whats wrong with me hair?

[samanthajenalyn]

Over the last couple of days, my hair has been feeling and acting very strange. All of a sudden, it feels pretty dry and very tangled at the ends. Ive been taking very good care of it, and I know split ends are not whats causing it to tangle. I also clarified about a week and a half ago, so it shouldn't be build up. (I do not use cones, or sulfates.) I use a cleansing conditioner, and on some days i just co wash with VO5 strawberry and cream conditioner. Once I get out I use a little bit of Shea Moisture Restorative Conditioner as a leave in. I thought that maybe the shea moisture was causing it so I didnt use it one day when i got out of the shower, and it made it even worse. I sometimes use olive or coconut oil as a pre-wash. I just have no idea what could all of a sudden cause my hair to start being like this, and I'm scared that if I don't get it fixed soon, that it could lead to damage and split ends. If anyone has some advice, I would really appreciate it. Thanks.

[kaydana]

If you don't use sulphates, what did you use to clarify?

[samanthajenalyn]

If you don't use sulphates, what did you use to clarify?

I was staying at a friends house, and the only shampoo they had was VO5 kiwi lime clarifying shampoo. Sorry for the confusion, i did use sulfates that one time, but other than that i don't use them anymore.

[Firefox7275]

Over the last couple of days, my hair has been feeling and acting very strange. All of a sudden, it feels pretty dry and very tangled at the ends. Ive been taking very good care of it, and I know split ends are not whats causing it to tangle. I also clarified about a week and a half ago, so it shouldn't be build up. (I do not use cones, or sulfates.) I use a cleansing conditioner, and on some days i just co wash with VO5 strawberry and cream conditioner. Once I get out I use a little bit of Shea Moisture Restorative Conditioner as a leave in. I thought that maybe the shea moisture was causing it so I didnt use it one day when i got out of the shower, and it made it even worse. I sometimes use olive or coconut oil as a pre-wash. I just have no idea what could all of a sudden cause my hair to start being like this, and I'm scared that if I don't get it fixed soon, that it could lead to damage and split ends. If anyone has some advice, I would really appreciate it. Thanks.

What are all your products, ideally with links to the ingredients? Could be hard water, not enough protein, build up of coconut oil/ shea butter/ e-wax/ protein: it's quite a lot to use shea, coconut, olive and argan oils. That conditioner is wall to wall occlusives/ sealants that are not water soluble so may not be compatible with conditioner only washing/ cleansing conditioners you would need to shampoo often, it doesn't contain much in the way of true conditioning agents - the fatty alcohols and cationic surfactants. Perhaps your clarifying didn't remove all the build up and you are now back to square one.

[samanthajenalyn]

I use RenPure Cleansing Conditioner around twice a week. Ingredients: Purified Water, Cocamidopropyl Betaine (Coconut Oil*), Cetyl Alcohol (Palm Oil*), Glyceryl Stearate (Palm Oil*), Behentrimonium Chloride (Rapeseed Oil*), Argania Spinosa (Argan*) Kernel Oil, Hypnea Musciformis Extract (Red Seaweed*), Gellidiela Acerosa Extract (Red Alga*), Sargassum Filipendula Extract (Brown Seaweed*), Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower*) Seed Oil, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut*) Oil, Punica Granatum (Pomegranate*) Fruit Extract, Hydrolyzed Pea Protein, Psidium Guajava (Guava*) Fruit Extract, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter*) Oil, Sorbitol (Sugar*), Amodimethicone, Trideceth-12, Cetrimonium Chloride (Palm Oil*), Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride (Guar Bean*), Glycereth-26 (Coconut Oil*), Silicone Quaternium-17, Diazolidinyl Urea, Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate, Butylene Glycol, Disodium EDTA, Fragrance. (* Derived Source)
Also I use Shea Moisture Restorative Conditioner as a leave in. ( usually only about one pump, so not very much.) Ingredients: Deionized Water , Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter) , Argan Oil , Coconut Oil , Behentrimonium Chloride , Essential Oil Blend , Vegetable Glycerin , Emulsifying Wax , Sea Kelp Extract , Panthenol (Vitamin B-5) , Avocado Oil , Tocopherol (Vitamin E) , Daucus Carota Sativa Seed Oil (Carrot)
I sometimes use Vo5 strawberry and cream conditioner as a cowash if i dont want to use the renpure cleansing conditioner. Ingredients: Water Aqua, Cetyl Alcohol, Cetrimonium Chloride, Stearalkonium Chloride, Stearyl Alcohol, Steareth-21, Glyceryl Stearate, Fragaria Vesca (Strawberry) Leaf Extract, Glycine Soja (Soybean) Seed Extract, Tocopherol Acetate, Biotin, Niacinamide, Polysorbate 20, Ascorbic Acid, Panthenol, Propylene Glycol, DMDM Hydantoin, Disodium EDTA, Fragrance Parfum, Red 33 CI 17200.

