My hair is getting drier and drier...

[RetroKitten]

... and I don't know what to do about it!
I stopped using cones a long time ago, switched between SLS and all natural shampoos after that and have been using only mild natural shampoos for some time now. My hair has always been very oily, but now it's the complete opposite, dry scalp, dry hair. Different conditioners showed no effect, as well as locking moisture in with oil. The structure of my hair is fine (=enough protein?!) and it is smooth!

I suspect that all the glycerin in natural products does that to me.
What do you think

Help!

[1953Diygal]

Retrokitten, I'm curious about the length of your hair.

Sometimes, when your hair is transitioning to a new length, it requires different products or systems of care to keep it healthy. For instance, when I transitioned from BSL to waist-length, I found that none of the old rules applied any longer (one of the rules being that it required far more moisture to allow it to remain soft during the extended period between washings).

BTW, glycerine doesn't work with my hair, either. It makes it feel sticky and....coated.

[Flaxen]

Yep, my hair began to feel drier after using products with a lot of glycerine in them, too. It's a shame, really, because at first they made my hair nice and soft. Now I avoid that ingredient altogether, and I haven't noticed anything else make my hair feel dry.

[spidermom]

If there is more moisture in your hair than in the air, glycerin will pull the moisture out of your hair to make it available to the air, thus drying out your hair. If the opposite is true (more moisture in the air than in your hair), glycerin will draw moisture from the air to your hair. If you are using indoor heat or live in a dry place, avoid glycerin.

Try CWC washing: conditioner to length, shampoo to scalp, rinse, more conditioner to length. If this doesn't provide enough relief, try diluting the shampoo.

[Cinnamon.locks]

fell for you, know exactly what you´re going through, tried a new condish from Lóreal, the one with bee honey and it made my hair dry as the Sahara desert. have you tried Lóreamega moisture deep condish? it is cone heavy but it has made my hair so soft and manageable, i live for it basically. love how my hair shines and is soft as silk.

if you wish to try go to Sally´s they sell it there, it is the tub with the green cap, big tub, but so worth the expense. i tried almost every condish on the market and nothing worked for me until i found the above treatment condish and i am in love with it, also check out Kimo´s shea butter, aloe vera gel and oil recipe it is to die for, it works on all, hair, skin and face. very good for this colder weather, very moisturizing and natural.


hope this helps.

[~GypsyCurls~]

Everyone's hair is different, but I noticed that when I stopped using shampoo altogether (even the natural, moisturizing, and sulfate free kinds) my hair stopped getting so dry.

[Curlsgirl]

My hair does not like a lot of glycerine either, makes it dry and icky. The thing that helped the dryness by far more than anything else is a moisturizing leave-in. My favorite is Biolage conditioning balm (Moisture therappie). My hair never feels dry anymore! They have a knock-off at Sally's that is supposed to be good of this too.

[Fillette]

I agree with Curlsgirl, a leave-in might make a big difference.

[Darkhorse1]

I tried a natural shampoo and it dried ny hair out badly. I went back to regular shampoos and am happy with my choice. For some people it's ideal, for others, not so much. I've vasilated between my coney products and again, need them for my life style. But, that's just me :)

[Nicole.Amina]

This happened to me also, only the conditioner I was using (Trader Joe's Refresh) doesn't contain glycerin so I really don't know what the issue there was. When I first started using it my hair looked so nice. Then one day my hair bugged out and went POUF!! I switched back to VO5 and my hair looks and feels ten times better.

I agree with Darkhorse1. Natural products work for some people and doesn't work for others. I just happen to be one of the people it doesn't work for. Are you opposed to regular non-natural products? I would just switch back to the non-natural variety. Hope this helps any...!

[Melisande]

Fox' Sheabutter recipe makes my very dry hair soft and moisturized. So do Monoi and camelia oil on damp ends.

Damp bunning afterwards, and my hair is happy.

[Dreamernz]

I think that scalp massages help to get the natural hair oils streaming, as do not washing your hair so often. i only wash my hair twice, sometimes by accident once a week as it depends. i usually hate the feel of oil on my scalp but, my hair is usually silky soft and i don't need to (i don't generally) oil my hair at all.

[aisling]

I think the most important question is: how do you wash? How much shampoo do you use, you you wash all your length or just the roots? You really don't need a lot of shampoo to wash a long hair, I dilute mine and generally only wash the scalp. Even so called gentle shampoo is drying when you use too much of it.

I sometimes wash the whole length of my hair when I want to get rid of buildup. Did you do this to get rid of the cones when you stopped with them?

