What's the one popular technique that did not work for you.

[ajr]

I thought this might be a fun thread. I live for funny stories. So what's the treatment, hair toy, tool, style etc that a lot of people on this board like but it just never worked out for you.

I am cursed with SMT's and I do not know what it is. One day I'm going to have to try each ingredient seperately and figure out the culprit. I've tried it 3 times and each one my hair dried in sticky clumps all over my head, sort of a faux dreadlock look. I love Quattro sticks for damp bunning but they will not hold my hair if it's dry. Oh and when it comes to wrapped buns I am utterly inept. :mad:

[Silver Strands]

I'm with you on the SMT's.
I can't get the smell of whatever conditioner
I use out for weeks after no matter how
many times I wash or with what.

It's like it bonds to my hair.

[icydove]

Another vote for SMTs. My hair doesn't appreciate large quantities of honey left on my hair, or a lot of AVG for that matter.

[Ohio Sky]

I love SMTs, but I seem to be one of few who really, truly cannot get along with shampoo bars in any degree.

[wintersun99]

.............

[Nightshade]

SMT didn't work for me either :(
CO worked, but I get much better results with CWC and it doesn't take half a damn hour.

OCM made my face asplode, but that's slightly off the topic of hair. :p

ETA: It'd be lots of fun to add a poll to this, is that possible? We could have all the major washing techniques and deep treatments (WO/CO/CWC, SMT/Fox Shea Creme, etc)

[ajr]

I love SMTs, but I seem to be one of few who really, truly cannot get along with shampoo bars in any degree.


Oh I had almost forgot, this was one thing that actually made me a bit sad. I really wanted those to work on my hair.

[Tabitha]

Another vote for SMTs ... disastrous. :(

[Stagecoach]

CO is my defiant method. I shed like crazy on it, regarless what what brand of conditioner I use. :(

[Guenever]

I haven't experimented that much - but I do have a few failures..

- CO'ing (long soak and short soak): itchy, greasy scalp and "blah"-length..
- SMTs: kind of the same reasult as CO..
- ACV: sorry, what was the desired effect again? I got nothing besides smelly hair :P
- Any technique including shea butter, banana, vinegar, mayo and avocado.

[froglet]

Oh, shampoo bars!

Soap + hard water + my hair = a waxy tangled mess...
shudder:

[Tangles]

CO CO CO CO CO.
I need a little bit of shampoo every time I wash or my hair becomes spaghetti.

[Morticia]

CO didn't work for me.

Trying to stretch out washings didn't work, either.

And, any kind of leave-in definitely doesn't work.

[eadwine]

Damp bunning is a must for me, almost everything falls out when dry.

Misting the hair before oiling, big nono for me.

Sometimes I hate not having coarse hair, it stays up much easier hehe

[Islandgrrl]

ACV - smelly, nasty, sticky hair. Did I mention SMELLY?????
Plopping - I can't figure out why this is the horrible disaster it is, but it is.
AVG - as a leave-in, just not happening for me at all. Leaves my hair crispy. Blech.

[Dulci]

Oiling, misting, SMTs, ACV, honey, aloe, and deep treatments of any kind involving kitchen ingredients make my hair unhappy.

[talullah]

CO is the most popular technique that didn't work for me, but plopping is a much more humorous failure. It makes my hair look like something out of a horror movie.

[anna1850]

Combing: I know everyone says you should comb instead of brushing, but for me it just takes all my tiny knots and turns them into 1 giant concentrated one. And the bigger the gaps between the teeth, the worse the effect. I've tried so many times but I'm sticking with brushing now.

CO: greasy hair, massive buildup.

AVG: Does nothing and makes my hair and skin feel drier somehow?

SMT: Only tried it once but it left flakes of solid conditioner stuff in my hair and it was hard to get them all out.

[Curlsgirl]

Honey part of the SMT, it's great without it though.
AVG in damp hair as a leave-in. Blecky hair.
CO makes my scalp itch like CRAZY after one day.
Shampoo bars after the first couple of times, probably my hard water too.
Plopping doesn't do much if anything any way I have tried it.
ACV rinse can't tell much difference one way or the other

Great idea for a thread!

[magicatt]

I have a couple of things that didn't work.

I simply can't stretch out my washings--no matter what wash method I'm using. My scalp gets super oily and itchy and then starts breaking out. Not a pretty sight.

I can't use shampoo bars either, which is so sad because I wanted them to work. My water is beyond hard, though, so my hair became a sticky, tangled mess.

[Leisa]

conditioner

[missy60]

AVG as a leave in makes my hair dry
CO my hair loved it but I shed so much more
Shampoo bars OMG the worst thing I tried yet, but I do have hard water

Leisa you only tried conditioner after coming to this site?

[PatGear]

shampoo bar: waxy, dry hair even when my water was softened
plopping: comes out kinky in unattractive ways.

[Riot Crrl]

Anything involving going more than two days without getting it wet and adding more conditioner. Dry crispy horror.

Plopping. The dreaded MS Paint line tool curls. Some of them are such sharp angles that I fear the white dots of breakage.

Not brushing ever. Hair is perfectly happy, but my scalp neeeeeeds a brush over it now and then.

Almost all styles except for like three of them, but that's definitely operator error.

[QueenBea]

I tried the shampoo bars for 2 months straight. And while they weren't TERRIBLE, they left my hair not-so-soft. We have moderately hard water though.

I'm trying CO-ing now and diluted shampoo once or twice a week and so far, so good. I need to find a good conditioner though.

Bea

[Kiraela]

Cone free - Dry, crunchy, breaky ends. Yick.



French twists... I've got photos. IDK why, I'm just NOT able to get it.

Braiding in any direction but down. my one attempt at crown braiding ended up with me spending four HOURS attempting to detangle. :(

[MemSahib]

Can I list more than one?

1. Apple cider vinegar dries my hair to a frazzle.

2. SMT? Why bother? My hair is already so slick and silky I don't need this.

3. Frequent misting or damp bunning. Uh, no — not for my fine hair. Not good. The moisture makes my hair shaft swell and lifts the cuticle.

4. Any variation of WO, SO or CO. Somehow it seems OK for a little bit, then really goes downhill.

5. Deep oil treatments. How DO you get this stuff out of your hair?

I suspect there are more but these will do for my contribution. :cheese:

[Elainehali]

There are a few styles that my hair just wont do. French twist or french braid. (Maybe it's a french thing?):shrug:

I try not to serch and destroy anymore. I just get antsy and do an all over trim.

[Leisa]

Leisa you only tried conditioner after coming to this site?


Hi Missy:), no, but I didn't realize what a disaster it was for me until I came to LHC and tried other methods of hair care.:)

[BlndeInDisguise]

Oil. Not that it was disastrous by ANY stretch, but it was disappointing. Everybody is always gushing about how much they love coconut oil or whatever oil--how it makes their hair SO shiny. My hair says "Shiny?? Uh-uh!" And dulls way down.

My hair is actually quite forgiving. I've never had it get really crunchy or anything. It just sort of goes along to get along with products that I've tried.

[mira-chan]

SMT, as my hair apparently hates honey and aloe.

Misting, especially with any humecant added.

[CurlyNinja]

Nightshade, I would have forgotten all about my OCM disaster if it wasn't for you! It seemed great...for a few days. Then my entire face was covered in pimples. Le sigh.

I plopped for a while...eh.
CO had a good run but eventually quit working and now I have to CWC.
Detangling after hair is dry...oh HELL no.

[Carolyn]

Shampoo bars were a disaster. My hair was a lank, dull, gunky mess. Aubrey Organics were awful too, just not quite as bad as the CV poo bars. I've tried not brushing. That didn't work. My scalp likes to be brushed. Also going more than 4 days at the most leaves me with dry, brittle ends and a totally gunky scalp. My hair needs to get wet every couple of days and it likes to be coated with conditioner from the roots to the ends. I should also mention braid waves are a horror on me.

