Hair type 1a,F,i help please! thin, fine, straight and greasy

[tennies]

Hi all;

I have thin, greasy, stick straight fine hair. I recently managed to get it to collar length, and have been using all natural shampoos for the past few months.

Do you have any recommendations for helping it grow longer? I recently henna'd, and that helped condition it.

I am looking for natural solutions if possible, to combat the greasies and keep my hair strong and add body.

Thank you!

[Blueglass]

I've basically the same type, though it's changed, because of some coarse, wavy grays. You really need to wash daily. I've tryed both Casile soap and Morrocco method shampoos. They just don't work on our type. These days I like Dove foaming facial cleanser.

[momma smurf]

Conditioner Only washes with Suave Naturals 2-3 times a week gave my limp hair some great body and shine. :)

[Urchin]

My hair is also stick straight and fairly fine. I have a greasy scalp.

Try, when you wash, only to wash the scalp directly, not the length. This gets easier as you grow longer. Henna is very helpful, as are CO washes. If you learn not to wash everyday, your head goes a little less crazy with the oil production. I've gotten myself down to a wash every other day and a condition every day. When you condition, focus on the ends and length of your hair, and avoid the scalp. This has made it feel a bit less greasy in my experience.

Wear your hair up all the time to keep it from breaking. Fine hair breaks easily, so protect it. Don't comb or brush it when it's wet, don't towel it off roughly, and don't blow dry it.

Lastly, don't give up. Try new things to see what works for you. Good luck!

[Stephanie]

You already have some great advice here. My hair tends to go all stringy and greasy when I wash and condition in hot water. It stimulates the oil production like nothing else on me, which is really too bad, since I adore my super hot showers. I just have to remember to keep the water cool/warm when I wash and rinse my hair.

Could your conditioner be too heavy for your hair? Are you applying it to your scalp?

My other favorite tip for growing is to put it up while damp, keeping the moisture in, and forget about it. I do this whenever I'm frustrated with my hair and it works wonders. When you finally start wearing it down again, it'll be longer and in better condition.

Anyway, again, you've already had some great advice. I hope this helps and welcome to the boards! :grin:

[naomimcc]

What Stephanie said :P

[Lisa-Maria]

I have more or less the same problem, try CO washing (conditioner only). Using a schampo might be drying out your scalp forcing it too produce even more sebum/oil

[Loops]

Hi -

I find my hair has more body doing CO washes as well. Overwashing made my hair very flat.

[freznow]

I find with mine, the less washing the better. And CO was the best routine for getting rid of it. I washed once, sometimes twice, a week.

[Katja]

I find with mine, the less washing the better. And CO was the best routine for getting rid of it. I washed once, sometimes twice, a week.

I agree with freznow. I also have fine, oily hair, and what has made the biggest difference for me in growing longer, healthier hair has been to taper off the frequency of washing. I used to shampoo and condition every day, but little by little, I cut back to every other day, and eventually down to 2X per week, sometimes 1X.

The key to less frequent washing for me was tapering off slowly. It took time for my scalp to cut back on sebum production, but it truly has. However, I do still have some oiliness that starts on non-wash days, so I have another trick: oil-absorbing powder on the roots.

At first, I used cornstarch only, then I moved to a mixture of cornstarch and orris root powder, with some essential oils blended in. I dust a bit on the roots where it is starting to look greasy, leave it on for 20 minutes or so, then use a BBB to brush out the excess powder.

This may sound like a hassle, but it has made an enormous difference in keeping my hair healthy as it grows. HTH! :)

[chrissy-b]

cutting CWC's back to 2x a week has really helped. wearing my hair up helps me forget about it when it feels greasy. i haven't tried them myself, but have read that shampoo bars help give fine hair body (when my current shampoo runs out i'm going to try the poo bars, hopefully they'll work on me too)

[tennies]

Thank you all so much; is there an FAQ link for acronym definitions? I will try alternating shampoos with conditioner only washes, and see if that helps, and will try to stretch the time inbetween washes. I do dilute my conditioner with water as it is a heavy conditioner, but I love the way my hair feels and smells with it. I do comb my hair when wet with a shower comb, it seems easier to comb when wet rather than dry, but I will give dry a try!

[Pixel Gypsy]

I've found that my very finely textured hair likes fewer washings--every 3-4 days max. My scalp puts out a good amount of oil on its own, and because it's quite straight, the oil has no problem working its way down the length of the hair. Cutting down on the washings has given my scalp less reason to produce as much oil. A year ago I could have never went 3, 4 or even 5 days between washings.

