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Heidi_234
July 6th, 2009, 08:16 AM
Can hair get spoiled by too much of good care?
I noticed that if I 'skip' a day and not oil my hair (I used coconut oil), then it turns really coarse and dry and generally not too good. Not that long ago (just less than a year!) I wasn't even oiling my hair at all. Granted, it is now in far better shape than it was back then, but it feels like a dependency rather than essential need. It made me think if one can 'wean' his/hers hair from all these things like oils, conditioners and so on little by little, and eventually make the hair just look and feel great on its own.
Do you think that one should aim to accustom their hair to need less, or is it never going to work, and you'd better just give the hair what it wants? After all we all aim for long healthy hair...

GlassEyes
July 6th, 2009, 09:38 AM
I think you might've just gotten used to the feeling of not having dry hair now, when before it was the norm.

When people start coming on LHC they become a lot more sensitve to how their hair feels. Before, I never minded having gel-slatherd crunchy hair, but now I can't -stand- it.

Dreamernz
July 6th, 2009, 10:24 AM
Yes, but the thing is I don't think that your hair necessarily gets 'weaned' but that you do, as you get used to your hair being a certain way as glasseyes said. Just like me washing my hair less and actually enjoying the neglect :D:D:D

rach
July 6th, 2009, 10:31 AM
i find now i can't sand my hair feeling dry because i usually have some oil in it. i've just got used to it. but i know it is better than it was before i started on here.

RoseRedDead
July 6th, 2009, 10:59 AM
I agree with GlassEyes in this situation - once you go from unhealthy to healthy hair, it's very difficult to put up with the former again. I've certainly become much more sensitive to the way my hair feels in that regard.

RancheroTheBee
July 6th, 2009, 11:36 AM
I thought the same, but then when I looked at old picture of my hair, I realized that without proper care, it was rather hideous. I think that because you, and many people here, have above-average hair health, any deviation just seems out of whack.

Fractalsofhair
July 6th, 2009, 12:53 PM
There is a theory that if you use enough lotion or conditioner/oil etc, that your skin might produce less oil, in the case of acne. So I suppose it depends on where your hair feels awkward. If it's at the scalp, you might just be producing less oil. Otherwise, you're probably just used to the feeling of healthy hair, and not to how your hair used to be.

Moonstruck
July 6th, 2009, 03:41 PM
I agree with you noticing the discrepancy more. Really, since hair is DEAD, it can't react asides from chemical reactions and such. You can't wean it anymore than you might wean a rock from um, well, I'm not sure, but hopefully you get what I'm trying to say.

Fractals does have a good point though - the scalp is very much alive, and it will lessen oil production if you supply your own oil, haha. I personally like the smell of coconut oil a lot more then sebum, though!

nowxisxforever
July 6th, 2009, 04:04 PM
I'm going to agree with GlassEyes too. You've just gotten used to having moisturized-feeling hair!

JamieLeigh
July 8th, 2009, 09:46 AM
I've also noticed that if I have a period of being really nice to my hair, then I have a period of neglect (as in leaving it alone and ignoring it...not treating it harshly!!), my hair seems to rebel and tend to NOT do what I'd like. Maybe there is something to be said for getting it used to benign neglect, since it's easier to benignly neglect it than to keep up a complicated care routine.

BlndeInDisguise
July 8th, 2009, 09:53 AM
My hair is actually happier if I don't do all sorts of stuff with it. But I think GlassEyes has something with his theory.

Heidi_234
July 8th, 2009, 09:56 AM
GlassEyes, and others, you have a fair point there. It's very easy to get used to a good thing. But people do go WO or even NW. Or maybe usually those are the people who didn't depend on oils and conditioners in the first place?

GlassEyes
July 8th, 2009, 10:17 AM
Well, no. WO and SO are really labor intensive, so it can actually be MORE work to do them. Cost-effective, yes, but work.

It's just another way to put effort into your hair. People think it's less work, but it isn't. All that preening and combing and distribution of oils is a lot harder (in my experience from trying it out--though I didn't last long) than what even I do to my hair.

And they depend on oil, still, just from your head. And instead of conditioner, they rely on brushes and combing and other things. Whether or not a routine takes effort depends not only on the person, but on their hairtype and what they want from their hair. Updos take time for those that use them, and practice; curly hair needs money (sadly, my experience with it) and product, etc. etc.

Heidi_234
July 8th, 2009, 11:13 AM
Well, no. WO and SO are really labor intensive, so it can actually be MORE work to do them. Cost-effective, yes, but work.

It's just another way to put effort into your hair. People think it's less work, but it isn't. All that preening and combing and distribution of oils is a lot harder (in my experience from trying it out--though I didn't last long) than what even I do to my hair.

And they depend on oil, still, just from your head. And instead of conditioner, they rely on brushes and combing and other things. Whether or not a routine takes effort depends not only on the person, but on their hairtype and what they want from their hair. Updos take time for those that use them, and practice; curly hair needs money (sadly, my experience with it) and product, etc. etc.
I had my NW experience too. I wasn't aware that it's actual hair care method, I just stopped washing my hair altogether, and brushed it once in a while. Actually, I wish I could retort to NW once again, but I just can't because I swim regularly, and my hair getting wet so often defeats the whole point of NW IMO, not to mention that I have to use conditioner to counteract the chlorine (with the EDTA content of it). NW is perfect for my barely oily scalp. *sigh*
Also, you view 'needy' hair as hair that needs alot of work, whether I thought of it as hair that needs more external products to feel as good. There's a delicate difference between the two, due to which I don't nessecerily agree with you on the NW part.