[toodramatik]

CO worked for a long time with me but eventually it started weighing my hair down.

I used an olive oil shampoo bar [cant remember the brand] which was absolutely grotty on my hair. Smelling like olive oil + being like dry leaves to touch = not good result!

[teeleigh]

aloe vera gel leaves my hair drier and tangled. My hair hates brushing and don't even think about BBB's- I unfortunately tried using one and it made every hair stick straight out sideways full of static electricity!

[Teacherbear]

Oiling
Deep conditioning
heat caps
plopping
using a bbb
finger combing
combing only
water only

The list goes on and on and on.

[Isilme]

CO! Clean scalp, lank buildupy length, and just generally gross. And let's not talk about the syntetic overpowering conditioner smell everytime I got sweaty, felt like I hadn't rinsed out a bit of it (and yes, I rinsed, rinsed and rinsed)
Oil, my hair seems to hate oil with a passion, every single oil I have tried has turned my hair into a dry crunchy mess, oiling on damp hair as well as wet or dry.
Plopping, more waves for half an hour, then just übertangly hair (my hair doesn't like to be moved too much) and back to my normal waves.
Protein, dry brittle hair.

[Anje]

Aloe gel -- does not make the flyaway tufts stay down, but does tend to make them spikey. It also makes my skin feel dried, not moisturized.
Shampoo bars -- I tried to make them work, but my hair was always a bit stiff and dry with them.
Henna -- I love henna, but I always get itchy bumps around my scalp after using it, and it dries out my hair. It doesn't look like an allergic rash, but I don't understand how everyone else speaks of marvelous hair post-henna while mine needs a while to recover. ETA: Because I've been asked, I get this even when I make the mix with henna and water only, or henna, water, and conditioner. It was worse when I made my mix with lemon juice as the primary liquid, though.

[kimberlily]

CO washing, and all of its various cousins does not like me. I end up as a pimply, flaky greaseball. I can't use sulfates, and WO doesn't appeal to me, so eventually after dozens of shampoo trials, I gave shampoo bars a shot, and I've been using them for at least a year now :D

The whole Monistat experiment was a big failure on me too. No noticeable growth, just stinky, greasy hair.

[Shell]

I'm going to join the party and say CO. What a disaster: itching, and horrible, damaged hair. This is also how I found out that my hair hated protein. I had to cut off two inches! My hair also doesn't care for most deep treatments, or glycerin (horrible dryness and tangles from that).

Just about everything else I've tried has been great though.

[flapjack]

EVOO
combing
CO
WO
aloe

[AJoifulNoise]

Silicone Free- My hair was a disaster.
Brown sugar scrub- Like millions of little knives on my scalp.
Coconut Milk Soak- Oily, messy disaster. Though, I may tweak it and try again since I bought two cans.

[Sapphire'sWings]

COing has never worked for me. It itches and makes my dandruff worse. I just shampoo and condition now for the most part. I shampoo my scalp twice, rinse, and put a big glob of conditioner on the length.

With cone free products, no big difference, really, but I missed the slip when detangling and the extra shine and softness.

[Um Enis]

CWC makes my hair look greasy. Bad enough that my best friend asked what happened.

[Kiraela]

another thing I figured out that doesn't work for me: conditioning only the length. IDK why, but my upper hair needs condit. too... otherwise it gets frizzy, flyaways everywhere, and basically I get that 'finger in a lightsocket' look for two days, at which time it suddenly appears as if I've gone swimming in a vat of cooking oil. USED cooking oil.

If i condition my scalp too.. everything is normal and happy from day 1, no sudden attacks of the 'ickys', etc.

[squiggyflop]

my hair shed terribly when i tried both CO and poo bars

smts arent my friend either..

[justgreen]

Sulphate free
Co'ing

Sulphate free made my hair a matted mess.

Co'ing made my hair limp and dull

ETA: Shampoo bars are my enemy also.

[marcusandila]

Coconut Milk Soak
EVOO
Misting (My hair likes creamy mixtures)

Boar Bristle Brush--- (BY FAR THE WORST! For one, it wouldnt penetrate my hair (it's curly & thick)...Not to mention it gave me a crazy afro (I'm a white girl---no offense to anyone, but that just isnt normal for me)
Wooden Combs--- Once again... Disaster
Combing/Brushing hair dry---my hair hates this...my hair wont even brush dry unless it is pulling out a load of hair with each stroke. I found that I will just comb my hair with a PLASTIC comb when it is damp (towel dried)

[justgreen]

Silicone Free- My hair was a disaster.
Brown sugar scrub- Like millions of little knives on my scalp.
Coconut Milk Soak- Oily, messy disaster. Though, I may tweak it and try again since I bought two cans.


You could always be decadent and soak your feet in the extra can of milk.:eyebrows:

[AJoifulNoise]

You could always be decadent and soak your feet in the extra can of milk.:eyebrows:

Oh, that sounds delightful! :D

[Shell]

To CO and glycerin, please let me add coconut milk. I prefer to cook with it!

[Masara]

I'm loving this thread. Maybe there should be a link to it in the advice to newbies thread. All the things that you could easily believe that everybody here uses and loves, but that don't actually work for everybody.

For me, the top of the list goes to shampoo bars. I have hard water and fine hair. It was not nice.
ACV- dry, frizzy, smelly hair however much I diluted
Aloe gel- dry, frizzy, tangly hair
CO-it looked Ok for a day and then went dull and lank

[AlleyKitten]

CO more than once or twice in a row -- once is fine, but if I don't shampoo at least a little bit after that, my hair gets limp and oily, and buildup begins to be a problem.

Chinese buns -- I can't get the dratted things to stay in at all. They just fall right out of my hair. I assume there's a trick that I haven't found yet.

Shea butter further up than the very ends of my hair -- have you ever tried washing that stuff out? It's impossible!

Honey -- sticky, sticky mess. No conditioning benefits. I didn't even try the SMT.

Damp bunning or braiding -- it takes my hair something like 24 hours to dry if I contain it. It's just too thick.

[Pegasus Marsters]

Oils.... my hair cant stand them.

And CO.. that was just full of fail. My hair never felt clean to me.

[Rae~]

plopping :scared:

[j4zzin]

Shampoo bars - ...yeah, I blame the hard water
CO - Feels great for my length, but greasy oily nasty for my scalp. Sorry, but I need my sulfate shampoo for the scalp!
French braids - impossible to do this on myself, though I can do it on others...
Stretching out washings - maybe I haven't stuck to my guns enough, but I can't go more than one day without washing my scalp.

What HAS worked well for me is oiling my length right after washing, and sometimes a tiny bit of super watered-down conditioner spritzed in as leave-in.

[Elenna]

Plopping makes my wavy hair look like a big brillo pad. It is supposed to work wonders with wavy hair!

CO doesn't get my hair clean.

[chloeishere]

Lets see... so many.

SMT-- no. Except the one time I did it mixed with Fox's Shea Cream, my hair was EXQUISITE, and then... I noticed my hair had lightened two shades. I've never been able to replicate the nice part, and I even tried it without aloe. Dry, crunch hair and miserable ends. Also, somehow... still greasy and limp. Blargh.

CO-- beautiful hair (if a bit limp); super gunky, miserable, broken out scalp.

C-COW-C was even worse-- even my hair was greasy. That was the worst experiment to date!

Plopping-- I'm glad to hear it's not just me. Either I lose all wave and my hair dries completely straight (I know some people would like this, but not me!), or I get insane waves and kinks and frizz. Like, it sort of looks like an afro, but not as poofy. No.

Shampoo bars weren't bad, they were just still too stripping, and kept getting worse and worse for my hair-- I was constantly tweaking, trying to make them work. Still better than traditional shampoo, to be fair. Sulfates piss off my scalp.

I haven't been able to delay washing more than a few days without scalp misery. I still keep trying, though. My scalp really likes to be clean, but not *too* clean. :rolleyes:

Aloe vera, in general, doesn't go well with my hair. Crunchy.

