What are you doing right?

[ljkforu]

Let people know what you are doing that is working. Give a general idea of the routine you are using and how hard your water is or the metro area you are near. Also, include a description of about how old your are, how long your hair is and anything else that would help someone at a similar point as you.

Feel free to post multiple times are your routine, location, life etc.. changes.

If you were to add say Camellia oil to your current routine quote your original post and update your changes.:magic:

This is great everyone!!! I hope that it will work as a nice archive of what works where. If I have questions I'm going to private message people to keep the volume down. I also don't intend for anyone to be critiqued, we just want information.

[ljkforu]

I'm 40ish live in the Portland, OR tri-metro area with soft water. I have straight thinning 31.75 inch hair. Questions regarding my health and ethnicity etc... will be happily answered. (Others should clarify where they stand on these types of issues.)

Shampooing -- Dairy whip Honey Almond, Sapo Hills Jasmine, and Rose, Lavender, Peppermint Dr. Bronner's soap bars. (Choice depends on oilings and natural greasiness of the day.)

Conditioning -- Any kind of V05 scent (no cones), occasional Herbal Essence Rose Conditioner (Cones), and Aussie Deep (Cones) when I feel the need. (Choice depends on feel of hair after shampooing.)

Rinse -- 1/8 tsp of Vitamin C crystals in 20 oz of cool water. (Really helps comb go through hair without pulling.)

Oiling -- Straight coconut oil (also gets rid of the itchies), J/A/S/O/N's 5000 iu Vit E 5 oil blend and home made conditioning bar occasionally to add bulk (recipe is on my blog). (Used on scalp if itchy and on hair if dry.)

Coloring -- Henna glosses with 3 parts Henna, 1 part Katam and a pinch of crystalline indigo mixed with Pantene Cone conditioner and left on for 2 hours. Everything I am using for coloring right now comes from Henna for Hair. (Used when there is 1 1/2 inches out growout.)

Medicinal treatments -- Watered down monitstat 2 times a week and Rogaine 5% 3 times per week. (Authorized by my Doctor to treat diagnosed pattern baldness.) (Treatments are causing the growth of black hairs in balding areas.)

[Katze]

Nice idea for a thread, but I think it could get long!

I'm 36 and live in northern Germany with normal water (still chlorinated). Hairtype is fine but medium thickness, mildly wavy, sensitive scalp/eczema/SD. My hair is between 26 and 27 inches (depending on where I measure to) which is barely-BSL on me, and the last 3-5 inches have color and heat damage. I am also growing out a heavily layered "shag cut" from 4 years ago.

At the moment my hair and skin are very oily; I attribute this to pregnancy hormones, and am washing more.

My hair is getting thicker all the time, especially at the crown. I have a whole carpet of sticking-out baby hairs from hairline to about chin length, and am hoping that this will move down the length. This has increased during pregnancy, but has gone on for about 2 years now.

Also currently trimming every 1-3 months; next trim January at the EARLIEST.

Shampooing - currently using mild "natural" shampoos (Alverde, Logona, etc) for most washes, SLS/ALS-heavy Clairol Herbal Essences once a month or so in a deep wash to get rid of oil, conditioner buildup.

Conditioner - sporadically and varied, mostly no 'cones: Goth Rosary as a leave-in and in my mister. Lavera Repair-Kur (sadly discontinued) as occasional overnight deep conditioner or before swimming. Other "natural" (Alverde, Logona, Lavera) conditioners when I CW or CWC wash.

Oiling - minimal, with the remainder of the oils from face washes - usually coconut and castor. I have to be very careful about over-oiling my hair, but do oil more when I am doing more swimming.

Other treatments - occasional SMTs, crystallized honey washes, vinegar rinses.

Product - aloe vera gel with Goth Rosary conditioner on the ends, aloe alone on the crown. Occasional hair gel usage when I really want waves to stay or my hair to lay smoothly in an updo.

Worries - will my hair really ever get long and look good? How do I "tame" my hair and make it look smooth when I want it to - it is really hard to make it lie flat or stay in updos.

[Dolly]

OK, I'll chime in.....

I'm 41 and live in Louisiana. My hair is just past BSL, thin, fine, and straight. I am relatively healthy, although overweight at this point, but concentrating on eating healthy and exercising and getting back to my healthy weight range.

My water is in the mid-range as far as hardness goes.

For washing, I use CV shampoo bars, and do at least a scalp wash daily, as I workout and my scalp sweats terribly. I enjoy Olive Babassu, Cafe Moreno, Babassu Marshmallow, and Summer Sunshine bars.

For conditioner in the shower, I use either cone (Aussie Deep) or no-cone (Suave any flavor) depending on how my hair feels. Sometimes I don't use any.

Then, I rinse with a white vinegar solution that is about a 1:8 ratio, with a dollop of Suave condish in it.

After the shower, if I used a no-cone condish in the shower, I use Aussie Leave-in Hair Insurance spray. My hair really likes and needs the cones.


On other occassions:
--clarifying--Suave clarifying shampoo (AKA paint stripper)
--Aussie "Catch the Wave" mousse + leave-in condish if I roll my hair
--organic virgin coconut oil for a deep oiling at least one night a week
--color with Hydrience Ruby Twilight (I know.....BAD GIRL)


I use fingers and a plastic no-seam comb for detangling when wet (I can't detangle when dry, or my hair breaks badly), and a very smooth horn comb for combing at other times. I also use a Widu brush with wooden bristles. My hair doesn't like a BBB, so although I have one, I don't use it.

