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HazelBug
May 8th, 2014, 12:55 AM
A friend of mine has a couple hair issues that I was trying to help her solve. She is as far as I can tell 2c/3a,m/c,ii. Her hair is naturally silver but it has been chemically dyed red. The main issue is that her hair is incredibly dry. Fortunately she is no longer washing her hair daily. Her hair isn't quite as dry since she has been washing 2 times a week. She is going to try once every 5 days and see how it goes.

An issue she deals with is an itchy flaky scalp and so she uses a dandruff shampoo to ease the issue. I know that these types of shampoos can be very harsh on your hair. I would have her switch to the tea tree oil shampoo that my Husband uses. It helps with his psoriasis. But she reacts to tea trea oil. She uses a very heavy conditioner but she couldn't remember exactly which one. But it sounds very heavy on the sillicones. She reacts to parabenes though.

I would love to find a gentler way to wash her hair but also keep the dandruff/scalp issues at bay. I wonder if the conditioner she uses might be making her hair worse in the long run with the dryness.

I also suspect that she may be more curly than what her hair currently seems.

Are there some different washing and conditioning methods you might recommend? Her hair is very pretty. It's just also super dry. She is trying to grow it long. I'm sort of at a loss when it comes to curly hair since it is so different than my own.

Also, would Henna help? She does love being a red head.

lazuliblue
May 8th, 2014, 01:38 AM
The only thing I know of that might help would be the curly girl method, she so she wouldn't use cones or sulphates. She would need to wash with a light conditioner, condition the lengths with a thicker conditioner, and then use a leave-in conditioner too! Lots of people have had great results with it. I use the modified version and cleanse occasionally with a sulphate shampoo.

DarkCurls
May 8th, 2014, 03:24 AM
Like you said, there are two main issues here (plus the question of henna).

1) Dandruff. I can't really speak from personal experience here. If the shampoo she's using works (a little, at least), she should probably keep using it. Has she been to the doctor (if it seems unusual), or is it just a normal case of a little dandruff? If you have a little look around, there are a few threads on LHC that discuss either a flaky scalp or dandruff, and posters give very varied advice because LHC is all about sharing what works for you, and hoping it works for someone else -- and while that's an excellent thing for hair care, I think it means that in this case it's going to be difficult to give a single, solid piece of advice. Someone else might know more about the subject than I do, though.

2) Dryness and curls. This at least I can relate to. Co-washing does work for many curlies, but she might have reservations re:the dandruff. Though I think some people have had success with co-washing and vinegar rinses to soothe their scalp.
If she continues to use the shampoo, does she use it on the scalp only? Scalp-only shampooing, followed by tons of conditioner on the length (or maybe CWC), shouldn't dry out the length of the hair. Does she leave in some conditioner? Adding conditioner when wet and leaving it in as it dries (does she air-dry her hair?) leaves hair softer. Then, of course, standard LHC advice... what about oils or AVG? Has she experimented with those?
I don't think the conditioner she's using is harming her hair, since I imagine the shampoo she uses washes away the cones (and I don't think cone-heavy conditioners are bad for all hair, anyway; my hair doesn't care either way).

As for the henna... If it's anything like cassia, it leaves the hair feeling a little bit dryer for the first few days, though the effect didn't last with cassia (for me, at least). It might help with the dandruff. Again, a little digging around makes some things (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=86517) show up. I wouldn't tout it as a sure-fire cure, but it could help. Then again, it could do nothing.

florenonite
May 8th, 2014, 03:30 AM
Has she tried ACV rinses? They're purported to help with dandruff, without being overly harsh on dry skin.

Crabbyco
May 8th, 2014, 06:06 AM
Conditioner Washing is great for dry curly hair. She can wash everyday with COwashing or stretch washes, whatever makes her scalp happy. Check out the COwashing thread. I'm a modified Curly Girl, not all of the method works for everyone but it's a good place to start.
Henna is the way to go if she wants a red/orange color that isn't gonna fade.....ever! I do a Cassia/Henna mix and add oils and conditioner. Check out HennaforHair.com

HazelBug
May 8th, 2014, 10:35 AM
She is going to try a vinegar rinse. I will let her know thnat she could try it instead of her dandruff shampoo and see if it helps. I've got her starting on scalp only washes. She's going to condition before and after her wash now. I was suprised when she went from daily washing to every 3 or 4 days without any visible oilyness. She did not have to work at all to stretch her washes. I will recomend that she use a leave in conditioner or some coconut oil. I really like the coconut oil for my own hair. It's not too heavy. I will likely see her again next sunday.

I only wish she would grow out that beautiful silver! But it's her hair. It's just such a pretty color to me. :) She was a red head before her hair did it's thing though. Her eyebrows still retain their color.

Anje
May 8th, 2014, 10:48 AM
A heavily silicone-y conditioner might not be all bad in combination with as harsh a shampoo as she's using, but it sounds like she's losing that battle. Definitely have her look into Curly Girl. CO washing (or CWC if her scalp doesn't handle CO) can make a big difference for curlies. That said, it's probably worth getting a pro to look at her scalp -- some itchy flakey scalps are dried out (i.e. the shampoo might be doing more harm than good), whereas some have issues like seborrhic dematitis (aka cradle cap) and might benefit from harsher washing (though I've also seen SD sufferers who say CO solved their problems, so it's a YMMV thing).

Henna.... I wouldn't be surprised if her dyeing schedule to keep her red bright is contributing to her hair drying out. That's pretty common, especially since people who dye red tend to go over their length a lot. Henna would be a lot less harsh on her hair, but a good number of curlies say that it relaxes their curl pattern a bit. If she doesn't want that, it's worth thinking about for a while. As an alternative, those wild hair dyes like Manic Panic, Directions, Adore, Special Effects, Punky, etc. have a lot of fantastic reds among them and are completely non-damaging if you don't bleach your hair first. They might be a good alternative to conventional dye, if she wants to keep all her curl.

Rosa Harris
May 9th, 2014, 03:08 AM
Don't know if this will help. Sounds counter-intuitive, too.

My son had bad dandruff till he went to co-washing once a month (or less) and then water only as he felt a need for it - mostly to de-tangle and wet his curls to get them to spring up.

He said dry hair dandruff is caused by not having enough oil in the scalp to remove the dead skin naturally. Dandruff shampoos are made ffor oily dandruff which is what is most common.

He said the flaking got 'nasty bad' at first as the extra oil helped what was there shed and then cleared up over a couple months. He's mostly WO.

Barnet Girl
May 9th, 2014, 03:56 AM
There are many reasons for a flakey scalp. Turned out mine was an intolerance to sulfates. Perhaps your friend could try a sulfate free shampoo just to see if that could be the underlying issue regarding her scalp problems? I love the loreal ever pure range for smooth hair. It took me a while to find a sulfate free that works for me.
I think henna would be a great idea - as others have said it can relax the curl somewhat (which means length gained!!) and it definitely improves the condition, whereas repeated chemical colouring over lengths is only going to worsen hair condition.

I would also give silicone free conditioners a go, and avoid chemical styling products as much as possible. Build up may not be an issue for her though as the anti-dandruff is very stripping, but if she tries sulfate free shampoos this is definitely a must to avoid build-up. Another great option for scalp issues are herb washes.