The Official Minimalist Thread

[Rebeccalaurenxx]

Who here uses very minimal products on their hair?
Or who here keeps a small "routine" or does not feel that more benefits them?
I notice myself that the more product I use, the more build up I get.
My hair is very prone to build up, so I keep it minimal.
I also do not keep/stash a bunch of products in my bathroom.
And I have now kept the rule to not buy anything new until I am completely out.
I feel less is more with my hair. No oils left on, no styling products.
Right now I am still using "oils" and stylers occasionally, to use up stuff. But with my hair, its better without it.
Anyone else feel this way?
- minimal products
- minimal styling
- minimal manipulation: like not brushing daily
- minimal touching, altering, or anything like that

[Stray_mind]

I have three bottles of products in my shower. Organic no sulfate no cone shampoo and conditioner and a anti dandruff shampoo.

I don't use anything else for my hair.

I also brush my hair only once or twice a month. Other than that i finger comb it and put it up with a claw clip.

[cailinbee]

This sounds like me. I can get talking about all the different things I've tried because I like to experiment, but when it comes down to it, I'm just a 1-shampoo and 1-conditioner at a time person, and I do a leave-in or deep condition about twice a week (basically, when I think of it).

Essentially, routine-based benign neglect.

[Arciela]

Oh I like this thread! I've been trying to be more of a minimalist regarding my hair care. I have way too much products to use up and been trying to downsize, brush less, touch it less, etc. I'm down to like...5 different brands of conditioner now in my bathroom heh.

[Cherriezzzzz]

Love this thread. I'm minimalist period. Hair: shampoo & con. Tek wood brush once a day (unless wash day.) And I am currently using morrocianoil original treatment as my silicone styling product. I have one single oil I use once a week I wear on my hair for about 24 hours before I wash it. I often lean on coconut oil, but have been using Babassu. I'm considering trying to eliminate the morrocianoil treatment, but the smell drives hubby crazy (in a good way ;)

[Rebeccalaurenxx]

Oh I like this thread! I've been trying to be more of a minimalist regarding my hair care. I have way too much products to use up and been trying to downsize, brush less, touch it less, etc. I'm down to like...5 different brands of conditioner now in my bathroom heh.

Thats great! I have a LOT of conditioner stocked up myself.

[ursaV]

I went crazy buying oils a few months ago when I got serious about growth, but now realize a simple routine is really the best for my fine hair. It's definitely resilient but get weighed down very easily. I nixed conditioner in favor of some leave in jojoba and wash with a CV bar when I feel like it's necessary. And that's really it! Even for brushing, I just finger comb most days and do a thorough BBB right before a wash.
Luckily my sister stole my coconut oil so I just have to work on whittling down the castor and sweet almond. Then I really won't have a "stash" to speak of.

[illicitlizard]

Definitely gonna keep an eye on this thread, right now I've not much to work with so it's just wash, condition, jojoba oil if needed, comb when it looks terrible. Wanna keep it minimal throughout my journey, can't be spending on all sorts of product if simple stuff works!

[lovelymoon]

This is like the only aspect of minimalism in my life. I use a dandruff shampoo, dandruff conditioner for my scalp and regular conditioner for the length. I have 1 leave-in conditioner that I've used for over 5 years. I use tinted dry shampoo every now and then. I've never really been into oils, I've only used coconut oil when I was bleaching my hair several years ago. I really should brush my hair everyday but I'm lazy and just comb it before I leave the house. I tried to go sulfate free but it did not work for me, my dandruff was peeling off in giant flakes. It was gross, I've learned not to mess around with my hair routine all willy-nilly

[MidnightMoon]

I only use shampoo and conditioner, so I guess I am :p
I don't really trust any masks or treatments, serums, and the rest, to be honest.

Ah, I do try to comb it daily. I wear it down often these days, and it gets very tangled because of dust in the ends if I don't!
Since I'm mostly at home for now, I don't do any updos.

