fine/porous regimen advice?

[MissHoney]

Hey all,

I am trying to get a regimen together, which I read that I should follow for at least 2 weeks before tweaking so I can figure out what my hair likes or not.

Day 1 I clarified my hair, then did an aloe vera rinse, then oiled it with mineral oil.
Day 2 I sprayed some aloe vera into my hair once in the morning and once at night.

my hair felt noticeably smoother, but still crunchy once dry. so on Day 3 (today) I co-washed with vo5 and my hair felt exactly the way I want it to as soon as I put conditioner on it. Afterwards, I decided to add a capful of mineral oil to my aloe vera spray rather than use them separately, and I sprayed that on before styling.

now that my hair has dried, it feels better than it did before I co-washed, but it doesn't feel as supple as it should be in order to avoid breakage/splits.

Can anyone help me figure out what steps I should take in the next few days? should I continue to co-wash and spray on the aloe/oil mix? Should I skip co-washing and only use the spray every other day? I really don't know how to formulate my preliminary routine.

I am growing out chemical blonde, its been about 10 months so my APL hair is 50/50 virgin/dyed. My virgin hair is naturally porous, which is why I decided to use the acidic rinse and light oil.

any tips to help me sort out my thoughts? thanks =)

[meteor]

If your hair is naturally porous AND you have bleached it blonde, then it's even more porous.

The best things for porous/damaged hair, in my opinion, are hydrolyzed proteins (e.g. hydrolyzed keratin, silk, etc) and penetrating oils (e.g. coconut, palm). They both help temporarily reduce porosity.
You can also benefit from ceramides, panthenol, 18-mea, artificial peptides, some silicones, etc in your conditioner. Look for ingredients that can temporarily patch-repair and increase slip.

Co-washing is a good idea because of the cationic charge of cleansers in conditioner.
Also, you might benefit from stretching washes to avoid additional wear and tear.
Needless to say, you should avoid additional damage from heat, chemical treatments and mechanical damage: keep hair up, contain hair for sleep and cover it in silk, use a hat on sunny or windy days.

Here is a great article about the conditioning ingredients that penetrate hair: http://www.thenaturalhavenbloom.com/2012/10/deep-conditioning-what-ingredients-in.html
And details on how to make oils work for you: http://science-yhairblog.blogspot.ca/2014/03/oil-pre-shampoo-or-pre-wash.html

[MissHoney]

Thanks, I am no longer worried about maintaining the condition of my blonde hair because I don't think it is feasible anymore. I am focusing on trying to find a regimen that works for my natural hair because it is still breaking. I have short hairs throughout which I am positive are happening because my hair is not retaining any moisture when it is air-dried. For this reason I have been avoiding silicones and chemically things until I figure out a way to make my hair smooth and moist enough to stop breaking.

[lapushka]

I think rather than from your hair not "retaining moisture", I think the damage/breakage is from bleaching it. I see in your avatar that you have quite dark hair, and your blonde is quite light. That takes a crap ton of processing, pardon my French. So I'm betting the breakage is from that.

[animetor7]

Hmm your routine sounds alright, maybe add some microtrimming to start getting rid of bleach damage. Also how do you comb/brush your hair? I see that you have pretty curly hair and curly hair often needs to be left alone more than straight hair so that you don't get breakage from detangling. I would also add that oftentimes less is more when it comes to haircare. Both because it helps you to maintain a routine and because benign neglect helps a lot in keeping hair healthy just because it gets handled less. The best of luck to you! Growing out damage is hard!

[ErinLeigh]

Mineral oil is more sealing than silicones so if you are avoiding cones because of fear of moisture lock out it is something to consider in case you want to go back to them someday. IS also is said by some that CO alone will not remove MO so you will still need to clarify same as with cones.

I wouldn't put MO mix on dry hair as that is going to seal in any dryness. Do you re-wet it before spraying the aloe/MO mix? How much water is added in mix? If you are re-wetting perhaps add some leave in conditioner into the aloe/MO spray/water spray. OR drop the MO completely between washes as if its not washed out you are just layering it on top of its self and possible blocking out too much moisture. A daily spritz should be enough of just water (and the aloe if you like it) in between washes after your initial post wash seal.