[Laila23]

I am a new girl so I will try and tell you what I have been happy with since joining in mid-October.

I have fine to medium coarse 1b hair, 27.5 inches and medium in thickness

I do not know if I have hard water or not but I would like to assume that it is on the hard side.

I like Suave shampoo and conditioners (cone free). Clarifying shampoo has been amazing for me to see what's going on with my hair.

SMT is a life saver and really made my hair feel really good. I'm doing that weekly now!

Coconut oil in very generous amounts. This has really changed my hair from appearing drab to shiny. I sometimes use olive oil as well.

Scalp massage once a week.

S&D once a week. I'm not trimmimg because my ends look really good esp. with the coconut and olive oils.

For my diet I try and eat a lot of fish, and take cod liver oil and eat good quality foods. Lots of water, etc.

That's all I have found so far. I really appreciate this site. Everyone would always tell me to do this thing or that thing for my hair and it would just make it worse! It's nice seeing that my hair type is different and needs different things. It's nice to finally understand.

[Gothic Lolita]

I live in western Germany and I think our water is okay. It's not chlorinated and doesn't contain much scale.

I have 1a/1b hair with thick strands but also masses of fine strands but an overall iii thickness.

I wash daily in the evenings with mild natural shampoos from Alverde (German brand) and condition afterwards with Alverde conditioners or Sante Brilliant Care if my hair lacks moisture.
If my hair is a tiny bit oily I dilute my shampoo 1:1 with water. But if it's extremly oily I'll take a full strenght shampoo or even a conventional one.
Since I switched from conventional no 'cones to all natural my hair really hates even occassional 'cones. They feel lile dolls hair and really dry.

If my hair has felt a bit crunchy I put a tiny bit of shea butter on it right after I've washed. It helps a lot, seals the moisture, gives shine, but also makes my hair dry even slower.

I trim once a year about 2 cm, but if a have a huge amount of splits, I'll do an S&D.

I also hennagloss infrequently every 4 to 12 weeks. My hair does like henna, it feels very thick and healthy afterwards. If I don't want color, I'll just take cassia, but cassia somehow takes away my natural red in my hair (i know it shouldn't color).

Since March I wear my hair up daily and I think it really helped with my awful tangles. I also have started doing an English braid every night and now I can brush it easily.

I eat healthily and try to drink enough and take a vitamin B-Complex daily. I don't know if it really helps with hair, but it helps with nails. I also bought a mulitvitamin but can't report on it yet.

[Loviatar]

Fun timewaster :D

I'm 29 and live in London UK. My water hardness is 20-22 Clarkes scale so it's pretty hard. I use henna and am currently growing out almost black dye (Nutrisse permanent). I comb with a Mason Pearson or Kent wide tooth comb, always air dry, and brush with a Denman, not a BBB.

Washing: I use Tresemme Thermal Recovery either daily or every other day. It has sulphates. If I feel tenderheaded or dont think I need the sulphate effect then I use Kiehls Amino Acid shampoo. I try to dilute both of these in a small empty Kiehls AA bottle.

Conditioner: Again Tresemme Thermal Rec with a blob of honey mixed in. Occasonally I will CO wash with a conefree conditioner (usually Superdrug apple or Inecto coconut) but I will use coney leave-ins afterward.

Rinse: I always rinse with 500ml of filtered cold water at home. Sometimes I stir a tsp of honey and a splash of apple cider vinegar into it too.

Colour: I use Punjabi Prime henna (Jamilla) and am doing roots only applications now.

Other stuff:

I self trim in a U shape with Feye's method.
I braid my hair at night and my daily style is usually a cinnamon bun.
Occasional oiling with coconut mostly, sometimes almond - maybe once a fortnight.
S&D maybe once a month.

I should SMT but I always forget or never have time.

Leave-in: Redken Anti-snap and aloe gel. I put the gel on the bangs and scalp area, and the coney goo on the length.

[~GypsyCurls~]

Hey Dolly...where do you find Hydrience's Ruby Twilight? I used to use their reds, but they seem to have disappeared. I haven't seen them in years! I guess bright red hair is no longer trendy! They worked really well, and were able to get dark hair a very bright red. These days I use Feria's Power Reds, which are pretty good (and they give you more product, so I don't have to buy two boxes at a time), but they are actually getting harder to find too...

[mira-chan]

I'm in NYC and 24 years old. The water here is soft but chlorinated to oblivion. 2b/C/ii/iii (~4") hair type, thigh length.

Washing: 1. Herbs, various combinations, Indian herbs preferred.
2. Non sulfate shampoo for scalp wash

Conditioning: 1. Herbs - methi is my favorite.
2. No-cone conditioner + no cone leave in

Oiling: Coconut oil blends for summer, Sesame oil blends for winter for scalp oiling. Length oiling between washes, coconut int he summer, camellia oil in the winter.

Medicinal: Self made sulfur oil used occasionally. Neem oil added to mixes in the summer.

Combing with a wood or horn comb once every 1-3 days. Scalp massage every day.