aloe and shampoo

[writer_mom]

I have a question for you wise sages of the hair order. does adding moisture to shampoo's actually work being the sls (or otherwise) are designed to, more or less, strip dirt and oil from hair?
I have been wondering this for a while since my hair is dry and in need of a lot of moisture.

Right now I am using a cholesterol product, and it seems to be working better than conditioner alone. it has joba oil, aloe, mineral oil, cholesterol, and collagen protein. I am going to be diluting this with more moisture ingredients to achieve the balance I need.

I am asking this question to see if it might be a good idea to add some moisture to my shampoo.

Thanks for your help.

P.S. Why do most on LHC dislike layers? I see a ton of talk about growing them out, and general negative attitudes towards layers. I am just curious.

[writer_mom]

**bumpity**

[long&blonde]

I know that smt's,
Snowy's moisture treatment,
Are a deep conditioning holy grail for my hair.
1 part honey, 1 part aloe, 3 parts conditioner, heat 30 seconds, leave on damp hair as long as possible.
As for aloe in shampoo,
I do know that aloe as a leave-in
Does not agree with my hair at all.
Not sure how many times I need to forget & try this again after a shampoo, before I remember.
I'd try mixing it into shampoo,were I you. If it works for you,
You have the answer!

[ejking2]

I do find that my hair feels softer using a shampoo with more moisturizing ingredients than one without them. Whether my scalp agrees with those ingredients is a different story, but aloe is nice and soothing. I think mixing aloe into shampoo sounds like a good idea. I may try that myself!

Personally, I don't want layers because I value the thickness of my hair and don't want to take away from it. Also, it can be hard to do braids and updos that don't have bits sticking out all over the place. I imagine many other LHC members also don't like them for these reasons. However, I think they look great on many people!

[Natalia]

Cant help with the shampoo question but personally i dont like layers. My hair is thin enough so thinning out the ends even more makes my buns lopsided and uncomfortable. They also stick out at bad angles till more come loose and the bun falls apart. They also make it harder to S&D so splits can get out of control and make hair difficult. They work for some people i am not one of them.

[goldloli]

I've never heard that about aloe before but certainly worth a try, many people have taken to adding oil to shampoo, diluting shampoo, coating hair with conditioner prior to shampoo without rinsing it off and a whole bunch o methods. Experimentation here is lovely.

Anyway I came to answer about the layers since i am one of those growing them out:

-They can make hair look thinner, scraggly and damaged at the ends even if it's not.
-Hard to trim/maintain if you are growing hair long with minimal trims, especially so if they are buried layers (layers that are cut into the hair rather than on the top/canopy bit. you cant freshen up those ones)
-Become prone to damage, since they are infrequently trimmed and often peoples hair canopies are fine and fragile.
-Don't lay so well or give good shape when you leave them to grow, such as face framing which was once softening and sexy, grown down to collarbone doesn't hang right nor flatter anything.
-They get grabby/velcroey when left untrimmed or damaged from heat etc which causes them to poof and tangle a lot.
-BRAID TAPER and bits sticking out of buns, not a personal problem of mine but many are annoyed by the sticky outy bits in their updos.
-S&D becomes a nightmare since the splits could be anywhere.
-Tangles deserves a second mention.
-So does thickness.
-I've read that ends are more susceptible to damage since there is less bulk of hair to protect each strand. In this example I can see how that would be true: My hair gets caught and there is a chunk of hair baring the force then its unlikely to snap, where just a few hairs would.
-Hair can be tbl but look only waist or hip because the fullness doesn't go all the way down.


Layers look so so great, but now I've totally bought into the no layers lhc thing because 'for me' they are more trouble than they are worth while growing out hair.

[teal]

Can't speak to the aloe but for me, layers were the only way to grow out my hair. I don't know what it is about a blunt cut but for me having all the hair at one length made it totally unbearable at about APL and I would cut it. This happened repeatedly. For some reason, I never once had this feeling with layers. It doesn't make any sense whatsoever, but there it is. I've toyed with the idea of having my fairy tale ends evened up, but I like them too much.

[Suze2012]

If you're planning to add more aloe (whish is what I'm thinking from the thread title) just see how it goes - I tried aloe gel for about 4-6 weeks and it dried my hair out.
It did what I wanted in the beginning and seemingly moisturised it and cut down on frizz initially but the effect didn't last and I no longer use it.

I like layers and always had them in all the years I was trying to grow my hair.

