Gray, thin fragile hair

[barbararla]

My hair started to turn gray in my late 20's. Now at 33 I'm noticing my hair thinning a little at the top and also turning gray in the front. I cut my hair very short two years ago because the ends were very brittle. Now my hair is a little past shoulder length and I want to grow it more. I wonder what I can do to take away the gray and make my hair stronger naturally.

My routine- I wash my hair twice a week. I noticed a lot of ladies here use conditioner...I don't. I just wash my hair and blow dry it. I'm hoping to learn a lot from you ladies and have healthy hair again...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v680/barbararla/100_3938.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v680/barbararla/Picture145.jpg

[Xandergrammy]

I know lots of the folks here really love henna. Take a peek at the other boards on this site. I think the "Recipes" forum might be a good place for you to start looking. I'm sure someone who is into henna will see this post and offer some advice.

[Pierre]

I second the henna. I started it for the color - I stayed for the strength, shine, and softness.

[barbararla]

I've been looking around and I decided to try the sage/rosemary rinse. Instead of boiling it I put the herbs in the crock pot on low heat overnight to really get the dye out- and instead of rinsing, I put the mixture in a baby bottle and put it on the gray areas on my hair daily and just let it dry on my hair. It seems to be taking out the gray!

I've also started the co washing method and it made a difference in the texture of my hair.

I think I'll do this a little bit and then when my hair gets longer then I'll prob. try henna. I've read how henna colors the gray hair differently and that kind of scares me a little.

So this is after putting on drops of sage/rosemary mix daily for a week:

http://http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v680/barbararla/Picture153.jpg

It colored most of my gray (I have just a couple of gray in the front but they look dark blond now) and I'll keep on putting in on until it colors the gray completely.

[barbararla]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v680/barbararla/Picture153.jpg

[spidermom]

PS - the thin and fragile part of your problem may be coming from the blow-drying, depending on how you do it. Avoid the highest heat setting and don't stretch your hair with a brush when you do it.

[barbararla]

Thx. I think I'm going to ditch the hair dryer for now. I haven't washed my hair since Mon., just massaging & oiling my ends like most ppl do on here. I saw little hairs growing today and I think that what I'm doing so far is working. I haven't been able to grow my hair before without getting it damaged past my waistline. I always end up cutting it very short b/c I hate all the split ends and the frizzy hair I get. Now it's a little past my shoulders. I also read here how ppl sleep with braids on I might try that too when my hair gets longer. The most I can do now is put it in a pony tail, maybe a small bun, but that's it.

I guess I'll make this my progress thread :)

[barbararla]

I meant to write 'thanks'..

[phistash]

"I also read here how ppl sleep with braids on I might try that too when my hair gets longer. The most I can do now is put it in a pony tail, maybe a small bun, but that's it."

I have similar hair to yours, it's fine but wavy, and I can't get away with washing it infrequently. One nighttime trick I use to keep it looking it nice on the second or third day after washing is to pull it back as though I am going to make a long ponytail at the nape of my neck, and then, instead of doing so, I twist the hair all the way to the end and coil it into a bun shape. I loosely wrap this with a seamless hair band, and sleep on it. The next day, my hair is nice and wavy, no bedhead.

[phistash]

Also, condition your hair! Just the ends, though, not the roots. Someone here posted a nifty technique that works really well: In the shower, apply conditioner to your ends (ears and below). Then apply shampoo to your roots only. Your ends seriously do not need the shampoo. And if you can, get a diffuser for your blowdryer (or use the cold setting).

[spidermom]

I can't sleep with braids because I feel the bump every time I roll over, therefore a bun at the nape of my neck would be impossible. What I used to do at shorter lengths was make a scrunchie bun right on the top of my head - out of my way for sleep, lovely bun waves the next morning. Now I do a braid from the top of my head and direct over the top of my pillow. So there's a couple of ideas for you if the low braids don't work.

[Fiferstone]

Also, unfortunately grey hair is structurally finer, typically, than the hair that your follicles used to produce, hence the appearance of thinness. Definitely baby it, shampoo on the scalp only, and only when it really needs it, conditioner on the length. I've switched to applying my conditioner to my length (on top of the coconut oil I put on the night before wash day), while it's still DRY. I find that's working better than putting it on wet. I do that when I get up, go through my morning routine, and then hop in the shower. Saves me much time in the shower and the results have been better (softer, stronger length).

