Please myth-bust these for me.

[Strands]

I have heard some crazy stuff about different things you can use on your hair over the usual stuff, a lot of which have been recommended to me. I am not considering doing any of these like in the next month, but might consider them into the new year. I want some information about these to see if I should avoid them or if anyone can vouch that they work.


Thanks in advanced if you can answer for any of these :)


1- Rinsing hair with green tea. I have heard that rinsing your hair with cool green tea helps to seal the cuticle. Anyone tried this? It apparently prevents frizz?…


2- Cleaning your scalp with cocoa powder paste - or just the powder mixed with water? I was told this will deep clarify your scalp and encourage fresh sebum generation.


3- Moisturizing the length with Aveeno (or any kind of plain body lotion) watered down 1 part water to 2 parts lotion? I heard that this is as good if not better than the moisturizing hair creams out there?


4- Rinsing hair with witch hazel as a clarifier instead of using clarifying shampoo? This is apparently a lot less drying and does a better job?


5- Using watered down conditioner as a leave-in conditioner spritzed on the hair? This is apparently what most leave-ins are. Just watered down conditioner?



If I think of more I will post again, but lets start with these lol. :gobblecheese:

[lapushka]

5- Using watered down conditioner as a leave-in conditioner spritzed on the hair? This is apparently what most leave-ins are. Just watered down conditioner?

This is great to do if regular leave-in is too heavy, or if you have waves or curls and want to refresh the waves/curls in the morning (to wear the hair out). It is not watered down conditioner, though, it is a spritz bottle with water with a squirt of conditioner in it. ;)

[Strands]

This is great to do if regular leave-in is too heavy, or if you have waves or curls and want to refresh the waves/curls in the morning (to wear the hair out).

Okay, so this is one I might adopt when I run out of my regular leave-in. I will try this! My regular leave-in is not very heavy, so I am used to light ones :)

[vampyyri]

I'll try my best to take a crack at these :lol:

1- Rinsing hair with green tea. I have heard that rinsing your hair with cool green tea helps to seal the cuticle. Anyone tried this? It apparently prevents frizz?…
Any cool rinse would do this, but even the "sealing" is debatable.

2- Cleaning your scalp with cocoa powder paste - or just the powder mixed with water? I was told this will deep clarify your scalp and encourage fresh sebum generation.
Not so sure about this one, I would imagine it would create a delicious smelling residue though :lol:

3- Moisturizing the length with Aveeno (or any kind of plain body lotion) watered down 1 part water to 2 parts lotion? I heard that this is as good if not better than the moisturizing hair creams out there?
Depends on the ingredients, but it could cause build-up.

4- Rinsing hair with witch hazel as a clarifier instead of using clarifying shampoo? This is apparently a lot less drying and does a better job?
I would just opt for shampoo. I use witch hazel to dry out my oily skin from time to time, it might be too harsh on the scalp/hair.

5- Using watered down conditioner as a leave-in conditioner spritzed on the hair? This is apparently what most leave-ins are. Just watered down conditioner?
I've done this, it works in a pinch!

Correct me if I'm wrong everyone :lol:

[Strands]

I'll try my best to take a crack at these :lol:

1- Rinsing hair with green tea. I have heard that rinsing your hair with cool green tea helps to seal the cuticle. Anyone tried this? It apparently prevents frizz?…
Any cool rinse would do this, but even the "sealing" is debatable.

2- Cleaning your scalp with cocoa powder paste - or just the powder mixed with water? I was told this will deep clarify your scalp and encourage fresh sebum generation.
Not so sure about this one, I would imagine it would create a delicious smelling residue though :lol:

3- Moisturizing the length with Aveeno (or any kind of plain body lotion) watered down 1 part water to 2 parts lotion? I heard that this is as good if not better than the moisturizing hair creams out there?
Depends on the ingredients, but it could cause build-up.

4- Rinsing hair with witch hazel as a clarifier instead of using clarifying shampoo? This is apparently a lot less drying and does a better job?
I would just opt for shampoo. I use witch hazel to dry out my oily skin from time to time, it might be too harsh on the scalp/hair.

5- Using watered down conditioner as a leave-in conditioner spritzed on the hair? This is apparently what most leave-ins are. Just watered down conditioner?
I've done this, it works in a pinch!

Correct me if I'm wrong everyone :lol:

So useful! Thank you! :)

[sumidha]

Okay, here we go.

1- Possibly. If green tea is acidic then it would have the same benefit as an acidic rinse, which is sealing the cuticle. It might not help much, but it's not going to hurt.