[leayellena]

I sometimes use shampoo. I used shampoo few times this summer because it was really hot! I sweat practically every hour. My hair was so oily I could not stand co-washing anymore. But now the weather is bit colder so I can get away with co-wash. I bought a SLS/sles shampoo but it is ok, it didn't make my scalp itchy or led to hair fall like some of the SLS out there. I was actually too busy to go to DM (German drugstore) just to buy SLS/sles free shampoo. I bought a new bottle of balea conditioner but I will focus on Coneys from now on because I read in the tbl to class thread that you girls out there Coneys are a must for the manageability of such a length. And honestly speaking hair milks and styling creams did a fat Knott and massive breakage in my hair (received such styling products from my coworkers as thanks for the good job in the first year hihi). I bought a balea Professional hair oil and I am perfectly happy with it!

[guska]

Products I use:
Water and a wooden comb from a hotel

My routine:
Benign neglect

Total cost:
0.00 euro

:P

[embee]

Products I use:
Water and a wooden comb from a hotel

My routine:
Benign neglect

Total cost:
0.00 euro

:P

That's pretty much where I am, although I have a Denman brush instead of the comb. And nowadays I'm mostly NW/SO.

[EssleyBlue]

I'm super new, but right now I use 2X a week: an oil for scalp massage, a no-sulfate shampoo, and I just bought a conditioner.

No styling products or heat. I'd love to get to water only someday!

[AmaryllisRed]

Oh yeah this is definitely me.
I have one shampoo (herbal essences long term relationship), one conditioner (suave), and that's it for products.
I brush my hair oh about every few months. I brushed it yesterday to see if it would be longer (haha no), and that was maybe the second time this year?
I do comb it out after washing and finger comb all the time.
I realize of course that the ability to do this depends heavily on one's hair and its requirements and tendencies.
If I didn't have low maintenance hair, I wouldn't have long hair. I'm not a high maintenance gal.

[cjk]

I've been water on,y for a year, but added a light conditioner, a protein gel, and herbal gro earlier this year. Still extremely minimal.

It's my version of curly girl.

[embee]

If I didn't have low maintenance hair, I wouldn't have long hair. I'm not a high maintenance gal.

Exactly! I really was irked to find how complicated and expensive a short cut was. Short straight hair needs *frequent* salon care, in my experience, or it just looks scruffy. That's when I began to grow it all out so I could put it up. :)

[RedStripe]

Shampoo, conditioner, drop of oil for leave-in after washing. That's all I use on my hair. (Well, except for my henna!) I comb every morning and evening but otherwise don't fuss with it a lot.

[Strawonaberry]

This is what's keeping me from dying my whole hair pastel pink! I'm waaaay too lazy to mantain it

My current routine is just shampoo, blowdry + a Lush leave in sometimes to make my braid waves hold better (not sure if it's working though)
I do brush it a lot though, but that's jut because it feels nice and makes it soft~

[toastmouse]

Yay I love this thread! Minimal products and minimal messing with it in general is when my hair is happiest.
I use shampoo and conditioner a couple times a week and only brush it with my bbb before washing or when I'm stretching washes. The rest of the time I just finger detangle, though I did just buy a wooden brush to experiment with.. :D

[school of fish]

Shampoo, conditioner, henna - that's pretty much it productwise...

Although I use those products frequently (S&C daily, henna weekly), my routine feels minimal to me because it's pretty much done on autopilot. I also use very little product each time, so my consumption is rather moderate.

[Rebeccalaurenxx]

I’m glad there are others here just like me!

[Gem]

Pre-wash oil, shampoo, vinegar rinse with a little olive oil and polysorbate 80, jojoba for leave-in.

[Kathie]

I'm unearthing this thread.

I try to be minimal across many areas of my life- including hair. Its better for my budget, keeping my space clutter free, and mental health.

My products at the moment.

Shampoo bar
Oil- coconut, caster
Conditioner

I love that I use the coconut oil in the kitchen too. Anything that has a dual purpose gets a bit tick from me.

