Does anyone else get the "fluffy" look?

[Gilly]

Hi,

I am hoping that I can get some advice here, I constantly struggle with fluffy hair, I don't like using product so I tend to rely on my conditioners to give me curl/wave definition.
I was having success with some panacea in a mister with some warm water but that seems to have stopped working quite as well as it was, I have very fine blonde hair and it goes greasy if I use oils as a leave-in, I have tried using a tiny bit of Panacea in my hands, (I use so little I can hardly see anything on my hands!) and scrunch through my ends but it goes greasy:rolleyes:
I really want to get definition but once I leave the confines of my house I tend to turn into Mrs Fluffly hair:rolleyes:
Help!

[julliams]

Hi Gilly, we have the same wave/curl type but the rest ends there as I'm medium to course and thick. But what I can tell you is that you need to keep your hands out of your hair until it is completely dry. I would try using your fav conditioner, comb whilst conditioner is in, rinse, use a towel to squeeze the excess water out and then comb out again if required and then just leave it. DO NOT TOUCH IT until it is totally dry. If I run my hands through my hair even just a little, I get frizz/fluff!!!

Another tip I have is that if it's looking like it's going a little frizzy in the drying process, I whip it up into a bun and leave it like that until the top is dry, then I let the length out to airdry - again not touching it. It seems to take a little practice and you can always add a little gel if that helps. I'm think though that the products you are using are simply too heavy for your hair. I use Giovanni Direct Leave in Conditioner but since my hair is quite different it might be too heavy for your hair - not sure.

I have found in my hair travels that often less is more. My routine is now so uncomplicated and my hair looks better than ever.

[christine1989]

I'm in the same boat (at the moment anyway). I'm dealing with curls gone awry due to steam/humidity from cooking. I sprayed it with water and a little bit of aubrey organics camellia oil conditioner for dry hair and that seems to be helping with the fluff quite a bit.

[Gilly]

I'm in the same boat (at the moment anyway). I'm dealing with curls gone awry due to steam/humidity from cooking. I sprayed it with water and a little bit of aubrey organics camellia oil conditioner for dry hair and that seems to be helping with the fluff quite a bit.

I have a bottle of that conditioner under the sink in the bathroom, it was way too much to use as a conditioner all over but it may work as a leave-in!:cheese:
I'm off to try it now!!

[Sophiawavyhair]

I get the "fluffy" look too! I cant even touch it because it goes *poof* :(. Oil doesnt help because I cant use too much or it gets greasy. I will be watching this thread :)

[spidermom]

I had the fluffy hair problem. Styling gel or aloe vera gel was my friend. (PS: length solves the problem)

[jaine]

You and I have a very similar hair type. To prevent fluffiness I air dry my hair in a low loose caterpillar ponytail (with multiple scrunchies) to stretch out my waves and make everything smoother and more compact. I usually put some gel in it before drying but it could probably work without that. I take it out of the ponytail when the back is still damp but the front is dry so I don't get scrunchy creases.
It takes a long time to dry but this smooth look lasts several days for me when I use a silk sleeping cap - actually I think it looks even better on the 2nd and 3rd days because some of the wave pattern returns but it's not frizzy and puffy.

[xoxophelia]

When my hair gets poofy I take small amounts of jojoba oil and run it through my hair on the frizziest parts and then put it in a loose cinnamon bun at the very last moment before leaving the house (it should be mostly dry for this to work). Then I go outside.. if it is cool this works best :)

I eventually take it out when it is dry or just nearly dry and let the hair start to "relax"..

My hair is puffy only the days after I shower and mostly if I did something that wasn't working for my hair. It will become more smooth the 2nd and 3rd day though and can be refreshed by just running a small amount of water through the hair after waking up with bunning optional. Works for me anyways.

[melikai]

I have fluffy hair too, especially if the weather is damp, and I've started following some Curly Girl methods - they've helped a lot!

One thing you could try is to comb through (carefully) your final conditioner in the shower, under the water. Scrunch the water out of your hair with your hands (you can use a bit of leave-in conditioner if you want) and then blot/scrunch with a tshirt. Either plop it in the tshirt for a while, or else let it air dry and try NOT to touch it!

HTH!

[jujube]

Aloe vera gel helps me with frizz.

[Gilly]

Aloe vera always goes crunchy on me for some reason however much I use:rolleyes:
I don't have a lot of time in the morning to air dry and wet hair in the office is frowned upon so I do blowdry, (on warm and at arms length) it looks great for a while but by the time I leave the house it will have already started to expand into fluffdom!:rolleyes:
I wash daily (non negoitable for me so don't even go there!) and as I said I don't like using product, I am about to go to see the results of my spritzing with AO + water in my mister:cheese:

[Demetrue]

Hmmm, I have 1c/2a hair that goes fluffy - I sometimes use one drop of aloe vera gel mixed with one drop of jojoba oil and a small amount of glycerin - all mixed together in my palms and lightly patted through damp hair and combed with a wide tooth comb and then let it dry without touching it again.

