Making hair look/feel clean AND healthy

[Pear Martini]

Half of my hair has been bleached before so its pretty damaged.

How do you add moisture and shine while keeping your hair looking clean?

For me its either clean but super dry or healthy but dirty.

Thanks for the help

[MsBubbles]

I know what you mean - I have old highlights on the ends and a super-greasy scalp!

You might be one of those lucky ones who can 'stretch' their hair washes and end up going longer after washing without a greasy scalp (I'm not one of those unfortunately).

It sounds like you need to find an oil or conditioning treatment that works for you. Many people here swear by coconut oil (but it does not work on my hair at all).

Since I have fine hair, I had to find something that I could mix with water and mist very lightly (once or twice) on my ends after washing. I can't keep my scalp ungreasy, but I can spray my dry ends after washing the whole length. Camellia oil turned out to be my ends-saver.

Last but not least...I recently discovered scalp washes, where I wash my scalp hair only, and protect the ends (which don't need washing) in a couple of shower caps. This keeps my ends moisturized for longer. They keep their non-hairwash-day softness this way.

I hope some of that helps.

[Pear Martini]

Thanks! I like the idea of covering the length with a shower cap and only washing the top part of the hair but it sounds hard to do. I might have to try an oil treatment.... I have done honey before but I hate feeling all sticky.

Do you use cones?


I wonder if I should use coconut oil or olive oil :confused:

[MsBubbles]

Have you tried an SMT (Snowymoon's Moisture Treatment)? Find that thread - probably on the herbal treatments forum page - and try it out! It has honey in it but the mix of the other stuff eliminates the stickiness, and it generally leaves hair smooth and, well, humidified!

It's trial and error with the oils. I found that even if I found out what my 'hair twins' on LHC put in their hair, didn't mean it was going to work for mine. But coconut oil is cheap enough and now I slather it on for skin moisturizer! Not sure what to do with my bottle full of jojoba oil, though...

I am a cone user! :o :D. I am at peace with that. Finally.

Again...see what works for your hair. If you're using cones, maybe you need to try not using them.

Oh! I just remembered...if your ends are looking like straw and you are using cones...maybe try clarifying? I don't have a thread link for that either but you can search the boards for that, and probably the articles section.

I now see you're at APL. A scalp wash might prove impossible for you right now. But keep it in mind for mid back and beyond!

[LadyJennifer]

so what's the deal with 'cones?

[Pear Martini]

Its a lot to explain but if you just search for "cones" with the search function theres a ton of advice posted by seasoned pros

ETA:
I am searching for the SMT thread right now :D

[MsBubbles]

"cone" is short for "silicone" here on LHC. Various shampoos and conditioners contain them...you can spot them in the ingredients list because they often end in '-one', e.g. Dimethicone.

Many people on LHC and other long hair care websites say cones dry the hair out and are therefore not conducive to growing long beautiful hair. They say the silicone coats the hair shaft and locks out moisture. But of course there are many of us too who love them and believe they lock moisture in, and whose hair looks better/stays in better condition with them. But that's a whole 'nother argument! It's up to you to read the advice here, decide to try it or not, and see what ultimately works best for YOU and YOUR hair. I think there are some polls on the poll section for how many respondents use silicone-based conditioners.

[Pear Martini]

I tried COing with no cones but my ends were breaking off like crazy!

I think cone free works better for people who dont color their hair with commercial products other than henna

[MsBubbles]

I think cone free works better for people who dont color their hair with commercial products other than henna

That is a great way of putting it! I have been a bit overly-sensitive in the past to the allusion that my hair must be absolutely knackered for it to need cones so badly :p. But need cones badly it does! Last time I tried to go cone-free my hair stuck together in a clump, even over a month later.

[Bellalalala]

I used to have extremely dry hair (even virgin) no matter how rich a conditioner or leave in I used.

Now I wash with baking soda and "condition" with vinegar, and my hair never gets too dry. The baking soda cleans out the dirt, but leaves some oil, so hair doesn't get stripped.

Lemon juice normally dries out my hair, but after baking soda, it just makes it nice and soft.