Despite this huge list, I've had a lot of success, and tons of techniques that work for my hair, that I've learned here! There's a ton of things listed here that my hair loves (oiling, shea butter, combing, etc).
But it definitely goes to show that everyone is different! I'm glad I'm not alone on the SMT's, either. I've done them like 5 times, because I keep thinking, "But they're so popular! I need some sort of moisture treatment!"

[Cinnamon Hair]

Another vote for coconut milk. My hair turned into an impossible to deal with greasy tangly mess. I shed a rat. And then it dried stiff & crunchy. Stupid me, tried it probably 5+ times with various brands. It smells so good though and the idea of opening a can of coconut milk to pour into your hair was pretty neat... ah well. I'm still almost tempted when I see it at the grocery. http://www.smileyhut.com/confused/doh.gif (http://www.smileyhut.com)

Vinegar also sucked for me. Brillo pad hair.

[Chamomilemaiden]

CO. The lenght looks greasy, sometimes it looks ok, but the ends are always horrible, dry, crispy. For me the conditioner doesn´t work even after using shampoo. So now I use it in masks.

[shellblue1]

The SMT Treatment didn't really work for me.

[velvetcat]

oiling doesn't work for me. It makes my ends feel like velcro.
I"m doing OCM just now, and tend to forget what oiling does and will accidently run my fingers over the ends of my hair...reminding me again, oiling isn't for me.

SMT works, but only if I don't heat it up. However, it really seemed to lighten my hair, and I perfer mine black, thank you very much. :)

[Gabrielle]

CO, shampoo bars, peppermint based shampoos, most oils (although I have found the perfect combo finally)

[FrannyG]

Stretching out time between wash days has just never worked for me. I tried to get into a habit of washing every third day instead of every second day, but my poor hair was always miserable on that third day, and didn't even look or feel right in updos. I truly gave it a long enough adjustment time that it theoretically should have worked, but it was a miserable failure.

So I'm still COing every second day, just as I was when I first joined here.

[Stevy]

I'm more willing to clean my oven than I am to S&D. Picking over my hair looking for imperfections bores me to tears and leaves me feeling like my hair isn't good enough as is. I prefer doing stuff that makes me feel good about my hair, like deep conditioning or trying out new styles. (Also, and I know this is totally irrelevant because most people don't do it in public, but I think picking over your own or someone else's hair in public is a bit like picking your nose or your teeth in public - you shouldn't make other people watch things that might gross them out)

Damp bunning doesn't work well for my hair either. It just stays damp whilst the top part of my hair dries, and then the weight of the damp hair pulls on my scalp.

[chelly]

egg treatments:trainwreck:

[CurlyOne]

CO, my hair liked t but it made my scalp so itchy I couldn't take it, WO didn't get my hair clear at all no matter how much I massaged I still came out looking like a grease ball, CV bars were like instant velcro on my hair.
OCM didn't work either, I had a massive break out with the largest most horribly painful cysts I have ever had.

[jesamyn]

Anything involving honey! OK, not quite...but it feels like it sometimes. I also can't go more than two days without washing.

[mommy101405]

Shampoo Bars. I actually tried them before I found LHC. Some women on a cloth diapering board I was on used them. Words dont even describe the horrid mess my hair was after those.

CO. I use it on occasion but all the time just makes my itchy.

Not brushing. Damage or not my hair just feels heavenly after a good brushing.

[iris]

I don't know that I think of shampoo bars as a popular technique that work for a LOT of people. I mean, the shampoo bar thread is all about how to tweak and tweak and tweak until it finally works. But, yes, shampoo bars, didn't work for me.

CO, not my thing - I didn't really try all that hard either.

Humectants like glycerin and honey don't generally do a whole lot for me. I live in a humid climate, that probably has something to do with it.

The henna shine only happened for me in the first year or so (? I don't remember exactly) of hennaing. After that, it made my hair either dry or did nothing in particular to improve its condition.

Oils took some trying but I did get them to work; all I had to do was really, really saturate my hair with coconut oil twice, and since then, I've been quite fond of oils.

Iris

[Peggy E.]

Well, this is probably not going to knock you over in mad waves of hysterical laughter.....but my hair hates oil. Any and all oil turns it hard, crisp and disgusting.

Ha! Ha! Ha! (Boo! Hoo!) :o(

[Liluri]

Coconut oil, I heard about how good it was, tried and well not a disaster but icky and I had to use SLS shampoo on my hair to get it off and SLS shampoos are just nasty on my hair and scalp.

CO is good if I alternate with another method but continuous and it's great ends horrid scalp issues.

I have not been brave enough to try things with foods in them, including coconut milk, as I think that's where my disasters would begin :) I have a hard enough time getting henna out of my hair.

[nomadhome]

--CO-- itchy scalp
--Ficcare Max-- heavy, uncomfortable (keep meaning to swap it)
--Anything involving shea butter

[Amoretti]

ACV didn't work; it was just smelly and tangly.
OCM made me get acne.
CO made me shed a greasy mess.
Diluting shampoo was pointless because I used more.
Going all cone-free made my hair a dry, witchy mess of tangles.
Cone-free shampoo gave me a greasy scalp.
Baking soda created a rat's nest where my hair used to be.
Frequent oiling when wet gave me greasy rat's tails.

What works for me is the conservative approach: cone shampoo (Dove) and cone-free conditioner on the length + cones again on the ends.

[Lixie]

Finger combing instead of brushing. Oh dear no. :bigeyes:

[Juliet's Silk]

For me none of the alternative washing techniques (e.g. diluted shampoo, CO, C-COW-C, shampoo bars, shampoo without sulfates etc) work. The combination of very hard water and picky scalp is not a good one for experiments. My scalp would do much better with short hair and daily washings... but not going to happen.
My length loves those techniques though, sigh.

[Fireweed]

Henna, it is a grow cut thing for me and I wish I never used it.

[kate46]

Conditioner anywhere near my scalp - massive shedding.
Oil post wash - yuckky crispy ends, though not a problem with a heavy pre-wash oiling.
Henna - Super dry length (where the chemical dye damage is), oddly enough cassia is not a problem.
Stretching out washing - ubber greasies and I have tried lol
Shampoo bars - again I have hard water.
S&D - thins my already very thin length too much.
:cheese:- unless it's feta I :puke:

[rubyann]

SMT leaves little white balls all over my hair, and it's almost impossible to get them out. I can use just the conditioner and honey successfully, but add AVG to the mix and it's a mess.

I tried WO. That's a definite NO for me.

[Lady Godiva]

Brushing my hair fails every time.

[daydreamer]

Oh let's seeeee.... :)

CO - left my hair flat, greasy icky EW
Oiling - either had no effect or crunch city (it does like shea butter though)
Stretching out washings - nasty gunky scalp with itchies and dandruff! Not to mention scalp acne.... I really just have to wash every day or every other day at MOST.

[AJoifulNoise]

Stretching out washes has never worked for me, either. I always wind up with a very, very angry scalp.

[MusingFrog]

First the abbreviations: SMT, CO, WO (the first two left my hair looking utterly lank, my hair is too oily for the third)

Other stuff:
fingercombing
boar bristle brushes
detangling dry hair

[Dacia]

Henna - straw-like hair. CO - build-up, itchy scalp, massive shedding. No-cones all the way - lifeless, static hair, tangles leading to breakage. OCM - gave me cystic acne.

[LilyMunster]

eo's in a carrier oil to the scalp-heavy shed
anything put on a dry scalp, with the exception of HALO mix-irritant

[Flutterbee]

Stretching out washes has never worked for me, either. I always wind up with a very, very angry scalp.

This is my problem as well. I wash daily, every other day at most.

[Toadstool]

Going cone-free - makes my hair instantly feel like straw and had led to major chops.

[Lady Godiva]

Stretching out washes has never worked for me, either. I always wind up with a very, very angry scalp.


This is my problem as well. I wash daily, every other day at most.

Add my name to the list, too!