I too have thinning at the front of my hairline, because that and the temple area are where most of my greys are. My greys are now light auburn thanks to Yemeni henna. I love the stuff.

[barbararla]

Thanks everyone. Well here I am at almost 3 weeks. I've been washing my hair with conditioner only once a week, still applying the rosemary/sage on my hair every now and then. I've also been massaging my hair with a technique I've read about in the water-only wash thread. I stopped using shampoo. I think my hair is not getting too oily because of the sage/rosemary mix I've been putting on my scalp/hair.

The gray is completely gone! But my hair looks darker. I've been using the Suave naturals coconut conditioner and applying jojoba oil to the ends of my hair.

Right now I have little hairs sprouting around everywhere. When I pull my hair back I can really see them come out. I have a feeling that the blow drying and shampooing really was limiting my hair. Now my hair is starting to look a lot better.

I read around here about coconut oil but I can't find it anywhere in the local stores. Putting oil over night sounds like a good idea, also a bun on top of my head too. When I had my son and my hair was longer I kept a bun on top of my head while in the hospital.

[Melisande]

I'm happy to hear your hair shows the results of gentler treatment already! I'm certain you will see a real difference ove the next weeks and months. Keep a record by taking photos! you will be astonished to see it. We forget so quickly ;-)

Henna and Katam might be a good mix for you. Maybe try the search function. But if rosemary and sage are so helpful, it's probably enough.

Coconut oil has been a true gift for my greying hair. I can't recommend it highly enough.

You may try to put a mixture of conditioner and oil (even olive oil) in your ends before you wash. It washes out with ease and it's good for the hair.

[SurprisingWoman]

Coconut oil can be found in the organic area of my grocery store. You may want to check there.

I have found my hair is considerably more delicate since letting it go and stay gray. Someone said to treat your hair like old lace and I have found that helpful.

My hair doesn't like to be fussed with. When I first found LHC and saw all of the various things that people were doing I tried the protein, the SMS, the oils, the CWC...

My hair likes cones, likes being washed twice a week or so when it's dirty and that's about it. If I am out in the cold a lot I might do some oil before my shower but I use the same old shampoo and conditioners I always did.

When trying treatments only do one at a time and give your hair time to respond so you know whether or not it likes what you are doing.

Good luck!

[barbararla]

Well, I finally found some coconut oil at whole foods. It's the 365 brand, organic nonrefined. It was the cheapest one there at $6.99. I was kind of skeptical at first, thinking that I would probably need to try it for a couple of months before seeing some kind of result. But with the first application my hair transformed! I felt like I had my old hair back again-gray free and soft. I also put it on my skin and it's amazing. I learned these last couple of weeks that my hair responds very well to oil/moisture. I left it overnight as Fiferstone suggested and the next day I did my usual shower routine. I was a little worried thinking my hair would be too oily but when I air dried my hair it looked like I had it done at a salon, as if it was blowdried and gelled. I couldn't believe it.

What I also like about my hair is that the texture is solid and smooth all the way through and I'm hoping it'll stay that way as it gets longer. My hair has a tendency of thinning out when it gets past the bra-line, that's why I always end up cutting my hair. After the birth of my son I cut my hair very short past my cheeks because I had plenty of splits and frizzy hair. Back then I really didn't know about all these natural products I could use on my hair- just shampoo and blow dry as usual. Now that I ditched the shampoo my hair has gotten a lot better. I can't wait to grow it out and really see some results!

My routine is as follows- I oil the ends every day and also massage my scalp. I wash my hair once a week. Also I put my sage/rosemary rinse twice a week. What I do in the shower is wash my scalp with water only and then apply a conditioner from ears-down. I wash as usual, then when I get out I lather on my coconut oil (a little bit on the hair, some on my skin). I smell great too...

Here's an update picture, I'm hoping to get one in the sun so you guys can really see how the gray was taken out..

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v680/barbararla/Capture2.jpg

[Sarahmoon]

I'm sorry if I missed a post, but what exactly made your grey hair go away? Was it the sage/rosemary or something else?

[barbararla]

Sarahmoon, actually the sage/rosemary mix worked well to take out the gray in the front of my hair.

But I didn't rinse my hair with it. What I did was I put sage/rosemary in low heat overnight and then I put the mixture in a baby bottle with a medium-flow nipple and I then I used the baby bottle to put the mix on the gray areas of my hair and let it dry without washing it out. I put it on every day till the gray disappeared and now I put in on about twice a week.

