Dryness Support Thread

[Tangles]

Yeah, there are dozens of threads on the dryness issue, but as we're in the dead of winter, I suspect that I am not the only sufferer of dry, non-soft hair.

So far:
-Oiling does not seem to prevent the brittleness.
-Pantene seems to work better than clear shampoos right now.
-I have not been doing as many deep treatments as usual, need to resume those.

Still absolutely NO heat styling.

It seems to have been a while since my hair felt silky :(

Share your complaints and routine here!

[Aisha25]

My hair is dry all the time I always have to have them oiled or have some kind of honey treatment before head bath and after I wash them. They love moisture:rolleyes:

[freznow]

Aloe and jojoba as a leave in has worked wonders for me! Had I not seen someone's post (sorry, forget whose) about 'bottled snot', I would be complaining very much in this thread right about now.

[Tangles]

I'm going to do some experiments this week:
-Deep treatments
-Leaving conditioner in instead of rinsing out
-Will give SMT another try
-No sulfates for a while (maybe only shampoo my scalp once-twice a week)

[Aisha25]

Have you tried cwc I tried it today and my hair is very nice in the last c i added in honey and now my hair is very silky and soft in the ends.

[AmselJoey]

Ooh can I please join, too? :)

This is exactly the thread I was looking for...winter has been making my hair SO dry and blah! I, too, have been slacking on the deep treatments, but I don't like having damp hair when it's so cold out.

Anyone else want to move someplace where it's always warm? :cheese:

[Roseate]

I was in a real dryness funk for a while there- oils stopped working (my hair would get greasy but still feel rough and brittle), I was a giant ball of frizz that even my usual go-to defrizzing spray (Kimberlily's recipe from here) wouldn't tame, it was ugly. My scalp even started flaking again, which it hasn't done since I quit using sulphates.

It seems to be under control the past few days though- I did a cassia treatment, then at my next wash a SMT, then used some of the leave-in I made from Fox's recipe (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=4586), and it's been actually soft ever since! I hope it doesn't go right back to straw at my next wash.

[Tangles]

but I don't like having damp hair when it's so cold out.



This is my issue, too--it's prompting me to try to infuse the most moisture possible during each wash, and I might even start stretching out my washes. Sure, one can use oils on dry hair, but it doesn't work that well for me.

[salamander]

My hair's been feeling really dry lately, but I think I've got it back on track. Lots of CO with a heavy conditioner, and lots of coconut oil on wet hair.

[Roseate]

I might even start stretching out my washes.

I stretch my washes as long as I can in the winter! I usually only wet it once a week. Twice a week if I want to wear it curly.

[logica_divina]

The thing that saved my hair from dryness I was coping with A LOT in the past is CO method. I don't even know where to start. My hair is much softer, the shine is incredible.. I also do tons of deep treatments (once a week at least) and that helps as well, but CO remains my holy grail. It really saved my hair this winter.
:heartbeat

[Kuchen]

Oiling stopped working for me in the cold snap, but a couple of days ago I remembered Fox's conditioning butter/cream (a mix of conditioner, coconut oil and shea butter) and that, applied to dry hair, has finally given me some softness back.
I've been on this site for ages and am forever announcing that I've found "the BEST thing!" but this time it's genuine. Thank heaven for this stuff. I was contemplating lopping several inches off before I remembered it.

[Poppy Seed]

Ooh can I please join, too? :)

This is exactly the thread I was looking for...winter has been making my hair SO dry and blah! I, too, have been slacking on the deep treatments, but I don't like having damp hair when it's so cold out.

Anyone else want to move someplace where it's always warm? :cheese:

I have to say that living in a warm place doesn't necessarily help! I live somewhere warm and dry and my hair has started doing the static & frizz thing. (It used to only do that with nylon brushes and plastic combs - neither of which I own any more.)

I don't really like to wash the hair too frequently - once a week is fine. I find that dampening the last 6-9" of hair then putting a touch of oil on it before bunning helps a little, but I can only really do that once in the middle of the week before it all starts to look greasy.

