New guy

[RobZilla]

So yeah, i'm the new guy here i suppose. A little about myself:

I live in Pensacola, Florida and i work for AT&T Wireless Prepaid Customer Care. I hate my job, and i think my hair hates me. Either that or I'm doing everything wrong. Most likely the latter. I condition in the morning before work and by the time i get home at night my hair is greasy, tangled, knotted and unmanageable. I brush and lose knots and knots of hair. Is it my conditioner? my shampoo? my hair has been here for ~14 months (from the scalp up, shaved and started over last late February.) I'm tired of the clumps of hair everywhere and I love the length of my hair, but hate the health of it.

Please, help me save my hair.

And i didn't understand anything the profile page is asking about volume and all that...so a little help there too would be appreciated.

[Nat242]

What sort of conditioner do you use? You could have build-up. Try a clarifying shampoo, followed up by a deep treatment - Snowy's Moisture Treatment (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=128) is a good one to search for. You may also consider going cone-free (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=13)...there are lots of options, too many for me to suggest without knowing more.

I suggest you explore the boards for a little while, and you'll start picking things up. Good luck!

-- Natalie

[tiny_teesha]

Try NOT brushing, useing a comb, being GENTLE!
And about the hair "volume thing"
Check out...this hair typing help. (http://homepage.mac.com/annsofie.henriksson/hairtyping/Personal27.html)
The letters above the page shows you pictures to the "2a, 2b" etc. :)

[justgreen]

Hi and welcome to the boards!

Try using conditioner on the length only, none on the scalp. To correct the ph balance of your scalp, try a diluted Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) rinse. 1 tablespoon of vinegar mixed with 10 ounces of distilled water. Leave on for a minute then rinse off.

If you have bad water (I know I had bad water when I lived in Venice and North Port), always do a final rinse with distilled water to rinse away the impurities and minerals in your tap water.

Try finger combing after washing and then don't brush. If you have CURLY hair, don't brush at all, use a wide tined comb or pick.

*justy misses Florida*

[lora410]

Step 1- clarify with some baking soda 1tsp mixed with condish, water or shampoo. It may be you have very bad buildup from hair products.after that do a nice deep treatment like warmed up olive oil and place a bag,shower cap, foil, warm towel over your head for a few hrs and then shampoo out with a gentle shampoo preferable sulfate free. I use Avalon biotin b-complex, and love the results of it. I chopped my hair yrs ago because it kept knotting every 5 seconds, but I also didn't know how to take care of my hair.For the greasys rinse with some avc rinse which i use about 2tsp in a cup of water. it corrects the ph on the scalp and if the greasy continue add a few drops of tea tree essential oil to your condihs, or shampoo. it works for alot of scalp issues.

Step 2 read the label on your bottle. Does anything end with cone? cones can cause buildup if you don't clarify regularly and well your hair may hate them like mine does. If so try a non-cone conditioner like vo5 tea tea therapy or you can look in the articles for the non-cone condish listings

Step 3- lay down the brush oh so gently and pick up a seamless comb. You can find them on e-bay or file the seams out of a store bought comb. You cant miss them in between regular combs and they will do damage to your cuticle.Alot of people love yak horn combs etc. I personally use a yak bone comb and I adore it.

Step 4- don't give up until you find what works for you. It may not be the first things you try and there are many methods. I personally love shampoo bars, but not everyones hair likes them. Some do co only, some poo bars, some No water etc etc. Remember to treat your hair gently, and stop yanking it out with a brush. if you can tie it back in a pony tail or make a bun to protect your hair from the tangles until you find what works

[spidermom]

Hi; welcome! I used to live in Pensacola in my early 20s and loved the beach.

I wanted to caution about baking soda. It can be very harsh and drying. A clarifying shampoo (and it will say that right on the bottle) should work just fine.

Another vote for getting a comb and using it instead of the brush for working out tangles. You can brush once your hair is tangle free. Try to find a comb without obvious seams.

When you wash your hair, put conditioner on the length first. Then wash the scalp area with shampoo, rinse well, then use conditioner on your length again. You can comb the second conditioner through your hair. This is called CWC (condition-wash-condition). If you get the greasies fast, skip the second conditioning, just do CW.

[justgreen]

Hi; welcome! I used to live in Pensacola in my early 20s and loved the beach.

I wanted to caution about baking soda. It can be very harsh and drying. A clarifying shampoo (and it will say that right on the bottle) should work just fine.

