Buzz cut care?

[Anshul585]

Hello everyone!

I got a buzz cut on 11th July, 2019. I need advice on how to care for it and grow longer. I wash it everyday with a mild and organic shampoo and oil it with a mix of Coconut and castor oil. Should I stop shampooing it everyday? I have very hard water here so I'm afraid that if I WO it would end up with buildup and flakes.
What do you all suggest?:confused:

[lapushka]

How often did you wash before the buzz cut? Why don't you keep your old routine? What was your old routine?

[Anshul585]

My old routine was to oil hair a night to a few hours before washing, wash and condition. I used to do it every 3-5 days.

I like to wash my head daily, since I had a buzz cut it feels great to let the shower water run from my head. But, I'm afraid that if I use only water to wash it, I will get that greasy hard water buildup so I use shampoo. Also, I like to oil my hair everyday for it's good health. It's summers here, the temperature is between 40-45°C and I sweat a lot so I feel like running water on my head.

Will following my old routine (washing every 3-5 days and oiling a few hours before it), work?

Is my current routine damaging?

What do you suggest?

Sorry for the late reply. :)

[Ophidian]

When I had a buzz cut I just washed as normal and used a tiny bit of oil to calm down the fluffiness afterwards. It’s a good time to really find out what works for your scalp health without having to worry about the length.

[MusicalSpoons]

Can you do an acidic rinse each time? It may mean you don't need to worry about the hard water. http://science-yhairblog.blogspot.com/2013/08/ph-of-common-homemade-rinses.html

[lapushka]

My old routine was to oil hair a night to a few hours before washing, wash and condition. I used to do it every 3-5 days.

I like to wash my head daily, since I had a buzz cut it feels great to let the shower water run from my head. But, I'm afraid that if I use only water to wash it, I will get that greasy hard water buildup so I use shampoo. Also, I like to oil my hair everyday for it's good health. It's summers here, the temperature is between 40-45°C and I sweat a lot so I feel like running water on my head.

Will following my old routine (washing every 3-5 days and oiling a few hours before it), work?

Is my current routine damaging?

What do you suggest?

Sorry for the late reply. :)

That's all right. We're on a forum, not in a chat room. ;) :p

No it's not damaging! I don't think so, at least! If you feel that it's necessary to wash daily, by all means, don't let me stop you! And especially with the temperatures you are experiencing, I can imagine it is more of a necessity.

Good luck!

I don't think there's anything wrong with your routine.

[cjk]

Not sure how long your buzz cut is, but the standard one is a #2 which is only 1/4" long.

That hair is new, fresh, and just about as healthy as it can be.

Start with this question. Are you growing it back, or keeping it buzzed? Hair that young is in prime condition already, all the care and products you're putting into it serve no purpose at that length.

The purpose of most products is, basically, to address problems. In hair that young there are no problems.

One of the reasons men so often get buzzed down for summer is that it's cooler. But also because care routines are trivial, a lot of us actually just scrub with a washcloth in the shower.

KISS

No need to make a big deal out of it at that length.

[spidermom]

Can you do an acidic rinse each time? It may mean you don't need to worry about the hard water. http://science-yhairblog.blogspot.com/2013/08/ph-of-common-homemade-rinses.html

This is a little off topic, but I wanted to note that in Washington where the water is soft, vinegar rinses made my hair crazy - full of fly-aways, very frizzy looking. Where I live now, the water is hard, and a vinegar rinse makes my hair feel normal. Without it, my hair feels kind of rough and sticky because of the minerals.

[MusicalSpoons]

This is a little off topic, but I wanted to note that in Washington where the water is soft, vinegar rinses made my hair crazy - full of fly-aways, very frizzy looking. Where I live now, the water is hard, and a vinegar rinse makes my hair feel normal. Without it, my hair feels kind of rough and sticky because of the minerals.

Interesting. I've never tried vinegar rinses because I can't stand the smell (yet LOVE eating pickled veg -?!) and I know people say it disappears, but I don't dare risk it. Plus I've smelled enough accidentally fermented fruit and veg in my time that something like ACV makes me feel sick.

