Dry, tangled mess

[liabobia]

Hi longhairs! Long-time lurker, first time posting. My hair is about 6" short of my tailbone and growing well, but I have a curse: two types of hair on my head! Thin, soft, weak strands and thick, rough, wire-strong strands. The combination means that my hair wants to make dreadlocks of itself. Wearing a low ponytail or loose means a big, matted clump at the base of my neck by the end of the day. My ends are also terribly dry and crispy.

My current routine:
Wash hair maybe twice per week, Prell shampoo only on my scalp, AO honeysuckle rose 3 hour treatment once every 2 weeks, otherwise Revlon smooth down conditioner. Hair is up or braided at all times.

What I've tried:
CWC suave/prell/AO (soft, but impossible to comb)
coconut oil post-shower (crunchy crunchy hair)
protein conditioner (crunchier)
no-cones (more like no-comb..hehehe)
no-poo (waxy, sticky, even after 2 months of WO)
Shikakai (did nothing but irritate my scalp)
baking soda/vinegar (itchy, red, unhappy scalp)
oil shampoo (greasier, but not any easier to manage)
SMT (same as above)

Right now the cones are the only way to comb out my hair but my poor length is so dry. Can anyone suggest anything? I'd give the world to be able to run my hands through my hair or braid it without ripping little fairy knots all over the place.

[ALongSummerWind]

Hi longhairs! Long-time lurker, first time posting. My hair is about 6" short of my tailbone and growing well, but I have a curse: two types of hair on my head! Thin, soft, weak strands and thick, rough, wire-strong strands. The combination means that my hair wants to make dreadlocks of itself. Wearing a low ponytail or loose means a big, matted clump at the base of my neck by the end of the day. My ends are also terribly dry and crispy.

My current routine:
Wash hair maybe twice per week, Prell shampoo only on my scalp, AO honeysuckle rose 3 hour treatment once every 2 weeks, otherwise Revlon smooth down conditioner. Hair is up or braided at all times.

What I've tried:
CWC suave/prell/AO (soft, but impossible to comb)
coconut oil post-shower (crunchy crunchy hair)
protein conditioner (crunchier)
no-cones (more like no-comb..hehehe)
no-poo (waxy, sticky, even after 2 months of WO)
Shikakai (did nothing but irritate my scalp)
baking soda/vinegar (itchy, red, unhappy scalp)
oil shampoo (greasier, but not any easier to manage)
SMT (same as above)

Right now the cones are the only way to comb out my hair but my poor length is so dry. Can anyone suggest anything? I'd give the world to be able to run my hands through my hair or braid it without ripping little fairy knots all over the place.
Have you tried overnight conditioning? There is a perfect hair product out there for everyone and some people have a hard time finding that perfect one. I have a hairdresser friend who will honestly give advise but it still took some time to find my go to conditioner. Best wishes!

[CarpeDM]

Olive oil a couple of times a week overnight...

[ALongSummerWind]

EVOO is amazing, I would love to try different oils though, rare ones, any good ones besides EVOO that are more rare?

[CarpeDM]

EVOO is amazing, I would love to try different oils though, rare ones, any good ones besides EVOO that are more rare?

OMG there are soooo many oils! Let me see... olive, avocado, camellia, jojoba, castor, emu, coconut and the list goes on, but personally I think olive oil is the best and it works wonders on my hair more so than any other oil I've used...

[liabobia]

I've never tried olive! Do I put it on damp hair or dry hair?

[battles]

I mix olive oil and castor oil and leave it on for a few hours to overnight. After I've gotten all the oil out and dried it, my hair is usually very silky and I can easily run my fingers through it. :)

[CarpeDM]

I use it on dry hair...

[HintOfMint]

We seem to have similar hairtypes so here is what I would do. I would start by clarifying if you haven't already. It's a good way to get a fresh start and allow any other treatment to sink in better. Then follow with a deep conditioning treatment like an SMT (Snowymoon's Moisture Treatment--the thread on it is in the recipes section of this forum). For a leave-in, I prefer emollient type of products (shea butter or oils). Olive oil is a good choice for me and adds some slip. I would then air dry a bit and then comb into a damp bun. When it is dry, it should smooth out the wiry coarser strands.

[kittymallow]

if your hair turned greasy after an smt when your hair is dry something is wrong. i would tried to do a clarifying by mixing baking soda in water until dissolved and pour it over your newly shampooed hair, let it sit for a minute or more, rinse it out and follow with a litre of water with a tiny amount of lemon juice, then do an smt and se what kind of result you get. Maybe try to put your hair in a low ponytail and apply the smt only on the hair in the tail, and then cover it with a plastic bag or something:)

[Madora]

I've never tried olive! Do I put it on damp hair or dry hair?

