Very dry hair

[CurlAhead]

Hello everybody :cheese:

My hair curly, and VERY VERY dry.. It is like a haystack or something.
I got it trimmed at the hairdresser today but it did not help that much, been on CO for almost 2 months and I use deep conditioner very often. But it hasn't helped at all,
i often use honey, olive-oil, different treatments you can buy in the stores, sometimes I leave it in for the night.. But .. NOTHING happens! What is wrong? Any tips? :confused:

[Antipodienne]

Do you live in a dry climate? If so, honey might be doing more harm than good, essentially pulling the moisture out of your hair rather than out of the air. Could cones or protein be to blame?

[McFearless]

Do you live in a dry climate? If so, honey might be doing more harm than good, essentially pulling the moisture out of your hair rather than out of the air. Could cones or protein be to blame?

I don't mean to hijack..but wow your hair is gorgeous!

To the OP.. no advice here sorry, I'm in the same boat:( Terribly dry hair no matter what I do.

[Viechen]

I am not sure if this will help but I find olive oil just sits on my hair and makes i 'bleh'. I have been using coconut oil for about 2 weeks not and it has been doing SO MUCH! I used to have very dry hair and now it feels smooth and silky. I just oil the ends the morning after I wash it (I was at night) and then touch up a little every morning after that until I feel like washing again, which is generally a week after. Coconut butter was kind of an experiment for me until my order of Shea butter comes in but it works so well I will probebly continue to use it along with the Shea butter :)

[HintOfMint]

If you use any products or deep conditioners with silicone in them, it could be coating your hair so that humectants can't really do their job. I know a lot of store-bought deep conditioners are loaded with silicone.

Also I second the honey and dry climate thing. Humectants in a dry climate is a disaster, unless it's in the shower and they're rinsed out.

[spidermom]

If your hair is coated with build-up, it can seem extremely dry, but it's just the buildup. Try a clarifying shampoo followed by a moisturizing conditioner (no protein) or SMT. Good luck.

[girlcat36]

Have you clarified your hair? you may have build up that is preventing moisture from getting into your hair.

Hee hee, me and spidermom posting the same thing at the same time!

[Gvnagitlvgei]

Nutrition. Try horsetail or nettles and omega-3 or natural fats like EVOO and EVCO (coconut oil) to consume daily. Drink plenty of water too.

[little_cherry]

Clarify, SMT and then hemp seed oil on damp hair over night- this always does the trick for my combination hair.

[Dragon]

Maybe Nutritional deficiencies. I’ve had anaemia and low in fatty acids due to digestive problems which caused my hair to become very dry. My hair is still a little dry even though I’m now healthy. What I find helps me is to CO wash every 5 to 7 days and do a heavy oiling with coconut oil once a month which I wash out with baby conditioning shampoo. And then condition. I do a slight oiling on my ends most days and use a leave in conditioner after washing it.

[aenflex]

After clarifying, if it were me, I would also reconsider what I'm using in my hair. Or how much, or both. You don't want to layer in product after oil atfer more product if your hair doesn't need or react well to it. I had to learn that the hard way, whay actually helped and what didn't, it's a long process. Everyone's hair is different so what works for one might not for the other.

[marobader]

I live in Egypt and I cant find any cone free products our protein free and information about products content nobody care about so I can't find clarifing shampoo is their anther way to clarify my hair as I had the same problem and my hair extremely dry

pretty hair by the way

[aenflex]

Baking soda works pretty well, marobader :) Do they have that in Egypt? I mean that question, not trying to be a smart alec :)

[marobader]

aenflex
thanks for you help
could you tell me how to use it ?
:) yes we have it
you never been to Egypt before ?
you missing alotttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt

[CurlAhead]

THANK YOU EVERYBODY for all the answers. :blossom:

How ever, I use the CO method, so I shouldn't have any silicones or build ups because I used schampoo 1 week ago to wash a product from my hair.

What is clarifying? Does it mean you wash with a schampoo who takes away all silicones and stuff like that from your hair?
I will try coconut oil... Should it be any special sort? My hair has SOME split ends, but it is not excessively.. As I said, just got a "hair cut" (cut the ends at a hairdresser) and I am going to cut soon again, but it shouldnt be a problem?

My hair has always been dry.. :(

[Othala]

My hair has always been dry.. :(

Was your hair dry when you were a child or did it start getting dry after puberty?

