Help for my mum (fine & thin hair)

[celebriangel]

Okay, lovely fine and thin hairs: I'm going to see my mum for a bit, and as she's not doing so well health wise, I would love to help her with her hair and give it some love. She has F i/ii 1c hair which is blonde and at about APL, and runs slightly to the oily side of normal.

Now, as y'all can see, I'm a 2c with thick hair; lots of my strands are fine but there are also plenty that are definitely in the M category, whereas my mum's hair is all baby-fine. She struggles with volume and bounce. I don't really know the best things to do - for me, I want to define and tame without weighing down, not make my hair bouncier!

I already imagine that anything too thick or rich, conditioning-wise, is to be avoided. I was going to have a clarify and take a look at her hair without products - though I'm not actually sure what she uses, I'll need to ask - and then maybe do a cassia treatment then a deep conditioning one. Maybe incorporate a scalp oil/massage while I'm there.

I'm going to get, probably, one of Nightblooming's cassia/herbal treatment mix for the cassia, but I'm a little stuck as to which "normal" conditioner to use - preferably cone-free as I think for finehairs, it is better to just use a teensy bit of cones, e.g in a leave-in, to avoid overload Y/N? I'm thinking about the Body Shop's Rainforest sulphate- and cone-free condish, since I have heard some reports that they are very light.

I'm also stuck for a deep conditioner/deep treatment. Would an SMT work? If so, with which conditioner?

I was thinking of bringing Nightshade/Nightblooming's Triple Moon Oil, too, since again I've heard on the thread that it's good for fine hair. Maybe the vegan panacea too?

So, finehairs. What do you do to really give your hair and scalp a treat?

[jojo]

I call myself as a F/M but only 10% of my hair are medium thickness but my overal volume is thick but this[ is a really good conditioner for fine, thinner hairs. You dont need a lot either, as with all fine hairs more is less in all products!

http://www.thebodyshop.co.uk/_en/_gb/catalog/product.aspx?ParentCatCode=C_Hair&CatCode=C_Hair_Conditioner&prdcode=48529m

[DoubleCrowned]

I think the best commercial conditioner for baby fine hair is Aubrey's GPB. It doesn't weight down the hair at all.

[Arya]

vitamins, scalp massages, monistat, castor oil and drying in a bun on top of her head for volume?

[happybear]

hi,

I have baby fine oily hair, I started CO-ing with Tresemme Naturals Radiant Volume conditioner and it works really well. It does not weigh my hair down at all (no cones) and I do get lots of lift, and it cleans very well.

Cassia would be good to strengthen and thicken a bit.

[happybear]

I also rinse with ACV after i wash out the Condish,

[Lisa R]

Hello! That is very sweet of you to do something special for your mum. Good on you!

I'm a fine/thin head and I think the Garnier Fructus triple nutrition condish and shampoo are great. Also a tiny amount of jojoba oil makes my hair feel really soft and smooth either applied on drying hair or dry hair. Only a very tiny amount cause it can just get too oily and makes the hair just look oily.

I like your idea of clarifying her hair. Maybe an Apple Cider vinegar rinse?

We look forward to hearing what you end up doing for her. I'm sure she will love the time and thought you put into wanting to make her feel better.

[Ermine]

Her hair sounds exactly like mine. All I can say is wash it every day using a conditioner that rinses out clean, clarify every once in a while, and the less product the better.

[celebriangel]

Hello! That is very sweet of you to do something special for your mum. Good on you!

I'm a fine/thin head and I think the Garnier Fructus triple nutrition condish and shampoo are great. Also a tiny amount of jojoba oil makes my hair feel really soft and smooth either applied on drying hair or dry hair. Only a very tiny amount cause it can just get too oily and makes the hair just look oily.

I like your idea of clarifying her hair. Maybe an Apple Cider vinegar rinse?

We look forward to hearing what you end up doing for her. I'm sure she will love the time and thought you put into wanting to make her feel better.

I was thinking of doing an ACV, since she lacks shine since she's a blonde. Will ACV on its own do a bit of clarifying? I don't think she uses many products at the moment, particularly not expensive ones, so maybe there's not much coney buildup. Also she has some mild flaky scalp issues - I have heard around here that ACV can help. Can anyone confirm?

I will certainly report back - I'm not going back for another month but have many exams between now and then, so I want to think about it in advance so I can order anything etc.

Happybear, I'm glad to know Tresemme naturals is doing good things for you; I find the conditioners I've tried of theirs to be very rich and heavy, which was okay for me when I was using cones (I never tried the naturals range - superdrug coconut conditioner was on offer :p) but would so not do well for my mum. I might consider them for me now as well if they're ever on offer, as they come in such big tubs they last for ever.

Does anyone know if cassia will have particularly noticeable effects on a medium golden/honey blonde? I think my mum would really like a cassia treatment, and would mind some subtle colour alteration, but I've never seen a before-and-after cassia-on-blonde photograph. (I will reask on the henna forum in a bit).

Thank you everyone for being so helpful! Especially for the reminder that too much product is bad. I tend to forget that even on myself, and my hair can handle a lot of goop :o

[MistyF]

I've used cassia on my thin blond, now white hair, and it did give it a weird yellow color, when left on for about 45 minutes. The color did fade after a few days though.

[Kristamommyx3]

My mother's hair is identical! Well, except for that it's 1b, f i. And blonde. She has the most baby fine blonde hair ever, and she takes amazing care of it. Her favorite shampoo that she's finally decided is perfect for her is Johnson's baby shampoo. Not any other brand she says. She says she conditions with a light conditioner just on the ends before washing. As for favorite hair volumizers, I love Suave volumizing root spray, and she likes Aussie volumizing mousse ( you'd use both) and loreal ellenette hair spray. Believe me when I say these are the best products! I've lived my whole life perfecting the art of baby fine blonde hair! Lol. These are probably not cone free. My favorite line of shampoo that I use exclusively, is organix. I love the coconut one for volume. I've tried most of them, and some are a little too moisturizing for my fineness, but they are all great. I hope this helps!

[Kristamommyx3]

BTW, I'm quite tired, so if I flubbed any names up please forgive me. ;)

[Dark Queen]

Would Monistat help in this case? I'm, thinking for my mom who has very similar hair except hers is probably a 1b/c, F, i. She's been growing it out and loves her length (about BSL), but really wants to thicken back up. I haven't used Monistat that long yet, but if it works, I might tell her to try it.

[Chetanlaiho]

I have a bottle of the Body Shop rainforest shine conditioner, and I hated it :/ it was grabby somehow, didn't feel moisturising at all and just led to shedding hair while trying to work it in, it was terrible.

If your mother is also in the UK, you probably have acces to my favorite condtioner, Inecto coconut moisture something something conditioner ^^ it's conefree which gave my hair a lot more volume (I use it for CO)

[Intransigentia]

My hair is maybe half fine and half medium, and darkish brown not blonde, but I would like to second the "less is more" rec. Things that have been really good for me:
- vinegar rinse - doesn't have to be ACV, I use white, scented with vanilla beans. I find it really helps with detangling, and also helps my scalp be less itchy and oily.
- Keep it light, and really thoroughly rinse out whatever condish you use. Anything left behind will just be a limpness and oil magnet.
- putting it in a high bun to dry can make a huge difference for root volume. Also sleeping with it in a high bun to perk up the volume overnight even if it's dry.