Hair is SO dry!

[Kitten87]

Hi guys, I live in the desert and my hair is ridiculously dry and brittle.

I've noticed a lot of people mention using different oils to care for their hair but can't find anything on which oils are for what type of hair and how much to use.

I've tried conditioner Only method of washing and it weighed my hair down to the point I couldn't do anything with it. I wouldn't be able to use the WO method because here we have horribly hard water.

Any ideas?

[Vrushali]

You could try SMT for super moisture..works like a charm every time! :) About CO weighing your hair down, did you clarify once in a while to get rid of the buildup??

[Cholera]

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=71
That's an oiling tutorial, if you wanted it. From what I understand, different oils aren't tailored to different hairtypes, it's just that certain oils work for certain people. I use a mixture of coconut and jojoba oil, but many other people use olive oil or almond oil as well. You might want to try a Snowy's Moisture Treatment (1 part aloe, 1 part honey, 4 parts conditioner) to regain some moisture, and then put oil over that.

HTH!

[Kitten87]

Vrushali- Honestly, I washed it twice with conditioner, hated it, so went back to shampoo :/ Maybe I didn't give it enough time?

Cholera- Thank you, this is exactly like what I was looking for.

[Cholera]

No problem, I'm glad it helped :D

[mira-chan]

Vrushali- Honestly, I washed it twice with conditioner, hated it, so went back to shampoo :/ Maybe I didn't give it enough time?

Cholera- Thank you, this is exactly like what I was looking for.
What kind of conditioner did you use for the CO? If it was a heavy one or contained silicone (things that end with -cone) then they would cause build up.

Another possibility could be the water. If you have very hard water then the conditioner might not remove all the build up. Usually a diluted apple cider vinegar or citric acid rinse helps with that.

[QueenAnne'sLace]

Get a humidifier for your room/apt/house? At least then when you're inside, you're not getting a double whammy of air conditioner/heater and your climate. I use one during the winter and it helps a bit.

[Kitten87]

The conditioner I use is Suave Naturals- Juicy Green Apple. Yes, we have very hard water. I will have to look into doing an ACV wash.

I've been thinking about getting a humidifier for awhile now, not only for hair health, but for my sinuses as well. :)

[walkinglady]

When I CO with suave my hair looks dirty and gets weighed down. However, I can CO with Vo5. It may be as simple as trying a different brand of conditioner. My hair likes the extra moisture so I CO several times a week and then shampoo once a week. Before I shampoo I oil heavily and let it sit for several hours. If you have a way of applying heat it helps the oil to penetrate. I use a heat cap for 20 to 30 minutes. I have read a post where a lady oiled her hair, put a bag or shower cap on, then put a nice warm winter hat over that. Bet your head would get toasty warm this way too. I've never tried it but it's worth a shot.

Both coconut and jojoba are light oils that you can leave in. Olive oil is a little heavier and works great as a preshampoo treatment. Some women have good luck with olive oil as a leave in as well. Just remember when using oil as a leave in that a little goes a long way. Start with a drop maybe two.

As QueenAnne'sLace mentioned, a humidifier or vaporizer helps. If your skin gets dry it will thank you for it as well.

Enjoy finding what works for your hair!

[ericthegreat]

I second the recommendations that were talked about by the posters above me. You could wash your hair much less, say only once a week and let your natural oils gently coat your hair. You could get a humidifier and place it in your room specifically to raise the humidity level when you sleep. You could try the very famous Snowy Moon Treatment mentioned by Cholera. You could also try several different kinds of oils, but from my own experiences coconut oil seems to work the best in terms of adding back moisture.

[rogue_psyche]

For the CO buildup I suggest washing with shampoo maybe once a week. You probably don't need a super harsh shampoo, maybe Trader Joe's Spa Nourish if you have a Trader Joe's in your area. You might want to consider using a dab of condish as a leave in to hold you over until you find an oil that works for you. That's what I do when it's dry here in southern California.

[Fiferstone]

I too have very hard water (the minerals kill water heaters within their warranty period!). I have had very good luck with using apple cider vinegar - 1 teaspoon in a cup of water (my hair is approaching hip length and is fine). That is my final rinse (I don't rinse with plain water afterward). My hair is much shinier now with using ACV, and I've also noticed that I don't have itchies on the scalp anymore. Give it a try and see if it works for you.

[MsBubbles]

Oils for hair are very much subjective. Most people here swear by coconut oil, but my hair hates it. Many people love SMT's (as do I), but some folks' hair can't deal with aloe or honey. So it's trial and error and you may not notice what's working immediately.