2. I personally would not do this. From my experience baking, cocoa powder sticks to things, and it's so fine it wouldn't have any exfoliating effect to speak of, and since the point of cleaning your scalp is to remove sebum I don't know why you'd want to intentionally produce more. :confused: It's not as bad as banana, but to me this falls under the 'don't put food in your hair' guideline.

3. There's a good chance it will leave your hair gunky and stringy, lotion and conditioner share some of the same ingredients, but are not the same. It wont destroy your hair, but... Why? Conditioner is cheap.

4. Once again, I don't think it's going to destroy your hair (make sure you don't use the witch hazel that's like 50% alcohol though!) but I don't know how effective it would be. Sounds like it might be nice for your scalp skin maybe?

5. Yes, go for it, tons of people do this. Some conditioners might cause build up depending on your hair and the conditioner, so you might need to experiment a bit to find one that works for you.

[animetor7]

I have heard some crazy stuff about different things you can use on your hair over the usual stuff, a lot of which have been recommended to me. I am not considering doing any of these like in the next month, but might consider them into the new year. I want some information about these to see if I should avoid them or if anyone can vouch that they work.


Thanks in advanced if you can answer for any of these :)


1- Rinsing hair with green tea. I have heard that rinsing your hair with cool green tea helps to seal the cuticle. Anyone tried this? It apparently prevents frizz?…
The coolness would help, but green tea is alkaline and may actually raise the cuticle and cause frizz.

2- Cleaning your scalp with cocoa powder paste - or just the powder mixed with water? I was told this will deep clarify your scalp and encourage fresh sebum generation.
I don't think this one is true, you could use cocoa powder as a dry shampoo, but I doubt it would work to clarify.

3- Moisturizing the length with Aveeno (or any kind of plain body lotion) watered down 1 part water to 2 parts lotion? I heard that this is as good if not better than the moisturizing hair creams out there?
This one is true, you can use any sort of cream as part of the C in LOC. I don't know that watering it down is necessary so much as only using a small amount.

4- Rinsing hair with witch hazel as a clarifier instead of using clarifying shampoo? This is apparently a lot less drying and does a better job?
This I haven't heard of, it is an alcohol based on it's chemical formula and structure, so it might work to wick moisture, but I can't tell you whether it would be an efficient surfactant or not. I would just stick with regular clarifying shampoo and dilute it if it seems to be too much.

5- Using watered down conditioner as a leave-in conditioner spritzed on the hair? This is apparently what most leave-ins are. Just watered down conditioner?
This is true. I use a spritz bottle that's mostly water but with a smidge of conditioner in it to refresh and re-moisten my ends in between full washes. I don't think it's true that most leave-ins are watered down conditioner though, they tend to be thicker than regular conditioners in my experience, and serums are something else entirely.


If I think of more I will post again, but lets start with these lol. :gobblecheese:

I answered inside the quote, I hope that's alright. :)

[diewassermelone]

1- Rinsing hair with green tea. I have heard that rinsing your hair with cool green tea helps to seal the cuticle. Anyone tried this? It apparently prevents frizz?…



Not sure about it sealing the cuticle, but I use green tea as a caffeine rinse, and it has cut down on my shedding tremendously.

[Strands]

Okay, here we go.

1- Possibly. If green tea is acidic then it would have the same benefit as an acidic rinse, which is sealing the cuticle. It might not help much, but it's not going to hurt.

2. I personally would not do this. From my experience baking, cocoa powder sticks to things, and it's so fine it wouldn't have any exfoliating effect to speak of, and since the point of cleaning your scalp is to remove sebum I don't know why you'd want to intentionally produce more. :confused: It's not as bad as banana, but to me this falls under the 'don't put food in your hair' guideline.

3. There's a good chance it will leave your hair gunky and stringy, lotion and conditioner share some of the same ingredients, but are not the same. It wont destroy your hair, but... Why? Conditioner is cheap.

4. Once again, I don't think it's going to destroy your hair (make sure you don't use the witch hazel that's like 50% alcohol though!) but I don't know how effective it would be. Sounds like it might be nice for your scalp skin maybe?

5. Yes, go for it, tons of people do this. Some conditioners might cause build up depending on your hair and the conditioner, so you might need to experiment a bit to find one that works for you.

Your advice is so great! Added to my mental notes for sure :) THANK YOU!


I answered inside the quote, I hope that's alright. :)

Thank you for responding!!! :)


Not sure about it sealing the cuticle, but I use green tea as a caffeine rinse, and it has cut down on my shedding tremendously.