I also deep sixed any shampoos with SLS/SLA ingredients. The overstripping of my scalp was not helping with the oil-production issues. Now I make my own shampoo bars...a very basic soap base with coconut, sweet almond and jojoba oils for extra moisture. My hair is loving that.

I had to kick the products with 'cones in them too. They were doing nothing but weighing my hair down. And when I really stopped and thought about it, my hair has a naturally smooth texture. I don't really need the slip that cones give it. Light oils can give it the sheen that I want without the weight.

I've also just given up the idea that I'm going to have the volume of a curly girl. I have thick hair, but because of the ultra fine texture it lays pretty flat. When I use a bazillion products to try and make my hair into something it's not meant to naturally be, I just end up creating other problems. I learning to love my hair rather than trying to force it to be something it isn't. But spending some time learning what works well on my hair is actually getting me much closer to my dream hair that all the shampoos, conditioners, mousses, gels, etc that are marketed to make me think they'll do so.

[Jeni]

Like a lot of people have said, cutting back on the washing helped a lot. For the first 2-3 weeks my hair hated me, I felt gross and looked like I hadn't washed in weeks. It did get much better though. Now I usually wash 3 times a week. I have to use shampoo, tried CO and my scalp itched and my hair was super limp, I'm trying CWC now and that seems to being going well. I also only wash my scalp, which has stopped my length (as sad as it is) from feeling dry. Also not scrubbing my scalp to hard seemed to stop it from getting greasy as fast. Now that I no longer have bangs if my hair is looking oily and I don't feel like washing it I just put it in a bun and it looks fine. I have a wide tooth comb I comb conditioner through my hair with, and I usually comb my hair with a wide tooth comb when I get out, then not again until dry. I have found that if i want a little more lift at the roots, while it drys I take my fingers and gently "fluff" the roots up, not as good as if I blowfryed my hair upside down, but much less damaging.

Jeni

[Katze]

I have to agree with the cutting back on the washing folks (rather than "wash every day") Although my hair's wavy, it's on the border of straight so can lie really flat when it gets greasy. WC or CWC or even CW when my hair (and scalp!) is really greasy work well for me. ("W" means washing with shampoo, here, and "C" means conditioner)

Do you condition? You should (to help moisturize your dead length) but only from the ears down. That way the conditioner doesn't get on your scalp.

Oiling and misting help but in moderation - fine hair gets weighed down very easily. The better care you take of it, the more you'll be able to tell when it's really "dirty" or not.

If your hair is dry and damaged, as mine was, or not moisturized enough, you might notice that it goes through an adjustment period. Don't worry - this is normal, most of us have gone through it (especially those with fine, thin hair) and it will go away.

The idea of putting your hair up and forgetting it is a good one, though I've never been able to stick with it.

You might want to look around for people with similar hair type as you and read their posts. What kinds of products, care, etc. work for them? Those might be more likely to work for you.

good luck, and welcome here!

Katze

[tennies]

Thank you all;

My hair has been greasy all my life, using various commercial shampoos and conditioners. For the past year I have been using a natural shampoo and conditioner, Earthly Delight, and wash every day, my hair looks fine as long as I wash every day.

I have recently tried the shampoo bar from Chagrin Valley, I like them! I find I don't need conditioner, although my hair still gets greasy at the end of 24 hours. I have been trying to push it to washing every 36 hours, by which time my hair is in strings really. Hopefully the shampoo bar will help that.

[naturechild]

I have pretty fine hair myself, I tried the CV bars many times but just couldnt get the greasies to go. I tried CO but still greasies. I mean I TRIED for over a month each but the greasies won the war my hair just dosent like them. I now water down the poo I do have any VO5 any sent that I like at the time. every other day sometimes if I massage my scalp I need to do every day.

You need to keep trying new poo's to find the one that is good for you. About the time you do, bam the season changes and you have to find the one right for that season. Keep that one and find your next one. Dont be afraid to give away the ones that your hair dosent like. They will work for some and not for others.
Sometimes I feel like I spend to much time on my hair. But then I'll go months with the perfect poo and wont have to think about it at all.
I alway's have
shea butter- I put it on my face and run my hands through my hair after
coconut oil-on damp ends when I have the crunches
honey- great for conditioning twice a week equal amounts with conditioner
baking soda wash-here and their to get a real good clean.
A/C rinse. after the BS to restore the ph balance? I am not sure but it feels great.
breezes are ok but no wind.
hats when it is to bright.
pig tails when I am working in the yard or messy bun to stop tangles.
the best thing I have been doing and love because I have stick straight hair.
*Mickey Mouse buns at bed* when it is damp (not wet)
I get great body and wave almost curlie. happy happy joy joy!