I've also started doing my night time plaits looser and that seems to be helping with the frizz a little, but not the dry static.

I'm not really able to spend hours doing the leave-ins and deep treatments, so I'm definitely interested in the simple tips!

[Dientje]

I recognize the problem! Just yesterday my BF asked if I was still happy with my hair, and I said no, since it is so dyr and brittle. So he started explaining that that was due to the dryness of the air and all, and hat I should just hang in there, and definately NOT cut it. He suggested to put some bowls with water around the room, to increase the amount of moisture in the air inside. Very sweet :)

I just did an SMT, and oiled my hair with a mixture of apricot kernel oil, shea butter and jojoba oil and bunned it wet. Hopefully this helps a bit.

[krt1013]

CO washing makes a big difference. Also using very thick, cone free deep dishes on my ends. Besides using a leave-in, I also love my olive oil and shea butter! I treat my hair to them overnight, and also add a teeny bit after I shower.

[RavennaNight]

I stretch my washes as long as I can in the winter! I usually only wet it once a week. Twice a week if I want to wear it curly.

Yeah, I find stretching washes helpful too. Make sure to scalp massage to make use of and redistribute scalp oils.

[Girltron]

I was really depressed about how the heater was treating my hair this year-I was noticing reduced shine, increased tangling, and overall unattractive condition.

Until I tried using LF coconut milk mixed with honey for about an hour prior to each shampoo. What a difference! I soak all my hair with it under a cap, then in the shower I rinse and apply shampoo just to the scalp, as usual. Rinse and condition the whole thing, scalp to lengths. I follow with a vinegar rinse. It comes out just as soft and shiny and springy as I remember from the summertime!

[happymommy]

I was having some serious static issues myself. I tried a caramel treatment for the first time instead of my normal SMT's because I'm out of my fave 'dish.

While it left an incredible amount of oil in my hair after shampooing it out, I kept it in braids until it absorbed, doing scalp washes and not wetting the length.

Two days after, my hair is no longer full of static, the oil has all absorbed and I've got smooth shiny hair again!

I know it's not everyone's preferred method, what with the excess oil and all, but it worked like a charm for me when I needed it.

However, now I've got some of my biolage conditioning balm and can do SMT's again, yay!!!

I think I'll keep the caramel treatments in my Anti-dryness arsenal, though. Whatever works, baby!

[rhubarbarin]

After a year+ using all-natural conditioners and leave-ins, I have problems with my hair (length) getting too greasy. They are just incredibly moisturizing, so much more than drug store products. And I've had a lifetime problem with dryness. And I use sulfate shampoo (usually 3x a week).

Now that my hair seems super-moisturized I can oil on dry hair. This used to be utterly impossible for me.. the only way coconut oil worked was on soaking wet hair, and even then sometimes it would still make it rough and crunchy..

I use Burt's Bees and Aubrey Organics conditioners and gel.

[melikai]

My hair has been very brittle and dry for the last month or so, so I am making sure I use a s&c that don't have too much protein in them, and have started doing CWC again. I also have been doing TONS of conditioning treatments using walnut oil, honey, and conditioner. It's all helping but it seems that if I don't keep up the treatments my hair quickly gets very dry again!

[sandigirl]

I have always brushed my hair a lot. It keeps it silky and smooth. I use no products other than shampoo and conditioner.

[ancilla]

Shea butter does amazing things for my hair in the winter.
After washing, while still damp, I put a little shea butter through my hair, and then braid. Also, almost everyday, before I go to bed I 'feed' the ends of my braids with shea butter, even when its not freshly washed. It protects them better than anything else I've tried.

[girlcat36]

My hair is dry, parched, strawlike. I have been doing a heavy oiling with coconut oil every night before I wash day. This has really improved things. I used to be afraid heavy oilings because my hates shampoo, but I have found that a CO does get it out.


Have you tried cwc I tried it today and my hair is very nice in the last c i added in honey and now my hair is very silky and soft in the ends.

