HELP! I have to wash my hair daily

[Leoslaire]

I ride my bike to work, and it's 12 miles each way. I find I can fix the helmet-hair when I get to work by spritzing it with ionized water (slightly acidic pH). But when I get home, my hair is just loaded with sweat and grease. (Think helmet-hair from Hell!) I have no choice, I have to wash it out - every day! Whoever invented bike helmets didn't have long hair -- Grrrrrrr. The problem is that my daily washing is drying my hair out, especially the ends! Does anyone know of a routine that I can use daily to wash my hair without drying it out. I've tried CO, but it leaves my hair greasy, and my scalp itchy. Since the ends are getting the driest, any tips on how to keep them moisturized would help too! This is driving me CRAZY ... and summer just began!

[longcurlygirl<3]

i'm sorry for your bad hair experience :(. But if CO-Washing did not work try using a sulfate-free, moisture rich shampoo or even shampoo bars I have heard of hennasooq? It is pretty famous and have a bar for active people[in your case biking twice a day!] their website is www.hennasooq.com. And with your ends moisturize with oils or butter for it cannot build up if you wash your hair everyday. I see shea butter moisturizes good, but put it in your ends try inssecent shea butter its a 16 oz for 13 dollars! Do deep treatments meant for drying hair. Google recipes trust me you will see alot! Good luck!

[ZeppHead]

Why not try soaking your ends in conditioner as you shampoo your roots? Or try looking for a more moisturizing shampoo...
or how about using baby powder on your roots before your ride home and see if that helps at all?
Also, always use a leave in conditioner or a strengthening cream on your ends for extra moisture. That will help a lot with dryness. I know that has saved my ends. I use it on them everyday.

[Messyhair]

My name is Messy, and I am a daily washer. :D

You need a gentle shampoo (sulfate-free, mayhaps) that you only apply to your roots. The length only needs conditioner to get clean and stay moisturized. I find a thick conditioner with cones is most moisturizing for me. Cone-free conditioners seem to leave my hair more dry and frizzy. CO would be another option for you, but that one never worked for me, since my roots are always left greasy.

[FluffSpider]

C-COW-C perhaps? It worked when I was stretching washes for once a week and by wash day I had extreme greasiness. I used equal parts of HE Long term Relationship shampoo(ALeS-a bit harsher than SLS, but I liked it), some cheap runny condish, and water.

[gthlvrmx]

Shampoo isn't moisturizing, it has a lot of drying chemicals on there, CO will be your friend here or CWC :) I suggest no more shampoo on the length, just condition. You need that moisture especially down here in California

[Ermine]

I ride my bike to work, and it's 12 miles each way. I find I can fix the helmet-hair when I get to work by spritzing it with ionized water (slightly acidic pH). But when I get home, my hair is just loaded with sweat and grease. (Think helmet-hair from Hell!) I have no choice, I have to wash it out - every day! Whoever invented bike helmets didn't have long hair -- Grrrrrrr. The problem is that my daily washing is drying my hair out, especially the ends! Does anyone know of a routine that I can use daily to wash my hair without drying it out. I've tried CO, but it leaves my hair greasy, and my scalp itchy. Since the ends are getting the driest, any tips on how to keep them moisturized would help too! This is driving me CRAZY ... and summer just began!

I'm in a similar situation. My hair shows grease pretty easily by itself and gets really flat and limp if I don't wash it every day. I also make a point to exercise every other day and it's just disgusting not to wash that out.

Maybe you've tried this already, but I'd go back to the CO thread. There are some tips for how to get rid of the greasiness. I used to have the same problem with CO until I changed a few things in my CO routine. Now it's working beautifully. I've been COing for 1.5 weeks and still no buildup. Here's what I've been doing to avoid the greasiness.
- cone free is a must (at least for me). Cones may be good for detangling and slip, but they do make the hair look greasy.
- I dilute my conditioner. It gets worked into the hair much better that way
- I use a LOT of conditioner given my short length (I use about a handful of diluted conditioner). It took me a while to get over this, but conditioner IS the cleaning agent and without it, you will have dirty greasy hair.
- I also found that it's easier to get the conditioner rinsed all the way if I massage my hair/scalp as I rinse.
- also, ACV helps me get out all the excess conditioner. Also makes my hair shiny. :)

If this hasn't worked, or is old news to you, I'm sorry for being redundant.

[selderon]

Whoever invented bike helmets didn't have long hair -- Grrrrrrr.
...or believed that the brain was essential to survival. :p


The problem is that my daily washing is drying my hair out, especially the ends! Does anyone know of a routine that I can use daily to wash my hair without drying it out. I've tried CO, but it leaves my hair greasy, and my scalp itchy. Since the ends are getting the driest, any tips on how to keep them moisturized would help too!
I haven't gone the CO route, so I can't do much to help you troubleshoot that.

I can recommend pre-oiling and washing just the scalp with diluted shampoo. Sound odd? It sounded odd to me at first too.

