My Hair Feels Disgusting

[Bunnehlvr22]

Ugh, I can't stand the oily and waxy feel of my hair on water only. It's disgusting and it smells terrible also. My scalp actually smells!!! :eek: and I hate wearing my hair up all the time since I'm terrible at putting my hair up. Going WO is still an ambition of mine but I just can't stand all the oil. :thud: I'm really disappointed it isn't working out for me. *sigh*

[mz_butterfly]

It doesn't work for a lot of people, do what makes you feel good and makes your hair happy. What makes your hair happy will make you happy. :)


If you can't stand it, hate it and it stinks why is it still an ambition?

[Aderyn]

Do you have hard water?

I have to echo mz_butterfly, though, why is it an ambition? If your hair doesn't like it, your hair doesn't like it, there's no need to force yourself into doing a hair care method that you don't like.

[yahirwaO.o]

Yeah, this doesnt work for some people. Dont feel bad, go on and wash your hair with whatever you prefer. Id go for regular shampoo (oily and smelly scalp is simply not ok) and try another option in the future.

[Doreen]

Aww, don't feel bad! My hair can't stand it either. If you started it only a few washes ago, your hair just may need more time to adjust, but if it's ongoing then maybe it's time to move on. I hope you find a routine that works really well for you!

[Nadine <3]

might be time to just move on and wash with some shampoo...some scalps just never adjust. I still have to wash every other day.

[flickm]

Oh, i really sympathise. i so wanted to do water only, or not wash at all; but that was the problem for me too, my hair was not oily but waxy, especially at the back. I stuck it for months, then caved and tried various other things, including washing with eggs, flax seed, honey, bicarbonate of soda. The last was very successful and my hair was in amazing condition, but it was such a wet, horrible messy process. Then my daughter put me onto some natural shampoos, no chemicals, just vegetable oils and those worked well for a time, then my hair started getting oily after a couple of days (the advantage of the no poo regime was that it meant I could stretch my washes to once a week without my hair being gross). I've also tried rhassoul clay, which was nice but made my hair dull. Now i use shampoo bars followed by a vinegar rinse, and i couldn't be happier - but who knows whether that too will fail down the line! The one thing I'm determined not to do is go back to commercial shampoos with all their chemicals, though i accept they work really well for some people - for me they caused a load of shedding and lots of grease.

I think you - as others have said - have to accept that your hair is not going to adjust. Maybe in an ideal world, where we all used natural cleansing methods from birth, it might work, but i think our scalps may be too confused by years of shampoo to adapt to a water only regime.

[Arctic]

If your scalp is smelly I'd be worried it will get an infection or sensitizes to your own sebum. I'd wash the hair with something more cleaning right away.

[Nique1202]

Some scalps are just too oily to adjust to WO or NW/SO, even with all the bristle brushing and preening you can fit into a day. I know that my sebum is so thick it just doesn't move down my hair no matter WHAT I do to it, it just accumulates and gets smelly in the 2-3 inches of hair nearest to my scalp.

If you really don't want to use shampoo, there's still the possibility that conditioner only washing will work for you, and even if THAT doesn't, there's no extra harm being done to your hair from using shampoo. If Crystal Gayle can grow her hair to the floor washing every day with sulfates, then washing (every couple of days or twice a week or once a week) won't hurt as long as you're treating your hair right when you wash it.

[Nymphony]

When I started using shampoo bars my hair took about 2 weeks to adjust and was super oily during that time. I don't know when you started but could it just be that you're still in your adjustment period? ACV or tea might also help if there's extra buildup on your scalp.

Don't be sad if your scalp does not adjust though, like Nique1202 said, you can still grow healthy hair without these natural methods. If you use regular shampoo maybe avoid heat styling, or something else to balance it out :)

[Aderyn]

I think WO and the NW/SO methods have a particularly long adjustment period, too.

[lapushka]

I think I tried just about every method on here, but due to SD (seborrheic dermatitis) of the scalp, I have to wash with harsh sulfates. It is the way it is. It's all about what our *hair* wants, not what *we* want for our hair! It's my motto!

[alexis917]

I feel like the healthier your scalp is, the better, too.

[spidermom]

If something doesn't work, drop it and move on. I've had a lot of ideas about what I wanted to do with my hair that didn't work out. It's part of the process of discovering what works best for your own hair.