My hair usually likes honey in conditioner, but I have stopped doing this because it actually made the dryness problem worse, since the air is now so dry. I will resume the honey when the humidity in the air increases.

[pariate]

Coconut oiling helps my hair enormously, but I need to make sure I also keep it hydrated between washes by using my AGO mix. This, topped off by a light oiling, keeps my hair very soft and supple. I'm going to start experimenting with vinegar rinses too, as I have heard that many people here have found it gives more slip.

[pariate]

I'm also considering trying shea on the very ends of my hair. I've had a hunt around for UK suppliers of unrefined shea and will order some over the next week or so.

I think this is a great idea for a thread BTW. :redgrin:

[pariate]

Oh yeah - changing to CO made an amazing difference to my hair. Ditching shampoo is the best thing I've ever done for my hair. I've been COing for over a year now and I'd recommend it to anyone with dry hair.

[Tangles]

After a year+ using all-natural conditioners and leave-ins, I have problems with my hair (length) getting too greasy. They are just incredibly moisturizing, so much more than drug store products. And I've had a lifetime problem with dryness. And I use sulfate shampoo (usually 3x a week).

Now that my hair seems super-moisturized I can oil on dry hair. This used to be utterly impossible for me.. the only way coconut oil worked was on soaking wet hair, and even then sometimes it would still make it rough and crunchy..

I use Burt's Bees and Aubrey Organics conditioners and gel.

Burt's Bees made my hair waxy.
Their products are very hit and miss IMO--their hair stuff and lip balm is awful for me, their face and eye creams are good.

[Aisha25]

My hair is dry, parched, strawlike. I have been doing a heavy oiling with coconut oil every night before I wash day. This has really improved things. I used to be afraid heavy oilings because my hates shampoo, but I have found that a CO does get it out.



My hair usually likes honey in conditioner, but I have stopped doing this because it actually made the dryness problem worse, since the air is now so dry. I will resume the honey when the humidity in the air increases.
Oh thats too bad I usually sit in the bathroom with the steam on that helps me to not get dryed out. Maybe when its summertime again you can try it:) It works great my hair is still spiraly even after sleep:D

[Lamb]

This is the thread for me. I can CO with a heavy, creamy conditioner for dry hair and still have dry hair in the end. What works (sometimes) is CO with said thick condish every day and using a leave-in every day also. I am undecided about shampoo - sometimes I feel I should go two weeks without it, but I get scared of buildup by the end of the week.

Winter sucks. Add persistent flu and arctic cold, and the situation is almost hopeless.

[Tangles]

This is the thread for me. I can CO with a heavy, creamy conditioner for dry hair and still have dry hair in the end. What works (sometimes) is CO with said thick condish every day and using a leave-in every day also. I am undecided about shampoo - sometimes I feel I should go two weeks without it, but I get scared of buildup by the end of the week.

Winter sucks. Add persistent flu and arctic cold, and the situation is almost hopeless.

Hear, hear. Funny thing about winter is that I tend to grow a lot but most of that gained length is very very dry. However I doubt I'll have to cut any off--it's healthy, just dry.

[Tangles]

My hair is dry, parched, strawlike. I have been doing a heavy oiling with coconut oil every night before I wash day. This has really improved things. I used to be afraid heavy oilings because my hates shampoo, but I have found that a CO does get it out.



Interesting suggestion. I always scrubbed my hair with sulfates after heavy oilings, thinking I would need that to remove the oil.

[chelles2kids]

1. Redken Smooth Down Butter Treat
2. Always using a diluted shampoo
(My two current favs. are:Giovanni Triple Tea Tree & Queen Helene Mint Julep, in no particular order)
3. Washing no more often than twice a week
4. Never using a blow fryer

[ReddishRocks]

I'm CO myself, and that has helped a lot this year with the dry dry weather. I'm also avoiding glycerin and honey - their humectant properties just suck the moisture out of my hair as they try to equalize my hair's moisture content with the dry, crispy air. :rant: That took me a while to figure out...