I shed quite a bit, I might try this method yet just to see what happens. :eye:

[diewassermelone]

I shed quite a bit, I might try this method yet just to see what happens. :eye:

Do! I've found that brewing a mug of gunpowder tea about every 5-6 days, and letting that sit on my scalp for about 15 minutes does wonders.

[Deborah]

Number 5 sounds fine, all the rest sound useless.

[Strands]

Do! I've found that brewing a mug of gunpowder tea about every 5-6 days, and letting that sit on my scalp for about 15 minutes does wonders.

Welp, I am sold. I will do this once I get some green tea. How strong do you make it and what temp do you do it at?

[sumidha]

No problem. :)

[diewassermelone]

Strands, I usually make a standard brew, and then let it cool down enough so that it doesn't burn when I pour it on, making sure my entire scalp gets some. I used to use a spray bottle, but that's been commandeered for cat training.
I should note that I have a very high tolerance to caffeine, so keep that in mind if you don't, or get a headache from it, and use less the next time around.

[Hay_jules]

Do! I've found that brewing a mug of gunpowder tea about every 5-6 days, and letting that sit on my scalp for about 15 minutes does wonders.

This is something I've been wanting to try. I'd never heard of it for closing the cuticle but have heard good things about using it for a caffeine rinse.

I hadn't heard of any of the others but I'll be adding the water/conditioner homemade leave in to my aresnal as soon as I come up with an empty bottle.

[Strands]

Strands, I usually make a standard brew, and then let it cool down enough so that it doesn't burn when I pour it on, making sure my entire scalp gets some. I used to use a spray bottle, but that's been commandeered for cat training.
I should note that I have a very high tolerance to caffeine, so keep that in mind if you don't, or get a headache from it, and use less the next time around.

I will make a standard brew to start, I have never done a caffeine rinse before, but I can drink a redbull a day with no mental problems, so going out on a limb, maybe it will be similar? LOL

I think I am going to make mine, pour it in a bag, put my length in the bag, and then over the scalp slowly. BUT the spray bottle sounds brilliant if I had one.

Do you do it pre-wash? Post-wash?


This is something I've been wanting to try. I'd never heard of it for closing the cuticle but have heard good things about using it for a caffeine rinse.

I hadn't heard of any of the others but I'll be adding the water/conditioner homemade leave in to my aresnal as soon as I come up with an empty bottle.

IKR. If I can make my own cheap leave-in I will. That stuff can be expensive, and if my conditioner works, I would love to be cheap and just use that LOL

I do wonder if I should use filtered water or mineral water or something specific though... what do you think? Probably anything but tap is best :hmm:

[Obsidian]

I tried using lotion in my hair once, it was one of the grossest things I ever felt.

[Entangled]

I tried using lotion in my hair once, it was one of the grossest things I ever felt.

I did it once, but it was a substitute for conditioner. I was going to be in the water all day, so I needed something to help. I have no idea how much it helped, but it gave me peace of mind.

[diewassermelone]

I will make a standard brew to start, I have never done a caffeine rinse before, but I can drink a redbull a day with no mental problems, so going out on a limb, maybe it will be similar? LOL

I think I am going to make mine, pour it in a bag, put my length in the bag, and then over the scalp slowly. BUT the spray bottle sounds brilliant if I had one.

Do you do it pre-wash? Post-wash?

That's about my caffeine tolerance too! Tha or 6-7 cups of tea...
I do it pre-wash, that way I can get it off my head when I'm done. I read somewhere that too much caffeine can actually cause hair loss.

[lapushka]

I do wonder if I should use filtered water or mineral water or something specific though... what do you think? Probably anything but tap is best :hmm:

I used to use demineralized water (from the dryer). You can usually buy it from a store, and it's in with the ironing stuff. Just half a tiny 100 ml spray bottle with a squirt is enough to make, because it doesn't keep for that long. That's what I used to do back when I had around BSL and refreshed my hair just about every day.

[truepeacenik]

I heard the first one as a catnip tea rinse.
I've done that and nettle tea.

Hippie store lotion, on the very ends in a pinch? Done that. Would I use mainstream products? Nope, mainly to avoid petrolatum.
I used thinned conditioner as a leave in for years.

Cocoa powder paste is a new one. I know dark haired people can use the powder dry as a dry shampoo. Seems like a decent option to try as scalp exfoliation.

Tried witch hazel on oily scalp and hairline as a refresher when traveling and unable to wash. It was ok.