General hair help

[jlpearce]

I've been growing my hair out and chopping it off for a long time, but this is the first time I've actually tried to make it healthy and strong. I've been reading this forum for a little while and I've tried to incorporate some of the ideas I've gotten, with varying levels of success.

I bought some coconut oil and I've been oiling my hair every night. Not the roots, but I've been paying special attention to the ends and then rubbing the remainder of what's on my hand down the length. (If you can see my pic, you can see there's not much length, but it's growing! :)) I've been doing this for about a week now and I haven't seen any difference at all. I'm guessing my hair needs it, because it doesn't feel too oily after I do it, but after I wash my hair the next morning it feels the same as it did before I started oiling it. Am I just impatient? How long should it be before I start seeing some kind of difference?

Also, my hair seems to be the type to just like 'cones. I bought some shampoo and conditioner from Burt's Bees that didn't have any unnatural ingredients, and my hair was a huge frizz ball. When I tried the John Frieda Brillliant Brunette it's all soft and nice. So, keeping that in mind, can any of you recommend shampoo for me?

Right now I wash my hair every day, but I'd really like to get out of that habit and at least move to every other day. Any suggestions on how to do that? Would using some sort of dry shampoo/corn starch/baby powder on the off days cut the greasies, or would it just continue to encourage my hair to go crazy with the grease factory?

Ok, I think that's it. Thanks in advance for your help!

[HairColoredHair]

On the oiling front, have you tried a deep oiling? Soaking your hair in oil and then washing it out? Sometimes that produces better results for 'change', day to day oiling is often 'maintaining' more than 'bettering'.

[TheKnight'sLady]

Welcome! I don't have a lot of advice, but wanted to welcome you to the forums. There are a lot of articles that might answer your questions. As for shampoo/conditioner, my hair loves cones too. Right now I am using Dairy Whip as a shampoo and Pantene conditioner. I tried non-cone, and my hair was unhappy. However, my hair only likes some cone shampoos. Herbal Essences was terrible for me. Have fun on your growing journey! :)

[jlpearce]

On the oiling front, have you tried a deep oiling? Soaking your hair in oil and then washing it out? Sometimes that produces better results for 'change', day to day oiling is often 'maintaining' more than 'bettering'.
I hadn't tried deep oiling, no. It sounds kind of scary, to tell you the truth! Any words of advice on how to do that, or would it just be putting on loads of oil and sitting around for a couple hours?

[jlpearce]

Welcome! I don't have a lot of advice, but wanted to welcome you to the forums. There are a lot of articles that might answer your questions. As for shampoo/conditioner, my hair loves cones too. Right now I am using Dairy Whip as a shampoo and Pantene conditioner. I tried non-cone, and my hair was unhappy. However, my hair only likes some cone shampoos. Herbal Essences was terrible for me. Have fun on your growing journey! :)
Thank you!

You know, it's weird, my hair hates Pantene. Every time I use it it's like I've dipped my hair in wax. All my friends think I'm insane, but it seriously doesn't work for me!

[ChloeDharma]

I hadn't tried deep oiling, no. It sounds kind of scary, to tell you the truth! Any words of advice on how to do that, or would it just be putting on loads of oil and sitting around for a couple hours?

Yeah, basically, smothered to the point of looking wet.....i leave it on at least overnight though, then wash off with herbs or conditioner the next day. It really isn't as scary as it sounds though.
Are you growing out damage? When i was growing out chemical damage from colouring my hair absolutely needed cones. I don't think that they are bad for everybodies hair, if the brilliant brunette is working for you why not just use it? Just make sure you keep an eye on buildup, but allowing a sulphate shampoo to run down the length every few washes or so should prevent that anyway :)

[jlpearce]

No, I'm growing out a pixie. I put a picture on my profile page, is it one of the things I have to make enough posts to be able to put on my little bio thing here?

Oh well, anyway, I had my hair in a pixie for a couple years and decided after my last haircut in August to let it grow. It's probably the best condition of my life; I decided to join this community to keep it that way!

I think I'll try the oiling tomorrow morning before I wash my hair and see if it makes a difference! Thank you for the advice.

[Fractalsofhair]

Just a warning with the cones, there is often an adjustment period. I liked the Burts Bee's super shiny, but if you go cone free, you generally use/need oil to keep down the frizz. However, if your hair likes it, great! Cones do seal out oil,(and in as well) so you might want to do a clarifying wash once in a while, and then use a cone free conditioner, then do a deep oil treatment. I use coconut oil.

[RancheroTheBee]

I personally need 'cones; without it, I kind of look like Magenta from Rocky Horror. If your hair seems to like them, I'd suggest anything from John Frieda, Herbal Essences, Redken, or weirdly enough, Axe. Seriously, their shampoos are really good.

As for deep oiling, you should try it just once. It may not work for you, but try experimenting with other oils like jojoba.

Some people don't have any success with cutting down washings. I don't. Even though I have dry, coarse hair, I still need to wash almost every day (with conditioner) and I've never been able to cut out shampoo (for many, many reasons). You can try using baby powder, or even dry shampoo, but if your scalp produces that much oil, maybe you should stick to daily washings until you can get your hair into a solid updo.