It's worth a try, it's easy and cheap, and as an added bonus, it acts like a great clarifier (from what I understand).

[GoddesJourney]

You could try just a coney serum for the ends. I found that cones were excellent on my damaged hair, but terrible on my virgin hair. Serums allow you to only put it where you want it, as opposed to a conditioner. Anyway, I used cones for awhile until it was long enough where I could chop off the worst of it and do regular trims thereafter. I'm still removing the damaged part but it's almost gone, finally. Otherwise, I understand your greasy scalp, frizzy hair problem. I split the difference and went no cone/sls free so I can wash every day. I get a greasy, dandruff ridden mess if I don't wash daily. SLS stuff was damaging my hair. Also, I found that my damaged stuff has a much shorter life than the rest of it. My damaged hair will deteriorate within months but my virgin hair lasts years.

[Captain Nikki]

I've noticed many benefits in going cone free & i get my hair coloured about every 3 months by a hairdresser (not henna). My hair is less dry, tangly & frizzy & i have less breakage.
I have normally very dry hair & it has been highlighted previously too & badly damaged. The best thing i have found is to slather on some conditioner & coconut oil for at least half an hour prior to CO washing.

[Athena's Owl]

if you feel sticky after doing honey, you used too much honey. :)

really, I dont' know what to tell you. Conditioner washes work for me, and they have from go. i think the key to a good conditioner wash is having the time to put into it - bathing has become a race for so many people these days. i get my hair soaking wet, get the conditioner on my calp and a bit down the length, and then i *let it sit* for five minutes. I've heard of some people applything the conditioner to dry hair before getting in the shower, and that might work as well. I haven't tried it, but i can't see what harm it would do.

then a good, thorough, methodical scalp massage to really get the oil up. and then a good, LONG rinse, massageing as i go, becuase I don't want excess conditioner on my scalp, honestly.

of course this only works if you are not using products that need tough surfactants to remove.

and if my scalp doesn't feel like it quite came clean, i'll re apply conditioner and re-massage. but i only have to do this if i've gone a long time between hair washes.

[Katze]

I have similar issues. Clean hair is sometimes too wild and dry, and well-moisturized hair often looks greasy.

When I first came here my hair was bleach and heat damaged (I had been bleaching and coloring it for over 20 years!)

I found I had to re-learn what clean hair felt like, and stretching washes, experimenting with no poo, etc. all helped. Also, I did SMTs with every wash for a few months which really made a difference.


I tried COing with no cones but my ends were breaking off like crazy!

I think cone free works better for people who dont color their hair with commercial products other than henna

'cone free works for me. I still have some colored (bleached) bits on my hair, and was 'cone free for several years even before LHC. Cones are good, too, but I have to be careful since they make my scalp itchy.

I just washed with a cone shampoo (Dove) and a natural conditioner last night and have really good hair today. It feels both clean and healthy, which of course may be decieving since I did use 'cones, but it makes me feel happy.


That is a great way of putting it! I have been a bit overly-sensitive in the past to the allusion that my hair must be absolutely knackered for it to need cones so badly :p. But need cones badly it does! Last time I tried to go cone-free my hair stuck together in a clump, even over a month later.

My hair is OK without 'cones, but when I do use 'cones it really makes my hair feel thick and smooth and it hangs better. I really don't think 'cones are great for hair or should be in every single product (impossible, here in Germany anyway, to find products in the drugstore that do not have 'cones!) BUT they are not a great evil, even for my fine hair. My scalp is not super happy with them, but used in moderation (as in many things...) they are fine.

To the OP, since your hair is colored, you might find your idea of healthy and clean changes when you don't have colored hair any more - at least it did for me.

good luck!

[florenonite]

I have a similar problem. My hair is actually nicest when I first wash it, and then it seems dry when it starts getting greasy. The natural solution would be to wash more often, but because my flat is cold to begin with, sitting around all day with wet hair just makes me miserable. So I stretch my washes.

Last night I braided my hair before bed and then I massaged a bit of coconut oil and aloe vera gel into the tassel and it felt lovely and soft, so you could try those for moisture. I'm also wanting to try an SMT soon.