How do you keep your hair moisturised between washes?

[Servana]

For the past few years I've been washing my hair every other day. To be honest I should probably go back to washing it every day because my hair is so oily, but I like having the extra time on non-wash nights.

My problem is that while my hair is all silky and smooth, easy to brush the morning after I've washed my hair, the next day it's an absolute nightmare. It's very oily at the roots and dry and tangled at the ends. It's so hard to brush through my hair on the second day. And it looks awful!

For those of you who go days between washes I find it amazing but how do you counter the dry ends? My hair eats moisture like no tomorrow. It seems there is no end to how much moisture it requires. It doesn't take in moisture unless it's wet though, so I haven't found a product that works to keep my hair moisturised between washes.

In case you are wondering I use gentle shampoos with no sulfates and use a deep conditioner most washes, followed by an oil. My hair absolutely hates protein and would probably be happy to go years without it!

[blackgothicdoll]

Do you seal with a bit of oil after your moisturize? Or a serum with cones, if you aren't opposed to those, both mainly towards the ends to lock in the moisture?

[akurah]

When's the last time you clarified?

[Haven]

My ends get dry and rough-feeling a few days after washing sometimes. If I do a pre-wash oiling and CWC, it takes away the dryness effectively.

Also, what do you do with your hair overnight? If I leave it loose it will get dry and tangly at the ends very quickly. As long as I keep it bunned, the ends stay moisturized and silky.

Edit: It's probably relevant that I use sulfate shampoo and silicone conditioner.

[Servana]

When's the last time you clarified?

Hmm it's been a while but I haven't found this to change my issue with dryness on the second day.

[Servana]

Do you seal with a bit of oil after your moisturize? Or a serum with cones, if you aren't opposed to those, both mainly towards the ends to lock in the moisture?

I do a deep conditioning treatment, leave it in for a while and then rinse out thoroughly, followed by oil while my hair is still damp. I've seen a lot of haircare routines where people moisturise and seal but I think that would be too heavy for my medium strand/2a hair. I haven't tried a serum with cones though, that sounds interesting.

[Servana]

My ends get dry and rough-feeling a few days after washing sometimes. If I do a pre-wash oiling and CWC, it takes away the dryness effectively.

Also, what do you do with your hair overnight? If I leave it loose it will get dry and tangly at the ends very quickly. As long as I keep it bunned, the ends stay moisturized and silky.

Edit: It's probably relevant that I use sulfate shampoo and silicone conditioner.

I've tried to sleep with my hair in a braid or something but it always gets irritating because it's quite thick. I typically wash my hair and let it air dry then sleep with it loose and it'll be great that morning. Then I sleep with it loose again and the next morning is when it's all dry and tangly.

How do you sleep with the bun? That's pretty impressive. I think I'd have trouble sleeping!

[enting]

Sometimes I dampen unruly parts of my hair by running dripping wet hands over that area and then gently run some conditioner/leave in over that. Just adding some leave in on dry hair doesn't really do it. It's not a wash, but it includes water. I'm sure that if it works, one could also use a spritzer or mister for the water rather than just hands, I just didn't bother buying one.

I have no idea if this would work for you or if you really do need to go back to daily washes, I mention it because you say your hair doesn't seem to take in moisture unless it's wet, and I wondered if just dampening it might also work for you.

ETA: I also find that sleeping with a bun keeps my hair nicer, even for day 1 hair. When I do sleep in a bun, I wear a relaxed topknot with pins so that I can roll over to any side without a bump of a bun on the back of my head getting in the way. YMMV on what you find comfortable depending on your scalp, head, and sleeping position.

[Haven]

I sleep on my side :P I secure it with a fork vertically so I don't even feel it when I lay sideways. Sometimes it comes loose when I toss and turn in my sleep, but it's still better than leaving it down.

[Wusel]

I spray rosewater on my hair and then put argan oil over it. Helps :)

[LittleHealthy]

I wet the ends and then put oil over them, just a very small amount. Or I oil the ends while it is damp after a wash. For years I’d do that oiling on dry hair and it never clicked to oil my hair while it was damp until someone on here suggested it!

[Sarahlabyrinth]

Have you tried using Lapushka's ROO (Rinse Out Oil method?) It's in her signature if you want to take a look at what to do.

[Liz_H]

Would it help to thoroughly brush your scalp oil down into your hair at the end of day 1? At least your roots might look better in the morning.

[Joules]

I developed a routine that helps my hair retain moisture for 3 days (I wash every third day).

It included going back from low shampoo to full-on sulfate galore. About 70% of my dryness was caused by product buildup and hard water buildup, trying to oil my hair more and do more DTs only exacerbated the issue. Also I started to use silicones, because nothing beats moisture loss like a silicone barrier. I know that too much silicone can cause dryness too, that's why I'm super picky when it comes to coney products.

Also updos help a lot. My porous ends can't lose moisture if they're tucked into a bun :)

And yes, my hair is medium to high porosity and absolutely adores protein. So idk how helpful my advice is here.

[Joules]

I wet the ends and then put oil over them, just a very small amount. Or I oil the ends while it is damp after a wash. For years I’d do that oiling on dry hair and it never clicked to oil my hair while it was damp until someone on here suggested it!

How could I forget wet oiling! It's very helpful too! Still on me it didn't quite work until sulfates and cones came into my life, but it might help the OP.

[Wusel]

I developed a routine that helps my hair retain moisture for 3 days (I wash every third day).

It included going back from low shampoo to full-on sulfate galore. About 70% of my dryness was caused by product buildup and hard water buildup, trying to oil my hair more and do more DTs only exacerbated the issue. Also I started to use silicones, because nothing beats moisture loss like a silicone barrier. I know that too much silicone can cause dryness too, that's why I'm super picky when it comes to coney products.

Also updos help a lot. My porous ends can't lose moisture if they're tucked into a bun :)

And yes, my hair is medium to high porosity and absolutely adores protein. So idk how helpful my advice is here.

Good point. I do the same. I put my hair up in a twist with ends twisted under the rest of the hair when damp and oiled. Like this there's no way for the moisture to get out. I have low porosity hair though. But it still is dry and needs moisture.

[cestlavie]

LOC (liquid/oil/cream) could be a good one to lock in the moisture and tucking in your ends in a bun really makes a difference (for me). I agree with the comments above.

[Arciela]

What works for me is using biolage ultra hydration conditioner as a leave in. I use a tiny, tiny bit and squish it on my ends and my hair is really moisturized until next wash day :D

I also use sulfates to wash to remove build up which seems to have helped a ton.

[Reyn127]

Sometimes between washes, I will wet my ponytail in the sink, condition, and rinse again in the sink. It’s pretty quick, and I don’t get all wet which is nice.

[MusicalSpoons]

It may be a texture thing but for me, C-W-ROO-C works to keep my ends happy for about a week, sometimes longer. I've taken to putting on the first C about an hour or so before getting in the shower so it's kind of a deep treatment as well.