help with the basics!

[jsdolly122]

Hey all,
So I’m new to this whole “hair care” scene.. and trying to slowly find my way. It’s a lot of info to take in, and I’m slowly learning about my hair “properties”, as well as it’s “likes” and dislikes.
I would really appreciate some help figuring out the following:
-shampoo and condish
-leave in/ deep treatment
-protein treatment?
There are so many brands and options I don’t know where to begin!! :s

Here is a bit about my hair, what I have learned so far
it is DRY
About 6 inches of natural hair, and the rest (waist length) is dyed lighter
Type 2b/c waves
Medium/little bit coarse hair texture
The prorosity.. I am really not sure! I tried “feel test” but I can’t really tell.. I also tried the sink in water test – and it seems like the dyed part of my hair sank, but the natural part did not?
It is dry and brittle, and gets tangled very easily, and a lot falls out :(
Also if I don’t wash for a while it starts to turn into these dreadlocky twists

“likes” – coconut oil in small amounts

“dislikes” – AVC (turned my hair to straw!!)
-I tried doing a spray in water mix with treseme naturals condish and it did not help dryness
Any help and advice would be great, I really don’t know where to begin!

[Madora]

Perhaps this might help a little: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=120052

Not everything works for everyone.

[meteor]

We've got similar hair texture, and I also have some bleach at my ends, and I think I know what you mean when you are describing that dryness, liking oils and disliking ACV.

Acidic rinses can certainly be drying and they need to be diluted very, very heavily, and even then - they may not work for you. Personally, I don't do them anymore because they don't have a visible effect for me. Also, since your hair was bleached, please remember that apple cider vinegar can give brassy tint to light hair. Unless your hair is very dark, you should opt for white vinegar or citric rinses (diluted lemon juice - which is also lightening).

Your hair is porous by virtue of having been dyed lighter, so that hair really likes occlusives/anti-humectants like oils and silicones. By contrast, your non-dyed roots are probably non-porous, unless they sustained some other chemical, mechanical or heat damage.

The needs of porous vs. non-porous hair are different. Porous hair really likes hydrolyzed proteins, amino acids, 18-MEA and ceramides for example, but non-porous hair shouldn't really need them - they can just sit on top and dull the shine. When you are shopping for conditioner for your bleached ends, a safe bet would be products for dry, damaged, porous or even curly hair. (I'm a wavy, but I've been enjoying many products for African hair ever since I started getting highlights in my hair.) This is a good ongoing thread on products with 18-MEA and ceramides, which are very helpful for processed hair: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=120288

The rule of thumb is the more processed the hair is, the more conditioning it needs and the more the conditioning agents are likely to penetrate hair.
Here's a list of conditioning ingredients that penetrate virgin and processed hair (look for them when you are shopping for new products):
http://www.thenaturalhavenbloom.com/2012/10/deep-conditioning-what-ingredients-in.html
"Natural Hair - No Processing
-water
-hydrolysed wheat protein
-coconut oil
-cetrimonium bromide
-caffeine
-panthenol

Bleached Hair, Relaxed Hair or Damaged Hair (i.e cuticle damage)
- everything in the unprocessed natural hair list above
-some amino acids enhanced by being in a creamy conditioner (arginine, glycine, glutamic acid, phenylalanine, histidine)
-artificial peptides (similar to hydrolysed protein)
-some silicones or amodimethicones (Trimethylsilylamodimethicone)
-hydrolysed palm oil
-18MEA"

Here's more on porosity: http://science-yhairblog.blogspot.ca/2014/03/managing-elasticity-and-porosity-in-hair.html
I highly recommend The Natural Haven Bloom Blog for learning about the basics, as well as Science-y Hair Blog (where you can order very detailed GooseFootPrints Hair Analysis).

[meteor]

A separate note on the basics of handling hair: having good hair is not so much about what you do as it is about what you don't do, i.e. avoiding damage.
Try keeping hair up or in a braid whenever you can, sleep with hair contained on satin silk (silk pillowcases, caps, scarves), wash it only when it's unclean, don't style/comb/brush randomly, but only to detangle, distribute oils or put in a style. I think the minimal handling philosophy is more important than any products you may use. All that the best of products can do is temporarily patch repair. So, ideally, avoiding damage is the way to go.

[Anje]

Start really simple. If you haven't been doing any of these yet, try:
1) Combing hair slowly (not in a hurry) with a wide-tooth comb. One without sharp seams is best (many of us like ones made of horn or wood).
2) No heat styling. Especially no flat irons.
3) Shampoo your scalp but not the length of your hair. Leave that hanging down rather than piling it on your head like they do on TV.
4) Leave your conditioner in your hair for a few minutes while you wash the rest of yourself. I like to put mine in a plastic shower cap so it doesn't get rinsed out and isn't in the way.
5) Wear hair up in a bun most days held by U-shaped hair pins, spin pins, hairsticks, hairforks, etc. instead of held with an elastic. Tuck the ends in so they're protected.

Even if you don't ever change anything else, just doing a few small simple changes like that can make a huge difference in the quality of your hair. Good luck and happy reading!

[heidi w.]

Just wash your hair and condition it. That's all you really need. I recommend you also stop dying your hair. It'll be around 3 years before your natural hair grows in.
Oil the length ONLY, from about the earlobes on down the length. None to the scalp hair.
I recommend Biolage Humidifying Shampoo, and Biolage's Conditioning Balm. These are pricey, so buy BIG. 38 fl oz. for the conditioner.
Use fairly warm water for conditioning. Many conditioners don't work well because people use too lukewarm of water.
Only condition the length, from the earlobes on down. Do not condition the scalp hair. Allow sebum to do its job and use a BBB to polish the hair. Comb the hair to detangle it.
heidi w.

