Stringy Hair

[florenonite]

The length of my hair (in a pentagon with points at my crown, the bottoms of my ears, and the corners of the ends) seems to be perpetually greasy. I wash it, and by the time it's dry it looks stringy and gross. The hair at my scalp takes 2 or 3 days to look as bad.

I'm pretty sure it's got something to do with the amount of time it takes to dry. Left to its own devices, it's six or seven hours before that hair is dry. Out of desperation, a few days ago I decided to blow-dry my hair. After leaving it to air-dry for an hour, I blow-dried for about fifteen minutes. I stoppd then because the heat was getting uncomfortable and left my hair to dry naturally. It took a little over three hours to dry, and was less stringy than it usually is when it's dried.

The only thing I can think of to stop this is to take a blow-dryer to my hair when I take it out of the towel and keep drying it until it's bone dry, but I'd rather not do that.

Any thoughts on how I can fix this?

ETA: It is not build-up. The only product I use on a regular basis is sulfate shampoo, and I clarify when I feel my hair needs it. I do sometimes use coconut oil, but stopped when I first noticed this issue a month or two ago.

ETA2: Update in post 33. It's definitely over-moisturised from being wet too long. How do I make it dry faster without touching it too much?

[Freija]

That really sounds like build-up on your lengths (especially if, as you imply, even blowdrying your hair didn't get rid of the stringiness completely). Have you tried clarifying, or even chelating? It can work wonders, especially if you're sulfate-free/CO. You might also want to consider changing your products around a bit, if one of them isn't working for you.

[MeganE]

Do you have hard water? My hair was like this before I started treating it to remove hard-mineral build-up (Chelating shampoo to start, distilled water and ACV after every time water touches my hair, occasional chelating when necessary). Now I get days where it's downright fluffy at times.

[Madora]

The length of my hair (in a pentagon with points at my crown, the bottoms of my ears, and the corners of the ends) seems to be perpetually greasy. I wash it, and by the time it's dry it looks stringy and gross. The hair at my scalp takes 2 or 3 days to look as bad.

I'm pretty sure it's got something to do with the amount of time it takes to dry. Left to its own devices, it's six or seven hours before that hair is dry. Out of desperation, a few days ago I decided to blow-dry my hair. After leaving it to air-dry for an hour, I blow-dried for about fifteen minutes. I stoppd then because the heat was getting uncomfortable and left my hair to dry naturally. It took a little over three hours to dry, and was less stringy than it usually is when it's dried.

The only thing I can think of to stop this is to take a blow-dryer to my hair when I take it out of the towel and keep drying it until it's bone dry, but I'd rather not do that.

Any thoughts on how I can fix this?

The issue isn't a question of drying. It is a question of too much product on your hair.

Try a clarifying shampoo (Neutrogena Anti-Residue Clarifying shampoo has good reviews here). Condition afterwards..but keep it simple.

As far as drying is concerned, keep away from blow fryers. Perhaps my article might be of some help in explaining how you can airdry your hair gently...in a short amount of time:

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=223

Random last thought: it may be that your hair doesn't like to be loaded down with stuff...so try and limit what you put on your hair. You might want to consider diluting both shampoo and conditioner and see if that helps!

[spidermom]

Doesn't your hair dryer have a cool setting?
I never use the hot setting on mine.

[florenonite]

That really sounds like build-up on your lengths (especially if, as you imply, even blowdrying your hair didn't get rid of the stringiness completely). Have you tried clarifying, or even chelating? It can work wonders, especially if you're sulfate-free/CO. You might also want to consider changing your products around a bit, if one of them isn't working for you.

I do clarify regularly. I actually did it this morning to make sure it wasn't the problem before starting this thread. I thought I'd mentioned that in my OP but I must have missed it. Oops!

I do have a couple of shampoos I switch around, as this helps stop my scalp from getting greasy too quickly.


Do you have hard water? My hair was like this before I started treating it to remove hard-mineral build-up (Chelating shampoo to start, distilled water and ACV after every time water touches my hair, occasional chelating when necessary). Now I get days where it's downright fluffy at times.