Shampoo and condition your hair and let it dry overnight.

Next day, measure out a little bit of EVOO in a Pyrex cup (I use less than 1/4 of a cup). Dip your fingers into the Evoo then apply to your hair.

You want to end up with slightly damp (but not dripping) EVOO covered hair.

Bun or braid your hair and pin in place.

Take a large sheet of Saran wrap (cling wrap) and place over your hair (I usually use 3 sheets). Leave it on overnight--or at least 3 hours). Remove cling wrap and then shampoo and condition as usual.

EVOO provides tremendous slip..great for braiding!

[Long_hair_bear]

Shampoo and condition your hair and let it dry overnight.

Next day, measure out a little bit of EVOO in a Pyrex cup (I use less than 1/4 of a cup). Dip your fingers into the Evoo then apply to your hair.

You want to end up with slightly damp (but not dripping) EVOO covered hair.

Bun or braid your hair and pin in place.

Take a large sheet of Saran wrap (cling wrap) and place over your hair (I usually use 3 sheets). Leave it on overnight--or at least 3 hours). Remove cling wrap and then shampoo and condition as usual.

EVOO provides tremendous slip..great for braiding!

I might try evoo. My ends are very dry and I considered trimming them off, though if I can find a way around it, it would be great. I'm alittle wary though, since I already use jojoba oil. I know there is such a thing as too much oil. ;)

[Amber_Maiden]

try a hair mask using your favorite moisture conditioner- works wonders!

[ktani]

Hi longhairs! Long-time lurker, first time posting. My hair is about 6" short of my tailbone and growing well, but I have a curse: two types of hair on my head! Thin, soft, weak strands and thick, rough, wire-strong strands. The combination means that my hair wants to make dreadlocks of itself. Wearing a low ponytail or loose means a big, matted clump at the base of my neck by the end of the day. My ends are also terribly dry and crispy.

My current routine:
Wash hair maybe twice per week, Prell shampoo only on my scalp, AO honeysuckle rose 3 hour treatment once every 2 weeks, otherwise Revlon smooth down conditioner. Hair is up or braided at all times.

What I've tried:
CWC suave/prell/AO (soft, but impossible to comb)
coconut oil post-shower (crunchy crunchy hair)
protein conditioner (crunchier)
no-cones (more like no-comb..hehehe)
no-poo (waxy, sticky, even after 2 months of WO)
Shikakai (did nothing but irritate my scalp)
baking soda/vinegar (itchy, red, unhappy scalp)
oil shampoo (greasier, but not any easier to manage)
SMT (same as above)

Right now the cones are the only way to comb out my hair but my poor length is so dry. Can anyone suggest anything? I'd give the world to be able to run my hands through my hair or braid it without ripping little fairy knots all over the place.

You have a lot of conditioner on your hair coating it contunuously. You are not removing it. Oil used over that will be crunchy. Oil used on much less to no conditioner will be less to not crunchy.

I suggest using the Prell - if it is the one in the bottle to clarify your hair.

Use less conditioner on your hair as in shampoo and condition. Then if you like use an oil on the ends. You have been layering your hair with coatings and that overloads it - result? dry hair.

ETA: You can also deal with both types of your hair another way, http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=225

See also the last few pages of this thread, http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=85070&page=2

And the last page here, http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=85400&page=6

[Ravenwind]

For me, there is nothing I can do to fix my dry ends. I've tried almost everything. The only way for me to fix them is to trim or cut them off :(

Also, you might want to try a clarifying shampoo and see if that might help.

[Mina17]

I agree with the suggestions to clarify. Buildup makes my ends feel coarse and dry. And trying a different oil if the coconut isn't working.

[Maelyssa]

If Prell is your regular shampoo can I suggest a gentler cleanser? There are a few different sulfate free or low sulfate ones on the market that are less drying/stripping than Prell. When I over saturated my hair with boxed hair dye years ago a stylist friend suggested a few washings with Prell because of its very stripping nature.

Try something gentler and it may work. Also, how about instead of using an oil out of the shower use just a touch of Suave or V05 conditioner. They're so much lighter and provide slip for detailing but don't leave hair crunchy or greasy.

[Madora]

Also, once you find a gentler shampoo, try diluting it a bit. Ditto for your conditioner.

[ktani]

The Prell has only been used on her scalp.
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showpost.php?p=1938508&postcount=1
ETA: colour added by me
"My current routine:
Wash hair maybe twice per week, Prell shampoo only on my scalp, AO honeysuckle rose 3 hour treatment once every 2 weeks, otherwise Revlon smooth down conditioner. Hair is up or braided at all times."