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darklyndsea
June 6th, 2015, 12:09 AM
Background: My hair's generally pretty awful to comb out and only takes less than an hour if I CWC and, once it's dry, comb it out with plenty of coconut oil. However, recently I noticed that the coconut oil started to smell after it was in my hair for a while so I stopped using it. My hair takes literally all day to dry (and I can't get a comb through it while it's drying, either), so it's hard for me to experiment since I have to live with the results for a week. My hair always needs more moisture.

The problem: My hair's kind of sticky. When I comb my hair out, it's very hard for the comb to go through it because it sticks to itself and the comb. I have to clean my comb several times even the first time I comb it out after washing my hair, because it gets this linty residue. You know how when you've had a band-aid on for a while and you remove it there's this slightly sticky linty outline of where it used to be? It feels a lot like that. The issue seems to go up all the way, and I use a clarifying shampoo on my scalp, so while my first instinct is that it might be buildup, I'm not sure that's the case.

picklepie
June 6th, 2015, 05:09 AM
What clarifying shampoo do you use? And have you tried a clarifying wash of the whole length? Sometimes I need to clarify repeatedly, if the buildup is severe. Your hair looks gorgeous in your profile photo, btw!

Panth
June 6th, 2015, 05:29 AM
Is it possible that it could actually be lint? If you're using a lot of coconut oil and in a lint-y environment (or dry your hair with terrycloth or otherwise linty towels/fabric) that could be the culprit. By any chance do you sew or do other textile crafts? If so, that could be another source of lint in your home. Alternatively, do you have furred pets?

Nique1202
June 6th, 2015, 05:58 AM
Yeah, I would do an intense clarifying of the length, 2-3 washes at least. Does your conditioner have a lot of 'cones or waxes in it? How long has it been since you clarified the whole length?

Whatever's coating your hair and making it sticky is likely also keeping it from drying in a timely manner, keeping you from getting a comb through it when it's wet at all, and making it seem like it's not taking in any moisture (since you mention that your hair "always needs more"). Get that off and you might find that all your problems get a lot better.

Anje
June 6th, 2015, 07:29 AM
Sounds like you need to clarify, and by that I mean shampoo your whole length, with full strength clarifying shampoo. Letting suds go down the length is often sufficient for normal washing, but I wouldn't expect it to give that hair a good cleaning when it needs it. Maybe try a different shampoo than your usual one, since it clearly is not removing all the residue.

If your coconut oil is starting to get stinky, I think it's probably getting a little rancid. Time to get a fresh jar of it! That said, having oil in my hair often increases lint, because all the stuff (cat fuzz especially, in my case) sticks to the oil. If you've never tried a silicone serum, I'd encourage you to give it a shot. Looking doesn't stick to that and it makes detangling way easier. (I don't personally have a lot of luck with them, because my hair seems to find serum drying, but most people don't appear to have this problem.)

darklyndsea
June 6th, 2015, 03:25 PM
I use Suave Daily Clarifying shampoo.

It is lint, clearly, but lint shouldn't stick like that when my hair has just been washed. Coconut oil is definitely not the culprit here; my comb comes out clean when I use it.

The issues with my hair other than the stickiness (slow drying, lack of moisture, inability to get a comb through while wet) are not caused by the same factor, as they're how my hair has behaved my entire life. I'm pretty sure they're just the natural state of my hair.

Cones make my hair look weird, and they definitely don't help my hair be more manageable.

Maybe I'll try clarifying and getting a new jar of coconut oil. And maybe switching my conditioner? Ugh I don't know anything else that comes close to the right amount of moisture.

KittyBird
June 6th, 2015, 03:29 PM
I used to have this problem when I used shampoo bars and SLS shampoos. Very sticky hair that was difficult to comb and left a lot of nasty residue on my combs and my tangle teezer. I don't have that problem with my current routine, which is sulfate-free shampoo followed by a mixture of oil, water and conditioner, and then another round of conditioner. I still use the same leave-ins and serums after washing, so those probably weren't the cause of the stickiness for me. I've also stopped doing CWC, I just wash my hair and then condition twice. I suppose I'm not very helpful, since I don't actually know why my hair was so sticky, but changing my routine helped a lot. :)

lapushka
June 6th, 2015, 03:30 PM
Maybe try washing, then deep conditioning with a good mask, or use conditioner twice (leave on 2 min. rinse, repeat). And comb out while the conditioner is still in your hair. Wring out your hair before applying conditioner, so it can "stick" to your hair and soak in.

spidermom
June 6th, 2015, 03:56 PM
I agree with clarifying from scalp to tips. You might have to do it twice.

Coconut oil definitely draws lint to my hair. I use a small amount of coney serum (CHI Silk Infusion) to my length after washing and coconut oil before washing (when I remember). Conditioners can build up in hair over time also, and CWC is really not a good routine if you leave the conditioner in your hair while washing. Conditioner has a negative charge and shampoo has a positive charge (or vice versa), and when they're in your hair together, it makes them cling together and stick to your hair. So unless you thoroughly rinse the first C of CWC out of your hair, you're creating a sticky situation.

Combing out hair while conditioner is in it is a good practice, especially if you avoid messing it all around while you let it dry. Finger-combing is part of my routine of distributing conditioner through my length.

endlessly
June 6th, 2015, 07:21 PM
My first thought was definitely that you need to clarify and while you mentioned that you've clarified your scalp, if you still have that sticky feeling on the rest of your length, you need to do that, too. I think clarifying gets such a bad reputation because if overdone, it can be drying and damaging to the hair, but as long as you're gentle, it shouldn't cause an issue. Back when I used coconut oil, I had a similar problem happen and it was a combination of residue buildup and protein overload. I did clarify (much more than I should have) and I was quite rough when shampooing my hair as well, but the only thing that truly helped it was using apple cider vinegar. Whenever my hair felt the way you're describing, I'd spray a diluted ACV mix all over my hair until it was thoroughly soaked, leave it on for a while (sometimes up to an hour if need be), and then shampoo it out. Voila, problem solved. Besides sorting out my sticky-feeling tresses, it also left it incredibly soft and shiny, so it really was a win-win and I would recommend trying that.