Shiny hair looks funny on me

[darklyndsea]

Since I've joined the LHC, I've been paying a lot more attention to my hair and have tried a couple of new things. And the biggest thing I've noticed is that my hair looks funny, almost greasy, when it gets too shiny, particularly when I french or dutch braid it.

So...am I alone in this? And if I'm not, what is it about my hair that makes it like that--the color? The fact that certain parts of my hair don't get much conditioner due to my hair being so thick? And, if I wake up and realize that my hair is shiny in a bad way, is there any way to make it less shiny without taking too much time?

[spidermom]

I've seen a few people around say that they don't like a lot of shine, but I do; I love it.

As long as your hair isn't piece-y or stringy, the shine indicates that your cuticle is nice and smooth, reflecting light.

[jujube]

It's hard to say without having seen your hair.

ETA: Oops, I meant to make a longer post. It could be that your hair is overmoisturized. It could be the cones if you use them. Shine is a sign of healthy hair but can look artificial sometimes when it obviously comes from using a lot of product.

[darklyndsea]

It's hard to say without having seen your hair.
I don't think I can take a good picture at this time, unfortunately; all I have to take pictures with is my iPhone. You may be able to get an idea from my album (http://imageshack.us/g/29/img0173fn.jpg/)?

I'm honestly confused as so what color my hair is classified as anymore; somewhere between blonde and brunette, with the top being lighter and the underside being darker.

[spidermom]

I think it's blonde, and that looks like healthy shine to me.

[MrsGuther]

I've seen a few people around say that they don't like a lot of shine, but I do; I love it.

As long as your hair isn't piece-y or stringy, the shine indicates that your cuticle is nice and smooth, reflecting light.

I agree with spidermom. If your hair is shiny, that's probably a good thing and your hair cuticle is smooth and in good condition.

[darklyndsea]

I like the level of shine in the pictures...it's when it gets shinier than that that it looks bad. I just don't usually take pictures of my bad hair days.

[Fairy tale]

I don't know what your routine is, but if you recently got off sulfates you might be in a transitioning period. Because sulfates strip the scalp it starts to over compensate by producing extra sebum. Once you go off them you may notice your hair is kind of greasy. This happened to me but it evens out. I think shine is good but greasy hair is bad. Hopefully you find a happy medium.

[luxepiggy]

I don't think my hair will ever reach a point at which I will deem it "too shiny" . . . I want to see reflections, gosh darn it! REFLECTIONS, I say! (^(oo)^)v

[littlenvy]

I don't think my hair will ever reach a point at which I will deem it "too shiny" . . . I want to see reflections, gosh darn it! REFLECTIONS, I say! (^(oo)^)v
LOL!

But I agree with this.

Your hair looks like a normal healthy shine. Nothing TOO shiny. Very pretty too!

[Rocket22]

I don't think my hair will ever reach a point at which I will deem it "too shiny" . . . I want to see reflections, gosh darn it! REFLECTIONS, I say! (^(oo)^)v

I agree too! yup wanna have hair my friends can put their makeup on with if they choose.

[MissManda]

I don't think I've ever seen a head of hair that looked too shiny. :p But I like shinies and cannot resist them, soooo.....

I'd call your hair blonde and I'd say your shine looks great. :) I really like your hemline!

[KwaveT]

I don't know what your routine is, but if you recently got off sulfates you might be in a transitioning period. Because sulfates strip the scalp it starts to over compensate by producing extra sebum. Once you go off them you may notice your hair is kind of greasy. This happened to me but it evens out. I think shine is good but greasy hair is bad. Hopefully you find a happy medium.

This is what my hair is doing since I stopped my sulfate shampoo and went CO with cone-free conditioner. I get plenty of reminder from my mother about my oily hair. It has been about three weeks now. I am hoping for it to even out on the oil production of my scalp. It starts to really show on the oil on the third day. I only go to a third day on every Tuesday. That is day my hair looks the oiliest.

[luckyduck]

I have found that my hair does not like it when I go totally CO. I go between CO, and CWC. No strict routine about it though, I just try to listen to my hair and scalp.

[ravenreed]

Right before my hair gets stringy, it gets very, very shiny. I hate it. To me, it looks dirty. I add things to my part area to reduce the shine.

[jujube]

This is what my hair is doing since I stopped my sulfate shampoo and went CO with cone-free conditioner. I get plenty of reminder from my mother about my oily hair. It has been about three weeks now. I am hoping for it to even out on the oil production of my scalp. It starts to really show on the oil on the third day. I only go to a third day on every Tuesday. That is day my hair looks the oiliest.

Does your hair/scalp seem to like your new routine? CO doesn't work for everyone. It might also just be a transition period. I know I had one when starting to CO, nothing dramatic really, but I sort of eased into it by alternating CWC and CO washes. (ETA: I see that luckyduck has already suggested that.)

[julierockhead]

If you are not used to it, I think shiny hair is kind of a shock for a while! Since I started COwashing and doing DT's and SMT's, I have gotten a lot shinier too. But from other's comments, it is a good thing :)

[ddiana1979]

Too shiny? Message does not compute.

[celebriangel]

Might this be because, actually, shiny hair isn't all that common anymore?

Around university, with the exception of asian and indian girls whose hair seems to shine under all circumstances, everyone I see appears to have dull, dryish hair. This appears to be the definition of "clean".

Your hair looks lovely and healthy to me.

[teal]

Too shiny? Message does not compute.


Might this be because, actually, shiny hair isn't all that common anymore?

Around university, with the exception of asian and indian girls whose hair seems to shine under all circumstances, everyone I see appears to have dull, dryish hair. This appears to be the definition of "clean".

Your hair looks lovely and healthy to me.

These things. My hair is also shiny with definition... I thought it looked a bit greasy at first, too, so I asked DH for his opinion. He said it just looked healthy, not greasy, and that he liked it. It didn't take long for me to grow to like it, too.

[Aqua Gal]

Strangely, I completely understand. Not from my own hair, but from my toddler. Her hair becomes perfectly slick. I'm used to more texture, so it can look weird to me ( like she needs a wash) even when I know her hair is clean.

I agree with others who said if it's not piecy, stringy or limp then go for it! Greasy roots, no, but otherwise super shiny is a +

[Fairy tale]

Might this be because, actually, shiny hair isn't all that common anymore?

Around university, with the exception of asian and indian girls whose hair seems to shine under all circumstances, everyone I see appears to have dull, dryish hair. This appears to be the definition of "clean".

Your hair looks lovely and healthy to me.

I think this has A LOT to do with it. It took me a while to accept that my hair was not dirty. I felt like everyone was looking at my hair thinking you need to wash that out, because it didn't looked fried like theirs.