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LillithTheFirst
October 20th, 2018, 03:51 AM
Hi everyone,
just thought I would let you know about my routine for low porosity and colour damaged hair using drugstore/grocery items. I will preface this by saying I live in South Australia so it’s hot and dry and we may have different products and hair difficulties with the environment etc.

I am using a WCWC method:
W - Wash with a clarifying SLS shampoo root to tip (tresemme botaniques detox and restore shampoo)
C - condition with a cone free lighter weight conditioner root to tip (Fructis Coconut Water Conditioner)
W - while conditioner is still in hair wash roots with a SLS free shampoo and rinse (HASK Argan Shampoo)
C - use a heavier cone free conditioner ears down and rinse after several minutes (Tresemme restore and shine)

I wash my hair quite regularly 2-3 days as I am prone to dry scalp which is made worse by oil build up. I also workout a lot so my hair at the scalp gets sweaty/oily quicker. If I am suffering from dry scalp I will use the Neutrogena T/Gel with salicylic acid in my last C just on my scalp.

After I finish I will put my hair in a soft maxi dress or large micro fire towel to dry off a bit before starting the LC(O) method which I find works for my low porosity hair:

L: I have a spray bottle which I fill with spring water and add a small amount of glycerin which you can buy from the supermarket. Water is moisture and glycerin is a humectant helping it retain and attract more moisture from the environment.

C: Cream or leave-in conditioner massaged into the lengths section by section - a little goes a long way - too much on low porosity hair can make it feel weighed down. Gets in more moisture and has a bit of a sealant effect. I use Fructis Smoothing Macadamia Hair Food which is cone free. This particular products contains a lot of water and glycerin - depending on your hair and environment you might not need the extra glycerin in the previous step. It also has oils.

(O) Oil - Grapeseed oil hands down as its the most lightweight and affordable - I do not use much, just a few drops in my hands and massaged through the lengths.
the O is in “( )” because I also do just LO between washes if I find my lengths are getting a bit dry and the added oil would be just a bit toooo much. This is another reason I have my clarifying SLS wash as I have more build up.

i hope someone found that insightful!

lapushka
October 20th, 2018, 12:26 PM
Have you ever tried just a regular wash routine while not having *any* conditioner touch your scalp at all?

LillithTheFirst
October 20th, 2018, 03:55 PM
Yes for the majority of my life it was WC with conditioner just on the ends. I found the shampoo to make my hair feel too dry and I had a lot of dry scalp and flakes. Putting oil on the scalp make this worse so using conditioner actually works better. I find I wash my hair more from my head feeling gross from sweat, since I don’t like to use a hairdryer on my roots to dry it off after working out.

lapushka
October 20th, 2018, 04:14 PM
Yes for the majority of my life it was WC with conditioner just on the ends. I found the shampoo to make my hair feel too dry and I had a lot of dry scalp and flakes. Putting oil on the scalp make this worse so using conditioner actually works better. I find I wash my hair more from my head feeling gross from sweat, since I don’t like to use a hairdryer on my roots to dry it off after working out.

Have you ever gone to the dermatologist if you have a flake issue? Just curious. :)

MusicalSpoons
October 20th, 2018, 05:09 PM
Just chiming in to say that often dry flakes can be more correctly termed 'dehydrated flakes' and although I did go through a bout of needing medicated shampoo, that was a separate issue (scalp being damp for far too long, exacerbated by reacting to something in my usual shampoo at the time). For me sulphate-free really helped [the dehydration flakes], but what finally got rid of any flaky tendencies was indeed conditioning the scalp, also with a light cone-free conditioner. The dehydration problem was absolutely at its worst in winter with the dry air - actually all over my body, but I didn't know how to moisturise my scalp at that time - so OP is most likely onto something, living in the dry climate she does :)

(Incidentally I'm currently trying a completely different type of shampoo to see if I can go without conditioning the scalp because I'm a bit paranoid about shedding and also lazy, keen to simplify my routine if possible, but up to that point the conditioning is the only thing that's worked.)

ETA: I wonder if the reason the T-Gel helps is because the salicylic acid facilitates better removal of the flakes than ordinary shampoo? :hmm: /Edit

Sorry to take this thread down the scalp tangent rather than the low porosity angle! I do have a question though OP, how is colour-damaged hair low porosity? I've only ever read that colour damage increases hair's porosity. Genuinely curious to know how that works :)

LillithTheFirst
October 20th, 2018, 09:54 PM
In terms of a dermatologist I listen to Dr Dray on YouTube. She did a video on dry scalp/dandruff dermatitis etc. It suddenly made sense why putting oil on my scalp made it worse - oil helps those little bugs on the head multiply. A few things help get rid of the flakes - coal tar, zinc, salicylic acid etc. the salicylic acid is an exfoliant so it helps with the turn over. It was also very bad during winter and the flakiness started also appearing around my hairline and eyebrows.
I stay clear of any oil on my scalp or any heavy oil treatments as it actually makes the scalp thing worse.
Also my scalp getting sweaty daily from exercise probably also contributes but it hasn’t been an issue for a while since removing scalp oiling and introducing the salicylic acid regularly. I’m going to try out using dry shampoo between washes to see how that goes.