[yulia396]

Lovely. I also use minimal products only, mostly because I want to avoid chemicals and PFA's, a lot of nasty things in those commercial shampoos. I think every woman should know of those forever chemicals or others nasty things used in our cosmetics, cleaning products, detergents. So I stick to very natural and decent products such as sulfur soap(bar) for cleaning my scalp, ACV as conditioner and jojoba oil as moisturizer. For deep conditioning I prefer olive oil, I feel like it's a very rich oil and makes my hair strong. Now people would say that sulfur soap is way too drying/harsh and you must use a creamy conditioner, but this isn't true. For me, "unconventional" haircare works. I never shed when I'm showering, maybe a maximum of 2-3 strands and, also, my hair doesn't accumulate in my brushes fast. If I brush my hair "with love", as I always do, it's physically hard for me to break any strands because they're quite elastic. I feel like conditioner and shampoo cause a lot of buildup and have a wacky, nasty and chemical feel. Sulfur soap also helps with dandruff/fungus or other scalp problems. Sometimes I also use peppermint oil to stimulate the bloodflow in my scalp or make my hair smell nice (I love the smell of it). I also might add a drop or two of essential oils (rose, wildflower, chamomile or violet) to my herbal vinegar rinse. So my routine is pretty minimalistic: sulfur soap, herbal vinegar rinse, jojoba/peppermint/olive oil and the occasional essential oils in case I want to smell like a flower :laugh:

I used to consume these commercial products for very long but now in my 20s I changed that. To my surprise, my hair isn't as dependent on shampoo/conditioner as I thought and still feels glamorous with proper care and oiling. It even feels cleaner, like it can "finally breathe". And let me tell you, I can breathe too! Quite odd, but I like the fact that I don't smell like candycane all day long - I got so sick of always inhaling that sweet smell around me- it became sickening over the years.

[Glitch]

A shampoo, conditioner, and then some oil is really it for me! Growing up constantly frying my hair with straighteners and bleaching etc., I never invested into any hair care products. Now that my hair is much better off all these years later, I still haven't really ever come around to investing into that stuff :shrug: I feel uncomfortable with gels and leave-ins, as it makes me feel I need to wash it out of my hair! And since many of my hair strands are so fine, I have to be pretty careful or else it'll all become weighed down and greasy. I did finally try using a leave-in conditioner for several months, which still felt weird but I tried. However, that led to a lot of protein build up so it didn't work out for me anyway. Sure, I could use less of it/alternate the days, but I just don't personally find it worth the hassle.

My mom, who has the most lustrous and thick hair I've ever seen (was even knee-length at one point!), also doesn't use hair products other than hair oils. It makes me feel relieved in a way, knowing that I can't be neglecting my hair that badly huh :p

[meepster]

I’m here, definitely. I use diluted soap on my hair, followed by a vinegar rinse, and a bit of aloe gel to smooth it down. That’s all. The hair appears to be perfectly happy this way.

[Nox_Inber]

I'd like to think I'm minimalist in regards to products. Shampoo, conditioner, serum and oil. It keeps my brain from going crazy by having too many options. I've considered getting in a leave in conditioner but only if I can replace one of my products outright.

[Bri-Chan]

I admire you a lot. I always had a minimalist routine before bleaching and growing longer hair. I hope to belong here when I'll have healthier hair.

[JasminxCat]

I want to be minimal. I have a lot I need to use up still. But I think keeping a simple hassle-free routine is all one really needs

[aloewurly]

I think I've fallen into this lately. I only use three products every time I wash, and it seems to be working out pretty well. I don't think I'll venture with other brands or product lines. The ones I have are enough.

[Hedwig]

I'm making it a goal of mine to get back to my minimalist routine! Not that I'm really doing a lot right now - it's still just shampoo, condition, air dry. Sometimes I use a leave in cream or a wave spray, but I don't style or do any deep conditioning treatments on the regular. What I really need to work on is sticking with products that I know I like and that work for me, instead of trying like 5 different conditioners and shampoos a month and ending up not really liking any of them. And I'm such a perfectionist that I just can't continue using a shampoo if it's not really working for me!

[enting]

I think my hair routine is pretty minimal:
Wash with head and shoulders about twice a week, give or take one.
Rinse with diluted vinegar (sometimes with essential oils, sometimes not) or on occasion some Dove conditioner.
Comb in shower while rinsing.
Put up while wet.
Comb when dry when I feel like it. If it's too tangly, add some sesame oil or sesame/aloe mix and try again.