advice needed

[mzgeekface]

I have hair which is a few inches lower than my shoulders, for years I abused it with dyes and straightening and now I want to take care of my hair but I get extremely frizzy hair which is quite uncontrolable and hard to straighten etc.

I'd like to have my hair shiney and smooth and sleek and in nice condition where it isn't going to frizz out anytime i'm near moisture in the air or hot weather or anything like that.

Advice would be much appreciated :) Thanks

[mzgeekface]

I would also like to add;
I have course hair which is wavey and very thick.
It is also quite dry
hope that helps

Thank you.

[A'eorryn]

well... you may not like to hear it, but to really 'take care of it' I have to say you'll need to give up the straightening - unless you do it without heat or chemicals. I see you understand that dying and straightening IS abuse, so that's definitely a step in the right direction. Your hair type info is missing, so we won't know how to help you until we know how best to advise you on the hair you have. Have you cut off the damage to start over fresh? I fried my hair to the depths of the abyss for years before I decided to have healthy hair, and I had to give up all forms of chemical torture and shave down to nothing - but if your damage is not that severe you may only need to trim the ends a but as you go to avoid growing splits and start nurturing the virgin hair. What sort of products do you use? Is you hair long or short? How hard does it want to curl? That frizz you speak of could be caused by something you're doing to it rather than what it's naturally inclined to, be it heat styling or a harsh shampoo. Someone with the same hair type will be best equipped to help you make wise decisions for your hair, so as soon as we know a but more about it then you'll get some useful answers :)

~A'eorryn

[A'eorryn]

lol, you just beat me to it :p

well then perhaps I can help you a bit ;) my hair is wavy/curly, moderately thick in it's present layered state, very dry in the length and prone to frizz and static like crazy

my methods, while not drastic in themselves, might not be to your liking, but I'll share them just the same. I use only natural products on my hair, and it is healthy, shiny, and (mostly) tame :p:
-shampoo bar - no harsh detergent cleansers
-natural conditioner made with plant oils and water, essential oils and herbal infusion
-ACV rinse - a lot of the gals will tell you this alone helps immensely to deal with frizz, because it balances the pH level of the hair and smoothes the cuticle
-no petroleum products, heat styling, or potentially damaging tools or accessories (like metal or plastic)
-water/glycerin mixture sprayed on when dry really helps smooth my hair down (nothing has worked even close to as well)

if you're not comfortable or capable of going the natural route then there are plenty of other ladies here that can help you I'm sure. there are so many different methods of washing/conditioning/caring for your hair, and a lot depends on what method you're interested in using. I'm sure you'll find plenty of answers, it'll just be a matter of picking the one you like best :)

~A'eorryn

ETA: IF you are at ALL interested in learning more about natural hair care, you can visit these threads:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=19973
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=10246
we'll be delighted to answer any questions :)

[Islandgrrl]

Best advice I have is to embrace your hairtype and learn to love it.

Heat styling causes damage. Period. So do conventional hair dyes.

So giving those things up will go a long way toward making your hair healthy. You can't really undo damage that's been done, but you can do a lot to improve the overall condition of your hair. A'eorryn gives you some great examples of ways to transition to a gentler form of hair care. And there are countless other ideas all over the site.

Personally, I have thick, wannabe wavy hair that has a natural tendency toward dryness. I stretch the time between shampoos depending on how my hair feels, to as long as 2 weeks. I use a leave-in jcoconut oil based conditioner from the ears down every time I get my hair wet (which is not the same as washing it). I also wear my hair up every single day to minimize and prevent damage to the damaged ends - I have a not-insignificant amount of damage from old color on about the bottom 4" of my hair. I do frequent moisture treatments (SMT).

I do not heat style. I do not use conventional shampoo.

All of these things have improved the condition of my hair to the point that I can be okay with the basic nature of it. I'd love for it to be smooth and straight, or smooth with boingy curls, but it's not my hair's nature to be that way.

Figure out what makes your natural hair awesome and run with it!

[Copasetic]

I have hair which is a few inches lower than my shoulders, for years I abused it with dyes and straightening and now I want to take care of my hair but I get extremely frizzy hair which is quite uncontrolable and hard to straighten etc.

I'd like to have my hair shiney and smooth and sleek and in nice condition where it isn't going to frizz out anytime i'm near moisture in the air or hot weather or anything like that.

Advice would be much appreciated :) Thanks

Washing less often and with more gentle shampoo really helped me. So did using coconut oil on the ends of my hair. And as was said before, you should eliminate the dyes and hair straighteners.

If your hair is thick and wavy, it will probably always frizz a little in humid weather or when you are near moisture in the air. Its kind of unavoidable, unless someone knows something I don't.

[mzgeekface]

thank you ladies :)
i haven't straightend my hair in quite a while i should have mentioned. its been since about september the last time i properly straightend it :)

thank you very much for the advice x

[manderly]

I'll bet your hair is curlier than you give it credit for.

I used to think my hair was just a frizzy mess. Then I stopped brushing, stopped blowdrying, and added lots of moisture and oils and twisting while it dries and I have waves and curls! Who knew??

If you really are interested in getting your hair to a happy place, stick around, read up, and make friends. Post hair photos so we can better see what you're talking about, and try new things. And most of all, learn to embrace the texture you have :D

[neon-dream]

I think you should try coconut oil, but before you buy any you can use some of mine to see if you like it if you want :)

( I know her by the way! haha )

:blossom:

[Elenna]

I bet that you are a wavy. I used to get frizzy hair and tried to tame it with the blow dryer and curling iron! Now, I don't have frizzy hair anymore.

If you can give up dyeing, blow drying, etc, your hair will slowly get better. What helps are oils and conditioners (without silicons, etc). It is a whole new adventure growing long hair.