One thing that helps me get my hair better moisturized is to spritz a teeny bit of water onto hair then sleep with a shower cap over it once a week. It even works on dry hair without the spritz. When I wake hair is ultra soft. It is called GHE Green House Effect. You can google and read some reviews on it. It helps me for sure but I know all hair is different.

For me co washing helps a lot. I cannot go to long between washes or hair gets progressively drier. I pre poo with coconut/avocado to help offset a little of the damage of washing/wetting 3 times a week.

That is all I can think of. I am still working everything out myself day by day. Good luck with this. My hair is porous and dry also so I understand the hassle trying to find a routine that finds the balance in getting moisture in yet trying not to oversaturate hair with water weakening it either.

[MissHoney]

I think rather than from your hair not "retaining moisture", I think the damage/breakage is from bleaching it. I see in your avatar that you have quite dark hair, and your blonde is quite light. That takes a crap ton of processing, pardon my French. So I'm betting the breakage is from that.

I am talking about damage to my virgin hair, which has breakage throughout. my hair has never been bleached, it is naturally high in porosity so my hair was able to lighten very well with peroxide color only. I see hairs broken off that are much shorter than where my hair colors meet. I don't even have any split ends on the blonde hair.

[MissHoney]

Hmm your routine sounds alright, maybe add some microtrimming to start getting rid of bleach damage. Also how do you comb/brush your hair? I see that you have pretty curly hair and curly hair often needs to be left alone more than straight hair so that you don't get breakage from detangling. I would also add that oftentimes less is more when it comes to haircare. Both because it helps you to maintain a routine and because benign neglect helps a lot in keeping hair healthy just because it gets handled less. The best of luck to you! Growing out damage is hard!

thanks! I actually tend to finger comb in the shower, because despite being type 4 curl pattern my wet curls are very loose and look like waves rather than ringlets. Most of my troubles happen when my hair is not soaking wet, which is really frustrating because my hair is too fine to style when wet. I get my hair layered every couple of months, it has helped get rid of a lot of the color in the top layers without taking too much length.

[MissHoney]

Mineral oil is more sealing than silicones so if you are avoiding cones because of fear of moisture lock out it is something to consider in case you want to go back to them someday. IS also is said by some that CO alone will not remove MO so you will still need to clarify same as with cones.

I wouldn't put MO mix on dry hair as that is going to seal in any dryness. Do you re-wet it before spraying the aloe/MO mix? How much water is added in mix? If you are re-wetting perhaps add some leave in conditioner into the aloe/MO spray/water spray. OR drop the MO completely between washes as if its not washed out you are just layering it on top of its self and possible blocking out too much moisture. A daily spritz should be enough of just water (and the aloe if you like it) in between washes after your initial post wash seal.

One thing that helps me get my hair better moisturized is to spritz a teeny bit of water onto hair then sleep with a shower cap over it once a week. It even works on dry hair without the spritz. When I wake hair is ultra soft. It is called GHE Green House Effect. You can google and read some reviews on it. It helps me for sure but I know all hair is different.

For me co washing helps a lot. I cannot go to long between washes or hair gets progressively drier. I pre poo with coconut/avocado to help offset a little of the damage of washing/wetting 3 times a week.

That is all I can think of. I am still working everything out myself day by day. Good luck with this. My hair is porous and dry also so I understand the hassle trying to find a routine that finds the balance in getting moisture in yet trying not to oversaturate hair with water weakening it either.

Thanks so much! Our hair needs and difficulties sound very very similar. I will try your overnight idea. I actually don't use any water in my aloe/mineral mix, and I have been using it dry, so maybe I need to try adding water both ways. My reason for using aloe is for its pH, and it has definitely made my hairs feel smoother. Do you oil prepoo before all cowashes and shampoos? I have been thinking of trying prepoo.

[animetor7]

thanks! I actually tend to finger comb in the shower, because despite being type 4 curl pattern my wet curls are very loose and look like waves rather than ringlets. Most of my troubles happen when my hair is not soaking wet, which is really frustrating because my hair is too fine to style when wet. I get my hair layered every couple of months, it has helped get rid of a lot of the color in the top layers without taking too much length.

That all sounds fine. The layering actually might be causing damage if your stylist is using a razor or not using properly sharpened shears. Hair also often appears more damaged/overly dry when it is dry. I also know that with curly hair that is porous can get very dry very quickly which doesn't help with avoiding damage. I've heard of some members mixing conditioner, aloe gel or both with water to make a moisturizing spritz that they use on their hair to retain moisture between washes. You might also try looking at some of the curly haired threads here on the LHC for a starting point in caring for your hair type. Here's one to get you started. You might look up type 4 hair advice too as you're in between 3 and 4. http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=125061 Good luck! And have fun in the journey. :)

[animetor7]

thanks! I actually tend to finger comb in the shower, because despite being type 4 curl pattern my wet curls are very loose and look like waves rather than ringlets. Most of my troubles happen when my hair is not soaking wet, which is really frustrating because my hair is too fine to style when wet. I get my hair layered every couple of months, it has helped get rid of a lot of the color in the top layers without taking too much length.

That all sounds fine. The layering actually might be causing damage if your stylist is using a razor or not using properly sharpened shears. Hair also often appears more damaged/overly dry when it is dry. I also know that with curly hair that is porous can get very dry very quickly which doesn't help with avoiding damage. I've heard of some members mixing conditioner, aloe gel or both with water to make a moisturizing spritz that they use on their hair to retain moisture between washes. You might also try looking at some of the curly haired threads here on the LHC for a starting point in caring for your hair type. Here's one to get you started. You might look up type 4 hair advice too as you're in between 3 and 4. http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=125061 Good luck! And have fun in the journey. :)

[MissHoney]

That all sounds fine. The layering actually might be causing damage if your stylist is using a razor or not using properly sharpened shears. Hair also often appears more damaged/overly dry when it is dry. I also know that with curly hair that is porous can get very dry very quickly which doesn't help with avoiding damage. I've heard of some members mixing conditioner, aloe gel or both with water to make a moisturizing spritz that they use on their hair to retain moisture between washes. You might also try looking at some of the curly haired threads here on the LHC for a starting point in caring for your hair type. Here's one to get you started. You might look up type 4 hair advice too as you're in between 3 and 4. http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=125061 Good luck! And have fun in the journey. :)

Thats really helpful, thanks! I've never heard of cutting lahers with a razor before, but im pretty sure my ends are healthy.

[ErinLeigh]

Thanks so much! Our hair needs and difficulties sound very very similar. I will try your overnight idea. I actually don't use any water in my aloe/mineral mix, and I have been using it dry, so maybe I need to try adding water both ways. My reason for using aloe is for its pH, and it has definitely made my hairs feel smoother. Do you oil prepoo before all cowashes and shampoos? I have been thinking of trying prepoo.

Yes, I prepoo before wetting whether it is for CO or shampoo as hair is fragile. The pre poo helps prevent too much water swelling the hair shaft, weakening it.

I would add some water to the aloe mix and drop the MO from it (or use a just a drop in the bottle) and see if that increases moisture and stops some breakage. The MO goes on to seal the post wash water, anything applied dry on top is going to lock out more... instead of keeping initial moisture in. Once you have initial barrier of seal it is really all you want. I learned the hard way watching my soft ends shatter into rough, dry tangles. It will take me months to trim this mess off. I over oiled on dry hair where I should have been moisturizing (or leaving alone)

Hopefully together we can get our hair moisturized and happy.

[MissHoney]

Thank you so so much, you answered all my questions and then some. I will try your advice and see how it works for me!

[Santi]

MissHoney, when I started transitioning my new growth was very dry & there was a section of hair that would not retain moisture no matter what I did. I became diligent w/ pree poos, oil rinses & dc's. I also did GHE a few times a week. A few months went by before I saw & felt a difference in my hair. I realized after joining LHC that all of what I was doing was more habit then necessary. I've cut down on the amount of product & still have the same results b/c my hair is healthier then it was when I started my hair journey. I can get into more details if you are interested. Please feel free to PM me.