Benign neglect = hair minimalism?

[SwanFeathers]

So I have a lot of different hair stuff (oils, brushes, ball jars of pins and dodads) that takes up alot of room in our 650sqft apartment. It is, in fact, the only category to survive my minimalist lifestyle (excepting my husband's beloved waffle iron.) so I have started a challenge by boxing up everything but my tangle teezer, 1 jar of hairsticks, and my normal shampoo&conditioner. (I can just use my cooking oils) Anything I feel I truly need before Jan 1 2019 will come out and be given a permanent home, anything still in the box gets donated.
Anyone else feel like streamlining their hair stash and keeping it simple?

[guska]

I have practiced minimalism for quite a while, although unknowingly. It's a part of my personality and I feel good keeping things as simple as possible, because I have so many (better) things to think about and care for than my hair :) Thank goodness my hair doesn't need anything other than CO and benign neglect to be happy.

Product-wise I only own one bottle of conditioner, that's also pretty much everything-free, because minimalism you know ;) I also have one good-quality wooden comb from a hotel that I've used for quite a while. And that's... it.

[lapushka]

So I have a lot of different hair stuff (oils, brushes, ball jars of pins and dodads) that takes up alot of room in our 650sqft apartment. It is, in fact, the only category to survive my minimalist lifestyle (excepting my husband's beloved waffle iron.) so I have started a challenge by boxing up everything but my tangle teezer, 1 jar of hairsticks, and my normal shampoo&conditioner. (I can just use my cooking oils) Anything I feel I truly need before Jan 1 2019 will come out and be given a permanent home, anything still in the box gets donated.
Anyone else feel like streamlining their hair stash and keeping it simple?

I feel like I practice BN for the most part. I happen to use what I "need", though. So I have my TT to brush pre-wash and my Wet brush to detangle post-wash, and I have my products for washing & styling. I don't go past this though.

And I keep it strict with my styles also, always a Nautilus (used to be LWB) when I'm up and my hair down when I go to sleep.

That's it for me.

But things I *need* I don't put away; that is not what BN is to me.

It is just going through the motions week after week and not particularly overly styling (manipulating) or otherwise increasing wash days or "fiddling" with the hair too much.

[MusicalSpoons]

I don't live a minimalist lifestyle, but I am trying to simplify things a bit. Benign neglect for me means doing the reliable routine that serves my hair well, and not messing with it - at the moment a full wash means condition, shampoo, ROO, shampoo, with some scalp washes during the week. Between washing though it literally is 'comb it, bun it, done' :grin:

I have made an inventory of my product stash - shampoos, conditioners, some oils - and plan to get through it, repurpose or rehome shampoos and use the conditioners and oils. Hairtoy-wise, I do have a moderate collection, some of which is not used. I find it very difficult to let go of things I like though, even if they're not in regular use, particularly as I don't know how go-to styles might change as my hair keeps growing. It's a pain to get hold of certain makers' items without incurring customs charges as well, which makes me want to keep hold of things 'just in case' :rolleyes:

So there's my ramble. Minimalist, not so much, but a desire to simplify, certainly.

[Hairkay]

My idea of practical hair care is minimalist and also uses benign neglect. I didn't grow up using a lot of hair accessories so it seems to be too much to be putting things in my hair. My hair and scalp also thrives best with low manipulation styling so I style once a week. The only things I may buy separate from food groceries for my hair is henna and hair bands (sometimes I will make a scrunchie). Oils etc come from my kitchen supplies. I'm eclectic with others things. Apart from my two display shelves the rest are jam packed with books, art stuff and DIY.

Oh I didn't count my tub of hair pins that I bought about 4 years ago because I've only used 6 in the pack of 100. I'm just not comfortable with it so I ignore the tub.

[Joules]

My hair care has been super minimalistic for ages...now I'm going through a bout of purchasing everything I see in a store, mostly products. I kinda enjoy it at the moment, because first of all it makes me happy, and secondly it means that I get a good deal on most of the stuff and I won't have to worry about it for months when this bout is over. And it will be over soon, just like any other bout I've ever had in my life :D My accessory stash is quite minimal, but if one day I wake up and want to buy a bunch of hairsticks, I'd do it. I'm a pretty minimalistic person anyway, so I don't try to limit myself on purpose.

[Larke]

I am not generally a minimalist, but since hair grows so slowly, it's one of those things that I prefer not to mess too much with, so I don't have too much stuff for it. I'm also cheap and don't like buying products if I don't know that they'll work, or before I've used up my current stash. I have several million hair brushes, but otherwise, I just use a few hair sticks, a few scrunchies, some clips, and my one bottle of shampoo and conditioner each. There's some shampoo and (shudders) hairspray left over in my bathroom from friend who was visiting that I need to get rid of soon, but they aren't mine, so they don't count, right? :P I am about to splurge on hair sticks for Christmas, but for the last month or so, I'm still minimalistic. :lol:

[Simsy]

I’m not quite a minimalist, but I don’t have heaps of stuff for my hair. I keep a small stock of products that I know I will use since I’m never in a position to buy them when I run out. I don’t have many hair toys, but I’ll wear all of the ones I have fairly regularly.

