Shine help

[breezefaerie]

I am in need of your advice. My hair has lost it's shine.

I have fine, thin, straight hair that used to be very shiny and glossy. Since I've been growing it again, my hair is not shiny.

I live in an area with hard water but I rent and can't justify a shower filter. I also can't justify buying filtered water just for my hair.
I have used cones, been cone free, oiled and not oiled, with no difference to my hair. I don't brush but use a horn comb or a shower comb. My hair loves honey and is ok with protein.
The only heat styling I use is on my bangs.

I also henna. This used to give me tremendous shine but not any more.

Any advice is appreciated!

[Gumball]

I am in need of your advice. My hair has lost it's shine.

I have fine, thin, straight hair that used to be very shiny and glossy. Since I've been growing it again, my hair is not shiny.

I live in an area with hard water but I rent and can't justify a shower filter. I also can't justify buying filtered water just for my hair.
I have used cones, been cone free, oiled and not oiled, with no difference to my hair. I don't brush but use a horn comb or a shower comb. My hair loves honey and is ok with protein.
The only heat styling I use is on my bangs.

I also henna. This used to give me tremendous shine but not any more.

Any advice is appreciated!

For the hard water what about a filtered shower head? It's a lot cheaper! Some oils can impart a great shine.

[Khiwanean]

Have you done ACV rinses?

[GRU]

Have you tried clarifying to get the hard water deposits off your hair?

And adding an ACV to help keep them from building up?

[serious]

Cocoa butter mixed with conditioner and used as a DT adds a lot of shine to my hair!

And, I second the ACV rinse suggestion.

[adler]

I third the ACV. It's done wonders to my hair :bounce: . A little coconut oil can add some blazing shine too! :sun:

[spidermom]

Get a photo of your hair under bright light (or with a flash) for maximum shine. Depending on the lighting, my hair can appear more or less shiny, sometimes downright dull. It looks non-shiny to me in the bathroom.

[breezefaerie]

I have been doing AVC rinses on and off for several weeks now with no change. I also do heavy pre-wash oiling with coconut oil. I have also used olive and jojoba oils.

I clarify with a SLS or baking soda wash about once a week.

I really can't justify a shower filter in a rental place right now. It's an added expense for me.

Thanks for all the ideas - please keep them coming!

[littlenvy]

Whenever I run out of distilled water I just use pre-boiled water. Put a pot on the stove, boil for about 3-5 minutes and wait for it to cool down.
Sometimes I will wait until the next morning.
It makes the water much softer and takes away some of the chlorine as well. :) Cheap and easy.

[Hana]

Maybe you are clarifying too much? Give it a break, see if there's any difference.

Or, maybe it's time to experiment with different shampoos/conditioners.

[SpinDance]

Good idea about boiling the water. In my hard water area that always results in deposits on the pan and tiny white bits that float to the bottom, the previously dissolved minerals.

I found that it took several months of regular oiling before I really noticed more shine. I did a clarifying shampoo & conditioner (Suave) in there, too, which made it feel dry, so I did more conditioning and oiling. I hope that these results continue and continue to improve.

Best of luck in finding what works for you, your hair and your circumstances!

[Kristin]

Coconut oiling on a regular basis. I also tried a new conditioner last night and my hair is more shiny than usual today. It is Avalon Organics Nourishing Lavender. Make sure you get the new formulation if you decide to try it. ( At least that's what I tried and it gave me shine)

[Darkhorse1]

spidermom made a good point--some lighting can make your hair look dull---my bathroom lighting makes my hair look duller than it is.

I actually had this problem myself many years ago--do you by chance work outdoors? This is what damaged my hair--the sun. It bleached it out and nothing I did brought back shine, except when I finally colored it (semi-permanent colors make hair shiny) to get rid of my gray.

Since then, I've been really careful about how I wear my hair when riding/teaching/coaching outdoors (I work with horses) Hats are a must, but also covering the hair too--a simple braid will still discolor in direct sunlight.