[little_cherry]

THANK YOU EVERYBODY for all the answers. :blossom:
I live in Sweden, and I have no idea about the climate. Anyone who does?

How ever, I use the CO method, so I shouldn't have any silicones or build ups because I used schampoo 1 week ago to wash a product from my hair.

What is clarifying? Does it mean you wash with a schampoo who takes away all silicones and stuff like that from your hair?
I will try coconut oil... Should it be any special sort? My hair has SOME split ends, but it is not excessively.. As I said, just got a "hair cut" (cut the ends at a hairdresser) and I am going to cut soon again, but it shouldnt be a problem?

My hair has always been dry.. :(
Conditioner can still build up on the hair...it is recommended that one clarifies every month or two...sometimes an ordinary sulfate shampoo isn't enough to remove buildup.


Have you tried an SMT? Those usually help me after I clarify to give me nice soft hair. Also, try oiling your hair while it is still damp (after a show or after spritzing your hair). Just section your hair gently, smooth a little oil on your palms/fingers and gently run your hands down your hair. Oiling this way helps lock in moisture. For spritzing, pour some water into a spray bottle and add a 1/2 teaspoon of glycerin...spritz hair until it is damp and then oil.

[CurlAhead]

Was your hair dry when you were a child or did it start getting dry after puberty?

I think it started when I was about 6-7 years old.. I think that also was when it startet getting curlier, but I might be totally wrong on both. Before that my hair was pretty shiny.. :confused:


Conditioner can still build up on the hair...it is recommended that one clarifies every month or two...sometimes an ordinary sulfate shampoo isn't enough to remove buildup.


Have you tried an SMT? Those usually help me after I clarify to give me nice soft hair. Also, try oiling your hair while it is still damp (after a show or after spritzing your hair). Just section your hair gently, smooth a little oil on your palms/fingers and gently run your hands down your hair. Oiling this way helps lock in moisture. For spritzing, pour some water into a spray bottle and add a 1/2 teaspoon of glycerin...spritz hair until it is damp and then oil.

I use shampoo once a month, but what shampoo should I use then? Any special ingredients?

What is SMT? When I oil my hair, the hair sucks the oil up or something? After a few minutes all oil are just gone.. Unless I take A LOT which makes the hair look greasy..
I'll see if I can get my hands on some glycerin.. Thank you!

[julliams]

Just keep up with the moisture treatments. I found it took around 8 months before my hair didn't seem "dry" anymore. My hair has always been dry and now it just looks healthy. I clarify about once a month, oil my hair using coconut oil and jojoba oil, do SMT treatments when I think of it but I was doing them weekly, do a coconut milk soak (put light coconut milk on your hair for about an hour before washing) as well as use a leave in.

Persevere and you should see some improvement gradually.

[nenasylvia]

Have you tried wetting it, not soaking, but just damp to the touch every morning? Also, are you sleeping on cotton or some other absorbent fabric. I would try a silky pillow cover.

[manderly]

Do you use any leave ins? I know my hair won't be happy if it doesn't have a handfull of conditioner left in it. Curlies are notorious for having dry hair :)

[Anje]

I would suggest clarifying, as everyone else has said... Look for a "clarifying shampoo" or failing that, a shampoo with sodium lauryl sulfate or ammonium lauryl sulfate that's transparent and doesn't have silicones or proteins/amino acids or the like in it.

Try following that up with an SMT. Here's the link to that monster thread. (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=128) That's very moisturizing to most people. Many of us also find that mixing honey or molasses or another sugar syrup into our conditioner just before putting it on our heads makes it more moisturizing.

If your hair sucks up oil, I'd say it probably needs it. Maybe try oiling it really heavily the night before you CO wash it, to give it a chance to absorb as much as possible and then remove the excess without stripping it. When it's had enough, it won't absorb as much anymore.

Marobader, do products have ingredients listed on them? Ingredients lists are usually the best way to find the products that you're looking for, and after a while you become an expert at deciphering them. Protein is often listed as keratin, collagen, or amino acids (sometimes including specific amino acid names) -- you'll have to translate those yourself, I'm afraid. Depending on what your hair likes, you may want to seek these out or avoid them.

[Othala]

I'm just wondering now if you have a condition called cheveux incoiffables.