annah
June 21st, 2012, 08:40 AM
I've been lurking around for a few weeks. Just wanted to say thanks for all the great info on this site!! I've been having a great time poking around.
My hair just hit hip length, more specifically, I just realized that my hair was finally long, and I'd better start taking care of it properly. My hair has been getting more and more frizzy and crazy over the last few years, making it a pain to do anything with. My hair has been in a ponytail nearly constantly for the last 6 years or so. (I have small children, so it's out of the way) My normal haircare routine has just been to ignore it, and wait for it to grow.
Since I've been lurking around, I have been oiling my hair every few days (oil heavy, leave on for a few hours, conditioner wash out) I've only used shampoo twice in that time. Once was when I went a little too crazy with the oil, and couldn't get it rinsed clean with just conditioner, the second time was to help get the henna out (2 days ago).
I've went and bought a satin pillowcase, and craptons of different scents/types of conditioner. I've also been slowly trimming out the split ends that I could find, and did a 1/2" trim using the self trim instructions.
So, my progress. The conditioner washes, and regular oilings have REALLY helped! Made a giant improvement. After the first oiling, my mother in law said "What did you do to your hair, its so FLAT!" LOL. Apparently my hair was just really, really dried out! Who'd have thought that could make such a difference..
I started looking into henna. All I concluded was that there's no way to tell if it has been proven to do any of the things that people say it does. There might be studies- if so, I didn't find them. Google takes me to a lot of sites where people say that henna doesn't work/ doesn't condition/doesn't strengthen, etc.
I have an indian store right across the street, so I popped in and got some Jamila henna. Did it overnight a few nights ago. I *still* have a neckache from sleeping with all that weight on my head. Urrg. I rinsed it out, oiled for a few hours, then shampooed and conditioned. Whatever people say henna does not do, it sure seemed to help my hair! Even after all of my recent oilings/conditionings, the top layer of my hair was still frizzy. Crinkly would be the best word I guess. It felt very rough and was visibly kinked. My outer hair layer is totally smooth now!!! I have a totally different head of hair than I did just a few days ago!
It seems like every thing I have done is helping to a small degree, but the henna really worked to give me the last boost to fix my hair. I really didn't think my hair was even fixable.
My hair is very dark, but amazingly I got color from the henna. Indoors, my hair looks more brown than it did (as opposed to looking black) and in the sunlight, it looks burgandy. It's a pretty nice color, so I may henna again to darken it some.
I also ordered (just received yesterday) a yak horn comb. It feels great in my hair, and I love it! I also ordered some wooden and horn hairsticks, hoping to find some new hairstyles.
Is there a visual guide to updos somewhere? I find myself very confused by all the names of types of buns and other styles. I had been doing a cinnabun with amish hair pins, but find I can do a loopy bun (not sure name, found it on youtube) with a single hairstick.
My hair just hit hip length, more specifically, I just realized that my hair was finally long, and I'd better start taking care of it properly. My hair has been getting more and more frizzy and crazy over the last few years, making it a pain to do anything with. My hair has been in a ponytail nearly constantly for the last 6 years or so. (I have small children, so it's out of the way) My normal haircare routine has just been to ignore it, and wait for it to grow.
Since I've been lurking around, I have been oiling my hair every few days (oil heavy, leave on for a few hours, conditioner wash out) I've only used shampoo twice in that time. Once was when I went a little too crazy with the oil, and couldn't get it rinsed clean with just conditioner, the second time was to help get the henna out (2 days ago).
I've went and bought a satin pillowcase, and craptons of different scents/types of conditioner. I've also been slowly trimming out the split ends that I could find, and did a 1/2" trim using the self trim instructions.
So, my progress. The conditioner washes, and regular oilings have REALLY helped! Made a giant improvement. After the first oiling, my mother in law said "What did you do to your hair, its so FLAT!" LOL. Apparently my hair was just really, really dried out! Who'd have thought that could make such a difference..
I started looking into henna. All I concluded was that there's no way to tell if it has been proven to do any of the things that people say it does. There might be studies- if so, I didn't find them. Google takes me to a lot of sites where people say that henna doesn't work/ doesn't condition/doesn't strengthen, etc.
I have an indian store right across the street, so I popped in and got some Jamila henna. Did it overnight a few nights ago. I *still* have a neckache from sleeping with all that weight on my head. Urrg. I rinsed it out, oiled for a few hours, then shampooed and conditioned. Whatever people say henna does not do, it sure seemed to help my hair! Even after all of my recent oilings/conditionings, the top layer of my hair was still frizzy. Crinkly would be the best word I guess. It felt very rough and was visibly kinked. My outer hair layer is totally smooth now!!! I have a totally different head of hair than I did just a few days ago!
It seems like every thing I have done is helping to a small degree, but the henna really worked to give me the last boost to fix my hair. I really didn't think my hair was even fixable.
My hair is very dark, but amazingly I got color from the henna. Indoors, my hair looks more brown than it did (as opposed to looking black) and in the sunlight, it looks burgandy. It's a pretty nice color, so I may henna again to darken it some.
I also ordered (just received yesterday) a yak horn comb. It feels great in my hair, and I love it! I also ordered some wooden and horn hairsticks, hoping to find some new hairstyles.
Is there a visual guide to updos somewhere? I find myself very confused by all the names of types of buns and other styles. I had been doing a cinnabun with amish hair pins, but find I can do a loopy bun (not sure name, found it on youtube) with a single hairstick.