[Anje]

I've tried to make a lot of things work for my hair, and my scalp is quite forgiving of my experimentation (unlike so many). Ultimately, though, if it's not working, you can't make it work by wishing it would. If WO is making your hair disgusting and your scalp stink or itch, then you're not meant to do WO. It's not right for you, at least not here and now with your life and your hormones and your environment and hair condition and water and food and everything else that influences your body. All those things conspire together to affect how you react to a wash method, and you can only affect so much of it. That's OK. It's about finding out what works for you, not forcing something to work.

Go wash your hair with something that worked well for you in the past, then try something new. Enjoy the process. :blossom:

[Halliday]

have you tried cowashing?

[lapushka]

have you tried cowashing?

Yes, it's great to make new suggestions, but as Anje said, it's better to first return to what worked for you before attempting even anything else that's new. :flower:

[meteor]

If the scalp is smelly and itchy, there is probably some bacterial or fungal imbalance. I would not persevere, as it can lead to issues like dandruff, seborrheic dermatitis (probably caused by Malassezia fungus which is lipophilic in nature and feeds off scalp oils (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16382685), http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18004291).
I'd wash with a good cleansing shampoo, maybe even an anti-dandruff one at this point, since the itchies sound like a symptom.

If you prefer to limit shampoo use, you can always dilute shampoo with water (in a separate squirt bottle) - it makes you use a lot less shampoo while still cleaning scalp very effectively. Also, stretching washes a little bit or doing scalp-only washes and other low-poo tricks are going to limit your use of shampoo dramatically while still giving you proper cleansing benefits.

I really hope your hair and scalp will feel better soon! :D :flower:

[meteor]

Some scalps are just too oily to adjust to WO or NW/SO, even with all the bristle brushing and preening you can fit into a day. I know that my sebum is so thick it just doesn't move down my hair no matter WHAT I do to it, it just accumulates and gets smelly in the 2-3 inches of hair nearest to my scalp.

If you really don't want to use shampoo, there's still the possibility that conditioner only washing will work for you, and even if THAT doesn't, there's no extra harm being done to your hair from using shampoo. If Crystal Gayle can grow her hair to the floor washing every day with sulfates, then washing (every couple of days or twice a week or once a week) won't hurt as long as you're treating your hair right when you wash it.

I agree absolutely. :agree: By the way, sorry for the derail :oops: , but did Crystal Gayle elaborate on how she washed and especially dried her hair every day? What methods does she use? Because I'd love to know more as my own wash days are pretty time-consuming and more involved than I'd like.

[Nique1202]

I agree absolutely. :agree: By the way, sorry for the derail :oops: , but did Crystal Gayle elaborate on how she washed and especially dried her hair every day? What methods does she use? Because I'd love to know more as my own wash days are pretty time-consuming and more involved than I'd like.

I can't find much on the methods she uses, except that she does let it air dry apparently, and it takes about 5 hours to dry (http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1990-09-20/news/9009200572_1_crystal-gayle-hair-down-lets-her-hair), or did 25 years ago when the article was written.

[luxurioushair]

I understand what you mean because even with conditioner-only, sometimes my hair doesn't get as clean as I want it the first time. I don't think I can do water-only either. Maybe you can use shampoo/conditioner at the weekends and do water-only inbetween?

[meteor]

I can't find much on the methods she uses, except that she does let it air dry apparently, and it takes about 5 hours to dry (http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1990-09-20/news/9009200572_1_crystal-gayle-hair-down-lets-her-hair), or did 25 years ago when the article was written.

Thanks so much for the link, Nique1202! :D Wow, 5 hours a day sounds pretty intense. :)

[Bunnehlvr22]

Wow :eek: Thanks for all the replies! :D

I guess it was an ambition for so long because 1) it was a challenge and 2) I hate being so dependent on shampoo. :( It was so waxy for the 8 days I was WO when I took it down from a ponytail it kept the shape without ponytail holders. :eek: :bigeyes: And it seemed to make my skin more oily. I don't know if that is mental or not.

I guess I'm back to trying different shampoos. My area doesn't have many good natural shampoos so I have to buy most of them on the internet. And I like holding the bottles of shampoo before I buy it. I'm weird that way. :rolleyes: I also want cruelty free, which makes options even smaller.

I've spent so long ignoring my hair and hating it that I have no idea what it likes. :confused: Guess my hair and I will start to get to know each other better now.

I've heard of CO but I'm not 100% sure what exactly it is. Just conditioner on the ends, if I understand it correctly. I may try it; wouldn't hurt. :D

[Aderyn]

CO washing is using a lot of a light, typically cone-free conditioner to wash the scalp, so not just the ends being coated in conditioner.

