Texture Trouble

[CinnamonBun]

Okay, should I hack off my almost-hip-length hair because it has horrible texture due to hard water/rotten natural texture??? I have tried hardwater shampoos, conditioners, ACV rinses, etc. My hair is never soft or smooth, and it's frustrating. I've always dreamed of classic length, soft, smooth hair, but if it's going to behave like straw, I don't necessarily want it down to my butt!! What should I do?:rant:

[Arctic]

If your natural texture is not what you'd want, then the best approach would be to accept your texture, and work with it. Every texture has good and bad sides. Not all textures can be smooth and soft. Maybe you have more wave than you think? Or maybe you have wiry strands? Or maybe you are not finey (or F/M)? Is your hair damaged (heat or chemicals or mechanical)? What's you other routine like?

Can you be more specific about what it is in your texture than bothers you. Has it always been like that?

And you say you have hard water. What shampoos you have tried? How often you have used shampoos and vinegar rinses? Have you tried citric acid rinses too? Or distilled water rinses?


If this is your natural texture and you can't accept it (yet?), then maybe you can manipulate it a bit: roller setting, blow drying on cool, heatless waves can all help smooth the hairshafts.

Ofcourse you can always cut your hair too if you want, but since yours is so long, I would give it long and hard consideration period, and only cut little bit at a time.

[CinnamonBun]

My texture used to be a lot smoother, but it has gradually become wavier and rougher. I think I'm a 1b/1c.... S-waves at nape, hair won't wave but it won't straighten, either. What bothers me is when you run your hand over it it feels like pilled cotton instead of silk :( I have a small amount of manipulation damage, but my not much- my hair is virgin and I use conditioners regularly. I have tried regular SLS shamppos, Ion Hard Water shampoo, and ACV... I haven't tried other acid rinses, the ACV just makes tangles.

[Laurenji]

How much / what kind of conditioner or moisturizing treatments are you using?

Also, do any of the shampoos or conditioners have protein in them?

[Anje]

^^^ Good question on the protein. My hair gets rough-textured and awful if it gets more than rare exposure to protein.

It might be worth trying citric acid rinses instead of ACV. Also, give another hard water shampoo (I've heard good things about Malibu) a try, making sure to lather the entire length. Following up with a moisture treatment like an SMT might be a good idea too, in case there is a problem with protein or general dryness making your hair rough.

Ever considered a water softener? I've lived with hard water with and without one, and I much prefer having one! Never mind hair, the difference it makes with my dishes is amazing!

[Aderyn]

You might also want to give clarifying a shot if you haven't. And maybe try more conditioning/moisturizing treatments.

[lapushka]

Silk hair? Honestly. That's for commercials. I have F hair and it's dryish when it's just washed, and not "silky" at all. It's a fable to think of hair that way. As others have suggested, try and accept your texture and work with it from there. Are you using anything with silicones? Because if not, then maybe now's the time to start.

[Anje]

Silk hair? Honestly. That's for commercials. I have F hair and it's dryish when it's just washed, and not "silky" at all. It's a fable to think of hair that way. As others have suggested, try and accept your texture and work with it from there. Are you using anything with silicones? Because if not, then maybe now's the time to start.
Not always... My hair was getting kinda dry and not great, so I SMTed last night. It's silky now. Not all hair does "silky", but some absolutely does.

[gthlvrmx]

Have you tried oiling on damp hair? That gives me really soft hair. Maybe your hair isn't going to be silky smooth, but you can certainly get soft hair. Even if your individual hairs feel wiry, it's pretty in it's own way. Give your idea of cutting your hair the 2 week rule (or more weeks! I would say more). After 2 weeks have passed, see if you truly want to cut it.
If I were you, I would grow it out and keep it up and away so I wouldn't be bothered by what texture it is. Plus, wouldn't silky hair be harder to keep in updo's? It might just slip out. "Rougher" hair might hold in updo's better which is nice. You might have to figure something out to keep silky slippery hair up and away.

[CinnamonBun]

Lapushka - "Silk" may be a bad analogy. But there are many heads of hair out there with very soft and smooth/sleek hair... mine is not one of them. I don't expect to live in a Pantene commercial, but I don't want to accept defeat at the hands of rough hair!

As to protein.... My hair hates protein. I try to steer away from it.
I have clarified, yes. I have also chelated in the past.... maybe I'll try it again.
Conditioners - I have tried so many! I do like the ones with silicones, and use them regularly.
Also several oils, using several different methods, proved futile.

[CinnamonBun]

gthlvrmx- Good points :) I do wear a lot of updos...

[texangrrl]

Silky hair isn't limited to commercials. Now that I've figured out my perfect hair routine, my hair is always soft and silky.

[Arctic]

If you have hard water, you'd need to keep at regular chelating.

(Silky, soft, smooth hair as a hairtype is 100% possible, that's how my hair was before the texture changed. It was also limp, flat, slippery and had no body what so ever. :))

[CinnamonBun]

Arctic- I've been thinking about that. It's been a while since I've chelated..... Maybe I will do that and follow with a coney conditioner and see what happens :)

[CinnamonBun]

As I mentioned earlier, I have tried clarifying and chelating, but not on a regular basis. I think I'll try that for a while - plus cones - and see what happens. Oh, and I have had a recent dusting, so it's not a fried-end issue.

[lapushka]

Lapushka - "Silk" may be a bad analogy. But there are many heads of hair out there with very soft and smooth/sleek hair... mine is not one of them. I don't expect to live in a Pantene commercial, but I don't want to accept defeat at the hands of rough hair!

