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View Full Version : Finding that hair care routine. Advice?



Johannah
December 7th, 2013, 03:30 AM
So I'm trying to figure out a routine that works best for my hair. I started a couple of years ago with growing my hair from APL. I discovered coconut oil and grahtoestudio. I used to take care of my hair for a year pretty good, and it grew. Then I went to university. I won't say that I'm dumb, but I'm definitely not the smartest girl ever. I study Educational Sciences and it's definitely not easy. I was so busy I forget about the LHC and my hair. My overall length didn't grow, but I grew out my layers a bit (they reached my chin when I started). I'm at 30" right now.

I studied really really really hard and with a lot of tears, I passed my first year :cheese:. In the summer holiday, I suddenly remembered my dream of having long hair without layers. So I joined back in. And I won't quit this time. :o

I did a lot of experimenting since summer. I went SLS- and silicon free. I tried CO, WO, CWC, different oils, different updo's, stretching washes, vitamins, healthy eating, protein masks, moisturizing masks, SMT, ... You name it, I've done it. So around 6 weeks ago I found a routine that works great.

-Saturday night I do some heavy oiling with coconut oil/avocado oil.
-I wash it out on Sunday morning/afternoon with CO.
-Wednesday I wash my hair again with SLS-free shampoo and condition afterwards (Petal Fresh, tea tree).
-I use a towel to wrap in my hair and leave it like that for half an our when I washed it.
-I use coconut oil as a leave in when needed.
-I sleep with my hair in a braid and I'm doing the 'wear your hair up-challenge' since September. I brush my hair twice a day.
-I eat healthy (a lot of water, milk, vitamins, fish etc.) I take vitamins once in a while when I notice I need to (when having a not so healthy week, for example).
-I S&D when I have time.
-I've clarified once since September with a SLS shampoo without silicones.

My hair went from extremely dry and a lot of split ends to soft, shiny hair with almost no split ends. And my hair color changed a bit, too. :o This worked great till now. On Sunday after I washed it, my hair is like WOW. It lasts like this for 3 days. Then, all out of sudden, my hair is just dry. Same problem with SLS-free shampoo. Sometimes, it also gets frizzy. The weather is changing inhere, it's getting really cold and yesterday it snowed.

So now I'm asking myself: could it be that I over-moisturized my hair a bit, or do I need to moisturize more? Could this be a reaction on the SLS- and conefree products? Any ideas? How do you treat your hair different in winter? Any extra advice on my routine?

P.s. excuse me for the long story :o

ejking2
December 7th, 2013, 06:26 AM
Yes, I think your hair is just dry because winter weather brings low humidity. Here's an article that you may find helpful (does not only apply to curlies):http://www.curlynikki.com/2012/12/humectants-weather-and-hair-care-part-2.html
:)

Johannah
December 7th, 2013, 07:15 AM
Yes, I think your hair is just dry because winter weather brings low humidity. Here's an article that you may find helpful (does not only apply to curlies):http://www.curlynikki.com/2012/12/humectants-weather-and-hair-care-part-2.html
:)

Very interesting!! Thank you!

rcblinn
December 7th, 2013, 09:10 AM
This has just been my experience but I find I have to be careful with coconut oil-too much of it and my hair becomes brittle, crunchy and tangly. However my hair is low porosity and has a tendency towards build up. Do you know what your porosity is? Btw, beautiful hair color!

Johannah
December 7th, 2013, 09:54 AM
This has just been my experience but I find I have to be careful with coconut oil-too much of it and my hair becomes brittle, crunchy and tangly. However my hair is low porosity and has a tendency towards build up. Do you know what your porosity is? Btw, beautiful hair color!

Aww, thank you! :o My hair can handle a lot (I have clarified once in my life, heavy oilings with coconut oil is not a problem etc.) but I got split ends fast and my hair is very slippery :P. When I do protective updo's, I definitely have less split ends. At the moment my hair is oiled with coconut oil and tomorrow morning I'll wash it out with CO. I'll try to observe how my hair behaves the next days :P

Chromis
December 7th, 2013, 10:01 AM
Sounds like just a seasonal change to me. I have to oil my hair a bit more in the winter too or else the ends get dry and it is more frizzy. Same for the middle of summer if I have spent more time in overly air-conditioned buildings since they also suck the moisture right out. Also, if you have changed where you live or if your municipality changes water supplies seasonally (I've lived in several places that do this!), it may be that your water hardness has changed.

DweamGoiL
December 7th, 2013, 10:11 AM
I agree it may just be a seasonal thing. I find my hair drier in the Fall/Winter as well. I try to do deep treatments every 2 weeks or so and shield my hair from the elements by using hood type hats or shawls.

Johannah
December 8th, 2013, 06:24 AM
Okay, thanks for the advice everyone! :)