[Ntaark]

If i know i'm going to wear my hair down i won't use conditioner and that helps with my fluff. When i brush it i'll just spray some water in my hair.

[ravenreed]

My hair used to get insanely frizzy and fluffy when I was using SLS shampoos. Ever since I switched to CO, my hair is much more well behaved. I have also used a bit of aloe vera gel from time to time, but it makes my hair look greasy faster and any oil near my scalp is a pure disaster. I also think my ACV rinses help with defrizzifying my hair.

[ravenreed]

Hrm, I am guessing the blow dryer is the source of your problems. Can you wash at night and let your hair dry while you sleep? I know that on the rare occasion I blow dry my hair it gets really frizzy.



Aloe vera always goes crunchy on me for some reason however much I use:rolleyes:
I don't have a lot of time in the morning to air dry and wet hair in the office is frowned upon so I do blowdry, (on warm and at arms length) it looks great for a while but by the time I leave the house it will have already started to expand into fluffdom!:rolleyes:
I wash daily (non negoitable for me so don't even go there!) and as I said I don't like using product, I am about to go to see the results of my spritzing with AO + water in my mister:cheese:

[Arctic_Mama]

I'm fluffy, especially when it is clean. A little oil and a leave in conditioner helps, but my biggest weapon is sleeping with my hair braided. It makes the waves all go the same direction and smoothes the hair down a bit, so it still have wave but they aren't going haywire and fluffing against one another (making a poufy, undefined mess).

[sparkle'n'bling]

I used to get fluffy/flyaway hair for a couple of days after shampooing. Then I discovered the movie star oil shampoo method (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=57025) and have gorgeous smooth hair with no flyaways at all.

[julliams]

Can you wash and put it up in a bun? Your hair will appear to look dry by the time you reach work, the ends will stay moisturised and you can enjoy soft air drying when you get home.

[kristymarie87]

Nothing helps my fluff! Aloe vera - did nothing. CO - left it too greasy, as did oiling even with just a drop of oil. Leave ins dont make a difference.

I cant bun my hair as its not long enough. I let it air dry without brushing/combing and it still went fluffy. And my hair basically drys in the shape its sitting so its drys to the shape of my neck with flicky bits and fluffy bits - it looks a mess! I gave up heat for a few months and just tied it up every day - no difference. So i just straighten it once per week now.

Its difficult because i wash everyday (CWC), its either fluffy, or the day after a wash, greasy. No inbetweens!

It is looking better as the layers are growing out and its getting thicker and longer though which is reassuring!

Oh and my hair id SL - almost APL though - and im not sure if its thick or not - i guess medium and the strands are quite coarse?

[Clarisse]

Hrm, I am guessing the blow dryer is the source of your problems. Can you wash at night and let your hair dry while you sleep? I know that on the rare occasion I blow dry my hair it gets really frizzy.



Can you wash and put it up in a bun? Your hair will appear to look dry by the time you reach work, the ends will stay moisturised and you can enjoy soft air drying when you get home.

I second this :)

[Hana]

I'm fluffy, especially when it is clean. A little oil and a leave in conditioner helps, but my biggest weapon is sleeping with my hair braided. It makes the waves all go the same direction and smoothes the hair down a bit, so it still have wave but they aren't going haywire and fluffing against one another (making a poufy, undefined mess).

I second this! My hair is always puffy and fluffy on wash day; it's not til the day after, when I've slept with my hair in a plait that it calms down in a more orderly fashion.

[Juanita]

Try some Shea butter smoothed into your hands then smoothed over your hair. I use shea butter as a moisturiser on my hair which makes it very happy and smooth

[Anje]

My hair's definitely fluffy sometimes. Sometimes using a more conditioning weigh-it-down wash method can help. CO washing is great for that, or CWC if your scalp can't handle CO. That at least helps the length, though it won't do much for near-scalp frizz.

[Honestwitness]

I have frizz, too. Things that have helped me are:

Satin pillow case
Nylon or satin sleep cap
Aloe vera gel, mixed with sweet orange essential oil (purely for fragrance) and disilled water in a mister bottle.
Spray bottle of ordinary tap wated carried with me everywhere I go (in my purse) and used to perk up my sagging waves.
Not conbing at all after SC or CO or CWC, but rather scrunching in AVG, or coconut oil, or olive oil and air drying without disturbing it at all.
Accepting the frizz as my hair's way of telling me it's trying to be curly. So I help it along by rewetting and rescrunching it several times a day.