Soft might be a better word, yes, I can get into that! ;) :D

[Laurenji]

I know you said that you try to steer away from protein, and I believe you --- but there have been several threads on here about people who have discovered sneaky sources of protein in their shampoo or conditioner that they didn't realize were protein, because it was named something else. It might be worth researching some of the sneaky other names of protein and double-check your hair products.

Also have you ever tried the WCC method? (wash, condition once, condition again)? I say this because I've found that my hair has become MUCH more moisturized and soft after I started conditioning twice, first with a simple cheap conditioner and second with a moisturizing, cone-y conditioner.

[lapushka]

Also have you ever tried the WCC method? (wash, condition once, condition again)? I say this because I've found that my hair has become MUCH more moisturized and soft after I started conditioning twice, first with a simple cheap conditioner and second with a moisturizing, cone-y conditioner.

The link to WCC is in my signature. I use it because I use harsh cleansers (sulfate), some of the harshest on the market, and I initially wanted to go curly girl / CO-wash or wash with a mild non-sulfate shampoo. Because of seborrheic dermatitis, I *need* that harsh cleanser, so I thought, well, why not condition twice. Condition once, wait 2min. at least, rinse, use a second (more moisturizing) conditioner, wait 2min. at least, rinse. Then I still use leave-in and a serum on top of that, it's a lot, but my hair just soaks it right up - because it needs it!

[Halliday]

i recommend the Loreal Elvive Total Repair conditioner for silky hair. it sounds like we have a similar texture, and this conditioner makes my hair properly silky and soft, its gorgeous. cheap too.

[texangrrl]

I know you said that you try to steer away from protein, and I believe you --- but there have been several threads on here about people who have discovered sneaky sources of protein in their shampoo or conditioner that they didn't realize were protein, because it was named something else. It might be worth researching some of the sneaky other names of protein and double-check your hair products.

Laurenjii has a very good point. My hair HATES proteins and I was still getting protein products even when I thought I wasn't because they were called something else. Here's a comprehensive list I found online for proteins in hair products. Hopefully this will help - it sure did for me!

Cocodimonium hydroxypropyl hydrolyzed casein
Cocodimonium hydroxypropyl hydrolyzed collagen
Cocodimonium hydroxypropyl hydrolyzed hair keratin
Cocodimonium hydroxypropyl hydrolyzed keratin
Cocodimonium hydroxypropyl hydrolyzed rice protein
Cocodimonium hydroxypropyl hydrolyzed silk
Cocodimonium hydroxypropyl hydrolyzed soy protein
Cocodimonium hydroxypropyl hydrolyzed wheat protein
Cocodimonium hydroxypropyl silk amino acids
Cocoyl hydrolyzed collagen
Cocoyl hydrolyzed keratin
Hydrolyzed keratin
Hydrolyzed oat flour
Hydrolyzed silk
Hydrolyzed silk protein
Hydrolyzed soy protein
Hydrolyzed wheat protein
Hydrolyzed wheat protein
Keratin
Potassium cocoyl hydrolyzed collagen
TEA-cocoyl hydrolyzed collagen
TEA-cocoyl hydrolyzed soy protein

[texangrrl]

If you have hard water, you'd need to keep at regular chelating.

(Silky, soft, smooth hair as a hairtype is 100% possible, that's how my hair was before the texture changed. It was also limp, flat, slippery and had no body what so ever. :))

Haha, yes!! I deal with lack of body but it's hard to tell since my hair is thick. And it can be problematic for buns not holding.

[CinnamonBun]

Oh, dear. Can y'all suggest some good protein free conditioners??
* I will try that L'oreal repair

[spidermom]

I've noticed that my hair feels rougher now that I'm living in a hard water area. I use Ion hard water shampoo about every 2nd or 3rd washing, also the conditioner. I've discovered that I have to double up on my coney serum to make my hair smooth enough to drag a comb through it. I used to use a tiny squirt, maybe enough to cover a fingernail. Now I use 2 or 3 times that much. I can still feel a difference in my hair, but I can live with it.

If you have S-waves, you aren't a 1-anything. You're a type 2 (wavy).

[CinnamonBun]

But, Spidermom, the waves are only at the nape of my neck, and I only get slight waves around the edges when it's super humid.

[Andrasta]

Hey cinnamonbun have you by any chance tried Garnier triple nutrition conditioner? Or ion hard water shampoo? I have had similar problems with my hair recently and found that when I use the hard water shampoo once a week and the triple nutrition conditioner after every wash my hair is smoother and softer feeling. Also it is much easier to detangle

[CinnamonBun]

Andrasta - yes, I have the Ion hard water shampoo and conditioner, but I don't think I've used the Garnier products? Do the Triple Nutrition ones have any hidden proteins in them?

[spidermom]

Oh, o.k., I get it. I got the impression somewhere that you were combing or brushing out the waves, or attempting to, which tends to break up the wave pattern and make fluff or frizz, which doesn't feel soft or smooth at all. Waves will actually feel silkier if you let them clump and do their thing.

[yahirwaO.o]

I think silky while a good thing, might be overated sometimes. Mine is like that, at times its so hard and frustrating to do something with it, even a regular ponytail can be a nightmare. Braid sections slide out, french braids can take upto 30 minutes and still its going to slide out at some point and my hair thows and laughts at buns and silky can often become stringy at some point if you are finey.

I think hair that looks soft and lively its good enough and theres already some great recomendations going on here. Hope the best for you and your hair! :cool: