Healthy Hair Questionnaire (Lucky LHC members with little or no split ends)

[bigeyedgirl829]

Hello all! I am reaching a "chop it all off point" (well not really but close enough to do some major trimming) with my hair and all its many splits. I was hoping some of you lucky members with little or no splits would answer some questions about how you care for your hair so I can re-adjust my methods before I chop a major portion of my length off. If you wouldn't mind.... :D

1. How do you wash your hair? How often? (include all products and rinses and special tricks you use)
2. Do you oil your hair? What oil?
3. Do you prefer 'cones? or no 'cones?
4. How do you brush your hair? (boar bristle brush/ wide tooth comb/ finger comb?
5. How do you wear your hair through the day? night?
6. Any other tips or tricks you've found that work?

Thanks for any insight you can offer!

[bigeyedgirl829]

Ohhh and let me answer my own questions!!

1. How do you wash your hair? How often? (include all products and rinses and special tricks you use) 2-3 times a week. Just transitioned to CO wash from Soap bars. I've done ACV rinses.
2. Do you oil your hair? What oil? I have used Coconut/ Jojoba and olive maybe 1 times a week
3. Do you prefer 'cones? or no 'cones? I tend to stay away from them but use them on occasion
4. How do you brush your hair? (boar bristle brush/ wide tooth comb/ finger comb? Wide tooth comb and finger comb
5. How do you wear your hair through the day? night? bun with claw clip or down during the day and a braid during the night
6. Any other tips or tricks you've found that work? i S&D but i developed an addiction to it. But it didn't seem to help much and now I do it maybe twice a month

[ll]

1. A variety of different shampoos over the years, it hasn't seemed to make a huge difference as to split ends. I always use conditioner; for the last year or two, I've been using Alba Botanica Detangling Conditioner, which I really like. It does an excellent job detangling, adds a lot of shine, and is not too chemical-y.
2. I've started oiling, but just recently.
3. Light cone formulations work for me, so I use a shine serum which seems to help protect my hair somewhat.
4. Wide tooth comb only, and no towel. These make a big difference, as I learned when I was abroad for nine months and didn't have room to pack a towel or brush.
5. I definitely tend to get fewer split ends if I keep my hair up during the day and braided at night. The most important thing, though, is not to get one's hair caught under heavy backpack or messenger bag straps.
6. Always wearing a hat for sun protection helps prevent a lot of damage, not just split ends. I also find that it is a lot easier to keep my hair split end-free by cutting off all the damage and split ends, and then trimming every two or three months. If there are a few split ends, they just seem to multiply... But I am not too concerned about length, so YMMV.
Hope this helps!:)

[May]

This was how I took care of my hair when it was longer (waist) and I never saw any/many split ends.


1. How do you wash your hair? How often? (include all products and rinses and special tricks you use) -I wash my hair every second day with a moisturizing shampoo.

2. Do you oil your hair? What oil? -No

3. Do you prefer 'cones? or no 'cones? -cones for sure

4. How do you brush your hair? (boar bristle brush/ wide tooth comb/ finger comb? -wide tooth comb and I never brush

5. How do you wear your hair through the day? night? -up/down

6. Any other tips or tricks you've found that work?-never use permanent dye!

[jane53]

I'm new to the board so most of the things people do here are new to me. But my hair is hip length and has been, for the most part, for 44 years. It has very few split ends and not much trouble with breakage. I'm not really good at all the styles you folks can do, but my hair survives being worn down just fine.

1. How do you wash your hair? How often? (include all products and rinses and special tricks you use) I use shampoo and then condition from the nape down. I generally wash it every other day. I couldn't include all the products I use. Lately, I'm using Suave Coconut shampoo and conditioner. I've used the Pantene for long hair, the L'Oreal Vive for long hair, and the Herbal Essences for long hair, among others. I do not comb or brush my hair after washing till it's partially dry


2. Do you oil your hair? What oil? Right now, I'm using Garnier Fructis Sleek and Shine Serum. I've used a similar product by L'Oreal Vive. I'm watching posts here about various natural oils with interest.


3. Do you prefer 'cones? or no 'cones? I can't tell the difference. I just learned there WAS a difference. Maybe now that I know, I'll notice. Don't the Suaves I'm using NOT have cones?

4. How do you brush your hair? (boar bristle brush/ wide tooth comb/ finger comb? I use a boar bristle brush on my hair. Combs, even good wide-tooth ones, tend to split and break my hair.

5. How do you wear your hair through the day? Mostly half up, with the back down, or in a ponytail. I've been trying to wear it up more because of this board, but it doesn't seem to be any easier on my hair. night? If I wash it at night, I braid it wet without brushing or combing. If it's dry, I just sleep with it down.

6. Any other tips or tricks you've found that work? Since I've been oiling the ends with a serum/oil/leave-in, I have almost no splits. Also, not combing my hair at all and not brushing or combing it while very wet has been good.

[misspriss]

I have almost never had split ends, ever. At least, none that I have taken notice of.