[Ursula]

A few things could be going on.

First, as your hair gets longer, oil from your scalp can no longer reach the ends of your hair easily, so your length can be dry, even with gentle cleansing. That is why CWC washes can be so beneficial for long hair, because it keeps the length from being dried out when you wash your scalp.

Second, harsher washes can over-dry the skin on your scalp, triggering oil production. So when you wash more gently, you calm your scalp from that over-reaction, and can have dryer hair, as your scalp reacts more calmly. So often people here find they need to wash less often when they switch to a more gentle routine.

Third, a more gentle routine doesn't necessarily clean as well. So you can have buildup. You may need to occasionally use a commercial shampoo to clarify, so you can enjoy the benefits of a natural shampoo the rest of the time.

My suggestion would be to use your old shampoo to clarify, and then try CWC washing with your new shampoo and a conditioner you have had good results with in the past. Perhaps space your washes a bit, as well, only washing once your scalp has become oily or dirty.

[plainjanegirl]

Has the weather recently changed in your area? If so that could be causing your hair to be dry too. I thought summer was bad but I think the cooler weather is gonna be just as bad with dryness and static for my hair this year.

[ginnysgems]

fell for you, know exactly what you´re going through, tried a new condish from Lóreal, the one with bee honey and it made my hair dry as the Sahara desert. have you tried Lóreamega moisture deep condish? it is cone heavy but it has made my hair so soft and manageable, i live for it basically. love how my hair shines and is soft as silk.

if you wish to try go to Sally´s they sell it there, it is the tub with the green cap, big tub, but so worth the expense. i tried almost every condish on the market and nothing worked for me until i found the above treatment condish and i am in love with it, also check out Kimo´s shea butter, aloe vera gel and oil recipe it is to die for, it works on all, hair, skin and face. very good for this colder weather, very moisturizing and natural.


hope this helps.

Oh, I am so happy I read this! I just bought some of this at Sally's yesterday, and the shampoo too..... My ends had started to get REALLY dry, and tangled and starting to break..... I used them for the first time last night after coloring (which does actually sometimes help with ends for a short time in of itself) and I can tell a HUGE difference today. I also got another LOreal product in a little pump bottle that I used a tiny dab of as a leave in. I can't remember the name and I'm too lazy to go into the bathroom to get it, but it has almond and mango oils in it. It's not really stated as a leave in, but I have often used products NOT labeled as leave in's and they work great.

ANYWAY, this morning my hair feels fantastic, even AFTER coloring, which doesn't usually happen. It's fuller, softer, and doesn't feel so limp and lifeless.

I need to say that I have also the last couple of weeks started shampooing ONLY my scalp and not the entire length. I don't use any gels or anything like that, so my length doesn't really get build up other than conditioner......

[ktani]

... and I don't know what to do about it!
I stopped using cones a long time ago, switched between SLS and all natural shampoos after that and have been using only mild natural shampoos for some time now. My hair has always been very oily, but now it's the complete opposite, dry scalp, dry hair. Different conditioners showed no effect, as well as locking moisture in with oil. The structure of my hair is fine (=enough protein?!) and it is smooth!

I suspect that all the glycerin in natural products does that to me.
What do you think

Help!

I think that the glycerin may be a possibility but it depends on the percentage used in a product, IMO. The only time I can be certain of a single ingredient causing a problem, is with my scalp sensitivities. I know which ones cause a sensitivity reaction on my scalp now.

There are other things in natural products that can contribute to dryness too, like too much wax and oil. Waxy type ingredients are often listed as; cetyl, stearyl, cetearyl alcohol. They act as moisture barriers to help keep moisture in the hair but too many of them in a product can help make hair dry.

[RetroKitten]

I am in the process of growing, my hair is only a few inches long and I will celebrate when it has reached chin - length :rolleyes:. A lot of people say at this length you only need to shampoo your hair, but my hair and scalp is not in the condition to do so, both need extra care.

I would love to try Fox' Sheabutter recipe but I am allergic to aloe. :mad:

[Flaxen]

I would love to try Fox' Sheabutter recipe but I am allergic to aloe. :mad:
There's no aloe in Fox's recipe. You might be thinking of SMT. Fox's recipe is for a leave-in. It's 1 part your favorite conditioner, 1 part shea butter, and 1/2 part your favorite carrier oil. :flower:

[Anje]

I'm going to echo Ursula here -- the standard first question when someone complains of dry hair that doesn't respond to moisture is "When did you last clarify?" If you haven't sudsed your hair from root to tip with a good sulfate shampoo in a few months, go do that, then moisturize, and see if it makes a difference.

