Help, do I have protein issues? + routine advice

[ectothermicfaun]

So I'm having a hard time figuring out if I'm protein sensitive. I'm also trying to figure out a hair routine above 'shampoo, then condition' which is currently what I got going on. :/

So far this is my entire routine. I wash with aussie 'miracle' and condition with 3mm smooth or moist. I plop a towel on my head, air dry. That's all folks. And only when I remember, which is maybe 2x a week at best.

So here's my issues with protein:

I once used vo5 moisture milks, with hard crunchy results.

I recently slathered my head in coconut oil before my hair was to be bleached, but my friend forgot to add the bleach powder and so I sat with just developer on my head for an hour with spoltchy results for the color, chem burned scalp, and crunchy brittle hair as a result. Super unhappy about that. Not sure if coconut oil made it crunchy, or juse the damaging bs it went through, but my hunch is it did. I'd be willing to try it again though.

I use mane and tail on occasion, which gives it some texture but not the hard dry crunchies?

My hair does not care for aussie 'smooth' shampoo, likes 3mm smooth...

My scalp has, for as long as I can remember, itched like it was against its religion not to. Seriously, I remember my mom used to get irritated with me for scratching it when I was like 7. So I've been itching for like at least 22 years straight. Yeah, i saw the doc for it. Nizoral, head and shoulders, miconazole, even a treatment for microscopic skin mites. Nope. Still itches. :/ its always itched, it may always itch. I've accepted this. Feel free to take a guess though. Just offering in case it helps, more clues to the puzzle.

Anyway, like I mentioned above I'm trying to recover from a hair horror story and I'm trying to figure out what to do to get rid of the hard crunchies without making it worse.

I'd also like any advice on what to do differently or add to the routine as I imagine there could be valuable information on that. I know a lot of you deep condition once a week, and there's a slew of oil talk, it would be cool if someone would make out a list like 'things you should be doing other than wash rinse repeat'?

The short hand for my hair type is thick, fine, wavy. It's at BSL but dry, damaged, and miserable. So I may have to chop a good amount if I can't get this figured out soon.

Thanks in advance for any help.

[lapushka]

Did you go to the doctor for the chemical burn on your scalp? If not, I would!

You use bleach, that comes with damage, unfortunately, it does.

I have had SD, seborrheic dermatitis since I was a baby (cradle cap), so I use Nizoral 2% (in the US it needs to be prescribed by a doctor). If you use less, like the OTC stuff, it might not work. So...

My point is, please go see a doctor about your scalp issue(s)?

[ectothermicfaun]

Yeah, I did go to the doctor for it. I worry about infections so i went but it was a pretty mild chem burn. I could feel it, but unfortunately she couldn't see it. So she just said to give it a couple days. It's been a week now since. I don't feel it any more so I think that's ok.

I did get the nizoral from the doctor too. Sorry if I wasn't clear on that. And the skin mites treatment. I don't think I had skin mites but I was willing to try it if it worked. It didnt. The last talk I had with the doc on the itching scalp I was told I must be allergic to something in my diet or in the environment and to remove things one by one till it stops. Can't for the life of me figure out what that could be since I've had it my whole life, through every life style change, move, etc. Nothing makes it better long term, nothing makes it worse. I've tried, but I don't have a lot of hope that I'll ever figure it out.

To be honest, this last bleach attempt was the first chemical process in 15 months. Over 2 years ago I boxed dyed my hair red, 15 months ago I used color oops to try to remove it. Still have a red grow out line but I was okay with it for a while. This bleach attempt, the idea was to get the hair all back to natural so I wouldn't feel compelled to dye it anymore and i could start growing it again and take care of it. Unfortunately it didn't work.

Anyone have any thoughts on the proten thing or additions to the hair routine?

[lapushka]

Oh that's fine. I should have asked. :flower:

Just a quick question. You do leave the Nizoral in 5min., right? For me the itch is the first thing to go, so if you use it right, and the itch doesn't go, that tells you enough already... basically.

Have you ever tried sulfate-free shampoos? Or do you already use them? Maybe it's a case of eliminating or adding sulfates to your regimen.

[JadeTigress]

I second the sulfates. My head always itched, too. When I switched to shampoo bars + ACV rinse, my head stopped itching. When I have to grab the sulfates again to clarify, my head itches again after.

[mizukitty]

So I'm having a hard time figuring out if I'm protein sensitive. I'm also trying to figure out a hair routine above 'shampoo, then condition' which is currently what I got going on. :/

So far this is my entire routine. I wash with aussie 'miracle' and condition with 3mm smooth or moist. I plop a towel on my head, air dry. That's all folks. And only when I remember, which is maybe 2x a week at best.

So here's my issues with protein:

I once used vo5 moisture milks, with hard crunchy results.

I recently slathered my head in coconut oil before my hair was to be bleached, but my friend forgot to add the bleach powder and so I sat with just developer on my head for an hour with spoltchy results for the color, chem burned scalp, and crunchy brittle hair as a result. Super unhappy about that. Not sure if coconut oil made it crunchy, or juse the damaging bs it went through, but my hunch is it did. I'd be willing to try it again though.

I use mane and tail on occasion, which gives it some texture but not the hard dry crunchies?

My hair does not care for aussie 'smooth' shampoo, likes 3mm smooth...

My scalp has, for as long as I can remember, itched like it was against its religion not to. Seriously, I remember my mom used to get irritated with me for scratching it when I was like 7. So I've been itching for like at least 22 years straight. Yeah, i saw the doc for it. Nizoral, head and shoulders, miconazole, even a treatment for microscopic skin mites. Nope. Still itches. :/ its always itched, it may always itch. I've accepted this. Feel free to take a guess though. Just offering in case it helps, more clues to the puzzle.

