Suggestions

[themostsilly]

Okay, I am new to this forum, and have been looking over the threads, and its obvious that I don't know as much as I thought about taking care of my long hair. My hair is baby fine and past my bra strap but I have layers short around my face and medium in the back. My hair tends to be dry and fluffy, I would like something to help add moisture to the hair, but also something that will make it feel thicker, or at least not stuck to my head. I have tried oiling with olive oil, and sweet almond oil, the oo was okay leaving it on over night, but I did not like the sao it left it feeling greasy. I am getting married next spring so I want to grow my hair out as long as possible, but it is driving me crazy with its fly away-dry-puffiness that I feel like cutting off a few inches. I also have scalp psoriasis, but is minimal. I use a moisturizing shampoo and wash about every day to every other, I condition every time, and I use Silk Therapy afterward and let dry, and comb with wide tooth comb.
Can anyone recommend any products/suggestions to help with my dryness, and promote growth?

[Nat242]

For promoting growth, I would suggest daily scalp massages. They stimulate growth and circulation and are also very relaxing, though I'm not sure if they're okay to use with your scalp condition. You can massage just with your fingers or with an oil too - I'd suggest coconut oil, with maybe a drop or two of lavender EO.

For keeping hair moisturised and protected, again I would suggest using coconut oil (lightly) as a leave in. I would also suggest wearing your hair in protective updos, like buns and braids, and also, for a deep treatment (maybe weekly), try Snowy's Moisture Treatment (SMT). There is a thread about this on the recipe boards, I think.

Hope that helps!!

Oh, and congratulations on the marriage!

-- Natalie

ETA: Info on Snowy's Moisture Treatment can be found here. (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=128)

[themostsilly]

Where can you find Coconut Oil? I tried to find some and the only thing close I could find it Softee coconut oil hair & scalp conditioner, which is thick, and took so many washes to get out of my hair. Can it be bought in a pure oil form? I looked at walmart, walgreens, gnc, & sallys.

[HairColoredHair]

Coconut oil can be found in some grocery stores in the oil section or at health food stores... not the beauty section. :)

It's usually a solid oil in a wide mouth jar. :)

ETA: I'd also try jojoba (from a health food store) or grapeseed oil (health food or some grocery stores) as they are light and make good leave ins.

Do you wear your hair up during the day? Leaving it up while it's damp it can help moisturize while you do other things. :)

[Mahars]

Hey,

Your hair sounds a lot like mine as far as dryness goes. I second the coconut oil suggestion. Olive oil is also great for moisture. You can find coconut oil at most natural foods stores like Whole Foods. You can also find it online at Amazon.com. I use Nutiva but any brand would probably work. If you like the smell of coconut, get extra virgin. If not, go for refined.

Also, don't mean to pry, but do you mean Biosilk "Silk Therapy"? I used to use that and it really dried out my hair over time. It's almost pure silicone, and has quite a lot of alcahol in it, and not the moisturizing kind. Some people can use silicone, but it can be very drying because it tends to out moisture. If you're having dryness issues, I would cut out the silicones and see if that works for you. Good luck. :)

Mahars

[salamander]

Olive oil's a good one. It's heavy, and it penetrates the hair well. Try doing a heavy overnight oiling once a week. I did that for a year, and I've pretty much fixed my dryness problem. Just wet your hair, put as much oil in it as will go in, put a shower cap and maybe a warm stocking cap over it, and wash it out in the morning. Works wonders. You can also use oil as a leave in, but be sure to use a very small amount, like literally one drop! It's very easy to over oil.

[florenonite]

You could try conditioner-only washes for moisture, and try not to wash daily.

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=18 here's a link for info on how to do CO washes.

HTH!

[themostsilly]

I usually try to do an overnight oil once a week, I have a mixture of olive oil, jojoba oil, and a few drops of tea tree oil. But I do not always get the same results, the first few times I did it, it seemed to help with my scalp dryness, and made the hair feel softer, but now it doesn't seem to have much effect. I'm not sure about the CO washes because I usually have to wash my hair because my scalp can get VERY oily and itchy and crusty if I don't. I could give it a try though, but I feel weird about putting conditioner on my scalp since it's already oily. I will try to find the coconut oil today while I'm out shopping, also I notced Grapeseed oil at Wal-mart so I may get that too. I loved jojoba oil and I added it to most of my beauty products because it didn't break me out and it left me so soft, but it seems expensive since I went through a bottle in less than 2 months. I am going to try the Snowymoon's Moisture Treatment today.
Thanks for all the advice, I feel a little stupid not knowing better than I do. I have always prided myself in my healthy long hair, but now its not so healthy anymore, hopefully I can get it back that way without having to loose too much.

[themostsilly]

P.S. I did not know that about Biosilk Silk Therapy, that may be contributing to my problem, I have used it relgiously every day for 5 years. I might try going a week or two without and seeing how that goes. Thanks.

[florenonite]

You could also try CWC if you're iffy about CO. Essentially, you apply a light conditioner to the length, shampoo the scalp, rinse, and follow with a heavier conditioner on the length.