Glycerine could definitely be a (the?) culprit. I have heard that it builds up, but more than that, it's a humectant, which means it attracts moisture to itself. This is great for your hair if the air is generally humid, but if you're in a dry environment (such as a building that now has its heating system turned on for winter), it can draw moisture out of your hair to replace what the glycerine loses to the environment.

Fox's Shea butter creme recipe is great. I'll also mention that you can do a modified SMT -- just mix honey and conditioner, warm it up, and let your hair soak in it for a while. Lots of people make it without aloe for multiple reasons.

[missy60]

I have also found that when using natural shampoo they dont rinse as easily. I have to really rinse longer to use them or I dont get all the shampoo out and that can cause dryness. I have a little bottle and I dilute them down alot and that makes rinsing alot easier also.

[RetroKitten]

Anje, I did the sulfate - moisture thing and nothing changed. I don't really understand what my hair is doing. We are living a seperate live, me in my hair.


There's no aloe in Fox's recipe. You might be thinking of SMT. Fox's recipe is for a leave-in. It's 1 part your favorite conditioner, 1 part shea butter, and 1/2 part your favorite carrier oil. :flower:

oh yes, i thought it was SMT, thank you for clarifing!!... well, I am off to educate myself about fox's recipe! :eyebrows:

[Katze]

Everyone's hair is different, but I noticed that when I stopped using shampoo altogether (even the natural, moisturizing, and sulfate free kinds) my hair stopped getting so dry.

Just to prove your point, I had the opposite experience; when I didn't use shampoo, or when I have gone too long without sulfate shampoos, my hair gets dry, dull, and tangled. Sometimes I even have to shampoo and NOT condition for my ends to get back to normal (but I do use leave-in and mist between washes).

I would suspect the glycerin, or buildup of some other kind. Now i can't see your hairtype, while posting, but fine hair seems to get buildup more quickly than other hair types, and needs to be more deeply cleansed, while at the same time also needing gentler treatment. It is a fine line...!

[EvaSimone]

When my scalp is dry which happens every so often I massage my scalp with lots of either Jojoba oil or EVOO. I will leave it on overnight and then shampoo it out.

I suggest clarifying also, buildup might be making your hair feel dry. Clarify and then while your hair is wet I would coat it in EVOO and leave it for as long as you can (overnight is best) and adding heat while your hair is wrapped in saran wrap or a plastic bag is even better.

I don't use silicones or sulphates (except when I clarify every few months), one main stream deep conditioning product I like is Loreal Vive Nutrigloss Pearl Protein deep conditioner, it's in a pink bottle. Whenever my hair is feeling yucky this will usually make it better, it's cone free too!

One other question I have is do your shampoos and conditioners have lots of protein? Protein always makes my hair feel awful.

[RetroKitten]

Just to prove your point, I had the opposite experience; when I didn't use shampoo, or when I have gone too long without sulfate shampoos, my hair gets dry, dull, and tangled. Sometimes I even have to shampoo and NOT condition for my ends to get back to normal (but I do use leave-in and mist between washes).

I would suspect the glycerin, or buildup of some other kind. Now i can't see your hairtype, while posting, but fine hair seems to get buildup more quickly than other hair types, and needs to be more deeply cleansed, while at the same time also needing gentler treatment. It is a fine line...!

It really is a fine line! There you are, trying the best you can, spending so much time on finding out what you hair wants and as a result you look like you didn't think about your hair in years... at least that is for me.

I did a deep clarifying session with sulfate shampoo and used a cream with oils and sheabutter on my head + yogurt. My hair is in better condition now.



When my scalp is dry which happens every so often I massage my scalp with lots of either Jojoba oil or EVOO. I will leave it on overnight and then shampoo it out.

I suggest clarifying also, buildup might be making your hair feel dry. Clarify and then while your hair is wet I would coat it in EVOO and leave it for as long as you can (overnight is best) and adding heat while your hair is wrapped in saran wrap or a plastic bag is even better.

I don't use silicones or sulphates (except when I clarify every few months), one main stream deep conditioning product I like is Loreal Vive Nutrigloss Pearl Protein deep conditioner, it's in a pink bottle. Whenever my hair is feeling yucky this will usually make it better, it's cone free too!

One other question I have is do your shampoos and conditioners have lots of protein? Protein always makes my hair feel awful.

The conditioner I use has protein ingredients, but some ingredients that help to lock in moisture, too. Before clarifying (look at my answer to katze's post) it seemed like whatever I put on my hair would just sit on it, making it drier by every wash.