[harley mama]

Protein treatments. To much of a good thing for me, I think!

[az_sweetie01]

CO was a disaster. I looked like a big, greasy rat. Did SMT once and it was okay, not greatt...yet :) Poo bars were a nightmare...too many tangles. Cone condish on my length makes my hair too slippery and smooths the cuticle way too much which is not desirable for someone with such fine hair.
Oh and the whole not combing damp hair? Also not for me :)

[justinekay]

I have a long list too, some caused by hard water I'm sure...

Honey = major shedding
Shampoo bar = major shedding, gunky scalp, lank hair
CO = major shedding (and I mean MAJOR)
Plopping = weird, lumpy hair and no curls
Misting = prematurely greasy hair

Oh, and I have to comb and de-tangle while wet or there's no chance of ever getting those tangles out!

[centurytoolate]

My hair has not taken to oil at all. I've tried various oils many times and my hair just doesn't like it. Plopping produces right angles and dry tangly ends. Don't know why but it just seems to peeve my hair off. I've also never gotten SMTs to work either. It feels just like a regular conditioning which I don't understand-ungrateful hair!
And I'm another who can't stretch out washes. I no longer wash every blessed day but every other day is as far as it gets. Otherwise I turn into an oily, greasy monster.

[cornflower]

Monistat. I just had massive shedding and had to stop.
CO: greasy hair

[MermaidGirl]

I haven't experimented much, but shampoo bars were a disaster for me. I have hard water, so my result was waxy length. ACV just gave me smelly hair.

By the way, what is AVG? I see it mentioned from time to time but don't know what it means. What is it used for? Anyone?

[anna1850]

By the way, what is AVG? I see it mentioned from time to time but don't know what it means. What is it used for? Anyone?

AVG=aloe vera gel

Used as a moisturiser, in SMTs and as a natural hair gel.

Didn't work for me though :(

[cassie_g]

CO, shedded like crazy and roots were always dull and kind of icky feeling. Not dirty but not really clean.

Damp bunning for waves. My hair takes so long to dry that it doesn't dry enough to make waves.

[Cantabile]

Eggs - I read about protein treatments with egg and mayo in some teen magazine way back when and gave this a shot. It pretty much turned my hair to straw.
CO - No matter what I tried, my scalp couldn't get clean, and my hair was a greasy, lanky mess. Gross enough that I actually had friends asking if I forgot to wash my hair.
CWC - Way too much conditioner for my hair.
WO/NW - Required too much brushing/combing, which my hair did NOT like. Sebum just doesn't distribute well on my hair naturally.
Diluted Shampoo - It doesn't clean my scalp enough...and when combined with CWC, it turned into a mess.
Sulfates/Cones - Sulfates irritated my scalp and gave me scalp pimples! Gross! And cones were just too heavy.

Fortunately, despite several miserable trials with the various products/techniques mentioned above, I found a routine that worked for me: shampoo bars! Even with the hard water in my area, an increased ACV concentration works just fine. I've been using them for at least half a year now and I simply love them. :)

[MermaidGirl]

AVG=aloe vera gel

Used as a moisturiser, in SMTs and as a natural hair gel.

Didn't work for me though :(

Thank you Anna1850, I appreciate the info! :)

[LadyMoon11]

CO does not work well for me. CWC works much better, but I actually prefer the traditional shampoo and condition routine- though I do not shampoo the ends of my hair.

I liked No 'Cones for a while, but I began to miss using some 'cones. They work well with my hair to keep a smoothness and prevent snapping. I now use a shampoo and conditioner that have water soluble 'cones and my hair is much happier.

:cheese:

[Madam Librarian]

Shampoo bars - water is way too hard for these to work more than a few times for me.

Cone free = super tangles.

One length hair = super tangles.

Long periods without trimming = super tangles.

Air drying = jacked up wave pattern.

I once tried a coffee rinse in an effort to darken my hair. I was rewarded with dried out hair.

I used to be able to CO wash. Now it leaves my hair limp.

[socks]

So far, I haven't encountered too many major problems.

CO was so-so; it didn't clean my hair as thoroughly as shampoo and I had to wash it every third day instead of every fourth to get rid of the extra oil and dandruff. CO was good in that my hair felt softer, but it didn't look as nice as it did with CWC or regular shampoo-condition.

Coconut oil is good if I only use a drop or two on my hair, but my hair didn't react very well to deep treatments, as it makes my hair crunchy and dull, even after several washes. I prefer to save the coconut oil to use as a body moisture or for eating.

[Hypnotica]

- CO : Stringy, limp lengths.
- Cone-free: Stringy, tangly and static lenghts.
- Sulphate-free: Limpness and dullness.
- Oils: Crunch. But on scalp it's fine.
- Shampoo bars: Waxy hair.

[suicides_eve]

evo was to much for my hair is was horrbile.

[Speedbump]

Shampoo bars and ACV rinses do not work for me. At all. I suspect it's my hard water. It gave me what I came to call "crayon hair." Wax and gray city! Ew!

[Carina]

Smt did nothing for my hair:slap:
Evoo was way to much for my hair and hard to wash out:mad:
Co only works for me during summer and spring:rolleyes:
S&D makes me go nuts when it comes to split ends:cool:


I love oils like macadamia,camellia,jojoba and old faithful coconut.I'm cone free for now and that's the way my hair want's it.

[Valorie]

Shampoo bars have by far been the worst and as much as I like the idea of them, they never worked for my hair. I had tried them before LHC as well. My hair may be too fine.

Henna works so much better for me now that I add no lemon juice into the mix as well. So henna mixed with lemon was quite drying over time.

Also, SMT's must be the right measure of dilution ( minimal honey and aloe gel) or else they don't work.

[MeganS]

Plopping, as for others, made me look like the Bride of Frankenstein.

CO LHC-style made my hair really frizzy and flyaway (although CO CG-style has been a blessing for my hair.

Any styling that includes gel has been, not a disaster, but not a keeper either.

Keeping my hair up seems to have increased rather than decreased the number of breaks I get.

[HotRag]

"Tucking the ends in" isn't working for me :-(

[Philomela]

CO: alarming hair loss + greasiness
CWC: overconditioning effect
Shampoo bars: lanky hair
SMT: didn't do much for my hair
Stetching out washes: massive hair loss
Clarifying baking soda rinses: dry, brittle hair
WO: dull, unclean hair

[Nevermore]

CO LHC-style made my hair really frizzy and flyaway (although CO CG-style has been a blessing for my hair.

What's the difference? :confused:

[Alaskanheart]

-Olive oil, too difficult to wash out, and hair ends up feeling dryer than before.

- CO with Suave or VO5 makes my hair limp and dry, But I love CO with Natures Gate Conditioners.

-Shapoo Bars, just a dry, sticky,gooey mess.

-ACV=dry and tangly hair

[MeganS]

What's the difference? :confused:

Someone please correct me if I'm telling this wrong, but I'll give it a shot.

LHC-style CO is the method that involves using a really large portion of conditioner, letting it sit for a hefty length of time (20-30 minutes, IIRC), and then rinsing it out totally. This method as I've heard it described works best with inexpensive cone-free conditioners (such as V05).

CG-style (Curly Girl) CO uses a smaller portion of conditioner, which you don't let sit for quite as long. You also may do multiple conditionings, but during the last rinse, it actually recommends that you leave a small portion of the conditioner in your hair rather than rinsing it out. The book recommends not using cones, but has a list of ingredient types that are essential. The only drugstore conditioner I've found that meets are the ingredient requirements also has cones in it. I've found that my hair really likes cones, though, so I'm ok with that.

I use CG-style CO, with occasional CWCs.

[galen]

CO washes don't work well. Water is too hard here.

[EvaSimone]

SMT's and anything involving lots of protein i.e. eggs or mayo!!

[Tapioca]

My hair hates honey and protein. My face, however, *loves* honey!

[Haith]

I just can't get CO to work for me, no matter what I do! Very upsetting, since after learning about it I thought it was going to be perfect for me.

[Kirin]

Other than commercially bought shampoo and conditioner, anything else I've tried has a "Limited shelf life". This means, it may work the once, the first and only time, and never works again.

Its left me with "product debt". I can't return to what works until I get rid of all the other stuff, *sigh*.

However, here's the short list:

SMT: Somehow I dont get the "moisture" part of the treatment, my hair ends up more dry than it was before.

Anything that says "deep moisture"..... has the opposite effect.

Shampoo bars: Really loved the idea, but it's not happening. Scalp is okay, length feels like its coated in fourty weight oil.

Aloe Vera Gel: Good thing this works for sunburn and as a facial moisturizer for me! Makes my hair drier than a saltine cracker.

Coconut oil: This makes my hair drier!

[Caldonia Sun]

Anything shampoo/conditioner using dairy products-I smell like rotten eggs for days!
Eggs, honey, SMT, ACV, AV, OO, EO's, BS, shampoo bars, rhassoul. All makes my scalp unhappy or weighs down my hair to a limp mess. Except rhassoul - then it's like straw.

[spidermom]

1) Stretching out the time between washings. I went one week, and my hair was nasty, waxy, and stuck to my scalp, which was itchy. Then I had to wash it every day for a few days because it would look clean immediately following, but greasy/waxy after several hours. I think fewer washings actually stimulated my sebum production.
2) Baking soda. Horrors! My hair turned into something like carded wool. It was almost impossible to comb and would matt down so tight when it was wet that I couldn't get my fingers through it. It took 2 full weeks of SMT or conditioner-only soaks before it recovered.

[EnkaiNami]

1) CO. I didn't know you had to leave it in for 20-30 minutes. I left it in for a while, rinsed best I could (it just wouldn't stop feeling like GLUE). I tried it once, it was AWFUL, tried it again with a cheap clarifying shampoo, still awful. I know people say there is an adjustment period, but man, NOT worth it.
2) Putting damp hair in a bun. It was all brittle and straw like after I let it down (I slept with a damp bun in my hair), and very 'bent' at the end (literally, my hair was crooked at the end).
3) Cold rinse. WOW, I couldn't even get a brush or comb through the ends of it. It was like extremely thin strands of hay. Terrible.

Edit: Oh, and trying to wait longer in between washings. Yeesh. The top part of my head would glue to my head, and when a wind blew or I moved my head a little, it almost seemed to peel out of place and lay in oily clumps all over.

[Mebo]

Oils worked for a little while, but only on the very ends of my hair - then my ends got crunchy.
CO - I need to shampoo nearly everyday in our climate, and with my being "of a certain age" and sweating like a pig.
Combing - my hair just looked stringy...... yuck.

There are lots of things I've never tried, for one reason or another.

[Elle]

Eggs! They're supposed to be a great protein treatment, but they ended up cooking in my hair. :shake: I used lukewarm water to rinse, too! I'll always remember all the time spent picking bits of egg out of my hair. Never again! It's a good thing my hair doesn't like protein anyways. :lol:

[atlantaz3]

poo bars and AVG (distilled works better).
My hair just felt gunky after a poo bar wash. AVG made my hair crunchy. Distilled soft and shiny.
SMT's work for me, but it took a few sessions to figure out my formula.

[Molster]

Here's a weird one for you: Vitamins and suppliments = FAIL.

On two occasions I've tried taking daily "Hair, Skin & Nails" formula vitamins containing all good things like MSM, Biotin etc. as recommended by many on this site. Took daily for at least 3 months, noticed increased dandruff and itchy scalp - like embarrassing amounts of dandruff I've never had before.

Didn't make the connection at first. Finished the tub and didn't get around to buying another one - they're not cheap. Dandruff and itchies subsided after 2 weeks. Put it down to changing from Indian Herbs washing (which was staining my hair with black spots) to diluted Aubrey organics shampoo.

Bought another tub of suppliments containing Biotin, MSM, all good things etc. After a week of taking them, the dandruff and itchies were back again. Gah!

Haven't touched any suppliments for about a month now, and my scalp is back to its happy self again.

Perhaps I just don't need suppliments. Can anyone else relate to this?

[Siava]

WO = tangled mess
SO = tangled mess that feels like straw
CO = my oily scalp can't handle this

[Carina]

Here's a weird one for you: Vitamins and suppliments = FAIL.

On two occasions I've tried taking daily "Hair, Skin & Nails" formula vitamins containing all good things like MSM, Biotin etc. as recommended by many on this site. Took daily for at least 3 months, noticed increased dandruff and itchy scalp - like embarrassing amounts of dandruff I've never had before.

Didn't make the connection at first. Finished the tub and didn't get around to buying another one - they're not cheap. Dandruff and itchies subsided after 2 weeks. Put it down to changing from Indian Herbs washing (which was staining my hair with black spots) to diluted Aubrey organics shampoo.

Bought another tub of suppliments containing Biotin, MSM, all good things etc. After a week of taking them, the dandruff and itchies were back again. Gah!

Haven't touched any suppliments for about a month now, and my scalp is back to its happy self again.

Perhaps I just don't need suppliments. Can anyone else relate to this?

Yes I can relate to that.My scalp itches and I start to shed alot after a months use.No more supplements for me.

[hairymonster]

For me that would be
CO = greasy itchy scalp and lank limp hair, and
Oils = crunchy hair

[GlassEyes]

Certain types of cones make my head go 'BOOM', but make my scalp feel better.

And I can't, and I repeat, CAN'T use straight jojoba. It makes my hair insanely greasy. The ironic thing is, if I mix it with coconut and olive oil, it works perfectly. XD

Sometimes my hair loves AVG, sometimes it doesn't. It's happier with LA Looks gel for some odd reason...makes my hair soft. xD

[burns_erin]

CO-my hair and scalp are just too greasy

I can not stretch my washings out more than 3 days.

Coconut oil, it is too much repeatedly on my hair even the ends-but it is a lifesaver if I am going into a chlorinated pool

Diluting shampoo-well until I put it into a spray bottle, now it works great, I just spray my scalp.

[happylynngilmer]

Another vote for CO'ing. And I tried everything. It just aggrivated my scalp and made my flakies incredibly obvious. My hair loved it, but I couldn't live with the disadvantage to my scalp.

Sulfate-free was another no-no. My scalp is only happy with sulfates. Extremely happy with hot oil treatments. When my scalp is happy, it makes happy hair, so there you have it!

[herbgurl82]

Keeping my hair up seems to have increased rather than decreased the number of breaks I get.
I noticed that my hair also does this, especially when I put it up while very wet.
What my hair does not like:
Protein (makes it crunchy and brittle)
Oil on dry hair (makes it crunchy)
Aloe Gel on dry hair (ditto)
I also cannot figure out how to do the orchid bun on my hair for the life of me. It either falls out, or tangles.

[redcelticcurls]

SMTs were not enough M for me, lol. Would be worth a revisit, but tha Aubrey conditioners I have give me plenty of M.

Coconut oil - crunch city

Lots of updos - depends. I think maybe some work better for straighter hair. Some are fine, but some are hard on my ends. I have to watch which ones I use and not pull. I won't get that sleek look in an updo, but it is easier on my hair and head.

[Babyfine]

Co for sure. I so wanted to like it- wanted to get away from shampoo-But I had buildup on my scalp after awhile.
Strectching out washings- didn't work either- I have very oily skin and scalp and I even noticed a sebum smell on day 4 and 5.
Plopping- didn't work for me either- made my hair look weird, I like clipping at the roots better, for volume.

[CopperHead]

CO never did work for me. It made my scalp itch and my hair always felt coated and dirty. I only use this method to wash out my henna now.

[kwaniesiam]

Damp bunning. My hair coiled out of it in a mass of crunchy straw-like frizz.

[FlipHunny]

My hair just doesn't know where to go when I try plopping. And I've tried dozens of times :(

[ailin]

Getting eggs anywhere near my hair = I smell like milk that's been left in the sun for a week.