I feel I am growing my hair to enjoy, to let flow in the breeze, over my love, and over my shoulders. When it is greasy it glunks over them, not quite the flowing action you see in the romantic movies.
Good Luck and enjoy the ride!

[Kirin]

I'm going to go against the grain here. If washing daily is keeping the grease at bay, and your using natural products, then why change it?

I wash daily, my hair is like yours, and its happy hair when its washed, sad sad and pathetic if not, or cw'ed. I tried a lot of things, but nothing quite worked like, simply washing my hair lol.

I wash and condition daily, switching between sulphate and non sulphate poo. So far, no damage. I henna, and i've used one chemical color on it, still not splits or damage. I'm not rediculously long yet, but i get stringy, greasy and bleh looking without the daily. Nothin wrong with that.

[LifeisAdventure]

A question for Stephanie and others whose fine hair gets stringy... what do you do when this happens? My hair swings from dry to oily about mid-way between washings (GRRR, I HATE this!) but it pretty much ALWAYS gets segmented and stringy if I leave it down. My hair has been like this all my life and I feel almost hopeless about changing it. I'm having a bad hair day today so I feel particularly hopeless about it right now! *flail* Any suggestions?

Also, Katja, any chance of you PMing me with your oil-be-gone scalp powder recipe? It sounds like something I might benefit from! Thanks! :)

[tennies]

I'm going to go against the grain here. If washing daily is keeping the grease at bay, and your using natural products, then why change it?


Good question, the shampoo and co I use is expensive! Also, I keep reading it is not healthy for the hair or scalp to be washed every day. I would like to grow my hair long and it being fine and thin I don't want the everyday wash to damage it.

I know my hair is greasy in 24 hours with the shampoo and conditioner I use. I am trying the shampoo bar to see if it is gentler on the scalp, and if so, will my scalp produce less oil.

Many posters here say if they wash hair less frequently, it gets greasy less frequently.

[lynnala]

So many good suggestions here, I'll throw in one more: try a cassia treatment every couple of weeks. You have dark hair, so it won't change the color at all. Cassia conditions the hair, makes it thicker, and is slightly drying on the scalp too.

I use CV poo bars too, after the initial greasies, they really have made my very fine hair much thicker.

[tennies]

Thank you, actually, I have 2 full head hennas under my belt, helped thicken my hair a bit while covering grays! I will try the cassia in between, I have some here just waiting for a free moment. I think the henna made my hair greasier; perhaps the smoother hair shaft spreads the grease a bit faster.

[artemisjade]

I'm not sure that this is advice so much as commiseration. I'm in the same boat and I've really been trying to cut back on my washing, but I'm generally greasy in less than 24 hours. I stopped putting conditioner on my scalp a little over a month ago and that helped a little bit. Cutting the -cones seems to have helped a bit too. I honestly think that the thing that helped the most was getting a hair stick and pulling it back all the time. The less it's down the less I play with it and run my fingers through it, etc.

Bad habits die hard. XD

[BrianaFineHair]

tennies, I'm in the same boat you are as far as hair type. Our hair may be the same length too and that being the case, it's hard for us to go without a daily wash because when it does get greasy we can't put it up or doing much with it at all.

Do you wear head bands? I find they are useful on non washing days. They keep the hair out of my face.

I use Burt's Bees sugar beet and grapefruit shampoo and I use conditioner (Burt's Pom) once or twice a week, otherwise I do a vinegar rinse. I find the vinegar rinse leaves my hair very soft so I really don't need the conditioner.

ETA: Oh, the Burt's Bees shampoo and conditioner I use are, (I'm almost positive, I'll have to look again) cone free.

:)

[helanek]

my face used to get oily a lot, then somebody told me to start putting oil on it instead washing it - it helped. i have a baby skin soft skin, which is a normal kind of skin - not oily anymore.
so i tried cv bars (figured out tehy had oil in it) and had problems for a while. i used some slivers that were left and made my own liquid shampoo. silvers + cheap rose water + tea tree oil and lavender oil. works wonders! it helped me to transition to bars. i believe in normalizing skin...

[MermaidGirl]

Good advice in this thread, which I will have to try. Tennies, your hair sounds like mine, except I think you are a bit more oily than I am. I try to wash every other day, and just got a bunch of 'poo bars to try out. Am hoping they can add some body. I've returned to throwing my hair back in a headband on my non-shampoo days - I don't necessarily like the way it looks, but it helps to conceal the greasies. I really need to get some of that spray on dry shampoo (I used Klorane in the past and it really helps to eradicate the greasies!), but I might have to rethink it because the stuff IS loaded with butanes as a propellant.