I don’t really experiment much; the wash routine is one I’ll happliy do every week; and the upkeep during the week isn’t hard or time-consuming. I suppose you could kinda call this minimalist in a way. I would call it more laziness and benign neglect on my part.

[embee]

I don't have a minimalist lifestyle, but my hair care is. I've experimented with WO and NW/SO which certainly eliminates products. :D At present I'm NW/SO except for occasional scalp rinses when I feel the need. Hair sticks and forks are in a beloved mug that lost its handle, a small wooden box of elastics and pins (long term storage because they come in packs of many), a covered antique mug with a few fabric accessories, and one small cloisonne box of spinpins pins and clips that I use more often, a Denman brush and two combs.

One bottle of shampoo and a bottle of conditioner are in the bathroom cupboard in case of catastrophe.

I guess all the actual hair related things including products could easily fit into a shoebox. That doesn't feel like much. :)

If only I could do as well with other things in my life... Oh dear!

[EdG]

I do water-only washing, which is almost as minimalist as can be. ;)

I make up for the minimalism by spending an inordinate amount of time detangling with my fingers and wooden comb. I think "benign neglect" is a fallacy. Hair needs thorough detangling to overcome its natural entropy.
Ed

[lapushka]

I do water-only washing, which is almost as minimalist as can be. ;)

I make up for the minimalism by spending an inordinate amount of time detangling with my fingers and wooden comb. I think "benign neglect" is a fallacy. Hair needs thorough detangling to overcome its natural entropy.
Ed

Ed, it just means you don't overly manipulate or (intricate) style day per day, and just go through the motions of your own routine, keeping it basic care and not "extra". If that makes sense at all. :)

[EdG]

Ed, it just means you don't overly manipulate or (intricate) style day per day, and just go through the motions of your own routine, keeping it basic care and not "extra". If that makes sense at all. :)Yes, that makes sense.

I am coming from the view of removing lint that had accumulated for years. This is much more work than if the detangling had been adequate all along. Most LHC'ers do not have tangles this bad.
Ed

[Hairkay]

I do water-only washing, which is almost as minimalist as can be. ;)

I make up for the minimalism by spending an inordinate amount of time detangling with my fingers and wooden comb. I think "benign neglect" is a fallacy. Hair needs thorough detangling to overcome its natural entropy.
Ed

I also use the WO method.

[guska]

I do water-only washing, which is almost as minimalist as can be. ;)

I make up for the minimalism by spending an inordinate amount of time detangling with my fingers and wooden comb. I think "benign neglect" is a fallacy. Hair needs thorough detangling to overcome its natural entropy.
Ed

I did WO the for 11 months last year and two months this year. I've also done NW a couple of times, 2 months was longest I (a.k.a. my scalp) lasted. I might go back to WO in the future, but my scalp doesn't like it for the time being :/

[sugar&nutmeg]

I'm not consciously minimalist, though I am now at the stage of life where I'm no longer acquisitive, but trying to turf things out.

I wash my hair twice a week, either with supermarket S&C, or with a shampoo bar. I detangle, air dry, wear up 'off the property', but down sometimes at home--my hair is only now reaching MBL, so down is not hazardous, yet!

But, for me, benign neglect goes beyond what I don't 'do' with/to my hair (lots of products to play with, lots of toys). For me, spending little thinking about my hair is at least as important. If I have better things to do than mess with my hair, I certainly have more important things to think about than my hair.

"This is a hobby I enjoy" is all well and good, but if I started obsessing about my hair, hyper-focusing on it --which I'm perfectly capable of falling into, given how my brain is wired up-- my hair would be back to a pixie so fast, 'you'd think she done it with mirrors'.

[AmaryllisRed]

My house is just a bit bigger than your apartment and I share it with five other people. :) Fun times. :rollin:

We are not minimalist but I wish we had less STUFF in general. We're running out of places to put things.

As for hair products, my husband definitely has more than I do. I've got one shampoo and one conditioner. That's literally all I ever use in my hair. Now I DO have a variety of clips and sticks and elastics and pins, but I don't consider it excessive. My little hair toy storage bag still has quite a bit of room. :)
He's got all kinds of gels and sprays and mousses. He's outgrown his shelf. I think he used them more when he was going to grow his hair out but now that it's short again I don't think he uses any of it.

