COing for a week and a half, colored hair, now its...

[threelilbirds]

DRY DRY DRY!! Like straw. I did it yesterday, and afterwards only used conditioner to wash. I am using Giovanni Tea Tree Oil conditioner. Sooo yesterday, my hair was beautiful after I washed out the color, and even this morning it looked great when I woke up..shoulda left it, but I worked out and was all sweaty. Well, I washed it, no poo, and, yes I do blow dry:bigeyes:, but is is really like straw today. Could it be from the color, which was a semi permanent? Does anyone have a good suggestion to add a little more moisture back in???? waaaaaaaa:wail:...

[LittleOrca]

Put down the blowfryer... at least until you solve this problem. There are lots of people here who use one, but I think that in this case if your hair is dry like straw it might be more of a problem than solution at the moment.

Maybe your hair has different needs that need to be provided to it that the the type of conditioner you are using can't provide. I have not used that kind, does it have cones in it? Maybe you are a cone head? If you hate cones and want to steer clear of them, I am sure some of the no-cones gals (and guys) can help you out better than I could in that area.

In my experience, while dye had made my hair smooth and pretty for a little white, soon after it was a mess, hence why I am growing out my virgin hair and having to live with the fact that my hair will most likely not gain any real length until all the dyed and damaged areas of my hair are gone. I am not sure how long your hair is now, but the sooner you nip this problem in the butt, the better your hair will be in the future when you are growing it to _____ inches / cm.

Have you looked into some of the deep treatments (DTs) that are offered on this forum? I don't have the links to some of them atm, but I am sure someone else coming through will post them. :) They might help your hair.

I assume that you are getting proper nutrition as well since that can effect your hair. Strong and soft hair needs a strong and healthy root to grow from :).

[threelilbirds]

No, no cones, cone free here. and this is the first day I have had this problem. Nutrition could be better, but its not horrible, and I take vitamins all the time... I do agree that I should stop blow drying till I get this figured out , though..

[little_cherry]

Did you clarify your hair before you went CO? It sounds like you have quite a bit of build up going on which makes hair feels like straw.

Also, does your conditioner have protein in it?

[threelilbirds]

Well, I used the Giovanni clarifying shampoo, and I rinsed with ACV. It does not have protein to my knowledge.....panthenol is an ingredient, is that a protein? It is basically alot of essential oils...water, pantenol...ooohh..cetyl alcohol, stearly alcohol, is that bad? I actually bought this condish recommended from this site..



Did you clarify your hair before you went CO? It sounds like you have quite a bit of build up going on which makes hair feels like straw.

Also, does your conditioner have protein in it?

[little_cherry]

Well, I used the Giovanni clarifying shampoo, and I rinsed with ACV. It does not have protein to my knowledge.....panthenol is an ingredient, is that a protein? It is basically alot of essential oils...water, pantenol...ooohh..cetyl alcohol, stearly alcohol, is that bad? I actually bought this condish recommended from this site..
panthenol is vitamin B5...your conditioner sounds like, well, conditioner! So your conditioner doesn't have any You may need to clarify once more, do a deep moisturising treatment (perhaps an SMT (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=128)) followed by an ACV rinse. How are you doing your ACV rinse?

These ingredients are known to be proteins:
Amino acids
Silk
Wheat
Hydrolized
Keratin
Collagen

Also. some coconut conditioners may have protein.

[Anje]

It might be the color, might possibly be buildup. Cetyl alcohol and stearyl alcohol are moisturizing alcohols in the conditioner -- they do more good than harm for just about everyone. (Actually, I'm surprised to see how far they are down the list compared to the EOs... That might not be moisturizing enough.) I see soya protein listed in the conditioner ingredients list -- as a protein, it can cause dryness and buildup for some folks but not others.

Because you just dyed, I'm not going to suggest clarifying. At least, not yet. Instead, how about an SMT (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=128) with a modification: Instead of honey, I want you to use maple syrup or corn syrup or molasses (only if you dyed dark). Basically, a sugar syrup other than honey, because you probably don't want to risk any lightening at this point. They all have similar humectant properties.

If that doesn't cut it, you may need to try a different conditioner with more moisturizing ingredients like those alcohols. I'm hooked on the Suave Naturals line, and the VO5 conditioners are also popular. You may also want to try one with no proteins (all the Suave Naturals except coconut, you'll have to read the ingredients lists with the VO5 condishes).

Hope that helps!

[threelilbirds]

Thanks for the help! I will try the SMT. I actually have fressh aloe outside, a ton of it, and molasses (i did go dark, trying to get back to my natural color)! When I read the ingredients for the Giovanni Tea Tree Triple Threat, it does not list soya protein..unless there is some scientific name other than "soya protein", that I just dont get, lol:o. I was wondering if maybe this wasnt going to be moisturising enough for me, but since I was going CO, I didnt want to get something that was too moisturising, which this seemed it would be right down the middle, but maybe it is a little too far to the left..:p:confused:, also, it smells delish, I love minty...