Lynnala, you have lovely hair and it looks quite thick - are you SURE you're a (i)?! Do you attribute the volume and body to cassia? I will have to research the forum for info on cassia - I've seen it mentioned, but haven't a clue what it is, what it does, how to use it, etc.

[Jeni]

I should of noted when I posted earlier that I have a pretty oily scalp. My scalp did get use to not being washed everyday, it took awhile and it was unpleasant, but I did finally stop looking like I dumped a bucket of oil on my head. That being said, if I am planing on going out (and I mean out out, not just to the store), I will wash my hair, especially if I want to have my hair down. I wont even run to the store with my hair down if I haven't washed it that day. My hair looks perfectly fine when it is up, but when it's down you can tell the roots are kind of oily. I have blond hair, and the roots turn dark and just look unclean.

I don't think one thing works for everyone, if you don't think your hair looks good if you don't wash every day, then wash it every day. I don't think it will nessasarly hurt your hair. Use gentle shampoo, you might try CWC. There are lots of people who shampoo everyday and have long hair. Quiet honestly I stopped washing my hair everyday not because I thought it would be good for my hair. I stopped because I am lazy, and didn't feel like washing my hair everyday.

Jeni

[tennies]

Do you wear head bands? I find they are useful on non washing days. They keep the hair out of my face.



I have tried headbands, but the hard plastic ones really hurt, and the hosery or cloth ones don't stay on my head! I tried shrinking the cloth ones in the dryer but still they just slip right off. grrr! :shrug:

I do the vinegar rinse as well, and like it, but miss the way conditioner makes my hair smell! Not sure I want to play too much with essential oils just yet.

[tennies]

Briana; I see you have had the pixie cut too; do you miss the ease of care? : -)

[dropinthebucket]

Thanks for the thread! I'm a thin, fine-haired, oily too, and appreciate the advice :). I usually end up cutting my hair once its past my shoulders because it just looks so piecy and stringy and yuck. I also have weird not-wavy, not-straight hair that makes it worse. I would describe it as cowlicks in various places, not just at the front top, but also strange bends along the length not caused by styling, etc. - they just grow there, bizarrely, as the hair gets longer and pull away from the hair beside them, so I get piecy, unattractive clumps. Also have weird growth pattern at back ("hair cleavage"). HOWEVER, I *refuse* to accept that I must adopt the "Can-I-Speak-to-the-Manager" haircut for the rest of my life! I'm gonna try to grow, no matter what. :)

Here's what's worked for me:
-making my own shampoo bars (from castor oil and sunflower oil, which my hair loves. My hair hates coconut oil and argan oil!)
-dry shampoo or volumizing powder (basically, the same thing - these are totally my go-tos every time I wash my hair. If I don't use them, the hair is so painfully flat and limp at my roots and scalp there's no point having it at all :D)
-henna (I'm at saturatioin for hendigo, so I have a lovely chocolate-cherry colour, and am doing just the roots so I don't get indigo build-up)
-amla and/or zisyphus when i run out of my own shampoo bars (which, after all, take 6+ weeks to cure and sometimes I just run out and don't have time to make....)
-clip-in hair extensions (yup! I use just a couple of inch-wide swatches on mini-clips around the front where my hair is thinnest so it doesn't look so pitiful, and I only clip them in for the few hours once or twice a week I most need them. They're not causing any damage, and they're preventing me from throwing in the towel again, so I say -- yeah!)

Here's what I'm still struggling with:
-oil getting on the hair from face and hands (I use a lot of heavy creams/oils on my very dry skin. I know, eh? how cruel is nature?! oily hair, dry skin! why couldn't it be the other way around?! my face loves shea butter, my hair does not, and my fair skin needs sunscreen, but my hair grabs it like nobody's business)
-bangs - "desperately needing bangs" girl here - but they do pick up oil from face :(
Any advice on these issues gratefully received! *The struggle is real* :D

So nice to be back after a decade away - hi everyone!

[zanelle]

Hi there dropinthebucket,

I found this vid yesterday, maybe it helps:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5GGpYzJW_A
Also, I'd read Reyesuela's threads on pattern baldness, they are very helpful.
Good thing is you can do something.
There's 2 threads, but there must be another one, search for "pattern baldness" she talks about ways of stopping it.
I am not sure you have it, but it's a good thing to be aware, make some health checks etc.
Here you go:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=145877
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=145998

[dropinthebucket]

Thanks, Zanelle! great video. Yes, I think there's def pattern baldness going on, too, I just posted a thread for advice on that :) Thanks for links!