Aloe vera gel dries out my hair like there's no tomorrow.

WO = my lengths love it, but I end up with five inches of gunk on my scalp. Plus I look like I've been wearing a butter helmet. :sad

SMT's and ACV rinses don't do much for me, either. No adverse effects, just... nothing really happens.

[willowcandra]

cocnut milk soak is teh evil for me. It was awful and took alot of conditioner to get out.

Also sls free shampoo, horrible.-could be my water.

[aisling]

I thought this might be a fun thread. I live for funny stories. So what's the treatment, hair toy, tool, style etc that a lot of people on this board like but it just never worked out for you.

I am cursed with SMT's and I do not know what it is. One day I'm going to have to try each ingredient seperately and figure out the culprit. I've tried it 3 times and each one my hair dried in sticky clumps all over my head, sort of a faux dreadlock look. I love Quattro sticks for damp bunning but they will not hold my hair if it's dry. Oh and when it comes to wrapped buns I am utterly inept. :mad:

I'm with you when it comes to SMT:s and for me the culprit is honey. My hair likes aloe and it likes the conditioners I've used, but honey, no-no. It's not as bad as your results, but honey turns my hair kind of waxy and I get no shine whatsoever.

[DMARTINEZ]

Ok, lets see....
SMTs no good
ACV no good
CO no good
NO Cone no good

What works? Regular sulphate shampoos,cone filled conditioners and heavy pre-wash
oilings with coconut oil. And the occasional coconut oil smooth over dry hair. Oh,
and misting with distilled water before bunning makes for soft hair!

Never tried eggs,mayo,halo,and such. Just too time consuming and scary.

Deb

[Hella]

CO worked for me for a while, but for some reason I started to get bad results. I haven't tried it in ages, perhaps I should.

Spritzing dried my hair out, with every variety of ingredients I tried it with.

Aloe never really did anything to my hair. I used a bottle of it but never bothered to order more, as it didn't add shine or feel conditioning or protecting. Same goes with honey.

WO. Hasn't worked one single time I've tried it. I like shampoo too much, and so does my hair.

I'm a boring old shampoo & conditioner -type of gal.

[rhosyn_du]

- Misting: gives me the finger-in-a-light-socket look
- AVG as a leave in: dry, dry, dry and crunchy (works fine in SMTs, though)

[savi]

- Coconut milk soak : left hair dry and still oily
- Jojoba oil : It's too heavy, even blended with other stuff it gives me the greasies.

[MadPirateBippy]

Aloe anything. I used it to great effect when I had dreads because it did a GREAT job of knotting my hair up...

yesh.

[Darya]

CO - errk, greasy angry scalp and lank hair
Any humectant, glycerin, honey, aloe.... my climate is just too dry for this and it pulls the moisture right out of my hair.
Plopping - maybe for Halloween....
Olive oil - took weeks to wash that out and in the meantime I looked like an otter in an oil spill
Jojoba oil - weird crunchy hair
Any oil but coconut - ookiness
Coconut oil - when the stars align perfectly, it is amazing, otherwise blech!
Lemon juice rinse - what was I thinking? Did bring out the red in my hair but left it like greasy velcro.

[wonderlywroughte]

Aloe vera gel - dry crunchy hair
Coconut oil/Monoi oil - dry crunchy hair
Jojoba oil - dry crunchy hair!
Coconut milk soak - SUPER greasy hair. If I did it again I would leave it on for less time and get it NOWHERE NEAR my scalp. My length actually did feel nice, if overconditioned.

[Indigo Girl]

CO - Talk about grease and weighed down length. I spent the day looking like a wet cat - - long after my hair had dried.

[cobblersmaid]

'Poo bars-tried these for about two months, and it took several weeks of harsh shampoo to get rid of all the waxiness, even though I had used ACV rinses.

Coconut milk soak-ew oil, oil, oil. Made my blonde hair look dark brown.

[getoffmyskittle]

Aloe vera gel, ANYTHING with aloe vera gel, makes my hair a pile of frizz. A cowlicky one.

Brushing. I could probably run my computer on the electricity this generates. (Although, admittedly, this is not a LHC technique.)

CO. Unfortunately, I used this for a long time before realizing it makes me shed waaaaay too much.

Plopping. Gross. Just gross. Frizzy and gross. And stringy...

Come to think of it, any wave-enhancing technique makes my hair frizzy and stringy.

HENNA. My hair hated henna. It became huge, dry, and crispy and fell out a lot. I know this was my hair, not the henna itself, because my friend and I did it at the same time and she got great results.

[itslex71]

SMTs made my hair crunchy. No-cone for a year made my hair consistantly dry even with regular oiling and COing. COing worked wonderfully for the first month and then built up quickly.

[Deborah]

Coconut milk soak. This left my hair a tangled, bush-like mess! :mad:

Conditioner (used as conditioner - as shampoo it works great.) My hair is sleek on its own, adding conditioner just weighs it down, and it gets dirty much faster.

[HeatherMae]

My hair HATES HATES HATES shampoo bars.

[butterflydreams]

lol @ this thread.

coconut milk soak made my hair greasy and hard at the same time
MN (monistat) gave me massive buildup and shedding. I had to chelate.
aloe gel made my ends dry and crunchy overtime
CO and WO, eventually I would be looking for some shampoo do to buildup
sulfates dries my scalp and hair out I dont use much(I like sulfate free)
At this point I am afraid to try anything else.:confused:

[cheekytweety]

Egg's dont work for me. They make my hair matt up.

[Patrycja]

CO.I waited for the adjustment period to end for quite awhile,but it never did. I tried it here and there with awesome results but when I tried it as a regular washing routine-nope.

[rubyann]

SMT's don't like me. Leaves nasty little white clumps of stuff all throughout my hair, and it's almost impossible to remove. Honey and conditioner rock, but mix AVG with conditioner or conditioner/honey mix and yucko.

[busnutmedic]

COing doesn't work anymore.

Neither does going long periods of time between washes.

Bonnie

[Oneya]

I see many people complaining about co washing, which I think can be a wonderful technique but it should be done correctly.
They say that cheap conditioners are good ( like suave)but I beg to differ, you have to be careful of what conditioners to use. May sure that the conditioner is all natural, because you don't want the silicones( bad bad for co washing everyday, buildup city), petroleum jelly and mineral oil ( weighs down the hair), waxes that just coat the hair, lanolin can also be too heavy for the hair.
Also if you expect to moisturize your hair so much, you must maintain a protein/moisture balance or your hair will get too mushy, lose it strength and then break off.
I use the Burt's Bees More Moisture Conditioner, which I think is great, the Super Shiny Conditioner can be good also.I am pretty sure there are other natural, daily, light conditioners out there. If it is still to thick you can always purchase Heritage's rosewater& glycerin from whole foods to thin it out. Every three weeks I do a light protein treatment with Aveda's Intensive Reconstructing treatment.
hope this helps ;)

[Oneya]

I wanted to try shampoo bars, but I just didn't like the concept. I guess I am not alone, I will many people don't like it.

[Oneya]

I think it may have been the protein...

[Oneya]

Aloe vera gel - dry crunchy hair
Coconut oil/Monoi oil - dry crunchy hair
Jojoba oil - dry crunchy hair!
Coconut milk soak - SUPER greasy hair. If I did it again I would leave it on for less time and get it NOWHERE NEAR my scalp. My length actually did feel nice, if overconditioned.
Did you make sure that tha Aloe Vera was 100% natural..if so it could have made your hair dry because aloe vera has a significant amount of protein.


SMTs were not enough M for me, lol. Would be worth a revisit, but tha Aubrey conditioners I have give me plenty of M.