Also, I believe my hair is porous because it's fluffy-fine like spider silk and all the heat I used on it before I came to LHC probably made it moreso. This makes it thirsty all the time, except in summer when it's really humid outside. Now that it's winter here, the air is bone dry everywhere I go. My poor hair doesn't stand a chance in the current climate. It's amazing to me how fast it becomes a floating field of supercharged frantic fibers flailing me in the face and flagellating me about the neck and shoulders.

[Gilly]

Nothing helps my fluff! Aloe vera - did nothing. CO - left it too greasy, as did oiling even with just a drop of oil. Leave ins dont make a difference.

I cant bun my hair as its not long enough. I let it air dry without brushing/combing and it still went fluffy. And my hair basically drys in the shape its sitting so its drys to the shape of my neck with flicky bits and fluffy bits - it looks a mess! I gave up heat for a few months and just tied it up every day - no difference. So i just straighten it once per week now.

Its difficult because i wash everyday (CWC), its either fluffy, or the day after a wash, greasy. No inbetweens!

It is looking better as the layers are growing out and its getting thicker and longer though which is reassuring!

Oh and my hair id SL - almost APL though - and im not sure if its thick or not - i guess medium and the strands are quite coarse?
I've got a hair twin!!!:cheese:
OMG! You have my exact problems!
Too short to bun, HAVE to wash daily, drys in freaky ways, oil makes it greasy.
I know exactly what you have to deal with, I really appreciate all the, Wash it at night and bun it and oil it type advice but this never has worked for me, I tried washing at night but it just results in metal hair that I have to wash again in the morning as a straight soaking in the shower won't remove the chaos that has been created let alone a misting:rolleyes: The only way I can really use oils (even a small amount) is to apply it at night then wash it out in the morning, otherwise its a grease fest.
The whole putting it in a ponytail/bun etc is beyond me as I have layers and its just not long enough to put up without looking ridiculous (on me anyway) and as I have said I need to look polished and professional in the office.
I try CO to see if that will help but it usually results in greasy hair sooner than normal AND frizz, not really helping:rolleyes:
I, like you have got to wash daily due to the grease issue and yes, I HAVE tried stretching the washing but I refuse to go out of the house with greasy hair, maybe it would not look so bad if it was dark but being blonde it goes filthy looking AND greasy and I am not going to make myself more depressed about how I look when I know it won't work!:o
Sorry if this seems like a bit of a rant but I am really over having hair that always looks a mess, thank you for all your advice and keep it coming, just remember these points please!:D

[Capybara]

Would it be possible to set your hair, maybe in foam rollers, to help tame the wave pattern?

I often have fluffy hair on the day of a wash. I used to just bun wet hair, but I found that setting it into a specific curl/wave pattern helped - even if the curls fell out, the hair didn't return to a fluffy state.

[milagro]

My hair used to get insanely frizzy and fluffy when I was using SLS shampoos. Ever since I switched to CO, my hair is much more well behaved. I have also used a bit of aloe vera gel from time to time, but it makes my hair look greasy faster and any oil near my scalp is a pure disaster. I also think my ACV rinses help with defrizzifying my hair.

Second vinegar rinse. I use white one and it works as well.

If I do get poofy I just smooth hair with wet hands and twist sections a little to help it come together again :) Spraying never workd for me, it just makes the hair stringy AND frizzy.
Though if it is windy (esp with rain) it's better to just do it up at once. I've never got "flowing with the wind" curls. I get Medusa head.

[MissManda]

My hair is fluffy after a wash and goes just plain nuts when the weather is dry. I find that fingercombing, lightly oiling (I use coconut oil), and then putting it into a bun or braid helps. My hair absolutely has to be slightly damp when I do this, however, because if my hair dries completely the fluffies come out and then putting it up gets super annoying.

I find that purring more moisture in my hair helps. Using heavier moisturizing conditioners/balms meant for chemically-damaged/dry/curly hair seem to work for me.

[melikai]

I've got a hair twin!!!:cheese:
OMG! You have my exact problems!
Too short to bun, HAVE to wash daily, drys in freaky ways, oil makes it greasy.
I know exactly what you have to deal with, I really appreciate all the, Wash it at night and bun it and oil it type advice but this never has worked for me, I tried washing at night but it just results in metal hair that I have to wash again in the morning as a straight soaking in the shower won't remove the chaos that has been created let alone a misting:rolleyes: The only way I can really use oils (even a small amount) is to apply it at night then wash it out in the morning, otherwise its a grease fest.
The whole putting it in a ponytail/bun etc is beyond me as I have layers and its just not long enough to put up without looking ridiculous (on me anyway) and as I have said I need to look polished and professional in the office.
I try CO to see if that will help but it usually results in greasy hair sooner than normal AND frizz, not really helping:rolleyes:
I, like you have got to wash daily due to the grease issue and yes, I HAVE tried stretching the washing but I refuse to go out of the house with greasy hair, maybe it would not look so bad if it was dark but being blonde it goes filthy looking AND greasy and I am not going to make myself more depressed about how I look when I know it won't work!:o
Sorry if this seems like a bit of a rant but I am really over having hair that always looks a mess, thank you for all your advice and keep it coming, just remember these points please!:D

Maybe both of you should look more into Curly Girl methods, as I think you may be wavier than you think.

