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View Full Version : How does preening help hair appearance?



buttercupmcgee
July 13th, 2011, 09:56 AM
I understand the sebum distribution/itchiness relief benefits, but I keep reading that people also use preening/scritching to make their hair presentable, and stretch washes.

Hmmm. Anytime I my hair needs washing and I take a comb or brush (or fingers!) to it it ends up looking a thousand times more oily after I'm done. Is this method only for dry hair types or something?

spidermom
July 13th, 2011, 10:01 AM
People have different consistencies of sebum as well as different definitions of "presentable", so don't worry if something that works for one person doesn't make any sense for you and your hair.

buttercupmcgee
July 13th, 2011, 10:04 AM
People have different consistencies of sebum as well as different definitions of "presentable", so don't worry if something that works for one person doesn't make any sense for you and your hair.

:-) Good point. Thanks-

Siiri
July 13th, 2011, 10:13 AM
I'd imagine it could work better for people with very long and thick hair, there would be more hair to spread the sebum on.

ETA: Sorry, it sounds like I'm saying your hair is short and thin, I didn't mean that :)

buttercupmcgee
July 13th, 2011, 10:21 AM
People have different consistencies of sebum as well as different definitions of "presentable", so don't worry if something that works for one person doesn't make any sense for you and your hair.


I'd imagine it could work better for people with very long and thick hair, there would be more hair to spread the sebum on.

ETA: Sorry, it sounds like I'm saying your hair is short and thin, I didn't mean that :)

Haha no worries! It is short (ish) but thick so you're halfway there.

JellyBene
July 13th, 2011, 12:35 PM
I have found that my hair gets more clumpy/stringy when I preen so I totally understand what you're saying! My hair is pretty short too so maybe that is why? It is also VERY fine but I have a ton of it so that makes it look thick. What has helped me however, is a BBB, that really helps distribute the sebum more evenly.

heidihug
July 13th, 2011, 12:57 PM
I never scritch until right before I shower. My hands are then shiny, all coated in oil after I scritch. (Other people call what their scalp produces "sebum", which is made up of oil, wax and dead cells; but my sebum has the consistency of olive oil, so I call it "oil"). I like to scritch to loosen any bits of dead scalp skin before I brush, but there's absolutely no reason for me to distribute the oil - it's already four or five inches down my hair shaft the second day after washing. Someone who has dry skin, though, may find that they need to stimulate their scalp in order to distribute the minimal sebum their scalp produces. Everyone's different!

MissManda
July 13th, 2011, 01:13 PM
I am still learning to preen, so I'm by no means an expert.

I preen so I can stretch washes in the summertime, and yes, it does alter the appearance of my hair. When my hair starts to get oily, it starts to look stringy, so when I massage my scalp and spread the sebum down my length, it gives in interesting coating effect that makes it look like I used mousse or gel in my hair if I manage to distribute it well. My hair does not get flatter when it gets oily, it gets bigger because the sebum gives me serious root lift. :bigeyes:

If for some reason I can't get the distribution right, I only do it on the upper, more visible sections of hair while leaving my inner layers alone and put my hair up in a bun. :eyebrows: If I do this successfully, not even my very observant DF can tell that my hair isn't clean. :P

twilight_faerie
July 13th, 2011, 01:23 PM
My hair looks dreadful after scritching, so I only do it right before I shower. It makes my canopy so greasy that my hair actually clumps together. Sadly, using a BBB has the same effect.

DoubleCrowned
July 16th, 2011, 07:06 AM
My hair looks worse after scritching and preening, but I do it at night. Sometimes it looks fine by morning! (Water only)