best thing for heat damaged hair?

[moonlight]

I finally gave up my blow dryer when I realized just how frizzy my hair had gotten.

See how nice my hair looks in the pic? It doesn't look like that anymore....there is a terrible canopy of frizz now :(

Okay, so now that I got rid of the blow dryer, what is the best thing to deal with the frizz, or should I cut it and start over?

I've been using jojoba, my old trusty, but it's not doing the trick anymore. And I also switched to a sulphate free shampoo last week, but haven't seen any improvement yet. Same for the SMT....no improvement yet. I'me going to do a full head henna tonight, haven't done that in about a year.

Any ideas on what else to try? I feel like I'm kind of spazzing my way through this or that....

[Cleopatra18]

i want to know too...my bottom part of my hair is soooo fried from heat damage lol
although i found soaking my hair in oil kind of helped,also my hair needed protein so it improved a little when i gave it that.
I am planning to *eventually* get rid of all that damaged hair though.

[Pandora.]

I personally find lots and lots of conditioner helps my hair.

[violeteyes]

My suggestion would be try out CO washing. I do CO once in a while (hoping that it will become my eventual "routine"), and my hair turns out silky smooth, no frizz or flyaways (many of which are created by shampoo, even mild ones).

[Hana]

try a stronger oil.
possibly an overnight extra-virgin-olive-oil soak.
a leave-in conditioner.
an SMT cant possibly hurt.

if nothing seems to work, i'd say a trim is what you need, sad as it sounds. :( or at least, do an S+D on the ends, just to neaten it up.

[rach]

S&D often to keep split ends at bay , keep well oiled so it never feels dry (may involve some time to see what oils suit you hair) and just TLC. Henna too helped me but that quite a dive in decision making.
It takes time but it is recoverable with patience . Been there and it's no easy ride :flower:

[ButterCup02]

My hair was pretty badly heat damaged when I started out. I started CO'ing and using coconut oil in my hair. And obviously ditched the heat tools ;) I've used a curling iron only three times in the year since I started LHC, and babied my hair after. My hair looks so much better! It was screaming for moisture!

I've done a few SMT's and coconut milk soaks too. Love those!

[loralie]

If it's just the canopy, try to pull the top layer of hair (around your part) over your face and trim the ends of it... mine was wrecked too from the heat tools!

Have you tried any protein/hot oil treatments? Some people hate protein but my hair likes it on occasion.

[moonlight]

What kind of coconut milk? I have a can in my pantry, it is unweetened.

[HairColoredHair]

What kind of coconut milk? I have a can in my pantry, it is unweetened.

I think any kind of coconut milk works... Low fat is less greasy (but heavily damaged hair might need the extra fat, maybe?) I've heard of people using coconut cream too, as it's less drippy.

To the OP I'd suggest conditioner and honey, both for long soaks and in the shower... it won't fix itself overnight but it can be bettered.

[Oskimosa]

Well,... when I used to dye and strip the mess out of my hair, Aussie products did the trick. This stuff (http://www.amazon.com/Fantasia-Polisher-Protector-Straightening-Serum/dp/B001A6F2AQ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=hpc&qid=1273540562&sr=8-2) also worked wonders. My hair always seemed to feel nice, although not as nice as it does now that it's not damaged.

[missfortune9335]

try a few different things before you decide to cut, if there's one thing I've learned on here it's that one thing that works well for one person won't work at all for another etc. etc. you have to learn what *your* hair needs/likes and in the meantime while you're trying things out just wear it up to hide the frizz.

What works well for *my* frizz is to condition my hair really well, and then while it is mostly dry but still a little damp I put a mixture of aloe vera gel (fruit of the earth brand) and sweet almond oil (I tried many oils that did nothing for me, and then tried sweet almond oil and it works well with my hair) I also use a spray leave in conditioner (very lightly) and then braid it before going to bed.

best of luck to you!

[Yozhik]

I second the honey and conditioner suggestion. I just bought a $1 bottle of conditioner, used about 1/4-1/3 of it up, filled the rest of the bottle up with honey, and put the resulting mixture to sit on my hair before/during my shower.

That, and coconut oil really help my hair.

[moonlight]

OP here....I did a full head henna/cassia/amla last night, CO wash after, then heavy jojoba oil. My hair looks a lot better this morning...so at least I don't feel like I need to cut it now.

I was using Sally's Hair One, which is their version of WEN haircare. It has Amodimethicone and Panthenol in it. The cheap Suave condish does not and I think my hair likes the Suave better. Sally's is in the cabinet now...maybe I'll try it again later, but for now it's Suave CO.

And I think Jojoba works better then coconut oil (for my hair...my skin LOVES coconut oil!)

Man, who knew hair could be so picky??

[mktmgt]

When I blow dry my hair I set it to "cool", then I apply coconut oil on the ends of my hair. Hope this helps.

[UltraBella]

I noticed you said you switched to a sulfate free shampoo, but the conditioner you were using had a cone in it. Could you possible have a cone buildup on your hair ? Do you use any styling products with cones ? I was using a sulfate free shampoo but still applying cones unknowingly and my hair felt AWFUL.

[alwayssmiling]

Another vote for CO washing. If I have heat styled I CO wash for a few days to get rid of the dryness and frizz, it really works for me. Also you could try a prepoo, like coconut oil or EVO. Or CWC maybe. Shea butter is great for frazzled ends (IMO).

I personally wouldn't cut it until I've tried everything :)