COing and hair no loner soft- and with frizzy ends! :(

[Amber_Maiden]

Ok... so I've been Coing for a little over a month now... I've done one clarifying wash with ACV in that time, and washed my hair once with shampoo after I hennaed my hair two weeks ago... Now my hair looks... awful. For a few days last week, right after I hennaed, I COed my hair three days in a row... Could that be it? My hair feels dry (even though I oiled it for the last three days and haven't wash my hair since Sunday). My ends look super frizzy. I even cut off a bit of the ends thinking i might help them look better. It didn't. They look worse than before... Help!!!! HELP!!!! :( :confused:

[krissykins]

It sounds like the henna dried out your hair a bit, but it could also be the ingredients in the products you are using. Are there any humectants or proteins in your products?

[Amber_Maiden]

None at all. I've been avoiding those like the plague... My CO is organic, has nothing in it but essential oils.

[krissykins]

I peeked at your profile and your routine information says you use the Live Clean conditioner. Some variations of that do have glycerin, which is a humectant, and that may pull moisture from your hair if you live in a dry climate.

[Amber_Maiden]

Ended up changing that CO around about a week after I started COing... I'm using a CO by Prairie Naturals. http://www.prairienaturals.ca/?product_id=126 AND http://www.prairienaturals.ca/?product_id=124

[PinkyCat]

My hair does the exact thing if it doesn't get enough protein and too much moisture. The protein helps the cuticle lay flat and seal in the moisture. Try the Aphogee 2 step protein treatment from Sally's. Hopefully your hair will go back to normal after a few days.

Try stoping the ACV - it can actually lift the cuticle & cause problems. I cant use ACV, any type of acid, even aloe!

HTH!

[krissykins]

It appears that both of those conditioners have glycerin as well, and the Wild Rose one has silk amino acids (proteins).

I would suggest trying a baking soda wash or washing with a clarifying shampoo. Those should remove any protein buildup that may be lingering on your hair. ACV is good to rinse with, but it does not remove protein buildup.

Also, which oil are you using to oil your hair? Coconut oil has the tendency to dry out ends.

Hope that helps! :flower:

[Amber_Maiden]

It appears that both of those conditioners have glycerin as well, and the Wild Rose one has silk amino acids (proteins).

I would suggest trying a baking soda wash or washing with a clarifying shampoo. Those should remove any protein buildup that may be lingering on your hair. ACV is good to rinse with, but it does not remove protein buildup.

Also, which oil are you using to oil your hair? Coconut oil has the tendency to dry out ends.

Hope that helps! :flower:


Thank you for the help! Actually not using coconut oil- am using a oil/serum with silicia in it.

[krissykins]

You're welcome! :D

[Shell]

Silica is a cone=silicone. I suspect that is your problem. Try shea butter or olive oil perhaps. Set the serum aside for now and try it later if you like. Do a real clarifying wash--even baking soda isn't the best for that. I use George Michael's Blue Shampoo, but there are a number of others you could try. Then use the shampoo and conditioner that your hair liked last. Do that for two weeks. If everything goes back to normal--then you can experiment if you like. Your problem might be protein--too much or too little, but don't experiment with that until you get your hair back to normal. Only introduce new products slowly until you know how your hair reacts to it, and don't try too many new things at once--you'll never figure out why your hair is behaving well or badly. :)

[Amber_Maiden]

Silica is a cone=silicone. I suspect that is your problem. Try shea butter or olive oil perhaps. Set the serum aside for now and try it later if you like. Do a real clarifying wash--even baking soda isn't the best for that. I use George Michael's Blue Shampoo, but there are a number of others you could try. Then use the shampoo and conditioner that your hair liked last. Do that for two weeks. If everything goes back to normal--then you can experiment if you like. Your problem might be protein--too much or too little, but don't experiment with that until you get your hair back to normal. Only introduce new products slowly until you know how your hair reacts to it, and don't try too many new things at once--you'll never figure out why your hair is behaving well or badly. :)

OMG. How could I have not realized that??? Silica= silicone... agh!!!! How can it be bad for your hair though??? I thought it repairs your hair shaft???

[krissykins]

Shell is such a smartie! For some reason, I thought you saying you were taking a silica supplement or something :p

Silicones don't repair the hair shaft, but they do smooth it down and prevent moisture from getting in or out. It's like having a plastic covering on your hair strand. They're not necessarily "bad" but they may be preventing your hair from getting the moisture that it needs.

[Amber_Maiden]

Shell is such a smartie! For some reason, I thought you saying you were taking a silica supplement or something :p

Silicones don't repair the hair shaft, but they do smooth it down and prevent moisture from getting in or out. It's like having a plastic covering on your hair strand. They're not necessarily "bad" but they may be preventing your hair from getting the moisture that it needs.

