delitebrite
October 7th, 2014, 10:26 PM
Hello,
So I posted to this forum quite a while ago for general suggestions on restoring my hair to a healthy state as I began growing it out. I took a lot of your advice and suggestions but now I've hit another standstill and I'm not really sure what else to try at this point.
From the beginning:
For many years my hair care routine consisted of frequent box dying (although I have always used ammonia free hair dye), brushing with a plastic hairbrush (usually after showering), straightening every day, and washing every other day using Tresemme's moisturizing shampoo and conditioner. I learned all the important washing techniques quite a while ago (cold water rinse, letting conditioner sit while you go about your other shower business, air drying, only shampooing the scalp, etc). During this time, I had incredibly soft and shiny hair, although lots of tangling and reasonably unmanageable hair as far as styling went (which is why daily straightening ended up being the quickest and simplest way for me to do my hair).
Unfortunately, about a year after I had been growing my hair back out, I started having issues with damaged ends - even though at this point, I was no longer straightening every day but only occasionally, and I always assumed this was the most damaging part of my routine. I found this forum and posted here, and I got a ton of great suggestions.
Here are the changes I made:
- Began shampooing less. I started only shampooing once my hair started getting greasy. I have fine hair so this translates to once or twice per week, approx every 4-5 days.
- I threw away my hair brush and began only using a wide tooth comb to detangle my hair, and a fine tooth comb for styling.
- Stopped brushing/combing my hair when it was altogether, except for my bangs which cannot be styled after they dry due to a cowlick. I don't want to use a boar bristle brush because I don't like using animal products.
- Stopped heat styling my hair completely. I wear my hair completely natural now, unless I decide to wear it up - in which case I curl these two little framey pieces I have on either side.
- Stopped using hair ties almost entirely, which have a tendency to get extremely tangled in my hair and cause significant breakage. I use an octopus clip for updos, and secure braids with bobby pins.
- Started sleeping on a silk pillowcase.
- Began doing coconut oil treatments every other week.
- Began CWC. I like this and it always improves the texture of my hair, but I don't always remember to do it.
Things that didn't work for me:
- I tried using a silk sleeping cap, but it always slipped off while I was sleeping, so I stuck to the silk pillowcase.
- I don't do the coconut oil treatments anymore. At first, they worked pretty well but it's really difficult for me to get all the oil out since my hair is so fine. I had to shampoo at least twice, sometimes three or four times and I always ended up with spots that still had oil in them. My hair tends to be fairly dry after a wash, so I really can't afford to wash it again to remove the rest of the oil when the first four shampoos don't do the trick. Besides, I feel like I'm wasting shampoo, my time and any benefits of the oil by having to shampoo so much to get it out.
- I don't wear my hair in a protective style while I sleep, because hair ties completely ruin my hair and clips are SUPER uncomfortable to lay on.
- Another thing that was suggested was using henna to color my hair, but I'm not at all interested in trying this because it is WAY too much effort for me. I am red and have been red for years. I use an ammonia free hair color, and color my hair probably once a month (usually need touch ups after 4 - 6 shampoos). I count coloring as a shampoo, and my hair texture is always the best after coloring. The reason for this is the conditioner that they package with the hair dye. I have no idea what is in it, but it completely smoothes and softens my hair. Immediately after applying it, my hair is completely detangled.
