My Hair's Too Light!

[salamander]

I have to whine about this to someone, and I figure someone here will understand. I wish my hair were heavier. It doesn't swing about much when I move, even in a braid. It keeps its own shape instead of being affected by gravity. If I grab my hair a few inches from the end and hold it sideways it sticks out, at a ninety degree angle to gravity. I want hair that swings around me and falls over my shoulder when I lean over. It's so sexy to me when hair does that.

But of course it seems to happen most with straight hair, and mine is curly. I really, really have to stop looking at the hair of ladies in Heian Japan period movies. I love my curls, I do, but I wish my hair would move more.

[coppercurls]

I feel your pain! The only time I get that type of movement is if I have a ton of braids like in my avatar pic. Each time I get braids, I swear I spend the first couple of days hust whipping my hair around because I can!

[ChloeDharma]

You have no idea how much i relate! It's such a disappointment! Unfortunately i have no words of advice or i'd have used it myself......but you are not alone!

[Gumball]

Mine does that, too. If I hold my braid's tassel in any direction it's like a poofy little defective divining rod. It moves when it wants to move and sometimes it's not when I want it to move. Hehe. Of course the perk to having hair like that is at least it holds a braid and if the securing device (be it tie, clip, etc.) comes out there's a good chance it'll just retain its little shape. Gotta find the stars instead of thinking the sky's all black, right?

[hrimfaxi]

Mine does this. It is tragic. I have found that with more length, it improves, but...

[sapphire-o]

I understand your problem. My DH's hair's like that. If it's falling in his face and he tries to swing it back it rarely works. It just doesn't swing. Plus it gets velcroed to his beard. Oh well at least you never get headache from the weight.

[tiny_teesha]

Gumball!!! What an excellent saying!
So it is the heavyness that does the movement!
I used to be really annoyed how if i fan my hair out it like looked like a matt.....it moved as a matt, one giant body instead of all the little strands seperating and then rejoining. Also it just didnt move right, i can't explain it. Straightened hair moves right. That is what i wanted and my sister said " if you dye your hair it will be like that" SO I DID!!!? argh! That is why i dyed all my hair. It took a while but i eventually figured out why my hair was not improveing and infact getting worse!

[Katze]

mine is like that too, especially on the damaged bits. Is your hair damaged from heat or chemicals? Because if it is that dry and porous, that seems to be part of the problem - I know my healthier hair has more "weight."

And as it gets longer, I can drape my hair back over whatever I'm sitting/lying on and hear it fall on the pillow, couch, or chair - a very satisfying noise!

Unfortunately I think it is one of those things that is just a fact of life. I will never have a braid like the Indian ladies...or like many of you here - a single braid as thick as my (thin) wrist. My braids are tiny and thin, even if I don't braid to the ends. They are getting better about hanging, but the tassels still wisp out every which way.

One of the reasons I never do a peacock twist, even though I like the idea of them, is that my ends are so weightless (and damaged) that not only do they look orange against the rest of my hair but that they stick up and out, instead of falling elegantly messy, as I see on other people. The look is too '80s for me.

so no, you are not alone in this!

[sibylla]

I have the opposit problem so I think I can give you some tips. Letting an egg yolk work for 3 min before you rinse makes the hair heavier. Henna, or if you prefer Cassia treatments makes your hair much thicker.

I can also recommend to leave conditioner in as a last thing after washing (or COing) your hair. Take like a peas size of condish and workit in from your ears out to the tops.

Hope this helps!

[spidermom]

My hair gets all light and floaty, too. Left completely alone (no product) it sort of wisps out all over the place and makes a great big cloud. Lately I've been applying the final conditioner and then massaging and squeezing it through my hair, keeping it away from my scalp, squeezing out the extra conditioner and water at the same time. I don't rinse it. I apply coconut oil and aloe vera gel, sometimes olive oil, too. That helps the hairs to cling together more so that they dry ropey and spirally, which has weight and moves together. The length doesn't hurt, either.