That actually might be whats going on... But its weird... up until a week ago my hair was FINE with the serum, even looked better with it???:(

[krissykins]

It sounds like the 'cones have been building up on your hair. It's simply a case of too much of a good thing. :(

If you want to keep using the serum, it might be helpful to clarify every once in awhile! :)

[SpinDance]

I was not successful using CO until I stopped using silicones. I'll second the recommendation to go back to what was working, get things settled back down for a while before trying more experiments. It is very tempting to try lots of things at once, but since each of us is different it takes time and patience to figure out what works, and what combinations work. I've been at it since I joined LHC. I've learned a whole lot about what does and doesn't work for me, but I know there is lots yet to learn.

Don't feel that going back to a routine that used to work is any sort of failure. It just means you learned something you needed to know. And when you find things that work, well, that's just more things to add to your routines/rotations.

[Amber_Maiden]

I think what I'll do is:
1) stop with the serum
2) use my CO without the silk in it
3) do an AVO/EVO treatment
4) do a clarifying treatment... Im tempted to do it again with ACV, like I did once before- just because I KNOW it worked before...
5) and not wash my hair for about a week so that I can brush my sebum through my hair more.

Thank you for the help everyone!!!:)

[krissykins]

Though ACV is great for getting gunk out of hair, I don't think it'll get cones out. I would recommend doing a clarifying shampoo :D

Good luck! Let us know how things turn out.

[Amber_Maiden]

Do you know of any organic clarifying shampoos? I don't like chemicals or parabens or SLS in my stuff lol

[Shell]

I know Paul Mitchell has one. Maybe just use a little bit and only one wash. There are others, but I'm no expert--I'm not a heavy cone user--so I only clarify infrequently. I use George Michael's when I really need one.

Cones hide damage, this is probably why your hair looked really great for a while. Krissykins (who is also a smartie :)), is right, 'cones create a seal around your hair shaft. People like them because they control frizz in humid conditions. Some people's hair also performs well with cones, and they don't even get build up--the rest of us are not so lucky. AVC is not clarifying. AVC helps to seal the over-lapping scales on your hair shaft to promote shine and control tangling. It restores pH balance in some cases. We don't know if this is your problem. Some people have also found AVC to be drying, and we don't want to irritate your ends.


SpinDance also has a good point. Many people like to go coneless when they are COing. This is because it generally takes some kind of surfactant (acting as a detergent) to remove cones. Hence, the clarifying wash and not AVC.


I don't recommend that you try to stretch out your washes right now to get sebum down your hair shaft--that's a new method. No new methods until you reach some sort of equilibrium. Once you find a method that is good for your hair, then try stretching out your washes and getting sebum down to the ends. Right now, just get your hair happy again. Happy hair=happy Amber_Maiden. :)

Best of luck.

[Amber_Maiden]

I know Paul Mitchell has one. Maybe just use a little bit and only one wash. There are others, but I'm no expert--I'm not a heavy cone user--so I only clarify infrequently. I use George Michael's when I really need one.

Cones hide damage, this is probably why your hair looked really great for a while. Krissykins (who is also a smartie :)), is right, 'cones create a seal around your hair shaft. People like them because they control frizz in humid conditions. Some people's hair also performs well with cones, and they don't even get build up--the rest of us are not so lucky. AVC is not clarifying. AVC helps to seal the over-lapping scales on your hair shaft to promote shine and control tangling. It restores pH balance in some cases. We don't know if this is your problem. Some people have also found AVC to be drying, and we don't want to irritate your ends.


SpinDance also has a good point. Many people like to go coneless when they are COing. This is because it generally takes some kind of surfactant (acting as a detergent) to remove cones. Hence, the clarifying wash and not AVC.


I don't recommend that you try to stretch out your washes right now to get sebum down your hair shaft--that's a new method. No new methods until you reach some sort of equilibrium. Once you find a method that is good for your hair, then try stretching out your washes and getting sebum down to the ends. Right now, just get your hair happy again. Happy hair=happy Amber_Maiden. :)

Best of luck.


Thank you Shell for all the advice! Makes sense! :D

[Amber_Maiden]

So, I took the advice, and I did a Clarifying rinse. I think put some mashed out avocado in my hair, without the evo. I then washed my hair with organic moisturizing CO, several times, and then left some in for two hours for it to penetrate deeper. Guess what??? Hair absolutely amazing!!!! :D Thank you EVERYONE! for all the advice!!!! xoxoxooxo!!!!