I found scalp-washes to be less drying on my ends (see articles section, plus a poll thread in the polls section). Since I have oily hair/scalp, I need to wash it at least every other day. My ends didn't need rewashing, however. So that has helped me with this dryer, cooler weather and central heating. Before that my ends were like straw!

Do you have a small misting bottle? You can get them for $1 at Walmart, and put your own diluted oil mix in there, and figure out your hair's own oiling needs. That again is trial and error.

One other thing that helps is damp bunning, or oily bunning! Sometimes I can spritz some of my oil mix onto my ends, put it up in a bun for a couple of hours, take it down again and the ends are more moisturized than if I had spritzed and left them down.

[Kitten87]

My biggest problem right now is that my hair is very short (3-5 inches long, depending where I'm measuring) because I chopped all the dyed/fried hair off to completely start over. So things that have instructions like "only apply to ends, don't put on scalp" are hard (like for oiling) because it's hard to avoid getting it on the scalp. Funnily enough, I recently started using MN and it's made my hair softer?

I'm going to try using the Vo5 like someone suggested. The Suave is VERY heavy.

I do have a Trader Joe's but don't go hardly at all because they just don't fit my budget.

I do have a misting bottle and plan on utilizing it.

Thank you everyone for all your wonderful suggestions!

[Kitten87]

After looking over a few different posts, I tried the CO method again with my Suave. I did something I didn't do last time-- rinsed and rinsed and rinsed and when I thought it was all out, I rinsed again.

I followed it with an ACV rinse and rinsed it out with cool water. It's not completely dry yet but holy moly! It doesn't even feel like my hair! It feels WONDERFUL. So I'm going to try this method for awhile and see how it does. If my hair still feels dry after awhile I'm going to get some coconut oil and maybe do the SMT when I can get aloe gel.

[Anje]

As others have said, try the VO5. (I'm surprised you find the Suave so heavy because I find it too be about right and the VO5 too light, but everyone's hair has different needs.) Make sure you're putting it on thick, and leave it on for a while (different people like different times -- I can do it during the shower but other people leave it on as long as 30 minutes, and I think they get increased cleansing that way.) Put a palmful of water over it, lather up, and rinse it out really really well.

Have you tried simply misting your hair with water a few times per day? Get a little sprayer/mister bottle, fill it with distilled water (avoid the hard tap water), and just mist your hair til it's a little damp when it's feeling dry. For some folks, this makes a big difference.

[Carolyn]

I think Suave has something waxy in it's formulation. I don't have good luck with it. I also have hard (some of the time) well water. I'd suggest trying VO5 or White Rain. You need a thin, runny light conditioner. I like to leave it on a long time. Like an hour or more when I have time. Then rinse and apply a second heavy conditioner. Some people skip this step. Try a light acv or white vinegar rinse for your final rinse. Either leave it in or rinse with distilled water. A cup or two should do it.

You could also try heavy oiling the night before you wash. I'm feeling my hair is more moisturized since starting that. It really soaks in over night. Then I do a long CO wash in the morning. Sometimes I lightly oil the ends and damp bun. It's all helping.

[Kitten87]

Anje- I'm pretty sure the reason I didn't have good luck the first time with Suave was a combination of my hair being super short and I didn't rinse well enough. I tried it again this morning with an ACV rinse with amazing results. My ends are still dry feeling but hopefully that will go away over time with CO and ACV rinses. I may try using the ACV as a leave in as well.

[spidermom]

My biggest problem right now is that my hair is very short (3-5 inches long, depending where I'm measuring) because I chopped all the dyed/fried hair off to completely start over. So things that have instructions like "only apply to ends, don't put on scalp" are hard (like for oiling) because it's hard to avoid getting it on the scalp.

You can spread a droplet of oil between 2 fingers and stroke it on by taking a pinch of hair ends between the fingers, repeat until you run out of ends.

[Demetrue]

The Suave CO works for me if I leave it on my head for like 15-20 minutes the first time before I start rinsing it with warm water, then I "wash" it with conditioner a second time, massaging my scalp, and then rinse for a long time with warm water - the water has to be warm enough to remove the conditioner. As long as there are still bubbles in the drain, the conditioner is not fully washed out. Also, with shorter hair you could dilute your conditioner with catnip tea so you are not using as much conditioner and weighing your hair down.

[redneckprincess]

try SMT works wonders for me!!!

[Clarisse]

I haven't tried it yet, but I have read somewhere, that cassia is conditioning. I have ordered some myself a couple of days ago :)