I'd characterise my water as medium hardness. It's not nearly as hard as what I grew up with, but it is harder than the water I had at uni. Maybe I should look into a chelating shampoo.


The issue isn't a question of drying. It is a question of too much product on your hair.

Try a clarifying shampoo (Neutrogena Anti-Residue Clarifying shampoo has good reviews here). Condition afterwards..but keep it simple.

As far as drying is concerned, keep away from blow fryers. Perhaps my article might be of some help in explaining how you can airdry your hair gently...in a short amount of time:

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=223

Random last thought: it may be that your hair doesn't like to be loaded down with stuff...so try and limit what you put on your hair. You might want to consider diluting both shampoo and conditioner and see if that helps!

I highly doubt it's too much product. All I use is sulfate shampoo and occasionally a bit of coconut oil. This is why I'm so baffled, because it's not straight-up product build-up.

Your drying method looks like it involves a lot of touching, which unfortunately is a BAD idea if I want to keep my hair from looking greasy. I don't know why, but if I even brush too much when it's drying it dries looking like a chip pan.


Doesn't your hair dryer have a cool setting?
I never use the hot setting on mine.

Nope. It's a cheap one. There are two speed settings and one heat setting.

I know, I know, I'm a bad longhair ;)

[Rufflebutt]

Might be build up? Clarify.

[heidi w.]

The issue isn't a question of drying. It is a question of too much product on your hair.

Try a clarifying shampoo (Neutrogena Anti-Residue Clarifying shampoo has good reviews here). Condition afterwards..but keep it simple.

As far as drying is concerned, keep away from blow fryers. Perhaps my article might be of some help in explaining how you can airdry your hair gently...in a short amount of time:

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=223

Random last thought: it may be that your hair doesn't like to be loaded down with stuff...so try and limit what you put on your hair. You might want to consider diluting both shampoo and conditioner and see if that helps!

Agreed. I don't know if you oil your length only or all of your hair, but it's a fairly common problem that people use too much oil and end up with stringy and greasy hair.

I will give you my youtube video on how I oil my hair. In that you can see how little bit of oil, which I frankly used a tidbit too much which I explain in the video....you can see how little oil I use for all of my hair. Hope this is of help to you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjVwPKMQDYk

heidi w.

[heidi w.]

I do clarify regularly. I actually did it this morning to make sure it wasn't the problem before starting this thread. I thought I'd mentioned that in my OP but I must have missed it. Oops!

I do have a couple of shampoos I switch around, as this helps stop my scalp from getting greasy too quickly.



I'd characterise my water as medium hardness. It's not nearly as hard as what I grew up with, but it is harder than the water I had at uni. Maybe I should look into a chelating shampoo.



I highly doubt it's too much product. All I use is sulfate shampoo and occasionally a bit of coconut oil. This is why I'm so baffled, because it's not straight-up product build-up.

Your drying method looks like it involves a lot of touching, which unfortunately is a BAD idea if I want to keep my hair from looking greasy. I don't know why, but if I even brush too much when it's drying it dries looking like a chip pan.



Nope. It's a cheap one. There are two speed settings and one heat setting.

I know, I know, I'm a bad longhair ;)

There really should be no need to clarify overly often at all. What age are you? I do not recommend clarifying on a regular schedule. I think it's a bad idea, and I don't think you need to advance to chelating, either. I think when you do oil, oil only the length and see if that doesn't cause an improvement? I also think you might consider conditioning the hair length only, as well.

heidi w.

[pepperminttea]

Hmm. So it's not product build-up, you're not using a lot of product on the whole. If it's not hard water, could there be something else stimulating that part of your scalp? A seat back, the part of your head you sleep on, a piece of equipment you use a lot?

Either that, or could your scalp be compensating for the regular use of strong sulphate shampoos? Have you tried sulphate-free or other options generally?

[florenonite]

There really should be no need to clarify overly often at all. What age are you? I do not recommend clarifying on a regular schedule. I think it's a bad idea, and I don't think you need to advance to chelating, either. I think when you do oil, oil only the length and see if that doesn't cause an improvement? I also think you might consider conditioning the hair length only, as well.

heidi w.

I haven't actually oiled in months, because I initially thought this problem was the result of over-oiling. The thing is, the problem isn't really at my scalp; it's on the length. I can over-oil my scalp, shampoo it, and it'll be fine, but even without any oil on the length it's getting like this.

When I say I clarify "regularly", I don't mean on a set schedule, just that when my scalp hair doesn't seem to be responding properly to my shampoo, I do a wash with a clarifying shampoo. I'm 22 and have teenager levels of oiliness ;)


Hmm. So it's not product build-up, you're not using a lot of product on the whole. If it's not hard water, could there be something else stimulating that part of your scalp? A seat back, the part of your head you sleep on, a piece of equipment you use a lot?

Either that, or could your scalp be compensating for the regular use of strong sulphate shampoos? Have you tried sulphate-free or other options generally?

I tend to sleep on my back, so that's definitely a possibility, though in that case you'd think my hair would be OK the day I wash it before going to bed. Maybe it's from leaning against the sofa or something?

I've wondered if it's the sulfates, but I'm not sure. For one thing, sulfate shampoos are the only thing that work to clean my scalp (and I've tried most things in my time here ;) ). For another, it's more a problem with the length than the scalp, and I only started shampooing the length when this started to become an issue. Perhaps I am over-shampooing the length and exacerbating it somehow, though I'm not sure how as the length doesn't produce oil in the first place :shrug:

[jacqueline101]

You need to clarify and then use less products like don't use as much product but you can keep your products.

[Crazycatlady]

Humm...I have an idea for you to try. Because cheap, runny condish is effective for removing heavy oils like coconut and castor, I wonder if you could try using something like Vo5 on just your length after you shampoo just like a regular rinse out conditioner. Then rinse well. Maybe it would remove any oils that may be lingering on your ends. I don't understand how the cheap, cone free condish remove oils better than shampoo, but they do. Good luck!

[ravenreed]

Do you use a BBB? Even on completely clean hair, with a completely clean brush, using a BBB makes my hair flat, stringy, and greasy looking. I have given up on them. Also, how often do you change out your pillow case? I wash mine at least once a week, because I worry that any oil I use on my ends will end up on my scalp, or worse, my face.

You don't mention conditioner. Maybe try a CO, followed by a vinegar or lemon juice rinse and see how your hair looks. I found that when I stopped shampooing, my hair stopped getting greasy so fast. It was overcompensating for the harsh shampoo.

ETA: I am 42 and my skin and hair are still just as oily as they were when I was a teen. Ditching SLS has done wonders to help both my skin and hair.

As for clarifying, I don't do it more than every three or four months. I mostly CO, and that helps to get rid of the greasies. It takes much more work though. I make sure I coat the entire scalp (and length) and really massage it in. I use the pads of my fingers to feel that it has gotten everywhere. I let is sit a bit, and then rinse until there is nothing left on the scalp. I follow that with an ACV rinse.

[fairview]

The method of applying leave in conditioners and the level of porosity that is present will do more to determine how the hair look when dry more than anything else. Applying leave in conditioners/styling products to damaged hair in hopes of improving the situation only serves to make the problem worse. Leave in products are best applied from just off the scalp to just short of the end of the mid shaft. When the hair is detangled and combed out, the product will be applied to the ends and the oily appearance when dry will be minimized.

Take a strand of hair (dry) between your thumb and finger and run it backwards to your scalp. If it feels rough it it has a high degree of porosity. This type of hair will absorb any leave in conditioner/styling products (including any sebum your body produces) like a sponge and then it just floats there giving the appearance of greasy, oily, or heavy hair. The roughness felt is actually missing chunks of hair or pieces of protein. Porosity becomes a more severe as the ends are reached since that is the oldest hair. The end of a 6" strand of hair will be 1 year old +/-.

The solution is a protein infusing treatment that will fill those missing chunks. Try a quality over the shelf one first just to see but a professional salon one that is formaldehyde free will last up to 8 weeks depending on frequency of shampooing. Individual mileage will vary and keep in mind there is no permanent fix for porosity until it is ignored long enough and becomes split ends and is trimmed off but then the porosity will have traveled farther up the shaft and still be present.

