Stringy/dry/ yet oily?! A hair 'mare! Help please?

[LittlePrincess]

Hi everyone! Please help me get my hair back to normal :'( I'm having a right nightmare here!!
http://tinypic.com/r/141r4us/8

This has been happening for about a month. I'm really struggling to find the right balance with my hair, perhaps because of low porosity.
It seems to go very dry and squeaky and straw-like when I put shampoo on, but then won't absorb the conditioner and it just sits on top and weighs it down/ builds up. As you can see in the pic, the top is fluffy and clean and towards the dry side, and the underneath looks stringy and almost greasy. This was the morning after washing with SLS shampoo with a bit of bicarb. of soda (so clarifying) and then doing a deep condition. I can't figure it out and my hair feels disgusting and heavy. When it's drying it get's very very tangled and sort of squeaky, hence why I thought it was dry and did a deep condition.
Does anyone have any ideas how I can get rid of this odd stringyness but not dry out or weigh down my hair?
I'm having a really hard time telling whether it's dryness or conditioner overload. Has anyone ever has anything similar?

Sorry for long story and stress <3 I's sure you guys understand the awful sick feeling when there's something wrong with your hair and it's really setting off my anxiety at the moment. I really appreciate being able to rant and any advice :)

[LittlePrincess]

http://i61.tinypic.com/141r4us.jpg
http://tinypic.com/r/141r4us/8

[LittlePrincess]

Oh sorry, that last message with the HUGE picture was the one that was supposed to be in the original post. I'm real new here and haven't figured out how to work pictures yet, sorry!!

[winship2]

Well, I think it looks very pretty and healthy on the photograph. My hair tends to fall into strands like that, and it doesn't bother me at all. The "clumps" don't look greasy or dirty at all-- some hair just does that.

Have you had bad results with a wide variety of shampoos and conditioners? Since joining LHC and starting to grow my hair and pay attention, I've been amazed to find how different the results are with different products.

I'm sorry you're so frustrated and upset. If you have more photos, that might be helpful to us.

[Johannah]

TBH, I think your hair looks great!

But as an answer to your question, it could be you are just using a shampoo/conditioner that just doesn't work for you. Try to switch it up before making any conclusions, I've had this problem too. Also know that clarifying dries your hair out big deal, and you shouldn't do this much.

In my own experience though, I've had this problem last month (though, my hair was more tangled and piecey than yours). I noticed my hair was over-moisturized and it needed protein ASAP. I didn't recognize this problem since my hair was giving signs it needed more moisture. When I did a deep conditioning treatment, my hair was perfect for one day, and suddenly it became really dry for the rest of the week. Now I'm using a shampoo and conditioner with hydrolyzed keratin (fourth ingredient) and my hair is pure silk. It's still tangly and piecey, but it's much much better!

Still it would be a good thing to let us know what you've tried till now, how much you condition, what you use, if you use oils, ...

[LittlePrincess]

Thank you very much for the compliments :) it has been washed the night before and had just been brushed so obviously the stringy/wierd feeling of the bottom layer gets a lot worse by he next day. It's so strange, my hair used to be the same fluffy texture all the way through and now it is dry/tangly on top and stringy/mushy underneath.

It's interesting you've had a similar problem before Johannah, I'd just assumed that because part of my hair was dry and tangled it meant it needed moisturising. Do you think it's worth trying a protein treatment perhaps just on the underneath?

I have tried clarifying just before this photo and a deep condition (obviously no help, it sort of made it limp and seemed to build up on top), and for shampoo I usually use either body shop's paraben-free rainforest volume or timotei green tea extract. I just condition the ends with john freida full repair (i have tried using cone free conditioner but my hair super tangled and dull!). I deep condition every few weeks usually, but more often now this has happened. I usually clarify with baking soda or clarifying shampoo every month.

[LittlePrincess]

Thank you very much for the compliments :) it has been washed the night before and had just been brushed so obviously the stringy/wierd feeling of the bottom layer gets a lot worse by he next day. It's so strange, my hair used to be the same fluffy texture all the way through and now it is dry/tangly on top and stringy/mushy underneath.

It's interesting you've had a similar problem before Johannah, I'd just assumed that because part of my hair was dry and tangled it meant it needed moisturising. Do you think it's worth trying a protein treatment perhaps just on the underneath?

I have tried clarifying just before this photo and a deep condition (obviously no help, it sort of made it limp and seemed to build up on top), and for shampoo I usually use either body shop's paraben-free rainforest volume or timotei green tea extract. I just condition the ends with john freida full repair (i have tried using cone free conditioner but my hair super tangled and dull!). I deep condition every few weeks usually, but more often now this has happened. I usually clarify with baking soda or clarifying shampoo every month.

[LittlePrincess]

I've just noticed that the ends are breaking off too despite having a trim just over a week ago :S. When I stretch a shedded strand it stretches a tiny bit but doesn't spring back at all. I'm not sure what that means? It needs both moisture and protein? I'm not great at knowing what my hair needs and i'm worried about making the breakage worse. I can't afford to lose much thickness haha!
I would be so grateful for some wisdom!

[inanna]

My hair is fairly low porosity too, so I'm no stranger to over-oiling or over-conditioning! Your hair does look good in the picture, but I certainly know the mushy oily feeling, and it's not a very nice one. :)

What I'd recommend is just stick to the wash routine that is working for you normally, put it up and ride it out. Braided hairstyles can make oily or limp hair look shiny and smooth instead. After a few washes, the extra conditioner that's sitting on your hair will be washed out. Just think of it as an extended hair treatment!

Have you used this deep treatment before with good results? It could be that it is too heavy for your hair, or that using too much means there's a lot of it that just sits on your hair.

It's not unheard of for the top layer of the hair to be drier and more tangle-prone than the rest, especially if you wear your hair down a lot. Some parts of your hair may need more pampering than the rest. :)

Once things get back to normal and you want to do another deep treatment, it might be worth a shot to see if warmth would help the treatment penetrate your hair better. You could try the hennahead trick of putting on your treatment on damp hair, wrapping it all up in cling film and finishing with a beanie. Leave on for an hour or so, then wash out. Your body heat should be plenty to help really get things going.