1. How do you wash your hair? How often? (include all products and rinses and special tricks you use)
Once a week, on average. Sometimes twice. 99% of the time I CO with Suave naturals, once a month or so I might follow up with a heavier conditioner on the ends.
2. Do you oil your hair? What oil?
Tried coconut oil, don't use it much.
3. Do you prefer 'cones? or no 'cones?
No cones. I use them on occasion, once in a blue moon.
4. How do you brush your hair? (boar bristle brush/ wide tooth comb/ finger comb?
I use a plastic bristle brush maybe one day a week, but normally finger comb only.
5. How do you wear your hair through the day? night?
Braid or bun on top of my head at night. During the day usually a cinnamon bun.
6. Any other tips or tricks you've found that work?
Blessed with strong hair? Even when I heat styled I didn't get splits, but I have been CO'ing mostly since I discovered LHC when I was 15.

[EtherealOde]

1. How do you wash your hair? How often? (include all products and rinses and special tricks you use)
I mainly CO wash my hair using Whole Foods 365 brand unscented conditioner. I use Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose conditioner on the ends for the extra conditioning. Every once in awhile I will wash my hair with Aubrey orbanics Honeysuckle Rose shampoo if I feel it needs it. I clean my hair as often as I feel it needs it, which can be very often or not depending on my activities.

I just got back from a visit to Virginia Beach, and was washing my hair daily to remove sand and salt residues. If I exercise enough to get my hair very sweaty I will wash it, or if there is a lot of pollen or dust in the air. Otherwise I leave it alone as I don't have an oily scalp and my hair tends to stay clean and nice smelling for a week or more unless I get sweaty.

If I am washing my hair a lot I like to use my heat cap and deep condition my hair (I love SMT!!!) to get moisture in it.

2. Do you oil your hair? What oil?
Usually organic coconut oil, from Whole Foods. I also have Mango and Shea Butters that I use, both alone and in Fox's Shea Butter conditioner recipe. Once in awhile I will use Jojoba oil, but not as often as the coconut. I oil daily, and a heavy oiling at least twice a month.

3. Do you prefer 'cones? or no 'cones?
I like no cones. It lets me know what condition my hair is actually in, plus it lets my curls be curly instead of weighing them down. Since I don't use a blow dryer, curling/flat iron, or hot rollers, I don't feel like I need the heat protection which was my main reason for using it before.

4. How do you brush your hair? (boar bristle brush/ wide tooth comb/ finger comb?
All of the above. I brush my hair after applying oils to distribute them evenly. The wide tooth comb is after I wash my hair. Fingers to detangle before the comb. I detangle daily do my tangles don't get out of control.

5. How do you wear your hair through the day? night?
Day is usually up or braided or both. Night I oil my ends, nape hairs, and canopy before bed, and either braid it or wear a sock bun on the top of my head. I have silk pillowcases, and have a silk sleeping cap I sometimes use at home or when traveling.

6. Any other tips or tricks you've found that work?
I have found S&D to be very helpful in keeping any developing splits in check, by getting rid of them before they progress too far. it used to give me a headache and hurt my eyes, until I got a 10x mirror. It lets me take small sections of hair and easily see the ends magnified enough to see splits without eyestrain. Keeping my ends oiled and tucked under have seemed to decrease the damage my ends take so they have less splitting. But the biggest help has just been in treating my hair very gently, do it doesn't break as much. I got it caught under my purse straps, in the shoulder belt in my car, and under my husband's arm quite often before I started wearing it up. Not only was it painful, but I could hear my hair snapping. Wearing it up prevents all that, and prevents it flying around in the wind. It got horrid tangles in the wind sometimes.

[tcheney91]

1. How do you wash your hair? How often? (include all products and rinses and special tricks you use) I wash once a week. I switch up my products a lot, but they are always fairly cheap products. I like Herbal Essences and other drugstore kinds of products.
2. Do you oil your hair? What oil? I oil the tassel of my braid every night, and do a full oil the night before a wash. I use olive oil with some rosemary EO in it.
3. Do you prefer 'cones? or no 'cones? I'm very pro cones. My hair likes them.
4. How do you brush your hair? (boar bristle brush/ wide tooth comb/ finger comb? I have curly hair, so I usually don't brush at all. I just smooth it out when putting it up. A few days after I wash, I will comb it with a wide toothed comb before I braid it at night.
5. How do you wear your hair through the day? night? During the day varies A LOT. I love to experiment with my hair. It's always up, but I can often go a week or two without repeating styles.
6. Any other tips or tricks you've found that work? I agree with others, trim off damage. Wearing hair up helps reduce stress and breakage. Also, I use a mister with some oil and condish in it when I put my hair up.

[Peter]

1. How do you wash your hair? How often? (include all products and rinses and special tricks you use)
About every 5 days. Mostly WO although I often use a very small amount of shampoo for my scalp. No conditioner.

2. Do you oil your hair? What oil?
I used to use coconut oil before each wash. Nowadays I just don't do it.

3. Do you prefer 'cones? or no 'cones?
Well, I don't really use anything, so no cones.

4. How do you brush your hair? (boar bristle brush/ wide tooth comb/ finger comb?
I have a cheapo plastic comb that I use. I don't brush my hair.

