Help me find a good starting regimen for my hair. Pretty please? :)

[JadeTigress]

I just had my fiance snap a few pictures of my hair before I go off to the shower to wash it. I didn't know if maybe if you guys saw my hair, you could recommend some things for me to try. I'd really appreciate it. :D And sorry for looking like a bum; I stole my fiance's robe. :p

Here's my hair with the flash on, which makes some of the damage show up more.

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b332/JadeTigress/001-1.jpg

Here it is with the flash off, and you can start to see where the top is getting oily.

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b332/JadeTigress/003.jpg

And finally, here's the top of my head. It's getting pretty greasy, and to me it almost looks wet. But it's not. :p And I just washed my hair the night before last night.

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b332/JadeTigress/005.jpg

So that's my hair. Hooray. :p If there's any other angles or close-up's or anything else you want to see at all, tell me and I'll be more than happy to take more pictures. Thanks a bunch! :D

[tanya222]

Hmmm I don't see anything too bad about it, maybe try a clarifying shampoo and a warm-oil treatment for the ends? Or a deep-conditioning treatment?

[Jenn of Pence]

If you haven't read it before, there is a good article (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=39) on advice for those trying to figure out where to start. :)

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=39

The one thing I recommend, particularly if you have an oily scalp, is condition-wash-condition for your normal cleansing routine. It's described in the article...basically, you use whatever conditioner and shampoo you already have, put conditioner on the ends (ears down), shampoo just the scalp, then rinse, letting the shampoo gently run over the ends. Then condition as usual. This protects the ends from drying out from shampoo while allowing your scalp to get clean. It's a good routine to start with while you're sorting through other things you'd like to try. :)

[tinywife]

I thought your hair looked quite healthy. The only thing I could think of as a problem was that in the top picture, you seem to have some shorter hairs (or broken ends.) Is it maybe getting damaged with heat styling or brushing too hard? Or, did you have a big shed recently and these are the new hairs growing back?
Welcome to LHC!

[JadeTigress]

I thought your hair looked quite healthy. The only thing I could think of as a problem was that in the top picture, you seem to have some shorter hairs (or broken ends.) Is it maybe getting damaged with heat styling or brushing too hard? Or, did you have a big shed recently and these are the new hairs growing back?
Welcome to LHC!

Yeah, I noticed that after I took the picture. Those pieces are actually from my bangs (or what used to be bangs). I'd run my hand over my head before the picture, and they ended up back there. :p But I've definitely got some broken ends, which I'm sure are from brushing. My hair tangles horribly, and it's really hard to get through. While I was trying to read through some different threads I came across the tangle teezer, which I'd never heard of. I have to get one now. :p

I really don't do anything to my hair. I rarely ever use anything other than shampoo and conditioner, except for the Wild Growth Hair Oil I just started using recently. The only time I ever blow dry it is when I've washed it just before going out and I don't have time for it to dry, which is rare. And as far as heat styling goes, I'm too clumsy to use that stuff and it just doesn't work out for me. So the only time that happens is when my mom gets an urge to mess with my hair and takes the curling iron to it. Which is also pretty rare.

I used to dye it quite a bit, I've done highlights, and permed it a couple times. So I got more damage from that. I stopped doing all of that, though. I think it's been somewhere between 6 and 12 months since the last time I dyed my hair. So if you're looking at my hair in the right light you can definitely see a line about 1/3 of the way down where my normal hair ends and the color is different and there's remnants of the highlights that refused to be covered by subsequent dyings.

But I am going through a huge shed right now. I've always been a shedder, but it just suddenly got worse two or three months ago. Every time I wash my hair (which is anywhere from 3 to 7 days a week), I'm losing handfuls of hair, and it's coming out in droves during the day, too. It looks obviously thinner now, especially on top towards the back of my head, like where my part ends. My mind just blanked and I forgot the word for that spot. :p So I'm freaking out and wondering what type of doctor to go to to get it checked out, because I really, really, really don't want to be bald.

Anyway, sorry for rambling. Thank you for your help, everyone. And Jenn, thanks so much for the link. It's super helpful. :)

[Debra83]

C-W-C for sure!!! (condition- wash-condition) and use a shampoo on the scalp for oily hair...that is definitely a good place to start!!! And DON'T touch it too much between washings!!! Good luck!

[shikara]

Know that it may take a while to find the 'right' regimen for yourself (or you may be lucky and you may find it quickly). Continue to inform yourself. Know that what some swear by, others don't - there are so many types and combinations of hair in many different environments, using many different products. For example, many swear by wide tooth combs (and most articles on other websites say the same), but for some these don't work at all, and that's okay. Many admonish cones for themselves, while others swear by it - the list goes on. I liked the idea posted here to start the one regiment CWC while you are sorting through the myriad of options. Good luck and welcome to LHC!!!

[Miss Catrina]

Well, we're close to being hair twins, so I'll just list some things that work for me...

- Sulfate-free shampoo. I'm using Burt's Bees at the moment, and it's made my hair more silky and healthy-feeling than drug store shampoo. Beyond that, it's SO much easier to style. Styles that took a thick layer of hairspray when I was using Pantene or whatnot now pretty much stay put on their own. It lets my hair keep enough oil not to be a frizzball, without looking gross.

- CWC.

- Cones. It's a bit of a controversy around here, but my hair shows nothing but lovely reactions to them.

- Leave-ins - which goes back to cones. I use an Aveeno spray, which helps moisturize and keep ends healthy.

- BBB. FANTASTIC styling tool, and my hair is so thin it halfway detangles it on its own... this is where we likely differ, fortunately for you. :p

- Frequent split end hunting sessions.

- Wrapping hair up in olive oil when it seems to need some extra TLC.

[JadeTigress]

Well, we're close to being hair twins, so I'll just list some things that work for me...

- Sulfate-free shampoo. I'm using Burt's Bees at the moment, and it's made my hair more silky and healthy-feeling than drug store shampoo. Beyond that, it's SO much easier to style. Styles that took a thick layer of hairspray when I was using Pantene or whatnot now pretty much stay put on their own. It lets my hair keep enough oil not to be a frizzball, without looking gross.

- CWC.

- Cones. It's a bit of a controversy around here, but my hair shows nothing but lovely reactions to them.

- Leave-ins - which goes back to cones. I use an Aveeno spray, which helps moisturize and keep ends healthy.

- BBB. FANTASTIC styling tool, and my hair is so thin it halfway detangles it on its own... this is where we likely differ, fortunately for you. :p

- Frequent split end hunting sessions.

- Wrapping hair up in olive oil when it seems to need some extra TLC.


Thanks for the info. I'm almost out of shampoo, and I was wanting to try a sulfate-free one when I go buy more. I may go see if I can find the Burt's Bees. Easy styling is a huge plus. That's another reason why I don't do much with my hair (besides not knowing what the heck I'm doing). My hair won't hold ANYTHING. I pretty much have to spray it until it feels like concrete, and even then I have to cross my fingers and pray.

And I had a BBB somewhere that I used to use when my hair was long. My mom stole it from me, though. Her hair is way longer than mine now, and that is completely unacceptable. :p

[JadeTigress]

Oh, and to the people who said my hair looks healthy now, I have no idea if it is or not. :p But this is what my hair looked like, freshly brushed, before I went and hacked it all off.

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b332/JadeTigress/000_1460.jpg

So now I look at my hair, and I'm like, "Omg, what happened to my hair?"