Help me with a daily routine!

[beautyqueen]

I've started to grow my hair seriously a while ago, but when I heard about this community I realized that there's a lot more to it and things I've never heard about or tried.

What I have done is to not wash my hair as often (now I wash it about twice/week) and to be a lot more careful when I brush it. This really has helped a lot, but I have a problem, which is that I use dry shampoo instead (which really is better since it gives it a lot more volume that I don't have naturally and it looks much better – my scalp is too oily for not using shampoo or dry shampoo daily) and that makes my hair quite dry in the endings, and makes the hair very brittle and it breaks easy.

What tips do you have for me? Exactly how do you do the CO-method for example and what else can I try?

Thanks a lot!

[fiðrildi]

Hi, and welcome to LHC :) Maybe you could try the CO washing method, it will take you some time for your scalp to adjust to the new routine (maybe a month, so be ready!). If co-washing does not work for you, and your scalp is too oily maybe you could try washing your scalp with a gentle shampoo (or baking soda-apple cider vinegar) and co-washing the rest of your hair. You can also keep your tips moisturised with coconut oil... it works quite well for me.

How I do the co-washing: I wet my hair, I put some conditioner on my hands, massage my scalp for some minutes, then rinse. Then I condition the rest of my hair, untangle with my fingers (or wide tooth comb), and then rinse again. After that, I moisturise with a natural hair mask (3 minutes). Rinse again, with cool/cold water! While my hair is still wet, I put a tiny bit of argan oil on my tips. Hope it helps!

[ExpectoPatronum]

I'm so jealous you're able to wash twice a week! I use good ol SLS and cones and wash every other day.

I think good hair care comes from how gently you treat your hair more than what products you use on it. My hair grows the same whether I use gentle or harsh products on it. It doesn't grow if I leave it down all the time.

I second trying CO-washing, but be careful because it causes some people to shed a lot (myself included). It made my hair feel wonderful though!

Do you oil the ends of your hair at all? That might help with your ends.

[Lore Ley]

If your hair is Ok except for your endings, I wouldn't change your complete hair washing routine. You should really try oiling your endings or use a leave-in hairtip serum if the oil makes your hair look straggly.

[chrissy-b]

You can try CO but I've found that it's just too much for my fine hair. It makes it look more greasy and thin. You might want to try daily misting on your ends, or like another poster said, a leave-in or oils just on the ends to help with dryness.

[Sharysa]

Seconding the fact that all you need to do is add some oiling to your routine somehow.

Pre-shower oiling is combing oil through your hair before a wash, and it's GREAT for a monthly treatment. I do it whenever my normal post-shower oiling isn't enough. For regular washing, I use a leave-in oil, which is just combing oil through my hair after a shower and just letting it absorb. Your hair is fine, so I'd advise against using either too much oil or heavier oils like coconut or olive. Almond oil is very light and absorbs quickly for most people.

[lapushka]

A few drops of mineral oil (baby oil) distributed through the palms then rubbed on your very ends is more than enough to keep the ends nice and moisturized. Less is more with this oil, as it is a heavy oil. Start with 1 drop! Truly!

[Madora]

To encourage hair growth, a gentle daily scalp massage (head down position) can help stimulate sluggish growth. It doesn't happen overnight, of course, but it is beneficial. Be sure to use your fingerpads, not nails.

[beautyqueen]

Thank you very much for the replies. What do you guys think about dry conditioning? The biggest problem with my hair now I think is that it breaks, but it has now starting to break all over and since it gets tangled a lot (especially in the neck) I loose a lot of hair when brushing through the tangles since it's too brittle. I don't want to start washing it every day again since that is what I did before, an then it was even thinner and shorter (it just didn't get long at all). I also really like the volume that the dry shampoo adds. I recently heard about dry conditioning and maybe that would be something that works?

[lapushka]

You could try, but I don't know if the conditioner can sink in that much on dry hair. That's my only doubt.

[Carolyn]

What is dry conditioning? I've never heard of it.

[lapushka]

What is dry conditioning? I've never heard of it.

I think it's a pre-wash deep treatment. That's my thoughts anyway. I don't know if it's true.

[velorutionista]

I kind of run into this same situation where days I dry shampoo, my ends feel really dry after I brush out the dry shampoo...I would suggest using a light leave-in conditioner on the ends on the days you wash normally (i.e. smooth a bit on after you've squeezed all the water out and just let it dry in your hair), then on days you dry shampoo, if your ends feel dry still, spritz them with a tiny bit of water and re-apply a tiny bit of the same leave in, just on the ends. I do that and it refreshes my ends quite nicely, but isn't enough product to make them stringy or weird-looking.