vrindi]

For me, it's definitely the water. If I leave a drop on the counter, I can see the buildup when it dries. SLS free shampoos work just fine for me, I add a bit of baking soda to it once a week and rinse with ACV. That keeps the buildup away. Also, I shampoo once a week and CO once a week, usually, so I can avoid putting all that crap water on my hair.

[ejking2]

I might try going without conditioner when my hair is all virgin, but I tend to think my hair needs it. More slip = fewer tangles = less damage. For now, sulfate shampoo + conditioner seems to be the ticket. I have tried several conditioners, and all seem to have the same effect because of the fatty alcohols common to virtually every conditioner. I'd be open to try alternative/natural types of conditioners, but I think I've tried everything that would be suitable for me--I am blonde, so I'm wary of herbs and the like staining my hair. I tried catnip and it totally wrecked my hair. I tried cassia and, while the effects were mainly nice, ultimately the resulting dryness outweighed the benefits I got.

Yes, when I say I have buildup, I mean my hair becomes tangly, lank, stringy, and plasticky/coated feeling--doesn't feel like hair. The color also looks dull. I don't have scalp buildup because I don't put conditioner on my scalp.

Like I said, I am mainly asking about the fatty alcohols in conditioner, i.e. cetearyl alcohol, cetyl alcohol, etc. I have done a lot of reading on this site and ktani has said that virtually all conditioners build up because they all contain these non-drying alcohols. If anyone has more info, especially scientific, on these ingredients, I would love to know. Perhaps certain types of these fatty alcohols build up more slowly than others?

The other major part of my question is whether people with different hair types (especially fine or porous) hair get buildup more easily. Does anyone know about this?
I am already fairly sure what is causing my buildup and how to get rid of it, so I am wondering if any others have had a similar experience, or if my hair is just weird and finicky.

[cmg]

I suspect this might be a fine hair thing mostly. I get this after a while from "anything". Also if I sit in an environment (like an office for example) with heavy air conditioning, my hair gets coated and dull. And since I have fine hair this gets visible quickly.

I have found that I simply have to do a BS-wash or some other wash that removes buildup at least once a month or so, or my hair will continue having problems like this. I feel the difference after each removal process. Done so now for perhaps 4 years in combination with mostly CO or at least noo-poo.

I used to have really porous hair, now it like 50/50 but the problem remains the same all over.

PS
I miss the infos about the hairtypes of people here

/ CMG

[cmg]

I havent really been paying any attention to the fatty alcohols, but I am suspecting they might be giving the same problems for me also. I am getting buildup from any type of stearates or paraffines, amodimeticone etc. which are usually not said to be very sticky

/ CMG

[ejking2]

Very interesting, cmg! I wonder why heavy air conditioning would have such an effect on your hair.
I found a thread that lists some "waxy" ingredients and some conditioners that do not contain them. I might have to give the Goth Rosary conditioner a try! It has cellulose as an emulsifier, which may be just as bad as far as buildup is concerned, though.
http://archive.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=56746

[cmg]

I suppose the particles moving about because of the air conditioning, get stuck in the buildup coating the hair.

/ CMG

[renia22]

Very interesting, cmg! I wonder why heavy air conditioning would have such an effect on your hair.
I found a thread that lists some "waxy" ingredients and some conditioners that do not contain them. I might have to give the Goth Rosary conditioner a try! It has cellulose as an emulsifier, which may be just as bad as far as buildup is concerned, though.
http://archive.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=56746

Thanks for posting the link to this thread, ejking2, very interesting! My hair is also fine and we have soft well water, and it sounds like we have similar hair
issues. I also have not had luck with sulfate free, in that I have had problems with hair and scalp not getting clean, tangling, build up, matting, etc. My hair is much better when I use sulfate containing shampoos, and lighter conditioners. Like you, I still have an issue with tangling so I cannot skip conditioners altogether, but I will check out some of the ones mentioned in that thread.

