I'm new and I clearly need some serious hair help :(

[spidermom]

Deep treatments aren't supposed to last forever; it's a maintenance issue. I clarify probably every other month and do a deep treatment about once per month. That's all my hair needs. Yours might need more help than mine.

It does take some time and patience to work out exactly what makes you happy with your hair. If you don't like what your current products are doing for you, buy something new next time something runs out. I was really unhappy with the brand Petal Fresh. Loved the scent, hated how my hair looked and felt. I thought that it was my hair going bad, then bought a different product on sale, and my hair went back to being easy to take care of and looking good as well. So I'm sticking with the product that works.

[kittenpajamas]

Hi, kittenpajamas, and welcome to LHC!

Build-up is not the gunk on your scalp, it's product on your hair. It's not something you can see, but if your hair is misbehaving a good wash with a clarifying shampoo should be your first action. ACV rinses do not clarify.

If you've been using shampoo/conditioner containing silicones and haven't clarified you're bound to have build-up. Silicones ('cones) are not "bad", you just have to be aware of what they do, which is coat your hair. This is supposed to seal moisture in and make your hair look good, but the trouble is it also seals moisture out and conceals the resulting damage. This is why, if you use 'cones, you need to clarify (using a proper clarifying shampoo, such as the one spidermom recommended) regularly. The SMT you did probably didn't work because it couldn't reach your strands due to build-up. You don't need to leave an SMT on overnight, by the way; even 5 minutes will make a difference.

V05 is excellent stuff, which is why so many of us use it. You don't have to spend a lot of money on products to get good results. In particular, look for the V05 "moisture milks" range of conditioners.

So clarify before you do anything else, and follow it with a good moisturising conditioner - basic SMT is ideal for this. Just conditioner, honey and aloe vera gel. Once you've done that you'll have a better idea of what you're dealing with. Oh, and if you classify your hair for us we'll be able to help you better.

Thank you, all of these replies have been really helpful. I still haven't classified my hair yet because when I made the account I didn't know what the terms in the classification section meant...I found the definitions on the FAQ, but now I can't access my profile again until I have reached 25 posts, haha..I'm working on it.

[kittenpajamas]

Deep treatments aren't supposed to last forever; it's a maintenance issue. I clarify probably every other month and do a deep treatment about once per month. That's all my hair needs. Yours might need more help than mine.

It does take some time and patience to work out exactly what makes you happy with your hair. If you don't like what your current products are doing for you, buy something new next time something runs out. I was really unhappy with the brand Petal Fresh. Loved the scent, hated how my hair looked and felt. I thought that it was my hair going bad, then bought a different product on sale, and my hair went back to being easy to take care of and looking good as well. So I'm sticking with the product that works.

I really hope the damage on my hair is reparable and will go back to normal...I still haven't gone out to buy a clarifying shampoo, but I am going to try VO5 since it isn't costly and will make for a good trial run. I just panic whenever my hair starts getting bad because I get scared that I will have to get another short hair cut and I don't want to because it took me so long just to grow it out to past shoulder length...I think I will start doing a clarifying followed by a deep treatment once a week...

[kittenpajamas]

Also, what causes that gunk on the scalp and why does mine get so bad after only a day or two? It bugs the crap out of me...

[tigereye]

Probably going to sound like a broken record here, but I'd second (third? Fourth?) clarifying.

To me, it sounds like you've been using an awful lot of products, which could mean an awful lot of build up of an awful lot of different things. It also means that if your scalp issue is caused by a hair product the likelihood is that it will be difficult to find out what it is that is causing the problem. Clarify (if you don't have a clarifying shampoo, check your regular shampoo has no silicones in it, and has either SLS, SLES or cocamidopropyl betaine in it, then lather up the whole length. It's not quite as good at removing build-up as an actual clarifying shampoo, but it's an okay temporary substitute. You might need to do it twice, especially for the likes of cocamidopropyl betaine, since it's a weaker surfactant), then go back to basics. One shampoo on scalp only, one conditioner on length only, both protein free until that issue has been ruled out. No other products unless you need, say, aloe for styling or something. You need to keep a continuous routine for at least a few weeks to see if something is working.
Then, if your hair feels dry, add in a moisturising treatment, like the SMT. Make sure there are no silicones (check for things ending in -cone, -conol, or -xane) in the conditioner you use for SMT. Back when I used cones, I still used cone-free conditioner for SMTs - it didn't work otherwise for me. The next point is, try to do your SMT in a humid environment. I did mine for 10 minutes in the humid bathroom when I hopped out mid-shower. The honey and aloe are humectants and is the area you live in is very dry, it will make it worse as the honey draws water out of your hair instead of from the atmosphere and into your hair, especially if you leave it on for as long as you did. Ten minutes in a humid bathroom on wet hair, then thoroughly rinsed out.