[MusicalSpoons]

But, for me, benign neglect goes beyond what I don't 'do' with/to my hair (lots of products to play with, lots of toys). For me, spending little thinking about my hair is at least as important. If I have better things to do than mess with my hair, I certainly have more important things to think about than my hair.

"This is a hobby I enjoy" is all well and good, but if I started obsessing about my hair, hyper-focusing on it --which I'm perfectly capable of falling into, given how my brain is wired up-- my hair would be back to a pixie so fast, 'you'd think she done it with mirrors'.

Yes, this totally applies to me too. I am prone to obsessing, and find that if I'm overly focused on the condition of my hair, or trying to perfect my routine, etc., I'm just not happy. I feel antsy and frustrated, and can lead to overbuying products or toys to try and then I end up feeling bad because I've spent more than I should and probably most of the products were disappointing or even made things worse.

I don't mind spending time on LHC because it's sharing experiences and hopefully helping others a bit, and also very simple tips can be picked up to tweak the routine or whatever. I also don't mind learning and thinking about hair in general, but if I find myself starting to really focus on my hair specifically, that's when I need to take a step back and make a conscious effort to think about other things instead.

[lapushka]

My house is just a bit bigger than your apartment and I share it with five other people. :) Fun times. :rollin:

We are not minimalist but I wish we had less STUFF in general. We're running out of places to put things.

As for hair products, my husband definitely has more than I do. I've got one shampoo and one conditioner. That's literally all I ever use in my hair. Now I DO have a variety of clips and sticks and elastics and pins, but I don't consider it excessive. My little hair toy storage bag still has quite a bit of room. :)
He's got all kinds of gels and sprays and mousses. He's outgrown his shelf. I think he used them more when he was going to grow his hair out but now that it's short again I don't think he uses any of it.

Take over and try it for yourself? Would that be an option?

[blackgothicdoll]

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one with the problem of obsessing. It's become a problem since I've been working from home, and can touch my hair as frequently as I want. I have to try to keep myself occupied with other things, or I will drive myself crazy.

I do have a guest bathroom full of products I need to get rid of, not as if my main bathroom isn't stuffed to bursting. I will use up all of my conditioner bars, but I have products that I know I will never use and I hate throwing things away because it is so wasteful. :(

But I find now that I am starting to adapt a routine and understand what my hair likes, I really don't need most of this stuff. I could live with 2 shampoos, 2 conditioners, 1 hair mask, two leave in conditioners and an oil - haha yeah that still sounds like a lot but right now I have waayyyyyyy more than that.

[Teazel]

I have a cupboard full of stuff accumulated when I was going through the process of finding out what works for my hair - a looong time ago now. I really should get rid of it - maybe my son's girlfriend would like to use up all those conditioners that failed the test.

These days, there are very few items I need for regular hair care. A shampoo bar, a shower cap, my Tangle Teezer, my metal fork, a hairtie; that's about it. A conditioner for occasional use, a few hairsticks and pins for rare fancy updos.

I would say that minimalism is a natural consequence of benign neglect, because you've narrowed down the products and tools you need to care for your hair (the benign bit) and you're avoiding damage by messing with it as little as possible (the "neglect" part).

[Natashap]

I wanna try that as well,don't have space and time for too many efforts.

My bottles are getting rancid as well.

[lapushka]

I wanna try that as well,don't have space and time for too many efforts.

My bottles are getting rancid as well.

Luckily that hasn't happened for me yet, and some of my products are *really* old! Like over 10 years. I am using a shampoo now that has long been discontinued (the kiwi shine from Schwarzkopf). Also a mask (Henna Cure&Care) that is over 10 years old. Nothing has gone bad on me so far. It's in good shape, doesn't smell bad, nice color. Yeah.

How old are your bottles? And are they natural ingredients or...?

[RoseChantel]

So, I changed just about everything about how I take care of my hair in the last year and I feel like I am still experimenting with what works for my hair... partly because the longer I have used oils and no cone, no sulfate products the more wavy and curly my hair is getting and I'm not quite sure how to deal with it. My hair is fine and thin, so it's not a bad thing that it's getting curly and I have a feeling that the longer I grow it the less curly it will be from the weight... but bottom line is that I'm still figuring this whole thing out. For this next year (2019) I want to try not to buy things to experiment with and just see what happens after maintaining my hair routine for a year... but after that I don't know what I'll end up tweaking of my routine or if I'll figure something out that works better but is completely different than what I'm doing... I'm not really a minimalist in the rest of my life either, but I do try to make logical and ethical choices when it comes to what I buy.

[maybeinaforest]

I'm a fairly minimalistic person, that or I can't be bothered with complicated routines. I brush my hair well before I wash it with a shampoo bar twice a week with an ACV rinse. Otherwise it's braids or buns. If I focus too much on my hair, I'd be obsessing over the growth and probably be damaging it with too much manipulation.