[pariate]

I've wondered if I could actually go without the richer conditioner I use on my length after CO cleansing, but if I try that I must make sure that I keep up with my between-wash routine. I might give it a go on next washday and hope to heaven that I don't end up looking like :silly:!

[Katze]

My ends are always dry, and now more than ever since it's been so cold. Here's what helps:

1. Washing more deeply - sulfate shampoo.
2. Washing less often - every 5-7 days depending on swimming schedule
3. More oiling (only when hair gets damp in bath/shower)
4. More SMTs.


I think because my ends are still damaged, they are always going to be tangly and dry. But focusing on quality, rather than quantity, washing, and getting my hair and scalp really clean, does seem to be helping more than anything else.

Good luck to other dry-haired folks, will be watching this thread!

Katze

[Lamb]

I actually went out and bought a humidifier today. I had it with the irritated mucus membranes, nosebleeding etc. while recuperating from the flu. The thingy has been buzzing away for almost two hours now, and I can feel how my skin and nose are relieved slowly. Perhaps my hair will share the benefits, too! :)

[whisper]

Aloe vera gel ~ straight up. I used aloe on dry, brushed-out hair yesterday and it is still looking non-dry today. I'm hoping it washes out easily with CO and won't build up.

[Tangles]

Katze, you're right. I had been trying to go sulfate free, and it made my hair really pathetic--greasy and dry at the same time!

I'm realizing that my hair has trouble getting clean, and that the cleaner it is, the more moisture it will absorb. So even though it seems counterintuitive to shampoo with sulfates, it's the only thing that works at all.

I also realized my ends were uneven and did a dusting. I feel better. I have gained a lot of length so I didn't want to touch the scissors at all--but the hem looks SO nice now.

[ChloeDharma]

I've been finding this winter difficult for my usual dryness remedies which mainly is misting then damp bunning with some aloe gel and a little bit of oil. But it's so cold where i am now that i can't face the idea.
What i have found helps alot though is sweet almond oil, either a heavy pre-wash oiling or a light oiling with it before bunning then going to bed.

My other problem is, like, for example a few weeks ago, well....earlyish december time i had washed my hair after heavily oiling at night, then very gently blow dried with some aloe gel and a tensy bit of coconut oil in it, then when almost dry i had loosely bunned it for bed. When i got up the next day my hair if i do say so myself looked fantastic, nice loose smooth bun waves, not a hint of dryness. So i stupidly went out for the day with it down and something outside just wrecked it and it turned super dry, tangly and frizzy looking.
Ok reading that i can see the answer is "just keep it up you silly mare" but i wanted to show off one of the rare occasions it looked nice.
So, i guess what i'm saying is sweet almond oil, misting if you can stand it, and keeping hair up and not exposed whenever possible seem to be what help me. Oh vinegar rinses not rinsed out with some ylang ylang essential oil added made my hair lovely.

[XtinaXposed]

due to coloring and bleaching my hair many many times it is completely dry, frizzy, crispy and knotty as hell. i get bad tangles after just a few minutes when wearing it open.
i tried different things over a long time and the only things that seemed to help are deep overnight treatments with dabur vatika oil.
of course i also go on with regular oiling and aloe vera as leave-in, but the effect was not half that good. the deep oil treatments make my hair appear thicker and even straighter.
the other thing that recently caught my attention is our water. it is very hard and i read that this can cause mineral build up which can cause hair breakage because the hair is not flexible and soft anymore. this could also explain the crispy hair feeling.
now i want to try to wash my hair only with rain water, cooked water or distilled water. my first try left my hair way softer than it was before.
okay i think this all has been said already but i thought i'd like to share some experience. now i go fetching some rain water from the canister outside :)

[pariate]

I ordered some whipped shea butter last night. I'm going to give that a go and also try modifying my CO routine. I'm going to see how I fare by skipping the second heavier conditioner on my length, and using shea butter while my hair is still wet.