Okay, so after making all those changes I did begin to notice a marked improvement in my hair and my damaged ends are a lot better (although I have declined to cut them off completely because I would lose at least half of my length). My hair was also super simple to style so that was awesome! However, in the last few months I've been getting increasingly frustrated with my hair texture. I stopped using Tresemme products completely. I switched over to the Natural versions a while ago, and I have had issues with the products going rancid (gross!). Not to mention, my hair was ALWAYS either dry or greasy. Never soft. Never easy to style. I picked up an all-natural, sulfate-free shampoo at Target a few weeks ago. I was looking for a shampoo for redheads because my color has been fading quicker than normal lately, but I couldn't find anything so I settled for sulfate-free because I knew it would at least prevent some more color stripping. I ended up getting a brand called Caroline's Daughter. Not sure of the exact product but it's black vanilla (which smells super good so that definitely aided my decision). The shampoo is fine, it definitely strips my hair less and I don't have as much build-up by shampoo days (so not quite as disgustingly greasy as it was). It doesn't really make my hair any softer, it just feels more fine and light which I'm assuming is pretty close to its natural state. It also hasn't really helped my color fading issue, at least that I have noticed. Not sure if I will stick with it just because it's pretty expensive and I'm not getting as great of results as I would like. For conditioner, I picked up something from TIGI that was on sale is some sort of color protecting conditioner. It detangles my hair significantly in the shower when I apply it (not as good as my box dye conditioner), but it really doesn't make my hair any less dry or any softer - although again, I have a lot less build-up with this product so my hair doesn't get as greasy which is good. It has helped my color from fading a bit so far, but it's only been about two uses and I haven't used it after coloring yet so it's hard to say. Once again, this product is pretty pricey, so I'm not sure if I will buy it again when I run out unless I start seeing more significant results.
My other HUGE problem lately is hairfall. My hair has been really dry, so it's always really tangled in the morning and it takes a long time to comb it out. I am shedding more hair than all four of my cats, I think. When I'm done combing, the sink is completely covered in long red strands. This is really, really bothering me. I have always had significant hairfall, but never this bad, not even when I was brushing.
For the record, my hair type is 1c-2a/fine/ii.
I am wondering if you guys have any suggestions for my routine. The only thing I can think that has changed between my previous routine working very well and then not working at all is that I moved from an arid state to the PNW this year. Different water, possibly. I would really appreciate product suggestions, preferably things without animal products and things that are all-natural, if possible. If you have any suggestions about products for redheads, I'm very interested in those, as well. Just a note, I have been considering trying Avalon Organic's thickening shampoo because while I have a LOT of hair, it's super fine and I would like more substance, especially for hair styles. However, I have heard it's very drying so I don't want to try it out until I find a really moisturizing conditioner. If you guys have any insight on that, it would be appreciated as well. I am also open to oiling my hair again, if you know of any oils that are better suited to fine hair. Thanks in advance for any advice!
So I posted to this forum quite a while ago for general suggestions on restoring my hair to a healthy state as I began growing it out. I took a lot of your advice and suggestions but now I've hit another standstill and I'm not really sure what else to try at this point.
From the beginning:
For many years my hair care routine consisted of frequent box dying (although I have always used ammonia free hair dye), brushing with a plastic hairbrush (usually after showering), straightening every day, and washing every other day using Tresemme's moisturizing shampoo and conditioner. I learned all the important washing techniques quite a while ago (cold water rinse, letting conditioner sit while you go about your other shower business, air drying, only shampooing the scalp, etc). During this time, I had incredibly soft and shiny hair, although lots of tangling and reasonably unmanageable hair as far as styling went (which is why daily straightening ended up being the quickest and simplest way for me to do my hair).
Unfortunately, about a year after I had been growing my hair back out, I started having issues with damaged ends - even though at this point, I was no longer straightening every day but only occasionally, and I always assumed this was the most damaging part of my routine. I found this forum and posted here, and I got a ton of great suggestions.
Here are the changes I made:
- Began shampooing less. I started only shampooing once my hair started getting greasy. I have fine hair so this translates to once or twice per week, approx every 4-5 days.
- I threw away my hair brush and began only using a wide tooth comb to detangle my hair, and a fine tooth comb for styling.
- Stopped brushing/combing my hair when it was altogether, except for my bangs which cannot be styled after they dry due to a cowlick. I don't want to use a boar bristle brush because I don't like using animal products.
- Stopped heat styling my hair completely. I wear my hair completely natural now, unless I decide to wear it up - in which case I curl these two little framey pieces I have on either side.
- Stopped using hair ties almost entirely, which have a tendency to get extremely tangled in my hair and cause significant breakage. I use an octopus clip for updos, and secure braids with bobby pins.
- Started sleeping on a silk pillowcase.
- Began doing coconut oil treatments every other week.
- Began CWC. I like this and it always improves the texture of my hair, but I don't always remember to do it.
