How do you care for your 1a F i/ii hair?

[MissDixie]

I am very curious to learn how others with my hair type care for it. I'm hoping to learn some new things and try it for myself! Also any tips from anyone with fine hair are very appreciated!!

[Guenever]

I'm not i/ii but I do have pretty fine hair :)

My hair's still suffering from a few years of neglecting my length while traveling, but with regular trims it's slowly improving..
Since 2006 I've tried DOZENS of things.. cones/no cones, conditioner/no conditioner, WO, coconut/EVOO/monoi/mineral oil, avocado treatment, SMTs, etc. etc..

But I found that - so far - washing twice a week with shampoo bars (lather x2) and a final leave-in ACV rinse (2 cups of water to one tbsp of vinegar) does the trick for my hair :)
I finger comb, wear it up in rather loose buns (with sticks, armish pins etc) and generally try to keep it out of harm's way..

Plus, a tip for fine hair - handle it as little as possible. I'm a big fan of beneign neglect^^

[AspenSong]

Personally, the first thing I do is just generally be very gentle with it! :)
Other than that, my routine is somewhat like this usually....
- I wash my scalp with a sulfate free shampoo (I slather most of my length in conditioner first), I did CO washing for nearly a year, then starting shedding BAD...I couldn't pinpoint what was going on so on a hunch one day I shampooed and the shedding dramatically went down. So I've stuck with that. I condition with several different cone free conditioners I rotate that my hair seems to like (VO5, Natures Gate, the Whole Foods market store brand). I do heavy oilings with coconut oil, grapeseed oil, sweet almond oil or olive oil - I slather my hair in it and leave it for the day or sometimes until the next day. I oil after washings (which I stretch and do every 3-4 days) with jojoba oil or a bit of sweet almond oil . I use Pure Aloe gel for when I need to stick back my flyaways. I use a Tangle Teezer on my hair for brushing, which frankly is a miracle worker on my superfine hair! So so much more gentle than a normal brush. I do a cassia treatment with a bit of henna every 5 months or so for conditioning and shine. I sleep on a satin pillowcase in a satin sleep cap, which has also been like a miracle to me - not waking up to a rats nest on my head!
I also do rinse every couples washes with diluted Apple Cider Vinegar....which always makes my hair crazy soft afterwards.
And lastly, I keep my hair up in a bun or protective style about 90% of the time, or put it up in a satin lined paperboy cap. For me personally, my hair is very spiderwebby and light and it tangles easy, gets caught in stuff, so I just try to protect it and leave it up all I can.

[mzBANGBANG]

I'm a heat-addict with fine hair... so I have to do a LOT of maintaining in between curling my hair 1-2 times a week. My best friend is leave in conditioner with lots of cones. I do this everyday, especially right after I get out of the shower. I'm also a fan of anti-frizz serum, although my hair isn't frizzy. Since my hair is 1b, this is the only thing I can put in my hair that allows me to have completely straight hair after blowdrying on low warm. It makes my hair almost slippery.

2-3 times a week I do an oil treatment and my hair gets washed after the treatments. I clarify maybe twice a month with a water-vinegar solution and often do cool water rinses to attempt to close the hair follicle.

Most of my damage is apparent on my ends, but it's also bleach damage, so I'm hoping by the time I have it all cut out this routine will continue working for me!

[RapunzelKat]

Hi MissDixie! It looks like we are hairtwins! :D I have very fine, thin hair (2.5" ponytail circumference). Here's my current routine:

Wash about 2X a week with Aussie Moist shampoo and condition with Aussie 3MM conditioner. Clarify once a month or as needed with Neutrogena No Residue shampoo. I directional wash my scalp only to minimize tangles.

I use a leave in detangler calle Cowboy Magic which is very 'cone heavy. I apply EVOO to my length daily, and mineral oil to my ends after each wash. I let my hair air dry. Detangle with a wide tooth comb/fingers/tangle teezer on dry hair only.

I wear a sleep braid at night, sleep on a satin pillowcase, and protect my ends from the elastic, I put the end of my braid in a nylon stocking before tying it off. (It looks silly, but oh well :D)

During the day, I wear my hair braided or bunned. I'm currently in a wear-up challenge to learn more protective styles. I use hair friendly elastics only, and I try to do styles that don't require elastics as much as possible. I wear my hair down on rare occasions.

I avoid heat for the most part, but I do use a blow dryer when I do my Sun-In treatments (my one bad hair habit! :o)

Well, that was a lot of info... ;) Hope it helps! Feel free to ask if you have any questions.

[haibane]

If you haven't already, you might want to look at the fine and straight threads:

Thin/Fine Hair Thread:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=17115

Straight and Silky Thread:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=22766

and another recent thread, Best Care For Baby-Fine Hair:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=83360

I personally use a curly type routine with lots of oil and conditioner because my hair gets dry very easily.

[lapushka]

Plus, a tip for fine hair - handle it as little as possible. I'm a big fan of beneign neglect^^

Definitely, this is a good tip. :)