The good and the bad

[Sisgoldenhair65]

Hello, LHC friends!! Well, I have been on LHC for about a month now and having so much fun reading the threads and trying new things! Let me start with the good....I love my new satin pillow cases, I learned so many new styles including sock buns and crown braids, I gave up heat styling which has made my hair care routine so much easier and my hair so much happier. I love the volume and bounce I discovered from damp bunning!! I have learned that there really is hope for people my age who want very long hair and it's so awesome to read the threads and view hair pics from people of all ages! I have also discovered the magic of spin pins! I love them and they are perfect for my hair type which is pretty slippery. So, funny most people I show them to have never seen them. Not even my hair stylist! She also had no idea what a sock bun was. :confused: Anyway, you have all enlightened me so much and many thanks for that to you all!! :heart:
Now for the bad....I tried CO washing for a week and it didn't work for me at all! :(. My side bangs and scalp hair were so greasy after the first day, which is weird because I never thought I had an oily scalp at all. I used to go almost a week between washings with minimal greasiness. Also, from the ears down my hair was soft but limp and lifeless. I don't know what I did wrong...I rinsed very well. Maybe my hair just doesn't like CO?? I went to my stylist 2 days ago for a color touch-up (not ready to give that up :D) and I was so embarrassed because my scalp was really pretty oily and gross. I was actually looking forward to the shampoo that day. As predicted after the shampoo when taking it out of my bun after it was dry my hair was bouncy, shiny, lightweight and happy again! It's 2 days later and it's still bouncy and shiny with no grease at all. I'm thinking I should go back to S&C again since that's what seems to work for me? Any suggestions? I really need to have clean hair as I go to work everyday and my co workers were probably like...what's up with Sandi's hair? Anybody gonna ask why she doesn't wash her hair anymore? Ugh. Anyway...that's the bad. Beside the fact that I HATE my growing out layers. If I cut off the longest one I'm back at BSL and I really don't want to do that. I suppose I will wait till the shorter layer gets waist then cut? I shall see.
Another good note...when my stylist took my hair out of my bun she could not believe how long it got!! She was floored!! She is a little bit older than me and she says her hair would never grow like that. I told her my goal (classic) and she said I will def get there in 3 yrs for my 50th bday!! *happy dance*
Thank you all for reading...hope it's not too long!!

[HintOfMint]

First of all, I'm glad you found things that work for you and congrats on the growth! I personally love damp bunning and I'm glad giving up heat was an easy transition for you. Moreover, it is a treasure to have a stylist who supports your long hair goals. Very cool.

I also had to give up CO, but for different reasons. I started shedding like a maniac on that routine and I'm not going to stick that out to see if my scalp "adjusts." Nope, not worth it. I do CWC (condition length, wash scalp, rinse it all, then a proper conditioning) to keep the shampoo off my length which may work for you, it may not. Fortunately it's a pretty cheap experiment, no extra products to buy.

Glad you like it here!

[Aeltt]

Maybe my hair just doesn't like CO??
Mmm yeah. CO washing makes my hair shed like crazy [like hintofmint], i stick to (gentle) shampoo and conditioner.. And I've seen it often made fine hair greasy, you're not alone ^^
Happy growing !

[Amber_Maiden]

I would recommend trying CWC- condition wash condition. Might work ether for your hair.

[QMacrocarpa]

Yeah, CO washing didn't work out for me either. My experience was also that my hair was limp and lank and immediately in need of a wash. So after one or two tries I quit. I squirt dilute shampoo on my scalp and follow up with conditioner on my length. It works well for me and I can go for 10 or so days between washings.

[embee]

Heh. CO didn't work for me either. I have limp straight stringy hair to start with and CO seemed to make it moreso, bad move. I didn't wait, went back to shampoo immediately. ;)

Now I am mostly WO or NWSO, but I found that greatly diluting my shampoo helped a lot. In fact, I didn't need conditioner any longer, the hair was soft and clean and ok. I mean *really dilute*: take a big plastic tumbler and put one squirt of shampoo in, dilute with warm water. That got poured over my head (maybe twice in the one tumbler full) and worked on the scalp; I let the length take care of itself with whatever trickled down. Then I rinsed very well.

A bottle of shampoo lasted a rather astonishing long time. :)

[spidermom]

I agree about CO. I can do it once and have decent hair, but if I do it 2 times in a row - bleh! Flat, limp hair. So I stick to CWC with diluted shampoo, with an occasional CO thrown in there if I need an extra wash for some reason.

Oh - forgot to say - lately I've been experimenting with diluted shampoo wash followed by catnip tea soak (instead of my usual CWC). I have a split ends problem.

I'm hoping for classic length by Christmas.

[dulce]

Co washing doesn't work for me either,I get a sore scalp,limp hair and increased shedding.It doesn't work for everyone,experiment with all the advice offered on this forum to find what works for you.We are all different.

[Dragon Faery]

Happy growing to Classic! :)

CO definitely tends to work better on curly and/or dry hair. Your hair probably just doesn't need it. If your current routine makes it happy, there's no reason to change it. :)

[barely.there]

i am new here as well and have been experimenting the last couple weeks. i have been using ACV as a stand in for shampoo, and then i use a natural based conditioner. hair seems happy! since you have lighter colored hair, you can use lemons. acv tints some lighter hairs, and lemon lightens darker hairs :P i do this to keep my scalps pH balanced. good to hear about your successes. have fun experimenting!!

[Sisgoldenhair65]

Ahhh, I have 1a/1b M ii hair so I'm thinking that even though it's dyed I don't need so much conditioner. I was kind of disappointed with the results since I've seen so many positive raves about it. I will try diluting my shampoo, tho. I'm sure I will get much better results with that. It feels so good to have clean hair again!! Also compounding to the disastrous results of CO was that I go to the gym (yay, me!) about 5 days a week so sweat and sebum was way too much for CO only, I believe. Thank you all for your encouragement and suggestions!
Spidermom, your hair is gorgeous and I can't wait to see it at classic!

[WaterMusic]

I wouldn't stress about it. The point is to find something that works for you! If it doesn't work, then don't do it. :)

[Sisgoldenhair65]

Lol...WaterMusic, I'm totally over it. It's like a weight lifted off my shoulders....literally!! :)

[jacqueline101]

Congratulations on finding what works for your hair and your hair growth. I never tried co only I was afraid with the monistst my hair would be too oily. Have you tried monistat? It speeds up hair growth.

[Sisgoldenhair65]

Hello, Jacqueline.....I haven't tried Monistat but have read some threads about it for hair growth. Would you mind telling me what is and how you use it? Also, what are your results if any so far? Thx!! :).

[carolinaberry]

Congratulations on the good (especially on knowing your goal is in sight) and congratulations on figuring out the bad!

[Sisgoldenhair65]

Thank you, Carolinaberry! Well, I grew it the last 3 yrs pretty effortlessly and I'm just going to keep going with that just a more careful handling. I see you are also new here so welcome and I hope you learn as much as I am and have fun doing it! Good luck on your hair goals! :)

[carolinaberry]

Thanks for the luck...I need it. What was your starting point?

[Sisgoldenhair65]

My starting point was a layered chin length bob in August of 09. It was cute but I just grew it out without even thinking. I've done that a lot of times in my life...grow long then chop. This time is no chop!! :).