I thought it might have been the shea moisture, so yesterday i didnt use it once i got out of the shower, but once it dried it was even more tangled, and frizzy.

[meteor]

I don't want to sound like I'm giving facile advice, but it sounds like it could be build-up from some ingredients, and I do recommend clarifying.
Another thing that you might enjoy is just switching up some products and seeing how your hair responds. Hair does change over time and new products may be needed.
I do believe in build-up issues, so when I have problems like that, I just use shampoos/conditioners that didn't work for me earlier but are still in my bathroom. I go for the products that have very different ingredient lists than what I normally use. Sorry if it sounds unscientific, but it's very much based on purely empirical approach. When I overload on some ingredients I just change up the products and it takes care of the problem. I think rotating products can help a bit.

Also, try styling your hair very minimally while your hair is feeling fragile, put hair up and certainly avoid any heat/chemical damage. You want to avoid extra breakage while you are adjusting your routine.

If I were you, some of the things I'd experiment with right now would be alternative washes (WO / CO / herbs / clays), SMT, cassia, catnip...

[samanthajenalyn]

I havent used coconut oil on my hair since I clarified, so i dont think it could be that. I may be wrong though. Also, I do have hard water where i live. My hair has never felt oily or weighed down because of the oils in the cleansing conditioner and the shea moisture. actually, since ive started using those two together, my hair has looked and felt a lot healthier. but if you think one of those is causing it, i will stop using them or switch to something else.

[samanthajenalyn]

I don't want to sound like I'm giving facile advice, but it sounds like it could be build-up from some ingredients, and I do recommend clarifying.
Another thing that you might enjoy is just switching up some products and seeing how your hair responds. Hair does change over time and new products may be needed.
I do believe in build-up issues, so when I have problems like that, I just use shampoos/conditioners that didn't work for me earlier but are still in my bathroom. I go for the products that have very different ingredient lists than what I normally use. Sorry if it sounds unscientific, but it's very much based on purely empirical approach. When I overload on some ingredients I just change up the products and it takes care of the problem. I think rotating products can help a bit.

Also, try styling your hair very minimally while your hair is feeling fragile, put hair up and certainly avoid any heat/chemical damage. You want to avoid extra breakage while you are adjusting your routine.

If I were you, some of the things I'd experiment with right now would be alternative washes (WO / CO / herbs / clays), SMT, cassia, catnip...

Okay i will do that! I never use heat or chemicals on my hair anymore I dont think WO would work for me, because i have scalp problems and i dont want it to start acting up again. The only other products i have in my bathroom are ones with sulfates and silicones, because that is what my parents use. and my hair does not react good with sulfates. but i will be sure to go buy something else as soon as i can. thank you very much for the advice

[Doreen]

Maybe it's the weather. My hair has been quite frizzy lately because of the changing seasons and difference in humidity; to fix it I have been clarifying more often and then deep conditioning right after, which has seemed to help. Other than that, maybe your friend's water is different at her house? Personally my hair isn't too affected by temporary change in water but yours may very well be different. Those are the only two things I can really think of that haven't already been brought up. Good luck!

[meteor]

Okay i will do that! I never use heat or chemicals on my hair anymore I dont think WO would work for me, because i have scalp problems and i dont want it to start acting up again. The only other products i have in my bathroom are ones with sulfates and silicones, because that is what my parents use. and my hair does not react good with sulfates. but i will be sure to go buy something else as soon as i can. thank you very much for the advice

Even though I'm sure your hair needs something new, even if only temporarily, it's really hard to tell what exactly it needs, so it's almost impossible to recommend something definitive. There are services out there (e.g. Komaza Hair Analysis - http://www.komazahaircare.com/person...r-analysis.htm) that might be helpful in your case. To be honest, it's hard to experiment without knowing more about your hair, that's why I recommend just clarifying and switching up products temporarily (maybe only sampling some new products). I recommend checking out information on ph-balance (e.g. ACV might help close the cuticle and bring back smoothness and shine) and on protein-moisture balance (e.g. overload of protein can make hair brittle/tangly).