What I did that helped with shine was this:
olive oil---wet hair down and focus on the hair where you feel it is dull (I don't oil my scalp as I have an oily scalp). Once hair is wet, add oil. Massage into hair. You can let it sit if you want--I'm too ADD to do that ;) Then, use Herbal Essence clarifying shampoo (this is the mildest one I have used) and make sure your hair is squeaky clean when done (or else it'll be oily still and look stringy). Then, condition as normal. I noticed a HUGE change in my hair and how it looked after I used olive oil--the shine was amazing.

Hope that helps!

[breezefaerie]

Thanks everyone - I knew I could count on you for great answers!

I will definitely try boiling the water to rinse my hair with. I'll also try doing a heavy oiling with olive oil as I used it very lightly previously.
I do work indoors so it's not the elements.

[Mariah!!]

i use hair silk (silk treatment) by either chi, bio silk or "generic value products"- thats the actual brand name! lol! and i also would suggest shine serum. try going to the store and just looking at all the stuff. there is many products that make your hair shiney. but silk actually repairs hair. it actually becomes part of the hair follicles when you put a little heat on it (like quickly going over hair with a straightening iron). my friend uses it and i use it and it works so well its not even funny. i think you lost your shine because its damaged.

[pennylane]

Honey will do the trick. ;)

Honey is great for shine! :)

[irisheyes]

I have hard water too. I found the easiest solution was to clarify whenever my hair started to get stiff and brittle. I had no shine as well but considered that the least of my problems. I recently found Ion swimmers shampoo and that works even better than the Suave clarifying that I was using. It's sulfate free so maybe I can use it more often. I don't use any kind of styling product anymore and that also makes a huge difference. Now I see Ion has a product called Hard Water Shampoo. I'm going to try that next. You can get Ion at Sally's Beauty Supply or online if there isn't a store near you. And my hair is shiney again after several years of trying everything under the sun-and all I was doing was causing a massive buildup!

[Jezerellica]

I also have water difficulties. You could try saving rain water! I don't know your living environment but it is grreat for a final rinse!

[1953Diygal]

I know I'll probably get flamed for blasphemy, but if your hair doesn't mind cones, those new Pantene damage repair ampules give great shine (albeit a coney shine.... ;) )

[Darkhorse1]

Oh--one other tip--cold water rinses. Not icy cold but I love the feel on my scalp with a cool water rinse, and I've noticed an increase in my shine.

Keep in mind, I read somewhere that getting shiny blond hair is almost impossible--something about how the cuticle lays and how light reflects off of darker hair colors. Now, if I can remember where I read that, I'd link the article for you ;)

[countryhopper]

*beer rinses
*honey treatments
*brushing with a boar bristle brush (smooths natural oils)

How hot is the water you wash with? Maybe it couldl be stripping your hair of oils? I'd also try stretching out washes if you haven't already

[stkl]

my hair is quite coarse and never shines, and ilike you ive tried alot of the ususal methods (vinegar, honey, cold water etc). the only thing i found that got the kind of shine that i wanted was a gloss treatment. im not sure how damaging it is but it says its amonnia peroxide etc free and i havent had any trouble so far. i live in the uk and you can get them off the internet and there not that expensive. clairol jazzing is about $4 over here and matrix prizms (my personal favourite) $11 and i can get about 2-3 glosses from each bottle (BSL hair). its done wonders for me, but good luck with whatever you do :)

[sherigayle]

I did a conditioning treatment yesterday and got tons of shine. I mixed Mane and Tail conditioner and Karo syrup and left it on my hair for an hour.

[breezefaerie]

Thanks everyone for the responses - I have a lot of experimenting to try!

[HintOfMint]

Oh--one other tip--cold water rinses. Not icy cold but I love the feel on my scalp with a cool water rinse, and I've noticed an increase in my shine.

Keep in mind, I read somewhere that getting shiny blond hair is almost impossible--something about how the cuticle lays and how light reflects off of darker hair colors. Now, if I can remember where I read that, I'd link the article for you ;)

I read the opposite actually. That blond hair actually reflects more light than darker hair (on average), however, because there is little contrast between the gleaming part and the rest of the hair, we don't see blond hair as actually being shinier.