LillithTheFirst
October 20th, 2018, 09:58 PM
In terms of porosity and colour damage - generally yes hair that was been bleached will usually be high pososity and hair that has been coated with henna would be more low pososity
My hair is generally low porosity from the henna I’ve done over the years, which I tried to remove with bleach, didn’t go to well and went over with conventional Demi-permanent dye to phase out to my natural colour eventually.
I suppose I’m referring more to colour damaged from the henna. Honestly I found it a huge mistake. It changed my hair pososity from normal to low, which ended up with me not knowing for ages why my hair was so dry and how to fix it!

lapushka
October 21st, 2018, 04:29 AM
In terms of a dermatologist I listen to Dr Dray on YouTube. She did a video on dry scalp/dandruff dermatitis etc. It suddenly made sense why putting oil on my scalp made it worse - oil helps those little bugs on the head multiply. A few things help get rid of the flakes - coal tar, zinc, salicylic acid etc. the salicylic acid is an exfoliant so it helps with the turn over. It was also very bad during winter and the flakiness started also appearing around my hairline and eyebrows.
I stay clear of any oil on my scalp or any heavy oil treatments as it actually makes the scalp thing worse.
Also my scalp getting sweaty daily from exercise probably also contributes but it hasn’t been an issue for a while since removing scalp oiling and introducing the salicylic acid regularly. I’m going to try out using dry shampoo between washes to see how that goes.

A Dr. on YT is no substitute for a real one, and if it is an ongoing problem, I would bite that bullet and go. After all scalp health is a major key in growth and in keeping that growth on your head (I shed bucket loads when my SD breaks through). I have also seen the video you mentioned, it was a good informative one all right, but she always is.

Be careful with the dry shampoo though if you have SD and you don't wash that often. Keep an eye on it.

I spent years trying to "treat" my scalp myself, suffering through the flakes, until *finally* I just went to the doctor out of sheer desperation because I got sick and tired of nothing *truly* working. And then I was prescribed Nizoral 2%, found out you can just get that OTC here in this country, and just thought... WTH have I been doing all these years? I just want to save someone the same search. It does help going to the doctor, don't feel ashamed! And try and go when you flare, when it's particularly bad, they need to see that.

If you don't want to go, that's your choice of course, just wanted to give you a look into my struggle and why I am so insistent. ;)

Good luck with everything!

MusicalSpoons
October 21st, 2018, 02:45 PM
Re: scalp and dermatologists, I'm glad you've found something that works to your satisfaction. It might still be worth consulting a professional just to determine exactly what you're dealing with, but of course that is entirely your choice (and to be completely honest, when it comes to things like this I find it incredibly difficult to bother seeing someone unless it's a huge problem ;) not that I'm advocating that way of thinking, not at all, but it is quite a common mindset).


In terms of porosity and colour damage - generally yes hair that was been bleached will usually be high pososity and hair that has been coated with henna would be more low pososity
My hair is generally low porosity from the henna I’ve done over the years, which I tried to remove with bleach, didn’t go to well and went over with conventional Demi-permanent dye to phase out to my natural colour eventually.
I suppose I’m referring more to colour damaged from the henna. Honestly I found it a huge mistake. It changed my hair pososity from normal to low, which ended up with me not knowing for ages why my hair was so dry and how to fix it!

Ohhhhh I see - I've never heard anyone referring to low porosity from henna as damage before so that didn't even cross my mind. Fair enough!

lapushka
October 21st, 2018, 03:02 PM
Re: scalp and dermatologists, I'm glad you've found something that works to your satisfaction. It might still be worth consulting a professional just to determine exactly what you're dealing with, but of course that is entirely your choice (and to be completely honest, when it comes to things like this I find it incredibly difficult to bother seeing someone unless it's a huge problem ;) not that I'm advocating that way of thinking, not at all, but it is quite a common mindset).

I was in that mindset for years, until I finally did go, and was actually quite relieved. It was a great doctor too and he didn't brush it off or say just buy some H&S. I had already tried all of that, and of course told him... elaborately what all I had tried. LOL!