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View Full Version : My 1a/F/i Oily Hair Care Challenge *suggestions welcome & wanted*



Qadupae
January 21st, 2010, 08:10 AM
Please delete this post! A newer version has been added into the hair product area!

Akiko
January 21st, 2010, 08:14 AM
Have you tried CWC or scalp wash? It helps to clean my oily scalp without drying out the length.

Qadupae
January 21st, 2010, 09:19 AM
I wish I could, Akiko, but my hair is only 3 inches long ^_^ Thank you for reminding me of that, though, since I can add it to my list and attempt it once my hair is longer.

Madame J
January 21st, 2010, 09:26 AM
Looking at your album, it seems like your best course of action would be to avoid leave-ins, since your hair is so short that anything you put on the ends will end up on the scalp, and just wash as rarely as you can get away with, with a mild shampoo. Basically just ignoring your hair until you get to a length where you can put it up (and ignore it some more) will help you through the shortest stages. Using too many products on short hair will cause the hair to look greasy and flat.

When I had hair that short, I basically just washed with shampoo every other day, and rinsed with water the other days (I was not a member of tLHC then, so maybe that wasn't optimal). I used a shampoo for kids with sodium myreth sulfate in it, but I'm sure you could do something with Dr. Bronner's and a weak vinegar rinse to reacidify. Since your hair feels waxy with castile soap, you probably need a vinegar rinse. A SCH shampoo bar might also be a good option, since a lot of people find they don't need a rinse after them (I do need one).

Good luck and happy growing.

Akiko
January 21st, 2010, 09:27 AM
Oh, I am sorry. I did not pay attention to your current length. :o

When I joined LHC, I tried so many different things and could not figure out what is causing what... :/ I dilute my shampoo quite a bit. You might be doing it already. I hope you can figure out a good routine!

kdaniels8811
January 21st, 2010, 09:31 AM
Have you thought of using indian herbs - shikakai and so on? Helps with growth and strength and is great for oily hair. No conditioner required, though I use catnip tea. Good luck!

Qadupae
January 21st, 2010, 09:40 AM
Wow, already lots of people have piped in ^_^ Fantastic!

Kdaniels: I do use Henna and indigo already, but I have thought about amla for sure in the future, although I am only recently doing research on other herbs now. I will definitely think about them further on, but right now I'm afraid I would just get myself jumbled up adding them to my already growing list ^_^

Akiko: Its ok, you did not offend any ^_^ Diluting is a good idea, I might have to try that with the Castile soap if the vinegar rinse doesn't do too well.

Madame J: I love that line "just ignoring your hair until you get to a length where you can put it up (and ignore it some more)". I think that is my biggest problem, ignoring my hair. I know this is going to be a long process and that seems to only further my anxiety to do something about it, which at this point I am almost doing the most I can. I've only starting looking into shampoo bars, but it sounds like I might have waxiness from that too. However, like Castile, I could just do the vinegar rinse also. Really, a good ACV rinse would probably benefit my hair since I dye with henna.

Thank you everyone for your support and suggestions thus far :D

emi77
January 21st, 2010, 09:58 AM
Hey! Im an oily too. I used to CWC with sulphates, no cones.

Now however I use soapnuts (whole aritha) and they are a dream. But I see you don't want to use herbs just yet. Looks like a good list to get through!

Have you tried a vinegar rinse after the castile soap? I'm not sure, but I think a lot people who use castile soap do this, especially if they have hard water.
ETA- did not read all the posts! sorry Madame J!

Good luck with your experiments :flower:

Alcenaia
January 21st, 2010, 11:37 AM
Oadupae, we are the same hair type! :) I am also trying to figure out a good hair routine for my hair. I keep the gory details (and much rambling) in my blog.

Right now what is working for me is CWC one day/scalp wash the next. Tonight, I'm going to make it into town and am going to look for some coconut oil and other things that might help.

Good luck figuring out a good routine!

teela1978
January 21st, 2010, 11:40 AM
Some people with oily scalps find a reduction in oil production after switching to gentler cleansing methods (CO, non-sulfate shampoo, etc...). Others don't. It's worth a try if you're interested in stretching out your washes.