Coconut oil - crunch city

Lots of updos - depends. I think maybe some work better for straighter hair. Some are fine, but some are hard on my ends. I have to watch which ones I use and not pull. I won't get that sleek look in an updo, but it is easier on my hair and head

Did you just use the coconut oil by itself?
Oils have no moisture it is whatsoever, so if you just use oil alone by itself overtime your hair will dry out. Oils are best use to seal with, like for example after washing my hair the water moisturizers and then I can seal with oil. Or I can use a leave in and seal the water and leave in with coconut oil.


Eggs! They're supposed to be a great protein treatment, but they ended up cooking in my hair. I used lukewarm water to rinse, too! I'll always remember all the time spent picking bits of egg out of my hair. Never again! It's a good thing my hair doesn't like protein anyways.

Did you deep-condition your hair after using the eggs?


-Olive oil, too difficult to wash out, and hair ends up feeling dryer than before.

- CO with Suave or VO5 makes my hair limp and dry, But I love CO with Natures Gate Conditioners.

-Shapoo Bars, just a dry, sticky,gooey mess.

-ACV=dry and tangly hair

Did you deep condition your hair before doing the AVC rinse..I want to know about this also. I did a AVC rinse for the first time today, and I don't know what to think. I thought it was supposed to close the cuticles, but my hair still feels the same..and dry. hummm

[catfish]

Great idea for a thread. :grin:

CO never worked for me, I need a good shampoo every now and then.
Anything with vinegar=disaster
Not brushing; I may have more curls without brushing but I also have more tangles, I would rather my hair be silky and tangle free than curly.:rolleyes:

[n3m3sis42]

Shea butter:
After months of denial, I have finally forced myself to admit that shea butter DOES NOT work on my hair at all. I guess it's because I have a slight latex sensitivity, but I read that many people who are allergic to latex don't have any issues with shea. As a result, I tried shea better so many times and so many different ways, hoping one of them would work. Every single time, I ended up with crunchy, sticky hair that was drier than before. Boo. :(

Waiting to detangle hair until it is dry:
Nuh uh. Just NO. It's not even so much that it's hard to detangle if I wait. It's more the fact that it looks HORRIBLE when it dries if I don't comb it out at least once beforehand.

Oiling:
The jury is still out on this one. So far, I have tried coconut oil (extra virgin, unrefined), fractionated coconut oil, camellia oil, cocoa butter, EVOO, and jojoba oil on my hair. The times that I tried oiling on dry hair (I know did this with coconut oil--both kinds--and camellia oil), my hair ended up even more dry than before. As a result, I generally oil my hair when it's damp or after misting it. I haven't gotten *bad* results, but I really don't think it's doing anything, either. I'm not quite ready to give up yet, though. :)

(Things that HAVE worked for me include shampoo bars, ACV, combing instead of brushing, and S&D--just so you know I'm not just a huge grouch.)

[NorthernDancer]

Great thread! It's interesting to here the not so success stories. It's nice to know that however "endorsed" one treatment or another is, it doesn't work for everybody.

[SweetPea88]

I'd definitely have to say CO washing! No matter what, my hair never felt clean enough. The good thing is that I ended up figuring out that conditioner on my scalp makes me shed! :) So now it only goes on the last third or half of my hair.

[ladykemma]

what does not work for me:

oiling or any type of protein
cones

[JessTheMess]

waiting until dry to detangle is like asking for a rat's nest on my head
protein - felt awesome when my hair was wet, but as soon as my hair dried, it felt crunchy and dried out
WO.... leaves my hair feeling like strawMy hair does however love oils, cones (every so often), and most of all TLHC:cheese:

[MissHair]

Cone-FREE Shampoos and Conditioners - HORRIBLE HORRIBLE, MY HAIR IS SO TANGLED UP AND FRIZZY WITH NO HOPE.

Foods - I refuse to put Mayo, Eggs or Honey in my hair.

Jojoba oil - Very oily, sticky and crispy ends.

Detangling AFTER Ive airdried my hair - Disaster. Like the member above said its like asking for a rats nest, its irreversable.

Braids - Braiding makes my hair uneven and it tangles like hell when I take them out.

Milk - Does no good for my hair, especially not shampoos that contain milk of any sort.

[embee]

What didn't work?

Baking soda. It took a long time to recover from one trial of that. :( Straw for hair. :(

Waiting until dry to detangle and comb leads to permanent tangles which must be cut out or pulled out.

Making a bun without making a ponytail first - my hair is slick and slippery, I need that elastic foundation to hold things secure for my work day!

Damp bunning - it stays damp. And when I remake it the next day it is still damp. :(

BBbrush or doing without a brush... talk about shedding, gee whiz, worse than Miss Minnie my cat! I have a Denman styling brush and it works well for me. Feels great on my scalp also!

Conditioner Only was a failure, my hair looked wet and greasy and it never got better.

There are a number of things I've been encouraged to try that did work, so my news is not all bad! ;)

[MissHair]

Damp bun - not only does the hair stay damp, the moisture gives me scalp fungus or some kind of dandruff that itches.

[BunnyBee]

Any kind of nice neat, presentable looking updo whatsoever.
BB Brush or any brush seems to rip my hair out(and im being gentle) :( I really want one of those tangle teezer thingies though, its free delivery lol I'm so tempted.

I need to try more things :)

[RocketDog]

shampoo bars and I are mortal enemies. I have never had such tacky, clumpy, crunchy hair that didn't resolve until a triple-wash with Suave clarifying shampoo. NEVER AGAIN.

[dearladydisdain]

I tried a million "miracle" techniques to make my hair softer and shinier. None of them made much difference and I ended up going back to cones. They were-
-SMTs
-CO
-Cone free
-Any kind of oil (except maybe coconut oil)
-ACV rinses

They didn't do anything bad - they just didn't make much of a difference.

[Friesiangirl]

I tried a million "miracle" techniques to make my hair softer and shinier. None of them made much difference and I ended up going back to cones. They were-
-SMTs
-CO
-Cone free
-Any kind of oil (except maybe coconut oil)
-ACV rinses

They didn't do anything bad - they just didn't make much of a difference.

That's kind of where I am. Nothing made my hair feel terrible, but nothing worked as good as WO and light oilings.

Hayley

[squiggyflop]

i cant pick just one..

CO my hair was greasy.... the conditioner just couldnt cut through the heavy layer of my own natural greases and i never got the reduction in grease production that others get.. not to mention that because it didnt strip off the greases my hair got extra greasy extra fast.. it might be because im so young.. im still as greasy as when i started puberty.. and not just my scalp im greasy on my face shoulders and back too..

SMT this was truly awful.. my hair hates hates hates honey.. and its not fond of aloe either.. i ended up with knots so bad they had to be cut out and it took 5 shampooings to get the buildup off my hair.. i ended up losing an inch to this technique.. never again

oilings.. yeah lets put more oil on a girl who already is a grease machine.. my hair never soaked up any of the oil like other peoples hair does..

shampoo bars.. i wanted these to work i really did.. and every now and then i try them again like i think ill get different results.. my hair turned weird and thick and waxy even if i doused my hair with ACV.. it was impossible to detangle..

conefree.. without cones my hair forms itself into dread like knots in less than 6 hours 10 if its up in a bun or braid.. its impossible to detangle without cones.. i got massive breakage and it took more than an hour and a half to detangle only to have it tangled up 5 minutes later.. now when my hair was shoulder length i didnt need cones.. it was too short to get any tangles that couldnt be dealt with.. heck i didnt need conditioner when my hair was shoulder length

[rags]

Shampoo bars - my hair hates these with a vengeance. To be fair, I have very hard water, but still, this was horrible!

SMT's - to be fair, I have only done one, but I don't know if I'll ever do another. I picked a Sauve product off of the "good" list and the fragrance was so incredibly strong that it gave me an asthma attack. I had to clarify my hair twice to get rid of it.
So I guess this really wasn't the SMT's fault, but now I am very, very gunshy of Suave.......