New experiments scare the hell out of me BTW - I always worry that I'll have hedgewitch hair for the next three days! :laugh:

[Tangles]

I wore my hair in a high ponytail today and my dry ends just poked out from the bottom. It looked very bad. For some reason high ponys make me look like I have soooo much taper, even though it's not really that bad.

I think my city has very hard water. I'm going to start trying to use water from my Brita pitcher to wash or at least do my final rinse with. It's a lot of extra work, but I'm desperate!

I'm also doing scalp washes instead of full length washes now.

[Tangles]

I ordered some whipped shea butter last night. I'm going to give that a go and also try modifying my CO routine. I'm going to see how I fare by skipping the second heavier conditioner on my length, and using shea butter while my hair is still wet.

New experiments scare the hell out of me BTW - I always worry that I'll have hedgewitch hair for the next three days! :laugh:

I agree--experiments can really backfire, and I don't really like washing my hair after each failed one.

I sometimes feel like I will never have soft hair again, or that softness is always accompanied by dripping greasiness in my case. I also worry that I need a two-inch trim, but there's no way in hell I'm doing that.

[maunaloa]

:poot:I am going to try Queen Helene's Cholesterol Treatment tomorrow. I have heard good things.

[ChloeDharma]

I wore my hair in a high ponytail today and my dry ends just poked out from the bottom. It looked very bad. For some reason high ponys make me look like I have soooo much taper, even though it's not really that bad.

I think my city has very hard water. I'm going to start trying to use water from my Brita pitcher to wash or at least do my final rinse with. It's a lot of extra work, but I'm desperate!

I'm also doing scalp washes instead of full length washes now.

The reason it makes the taper look worse is because it takes up length from the underneath layers so that the outer layers are the ones closest to hanging at their real length.
I'm not sure if i'm explaining it well....but i'll try clarifying. If your hair is say BSL one length, then you do a high ponytail, the hair growing nearer the nape has to be pulled up to the crown so what, 3 or 4 inches from the lowest sections are taken up traveling up the head to the crown before the rest of the length can hang free. This creates a kind of layering effect in the ponytail making it look like it tapers where it doesn't if it was hanging down in its natural direction.

In other words, don't worry, it's natural lol

[MrsGuther]

I have been deep conditioning my hair, but the very last 3 to 4 inches on the ends of my hair seem to be very dry... and I know it's my own fault because I used to color my hair and flat iron it all the time. The rest of my hair is very soft and I like the way it feels.

[AngelInDisguise]

Hum, I must have very strange hair - stretching washes kept my hair looking really weird as it got quite greasy right down to the ears, and the rest was dry and static as if I lived in a very very very dry dessert.

I also have the feeling that my pony diameter diminishes the longer I try not to wash, as if my hair lost loads of moisture .... although I never took the time for measuring, I have to admit.

So I stick to washing every other day or every third day, depends on my sports programm. I do CO sometimes but although my scalp is very sensitive this winter I have the feeling it needs to be cleaned with a shampoo. As I don't want to be too harsh with the skin I usually use SLS-free shampoos.

Today my AO J.A.Y. Shampoo and Jojoba-Aloe Vera conditioner arrived. I hope these are not too rich for my fine strands but I was so tempted that I simply had to try.

I put Aloe Vera juice into my mister bottle and after brushing with the BBB in the evenings I spritz scalp and hair. Both seem to simply drink up the moisture within no time. And the scalp is really calmed afterwards.

Before making my updo in the morning I also spritz a bit. Aloe seems to be close to being the HG for me to fight dryness and staticity. The hair is not really humid any more when I leave house so I didn't have tho mind the cold temperatures we had lately.

Oiling was not the breakthrough but I sticked to Jojoba after washing. Oiling in between the washes left my hair crispy. As I was ordering at AO anyway, the Mandarine Gel also jumped into my chart. Maybe this will give me better results than oiling....