Personally I've found through much trial and error that my hair stays cleaner longer using regular commercial SLS or ALS shampoos. I do dilute them quite a bit, I have a little plastic container in my shower that I fill with water, add a small squirt of shampoo to, and then strategically dump over my head while gently massaging. Finding what works for you is always an adventure. Good luck!

Qadupae
January 21st, 2010, 09:13 PM
Thank you everyone for your encouragement thus far! I have to wait to try the vinegar rinses until payday on Tuesday since I used up the rest on regular cleaning -_-; I am hoping that gives me some nice results though for this week's testing with Castile.

Teela: The non-sulfate is definitely something I want to aim for if I find that the other alternative shampoos aren't doing the trick of keeping out waxiness and still getting rid of my over oiliness since the sulfate is probably the culprit of starting that oiliness. If I find that I can't do without sulfates, however, I will go for your diluting idea then ^_^

Alcenaia: Yeah, I do ramble too ^_^ I probably should keep this to a blog, but I really wanted to get other people involved in this plotting and I also need the support and encouragement since my hair is so terribly short. Within these next couple of inches is when I really start to feel the itch to cut, so I'm going to need every bit of help to make sure I don't.

Emi: No problem! Actually, you bringing up the idea of hard water is an important one since we do actually have pretty hard water. More and more the vinegar idea is being brought up, so in the end I think it will be a key part to my routine for at least once a week. I've only recently come across soapnuts, so that is something I will have to do some research on also before I add it to my list. Maybe I should make an optional list? ^_^

teela1978
January 21st, 2010, 10:33 PM
Vinegar rinses are nice, but I do find that my hair gets greasy pretty fast after one. I'm not sure why... but it might be a good idea to just use vinegar on the ends if you find that to be the case with your hair as well.

Qadupae
January 24th, 2010, 04:01 AM
Thank you for the warning on that one Teela ^_^ Especially since greasiness is my main avoidance since I know it gets really bad as my hair gets longer.

On a side note, my super shortie hair is giving me quite a bit of trouble right now. Its feels like it is growing nice and strong, but perhaps too strong. I have these weird wisps of 1 inch hair at the bottom of my head connecting to my neck that are sticking almost straight out. I don't mind them most of the time, but when I am wearing my snoods, they force their way out either through the bottom of the snood or straight out one of the holes in the pattern. When I kept my hair short, I would normally shave that bottom portion off completely, but now I feel like I can't do anything to them o_O I've tried clips, bobby pins, but the hairs are so few and fine that there is nothing for the clips to hold onto.

This is the stage where I start having difficulties and want to cut my hair again :mad: Its only going to get worse until I can get the majority of my hair into a ponytail or pigtails of sorts. The support of this community and the pictures of success will be my guide through this hard stage :)

Qadupae
January 25th, 2010, 08:08 PM
Still having issues with those baby neck hairs :( But I found my coping mechanism for today: measuring!

I am actually at 4in for the majority of my hair now! There are a few areas that are closer to 3 still and around my bangs it is closer to 5, so I'll do an average :) Once I hit about 6-7 in, I might have to go in for a professional trim to even everything out for ease of measuring and to clean up my bangs a little. But yeah, feels like a good day to me :joy:

For those wondering, I am still doing the Castile soap and today I will be getting vinegar and placing in an order for CV bar samples to try those too. The ones I am eyeballing right now are Mud & Clay, Coconut Milk (winter only), or Chamomile & Citrus. If anyone has input for our those or other types effected their fine and oily hair, feel free to input ^_^ Thanks everyone!

Qadupae
January 27th, 2010, 02:05 AM
Update Time! Payday :cheese:

Okay, so now I have Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) and I tried that rinse with the Castile to see if it helped with my hard water issue. The vinegar definitely softened my hair and detangled it, but I noticed no change in the dullness of my hair color. It might be just because I am due to henna my hair again, which I was able to get ^_^ So these next 2-3 days, I will continue with Castile and vinegar after my henna wash and see if there is an improvement.

On the side note, I have also bought a shampoo bar for the next step. It is a local brand, Sunset something I think, and its a clarifying sage and lavender blend.

On a health note, not necessarily related at all, but I bought also some grapeseed oil and am using it after my shower on my face as a moisturizer for the winter. Although I normally have very oily skin, my acne face wash is a little harsh and the oil should help protect my skin better.

Hope someone is able to get some info out of this :eek: I'll be giving you an update again soon!:D