What Is Going On With My Hair?

[Vanille_]

Very recently (in the past couple of weeks), my hair seems really confused and picky. All of a sudden conditioners and things that made my hair soft and smooth are not working and my hair is kind of dry. I'm not digging this at all. Coconut oil isn't working. My conditioner that I have always loved is not working. I haven't been doing anything different.

Is this just a phase or do I need to start looking for a new routine?

[Nae]

It might be the weather?

[brave]

Clarify? Might be build up

[Madora]

Yes, I agree with Brave. Clarify, then condition with something you know has worked in the past. Don't put anything else on your hair..no mousse, styling gels, serums...anything. It may be that your hair is being coated with too much stuff and is reacting negatively.

You might also try diluting your shampoo and your conditioner to see if that might have some bearing on the problem.

[Vanille_]

Thank you. I will give clarifying a shot tonight.

[heidi w.]

The report of conditioner not seeming to work, and hair being somewhat dry or brittle-like is a definite sign that it's time to clarify the hair, and then all should right itself, and your usual routine should once again be just fine. Buildup can block the uptake of conditioner and oils. This is a fairly common issue, and the symptoms you describe are right down the line in accordance of how to know when it's time to clarify. This is a perfect example of how one typically reports how to know when it's time to clarify. From this experience, it is not to be assumed that one should clarify on any kind of regular regimen, such as once a month, once a week or otherwise. One simply needs to clarify only when it's necessary.

I'm sure that once you clarify, things will be fine once again. Live and learn. No need to go crazy and change up your routine.

Good luck!
heidi w.

[heidi w.]

Thank you. I will give clarifying a shot tonight.

How'd it go Vanille?

Things should be back to normal, relatively speaking.....or so I hope.

Kind regards,
heidi w.

[heidi w.]

Yes, I agree with Brave. Clarify, then condition with something you know has worked in the past. Don't put anything else on your hair..no mousse, styling gels, serums...anything. It may be that your hair is being coated with too much stuff and is reacting negatively.

You might also try diluting your shampoo and your conditioner to see if that might have some bearing on the problem.

While the reaction to too much stuff on the hair is a possibility, I think overall you're fine. Just clarify, take it easy on applying a whole bunch of stuff. If you oil your hair, very little goes a long way. Really.

Good luck,
heidi w.

[Vanille_]

How'd it go Vanille?

Things should be back to normal, relatively speaking.....or so I hope.

Kind regards,
heidi w.

I will give it a shot tonight. I think you are right about the routine thing - I used to clarify once a week and now I don't. I'll take your advice and clarify only when my hair tells me to :)

[jojo]

I find too that by clarifying less often gives the best results. Mine tends to Need clarifying monthly but I've gone as much as 4 months without doing it and had amazing results. And for me, my hair too won't take any products, just feels dry and looks dull. I'd never even heard about clarifying hair before joining her and could kick myself now for the amount of times I've had big cuts when it's felt like this and all I needed to do was clarify it!

[jacqueline101]

I agree clarify.

[Bene]

I agree clarify.

When in doubt, clarify.

[heidi w.]

I find too that by clarifying less often gives the best results. Mine tends to Need clarifying monthly but I've gone as much as 4 months without doing it and had amazing results. And for me, my hair too won't take any products, just feels dry and looks dull. I'd never even heard about clarifying hair before joining her and could kick myself now for the amount of times I've had big cuts when it's felt like this and all I needed to do was clarify it!

To extend the lesson on when to recognize it's time to clarify, allow me to suggest that once one has an established routine, it's not that common that one needs to completely renovate their routine to solve a given problem. Clarifying is a reasonable enough option to go to when there's confusion, but overall, I do want to emphasize to be very specific on the definition of the problem and thus the subsequent resolution. If you find yourself guessing too much, then it's time to ask the experts at LHC for help. Vanilla's original post is a very specific description of the definition that it's time to clarify. So I hope it went well, Vanille? Let us know. Just kind of curious here.

heidi w.

[Vanille_]

Yup! All is well and right with the world today. Clarifying definitely did the trick

[LadyTheta]

Congrats, vanille, on your excellent results!
Your question is a good reminder to me to ACV clarify.