When a detangling product is combined with a high quality thermal protectant and proper blow drying techniques are used, more damage is done when air dried hair is combed/brushed out.

[florenonite]

Humm...I have an idea for you to try. Because cheap, runny condish is effective for removing heavy oils like coconut and castor, I wonder if you could try using something like Vo5 on just your length after you shampoo just like a regular rinse out conditioner. Then rinse well. Maybe it would remove any oils that may be lingering on your ends. I don't understand how the cheap, cone free condish remove oils better than shampoo, but they do. Good luck!

Hmm, maybe I should try that. I do have some cone-free condish sitting around somewhere.


Do you use a BBB? Even on completely clean hair, with a completely clean brush, using a BBB makes my hair flat, stringy, and greasy looking. I have given up on them. Also, how often do you change out your pillow case? I wash mine at least once a week, because I worry that any oil I use on my ends will end up on my scalp, or worse, my face.

No BBB. I do use a TT, but whether or not I comb my hair damp it dries like this.

I change my pillowcase whenever I change my sheets, so about every two weeks. Maybe I ought to change it more often.



You don't mention conditioner. Maybe try a CO, followed by a vinegar or lemon juice rinse and see how your hair looks. I found that when I stopped shampooing, my hair stopped getting greasy so fast. It was overcompensating for the harsh shampoo.


I've tried CO before, and I find it works very well if I need to wash something like pool water out of my hair and don't want to overshampoo it, but if it's at all greasy going into the shower it'll come out looking worse.

The lemon juice rinse might be an idea, though. I used to do that when I used shampoo bars and it seemed to agree with my hair. Vinegar made it stringy, though :(

[Freija]

Okay - not buildup, then. That being the case, if it were happening to me then I'd probably try three things in turn. First, I'd use a chelating shampoo and a little bit of 'cone-free conditioner on the lengths. I would also use ACV rinses after each subsequent wash. If chelating and regular ACV doesn't help at all, then hard water probably isn't your problem, so I'd move on to step two: trying to use a slightly milder shampoo (perhaps with sodium laureth sulphate instead of sodium lauryl sulphate, or with ALS/ALES. I have to use sulphates too, but sodium laureth works far better than sodium lauryl or ammonium-anything for me) and a normal, no-frills, no 'cones conditioner on the ends. At around the same time, I would try brushing a little cornstarch into the roots and lengths when the hair is dry. If your hair responds to this, then it's probably your scalp trying to overcompensate for harsh shampoos and a lack of moisture. The cornstarch will show if it's an oil problem, too; if it helps, it means there is excess oil which it has soaked up.

If this still doesn't help, it might be time to try CO once again. I know you don't tend to get on with it, and neither do I, but CO is better than shampoo for getting out oils, so if there's any coconut oil residue, it will help take the last of it away. It might also be worth trying to give your hair time to settle into the routine and see if it does stop over-producing oil at all?

Good luck! I'm sorry to hear that you're having these problems. It took me ages to find a routine and products that worked for me, so I know your pain very well.

ETA: I would definitely try changing your pillowcases more often. I change mine, and my bedsheets, once a week, but I rotate my pillows throughout so I'm not always sleeping on the same side of the material (and sometimes I'll change my pillowcases twice in a week anyway). If I don't I get horrible breakouts. I also have to change my towels every week and my flannels every day.

[florenonite]

OK, so this morning I applied some cone-free condish to the length, shampooed the scalp, rinsed, then shampooed it all again. It's not ideal but it's better than it has been.

This comes as something of a surprise. I don't habitually use conditioner because it can so easily make my hair stringy, but I guess shampooing it after makes sure all the conditioner is out. Besides that, though, conditioner doesn't do anything against my sebum, which suggests that this is coconut oil. I haven't used coconut oil in at least a month or two because I noticed the stringiness (I just kept putting it up and trying different things until asking here in desperation). That means that over a month's shampooing couldn't do what thirty seconds' conditioner could :/

I'm thinking next time I shower I'll apply conditioner to the length, clip it up, shave, then shampoo as normal. I might even be daring and only shampoo the scalp ;)

[ratgirldjh]

Does your shampoo have glycerine in it? I get this when I use ANYTHING with glycerine. I can use it once and the next time I get stringy hair. Took me AGES to figure out what was causing it - my natural soap had added glycerine!