It might be the color, might possibly be buildup. Cetyl alcohol and stearyl alcohol are moisturizing alcohols in the conditioner -- they do more good than harm for just about everyone. (Actually, I'm surprised to see how far they are down the list compared to the EOs... That might not be moisturizing enough.) I see soya protein listed in the conditioner ingredients list -- as a protein, it can cause dryness and buildup for some folks but not others.

Because you just dyed, I'm not going to suggest clarifying. At least, not yet. Instead, how about an SMT (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=128) with a modification: Instead of honey, I want you to use maple syrup or corn syrup or molasses (only if you dyed dark). Basically, a sugar syrup other than honey, because you probably don't want to risk any lightening at this point. They all have similar humectant properties.

If that doesn't cut it, you may need to try a different conditioner with more moisturizing ingredients like those alcohols. I'm hooked on the Suave Naturals line, and the VO5 conditioners are also popular. You may also want to try one with no proteins (all the Suave Naturals except coconut, you'll have to read the ingredients lists with the VO5 condishes).

Hope that helps!

[threelilbirds]

BTW, it is triple treat! Not triple threat!!! lol:D



Thanks for the help! I will try the SMT. I actually have fressh aloe outside, a ton of it, and molasses (i did go dark, trying to get back to my natural color)! When I read the ingredients for the Giovanni Tea Tree Triple Threat, it does not list soya protein..unless there is some scientific name other than "soya protein", that I just dont get, lol:o. I was wondering if maybe this wasnt going to be moisturising enough for me, but since I was going CO, I didnt want to get something that was too moisturising, which this seemed it would be right down the middle, but maybe it is a little too far to the left..:p:confused:, also, it smells delish, I love minty...

[threelilbirds]

How are you doing your ACV rinse?


I diluted about 2 T of the ACV in a cup of water..and then did it after my condish was rinsed out completely.

[chelles2kids]

DRY DRY DRY!! Like straw. I did it yesterday, and afterwards only used conditioner to wash. I am using Giovanni Tea Tree Oil conditioner. Sooo yesterday, my hair was beautiful after I washed out the color, and even this morning it looked great when I woke up..shoulda left it, but I worked out and was all sweaty. Well, I washed it, no poo, and, yes I do blow dry:bigeyes:, but is is really like straw today. Could it be from the color, which was a semi permanent? Does anyone have a good suggestion to add a little more moisture back in???? waaaaaaaa:wail:...

You need to get rid of the Giovanni TT conditioner, especially if you're CO'ing.
You need something not quite as harsh for you're hair.

Yes, I realize you've been doing it for 1.5 weeks now and you didn't mention if you'd been using the same conditioner all along but if so, its possible that its taken this long for the dryness to set in. Maybe the conditioner had a reaction right away to the coloring, I don't know...I'm not knowlegdeable enough with hair coloring to say.

But I have used the Giovanni Tea Tree conditioner and it's very drying, even though it's sold as a conditioner, obviously it's because of the tea tree oil in it.
I would suggest trying to find a more 'conditioning' conditioner as Anje suggested, the VO5, White Rain or Suave conditioners are all very popular for CO'ing.
I personally try not to use a conditioner with 'cones on my scalp, for my 'wash' portion of my CO because it tends to build up quickly and makes my scalp itch as well.
Then I use a 2nd conditioner for my length with 'cones which I rinse out sometimes but sometimes I just use a quarter sized dollop and then just rub down my ends and then squeeze the water out aftewards but do not rinse it out, I use it almost like a leave-in I guess you could say.

Good Luck to you though, I hope you get it figured out soon.:grouphug:

[cariboo]

I am very new, and this might be a silly idea, but how about using oil? I just started COing, but I reckon I'm going to do an overnight oil treatment followed by a CWC the next morning for at least the first few weeks, just so my hair doesn't go into shampoo-withdrawal...! So far so good & my hair seems WAY happier than it did a week ago

Good luck!

x

[cariboo]

I am very new, and this might be a silly idea, but how about using oil? I just started COing, but I reckon I'm going to do an overnight oil treatment followed by a CWC the next morning for at least the first few weeks, just so my hair doesn't go into shampoo-withdrawal...! So far so good & my hair seems WAY happier than it did a week ago

Good luck!

x

Sorry - forgot to say - I'm using Faith in Nature seaweed conditioner (which is cone-free, as well as being bio-degradable and therefore not killing the fish, which is always a bonus...!) and using straight coconut oil for the deep treatment

:)

[sleepingIn]

Just wanted to chime in that I too had less than stellar results from the Giovanni Tea tree oil CO. This was prior to finding the LHC, but none the less it made my hair feel AWFUL. Took me forever to seek out WHAT was doing it to my hair, I almost chopped it all off!

I would definitely recommend a moisturizing treatment, particularly the SMT (be VERY careful not to use an CO that has a protein hidden inside. Maybe go for Suave pomegranate Conditioner, as its safe) and let your hair drink up the lipids. It needs some serious TLC and I would highly recommend staying far away from blow drying until your hair recovers. I know its hard to do when youre used to the dryer, but your hair will thank you for it.

[Carolyn]

I'd also recommended switching your conditioner. Get something cheap and runny with no cones. That seems to work the best for most people. I wouldn't clarify since you've just recently colored. I have my hair dyed and I have excellent results with CO washing.