Anyway, like I mentioned above I'm trying to recover from a hair horror story and I'm trying to figure out what to do to get rid of the hard crunchies without making it worse.

I'd also like any advice on what to do differently or add to the routine as I imagine there could be valuable information on that. I know a lot of you deep condition once a week, and there's a slew of oil talk, it would be cool if someone would make out a list like 'things you should be doing other than wash rinse repeat'?

The short hand for my hair type is thick, fine, wavy. It's at BSL but dry, damaged, and miserable. So I may have to chop a good amount if I can't get this figured out soon.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Fine hair *generally* responds better to protein than courser hair types - but that's just a general rule of thumb.

In my personal experience, I thought I was protein sensitive for the longest time until I got a water softener. It was the minerals that were making my hair weird and crunchy and rough, not the protein. I can now use my protein heavy hitters and my hair feels incredible.

Vo5 moisture milks don't really contain that much protein, I believe it is soy milk as one of the last ingredients, but without further experimentation you can't be positive. However, I can't use Vo5 either, because nearly all their conditioners make my hair feel gross. Sticky, awful, not soft. I just don't like how my hair behaves. So it could be just that one your hair didn't respond well to.

With bleach compromised hair, you really want to get protein in there (in moderation.) Lots of keratin has been lost, so patching those gaps will prevent a good deal of damage, as well as proper moisture, careful handling, little or no heat styling etc.

There are plenty of different types of protein, but I personally like hydrolyzed silk protein. It can hold a ton of water, so it's also great for dehydrated hair. I'd recommend that one, if you're looking for products. Chi Keratin Silk Infusion (one of my HGs) has this.

Hope any of this is helpful and good luck :)

[ectothermicfaun]

So I tried something today as an experiment for the itching.

I used the nizoral, but I mixed it into the aussie miracle conditioner, and applied that to the scalp for the 5 minutes. The theory was the nizoral was too strong. This was based solely on the knowledge that im allergic to miconazole and diflucan, both also in the 'azole' antifungal family along with the active ingredient in nizoral.

And strangely, that was fairly calming to the itch, until my hair dried- then it was back to its regular itchy self. Not sure why but is it possible to have a 'too dry' but still oily scalp?

Here in Alaska, the air has stupid low humidity. And my place has forced air. I've lived here my whole life. Ive always been told to never apply condish to the scalp, that it would make my oil, well oiler. I think it will too, but I gotta admit the scalp felt pretty good there for a minute. Maybe it's a combination of stuff?

[ExpectoPatronum]

Dryness can cause itching. I know because when my skin is not properly moisturized I get terribly itchy and have scratched til I bled. Considering you live somewhere with low humidity and forced air, dryness might be a culprit here.

Some people have found that their oiliness is a response to being too dried out. This was my mom's problem. She thought she had oily skin. No, it was just dry and trying to produce more oil to make up for it. This may be the case with your scalp.

Have you ever tried cowashing?

[Rebeccalaurenxx]

Did you go to the doctor for the chemical burn on your scalp? If not, I would!

You use bleach, that comes with damage, unfortunately, it does.


I have had SD, seborrheic dermatitis since I was a baby (cradle cap), so I use Nizoral 2% (in the US it needs to be prescribed by a doctor). If you use less, like the OTC stuff, it might not work. So...

My point is, please go see a doctor about your scalp issue(s)?

JSYK Nizoral is available at most stores, you don't need to see a doctor to get it in the US. It's available in the shampoo isle at Walmart and target. :)

[ectothermicfaun]

I have co-washed one time. Once. That I can remember. I didnt get the kind of clean i was after on the scalp, in the sense that i still had a lot of oil left. Cant remember what i used for it. I just remember being out of shampoo, and figured it was better than nothing. It is, ive washed water only too which definitely isnt cleansing enough.

Thing is i dont think trying it once is an accurate representation of what cowashing could be however. I wash 2x a week max, so I have a good bit of oil built up by the time I've washed it.

So I think at the next wash i'll wash and condition my entire head, then we'll know of it was the nizoral or just the conditoning that helped, and if it's better I'll cut the shampoo amount down too :)

As it says in the beginners thing, one thing at a time. :)

[lapushka]

JSYK Nizoral is available at most stores, you don't need to see a doctor to get it in the US. It's available in the shampoo isle at Walmart and target. :)

My understanding was that was not the 2% stuff, that that was prescription only. Correct me if I'm wrong.
They come in various strengths.

[hayheadsbird]

I know that is possible (and very common) to have oily dehydrated skin, so I would imagine extending that to the scalp is logical.
Using a milder shampoo, so it's not stripping as much moisture, and drinking lots of water might help.

[ectothermicfaun]

Oh youre super right on that. It is my new years resolution to drink the daily dose of water everyday no excuses. I've been in early kidney failure twice, despite being only 28. This last year, my urologist said I was the youngest person he's ever diagnosed with non-genetic kidney disease. He's been in practice nearly 30 years now. what it really boil's down to is just not enough water- leads to stones that rip holes in my kidney. Painful too :( so I'm figuring if I want to live long enough to see my grandchildren water has got to become a big deal like yesterday. Sorry if that's tmi, but yeah I'm totally with you on that. Water- turns out you need that- alot lol.

[SpinDance]

Not sure if it's at all relevant to your situation, but if I don't wash my hair once more usually twice a week it will itch, but it sounds like yours is itching right away. I have best results with very diluted shampoo. A small amount of cone-free shampoo in an 8 ounce bottle then filled with water. I use it only on my scalp, just enough to wash out the sebum.

Have you tried a small amount of coconut oil on your scalp and hair while it's wet? As dry as your environment is perhaps a bit of oil would help? Might be worth trying a time or so, to see how your hair reacts.