The only thing that finally got rid of it for me was doing several bentonite clay packs in a row but I can't use shampoo.

Lime juice/water rinses seemed to help me too as did citric acid/water rinses. Weird how baking soda did not help me at all!

[furnival]

That means that over a month's shampooing couldn't do what thirty seconds' conditioner could :/



We have been led to believe that only foamy surfactants can really cleanse. When dealing with oils, this isn't really true. SLS and other surfactants have to emulsify the oils with the water before they can strip them away. I don't know if you've tried scrubbing engine oil off your hands with Swarfega (SLS-based scrub) before, but even that stuff, marketed as the strongest hand-cleanser there is, is crap compared to a couple of teaspoons of olive oil massaged into your hands. Oil dilutes oil, and when all the nasty black engine oil has gone, you can clean the olive off with soap etc.

Glad you've found a solution, hope it sorts your stringiness out :)

[jojo]

How hot is the water that you wash your hair in? Knock it down a notch to preferably lukewarm and see if that helps with the greasies.

[heidi w.]

I agree with the OPs idea to apply conditioner and oil to the length only, and allow the sebum to do the rest of the work otherwise.

heidi w.

[freznow]

I have best luck with moisturizing washes. When I was younger, I'd only use Suave shampoo and occasionally conditioner. It made it very stringy even though you'd think just using sulfate shampoo would leave it bare. But, nope, it would make the hairs want to clump together.

I've been using a Burt's Bees More Moisture Baobab Shampoo and, oddly enough, though everyone's reviews seem to be that it's too heavy, my light hair gets perfectly clean and stays perfectly clean. CO with honey worked fabulously when it was longer. And I occasionally just use castile soap if my hair actually needs a deeper wash. I never use normal shampoo anymore.

I don't think it's month-old coconut oil. I think you should try more moisturizing ways to wash. Something about stripping the hair makes it want to stick to each other. Maybe the scant moisturizing ingredients become sticky or the cuticle gets messed up. I'm not sure, but it could be as much a sign of too little moisture as it could be for others as too much.

[florenonite]

How hot is the water that you wash your hair in? Knock it down a notch to preferably lukewarm and see if that helps with the greasies.

It's pretty lukewarm already. I can't stand hot water!


I have best luck with moisturizing washes. When I was younger, I'd only use Suave shampoo and occasionally conditioner. It made it very stringy even though you'd think just using sulfate shampoo would leave it bare. But, nope, it would make the hairs want to clump together.

I've been using a Burt's Bees More Moisture Baobab Shampoo and, oddly enough, though everyone's reviews seem to be that it's too heavy, my light hair gets perfectly clean and stays perfectly clean. CO with honey worked fabulously when it was longer. And I occasionally just use castile soap if my hair actually needs a deeper wash. I never use normal shampoo anymore.

I don't think it's month-old coconut oil. I think you should try more moisturizing ways to wash. Something about stripping the hair makes it want to stick to each other. Maybe the scant moisturizing ingredients become sticky or the cuticle gets messed up. I'm not sure, but it could be as much a sign of too little moisture as it could be for others as too much.

That makes sense, given the conditioner seemed to improve it. I guess the issue I have is that it's very easy for something to be too moisturising, because I have quite fine hair and an oily scalp. So I need to find a balance where it's not too moisturising that it leaves my hair stringy, but not so unmoisturising that it leaves my hair stringy :p

ETA: Interestingly, after conditioning yesterday and getting some of the greasiness out, my hair feels quite dry.

[ravenreed]

That is why I use Suave Wild Cherry for my cleansing wash. It doesn't over moisturize my hair so I can use it on my scalp too, and it easily gets rid of my natural hair oils. If I need a bit of oomph I use the GVP Biolage knock-off on my length, but I use it or any other heavier conditioners on my scalp after CO-ing, I get greasy, limp hair.