[pariate]

The shea butter is lovely. :redgrin: I rubbed the tiniest dab between my fingers and applied it to my ends, adding more where I felt it was needed. I didn't want to make the mistake of adding too much - it's much easier to add more than to remove excess, blah blah blah... It didn't need to seem to "sink in" the way oils do - my hair was immediately softer and less dry. I applied some to a few other dry patches, braided loosely and went to bed.

I have to wash (CO) tonight, so I'm going to try it without the second conditioner, as per my previous post, and we'll see what happens! Scary...

[carloota]

My length and ends get really dry, too. Lately I've been misting my hair, adding a mix of EVOO and honey. Then spritzing water into a shower cap. Place shower cap on head. Sit under heating cap for 1/2 an hour (sometimes longer). When I remove the shower cap, the moisture is infused into my hair. :)

[pariate]

I COed last night without the second conditioner and it went very well. No problems detangling and no brillo-pad hair this morning! :lol: I applied a little shea and my AGO mix while the hair was still wet.

If I add AGO between washes it delivers a real surge of moisture! The shea butter is softening in a different way - it's similar to an oil but it feels different on my hair, I find it much more softening than the oils I've tried and that's including the ever-popular coconut oil! I'm so pleased I discovered the AGO mix though. I think it's the best weapon I have against dryness. It just drenches my hair with good stuff! :D

[Alu]

I think I need to pick up some shea butter. o_o
I'm naturally a dry person so if I'm not careful, I will shrivel up and blow away. One time I had forgotten to put on hand moisturizer for a couple days and my skin just PEELED off layers. Even between my fingers! So my hair really suffers in the wintertime and right now I'm having problems with a dry scalp. Last night I massaged it with a little emu oil (the only thing I had left hanging around x'D) and that has helped greatly but it's certainly not "better". ._.

[suicides_eve]

lately i have gone so far as to wrap the last few inches of my hair in a sandwich bag smothered in conditioner. I am trying to stay as far away from protien containing things as possible. My curls are wave, there not even waves more like dry knots with some speed bumps thrown in for kicks...

arrg i'll be glad when summer comes, my poor humidifier i fear won't make it through the season

[pariate]

Darn it, I oversheaed! YES, that's a real word... :p

Only the last inch or so is effected, so I've put my hair up for the day - if I ever over-oil a little it usually sinks in over the course of a day or so. I applied some AGO and shea butter last night. The rest of my hair is lovely and soft, I got it just right! But I added a little extra on the ends...

[CrystalStar]

Darn it, I oversheaed! YES, that's a real word... :p

Only the last inch or so is effected, so I've put my hair up for the day - if I ever over-oil a little it usually sinks in over the course of a day or so. I applied some AGO and shea butter last night. The rest of my hair is lovely and soft, I got it just right! But I added a little extra on the ends...


Aagh I hate over-oiling! :p As I'm kinda new to this I'm having real difficulty finding the balance and if I over-oil I can't just leave it because I have to go to school and I would be laughed at so badly :(

However, I must say coconut oil and shea butter has SAVED my hair from winter :p

[MountainGypsy]

I am also a huge fan of shea butter. My hair seems to like it better than coconut. Today I did a honey and olive oil treatment. I left it on for about 2 hours, now my hair feels really soft!

[pariate]

Aagh I hate over-oiling! :p As I'm kinda new to this I'm having real difficulty finding the balance and if I over-oil I can't just leave it because I have to go to school and I would be laughed at so badly :(

However, I must say coconut oil and shea butter has SAVED my hair from winter :p

Yeah - you run your hands down your hair, thinking "ooooh, it's so soft", and then you add just one more dab... :rolleyes: Will we never learn?! :laugh:

I'm going to try a cassia treatment again when I get back home. I got into a routine with them last year, but stopped for various reasons... most of them lazy ones... It made a big difference to my hair when I used it regularly. My hair was softer, shinier, just in better condition all round really! It also boosted my volume and wurls, both of which would be welcome right now.