But I'm already oily!
Oily scalp may be caused by too little oil, such as when you repeatedly wash the skin's natural oils away. Some people find that the scalp normalizes once oil levels are appropriate to its needs.

The other reason for trying oil is to moisturize the lengths and ends. My routine is about a tablespoon of warm olive oil applied roots to ends on dry hair and left to soak in 1-2 hours. I follow up with diluted shampoo wash and conditioner and end up with silky hair.

I have noticed lately (after several months of doing this every 3 days) that I'm no longer getting silky hair this way. I'm guessing I've reached saturation point, so I've left out the oiling the last few times. Hair feels like it's ready to go back to oiling. Maybe once a week now.

Why just the scalp?
Washing only the scalp addresses the parts that need washing. Your length and ends will get wet and suds will run through them as you rinse. This seems to be enough to keep my hair looking and feeling clean and healthy without stealing precious moisture from the parts of the hair that need to hold onto it.

Why diluted shampoo?
When I say diluted shampoo, I mean about a quarter-sized dollop in roughly 4 fluid ounces of water. I put it in an empty translucent shampoo bottle, shake to mix, and apply to the scalp. Because the shampoo is mixed with water, it travels readily and evenly over the scalp. No need to glob it on and hope it will distribute to those tough-to-get areas. A few seconds of raking fingers over scalp and I'm clean and ready to go.

I rinse and follow with conditioner.

[Leoslaire]

I'm using sulfate-free shampoo (Aubrey Organics), and Mane-n-Tail for conditioner. I do wash "scalp only". CO leaves my roots greasy, I've tried to live with it, but it drove me crazy!

Mane-n-Tail is too heavy for me to use as a leave-in, but cone-free conditioners leave me dried out & frizzy just like Messy was describing. I am going to have to try and find a leave-in that is light enough for my super-fine hair - it goes totally flat with all the leave-in conditioners that I've tried. I'm going to try the cocoa butter for my ends, I'm desperate because I'm trying to go no-trim for 2011 (I did my last trim in December).

I am going to try the baby powder on my roots idea (thanks Zepphead!) I will let you know how that works! Hopefully I can overcome the feeling of dread I get every time I have to face the awful prospect of putting my helmet on!

[Kaelee]

Hi, i have washed my hair every day for years. I don't use conditioner except once or twice a week, but i DO use coconut oil on my ends every day after i get out of the shower (leave it in). My hair is in great shape!

[Leoslaire]

OMGs, I've been using coconut oil for my dry skin, but never thought about it for my hair... gonna try that one tonight! (Thanks Kaelee!)

I don't know how long I could stand to pre-oil my hair after coming home from work. I ride my bike (its 12 miles), and by the time I get home my scalp is greasy, itchy, and driving me crazy! I'm hoping to find something I can oil the ends with when I'm leaving work, it takes me almost an hour to ride home, so that may help.

You're right Selderon, pre-oiling my scalp sounds so weird, but I'll try it! I will try an oil treatment for my scalp this weekend, since I don't work weekends. If that can help stop my scalp from getting greasy, I will be a happy little camper!

[mellie]

I wash every day, I have naturally oily hair and scalp. If your shampoo is too strong, you can always dilute it. That works great!

[Leoslaire]

So much great advice, thanks everyone!

If dilute shampoo is still too strong, I will try CO again, but last time I did CO, it still left my hair greasy. I may try and dilute my conditioner with some alkaline water, and see if that can counteract the greasy part.

[Xandergrammy]

I don't have any suggestions, but I'm in awe of you for biking that far and back every day for work. :bowtome:

[Heian Beauty]

Ah, this sounds familiar.

I'm a medieval battle re-enactor and SCA heavy fighter, so helmets and sweat are something I have to deal with often. I usually train twice a week, so washing my hair then isn't a problem.
However, at long events when we fight every day, I have the same problem. Feasts, pub visits, talking to members of the public, etc. often happen soon after fighting, so I don't have time to wash my hair.

First of all, I always wear a cotton or linen cap under my helmet. It seems to keep things neat, protect my hair a bit, and wick up sweat and grease. I wear a medieval-style coif that ties under the chin, but you could probably get the same benefit from a more modern beanie or a scarf.
My Mum, a mad cyclist, found that wearing a cotton beanie helped with the sore and flaky scalp she got from her cycling helmet. She's got short hair though.

After I get the helmet off and find somewhere with a mirror (often a port-a-loo, also called a "turdis", ugh), I untie my hair and detangle it well, then use a boar bristle brush. For me, BBBs seem to spread the grease down the length of my hair so it doesn't sit on the top.
Then I use a dry shampoo. My favourite is Batiste, they do a brown-tinted one that doesn't make my hair look grey, and they sell mini cans so I just pop one in my armour bag with my comb, brush, and hair ties.