Not saying you need to go full on CO, but in my case, it really did help my scalp calm down quite a bit on the oil production. I went from having hair that was greasy less than 24 hours after washing to hair that can go 48 hours and still look okay with a bit of dry shampoo on the fringe/bang area. I still can't use shampoo on my scalp without getting the greasies. If I need to clarify, I do it from the ears down. The main downside to CO-ing is that it does take a lot of rinsing to make sure all the conditioner is out.



It's pretty lukewarm already. I can't stand hot water!



That makes sense, given the conditioner seemed to improve it.I guess the issue I have is that it's very easy for something to be too moisturising, because I have quite fine hair and an oily scalp. So I need to find a balance where it's not too moisturising that it leaves my hair stringy, but not so unmoisturising that it leaves my hair stringy :p

[Dolly]

Here is a totally strange comment, but will throw it out there anyway. I had tis problem at one time and narrowed it down to the fabric softener that I was putting in my hair towels. I use the turbie twists for my hair, and I had to start removing them from the load of laundry before I added the softener. It seems that when my hair would be wet and twisted up in the towl, the softener would transfer to my hair.....the only reason I could figure that my scalp didn't have the issue is because the towel wasn't in constant contact with any part of my scalp other that around the edges.

[ravenreed]

Wow! I never would have guessed that fabric softener could do that to hair.


Here is a totally strange comment, but will throw it out there anyway. I had tis problem at one time and narrowed it down to the fabric softener that I was putting in my hair towels. I use the turbie twists for my hair, and I had to start removing them from the load of laundry before I added the softener. It seems that when my hair would be wet and twisted up in the towl, the softener would transfer to my hair.....the only reason I could figure that my scalp didn't have the issue is because the towel wasn't in constant contact with any part of my scalp other that around the edges.

[ratgirldjh]

Wow! I never would have guessed that fabric softener could do that to hair.

Also I've had it happen from oil or balm I've put on my hands and forgotten about and then washed my hair. Evidently it just came off on my hair during washing.

[onelove]

I am a grease ball. http://www.vitacost.com/Images/Products/500/Himalaya-Herbal-Healthcare/Himalaya-Herbal-Healthcare-Organique-Volumizing-Shampoo-605069200158.jpg

This has been the answer for me. I think it's the fullers earth in it.

[florenonite]

Here is a totally strange comment, but will throw it out there anyway. I had tis problem at one time and narrowed it down to the fabric softener that I was putting in my hair towels. I use the turbie twists for my hair, and I had to start removing them from the load of laundry before I added the softener. It seems that when my hair would be wet and twisted up in the towl, the softener would transfer to my hair.....the only reason I could figure that my scalp didn't have the issue is because the towel wasn't in constant contact with any part of my scalp other that around the edges.

Huh. That's interesting that the fabric softener did that.

I don't actually use fabric softener, so that won't be affecting my hair.

[raingirl]

I had this issue with one brand and one brand only of shampoo and condish - Fructis. For some reason it makes my hair gummy and sticky and stringy.

I don't know where you live, but if you are in Canada, try the Live Clean brand of natural biodegradable SLS and paraben free shampoos and conditioners. They are awesome!

I only wash my scalp (let the soapy water run down my strands) and then condish over everything. I have super fine hair and very oily skin/face/scalp and this routine works for me. If I don't use condish, my hair rebels and gets actually more stringy and oily than if I do use condish. Same with my face - if I skip lotion, my skin gets insane oily!

[florenonite]

Because conditioning seemed to help my hair last time I washed, and it seemed a bit dry, I decided to oil and condition. I applied a bit of oil last night (it had mostly soaked in by morning), then this morning hopped in the shower and slathered on some condish. I left it on while I shaved, then rinsed it out and shampooed the scalp. Now that it's dry the top layer is nice and fluffy, but the layers underneath are manky. What gives?



I only wash my scalp (let the soapy water run down my strands) and then condish over everything. I have super fine hair and very oily skin/face/scalp and this routine works for me. If I don't use condish, my hair rebels and gets actually more stringy and oily than if I do use condish. Same with my face - if I skip lotion, my skin gets insane oily!

My face is like that, but conditioner on my scalp makes my hair feel amazing the day of, but it means I have to wash it daily (which I don't like as my hair takes ages to dry). It's weird, because sometimes I suspect that my scalp is overreacting to shampoo, as I have eczema and sensitive skin, but try anything other than sulfates and my scalp goes "Hey, you want fries with that?"

[florenonite]

Update: I've worked out my problem is over-moisturising due to my hair taking too long to dry. It's fine and gets too moisturised very easily.

Today after washing I separated it into five or six sections and blotted each with my extra-absorbent towel and combed each separately, while bent at the waist. It only took my hair about four hours to dry :D

This is a vast improvement on how it's even been at its best over the past few months, but it's still not perfect. Any other ideas for making it dry faster?

[Bedhead]

I'm not a pro at this hair stuff, but my first thought was either, your ends either have too much moisture, or they are dehydrated, and so your hair is yelling at you. If all you've used and not very often is coconut oil, and the CO before the wash you just did helped, then I'd say your hair is somewhat dehydrated.

Maybe in the past you've used products that do not actually penetrate the hair, as coconut oil does, but perhaps your hair needs a more penetrative type of moisturizer to hold in the moisture?

My 2¢...

[florenonite]

See, I thought it was dehydrated at first because the condish seemed to help, but now I'm thinking that was just a fluke (maybe my hair dried faster because it was less humid?), because drying time definitely seems to be the issue, and I was using coconut oil regularly until thisbecame a problem.

[Bedhead]

Have you ever used any other penetrating oil like olive oil or sesame oil? Personally, for my hair, coconut oil does not moisturize well, and my ends got dry with it. So it's still possible for your hair to get dehydrated if you're using an oil, it all depends on your hair. :shrug:

[Deborah]

If your hair seems greasy, don't keep adding oil. It will just become more greasy. Maybe you are like me and simply don't need oils or conditioners. After washing I simply rinse well, then finish with a ctiric acid in cold water rinse, which I don't rinse out. (I don't rinse it out because I have extremely hard water.) This works great for me. I think you are weighing your hair down with too much stuff.

As to drying, when I'm in a really big hurry I sometimes stand in front of a good stand fan, and let it blow my hair dry with the cool room air. Another solution is to just let it dry partially, then put it up in a bun and forget it. This works great for me. I especially like it in the summer as the dampness keeps my head a little cool.

Anyway, I hope you find a good solution soon! :)

[florenonite]

Have you ever used any other penetrating oil like olive oil or sesame oil? Personally, for my hair, coconut oil does not moisturize well, and my ends got dry with it. So it's still possible for your hair to get dehydrated if you're using an oil, it all depends on your hair. :shrug:

Hmm, that's possible. Coconut oil's been my go-to oil for years and as recently as May was making my hair super-shiny, but I suppose the changing weather or something could influence it. I'm hesitant to try olive oil because I've read reports of it being difficult to wash out, and as I've established it's really easy for my hair to get over-moisturised, but I'll see if we have some sesame oil in the cupboard.


If your hair seems greasy, don't keep adding oil. It will just become more greasy. Maybe you are like me and simply don't need oils or conditioners. After washing I simply rinse well, then finish with a ctiric acid in cold water rinse, which I don't rinse out. (I don't rinse it out because I have extremely hard water.) This works great for me. I think you are weighing your hair down with too much stuff.

As to drying, when I'm in a really big hurry I sometimes stand in front of a good stand fan, and let it blow my hair dry with the cool room air. Another solution is to just let it dry partially, then put it up in a bun and forget it. This works great for me. I especially like it in the summer as the dampness keeps my head a little cool.

Anyway, I hope you find a good solution soon! :)

Besides, a tiny bit on my dry ends yesterday, I haven't used oil since at least June, because I was noticing this issue, but stopping the oils didn't help. Other than that all I've used in at least three years is shampoo.

I could look into a fan. Damp bunning doesn't work because it makes my hair take even longer to dry, and thus greasies ensue.