5. How do you wear your hair through the day? night?
Recently, it's been in a braid during the day and a loose braid during the night.

6. Any other tips or tricks you've found that work?
Whenever my ends start tangling or feeling rough, I do a very small trim.

[Deborah]

1. How do you wash your hair? How often? (include all products and rinses and special tricks you use)

I wash once a week most weeks, twice on others. I NEVER use shampoo. I either (a) CO with a VO5 cone free, followed with a vinegar or citric acid wash, or (b) wash with Heenara Hair Wash Powder dissolved in hottish water, followed by the acidic rinse, or (c) wash with Borax dissolved in hottish water, followed by the acidic rinse. I never use conditioner to condition with, only to wash with. It weighs my very fine hair down too much.

2. Do you oil your hair? What oil?

On rare occasions I very lightly oil just the last six inches, but only if the hair seems too dry that day. Most of the time I don't oil. It just makes my hair oily. My hair is not porous, so the oil just sits on top, and make it, well, oily.

3. Do you prefer 'cones? or no 'cones?

I never use cones.

4. How do you brush your hair? (boar bristle brush/ wide tooth comb/ finger comb?

I lightly finger detangle after washing, then let it air dry before really detangling it. Once it is dry, I use a blunt, very wide tooth comb to detangle, then I brush it. Contrary to the experience of most who report, dry combing causes hair breakage, not brushing. I can hear and feel hairs snapping. It give me the creeps, so I only do it for the detangle after washing, and then slowly and very carefully. My favorite brushes are my wooden peg brush and my Tangle Teezer. I have a lovely MB boar bristle brush, and I use it just once in a while at present.

5. How do you wear your hair through the day? night?

I wear it up in some kind of bun and covered with a fabric headcovering for most of the day (Christian) and at night I wear it in a loose braid tossed over the top of my (silk encased) pillow.

6. Any other tips or tricks you've found that work?

Well, I honestly think it is mostly a matter of the type of hair you are given by God. Apart from that, I think one's natural hair is what they look best in (even when they don't think so.:o) So I have never colored or used hair sprays or gels or any other styling products, and I never straighten or curl either. I almost never get split ends. Think of a child's very fine, sometimes stick straight, other times slightly wavy, down to somewhere on my bum hair, and you have my hair. Like a child's, it is not always easy to handle, but it is silky and shiny, and in it's simple way, quite pretty.

[Flaxen]

1. How do you wash your hair? How often? (include all products and rinses and special tricks you use)
I wash my hair standing upright, in the shower, usually twice a week, but I have been known to go a week. My shampoo is Earthly Delight, a wheat germ oil soap based shampoo, and I dilute it 50:50 with water. I lather my scalp area once and let it run over the length of my hair as I rinse.

Can you believe that after all these years, I still haven't found the perfect conditioning routine? For the past six months I have been oiling and shampooing only, and it has been working well, but recently I tried conditioner again, and that's working well, too. I think I will add it back into the routine, but I'm not sure yet how often. I am experimenting with Aubrey Organics' Camellia and Honeysuckle Conditioners. I also do a heat cap deep treatment with Phytomoelle Mask (now discontinued) once in a blue moon.

2. Do you oil your hair? What oil?
Yes, I oil my scalp and spread the oil through my length as a pre-wash treatment. Right now I'm using Cocoveda (coconut oil infused with Indian herbs).

3. Do you prefer 'cones? or no 'cones?
No 'cones.

4. How do you brush your hair? (boar bristle brush/ wide tooth comb/ finger comb?
I brush my scalp hair with a bbb while bent forward at the waist before oiling, before a shampoo. For daily detangling, I use a wide tooth cellulose comb. Sometimes I'll use a boxwood or horn comb so they don't get lonely in the drawer. ;)

5. How do you wear your hair through the day? night?
Bun during the day and braid at night.

6. Any other tips or tricks you've found that work?
I'm not even sure *these* are tips that relate to my lack of splits, lol. Even when I was lightening my hair, blow drying it, and using the problematic cyclopentasiloxane 'cone, I never had many splits - breakage yes, but not splits.

[IcarusBride]

1. How do you wash your hair? How often? (include all products and rinses and special tricks you use)
I wash my hair with water only, as often as I shower which now during the summer is every day but in the winter sometimes every other day.

2. Do you oil your hair? What oil?
Yes, as often as I feel it needs it, anywhere from daily to once or twice a week. I use coconut oil.

3. Do you prefer 'cones? or no 'cones?
N/A

4. How do you brush your hair? (boar bristle brush/ wide tooth comb/ finger comb?
I use a Tibetan Yak Horn comb from ebay :D But I do use the normal plastic combs occasionally if it's not handy (sometimes leave it in my purse in the car).

5. How do you wear your hair through the day? night?
Days--> Updo
Nights--> loose Braid
Very rarely have my hair down, even at home. Only while it's air-drying.

6. Any other tips or tricks you've found that work?
I use cassia every other week. I made the cassia mixture with 2cups of cassia powder, "2 cups" of catnip tea (I make the catnip tea with 2 cups of water and 2 tablespoons of catnip and heat it on low on the stove for 3 hours, covered. I suspect even though it's covered, quite a bit of the liquid escapes as steam) and some squirts of honey, not really measured, just enough to reach the desired texture. This has severely reduced the number of split ends, and also lightened my hair quite a bit.

[Chamy]

1. How do you wash your hair? How often? (include all products and rinses and special tricks you use) I CO with Faith in nature -rosemary conditioner. When i maybe three times a year clarify i do it with Faith in nature -rosemary shampoo. When hair is still wet i put John masters organics -rosemary and peppermint detangler in all the hair, then AVG in all the hair. Then a little bit of coconut oil on just the length. I wash maybe once a week, i have no regular schedule.
2. Do you oil your hair? What oil? Yes, coconut oil, i love it. After every wash, and then on the ends when i need it. Sometimes i do a deep treatment before the wash too.
3. Do you prefer 'cones? or no 'cones? Definately no cones. My hair hates them.
4. How do you brush your hair? (boar bristle brush/ wide tooth comb/ finger comb? I use a wide toothed wooden comb to detangle and a BBB for distributing oils down the length(i never detangle with this brush)
5. How do you wear your hair through the day? night? I wear i up during the day, in braids or with sticks and sometimes scrunchies, sometimes once in a while i wear it down, but not often. During the night i have it loose, and sometimes in braids.
6. Any other tips or tricks you've found that work? I S&D once in a while, but since i almost never find anything i get bored and stop. I handle my hair gently.

[Theobroma]

1. How do you wash your hair? How often? (include all products and rinses and special tricks you use)
I wash about every five days (sometimes six, can occasionally stretch to seven), shampooing once, rinsing out with water. I don't use conditioner, but I do apply coconut oil while my hair is still damp.

2. Do you oil your hair? What oil?
Coconut oil for the last couple of months or so. Before that it was jojoba for years, but coconut makes my hair softer and shinier and doesn't give it that slightly crunchy feeling that jojoba does.

3. Do you prefer 'cones? or no 'cones?
No 'cones.

4. How do you brush your hair? (boar bristle brush/ wide tooth comb/ finger comb?
Mostly just a wide tooth comb; if I need more smoothing for a 'do I'll use a brush that has wooden pegs instead of bristles. I have a bristle brush but I don't find it terribly helpful.

5. How do you wear your hair through the day? night?
Since February: Up all day, every day, with the ends tucked out of harm's way. Braided at night.

6. Any other tips or tricks you've found that work?
Not really. In my case, the thing that helped the most in improving hair health has been the oiling. Before I started oiling my hair I had masses of splits; my hair was fairly disintegrating along anything up to the last 10 or 15cm of its length. I started oiling and S&D, and now I have so few splits that I have to hunt really hard to find them. I oil after washing while my hair is still damp as well as two or three times in between washes, and I put a little oil on the end of my braid every night. I still have fairytale ends and they're too wispy for my liking, which is why I started wearing it up all the time, but I haven't been doing that for long enough to know for sure whether it'll make a big enough difference in the thickness of my hemline to be worth it. (Though I already suspect that it will.)

[cardamom]

1. How do you wash your hair? How often? (include all products and rinses and special tricks you use)

Daily CO
CWC once or twice a week
S and C once in 2 weeks for clarifying

2. Do you oil your hair? What oil?

Yes,On scalp,I use a mixture of coconut oil,sweet almond oil and castor oil.On the tips just a drop of coconut oil,while it is wet

3. Do you prefer 'cones? or no 'cones?

I love cones

4. How do you brush your hair? (boar bristle brush/ wide tooth comb/ finger comb?

I have a good detangling comb( I often misplace it)

5. How do you wear your hair through the day? night?

Usually I make an updo with a jaw clip,sometimes a folded braid secured with a scrunchy or jaw clip.When I'm reading or watching a movie,I unknowingly pull them out and start finger combing.:mad:

6. Any other tips or tricks you've found that work?

I use herbal oils,hibiscus shampoo ,coconut milk soaks,protein and moisture treatments.Above all,I've stopped visiting salons.I just do S&D once in a month or when necessary.

I'm still learning from the hair giants here!:)

[hendrix.co]

1. How do you wash your hair? How often? (include all products and rinses and special tricks you use) I CO my hair UPSIDE DOWN.
2. Do you oil your hair? What oil? I oil almost daily with a smudge of coconut.
3. Do you prefer 'cones? or no 'cones? I prefer alternate. One bottle of cones one bottle no cones.
4. How do you brush your hair? (boar bristle brush/ wide tooth comb/ finger comb? Finger comb or wide tooth comb then for pony smoothness I use bbb.
5. How do you wear your hair through the day? night? Most day's I wear it up at night I put several elastic bands in in and spread then down the length of my pony for straight hair in the morning.
6. Any other tips or tricks you've found that work? Forgetting about it.:p

[Amelia]

Bare in mind that i have been here in the LHC for a month roughly, and I'm still experimenting.
Also I thank genes that i have very little/none split ends, i believe it helps a lot.

1. How do you wash your hair? How often? (include all products and rinses and special tricks you use)
I wash my hair every four to five days, standing up in the shower. I use shampoo+ conditioner. My shampoos are all natural, cone free, some even vegan. I also wash my hair with Ghassoul clay once a month to help with my sensitive scalp.

2. Do you oil your hair? What oil?

Yes! I avoid putting any on my roots as my hair has the tendency to be oily, so I only aplly on my length the night before my wash day. I sleep with it, and the next day i just need to wash :)

3. Do you prefer 'cones? or no 'cones?
My hair seemed to liked them, but my scalp didn't. I put cones and SLS apart and my sensitive scalp as been so much better!

4. How do you brush your hair? (boar bristle brush/ wide tooth comb/ finger comb?

BBB is not for me. I have a lot of hair, and I would end up looking like a witch if I brush with one. It also doesn't penetrate my hair at all. I gave it up after a couple of weeks.

I have a wooden brush and that seems to work for me. I also recently purchased a wooden comb that put an end to the myth that i could never comb my hair lol still i'm looking for a even wider teeth comb for my curls.

5. How do you wear your hair through the day? night?
I've been putting my hair up for almost a year now. At night i also have it up in a messy bun or i braid it.

6. Any other tips or tricks you've found that work?

I've been taking vitamins for my hair (biotin) and they seemed to have worked. I don't see a difference in strength or shine, but by golly it has grown! I appear to have grown almost 4cm(1,6 in) in a month:blueeek:

[Stormsong]

My hair has ranged being very long when I was 10 to short and shoulder when adult, to now growing it long again (currently somewhere approaching BSL). I only discovered LHC once I started this most recent attempt to get it past shoulder length before giving in to the desire to get it cut into a style again, so prior to then I was pretty much the standard wash, condition, rough towel rub and brush and blow dry. Even back then I didn't have too many split ends despite the treatment :), so onto now

1. How do you wash your hair? How often? (include all products and rinses and special tricks you use) Currently I aim to wash every other day, I use a small amount of an SLS shampoo and concentrate on the scalp, then squidge suds through the length. Occasionally I use Selsun as a second shampoo if my scalp is having a flare-up. I condition using a no-cone cheapie conditioner, then finish up with an ACV rinse. I would say that the rinse has increased the shine on my hair no end, especially as I live in a very hard water area in the UK. After rinsing, I wrap a towel around to absorb some moisture, then slowly/gently comb with a wide tooth comb, and then occasionally blow dry if I need to go out without sopping wet hair
2. Do you oil your hair? What oil? I have used coconut oil, currently using Nightblooming's panacea, which I apply to the ends once dry (if I apply whilst wet/damp, it makes my hair look greasier quicker)
3. Do you prefer 'cones? or no 'cones? I used to use coney conditioners, but not since I started using Henna to colour my hair, and between the no-cones and henna, I've increased my hair volume.
4. How do you brush your hair? (boar bristle brush/ wide tooth comb/ finger comb? I use a wide tooth comb now, and it's much easier than brushing used to be!
5. How do you wear your hair through the day? night? Through the day, mostly up, quick twist up into a french pleat held up with either a stick or flexi8 for the most part, during the night i tend to wear it down unless it's warm, in which case I stick it up in a folded pony using a no-metal ponytail elastic.
6. Any other tips or tricks you've found that work? If you like being a red head, Henna works wonders for appearing natural and improving/repairing your hair (in my experience at least). Also, I use a hair dryer because I need to, but I changed how i used it. I went from hot/full speed and blasting the hair bone dry, to low heat/low speed until just slightly damp rather than sopping wet (if it's too hot for my hand, it's too hot for my hair is now what I judge by). Sometimes it's not about stopping something, it's about changing how you use it :).

[Adamia]

1. How do you wash your hair? How often? (include all products and rinses and special tricks you use) I wash my hair once every four days with baking soda.
2. Do you oil your hair? What oil? Coconut oil occasionally
3. Do you prefer 'cones? or no 'cones? No cones.
4. How do you brush your hair? (boar bristle brush/ wide tooth comb/ finger comb? Wide tooth comb.
5. How do you wear your hair through the day? night?Braids or buns during the day, braided or loose during the night.
6. Any other tips or tricks you've found that work?

[JenniferNoel]

1. How do you wash your hair? How often? (include all products and rinses and special tricks you use)
Twice a week, CWC. Baby shampoo and Main N' Tail cone free conditioner. SLS free.

2. Do you oil your hair? What oil?
I use African Royale oil blends. Super G.R.O. and Castor G.R.O.

3. Do you prefer 'cones? or no 'cones?
No cones.

4. How do you brush your hair? (boar bristle brush/ wide tooth comb/ finger comb?
Wide toothed pick comb, once per day.

5. How do you wear your hair through the day? night?
I sleep in twin english braids, and during the day the bun/braids vary.

6. Any other tips or tricks you've found that work?
Every day, no matter what, I always have some kind of oil or conditioner on the last inch of hair. When I comb, I make absolutely sure that I never hear any rips/pops, so I comb very slowly, methodically, and even mechanically. I have to have some kind of rhythm to keep myself in line, but that's just me. I haven't had a noticeable split end in about six months since I started these possibly effective routines.

[akka naeda]

1. How do you wash your hair?
Varies between using SMT as a wash and condition and using a sulphate shampoo and then SMT.
How often? (include all products and rinses and special tricks you use)
Not more frequently than once a week.
Wash as above and then ACV rinse in cold water
Air dry outside in the summer, the rest of the year I dry off the drips with a dryer not so hot it burns but probably hot enough to make some people on here feel sorry for my hair:) and then plait it to dry. At the length my hair is now, this can take 24 hours in the winter.

2. Do you oil your hair? What oil?
My own mix of oils, daily on the ends, and a heavy oiling before washing.
I try to do scalp oiling but the hair above my ears can't cope with oil - even the slightest amount shows and it appears greasy.

3. Do you prefer 'cones? or no 'cones?
No cones at present

4. How do you brush your hair? (boar bristle brush/ wide tooth comb/ finger comb?
I used to use a plastic paddle brush but it caused too much static. I haven't found a BBB which can cope with the thickness of my hair, they just skate over the top layer and at the length my hair is, sectioning it for brushing isn't easy. I use a wide-tooth wood comb instead, but occasionally brush with the paddle brush for the scalp stimulation.

5. How do you wear your hair through the day? night?
Used to be in a half up, now either in a plait or a plaited Fig 8 during the day and a single plait at night

6. Any other tips or tricks you've found that work?
All of the above I have done since finding this site 4 (?) years ago now. Prior to that I wore my hair in a half up all the time, brushed with the paddle brush and put up with the static, didn't oil it and used sulphate shampoo but no conditioner. Although my hair was very dry and the ends were velcroey, the amount of splits was minimal, and still is. All that LHC has done for me is to give me hair that doesn't feel like hay:)
I trim the ends about every 3 months, always have done.

Oh, I used to use henna, but haven't for the past 2 years now and the number of splits hasn't increased.

[Kyah]

1. How do you wash your hair? How often? (include all products and rinses and special tricks you use)
I Co wash every other day or so. I'm currently using Tresemme moisture rich Conditioner. No shampoo.
2. Do you oil your hair? What oil?
Yes, every evening with coconut oil. In the past when I used shampoos I'd add a few drops of Jojoba oil to my conditioner and loved it.
3. Do you prefer 'cones? or no 'cones?
Cones, in moderation.
4. How do you brush your hair? (boar bristle brush/ wide tooth comb/ finger comb?
I recently stopped brushing completely, now I only use a wide tooth comb and very gently.
5. How do you wear your hair through the day? night?
Down during the day, braided loosely at night
6. Any other tips or tricks you've found that work?
When my hair starts to tangle at the ends I know its time for a trim. Had a huge S&D mission a few months ago and it's really helped to keep things in check :)

[Bethany44]

1. How do you wash your hair? How often? (include all products and rinses and special tricks you use)
I was my hair every 2-3 days using Burt's Bee's Very Volumizing Shampoo and Conditioner. I couldn't do the CO washes and this has worked really well for me so far.
2. Do you oil your hair? What oil?
I use coconut oil. I put it in the night before I wash and sleep in it - then wash out in the morning. So about 3 times a week.
3. Do you prefer 'cones? or no 'cones?
No cones. Cones built up in my fine hair pretty fast. Learning to go cone-free on LHC was probably the single best thing for my hair. My hair did get a little dry after stopping the cones, but the coconut oil has fixed that.
4. How do you brush your hair? (boar bristle brush/ wide tooth comb/ finger comb?
I just use a wide tooth wood comb when it is wet. Sometimes I'll lightly brush it with a paddle brush.
5. How do you wear your hair through the day? night?
My hair is only shoulder length now, so I usually wear it down, in a small ponytail or with a side clipped back. For sleeping right now I just leave it down. When it gets longer I will probably braid it to sleep in.
6. Any other tips or tricks you've found that work?
I don't color my hair and I try really hard not to use heat which I think is the biggest thing.

[Sammich]

1. How do you wash your hair? How often? (include all products and rinses and special tricks you use)
I wash my hair twice a week, on a Sunday and then on a Wednesday! :) I first put conditioner on my length from the ears down, then pour a bit of shampoo on my hand and apply it to the scalp only, after this I rinse. Then more conditioner is then applied from the ears down and I rinse it all off.
I switch between conditioners a ton which seems to work pretty good for me, but here's a lil list of the condish's/shampoos I use(I'm all no cone!):
Conditioners:
ASDA's cherry blossom and orchid conditioner.
Elvive Nutri gloss intensive shine masque.
Supersoft bio pomegranate conditioner.
ASDA's jojoba conditioner.
Naked sensitive conditioner.
Naked smooth conditioner.
Shampoos:
Herbal Essence' it's a curl thing.
Herbal Essence's ignite my colour.
Boots coconut and almond shampoo.
Aussie's mega shampoo for clarifying.
Pantene's clarifying shampoo for clarifying.

2. Do you oil your hair? What oil?
I oil my hair with coconut oil(Vatika brand, has Indian herbs and stuff in it) when my hair is damp, sometimes I use almond oil, or my own spray formulation of almond oil, water and my favourite conditioners. :) Works quite well! I occasionally use this coney Schwartzkopf kids strawberry detangling spray, works a charm.

3. Do you prefer 'cones? or no 'cones?
No cones. Wanting some wave to appear. ;) Well... I do sort of use cones, probably once a month or two!

4. How do you brush your hair? (boar bristle brush/ wide tooth comb/ finger comb?

In the shower I detangle with my fingers when I have conditioner in my hair, after my shower when my hair is pretty much dry; I use a wide tooth wooden comb from the body shop. After my combing, I use my favourite flexible plastic brush with little nubs on top. (Mwahaha, works well for me though. *Shrug*)

5. How do you wear your hair through the day? night?
I wear my hair down most of the time in the day, if not I put it in a braid or pony. At night I wear it in a braid or two, I wake up with very little tangles.

6. Any other tips or tricks you've found that work?
I clarify once my ends start feeling sticky! :) I also S&D, it's very useful in keeping the tangles away and the ickyness of stickyness.

Hope it helped! ;)

[jenjen10]

1. How do you wash your hair? How often? (include all products and rinses and special tricks you use) I wash mine about 2-3 times per week. I use CWC
2. Do you oil your hair? What oil? Yes, coconut oil
3. Do you prefer 'cones? or no 'cones? I go back and forth on this depending on the humidity level! LOL
4. How do you brush your hair? (boar bristle brush/ wide tooth comb/ finger comb? wide tooth comb only.
5. How do you wear your hair through the day? night? Mainly up during the day and down at night.
6. Any other tips or tricks you've found that work? Benign neglect!!

[teela1978]

1. How do you wash your hair? How often? (include all products and rinses and special tricks you use)

I use an ALS shampoo usually (currently suave) that I dilute into a separate container each wash (1-2 cups of shower water, a squirt of shampoo). I find the diluted product gets to my scalp easier, allowing for less manipulation of my hair. I condition after shampooing from the ears down concentrating on the ends, comb it through, rinse out after 2-3 minutes. I usually wash every other day. Sometimes less often, sometimes more often.

2. Do you oil your hair? What oil?

Coconut oil as a pre-wash treatment, mostly on the length, every few weeks when I think about it.

3. Do you prefer 'cones? or no 'cones?

I like a middle ground. Too many cones and my hair is flat and boring, too few and my hair tangles easier and becomes more difficult to comb out. I usually keep a coney and non-cone conditioner in the shower, choosing which to use mostly on my mood. Generally I switch between the two each wash.

4. How do you brush your hair? (boar bristle brush/ wide tooth comb/ finger comb?

Wide tooth comb. I honestly don't comb my hair that much though. Usually I'll give it a quick (but careful) run through while its still damp after a shower, and in the shower while its full of conditioner... but otherwise it really only gets combed if I'm planning to wear it down. I fingercomb a couple times a day if I take it down and leave it down (e.g. when my office feels cold :)).

5. How do you wear your hair through the day? night?

Shoved up with a stick. The 'pencil bun' is my normal go-to bun. I wear cinnamon buns too, but not as often.

6. Any other tips or tricks you've found that work?

[BelleBot]

1. How do you wash your hair? How often? (include all products and rinses and special tricks you use)
Usually twice a week, though sometimes it gets washed twice at the weekend if I get all hot and sweaty from various activities. In which case I'll avoid washing it during the following week. So I usually go 3 or 4 days between washes, but if they end up only 1 or 2 days apart such as some weekends I'll then wait perhaps 5 days till the next wash. If that makes sense.
I CO, so only use conditioner. I usually use boots essentials for dry and damaged hair (58p a bottle) but I also use asda's jojoba conditioner and original source conditioner (tea tree and mint/ avocado and pear). Sometimes I'll use Naked conditioners but they're a little pricey. I cover my length in conditioner paying particular attention to my ends, I then apply conditioner to my scalp and give it a good massage. I'll leave it on for about 10 minutes. Massage my scalp again, and finger comb my length, then wash it out with warm water, followed by a shot of cold water.

2. Do you oil your hair? What oil?
I use very small amounts of coconut oil on the ends whilst damp. And at bed I'll use a handcream based on almond oil on my ends and wrap them in ribbon or a silk scrunchie so they're all soft the next morning. Need to get some actual almond oil.
I sometimes do heavy oiling with olive oil and avocado oil, but my hair doesn't like too much oil.

3. Do you prefer 'cones? or no 'cones?
Definitely no cones, that way I can see exactly what condition my hair is in, it's far cheaper and my hair is perfectly happy without them.

4. How do you brush your hair? (boar bristle brush/ wide tooth comb/ finger comb?
I comb with a wide tooth wooden comb or use a tangle teezer to detangle when damp. When I dry I use a wooden quill brush to brush my hair, and a mason pearson boar bristle brush to get it extra smooth and help distribute oils throughout my length so they're not just concentrated at the ends.
I'll comb and brush my hair morning and night, and sometimes during the day too. Keeping it tangle free helps keep it damage free.

5. How do you wear your hair through the day? night?
During the day it depends on my mood. I guess 70% of the time it's up, 30% of the time I wear it down.
At night I either bun it and secure with a small comb then wrap in a silk scarf, or braid it upside down and wrap the ends up in a silk scrunchie to protect them.
Mind you I'm a restless sleeper so usually my hair is loose and monster-fied by morning, only a braid seems to stay but then I get braid waves. I'm experimenting with rolling all my hair up into a sock bun to see if that'll survive a night of tossing and turning and hopefully I'll avoid braid waves.

6. Any other tips or tricks you've found that work?
Catnip soaks are fantastic. The best results I've found are soaking a braid in catnip tea, then letting it dry naturally without rinsing. Some people say it makes their hair sticky, but it just makes mine wonderfully soft and shiny. I also have catnip tea in a mister bottle. :) And of course S&D is great for keeping splits under control. I go for a session every week or two, but I'm finding less and less splits all the time.
Henna has also made a huge difference to the strength of my hair.
I used to be a 200+ splits a session girl several times a week, now I'm a less than 20 splits a session girl a couple of times a month.

[EbonyCurls]

1. How do you wash your hair? How often? (include all products and rinses and special tricks you use)
-Wash every 3rd or 4th morning.
-Fingercomb sections of hair before washing (while dry) to get out major tangles before getting wet.
-soak hair in shower and divide in half. Apply small palmful of V05 conditioner to each half (I find the Strawberry Moisture Milk to be the most detangling). fingercomb/detangle under running shower, then comb through with a wide-tooth comb (Mason Pearson rake)
-Apply more VO5 to each half and comb hair until it is all slicked back. Don't rinse out.
-Apply Nature's Gate Tea Tree Oil shampoo to SCALP ONLY (I love the tea-tree oil for flaky scalp because I get to go longer without washing before I get dandruff (my scalp tends to get oily flakes if I go more than a week w/out mechanically cleansing it). Vigorously massage into scalp.
- Comb/rinse out underneath shower stream, but make sure not to rub, squeeze, or soak shampoo into the length. The suds running down the length are enough to cleanse it, and the conditioner keeps the hair detangled and protected during the washing.
- Rinse thoroughly and apply Biolage Hydrotherapy conditioner. Put up in loose bun, put on shower cap, and let it absorb into hair while finishing up shower.
- Rinse.

2. Do you oil your hair? What oil? No oil. I find it blocks/wicks away moisture on my hair more so than adding or preserving it.

3. Do you prefer 'cones? or no 'cones? I never use cones in my cleansing and conditioning products, however I don't mind cones in styling products, though I don't tend to use products with a lot of them. It depends on how my hair feels with a product moreso than the ingredients (I don't make any exception for alcohol though). After 3 days, is my hair brittle, or is still supple and moisturized.

4. How do you brush your hair? (boar bristle brush/ wide tooth comb/ finger comb? Finger and wide-tooth, whole-cut/seamless comb (Mason Pearson Rake)

5. How do you wear your hair through the day? night?
Day: High Pony, Bouffant bun, loose. Night: pineapple or loose bun on top of head; sleep on satin pillowcase.
6. Any other tips or tricks you've found that work? Search and destroy every 3 months or so. Sharpen scissors at least once a year. Don't comb your ends. I comb all the way down, then detangle the ends with my fingers.

[getoffmyskittle]

I used to call myself the Split End Queen. Now I hardly have any splits.

1. How do you wash your hair? How often? (include all products and rinses and special tricks you use)

I S&C with Trader Joe's Tea Tree shampoo and Nature's Gate herbal daily conditioner or Biotera moisturizing conditioner. I switch my products up a lot, but I wash it twice a week, shampoo the scalp and let it run through the length (lather, rinse, repeat if I'm using a SLS-free shampoo), then follow up with conditioner for a few minutes. Sometimes I do ACV rinses but that's on-again off-again for whenever my scalp flares up.

2. Do you oil your hair? What oil?

YES. Coconut oil until my hair looks wet the night before I wash it.

3. Do you prefer 'cones? or no 'cones?

Either way.

4. How do you brush your hair? (boar bristle brush/ wide tooth comb/ finger comb?

Finger comb only.

5. How do you wear your hair through the day? night?

Day: usually up in a bun (and by "bun," I mean what you see in my avatar, without all the extra adornment, heh -- I don't make a point of tucking the ends in and making sure they're protected, I like it better a little loose and messy). I would say it's bun 70%, braid 20%, down 10%.
Night: loose and up over the pillow.

6. Any other tips or tricks you've found that work?

Yes, I think henna is what made the final difference for me.

[mellie89]

1. How do you wash your hair? How often? S&C every other day

2. Do you oil your hair? What oil? I use coconut oil overnight before wash days.

3. Do you prefer 'cones? or no 'cones? No cones

4. How do you brush your hair? Wooden brush from The Body Shop

5. How do you wear your hair through the day? night? Down or in a bun during the day, down or in 2 braids at night

6. Any other tips or tricks you've found that work? Genetics maybe. Even when I was straightening hair with a wet-to-dry straightener every day, my hair never had any splits.