The biggest point though, is clarify. If your water is hard, then chelate as well (maybe mineral build-up is bothering your scalp?).

ETA, in my experience, I only ever had scalp issues when I was a) using coney conditioner near my scalp or b) building up a sensitivity to SLS or c) washing my hair in hard water areas without chelating often enough.

[spidermom]

That white gunk on your scalp is probably shed scalp skin cells mixed with natural sebum, although there could be a component of buildup as well depending on the products you are using. I never used Wen, but when I tried CO, it definitely left more of a buildup on my scalp and hair than shampooing does.

One thing you can do to make sure your scalp is scrupulously clean is to use a wide-tooth shower comb after sudsing up the scalp hair. Comb through scalp hair only - very gently - not length. Never pull through a snag.

[Claire_]

I know what you mean, I had the exact same problem.. I have noticed though that it makes a huuge difference if I deep condition my hair ! What I do is that I apply virgin coconut oil and/or virgin olive oil the night before the day I am planning on washing my hair.. That way, my hair becomes so soft that I don't need to apply conditioner after shampooing (which weights down my fine and fair hair).. my hair also seems to look healthier since I have reduced shampooing to just once or twice a week.. I also avoid combing my hair-especially when wet-and I protect it by keeping it in a braid most of the day-and night ! And I have stopped paying attention to my split ends ever since I realised I am always going to have some, no matter what I do.. by avoiding regular trimming and deep conditioning twice a week has helped my hair grow and has kept my spilt under control

[heidi w.]

What is your hair type? Ethnic of some kind? Curly, curly mostly? What you need mostly in those circumstances is a lot of conditioner, and oiling of the length only. Don't ACV as it is for clarifying the hair, and clarifying on a schedule is generally unecessary. Only clarify when it's necessary. I recommend using Biolage's Conditoning Balm which is quite thick and dense. Use fairly warm water when conditioning and leave it in for a little bit prior to rinsing it out. This should help a lot. Don't forego conditioning the hair. And if you have to save bucks, save it on shampoo and splurge on conditioner. Detangle the hair with a wide-tooth comb, possibly an extra wide tooth comb which works best on me. At first I stuck with a brush til I found this comb. I recommend it; it's sold by Madora, it's the ivory hair comb on their website.
heidi w.

[kittenpajamas]

What is "chelating?" >.>

[tigereye]

What is "chelating?" >.>

Removing mineral build-up from water. It's a different process to clarifying, removing metal ions that builds on your hair from the water. Minerals from the water form ions which bind to your hair shaft. Too much tends to turn hair brittle and dry (a bit like protein build-up) and can turn blonde hair brassy. If you live in a hard-water area, you will notice limescale builds up on your taps, shower heads or in your kettle if you don't keep on top of it - it's the same for hair. That's why chelating occasionally is good for your hair.
SLS and your regular surfactants won't touch the stuff. Most of the chelating ingredients in regular or clarifying shampoos are used as preservatives and at levels which would not be able to remove build-up. Really, the only option is to go out and find a chelating (or "swimmers") shampoo (shampoos aimed at swimmers tend to contain chelating agents to remove chlorine, but most will remove other minerals too).
Most people know that white vinegar will clear lime scale on shower heads. This is true, but I wouldn't advice dumping pure white vinegar on your head. A dilute rinse after showering, though might slow the build-up process. On the other hand, if you really, really, really can't find a chelating shampoo, but can find some club soda and vitamin C tablets, half a 500mg tablet in a glass of club soda poured over your head, left to sit for a few minutes, then rinsed out THOROUGHLY might help in a pinch until you can find a proper shampoo, but it doesn't remove all the minerals, so the build-up will reappear quickly, not solve brassy tones and might not even remove the most problematic ions. To be honest, really isn't worth the hassle and the mess if there happens to be any left in your hair. Just get a shampoo.