As for oily roots/dry ends, if you find a solution, please tell me. ><

[Leoslaire]

I save tons of money riding my bike to work... which I can then afford to spend on my hair! :) I LOVE the ride, I HATE the helmet hair.

[Anje]

Echoing some others here, try CWC and use as mild a shampoo as you can get away with.

And just as an FYI: many folks find Mane&Tail conditioners to be very heavy with protein and eventually drying to hair. Your mileage may vary, of course, but be aware of that potentiality in case it happens to you.

[spidermom]

This has probably already been said; I didn't read everything.
Conditioner to length (at least neck-down). Diluted shampoo to scalp area only (I mix this every time in an empty shampoo bottle). Massage scalp in the direction the hair is lying. Rinse. Condition again. Rinse again.

Oh, and I like to do a generous coconut-oiling to my length at least an hour before washing. The conditioner removes the excess oil, and it keeps my length well protected. My ends are as silky as my scalp area.

Don't be afraid to trim dried out ends. Sometimes they are so depleted of essential fatty adids and protein that they can't be healed.

[SpinDance]

I didn't have any luck with CO until I started to use oils and stopped using cones. I also get much better results. I'll second the powder on your hair before your trip home. I've used cornstarch with good success, better than the dry shampoo I bought. I'm graying, so the whitening effect wasn't a problem for me. However I've read, but not yet tried, cocoa powder as an alternative. Yummy smell with that, too. I've just ordered a BBB to try the oil distribution method, so no comments on that yet.

Another suggestion is to put coconut oil on your ends and lengths before your trip home, then wash either CO or CWC, or even oil shampoo. I've had nice results with prewash oilings, coconut oil, shea butter, blends of the two, SMT or Panacea all work nicely for me.

I can go several days to a couple of weeks with only CO cleansing, then I'll need to do a CWC to remove excess oil on the top of my head. I always dilute my shampoo, using only about a teaspoon, at the most, usually less. Good luck as you try things, it takes time to get a routine down. I've been doing slow experiments since I joined, and I'm still not done!

[Chanteuse87]

I'm a daily washer, as well. I've got some hormonal imbalances (that are going away!) that contribute oily skin and hair, and I just can't stretch my washes doing CO, WO, whatever.

I have found, though, that mixing coconut oil directly with my shampoo is a godsend. My routine is as follows:

Mix some shampoo (Aussie Awesome Volume) and coconut oil in my hand. Usually a 2:1 ratio, eyeballed.

Lather entire scalp and goosh down to the ends.

Rinse. Then fill a plastic cup with club soda, and rinse with that.

Apply a small amount of conditioner to ends.

Rinse. Then fill plastic cup again and rinse with distilled water.

The club soda and distilled water are because the water here in Indiana sucks (it's VERY hard), but if you have good water you can skip that, or use ACV, or tea rinses, or whatever works for you.

My hair dries quickly and beautifully, and I've never had so little breakage, despite daily washing!

[BlazingHeart]

I noticed that you said you were going to try pre-oiling over the weekend. The thing about CO washing and for some people pre-oiling is that it takes your scalp a while to adjust. I mean weeks, sometimes a couple of months. One time may still leave your scalp over-producing because you've taught it to do that. It won't change overnight - it needs time to adjust to the fact that you aren't going to be removing all of the oils it needs, so it doesn't have to produce so much.

~Blaze

[Madora]

While I can't recommend any shampoo to use as I've only used the George Michael products for decades, I'd suggest you find a sulfate free shampoo and dilute it with warm water and wash your scalp and hair every day, followed by a gentle conditioner and then a bit of coconut oil when the hair is fully dry.

I would tend to think that using Conditioning Only would, in time, leave too much build up on the strands (unless you were very vigilant in getting all the conditioner out with 2 rinsings).

You also might try an EVOO treatment once a week, to see if that helps restore the moisture lost from daily washing.

[Djinmonet]

When I rode with a helmet, I used a "skid lid" (not safe, I know!), and I got away with pre-oiling the length, braiding it, and tucking it away into the bra straps. Only the scalp was inside the helmet. I had saddlebags, so one bag always had a bottle of green tea, that I would pour over my scalp as soon as I arrived at my destination.
Stopped the itchy, sweaty, ugh, feeling. Bonus, it felt very cool before it dried. Green tea was just the tea bags I had left over from my morning tea, no other reason.
In Florida's sun, it was dry in a matter of hours, so my scalp didn't drive me nuts, the oil soaked into the length, and the whole thing looked clean. I wasn't on my way to work though, not sure how fast that would dry indoors.

I would say I would have done better with some sort of absorbent scarf or something between my head, and the helmet. Good luck finding what works for you, the tea and outdoor drying, meant I didn't feel quite like washing it every single day, but everyone is different. Definitely good luck find some sort of treatment, smt, oil, conditioner, leave-in, for those ends.

Just read a thread with helpful info, Just got my motorcycle permit, hair questions ensue! (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=70954&highlight=vortex)