I'm now happily between BSL and waist and don't intend to grow it longer but I did have my laers cut back in a bit more yesterday and the hairdressers wouldn't actually cut as much as i was suggesting- she did a great job (she was right!) and it's brought some life back to m roots again.
I love 'em! :)

[melusine963]

If you're planning to add more aloe (whish is what I'm thinking from the thread title) just see how it goes - I tried aloe gel for about 4-6 weeks and it dried my hair out.
It did what I wanted in the beginning and seemingly moisturised it and cut down on frizz initially but the effect didn't last and I no longer use it.

Aloe is not actually a moisturiser, but a humectant (same as honey). This means that it draws in moisture from its surroundings. If you're using it in a moisture treatment you should be fine because the aloe on your hair will draw in moisture from the rest of the treatment it's mixed up with. However, you have to be more careful if you use it as a styling aid. If you live in a humid climate you should be fine, since the aloe will draw moisture from the humid air around you into your dry hair. But if you live in a dry environment, the aloe will draw moisture away from your hair, drying it out.

[Suze2012]

Aloe is not actually a moisturiser, but a humectant (same as honey). This means that it draws in moisture from its surroundings. If you're using it in a moisture treatment you should be fine because the aloe on your hair will draw in moisture from the rest of the treatment it's mixed up with. However, you have to be more careful if you use it as a styling aid. If you live in a humid climate you should be fine, since the aloe will draw moisture from the humid air around you into your dry hair. But if you live in a dry environment, the aloe will draw moisture away from your hair, drying it out.


Ah!! Thank you!

I have to admit I am not terribly clued up on the technicalities...however, now you mention this ..aloe gel was working on my hair during a time when it was humid here.
I'm in the UK and we can never tell whether a day will be humid or dry..or wet..or springtime and snowing (as it is today in northern parts of the UK).
When the humidity went would be about the time it stopped working for me.

On a side note and just in case you might know..is glycerin the same?
I've been trying it as a leave in spray the past week and a half and it's working but hasn't been anything close to humid in that time.

(sorry for this little sidetrack to the thread). .

[writer_mom]

Thanks for the answers guys. I went and diluted a bit of shampoo with water and added aloe with a bit of the hair cholesterol last night and tried it. I did the same thing but with conditioner instead of shampoo. I will wait to see what the long term results are.

As for layers, I have them because I have a long face. I some times curl, so the layers help there. Lately though I have experienced the S&D nightmare with them but I am stuck between growing them out because of that or keeping this to avoid making my face look any longer. I am wondering if layers have played a part in my thickness loss lately. I was 4 1/2 inches when I first had them, but I now lost that 1/2 inch.

I don't know, a lot has happened in the last year. I will do what I can to get it back.

[Naiadryade]

Hmm, well I only use all-natural hair care, and both of the all-natural but pre-bottled shampoos I've bought contain aloe juice (not gel, which has added ingredients). I know the first, Terressentials Pure Earth Hair Wash (http://www.terressentials.com/haircare.html), has aloe because combined with the clay which is its other main ingredient, magic happens. Clay alone tends to not fully wash out and lead to a build-up on the scalp over time, and the aloe seems to help the clay slip and rinse out more fully while still doing its cleaning job. I'm not sure, but I suspect the aloe in my new Shea Moisture: Moisture Retention Shampoo (http://www.target.com/p/raw-shea-butter-moisture-retention-shampoo/-/A-12239777#prodSlot=dlp_medium_1_15&term=shea+moisture) might play a similar role in keeping the oils in it from building up on the hair. Likely the humectant properties of the aloe also encourage the moisture in the water and in the product to enter the hair shaft while the shampoo is on the hair.

Honestly, if you're using SLS shampoo and you're having problems with dry hair, the first thing I'd think you should do is try cutting out the SLS!

I loved the effect layers had when my hair was above about shoulder-length. That's why I put them there! They gave my hair more interest and dimension, and made messy styles look fun and cool. With longer hair, I find they're really a pain in the a$$ for me. I plan on stalling at waist, when I get there, to grow out my layers to something closer to one length. My reasons are similar to others':
- Trimming across the bottom is not an effective way to remove split ends, since the ends are all over the place
- S&D is similarly more difficult and time-consuming, and my shortest layers I still can't even get at because I can't see them.
- Little pieces stick out of my braids, and sometimes buns, allowing them to get more damaged.
- I love that I have pretty thick hair and I want to really have as much of that thickness as I can.
- The extremeness of my braid taper just looks pitiful and sad. My hair looks quite thin to my eyes when I wear it in braids, even though I have a 4" ponytail and enough wave and volume that it doesn't look thin at all when down.
-When I'm playing with my hair or looking in the mirror, and I realize that I can separate out chunks that are only shoulder-length, it makes me feel like my hair is decidedly not long.