[Bene]

things that didn't work for me:

- CO, left me feeling greasy
- shampoo bars, i couldn't get used to them, i'll give them another shot sometime next month though
- silk sleep caps, they just feel uncomfortable
- horn combs, they aren't bad, i just find that i don't use the one i have
- ficarres, another thing that i simply don't use
- monoi oil, it's too heavy for my hair
- waiting to dry to detangle, this just leaves me all frizzy




things that worked for me:

- oiling (camellia or jojoba)
- monistat, it boosted my growth rate, but too expensive for me :(
- dairy whip, i've been using it instead of shampoo and i like how it makes my hair feel
- wood combs
- going conefree
- ACV rinses, i do them with every wash
- not using any heat styling appliances
- hask henna & placenta, my hair LOVES protein apparently

[Katrina]

SMT didn't work for me. It made my hair "too soft" and unshiny. It also somehow took the usual heaviness off and I got loads of fly aways. I guess it was the honey part, because my hair likes oils and aloe vera gel.

The second one was oiling on completely dry hair: greasiness, nothing else :(

edit: I forgot to mention BBB.

[Ash]

CO - Heavy grease on top, hair fell out in small clumps after about 2 months
Baking soda wash - large clumps of hair fell out after 1 wash
Most updos
Oiling on dry hair - kept the moisture out not in
Protein - crispy hair
Egg yolks - film of something weird on hair
Indian herb washing - dry hair :( really wanted this to work
Waiting until hair is dry to comb - can't get the tangles out

[Lucky]

Shampoo bars didn't work for me (but I suspect the extremely hard water in my area may have had something to do with it).

I didn't care for what ACV rinses did for my hair, it ended up smelly and stringy.

CO doesn't work well for me either, it makes my fine hair too limp.

Coconut oil is a DISASTER on my hair! I'm much better off with jojoba or argan oil.

[suicides_eve]

EVOO and avocado made my hair horrible!! like a grease slick. oiling just isn't my thing i guess

[nessthing]

WO never worked. CO works if I washed the day before with sulfates and want to "freshen" if something happened like going to the beach or being the only person in the kitchen at work.

Also I have a love hate relationship with braids, actually. They're useful and decorative to an extent, but they make my hair ugly for days afterward, fuzz, the fuzz tangles, they get off balance and pull my scalp in one spot, they don't contain my hair at all in the water, they don't contain it at all when I wake up in the morning, I could go on...

[Katze]

CO didn't work for me.
Anything other than the lightest oiling is very likely to weigh my hair down and/or make the ends crispy. However, very light amounts of oil on damp hair work well. Why is that?
BBB doesn't work for me except on dirty days, then I brush as a way of getting my hair to be smoother for updos.
Buns don't work on me. Either I am too inept or stubborn, or super thin, fragile ends just don't want to be contained in this way. Almost any bun I have ever tried looks really stupid on me.

[Stevy]

Great thread! It's interesting to here the not so success stories. It's nice to know that however "endorsed" one treatment or another is, it doesn't work for everybody.

I totally agree with you, NorthernDancer - it's a fascinating thread, and I'm glad to see it rise up again.

I'm also really glad that most people posting haven't taken the thread as an opportunity to say 'Well, if SMT / eggs / no-brushing / sitting with your hair hanging out of the window to dry hasn't worked for you, you're doing it WRONG'. I love how respectful of difference everyone is here.

[Rohele]

For me the things that have worked the least thus far are plopping (hideously frizzy tangly waves) and not combing my wavy/verging on curly in some spots hair (see note on plopping). Both are supposed to do wonders for styling wavy hair, but are just not for me I guess.

[meriellyn]

Olive oil is a nightmare for my hair. Ick.

[vampodrama]

CO hasn't really worked for me, but I've not given up quite YET on the idea.

oils don't work for me either, makes my thin fine hair very greasy-looking in a split second and it's seriously just very gross.

[Pixna]

When my hair was long, plopping, CO, and oiling did not work for me. I am avoiding those as I grow my hair out again.

[Copasetic]

Conditioner only didn't work for me. It made my hair look and feel disgusting.

[jeno]

ACV: made my hair greasy and smelly, couldn't stand it!
honey: my hair was dry dry dry
proteins: my hair feels dry and greasy and heavy and full of static

[serious]

EVOO doesn t work for me.It makes my hair greasy and heavy so I have to use more shampoo to wash it out and THAT makes my hair dry and brittle.I have tried some other oils and it was not much better,so I think heavy oiling just isn t for me.

[patience]

coconut oil. After I washed my hair would be crispy :(

[CopperHead]

CO washing. My hair hates it and I hate the filmy feel. :(

[jojo]

for me my worst ever product was coconut milk it made my hair so lank and greasy, took 3 days to wash it out. I also dont like BBB much it makes my hair look like the charecter crystal tips!

[Chanterelle]

Only one? :)

- Oiling, especially with coconut oil. No matter what technique I tried (heavy oiling, just a few drops, on dry hair, on damp hair etc) the result was disastrous.
- CO. Greasy hair with no volume at all.
- SLS/SLES shampoos. Results same as in CO.

Not really a disaster but I can't say I'm in love with cone-free products.

[pariate]

I wouldn't say it didn't work for me, but I didn't enjoy my experiment with herb washing. I tried some Indian herbs to enhance the dark colour of my hair and help with dryness. I'm far too lazy to brew up herbs every time I wash my hair! I tried a few different herbs but couldn't stand the smell of fenugreek. It reminded me of maple syrup and it stayed with me for a week. :( Ugh! And then there was the time I nearly poisoned myself with the sage wash...

:o

[rapunzhell13]

It's amazing how much variance there is between heads of hair. :)

For me shampoo bars didn't work, they made my hair feel waxy. I didn't like that the smell of ACV lingered, although it did work quite well at making my hair smooth. CO is okay, I use it occasionally, but I still use shampoo regularly. I don't bother with heavy oiling, but a light oiling with coconut oil on damp hair works wonders.

[Teacherbear]

I hate to be dense, but what is AVG? I've seen it mentioned several times but can't figure out what it is. Thanks for any help.

[eaglefeather71]

no-Poo: BS/ACV was a disaster that i didn't notice till it was too late. I lost a ton of hair, major shed.

CO: My hair felt like it had a film on it.

Heavy-oiling: At first this was a disaster because it wouldn't wash out, but then I discovered Indian Herbs and they work perfect together once you get the proportions right.

[MemSahib]

Vinegar rinses dry my hair terribly.

[Elphie]

but what is AVG?

Aloe Vera Gel?

[JamieLeigh]

Hands down, it would have to be the 2-in-1 shampoo + conditioner. My hair does NOT like them!! :rolleyes:

[Elphie]

I don't know if it's "popular" but the one thing I know I must avoid is any shampoo that deposits small amounts of color. My hair throws a fit and becomes a coated mess after 2 or 3 washes with it.

[Teacherbear]

Thanks Elphie! I've updated the Terms and Abbreviations article now. :cheese:

[Magicknthenight]

Aloe Vera Gel?

and here all this time when i saw that i always thought of ACV:p

[XtinaXposed]

i'm too silly to use hair forks. they are too heavy for my hair or they pull down everything or i pull out tons of hair with them.
my hair hates pure shea butter, but mixed with jojoba oil it's kinda okay.
and i tried this mister bottle thing for two years with different igredients and it just leaves my hair dry, stringy and with a weird feeling that i can't explain.

[LadyEliza]

We need a thread where all these anagrams are explained...

[Bene]

We need a thread where all these anagrams are explained...


there's an article here (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=10)

[MadPirateBippy]

For me, it's the mayonaise (though more for skin than hair) and protine treatmets.

They make my hair brittle. :(

[tiny_teesha]

scalp massages, CO, anything on scalp!!!
barettes, slides...
Um.
probably more I can't recall?

[paper]

SMT's and CO, my hair hated these.

[Allegra]

Oils/butters. I have been persistent and tried lots of different sorts but I can't deny that my hair is happier without them.

Ditto for ACV rinses.

[Ranee]

SMT. Couldn't get a comb trough it once it dried. Horrible.