[Tangles]

Yeah, more and more I think oiling isn't for me except as a deep treatment. I like shea better, but I left my jar of it at home over break. I have to get a new one--hopefully I can find the whipped kind.

Sometimes a really deep shampooing + lots of conditioner does the trick. My hair looks great today and I didn't oil at all.

[pariate]

Today I did a honey and olive oil treatment. I left it on for about 2 hours, now my hair feels really soft!

Oooo! Did you just mix the honey and oil together, nothing else?

[RoseRedDead]

I struggle with dry hair, too. Right now I'm COing and oiling/deep oiling on damp/wet hair. I wear it up perhaps... 75% of the time. I like to wear it down more often, but it's getting longer and it's just not very... practical. Plus, when I wear it down, it dries out quicker.

[pariate]

Plus, when I wear it down, it dries out quicker.

Same here, and I hate that. :( I'd love to be able to wear my hair down more. I'm hoping to find a routine that helps. I miss having my hair down... but if I kept it shorter so that I could wear it loose, that wouldn't make me any happier!

[MountainGypsy]

pariate - I mix about 1/2 cup honey and 1/4 cup olive oil in a container and warm in microwave. Then I add about 4 drops of Rosemary EO. I worked the mix into my hair and scalp until it is well coated. Then I cover my hair with plastic or with a shower cap; and leave on for anywhere from 30 minutes to a couple hours (today approx 2 hours). After that I wash it out.

[pariate]

That sounds good! I need to review the honey thread - I don't have a microwave and want to check that heating over a hot saucepan of water will stop the honey lightening my hair. Thanks for posting this. :D

[MountainGypsy]

I believe, (but Ktani is the true expert on this), that the lightening effect from honey comes from dilution with liquids that contain water. So if honey is mixed with oil, it would not be technically diluted. Of course as heating the honey in the microwave kills the lightening effects, my guess is that it's the heat itself and not the source of heat that causes this...

[pariate]

:hmm: Okay. I was wondering if it's the nuke effect of the microwave, rather than the heat itself, that kills the lightening properties?

[MountainGypsy]

I remember reading at some point, that it is heat, however I think that if you use a stove top instead of a microwave you need to heat the honey much longer to get it hot enough to eliminate the lightening effect, with a microwave, it's only about 20 seconds to achieve this. I am not sure how long on the stove though...

[pariate]

Cool, I'll give it a go. It's not like it's going to turn me blonde with one application, after all, and I've got oodles of time to spare these days - may as well spend it heating honey... :laugh:

[Sammybunny711]

My hair has just been flat out gross the last few days. I think I might be a CO-er in the winter and a poo bar user in the summer. I need to get rid of this dryness! It is making me SOOO sad. My hair is just poofy and feels like straw! I am a little scared to do coconut oil tonight, though, but I am going to do it anyway since I am desperate for some moisture!

[kdaniels8811]

Since I have been doing the catnip tea weekly on my hair, it does not seem to be so dry and brittle. Anyone else tried this?

[CrystalStar]

Yeah - you run your hands down your hair, thinking "ooooh, it's so soft", and then you add just one more dab... :rolleyes: Will we never learn?! :laugh:

I'm going to try a cassia treatment again when I get back home. I got into a routine with them last year, but stopped for various reasons... most of them lazy ones... It made a big difference to my hair when I used it regularly. My hair was softer, shinier, just in better condition all round really! It also boosted my volume and wurls, both of which would be welcome right now.

Lol heehee mine was 'oh the ends are a little dry... some oil will fix that!' let's just say I was running for the shower 10 mins before school started and had to blow dry my hair :(

[Sammybunny711]

I decided to break down and do coconut oil with my nightly scalp massage and this morning, my hair actually wasn't greasy, but was very soft and only a little flat. My hair is still a little frizzy today but it feels MUCH less straw-like. I've decided that oily or not, coconut oil is my hair's friend. I think it improves the condition of my hair a lot.

[Katze]

As a long term battler of dryness I can only recommend honey, especially SMTs. My ends are thin (heat damage and layers) and when I first came here I was doing SMTs with every wash, which made a huge difference.