Another vote for getting a comb and using it instead of the brush for working out tangles. You can brush once your hair is tangle free. Try to find a comb without obvious seams.

When you wash your hair, put conditioner on the length first. Then wash the scalp area with shampoo, rinse well, then use conditioner on your length again. You can comb the second conditioner through your hair. This is called CWC (condition-wash-condition). If you get the greasies fast, skip the second conditioning, just do CW.

Thanks Spidermom, I was just about to caution on the baking soda.

For clarifying product build up and minerals off my hair, I use either Nexxus Aloe Rid (found at Walmart and Walgreen's) or the Suave brand.

[tomm]

Welcome, Robzilla!

It looks like you have been getting some very good advice. I hope that you start seeing some improvement in your hair.

[RobZilla]

ok, updated the hair types. Pretty sure those are correct

As for what type of shampoo/conditioner i use:
Shampoo: TRESemme Moisture Rich w/ Vitamin E for dry/damaged hair.
Conditioner: TRESemme Smooth & Silky w/ Vitamin H and Silk proteins for dry/damaged hair (just found out it contains Dimethicone)

Will be replacing my conditioner with something not containing cones.

Picking up the ingredients i need for SMT and Apple Cider treatments, as well as a comb. Wish me luck.

[Xanthippe]

Good luck, RobZilla! It looks like you got some great advice already and I hope it works. Welcome!

[DavidN]

Welcome to the boards, Robzilla, it is always cool to see another guy growing his hair long.

[RobZilla]

Welcome to the boards, Robzilla, it is always cool to see another guy growing his hair long.

Thanks DavidN, it's something i've wanted to do for a long time, but I always wind up getting discouraged. Won't happen this time, as it looks like i'll have a lot of help :)

Went to WallyWorld and got some stuff. For the picked up the ingredients for the SMT, AVC and new cone free conditioner. The SMT includes Aloe, so i went with Suave Naturals: Aloe and Waterlily with Aloe Vera and Vitamin E. As for shampoo, went with Suave Daily Clarifying, as Nat242 suggested. Picked up a cheapo comb also, and it appears to be seamless (and if it's not seamless, the seams are smooth enough to not be a problem).

Here's to hoping this helps! Will report back in a few days.

[RobZilla]

A little discouraged atm, it wound up leaving flecks through my hair. Any suggestions?

[Velvettt]

Welcome, Rob! If you head over to the Recipes and herbal hair care and search for Snowymoon's treatment, you'll find lots of info to help you. The little white flecks are a problem with certain conditioners. If I'm not mistaken, there's a list somewhere.

[justgreen]

Those flecks are just conditioner, they'll melt into your hair. If it causes you to have the greasies, just try a different conditioner. I have better luck using a little more expensive (not much!) conditioner. I use Nature's Gate Original Herbal (found at any health food store, GNC, etc). It's about $6 a bottle, is brown in color, but smells kinda earthy, smouldering, mystic?

Hey you are my hair twin! From your first description, I thought you were going to be a curly, welcome to the straighties!

[RobZilla]

hehe, yeah i guess i will be going to get a new conditioner then. Not a huge deal as, as you said, it seems to just melt away. I do the smt every other night now before bed, it works fantastically :D

and no, i'm a straightie :p a little wavy, but not enough to make me want to cut it off LOL.

[<She>]

Hi, welcome RobZilla! :) You already got great advices from others, I will just wish you good luck in taking better care of your hair!

[VikingJarl]

Welcome to LNC:-) Good luck with your hair dude!

[VikingJarl]

Make that LHC! I mistyped!! Oops... Sorry everyone

[Nynaeve]

Thanks DavidN, it's something i've wanted to do for a long time, but I always wind up getting discouraged. Won't happen this time, as it looks like i'll have a lot of help :)

Went to WallyWorld and got some stuff. For the picked up the ingredients for the SMT, AVC and new cone free conditioner. The SMT includes Aloe, so i went with Suave Naturals: Aloe and Waterlily with Aloe Vera and Vitamin E. As for shampoo, went with Suave Daily Clarifying, as Nat242 suggested. Picked up a cheapo comb also, and it appears to be seamless (and if it's not seamless, the seams are smooth enough to not be a problem).

Here's to hoping this helps! Will report back in a few days.

Hey and welcome. :)

I'm a bit out of it, so forgive me if I'm repeating, but have you thought about washing your hair less often?
The more often you shampoo it, the more often you strip off you hair natural oils,forcing your scalp to make more oil more often to compensate.
If you decide to not wah as often, it will take you head a while to get used to it, but most people like the results in the end. :)

I second the caution about baking soda.
I also second the ACV. So many people benefit from an ACV rinse. :)
eep in mind ACV smells strong, so you might want to put some sort of nice smelling hair0freindly oils or other stuff in it to combat the smell.

[saman]

hello and welcome

[Kirin]

Hello, and welcome to the obsession that is long hair!

I for one, found the good advice here, somewhat wrong for me. I dont know why this is, but often my hair likes what is supposed to be not good for it. The trick is, finding what works for you, and staying with it, regardless of the "best" thing.

I find conditioner used daily makes me loose tons of hair! Even not on the scalp but just the ends. i dont know why this is. I also noticed both your shampoo and conditioner were "moisturizing".... it could be, that silicones in it, moisturizers, even the vit E might be wreaking havoc on your hair. Just because the bottle says it will be good doesn't mean your hair will like it!

Granted I have fine hair, but the condition of your hair sounds a lot like mine was! very tangly knotted ends, really greasy scalp by nighttime, loss of hair on conditioning, so I know what you are talking about. I suggest trying these.

Use a clarifying shampoo once a week or once every two weeks to get rid of any product build up. I avoid baking soda, my hair was already dry/tangly at the ends on the length, baking soda made this WORSE.

Use a very gentle, but not overly moisturizing shampoo. My hair finally found love with Creme of Nature detangling shampoo, found in the ethnic hair section at most stores. Its affordable, and sulphate free.

I find with this shampoo conditioner is not nessesary, at all. I have totally ditched it, in favor of using a leave in conditioner very sparingly on my ends. I only revert to using conditioner IF I have been in weathering conditions (windy dry day and my hair goes dry) or for a once in a while treat if my hair feels extra dry. Otherwise I dont use it after shampooing, and this has stopped the wads of hairloss.

Do not dry brush your hair, but use a wide tooth comb instead.

Invest in a boars bristle brush. At night if your ends are very very dry, work into them a dime size or less of your conditioner you like (now you have a use for it!) and then gently brush it through with the boars bristle brush. Let it stay on overnight, shampoo in the morning. That should tame the gnarled ends problem!

I hope these suggestions help, its worked like magic for me.

[RobZilla]

Hello, and welcome to the obsession that is long hair!

I for one, found the good advice here, somewhat wrong for me. I dont know why this is, but often my hair likes what is supposed to be not good for it. The trick is, finding what works for you, and staying with it, regardless of the "best" thing.

I find conditioner used daily makes me loose tons of hair! Even not on the scalp but just the ends. i dont know why this is. I also noticed both your shampoo and conditioner were "moisturizing".... it could be, that silicones in it, moisturizers, even the vit E might be wreaking havoc on your hair. Just because the bottle says it will be good doesn't mean your hair will like it!

Granted I have fine hair, but the condition of your hair sounds a lot like mine was! very tangly knotted ends, really greasy scalp by nighttime, loss of hair on conditioning, so I know what you are talking about. I suggest trying these.

Use a clarifying shampoo once a week or once every two weeks to get rid of any product build up. I avoid baking soda, my hair was already dry/tangly at the ends on the length, baking soda made this WORSE.

Use a very gentle, but not overly moisturizing shampoo. My hair finally found love with Creme of Nature detangling shampoo, found in the ethnic hair section at most stores. Its affordable, and sulphate free.

I find with this shampoo conditioner is not nessesary, at all. I have totally ditched it, in favor of using a leave in conditioner very sparingly on my ends. I only revert to using conditioner IF I have been in weathering conditions (windy dry day and my hair goes dry) or for a once in a while treat if my hair feels extra dry. Otherwise I dont use it after shampooing, and this has stopped the wads of hairloss.

Do not dry brush your hair, but use a wide tooth comb instead.

Invest in a boars bristle brush. At night if your ends are very very dry, work into them a dime size or less of your conditioner you like (now you have a use for it!) and then gently brush it through with the boars bristle brush. Let it stay on overnight, shampoo in the morning. That should tame the gnarled ends problem!

I hope these suggestions help, its worked like magic for me.

The advice is much appreciated from everyone. As for the condish, i have ditched the TRESemme completely. No more of that crap for me. I still use the TRESemme shampoo once a week and the clarifying poo once a week. It's working out well so far for me. As for the the condish tips, thanks. I'll try those and see how it turns out for me.