Your post got me thinking though, maybe OP could try a mild acidic rinse such as miracle water, something with a pH of 5-6. I played around a bit a while ago and used a couple of different concentrations in a 1l jug:
- 1/4 tsp citric acid, and 1/16 tsp ascorbic acid [recipe calls for 1/32 tsp]. Measured pH using Litmus paper, pH ~5
- 1/16 tsp citric acid, pH ~6
Of course the resulting pH depends on the starting pH of the water; ours is just slightly above 7. Science-y Hair Blog says rinse-out products are safest for hair between pH 4 and 6; leave-on products are safest for hair between pH 5 and 6 (or 4.5 and 6 for bleached or lightened hair). Source (http://science-yhairblog.blogspot.com/2013/07/ph-and-your-hair-little-redox-to-make.html)

So if you are really worried about your hard water Anshul585, you could just dunk your head in a slightly acidic rinse every day and it will do the same job as rinsing with shower water, but as citric acid is a chelating agent you shouldn't need to worry about mineral build-up :)

[01]

Can you do an acidic rinse each time? It may mean you don't need to worry about the hard water. http://science-yhairblog.blogspot.com/2013/08/ph-of-common-homemade-rinses.html

Nope, still having flakes. But I have them after shampoo, or too much herbs or too little herbs or... Well, every reason is good. *laughs*

Btw, I normally wash once a week or two weeks but during this crazy hot summer I sometimes wash every second day with cold water just for health reasons (ie. I want to cool my head).

Growing out a buzzcut, had similar routine like usually, nothing out of the ordinary except I didn't had to comb. Now when I have more hair it's more complicated, heh. Looking for ways to put it up to stop myself from buzzing it again. Been staring at these cornrow vids.

Oh, you can scritch your head with a sponge before washing, very relaxing, easy access to scalp when you have little hair xD.

[01]

Not sure how long your buzz cut is, but the standard one is a #2 which is only 1/4" long.

That hair is new, fresh, and just about as healthy as it can be.

Start with this question. Are you growing it back, or keeping it buzzed? Hair that young is in prime condition already, all the care and products you're putting into it serve no purpose at that length.

The purpose of most products is, basically, to address problems. In hair that young there are no problems.

One of the reasons men so often get buzzed down for summer is that it's cooler. But also because care routines are trivial, a lot of us actually just scrub with a washcloth in the shower.

KISS

No need to make a big deal out of it at that length.

Yup, I'd just WO with cold water (good for my flakes), sometimes scritch with a sponge before.

[Anshul585]

When I had a buzz cut I just washed as normal and used a tiny bit of oil to calm down the fluffiness afterwards. It’s a good time to really find out what works for your scalp health without having to worry about the length.

I think my scalp health is good just as before and I oil daily. I will try extending washes once my hair is a few inches longer. :)

[Anshul585]

It seems too much work to me. And I'll honestly miss the shampoo suds. :)

[Anshul585]

Not sure how long your buzz cut is, but the standard one is a #2 which is only 1/4" long.

That hair is new, fresh, and just about as healthy as it can be.

Start with this question. Are you growing it back, or keeping it buzzed? Hair that young is in prime condition already, all the care and products you're putting into it serve no purpose at that length.

The purpose of most products is, basically, to address problems. In hair that young there are no problems.

One of the reasons men so often get buzzed down for summer is that it's cooler. But also because care routines are trivial, a lot of us actually just scrub with a washcloth in the shower.

KISS

No need to make a big deal out of it at that length.

Scrubbing with a washcloth seems to be a little harsh on my sensitive scalp. Byt, I'll try it once anyway. :)

[cjk]

Scrubbing with a washcloth seems a little harsh on my sensitive scalp. Byt, I'll try it once anyway. :)

Well, obviously it depends on the person.

One nice thing about a buzz cut is that it exposes the scalp to air and sunshine, both of which can be very healing. It won't surprise me if you experience an improvement.