In my many years of putting honey on my skin and hair, it has never lightened my hair color. It could be that the frequent SMTs were responsible for the serious fade of my last dye job, but repeatedly using honey on my hair has not lightened either my virgin or my bleached hair.

SMTs always make my ends softer and less tangled and dry.

[pariate]

I decided to break down and do coconut oil with my nightly scalp massage and this morning, my hair actually wasn't greasy, but was very soft and only a little flat. My hair is still a little frizzy today but it feels MUCH less straw-like. I've decided that oily or not, coconut oil is my hair's friend. I think it improves the condition of my hair a lot.

I'm so glad you had favourable results! Oils really can work wonders, I think it's just a question of wading through all the choices to find one you like. And you got it first time, check you out! :disco:

[Tangles]

My hair has gotten worse :(

I feel like I have to make a choice daily: Do I want clean, parched, shapeless hair or greasy, mushy, stringy and ropey hair?
I own about 5 different shampoos and conditioners and none of them are doing a thing to help. Of course, as soon as I started gaining some actual length my hair had to rebel :( I feel like the Girl with the Gross Hair right now--it feels so fried even though I don't use any heat to speak of, and haven't touched it even with henna dye in months. I had to trim some of my layers because they were so dry and splitting. I feel like I have taken five steps backwards.

[AngelInDisguise]

Tangles, sorry to hear that - I fear that's just the way it goes, first better and when you're happy it is getting worse again.

I now had two washes with the AO Desert Herb line - J.A.Y. Shampoo and Jojoba / Aloe Conditioner. It seems to have the potential to get my HG for wintertime. The shampoo is super-mild and although I feared the conditioner might be too much for my fine hair I put quite an amount into hair, at the second try even very close to the scalp.

My hair feels.... well juicy might be the right word for it.

On the second day my hair is a bit more greasy but only just above the ears. Might be the milder 'poo, might be the conditioner - or simply my scalp as this winter it is completely getting crazy.

I will definitely try on with this washing and conditioning. I also use the Mandarin Magic Gel, a tiny bit massaged into scalp and a larger amount into the length instead of the Jojoba I used before.

[Kuchen]

Nothing's working for me just now either. I need to get into a more regular routine and scalp wash more often, but it seems like my hair either becomes stiff with oil/shea or else it's over-greasy in a flash. Just.... permanently fried.

[fluffer]

Tangles, I can relate. Lately I cannot moisturize and soften my hair. I got fed up the other day and used Aveda detox shampoo(thinking it was a mineral issue), and a siliconey/protein treatment. BIG MISTAKE. My hair is more dry and brittle now than before the deep treatment. My hair hates protein, and I will never learn.

Also, throughout the day the feel of my hair changes from dry to soft, then back to dry. Why is this? Maybe it is because of the humectants in my products.

I think my water contributes to my hair woes too

[Vainjane]

Thanks for starting this, I realy need it! I am trying...
-- Going back to CWC most washes & stretching washes longer
-- Try SMT again
-- Try mixing jojoba, already use, w/ aloe (& coconut on ends when up)
-- Possibly Cassia again, it's been a year
I can't stand going out with wet hair in the cold,So I am not willing to commit to cutting out the blow dryer alltogether until spring, or a move to Arizona.;)

[ratgirldjh]

- how do you use honey for moisturizing? just put honey on your hair and let it sit awile? wonder how that would work with pre-oiled hair?

[Shanarana]

Didn't even know this thread was here. Read through the whole thing and will be trying some stuff. I don't wash my length anymore and really saturate it with conditioner in the shower, and use coconut to moisture and jojoba to seal it in.

[Tangles]

Still have the dryness issues! I have tried stretching my washes (crunch), overloading on oils (jojoba, olive, sweet almond)--crunch, microtrimming, CWC, aloe... yikes. When I condition heavily and wear it curly, the curls fall out after a few hours and just look frizzy.

Hope you all are doing better than me...