Gradual Care Changes or a Total Method Makeover?

[suckubism]

After a reason traumatic hair loss and subsequent up-to-the-shoulder haircut, I have been re-thinking my previously simple hair-care technique of shampoo-ing, conditioning, and smearing heavy, awful body lotions throughout my hair.

I have been CO-washing and doing deep oil treatments for about a month and a half along with taking biotin and a multi-vitamin for a year. I henna'd a couple weeks back for the first time, too. Now that I have been lurking around LHC for months reading thread after thread, I have amassed a wealth of tricks and tips, including inversion therapy, fish oil supplements, Monistat for growth, baking soda and apple cider vinegar, caster oil, and many more.

As I want to regrow my hair healthy and thick and as fast as I'm able, I am tempted to start employing all of these methods at once....taking all of the vitamins daily, massaging my hair with oils and Monistat a few times a week, switching between CO-wash and BS+ACV, and all of that.

Is there anything wrong with making a lot of changes at once? Will it shock my hair in a negative way? The only issue I can think of is being unable to tell which method is to blame if my hair goes wonky.

If this question has already been posed, please be kind to link this newbie to it and disregard my repetitive posting! Thank you so so much!

[molljo]

The only issue I can think of is being unable to tell which method is to blame if my hair goes wonky.

This is the biggest thing. It's not even that something can make your hair wonky, it's that it can really mess up your hair, and then scrambling to figure out the culprit is really stressful and annoying (not to mention if you don't know what the problem is, it makes it that much harder trying to figure out how to fix it). There's also the fact that many things need time to work their magic; not everything will be great results the first time you do it. On the flipside of that, sometimes certain techniques work nicely the first few times, and then it can all go to crap.

You're doing LOTS of things for growth, but how can you know which is working? The slow and steady approach means that you can better assess what is actually making a difference rather than spending time, money, and energy on what could effectively be snake oil for you. Something like Monistat is incredibly hit-or-miss, not to mention smelly and messy, but do you really know if you're one of the people it's working for, or is that just the vitamins? Is nothing speeding up your growth but the fact that it's summer (many people experience very increased growth just because of what time of year it is).

There's also a burnout of constantly doing things that a lot of members here have experienced, and it just becomes too stressful and overwhelming, and when you want to simplify, if you don't know what products and techniques give you good results, that can be daunting as well. Slow and steady and methodical is the best thing I can recommend to you.

[MINAKO]

I don't think that changing all at once has to automatically become a problem in terms of causing a shock on the hair. But its quiet difficult to figure out this way, which of the changes works a miracle and what it is that you actually wouldn't need in the end.

I would stay away from the bakin soda tho, especially when you are having scalp and regrowth issues i can't imagine the highly alkaline ph to be any good, even if followed with an acv rinse. Personally i don't like the idea of wacking the ph just to bring it back down right after, i would recommend trying to stay in the slightly acidic range, but of course that's up to you.

[PrincessBob]

I suggest a slow change-over, makes it easier to trouble-shoot as you go. I have done the "experiment with all the things at once," thing and my hair went kinda crazy for a while. I backed up, slowed down and found that a slow transition away from cones was the best choice for me, adding in ACV rinse, and eventually diluting my shampoo and only shampooing my scalp, and conditioning the rest of it. It was a long transition of months and months and it's still evolving, but I love my hair.

[sleepingduty]

Agree with the posters above. How is your hair feeling now? Maybe try one thing at a time, and after a few weeks re-evaluate. Sometimes what works for one doesn't work so well for another. Try to work on things internally as well, plenty of water, protein and lots of veggies and fruit. Good luck you're on the right track to a gorgeous long head of hair!

[suckubism]

I would stay away from the bakin soda tho, especially when you are having scalp and regrowth issues i can't imagine the highly alkaline ph to be any good, even if followed with an acv rinse. Personally i don't like the idea of wacking the ph just to bring it back down right after, i would recommend trying to stay in the slightly acidic range, but of course that's up to you.

That is good advice! CO-washing has been working well for me, but I have heard some horror stories recently about conditioners and oils softening the scalp and making it easier for hairs to slip loose, increasing shedding. I can't really afford to shed, and I can't afford to strip my hair....are there other alternatives?