[meteor]

I've heard of CO but I'm not 100% sure what exactly it is. Just conditioner on the ends, if I understand it correctly. I may try it; wouldn't hurt. :D
CO-washing uses conditioner like you would shampoo, except you need to work it into hair and scalp / massage it a bit more than a regular shampoo.
Here is the ongoing LHC thread on this method: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=2898
It usually uses watery, light, cone-free conditioner. Some people have great success with this method, others have problems (e.g. excessive shedding, scalp issues). Some people have to clarify (with clarifying shampoo) often, others - almost never. It's a very your-mileage-may-vary kind of thing. :)

[flickm]

Wow :eek: Thanks for all the replies! :D

I guess it was an ambition for so long because 1) it was a challenge and 2) I hate being so dependent on shampoo. :( It was so waxy for the 8 days I was WO when I took it down from a ponytail it kept the shape without ponytail holders. :eek: :bigeyes: And it seemed to make my skin more oily. I don't know if that is mental or not.

I guess I'm back to trying different shampoos. My area doesn't have many good natural shampoos so I have to buy most of them on the internet. And I like holding the bottles of shampoo before I buy it. I'm weird that way. :rolleyes: I also want cruelty free, which makes options even smaller.

I've spent so long ignoring my hair and hating it that I have no idea what it likes. :confused: Guess my hair and I will start to get to know each other better now.

I've heard of CO but I'm not 100% sure what exactly it is. Just conditioner on the ends, if I understand it correctly. I may try it; wouldn't hurt. :D

If you are in Europe, Natural Life Uk does some wonderful natural, chemical free, cruelty free shampoos, but at the moment you have to join their Facebook page to order. If you are outside Europe, the carriage costs would be prohibitive.

The other thing to try is shampoo bars (as I mentioned before). They are marvellous as they are cruelty free and usually vegan, they are natural and are what we all used before modern shampoos were invented, they dont over strip the hair. However, you probably need to do a dilute vinegar rinse after, especially if you have hard water, just to restore PH, as they can otherwise make hair a little dull. The absolute main advantage if you are having to shop online is that they last ages - and there are loads of different ones to choose from, so you can have a lot of fun shopping around (at least I did :) )

[lapushka]

I guess I'm back to trying different shampoos. My area doesn't have many good natural shampoos so I have to buy most of them on the internet. And I like holding the bottles of shampoo before I buy it. I'm weird that way. :rolleyes: I also want cruelty free, which makes options even smaller.

You may like to go 100% natural or as natural as possible, but chances are real your hair might dislike that as well. I wanted to go more natural, CO-wash and do all of that, my hair said: NO, and so now I wash with commercial sulfate shampoo, why? Because my hair thrives on it. I don't have to like it. My hair has to. I needed a swift kick up the butt for that one! Not saying you do, but it might not turn out as you plan. Doesn't hurt to try, though! Good luck! :)

And for CO-washing, there's an entire thread on it for you to figure out how it works. ;)

[flickm]

You may like to go 100% natural or as natural as possible, but chances are real your hair might dislike that as well. I wanted to go more natural, CO-wash and do all of that, my hair said: NO, and so now I wash with commercial sulfate shampoo, why? Because my hair thrives on it. I don't have to like it. My hair has to. I needed a swift kick up the butt for that one! Not saying you do, but it might not turn out as you plan. Doesn't hurt to try, though! Good luck! :)

And for CO-washing, there's an entire thread on it for you to figure out how it works. ;)

So many factors at work: age; lifestyle; diet; genes; hormones. I've been experimenting for three or four years and am still fine tuning.

[Bunnehlvr22]

CO-washing uses conditioner like you would shampoo, except you need to work it into hair and scalp / massage it a bit more than a regular shampoo.
Here is the ongoing LHC thread on this method: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=2898
It usually uses watery, light, cone-free conditioner. Some people have great success with this method, others have problems (e.g. excessive shedding, scalp issues). Some people have to clarify (with clarifying shampoo) often, others - almost never. It's a very your-mileage-may-vary kind of thing. :)

That's very interesting! :eek: I'll have to try that. I used a clarifying shampoo today because my hair just has been feeling "off" since my experiment. I found some shampoo and conditioner at my local health food store that looks promising (it's shea butter based with coconut oil). I'm going to try CO with that conditioner because it's the only cone free conditioner I've been able to run across in the store. Here's hoping it works (and the clarifying shampoo helps get my hair back to normal. :rolleyes:).