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missfortune9335
August 29th, 2009, 10:07 AM
I just did my first "hair diagnostic" today. I shampooed twice with a clarifying shampoo and then let it dry and my hair is..... totally fine. maybe even a little better than it was before.

Which means it must have had a build up of some sort on it I guess but otherwise it's soft, easy to comb, doesn't feel dry or crunchy at all. I should be glad about this I suppose but I'm so bummed!!

I was really hoping I would find out my hair was really deficient in something, do a DT and have some sort of a miracle in which my hair became slick and glossy :o

Ah well, off to re-wet and condition. Any other newbies run a diagnostic lately? What did you find out??

marikamt
August 29th, 2009, 10:16 AM
You can ALWAYS do a DT.... I thought my hair was okay too (not in bad shape) .... amazingly better since I have been oiling... and going to try an SMT too.... I had a bit of improvement after clarifying, probably due to cone buildup, but nothing earth shattering

RancheroTheBee
August 29th, 2009, 11:17 AM
The first time I did it, I found out I had overloaded on protein with not enough moisture. It's an incredibly useful test, actually.

rexy
August 29th, 2009, 11:30 AM
When you use a clarifying shampoo as a diagnostic, do you not use conditioner?

rogue_psyche
August 29th, 2009, 12:56 PM
When you use a clarifying shampoo as a diagnostic, do you not use conditioner?

That's correct. That way you can see the condition of your hair "as is." After you know what your hair needs you go and give that to it. Since the OP just had buildup, she's just conditioning it to stave off moisture loss.

Here's Kirin's article on hair diagnostics (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=44).

Danamarie
August 29th, 2009, 01:09 PM
Here's Kirin's article on hair diagnostics (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=44).

Thank you for posting this. My hair has lacked shine lately... runs off to look for clarifying shampoo.

Stephichan
August 29th, 2009, 03:57 PM
I haven't had to do one of those yet (thank goodness). My only problem thus far is a huge shedding episode that I think I may have just gotten past. I'm crossing my fingers, because it's been making me a bit worried this past week and a half.

Danamarie
August 29th, 2009, 04:02 PM
I haven't had to do one of those yet (thank goodness). My only problem thus far is a huge shedding episode that I think I may have just gotten past. I'm crossing my fingers, because it's been making me a bit worried this past week and a half.

Wow, your hair is beautiful. Hair Supplements made my shedding stop

apynip
August 29th, 2009, 04:41 PM
Mm.. i ned to do this... i've just switched from a coney conditioner to non cones and and my hair is just not the same.... I shall try this thanks for posting all of this!

Deborah
August 29th, 2009, 10:44 PM
Well, for heaven's sake! I have been on this list from the very beginning, and only today did I learn that we have an actual 'hair diagnostic test.'

Where have I been? :confused:

The article looks pretty good too. :)

missfortune9335
August 30th, 2009, 07:45 PM
Well, for heaven's sake! I have been on this list from the very beginning, and only today did I learn that we have an actual 'hair diagnostic test.'

Where have I been? :confused:

The article looks pretty good too. :)


lol, it IS kind of funny thing, you should have seen the look on DH's face when I told him I was running a "hair diagnostic" :D it really is a good article and a useful test though

rexy
August 31st, 2009, 10:15 AM
That's correct. That way you can see the condition of your hair "as is." After you know what your hair needs you go and give that to it. Since the OP just had buildup, she's just conditioning it to stave off moisture loss.

Here's Kirin's article on hair diagnostics (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=44).

Thanks! I'll check that out

rexy
August 31st, 2009, 10:28 AM
Ok I need to clarify something.. What does "crunchy" mean?

missfortune9335
August 31st, 2009, 10:49 AM
you'll know if you have 'cruncy' hair, it feels dry and kind of plastic-y, and just crunchy, it even sounds crunchy when you squeeze it in your hands

loyaboya
August 31st, 2009, 10:54 AM
So apparently I'm over-moisturized! I'd wondered what was going on. Great article!

Mutinous
August 31st, 2009, 01:44 PM
I have never even heard of clarifying shampoo! I really need to invest in one, though I am kind of scared of what it is going to tell me. I have benen getting greay lately though, which I have never had issues with before. Hmm..

Anje
August 31st, 2009, 02:11 PM
Like Marikamt said, you can always still do a deep treatment. Even if it feels fine after a diagnostic, a bit of extra moisture usually won't hurt, and a drop or three of oil will help your hair to just shine and feel great.

I like SMTs, and recently discovered a cheap knockoff of biolage conditioning balm at Aldi which makes my hair feel fantastic, even though it doesn't need much help.

Danamarie
August 31st, 2009, 10:46 PM
I have never even heard of clarifying shampoo! I really need to invest in one, though I am kind of scared of what it is going to tell me. I have benen getting greay lately though, which I have never had issues with before. Hmm..

Both Suave and VO5 make a clarifying shampoo for a dollar or so - I use the matching conditioners for CO washes and like them very much...

brista
September 2nd, 2009, 06:55 PM
My hair does not fit in any of those categories from the article but there's something wrong with it. For almost the past year (around the time when my pixie got to chin-length) it has felt really waxy. Not greasy, waxy. And it looks lank. I don't know why, but it seriously feels like I just ran a little bit of styling wax/putty through it. I don't even own styling wax and I don't really use any other products, either.

Before joining LHC, I tried washing with baking soda and rinsing with vinegar since I read on some blog that it worked well for hair. I wash my hair nearly every day (which is bad, I know, it's an unfortunate thing that started when I woke up every morning with the most ridiculous bedhead pixie ever that nothing could tame but a wash, and I am trying to get it down to at least every other day) and after a couple days of baking soda washes, my hair was really dry and crunchy. Then I joined LHC and learned that baking soda washes are basically like clarifying shampoos. And I had been doing that every single day. Oops.

I have tried Suave Naturals Ocean Breeze (chosen because my mom didn't like it and gave it to me :)), Wal-Mart's brand of Pantene Pro-V (same), John Frieda for Brunettes (it smells so good), and LOreal's Sulfate Free shampoo (it's supposed to be "good" for hair...). None seem to make any difference on how my hair feels when it is dry. (Though I did notice that the LOreal leaches the color right out of my hair so I quit using it and Suave seems to have given me the least-waxy result.) I've done a couple clarifying washes with Neutrogena and no change. I did a deep conditioning treatment using the "recipe" from an article around here, warm honey and conditioner and some oil, about a month ago and other than the fact that my hair smelled like wet dog for a couple days, there was no change. So anyway, for the "diagnostic test" (lol), I washed three times with Neutrogena clarifying then let it dry without touching. Same result -- waxy hair -- though, it is more wavy than usual which is interesting. It is not crunchy, transparent, or wadded and doesn't have any flyways.

Any ideas?? It is driving me crazy!