Confused about oil treatments my hair in general

[iloveyourstory]

Hello all,

I'm new to the forum and just have a couple questions. I have very fine, straight hair that is often limp, lifeless, and overall just boring. I have some highlights as well. My thing is, I just don't know what to do to get my hair sleek, shiny, and bouncy (i.e. full of life). I don't know what to do in terms of getting there. I have tried sulfate free shampoos, silicone free condicitoners, full of silicone conditioners, moisturizing conditioners, WEN, and oils and STILL cannot achieve this look. What am I doing wrong?

Also - I tried doing the olive oil treatment (heating up a cup of it, putting it, and letting it sit for an hour) and it was very hard to wash out and it still looks like a greased up mess. My ends are still very dry and my scalp is still oily. Help :(

[sharicat]

Conditioner should get the oil out. Put some on and let it sit for at least ten minutes.

It's easy to go totally overboard trying new things when you discover LHC - I know I did :) the best thing to do is decide on one thing you want to try, be it CWC, cones, no cones, etc, and just do that. For one month. Then see how your hair's looking. If you try loads of new stuff all at once, you have no way of knowing what's working or not working for you.

Some things will suit your hair, some not. It takes time to hit on the perfect products and routine to get your hair how you want.

Good luck :)

[jacqueline101]

I never did the olive oil. I found out that oil is something best used in moderation. I made mine diluted with water and misted over my whole head. I add only as needed to the ends. I use my own oil blend that maybe a key for you try using different oils and dilute them.

[Madora]

As far as using olive oil, as in an overnight EVOO treatment, I only use less than 1/4th of a cup (even less is better). The hair should not be dripping but only moderately damp.

The EVOO is applied to freshly shampooed, dry hair, stays in overnight, then is rinsed out the next day with diluted shampoo and a little bit of diluted conditioner.

Leaves my hair silky and feeling terrific, with a lot of slip (which is what I mainly use it for since my hair is already silky and soft from brushing every day).

Good luck. I hope you find something to your liking soon!

[jennyjukes]

i've never got the measurements. what does "a cup" stand for?

for EVOO i put a little bit in my hand and rub till my hand is shiny then apply to my lengths when dry and leave it in overnight. i then apply a cheap cone free conditioner to my hair the next day (still dry) for an hour or two before rinsing out and shampooing my hair then conditioning again with the same conditioner.
coconut oil i use the same amount and apply to my hair sometimes if it's feeling a bit dried out and put it in a bun for an hour or so to leave it to sink in. i use it as a leave-in.

i never heat them up or put anything on my scalp (other than shampoo)

[shikara]

My hair was exactly as you describe yours. What finally gave my hair bounce, the good kind of shine, and volume was recognizing that perhaps my hairs best friend wasnt going to be oils, and that the only thing I hadnt tried was protein and cwc. I didnt want to risk the horrid results some talk about after protein 'treatments' so I decided to use keratin shampoo and conditioner. I chose Mill Creek. Put on wet hair under shower cap for ten minutes, shampoo, then condish again for two min. The first use showed instant volume and some body, and after using it a few times my hair was everything I had been looking for. Every second wash I will start with a deep moisturizing condish, and finish off with the keratin. Often people associate bounce volume and life with moisturized hair - not sure why. Fine hair and kinky hair is often deficient in protein. I started a thread last night, i think i called it 'a fresh look at protein'. There is more helpful info there if you decide to try this route. No cones in S&C. The deep moisturizing I use is loreal EverPure Deep Control Masque.

[sfgirl]

I use just enough coconut oil to scrape under my nail. I keep my nails very short by the way haha. :) I don't use much!

[iloveyourstory]

Thanks so much for the advice. I think I just put way too much on today. I bought some coconut oil to put on my hair next. Is it normal for the coconut oil to be a paste instead of oil?? It's a white pasty lotion. I also read that you shouldn't use too much protein on your hair because it will build up.

[Kelikea]

In colder weather, coconut oil solidifies. It shouldn't really resemble "lotion" though.
What kind is it?

[torrilin]

Hello all,

I'm new to the forum and just have a couple questions. I have very fine, straight hair that is often limp, lifeless, and overall just boring. I have some highlights as well. My thing is, I just don't know what to do to get my hair sleek, shiny, and bouncy (i.e. full of life). I don't know what to do in terms of getting there. I have tried sulfate free shampoos, silicone free condicitoners, full of silicone conditioners, moisturizing conditioners, WEN, and oils and STILL cannot achieve this look. What am I doing wrong?

Um, nothing?

Fine, straight hair is just not going to look like hair in a Pantene commercial. Shiny? Sure, that's totally doable. But often the bounce you see in commercial hair is because the model doesn't have naturally straight hair... she's got wavy or curly hair that's been straightened. That makes it behave quite differently. Most hair models also have at least medium textured hair, often even somewhat coarse.

There is nothing wrong with your hair. It will happily do a wonderful sleek and shiny look if that's what you desire. Fine and straight hair is made for the really precise and angular Mod hairstyles.

I'd suggest looking through the thread for 1as, and some of the various fine hair threads. I don't think most fine and straight haired people really get on with oil in massive quantity. For me a thin film on my hands is about the most my hair can take.

[iloveyourstory]

Um, nothing?

