Occasional shampoo makes my hair feel terrible

[Captain Nikki]

I've been CO washing with a cone free conditioner since early December last year. About once a fortnight i will use a shampoo. In the last few weeks i have noticed that whilst shampooing my hair feels disgusting! It all matts together & almost feels like dreadlocks, it's that bad. If i shampoo a second time, it feels even worse. Once i've slathered on the conditioner after the shampoo it feels nice again.
I only use almond oil & aloe vera in my hair between washes but lately i've felt that i'm getting a build up of something between washes also.
I can't help but wonder if shampooing is not good for my hair when it makes it feel so bad and yet i feel the need to remove any build up occasionally.
Has anyone else experienced this?

[ArienEllariel]

For one thing, why are you shampooing twice? Unless your hair is really really dirty (like rolled in mud dirty) hair doesn't need to be shampooed twice. I use a sulfate free shampoo once a week or so but even then I have to dilute it to keep my hair happy. You could try cutting back on the amount of shampoo you use and see if it helps..

[Dreams_in_Pink]

hmm, how about cutting down on things that cause buildup??

[Captain Nikki]

I tried shampooing a second time today only to see if that made a difference. I normally only shampoo once. I diluted it a bit, will try diluting it more next time. I use a shampoo that contains sulphates.

I thought it was cones that cause build up problems. I wasn't aware that oils & aloe could build up but this could be part of the problem. I don't know.

[Fethenwen]

Sounds like you might need a different shampoo :hmm: I get the same problems as you do sometimes too, even if my shampoo is rather mild. Shampooing less frequently seems to be the only thing that works, and to use diluted shampoo. I try to avoid the squeaky clean feel nowadays, it only leads to hair disaster a few days after.
So, my advice would be, try a different shampoo (when you run out of the one you have), try and dilute it and use a lot of conditioner. You may put the conditioner first and then shampoo the scalp to make it a sort of hybrid wash. Work the conditioner + shampoo nice and foamy, it's should clean well enough.

[ravenreed]

I shampoo very infrequently, when my ends start acting like velcro. I went six months without needing do it.

[hanne jensen]

Are you in the U.K.? There's a wonderful product called Essential Hair Care that's produced in the U.K. It's herbal based and no sulfates. I mix 7 pumps of it in 3 tbs. cheapo conditioner in a 250 ml. bottle. Fill the bottle up with warm water, give a shake and slather on my scalp and hair whilst dry. Smack the mess up in a bear claw and do something for 5 mins. Gently rinse out and use your regular conditioner. A very weak ACV rinse helps against buildup.
Hope this helps.

[Fethenwen]

I shampoo very infrequently, when my ends start acting like velcro. I went six months without needing do it.
Wow, that is very infrequently indeed.

[Anje]

What is the active cleansing ingredient in your shampoo?
Something that's soap-based might make your hair feel particularly awful if you have hard water. Ammonium lauryl sufate (ALS) and sodium lauryl sufate (SLS) can be nasty-harsh, but it depends on your hair and what you need to get buildup out. I'm pretty happy with how my hair feels after washing with sodium laureth sulfate (SLES), though. What I'm less happy about is the fact that my hair is getting steadily greasier after a few weeks of shampoo use -- I have a cleansing-reactive scalp.

[Captain Nikki]

Thanks everyone for your replies.

hanne jensen - I'm in Australia but thanks for your suggestion. I will keep it in mind.

Anje - I've been using a shampoo with both ALS & SLS. Next time i shampoo i'm going to use a different shampoo that only has SLS. I will report back the results. Thanks heaps.

[Rivanariko]

How are you washing with your shampoo? I've found that all my hair usually needs is a scalp wash with some vigorous scritching (I have scalp issues though), just from the ears up, then I "squeegee" the suds down my length and wash it out immediately. No time for matts or dreadlocks. I also usually CWC on the length to give it some more protection.

[Captain Nikki]

I just dilute it a bit & massage it into my scalp really well & rinse. Then slather lots & lots of conditioner over the whole lot. I only shampoo once a fortnight at most.