Things that didn't work for me:
- I tried using a silk sleeping cap, but it always slipped off while I was sleeping, so I stuck to the silk pillowcase.
- I don't do the coconut oil treatments anymore. At first, they worked pretty well but it's really difficult for me to get all the oil out since my hair is so fine. I had to shampoo at least twice, sometimes three or four times and I always ended up with spots that still had oil in them. My hair tends to be fairly dry after a wash, so I really can't afford to wash it again to remove the rest of the oil when the first four shampoos don't do the trick. Besides, I feel like I'm wasting shampoo, my time and any benefits of the oil by having to shampoo so much to get it out.
- I don't wear my hair in a protective style while I sleep, because hair ties completely ruin my hair and clips are SUPER uncomfortable to lay on.
- Another thing that was suggested was using henna to color my hair, but I'm not at all interested in trying this because it is WAY too much effort for me. I am red and have been red for years. I use an ammonia free hair color, and color my hair probably once a month (usually need touch ups after 4 - 6 shampoos). I count coloring as a shampoo, and my hair texture is always the best after coloring. The reason for this is the conditioner that they package with the hair dye. I have no idea what is in it, but it completely smoothes and softens my hair. Immediately after applying it, my hair is completely detangled.
Okay, so after making all those changes I did begin to notice a marked improvement in my hair and my damaged ends are a lot better (although I have declined to cut them off completely because I would lose at least half of my length). My hair was also super simple to style so that was awesome! However, in the last few months I've been getting increasingly frustrated with my hair texture. I stopped using Tresemme products completely. I switched over to the Natural versions a while ago, and I have had issues with the products going rancid (gross!). Not to mention, my hair was ALWAYS either dry or greasy. Never soft. Never easy to style. I picked up an all-natural, sulfate-free shampoo at Target a few weeks ago. I was looking for a shampoo for redheads because my color has been fading quicker than normal lately, but I couldn't find anything so I settled for sulfate-free because I knew it would at least prevent some more color stripping. I ended up getting a brand called Caroline's Daughter. Not sure of the exact product but it's black vanilla (which smells super good so that definitely aided my decision). The shampoo is fine, it definitely strips my hair less and I don't have as much build-up by shampoo days (so not quite as disgustingly greasy as it was). It doesn't really make my hair any softer, it just feels more fine and light which I'm assuming is pretty close to its natural state. It also hasn't really helped my color fading issue, at least that I have noticed. Not sure if I will stick with it just because it's pretty expensive and I'm not getting as great of results as I would like. For conditioner, I picked up something from TIGI that was on sale is some sort of color protecting conditioner. It detangles my hair significantly in the shower when I apply it (not as good as my box dye conditioner), but it really doesn't make my hair any less dry or any softer - although again, I have a lot less build-up with this product so my hair doesn't get as greasy which is good. It has helped my color from fading a bit so far, but it's only been about two uses and I haven't used it after coloring yet so it's hard to say. Once again, this product is pretty pricey, so I'm not sure if I will buy it again when I run out unless I start seeing more significant results.
My other HUGE problem lately is hairfall. My hair has been really dry, so it's always really tangled in the morning and it takes a long time to comb it out. I am shedding more hair than all four of my cats, I think. When I'm done combing, the sink is completely covered in long red strands. This is really, really bothering me. I have always had significant hairfall, but never this bad, not even when I was brushing.
For the record, my hair type is 1c-2a/fine/ii.
I am wondering if you guys have any suggestions for my routine. The only thing I can think that has changed between my previous routine working very well and then not working at all is that I moved from an arid state to the PNW this year. Different water, possibly. I would really appreciate product suggestions, preferably things without animal products and things that are all-natural, if possible. If you have any suggestions about products for redheads, I'm very interested in those, as well. Just a note, I have been considering trying Avalon Organic's thickening shampoo because while I have a LOT of hair, it's super fine and I would like more substance, especially for hair styles. However, I have heard it's very drying so I don't want to try it out until I find a really moisturizing conditioner. If you guys have any insight on that, it would be appreciated as well. I am also open to oiling my hair again, if you know of any oils that are better suited to fine hair. Thanks in advance for any advice!