[themostsilly]

I will give the CO a try, but I think the CWC sounds like a good option too. Has anyone noticed it oiling also helps with shedding, or is that something everyone must live with. It seems like each year I get older I shed more and more, it drives my fiance crazy cause there is always hair in the shower drain. Is there any store bought leave-in anyone can suggest for flyaways and dryness, or would using a oil be a better alternative?

[ChloeDharma]

Thanks for all the advice, I feel a little stupid not knowing better than I do. I have always prided myself in my healthy long hair, but now its not so healthy anymore, hopefully I can get it back that way without having to loose too much.

No, don't feel stupid......the kind of information you get here and in searches online hasn't exactly been made freely available before and the beauty industry is very good at promoting it's product minsdet.

I second basically what you have already been told, especially the coconut oil, i love the stuff. Have you tried adding Lavender essential oil to your mix? I'm thinking that might help with calming the psoriasis....but i've also heard coconut oil does that too. If you can then get the virgin coconut oil, it's more expensive but i do find it much more effective than the very refined stuff. Also i have a rule that's helped my hair alot.....that's to never wash unless i have a heavy coating of oil on my hair, that's made a big difference.

[ChloeDharma]

I will give the CO a try, but I think the CWC sounds like a good option too. Has anyone noticed it oiling also helps with shedding, or is that something everyone must live with. It seems like each year I get older I shed more and more, it drives my fiance crazy cause there is always hair in the shower drain. Is there any store bought leave-in anyone can suggest for flyaways and dryness, or would using a oil be a better alternative?

Ok you was posting at the same time so i missed that.

I notice that daily scalp massage reduces my shedding dramatically, i also oil my scalp alot and do a longer massage then. The scalp oil i use most is Hesh Bhringraj Oil, but i also use Dabur Vatika Coconut oil too and find that help as well, but it's being consistant that makes the difference.

As for a leave in.....a couple of drops of oil (jojoba is good) mixed with a squeeze of aloe vera gel always made a good leave in for me. Mistinf then lightly oiling afterwards, or if you are washing daily a light oiling on damp hair after washing helps too.

Also check your diet if shedding is an issue, and just make sure there are no underlying health conditions that might be causing it.

[themostsilly]

I was just at Wal-Mart and noticed they had on the baking isle LouAna brand coconut oil in a big tub...would this be okay to try on my hair? I'm sure the quality is much lower but I figured it wouldn't hurt to try.

[SimplyLonghair]

The LouAna brand is what I use, I find it works well for me, but I haven't used the more expensive to compare effectiveness... I like using homemade hair and skin concoctions now as I have so many ingredient problems nowadays. My hair is just beginning to recover from the problems of health issues and stress, as well as not liking the products that I had been using.. But I am really happy with the new way that I am treating my hair and it is responding very well to the greener products. Good luck in finding what works for you.:cheese:

[Stagecoach]

Hello and welcome Thermostsilly! I don't have any tips that have not been mentioned, but I saw your hair type, and noticed the *i* so I wanted to point you towards this thread (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=1510) dedicated to people with hair similar to yours in that respect. I hope it helps!

[themostsilly]

I tried a CWC this morning, and used Clariol color seal condish, then my regular shampoo diluted some, and then jason biotin condish mixed with a little nexxus humectress. It felt really soft, and I didn't use the Silk Therapy today, instead I used Aloe vera gel with some jojoba oil mixed in, and let it dry in a bun. It didn't look greasy or anything, and feels pretty soft, so I am satisfyed. I am going to try coconut oil as a overnight oil tonight, and see how that goes.

[MadPirateBippy]

Vinegar helps me with flyaway poofies, sometimes.

[themostsilly]

I have tried Apple Cider Vinegar in the past, it seemed to make it more dry, but I haven't tried recently, maybe I could give it another try. I just got back from Wal-Mart, I got some organix teatree mint shampoo to try and some coconut oil. I'm excited to try the coconut oil.

[themostsilly]

Just an update, I tried my first CWC this week, with good results. I also tired my first CO wash with pretty good results as well, my hair was not looking too dingy though beforehand, so I'm not sure it would work as well on days when my hair is pretty oily. I also tried Coconut oil this week, one as a leave in over night, which actually seemed to make my hair more dry :s and then agian yesterday very lightly applied to dry hair and bunned while working out, which didn't seem to make much of a difference. I think I will continue using olive oil since it seems to help my scalp, and also CO on days when my hair isn't extremely dingy. I did not use my usual silk therapy, instead I opted for some jojoba oil in aloe vera gel instead which seemed to make it soft and help with the puffiness a bit. I am going to keep experimenting with a regimine and products that work for me, and continue me on the path to long healthy hair.
I am really interested in using henna, since I decided to give up dye in November (which I did every month with demi permanent for 2.5 years) it is now looking a little brassy and lighter than I prefer. I've also heard henna can make fine hair look a little thicker. Are there any negative side effects to henna, and how should I go about doing it to my hair?