Help!!!

[Kiera71013]

Sorry for the long message.
So ill start with some background... When I was younger I had bright red super curly hair that ended just past my butt (even longer if pulled straight)I went to get it cut and asked for 1cm and instead the lady cut it at my jaw line insisting that I didn't know what I wanted. After that I figured it's already all been cut off I might as well bleach and dye my hair every color of the rainbow. It is now years down the line and I just cut it off shoulder length to cut out the badly bleached part. I am just starting my hair journey and I am confused I am looking for shampoo and conditioner and oils that will help my hair health and I just changed my diet but none of the shampoos seam to match my hair because my hair is all over the place! My natural hair color changed from bright red to a full ash blonde. The roots are a bit oily and the ends are slightly lightened still and very dry. Some of my hair waves, the hair on the left side of my face curled and the rest is dead straight!? I have both oily and dry hair and I have straight wavy and curly hair so what products do I chose? Maybe a balancing??? Please help!!! I am beyond my hair knowledge! Had anyone else had this problem of having more then 1 hair type? Has my hair just not settled down yet?

[lapushka]

First off, welcome to the forum. :)

Do you have straight, wavy, or curly hair?

Any drugstore shampoo will do, preferably one for oily hair. If you want to go sulfate-free, try Hask, Maui Moisture or Shea Moisture products if in the US (which you didn't specify, and this is an international board).

The dryer lengths can be helped with conditioner.

Good luck!

[Sarahlabyrinth]

Yes, welcome here:) Lapushka has very good advice!

[clandestine]

In have oily roots and dry ends as well. I try to oil my ends and use leave ins on them. I switch up shampoos as needed.

[Spikey]

It's not that unusual to have different textures within one head of hair. Especially if your hair has been badly damaged by bleach and color, it can lose it's texture and go from wavy to straight. That migt explain why the hair near your face (new growth, probably hasn't been dyed/bleached as much) is stil curly while the rest is wavy or straight. What would really help would be a hairtyping picture (there's a link about it in the Index to Important Threads)

Once you know your hairtype, it will be a lot easier to find information for people with similar hair to yours. And as Lapushka suggested, shampoo will help with any excess oil while a good thick conditioner will give you moisture.

[enting]

I am in shock at the initial cut story!

Depending on your hair's preferences, oils may help your drier lengths more than conditioner, or you may want to try a combination of them. For myself I find that some conditioners make my hair lean more toward its curly side and oils tend to straighten it or weigh it down more. You could play with those effects to get a more balanced appearance of texture until you get more undamaged growth.

It makes sense that your roots would be oilier both because it's closer to your scalp and because it's undamaged hair that is probably less porous so the sebum glides over it. A boar bristle brush or similar might be able to help distribute oils from close to your scalp to the ends and even out the look.

Sometime vinegar rinses can help distribute scalp oils down the length. That's also something you could try.

I wouldn't rely on advertising to tell you what you need. The words do give some idea of what they're meant for (products for curly hair may be richer or more moisturizing, products for dry and damaged hair may have proteins in them) but the only real way to know what your hair likes is to try things out. For instance, I have dry, fine/medium, wurly hair that splits like there's no tomorrow so I have always tended toward dry and damaged products. However, I'm currently using conditioner for normal hair and it seems to be better for my hair than some of the conditioners I've used for dry and damaged hair.

I'll echo that it's totally normal to be dealing with more than one hair type. I think we even have a thread somewhere around for it. If we don't, we should. Hair near my forehead is firmly in the 3s, possibly even 3c in some places, while the hair at my nape I didn't think could curl at all until I tried Hello Hydration conditioner. My nape is usually a 1 of some sort otherwise. The space in between my forehead and nape takes the entire range between straight and curly. I have kinky hairs, I have smooth hairs, I have coarser hairs, I have finer hairs. I'm always second guessing my hair typing. I try to use extra conditioner or a leave in on the front/canopy and on the last couple inches of hair while trying to avoid the back half of my head/underlayer and the length from my ears down to the last few inches. I treat my hair as curly, even though detangling, oiling, and updos take most of the curl out when it's not day 1 hair.

[ExpectoPatronum]

Welcome to the forum!

Sorry that you had that terrible experience with a hair dresser. It is always so frustrating when they don't listen and insist they know better.

As for products, as others have said, most shampoo and conditioners will do. You just need to experiment and find what your hair likes. Unfortunately, we can't tell you what that will be, but your hair will! How often are you washing your hair? What products are you currently using? It's easier to recommend tweaks if we know what you're starting with.

For some general recommendations regarding wavy/curly hair (as others have said, it's normal to have both - I do :) ) Lapushka listed some good brands to start out with.
-SLS-free shampoo, or co-washing. Either of these will clean your scalp without drying out the damaged hair.
-Deep conditioner - not to be used every wash, but good for a treatment.
-Leave-in conditioner just on the dry ends.
-Any *light* oil will help soften your ends without weighing your hair down. Jojoba and almond are fairly lightweight, though any oil can be used in the right amount for your hair.
-Detangling in the shower when your hair is slathered in conditioner and working your way from the bottom up.
-You may want to consider including silicones in your routine if your hair has damaged ends. This, like everything, is up to your personal preference. Some want to be cone-free, some don't.
-Periodic trims to trim off the damaged ends. You can go much longer without trims once your hair is healthy, but in the meantime, it might be best to maintain or grow a little, then trim a little.

Those are some things I found helpful when dealing with my hair. I had/have dye damage too that's almost grown out. Again, it's important to experiment and find out what your hair likes. Ultimately, what makes your hair happy is the routine you should stick with :)

HTH :pegasus: