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Prism
March 4th, 2010, 01:35 PM
Ever since I switched up my routine to start using a deep clarifier (Joico) weekly and Suave's daily clarifying (it actually has a cone) along with no-cone conditioner and ceasing blow drying with heat (I still use the no-heat setting), my hair has been staticky. I don't know if it's just a coincidence with the weather, but I think it's the change in routine.

My questions are what causes the static and is it damaging to hair?

I was thinking that lack of moisture would cause the static, so I heavily oiled my hair with the new coconut oil that arrived in the mail today. EVEN with it heavily coated, when I ran my fingers through it, it had static.

So I read online about what static is. With hair, the hair gets rubbed, and a positive charge builds up. Things with a positive charge repel each other. The result is each individual hair all trying to get away from other individual hairs.

But I'm thinking on a microscopic level, static is probably really bad for hair. If an individually positively charged strand repels other positively charged strands, I bet the cuticle is also flaring out as it repels other "shingles" near it.

My blow dryer is an "ionic" blow dryer, and it's interesting that when I air dry the static is much worse than when I blow dry. Perhaps there really is some truth to those ionic claims.

Anyway, what's strange to me is that my hair could be this staticky when it's loaded (I mean total greasy, not-leaving-the-house degree) with coconut oil. Most of the articles stated the static tends to be worse in people with dry air and hair that is stripped of moisture. I moisturize daily. My hair looks shiny and feels soft. It doesn't squeak when I wash it like hair does when it's stripped.

You gals/guys noted any more static with reduction in use of cones? Anything else? I wonder if the ionic feature of the blow dryer still works when it's used with a no-heat setting? What I did do was take my misting bottle of water mixed with a little no-cone conditioner and spray that on top of the oily hair, and that seemed to do the trick at calming the static. Strange.

jera
March 4th, 2010, 02:39 PM
It sounds like you've been over clarifying. I can't envisage the scenario in which hair loaded with oil would be staticy. Hmmm. Was your hair less staticy with cones? If so, maybe you're one of the many here whose hair actually likes cones.

Sorry I don't have any great solutions to your problem. Maybe your hair needs humidity in your indoor environment. :confused: I'm sure someone who knows more than I do will have better answers. :)

Keep It Flowin
March 4th, 2010, 03:04 PM
Little secret of a pet groomer in dealing with static on the dogs... dryer sheets- rub it into the hair. Try that, see if it helps

Mamakash
March 4th, 2010, 03:17 PM
We have a console evaporative humidifier (Bemis) that makes a big difference in the winter. We don't have as much static as a result. It's a good idea to humidify dry winter air . . . it helps with preventing colds and flu. Your hair might benefit from it as well.

Prism
March 4th, 2010, 04:10 PM
It sounds like you've been over clarifying. I can't envisage the scenario in which hair loaded with oil would be staticy. Hmmm. Was your hair less staticy with cones? If so, maybe you're one of the many here whose hair actually likes cones.

Sorry I don't have any great solutions to your problem. Maybe your hair needs humidity in your indoor environment. :confused: I'm sure someone who knows more than I do will have better answers. :)\

Yeah, picture this. Hair greasy with oil, stringy, and even the strings are standing out from my head. I should have taken a picture. Okay, maybe not. It wasn't pretty.

I used to use a humidifier at home, but I live in the South and have terrible problems with sinus and allergies. If it's going to rain or snow in a day or two, I get sinusitis. Plus I'm allergic to mold. Not a good combination with a humidifier.

Because I changed so many things at once, I don't know which is the culprit. It may be that clarifying once a week with the Joico stuff is too often. Even though the Suave daily clarifying shampoo has a cone in it, it might be too much. But my hair FEELS great after using both of them. Not squeaky. Just very soft. Maybe the cones used to keep things weighted down enough or keep the hair smoothed enough that it couldn't build up a charge? Dunno.

Just very strange.

BUT, this coconut oil stuff is awesome. It's been on my hair for a few hours now, and everything feels so soft. I think I'll try just a very light shampoo and see if the static is still there.

Funny about the dryer sheet. I'd forgotten about those! I remember rubbing those on pantyhose many years ago to keep the dress from clinging!

eta: The CAT's hair snaps with electricity when I brush it, so I know it's dry in here. I should probably invest in another humidifier. It was just frustrating: despite cleaning it weekly with vinegar soaks and so on, it still had buildup.

BrightEyes
March 4th, 2010, 04:28 PM
This thread has some interesting ideas. I also get staticy hair sometimes. I had forgotten about using a humidifier. I need to go find it now.
I also wonder if going no cones can make hair staticy. Not using cones really helps my waves come out, but the sides of my hair get so staticy it drives me crazy.:mad:

tralalalara
March 4th, 2010, 07:37 PM
It's caused by dryness. Even blow drying on cold can dry out your hair, and dried out hair can stay that way through multiple conditioning washes and deep treatments.

Ever since I stopped washing daily, I haven't had static.
..But it may also be because my roommates are always either boiling water for tea or running the showers or washing machine so our apartment is VERY humid.