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Wouter
February 8th, 2009, 04:34 AM
Dear longhairs,

I've got a problem, it's my hair. I love having long hair (even thoug i'm only at around chin lenght but that was around my original goal anyway 10 months ago, I only have to grow it to one lenght now) but there are a few things I don't like and that bother me:
1 my hair tends to be quite dry, or atleast I think it is. When it's wet it looks superb and feels awesome (but i still get problem nr2) but when it's dry it kinda looses that. It can still feel good though when it's dry, but not as good as I would want it to
2 This one annoys me the most, when you take a strand by the root and you slide your fingers from root to end there's no problem. But when you slide your fingers from end to root it's alot more difficult and it makes a sound almost like a squeal.
3 My hair looks shiny in some light, but dull in another

I have clarified before without improvement (using baking soda, also tried an aggressive shampoo). I've done moisture treatments before with Extra virgin olive oil, wich did make my hair feel good but it still looked the same way as it did before. In the past i've tried SMT before but I can't remember it having any effect either.
I don't use cones, I use the herbal 'balsam' conditioner from wella.
Cones make my hair feel nice and makes it much more likely not to tangle, however it also has got bad effects like I think It make my hair look poofy and I can't stand the smell of coney conditioners

What can I do to make it feel and look better?


ps: I was planning to get jojoba oil and apple cider vinegar this week.

Jorja
February 8th, 2009, 04:55 AM
Hi Wouter :)
The best single thing that I've found from this site is the use of jojoba oil. I spent so much money on hair shine sprays, and serums because I felt my hair was frizzy and poufy.

I bought a small bottle of jojoba oil for £6.99 from my local health store a few weeks before Christmas, and I use it after every wash on damp hair. Now when it dries it feels sleek and looks a hundred times better and doesn't frizz as much in the damp either! If I feel my dry hair is a bit 'meh' I rub a little between my palms just to make them shine and run it down the length and it's gorgeous again! Also, it washes out fine with either shampoo or cone free conditioner, with no build up in all this time. I've still only used about a third of the bottle, and I have nearly waist length (ok fine, about 3 inches to go :rolleyes: but I like to say 'nearly:p') very thick hair.

This is the best place ever lol. :D

Katze
February 8th, 2009, 05:03 AM
If you tell us your hair type, we might be able to help you better...and you can also look at what people with similar hair have done.

Meli
February 8th, 2009, 05:55 AM
I don't have any good advice for problem #1, but perhaps I can shed some light on problem #2 and #3. Actually, I wouldn't call #2 a problem at all - this is normal and caused by the way the hairshaft is constructed. The cuticle (the outermost layer of the hairshaft) consists of tiny scales, overlapping each other. When you slide your fingers from root to tip, you smoothen the scales and make them lie flatter. When you slide from tip to root, you are rubbing the scales opposite to the direction they are growing. That makes them more upraised and causes more friction against your fingers. Think about the difference when you pet a furry animal along/against it's fur direction - it's a bit similar. And - my hair also makes that sound when I slide my fingers in the wrong direction.

I would say #3 is pretty normal as well - shine depends on how the light is reflected by the hairshafts, and it makes sense that it would look different in different light. At least my hair does that too, and I think most of us have experienced that flashlight makes the hair look shinier than in pics without flash - just to mention one example.

ETA: I'm sorry you are annoyed with problem #2, I'm afraid you just have to accept that it is the way hair grows. :flower:

going gray
February 8th, 2009, 08:36 AM
Joria...we have the same hair texture, thanks for that suggestion, going to try it

spidermom
February 8th, 2009, 08:54 AM
I've got a solution for one problem you mentioned, and it's easy: don't slide your fingers from hair tip toward the root. Meli explained why.

Moiraine
February 8th, 2009, 08:57 AM
Wouter I agree with the replier up the thread when it comes to asking about your hair type. Eg my hair is 3a/b and I would treat it differently than I would if I had bone straight hair or extremely curly hair (4's)

For me, I wash and condition with cones and use a hair dress (because like you, my hair tends to be dry) Right now I am using Olive Oil incredibly rich Oil Moisturizing Hair Lotion which works well for me. I have tried many, many products for dry hair including coconut oils and products containing jojoba (but not the 100% jojoba.

Coconut oil worked well but in the summer my hair smelled very musty (guess it went rancid in the heat and humidity). I only wash my hair about once a week in the winter but in the summer because my head sweats a lot (tim) I have to wash much more often.

My regime includes keeping my hair out the way in braids and buns and braiding it at night and using a silk pillowcase.

Depending what your hair type is, you would have a different regime. For myself, I never tried baking soda, vinegar or any such. I would think that these would be more beneficial for certain hair types than others, hth

Denebi
February 8th, 2009, 10:52 AM
As already mentioned several times - the right treatment depends on the hair type.
I have another question: How often are you washing your hair, what kind of shampoo are you using, do you wash only the scalp or also the full length of hair? It may well be that your hair is so dry because it gets too much tensides. In most cases, it is sufficient to use shampoo only on the scalp. Rinsing your head makes the rest of your hair clean enough.

RancheroTheBee
February 8th, 2009, 12:05 PM
Do you use heat styling at all? How do you take care of your hair?

With a bit of info on your routine and hairtype, we may be able to help on the dryness issue. :) The other two aren't really problems, inasmuch as they are just normal characteristics of hair. (PS: You probably don't want to be running your fingers upwards through your hair; you might be roughing up the cuticle.)

Sissy
February 8th, 2009, 02:32 PM
yes, more info is needed. Also, like the above poster said... running fingers up the hair shaft probably isn't a good idea.

salamander
February 8th, 2009, 06:40 PM
Even the most intensive moisture treatment can't totally fix dry hair in one go. You have to develop a very moisturizing hair care routine, then keep it up for a while. I did a deep oiling with coconut oil once a week for a year, and did conditioner only washing the whole time, before I totally got rid of my dryness problem, and even now I have to be careful not to slide back into dryness.

As for problem 2, Meli is right. Here's (http://www.pg.com/science/haircare/hair_twh_toc.htm) a link to a great article on how hair is structured. It has lots of close up pictures, and is definitely worth a look.

For better shine, there are a couple things. Some people find vinegar rinses improve their shine, or even just very cold final rinses. Henna improves shine, if you want red hair, and if you don't cassia may also help a bit. Just taking really good care of your hair will improve the shine, because if the scales on the cuticle are in better condition, hair shines more.

Angellen
February 9th, 2009, 12:52 AM
If dry hair is your problem, you could try a conditioner-only wash method, or, as mentioned above, use oil to help smooth and moisturize. My hair thrives on conditioner only (CO) or condition-wash-condition (CWC). You might try doing a quick forum search for more details/tips on those methods. :)

I can't help you re: #2 and 3, as I think that's just a fact-of-life sort of problem. I do know that there are shine sprays you can use to add shine to your hair if it really bothers you, as my friend uses one and it works quite well for him.