Fine, straight hair is just not going to look like hair in a Pantene commercial. Shiny? Sure, that's totally doable. But often the bounce you see in commercial hair is because the model doesn't have naturally straight hair... she's got wavy or curly hair that's been straightened. That makes it behave quite differently. Most hair models also have at least medium textured hair, often even somewhat coarse.

There is nothing wrong with your hair. It will happily do a wonderful sleek and shiny look if that's what you desire. Fine and straight hair is made for the really precise and angular Mod hairstyles.

I'd suggest looking through the thread for 1as, and some of the various fine hair threads. I don't think most fine and straight haired people really get on with oil in massive quantity. For me a thin film on my hands is about the most my hair can take.

Ahh don't crush my dream of having big, voluminous, bountiful hair. Alright so perhaps its far-fetched but I can dream. Thanks for your suggestions, I tried coconut oil with much better results. I also think my hair is a bit too long for how fine it is. Thanks all.

[BlazingHeart]

Have you tried rollers? I know for people with very straight hair, often the key to having 'bounce' is getting a bit of curl or wave in it. You want to start with big ones, like the size of a soup can (and in fact, if you want to try it cheaply before you invest in the rollers, you can use empty soup cans to get a feel for what it will look like - that's what my grandmother did when she was young! I believe she used soup cans and secured them with large bobby pins, but I never got into the details with her). Smaller ones will give you a more distinct curl; the big ones often just give you a sense of volume without looking curly. Start with lightly damp, fully detangled hair. The roller goes on the underside of the hair and rolls up to the scalp, and leave it in until your hair is dry. Once you're done with the rollers, you don't want to handle your hair much, as that will cause it to lose the bounce.

~Blaze

[spidermom]

A good way to roll your hair is to put it in a loose-ish ponytail on top of your head, then roll the ends under on large curlers and secure with roller pins. It's much easier to sleep with rollers done this way.

Even at my length, I never use more than a couple of tablespoons of oil for my length from about ear level down. Then I CWC the next day.

[iloveyourstory]

Thanks for the suggestions. what ended up saving my hair is apple cider vinegar! It worked wonders and gave it bounce and shine. Yay!

[ktani]

Hello all,

I'm new to the forum and just have a couple questions. I have very fine, straight hair that is often limp, lifeless, and overall just boring. I have some highlights as well. My thing is, I just don't know what to do to get my hair sleek, shiny, and bouncy (i.e. full of life). I don't know what to do in terms of getting there. I have tried sulfate free shampoos, silicone free condicitoners, full of silicone conditioners, moisturizing conditioners, WEN, and oils and STILL cannot achieve this look. What am I doing wrong?

Also - I tried doing the olive oil treatment (heating up a cup of it, putting it, and letting it sit for an hour) and it was very hard to wash out and it still looks like a greased up mess. My ends are still very dry and my scalp is still oily. Help :(

I have mostly fine hair too. I have found over the years in general that less is more with fine hair. If you have been trying many things and heavy conditioners, you may need to clarify your hair to recover a lighter, bouncier look and feel.

As to oil, heavy, greasy oils on fine hair can be problematic. You can emulsify oil left on hair out with conditioner (a light one) before clarifying with shampoo to remove product build-up. It is recommended in a few threads here to let the conditioner sit on the hair for a few moments before "lathering" it up to be rinsed out.

The best oil I have found for oiling my hair is mineral oil/baby oil. I just use less than 3 small drops. The number of drops will vary for each person but the idea is to use the least amount possible. The oil does not weigh my hair down or make it look greasy. Just the opposite. You can find more information here, http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=86298 and in my blog below.

You do not have to oil your hair at all to get what you want. However, using mineral oil drops certain ways can help you get more volume, ETA: moisture, - body, and shine, without the need of using an oil treatment.

ETA:2 Unlike some vegetable oils like olive oil, which can discolour highlights and has been reported here to discolour ash blonde hair used as a treatment, mineral oil/baby oil is clear (no colour), and will not affect hair colour by adding colour to it.

[DarkAlice]

I have fine hair too and I used to use coconut oil until my ends started getting dry and crunchy from all of the protein over-load, i'd give the olive oil diluted in water with a mister, works for me as a pre-wash so its easier to detangle and gives a little slip

[lostchyld]

A good way to roll your hair is to put it in a loose-ish ponytail on top of your head, then roll the ends under on large curlers and secure with roller pins. It's much easier to sleep with rollers done this way.

Even at my length, I never use more than a couple of tablespoons of oil for my length from about ear level down. Then I CWC the next day.

The last time I did an oil treatment, I used about 5 teaspoons and about half of it went on my scalp and roots. I'll probably do it that way again, because my scalp was so happy about it. Day six with no itches or flakes.

[ktani]

I have fine hair too and I used to use coconut oil until my ends started getting dry and crunchy from all of the protein over-load

Coconut oil contains no protein. It can cause the effect you had because used over conditioned ends it cannot penetrate hair with conditioner or residue on it and it is a heavy oil, ETA: http://ktanihairsense.blogspot.com/2012/02/more-on-oils-and-oil-shampoo.html. Oils are not diluted with water. However, used the way you are using the olive oil it is spead more easily in a mist.

I have found with mineral oil/baby oil drops that not only do I get slip, I get no tangles.