[renia22]

Very interesting, cmg! I wonder why heavy air conditioning would have such an effect on your hair.
I found a thread that lists some "waxy" ingredients and some conditioners that do not contain them. I might have to give the Goth Rosary conditioner a try! It has cellulose as an emulsifier, which may be just as bad as far as buildup is concerned, though.
http://archive.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=56746

Thanks for posting the link to this thread, ejking2, very interesting! My hair is also fine and my house has soft well water (which I have a filter for), and it sounds like we have similar hair issues. I also have not had luck with sulfate free, in that I have had problems with hair and scalp not getting clean, tangling, build up, matting, etc. My hair is much better when I use sulfate containing shampoos, and lighter conditioners. Like you, I still have an issue with tangling so I cannot skip conditioners altogether, but I will check out some of the ones mentioned in that thread.

[cmg]

Yes thanks for the link!

Perhaps we could make a new list of waxfree and conefree condishes? It has been five years since that thread started.

The general idea of the stuff in a conditioner IS to coat the hair, so I guess it is a no win situation. The thing is to get a routine that keeps a status quo for your hair with as little damage as possible. I have found that a cheapo condish with very few ingredients works the best for me (for COwashing) and the rest is oils and other stuff.

/ CMG

[renia22]

So I checked out the conditioner ingredients from most of the conditioners from that link, and I think the ingredient lists either are outdated or formulas have been changed (or maybe now are fully disclosed), since most of those conditioners do in fact contain the "waxy" ingredients?

I have found a few that I don't believe do:

Olivella Olive Conditioner
Hugo Naturals Vanilla Orange
Pure Life Soap Company Rosemary

Has anyone tried any of these? I have only tried the Pure Life Rosemary & did not like that one (too drying), but the other 2 look okay. Hugo Naturals has a small 2 ounce trial size option, which is good so you're not stuck with a whole bottle if you don't like it. Yes CMG, I think making a list would be a good idea.

[ejking2]

Glad you guys found the link useful. I think a new list is a great idea as well.
renia22- I didn't look up most of the conditioners on that list yet, so thanks for confirming those. I did check out the Goth Rosary ones, since I'd heard good things about that brand, and the ones called "Daily Use Hair Conditioner/Humectant" still do not contain the waxy ingredients. However, the ones labeled "Hair Detangler & Softening Creme Rinse" do contain them.

[renia22]

Glad you guys found the link useful. I think a new list is a great idea as well.
renia22- I didn't look up most of the conditioners on that list yet, so thanks for confirming those. I did check out the Goth Rosary ones, since I'd heard good things about that brand, and the ones called "Daily Use Hair Conditioner/Humectant" still do not contain the waxy ingredients. However, the ones labeled "Hair Detangler & Softening Creme Rinse" do contain them.

Great, I will check out the Goth Rosary. My fantasy is to find a conditioner that detangles & rinses clean, without build-up or weighing my hair down. I can dream, right?

[Rini]

I have fine hair with high porosity and build up is an issue for me. I'm sulphate free at the moment, but buildup for me only occurs when I use certain ingredients. In other words, I could CO or go sulfate free for a very long time as long as it's with products that agree with me. I'm trying to narrow it down right now, but I'm absolutely sure it's one of the ingredients in Karens Body Beautiful Hair Nectar.

Right now I'm using the "Care" shampoo and conditioner from the Naked line of products and it's performing very nicely :) (nakedbodycare.co.uk) I bought a whole carton of their products for just $1 each :D

[renia22]

ejking2-
Have you seen this thread? It's talks about cationic polymers, which apparently build up on hair even worse than some silicones are reported to. Thought you might find it interesting (check out the link in the first post & the post from 'left brain' in that link):

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=17032&highlight=cationic+polymers

[ejking2]

Rini- I think it'd be the vegetable wax.

renia22- very interesting indeed! Thanks for the link.


The general idea of the stuff in a conditioner IS to coat the hair, so I guess it is a no win situation. The thing is to get a routine that keeps a status quo for your hair with as little damage as possible.

Quoted for truth.