[meteor]

Just wash your hair and condition it. That's all you really need. I recommend you also stop dying your hair. It'll be around 3 years before your natural hair grows in.
Solid advice, Heidi. But just to clarify for jsdolly122, it won't take 3 years before natural hair starts growing in, hair continues growing at the exact same rate whether or not it's dyed. Unless something extreme happened to the scalp and follicles during the dyeing process (e.g. chemical burn from bleach left on scalp and causing balding), there's really no change to speed of hair growth. The only potential risk is retention of length, as damaged hair is more prone to dryness, tangles, breakage. Gentle handling, protection of ends and good conditioning ingredients (penetrating oils, hydrolyzed proteins, etc) should help with that.

[redredrobin]

Solid advice, Heidi. But just to clarify for jsdolly122, it won't take 3 years before natural hair starts growing in, hair continues growing at the exact same rate whether or not it's dyed. Unless something extreme happened to the scalp and follicles during the dyeing process (e.g. chemical burn from bleach left on scalp and causing balding), there's really no change to speed of hair growth. The only potential risk is retention of length, as damaged hair is more prone to dryness, tangles, breakage. Gentle handling, protection of ends and good conditioning ingredients (penetrating oils, hydrolyzed proteins, etc) should help with that.

I think heidi meant until all hair is virgin.

[jsdolly122]

We've got similar hair texture, and I also have some bleach at my ends, and I think I know what you mean when you are describing that dryness, liking oils and disliking ACV.

Acidic rinses can certainly be drying and they need to be diluted very, very heavily, and even then - they may not work for you. Personally, I don't do them anymore because they don't have a visible effect for me. Also, since your hair was bleached, please remember that apple cider vinegar can give brassy tint to light hair. Unless your hair is very dark, you should opt for white vinegar or citric rinses (diluted lemon juice - which is also lightening).


Your hair is porous by virtue of having been dyed lighter, so that hair really likes occlusives/anti-humectants like oils and silicones. By contrast, your non-dyed roots are probably non-porous, unless they sustained some other chemical, mechanical or heat damage.

The needs of porous vs. non-porous hair are different. Porous hair really likes hydrolyzed proteins, amino acids, 18-MEA and ceramides for example, but non-porous hair shouldn't really need them - they can just sit on top and dull the shine. When you are shopping for conditioner for your bleached ends, a safe bet would be products for dry, damaged, porous or even curly hair. (I'm a wavy, but I've been enjoying many products for African hair ever since I started getting highlights in my hair.) This is a good ongoing thread on products with 18-MEA and ceramides, which are very helpful for processed hair: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=120288

The rule of thumb is the more processed the hair is, the more conditioning it needs and the more the conditioning agents are likely to penetrate hair.
Here's a list of conditioning ingredients that penetrate virgin and processed hair (look for them when you are shopping for new products):
http://www.thenaturalhavenbloom.com/2012/10/deep-conditioning-what-ingredients-in.html
"Natural Hair - No Processing
-water
-hydrolysed wheat protein
-coconut oil
-cetrimonium bromide
-caffeine
-panthenol

Bleached Hair, Relaxed Hair or Damaged Hair (i.e cuticle damage)
- everything in the unprocessed natural hair list above
-some amino acids enhanced by being in a creamy conditioner (arginine, glycine, glutamic acid, phenylalanine, histidine)
-artificial peptides (similar to hydrolysed protein)
-some silicones or amodimethicones (Trimethylsilylamodimethicone)
-hydrolysed palm oil
-18MEA"

Here's more on porosity: http://science-yhairblog.blogspot.ca/2014/03/managing-elasticity-and-porosity-in-hair.html
I highly recommend The Natural Haven Bloom Blog for learning about the basics, as well as Science-y Hair Blog (where you can order very detailed GooseFootPrints Hair Analysis).

THANKS FOR THIS! out of curiosity what products do you use? conditioner, etc?

[meteor]

THANKS FOR THIS! out of curiosity what products do you use? conditioner, etc?
I actually rotate products a lot. Another thing is my virgin roots like very different stuff from my porous highlighted ends.
I really don't have any recommendations, because products need to be really personalized, and I don't have any holy grail products, to be honest. Besides, recommendations should focus on location and budget.

My staples are:
- gentle, "moisturizing" shampoo (e.g.: Garnier Fructis Triple Nutrition, L'Oreal Professionnel Absolut Repair)
- one clarifying and chelating shampoo (used very, very rarely - only when there's a real need)
- SLS-free shampoo (e.g.: Dessert Essence Coconut, Pureology Nano Works)

- heavy conditioner for dry, damaged hair (e.g.: Garnier Fructis Triple Nutrition, Redken Diamond Oil and Extreme lines)
- light conditioner for summer-time (e.g.: Dessert Essence Apple Ginger)
- protein conditioner for occasional use (e.g.: Mega-Tek Rebuilder, Joico K Pak Reconstructor)

Natural stuff:
- penetrating oils for pre-poo treatments (coconut, red palm, olive, avocado)
- light oils as leave-in and shine serum (mineral, camellia, grapeseed)
- treatment oils for any skin/scalp issues (neem oil, tea tree EO)
- honey and aloe vera as natural humectants to add in conditioners and shampoos for treatments
- apple cider vinegar for scalp health and acidic rinses

[catamonica]

I put 2 capfuls of olive oil in my shampoo & conditioner. And 2 capfuls of Aloe Vera gel in the conditioner. It makes my hair soft. Nice & easy.