[Sarahmoon]

Thanks Barbararla!
My greys are mostly single spread out hairs at the moment, but I will sure remember this if they get any "worse".

Reading your first post I thought maybe you had some vitamin shortage that caused your hair to get thinner and brittle, but reading more I see it already improved a lot :)

[jera]

I use a rosemary rinse too but didn't know about the sage:) That's a god idea. And as everyone else has said, try going without the blowdryer for a while. Good things can happen for your hair if you do. :D

[Fractalsofhair]

That's interesting the grays are going away! Also, if you can't get your hair in a braid, but a ponytail, a silk(or satin, or some other smooth material) scarf wrapped around the length can be an OK idea. I just wear a scarf to bed since my hair's short now, and it does cut back on the damage a bit. It looks quite silly though. That's awesome that coconut oil worked well for you!

[barbararla]

I have to say that ever since visiting LHC I have gotten really obsessed with my hair! After oiling and caring for it for about a month my hair has changed. I noticed the ends much thicker and healthier looking. I can't wait to see how my hair looks by the end of this year. I want to thank everyone for their advice and I will continue trying different things and reading all about the other treatments everyone else is doing.

So here I am now in March :cheese:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v680/barbararla/update.jpg

[Hairtada]

barbararla, did you use fresh rosemary and sage or the dried from the store to make your rinse. About how much of each to how much water?? I'd like to try this ...Thanks!

[Toadstool]

barbararla, did you use fresh rosemary and sage or the dried from the store to make your rinse. About how much of each to how much water?? I'd like to try this ...Thanks!

I'd like to try this too!!

[barbararla]

barbararla, did you use fresh rosemary and sage or the dried from the store to make your rinse. About how much of each to how much water?? I'd like to try this ...Thanks!

I use fresh rosemary and sage- not dried. I always buy them organic. Whole foods and the local store here sell the herbs in these thin plastic containers, when I take the herbs out it's about a cup for each. I put enough water to cover the herbs, about 2 1/2 cups. I put both herbs in a crock pot for a very long time- first 3 hours on the low heat setting, then overnight on the keep warm setting, I guess if you don't have a crock pot what you can do is simmer on the stove top with a cover on the pot and put it in a warm place overnight- like inside the oven. In the morning I put the mixture in a glass jar. The mix is very dark and concentrated. It looks almost black. I wanted to put it in a spray bottle but I didn't have that so I used an old baby bottle to put it on my gray areas. I did this every day until I saw improvement- it took about 2 weeks. In the first applications my gray hair turned blond and now it just blends in with the rest of my hair.

The original recipe I saw online was to boil for 20 min, strain then cool and pour mix on the hair. What I sought to achieve was to get as much dye from the herbs as possible and leave as much as I could on my hair instead of using it as a rinse. I think it works much better that way. I'm wondering if this mix will work with henna too.

[Hairtada]

Hmm....I'll have plenty of fresh Rosemary and Sage pretty soon in my garden so I may wait till it grows to try this out!! Since Rosemary is supposed to help stimulate hair growth it may help with thin areas too. Be interesting to try.
Thanks for the info !

[Toadstool]

I use fresh rosemary and sage- not dried. I always buy them organic. Whole foods and the local store here sell the herbs in these thin plastic containers, when I take the herbs out it's about a cup for each. I put enough water to cover the herbs, about 2 1/2 cups. I put both herbs in a crock pot for a very long time- first 3 hours on the low heat setting, then overnight on the keep warm setting, I guess if you don't have a crock pot what you can do is simmer on the stove top with a cover on the pot and put it in a warm place overnight- like inside the oven. In the morning I put the mixture in a glass jar. The mix is very dark and concentrated. It looks almost black. I wanted to put it in a spray bottle but I didn't have that so I used an old baby bottle to put it on my gray areas. I did this every day until I saw improvement- it took about 2 weeks. In the first applications my gray hair turned blond and now it just blends in with the rest of my hair.

The original recipe I saw online was to boil for 20 min, strain then cool and pour mix on the hair. What I sought to achieve was to get as much dye from the herbs as possible and leave as much as I could on my hair instead of using it as a rinse. I think it works much better that way. I'm wondering if this mix will work with henna too.

Thank you for this. Do you leave it on or rinse it off?

[barbararla]

Thank you for this. Do you leave it on or rinse it off?

I leave it in. Once I put it on my hair, it's there to dry and leave in.

[Toadstool]

I'm tempted to try it but worried it will feel like I have gloop on my hair! (can't stand gel or anything)