[suckubism]

This is the biggest thing. It's not even that something can make your hair wonky, it's that it can really mess up your hair, and then scrambling to figure out the culprit is really stressful and annoying (not to mention if you don't know what the problem is, it makes it that much harder trying to figure out how to fix it).

Thank you so much for your advice! Where do you think would be a safe place to draw the line? I have been taking biotin and multi-vitamins, co-washing and oiling, so do you think it would be too much to add one more vitamin supplement and also experiment with another sort of scalp treatment, like castor oil? Or is a month/two months too soon to incorporate new changes?

[suckubism]

Thank you so much! My hair is feeling softer, fuller, more voluminous, and healthier due to the changes I have already made, and I don't want to mess up a good thing! I will do exactly as you recommend and try and kick my awful college diet to the curb. Good advice!

[jacqueline101]

I agree changes should be done slow to see which things work the best. You won't find your perfect routine right away. This will take effort. I used monistat and loved it until my scalp got used to it now I'm using another growth technique there is a thread on the different growth techniques. I wouldn't advise the heavy body lotions due to the fact that most aren't hair friendly. They'd build up on the hair badly.

[molljo]

Thank you so much for your advice! Where do you think would be a safe place to draw the line? I have been taking biotin and multi-vitamins, co-washing and oiling, so do you think it would be too much to add one more vitamin supplement and also experiment with another sort of scalp treatment, like castor oil? Or is a month/two months too soon to incorporate new changes?

Please don't add more vitamins. Megadosing can destroy your liver and kidneys This thread (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=122679) has a lot of good information and warnings about it. ETA: I agree 100% with sleepingduty, concentrate on improving your diet. Personally, I found it much easier to eat better for the sake of my hair than to try to lose weight, if that helps.

I think 1-2 months is fine for a trial period, depending on how often you're doing the treatments.

[suckubism]

Please don't add more vitamins. Megadosing can destroy your liver and kidneys This thread (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=122679) has a lot of good information and warnings about it. ETA: I agree 100% with sleepingduty, concentrate on improving your diet. Personally, I found it much easier to eat better for the sake of my hair than to try to lose weight, if that helps.

I think 1-2 months is fine for a trial period, depending on how often you're doing the treatments.

I was JUST thinking that same thing while cooking dinner....I have eaten healthier since deciding to grow my hair than I ever have to lose weight...I think it is because I am focusing on an abundance of nutrition, not a lack of calories =)

Thank you for pointing out that too much of a good thing can be bad! I will do thorough research.

[swearnsue]

I agree changes should be done slow to see which things work the best. You won't find your perfect routine right away. This will take effort. I used monistat and loved it until my scalp got used to it now I'm using another growth technique there is a thread on the different growth techniques. I wouldn't advise the heavy body lotions due to the fact that most aren't hair friendly. They'd build up on the hair badly.

I agree with Jacqueline.

[jacqueline101]

I agree with Jacqueline.

Thank you.

[Carolyn]

I'm clueless as to why you would smear body lotion through your hair. Were you thinking it would be a good leave in? There are much better leave ins than body lotion. There are good ones that can be purchased at easy to get to places like Walmart and salon and then there are all sorts of oils. And I would like to second those who said lay off the baking soda. Many of us have had awful experiences with it.

[MINAKO]

That is good advice! CO-washing has been working well for me, but I have heard some horror stories recently about conditioners and oils softening the scalp and making it easier for hairs to slip loose, increasing shedding. I can't really afford to shed, and I can't afford to strip my hair....are there other alternatives?