Two things you could try are plopping/plunking, even overnight. If your hair is too short for that now, you might want to try using a diffuser - the ones with the "fingers" that you use to sort of scrunch your hair as it blows dry. Sorry, I don't think I'm explaining that very well. :o

Oils (except very rarely), aloe gel, and many of the more commonly used things just leave my hair limp, stringy, and greasy. The CG ways are working wonders so far!

[Una]

I find a little leave-in protein-rich conditioner sometimes helps the fluffiness. Oil just makes my hair look greasy :(

For me, the worst thing for fluffy hair is high humidity (65%+) At the moment it has been raining nonstop for weeks in my part of the world and my hair looks yucky...flyaways everywhere..particularly after washing

I looove dry days when my hair looks silky and fluff-free :cool:

By the way, does anyone else find that protein helps tame fluffy hair?

[klcqtee]

I find using oil shampoo (from the thread "hair care from movie stars of the past" or something like that) with a 1:1 (equal parts shampoo and coconut oil) on my scalp AND length, then apply conditioner to my length as usual. The oil tends to make my hair curlier and frizz free :)

[dawnandxavier]

Aloe vera gel helps me with frizz.

where is aloe vera gel sold?

[kristymarie87]

Maybe both of you should look more into Curly Girl methods, as I think you may be wavier than you think.

Two things you could try are plopping/plunking, even overnight. If your hair is too short for that now, you might want to try using a diffuser - the ones with the "fingers" that you use to sort of scrunch your hair as it blows dry. Sorry, I don't think I'm explaining that very well. :o

Oils (except very rarely), aloe gel, and many of the more commonly used things just leave my hair limp, stringy, and greasy. The CG ways are working wonders so far!

Its it strange that im "scared" to try these new methods.....just because i spend all that time washing my hair and then if i try them and it goes wrong i have to wash again?!

Does anyone have a link to the thread? I have tried scrunchin which just ends up a mess! I have been looking at getting a diffuser attachment for my dryer, i jsut havent gotten around to it!

[freecelt]

I second the aloe. The first time I tried it straight it didn't work for me either. I put 1:1 or 1:2 parts aloe and water in a spray bottle and use it while my hair is wet from washing and I love it!

[freecelt]

where is aloe vera gel sold? Walmart or a drug store. It might take some looking to find a brand that is pure- no colors or additives.

[proo]

Turban it in a silk scarf till dry - if you use the moviestar shampoo method, drying time will be relatively short so you could do it over night.

[Gilly]

Sorry to be a bit negative but, what part of I can't "wash at night, use aloe gel, put it in a bun" don't people understand?

I said earlier that if I do this my hair is crazy (will scare small children in the morning!) and will need re-washing to tame it down, I thought its supposed to be better to wash less not more;) Aloe goes crunchy ALWAYS! and its still resisting the bun thing!

Sorry but I had to say that, I hope I have not upset anyone, I did not mean to.

It appears that Protein helps quite a bit, over the last few days I have used Nature's Gate Biotin condish and it seems to be helping!
I am going to get back on the Mastey Superpac on Friday!:cheese:

[Chiara]

It may be that the daily washing is drying out the length of your hair- I have fine blonde hair, so I feel your pain. If I even look at oil it gets greasy and stringy looking and generally bleagh. But it gets dry really quickly so needs something to help keep the moisture in. Is it possible for you to work on a wash technique where you just get the shampoo close to the scalp? I use a tint bottle (with a long nozzle) to apply shampoo (diluted) just close in to my scalp.
Also, I find weekly SMTs very helpful. Coconut oil in shampoo can also be good, but you need to experiment with the ratio- I found I needed around 5 parts shampoo to 1 part oil. A catnip rinse also works pretty well on me.
The other thing is that, as others have commented, I get the best wave definition if I have the time to wash, comb the conditioner through, rinse, and then not touch my hair after that until it is dry. But I can't really go out until my hair is dry-ish, it does not look good! So that means if I comb my hair after rinsing, then I probably will need to put it back because it goes fluffy. I'm looking forward to when its longer, when I know from experience it will pull itself into a less fluffy-state.