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puredoxyk
May 13th, 2008, 02:35 PM
Ooookaaaay...this is new. My hair has started hating conditioner!

The only conditioner that doesn't turn me into a total greaseball is my lightest stuff, the LUSH "Jungle" bar, which is barely even as thick as a leave-in, and I think even that might be making my hair limp and dull. (I used it today and you'd think I hadn't washed my hair for at least 2 days, the way it looks, all dark and stringy.) Regular non-cone conditioner has started making my hair ridiculously oily, and I've never had even slightly oily hair!

I'm still doing Baking-soda only washes (+ACV rinses) 1-2 times a week, and gentle shampoo the rest of the time, but I've been doing that a while and I didn't notice a change until recently! I've also switched totally from plastic brushes and combs to BBs and horn combs, because they work so much better and make my hair so much nicer, plus controlling the static. Again though, I made this switch a few months ago, and the conditioner-hating has only started in the last 2 weeks. (It came with the warmer weather maybe?) Maybe it is the baking soda though...when I started using it, it made my hair very soft and light (floaty, even), but it hasn't had that effect in a while now. Not that shampoo is any better though. Grr.

Anyway, without any conditioner, my hair is dry and frizzy-like -- lots of flyaways -- and apparently I can't use any conditioner anymore. My hair's been some combination of limp, greasy, dry, and frizzy for almost a month now -- can somebody help me??

Thanks all!

spidermom
May 13th, 2008, 02:47 PM
Never a dull moment, eh? I really hate baking soda in hair. It doesn't make any sense to me to use something that forces the cuticle to lift, which all alkaline products do. The flatter/tighter the cuticle stays, the better the condition of the hair. I think the baking soda caused your trouble. Your hair now looks dull and soaks up too much conditioner because the cuticle is no longer flat and tight. I'm sure the baking soda lovers will come along pretty soon and tell you that is not the case, however.

A routine like this might bring your hair back around to normal: apply conditioner to length, dilute shampoo and apply to scalp, massage scalp, rinse well. No second application of conditioner.

Katurday
May 13th, 2008, 02:50 PM
Have you considered trying a conditioning shampoo?
I've only heard of ones with cones, though I'm sure you can find one without them.

Have you also considered a TINY amount of coconut/jojoba/olive oil?
I understand you have greasy problems, but perhaps a tiny amount to apply to dry areas and to pat down flyways will help.

Maybe oiling your hair heavily before the wash should help it out a little.

Culdayne
May 13th, 2008, 03:29 PM
Not really much to add, just wanted to say sorry you are going through this. I can relate! I don't use baking soda as a clarifier, though. I do have to be careful to use not too heavy of a conditioner, but even so....mid-day I can tend to get oily near the crown. I have recently added Indigo to my henna. :shrug:

Spidermom, that is an excellent suggestion! I think I will try that.

camillacamilla
May 13th, 2008, 03:35 PM
I agree with what Spidermom said....I would quit the baking soda. I have tried it and it did nothing good for my hair. Also, I see like me, you are in your 30s- I don't know about you, but my hormones get ALL out of whack sometimes. Possibly a hormonal shift could be causing the greasies in your scalp.

jojo
May 13th, 2008, 06:25 PM
i too have gone right off baking soda makes my hair really dry, but i have just tried a herbal conditioning rinse (burdock root) and my hair loves it!

have you considered these?

Kirin
May 13th, 2008, 06:59 PM
I'd quit with the baking soda, on me it makes my hair dry as the saharah and tangly matted mess. Also what is your "gentle shampoo" it might be you have build up going on as well. Baking soda does not nessisarily clarify, and you may have build up of all sorts of things in your hair.

I would suggest a clarifying shampoo, just not suave as it containes dimithicone.

LaCitoyenne
May 13th, 2008, 07:24 PM
I'm not too sure whether my hair likes baking soda, but I don't think so. But in any case my hair is less dry and more manageable since transitioning to CWC. I find I have to rinse my hair well under the bathtub faucet to really get all the conditioner out. Then I use a vinegar rinse to take out whatever lingers. The only thing I want in my hair once it's dried is a bit of BWC leave-in.

Nat242
May 13th, 2008, 08:16 PM
I'd quit baking soda and try diluted shampoo.

My hair rejected conditioner recently, so I've started just diluted poo on the scalp, followed by a light oiling if required. Another thing I'm trying is a fenugreek rinse as conditioner, it's working well so far. My hair is doing much better now, but if you keep using BS, which is very drying, you might find skipping conditioner leaves you with worse hair.

-- Natalie

missy60
May 13th, 2008, 08:41 PM
Some hair just doesnt need conditioner maybe just a light leave in. I have to agree I would quit the baking soda though you are probally gettting the rebound effect I have heard talked about here. The scalp oil is over compensating for the drying effects from the baking soda.

puredoxyk
May 13th, 2008, 08:51 PM
Thank you, everyone! I definitely hear the suggestion to quit baking soda. (It worked so nicely for a while...but yes, things have been going downhill for some time now, and I suspect that those of you who suspect it are correct.)

My gentle shampoo is Lush's basic bar-shampoo, trichomania or whatever they call it, and it's always been super-good to my hair; maybe I should start using it exclusively (I don't usually because it's pricey, but I happen to have some extra laying around atm). I will definitely try the conditioner-first routine for a few; then I guess it'll be back to experimenting until I find something that doesn't freak my hair out!

Thanks again for all the very helpful advice (and any which follows)!

Hypnotica
May 14th, 2008, 01:11 AM
Never a dull moment, eh? I really hate baking soda in hair. It doesn't make any sense to me to use something that forces the cuticle to lift, which all alkaline products do. The flatter/tighter the cuticle stays, the better the condition of the hair. I think the baking soda caused your trouble. Your hair now looks dull and soaks up too much conditioner because the cuticle is no longer flat and tight. I'm sure the baking soda lovers will come along pretty soon and tell you that is not the case, however.

A routine like this might bring your hair back around to normal: apply conditioner to length, dilute shampoo and apply to scalp, massage scalp, rinse well. No second application of conditioner.

Yes, I'm here! :p

My hair will.not.behave without baking soda. But we all have our quirks...

jel
May 14th, 2008, 03:52 AM
Does Lush Jungle conditioner contain cocoa butter? I find that builds up on my hair terribly, leaving it dark, stringy, limp and dull, but very soft... Also, it was not possible to remove it with baking soda (actually it made it even stringier and greasier looking), just a regular sulphate shampoo.

Deborah
May 14th, 2008, 04:06 PM
Back when I used shampoo (wow, that's a long time ago!) I found that I could most times just end with an acv rinse, and my hair was clean and happy. The vinegar removed any shampoo residue, and my hair was just fine.

This might surprise you, but maybe your hair simply does not need conditioner. Try the acid rinse. This will counter any bad effects caused by the shampoo. Sometimes we make it too complicated, thinking that we always need more products, when maybe we need less.

Good luck with finding something that works well for you. :flower:

getoffmyskittle
May 14th, 2008, 04:09 PM
Yeah, quit the baking soda. My hair behaved EXACTLY LIKE THAT on baking soda/ACV right before it turned into a disgusting, dry, tangled pile of ENORMOUS forked split ends. NEVER AGAIN.