Did you consider clay or shikakai powder to cleanse? Maybe soap could be something to consider, still alkanie but much more gentle then baking soda.
Another thing that doesn't seem to be popular here tho is japanese seaweed powder. I've been reading great things about it and actualy want to try it myself at some point, but for now i CO and it works fine, so i'm not too eager to change my working routine. You can read about it here https://wawaza.com/products/Japanese-Seaweed-Hair-Cleanser-and-Conditioner.html

[suckubism]

[QUOTE=Carolyn;2778139]I'm clueless as to why you would smear body lotion through your hair. /QUOTE]

Oh, the horrors I used to put my hair through...you would cringe even harder than you did at the body lotion admission! Until I lost a lot of hair, I had relatively nice, smooth, manageable locks that didn't really need any product. Whenever it was humid, (which it always is in Alabama), I would just dollop a heavy lotion in my hair to "weigh it down"...believe it or not, a lot of magazines give that advice out as a beauty tip. It wasn't until a short while ago that I started researching hair care and questioning a lot of my practices. Thanks for the advice about BS!

[suckubism]

Did you consider clay or shikakai powder to cleanse? Maybe soap could be something to consider, still alkanie but much more gentle then baking soda.
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I haven't heard of that! I will certainly look into it and root around local Asian food markets...right now a lot of my hair care decisions are based on $$$, so I am sad to hear that 99 cent baking soda is a near bust! Maybe I can switch between cheap-o V05 and the methods you suggested! Thanks!

[MINAKO]

If you are on a budget, maybe i would go for the clay first.
Also i forgot egg shampoo, tbh something i wouldn't like to try because of well... the egg (nothing wrong with it, just personally),
but it seems like other members were successful with the method.

quoting from another thread

I sometimes use Finoriel's egg shampoo recipe, which is this (taken from her own post about it):

The basic recipe is: 1 whole egg mixed with one teaspoon honey - mix well until the honey is dissolved and then add a squirt lemon juice (or citric acid or ascorbic acid or any other ingredient which is acidic). Mix well again.
Sometimes I add some henna or cassia to make it less runny and some skin-safe EOs if there are scalp imbalances of some sort or just for scent.
I apply it to wet and already rinsed hair under the shower and let it sit for about 5-10 minutes, depending on how greasy my hair is. Rinse out with warm water. And following it with an acidic rinse, chamomile tea with a pinch of ascorbic-acid, in my case.

***

I also follow it with a mild acidic rinse, using chamomile tea and either lemon juice or citric acid.

ETA: I only use the egg yolk, and 1 egg is more than enough.

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=40386

[PrincessBob]

If you are on a budget, maybe i would go for the clay first.
Also i forgot egg shampoo, tbh something i wouldn't like to try because of well... the egg (nothing wrong with it, just personally),
but it seems like other members were successful with the method.

quoting from another thread


http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=40386

If you wash with egg, rinse in a cool shower, or the egg may cook a bit (speaking from experience). When I egg shampoo it's a half cup of plain yoghurt plus 1-2 egg yolks, and a bit of honey. It feels really, really weird, but really sucks the grease away. It's also super protein heavy, so I cannot do it very often.

[Panth]

IMO, gradual works best for adding/changing things and immediate changes work best for removing things. To explain: it's best to alter your wash routine, product usage, etc. gradually. The principle reason for this is because if you change everything at once you won't know what is beneficial and what perhaps doesn't work for you. If/when something doesn't work, you have to scrap the whole lot because you'll never know the culprit.

However, I think immediate changes work best for, e.g. stopping using bleach, dye, perming, Brazilian blowouts, flat iron, etc. Those things are just straight-up damaging and the sooner one stops doing them the better.

~~~

I also agree with the other posters. Please, please, please don't try baking soda. It's highly alkaline and causes serious damage to hair which is not reversed by the follow-up acid rinse (that only makes the cuticles of the hair shaft lie down a bit, it doesn't prevent/undo the damage). Many, many people have cause irrevocable damage by using baking soda to wash.

Also, please don't supplement. Supplements will not have any effect unless you are deficient (and if this is the case, it's far, far better to go to your doctor, have your blood tested, know the specifics of your deficiency and have it properly monitored and treated). The problem with supplements (particularly mega-dosing on supplements) is that you can cause health problems, including vitamin/mineral deficiencies (as many vitamins and minerals are absorbed synergistically). E.g. with biotin over/mega-dosing, it's fairly common to cause cystic acne and headaches, but at least one LHC member has caused herself kidney failure. It's just not worth the risk. Improving your diet is a much better idea.