Newbie Here: Help! My hair is freaking out!

[Ana H.]

Hello, my name is Ana and I'm new here. 😊

My hair started acting crazy the last couple of weeks and I need help to figure out what's causing it and how to fix it.

I think I made one too many changes in my routine and now it's freaking out and SO dry and breaking. First it was mushy and stretchy yet dry at the same time. So I did a gelatin treatment and that helped for about a day. Then I left conditioner in it over night and that helped for a day too and then back to being dry. I tried clarifying too. Now it's not really stretchy anymore but it still is so so dry. I switched back to my old routine and my hair felt so much better for the rest of that day but now it's day two it's back to being very dry.

I've thought maybe it's protein overload but then I did a few strand tests and it either stretched and stayed stretched or stretched and broke. Plus the gelatin helped a lot (albeit temporarily). I'm scared cause my hair is starting to break. Admittedly it's only a few hairs a day but I didn't have any breakage before. I don't heat style and haven't for three years. My hair is 2a/2b and waist length. Completely virgin hair never been colored or chemically treated. Any advice? What is causing this? How do I fix it?

Also, can hair suddenly become more porous? When I first learned about porosity I decided my hair was probably low porosity. But now the strands feel bumpy and weird and my hair is drying faster too.

Here's the routine I had when my hair still loved me:

—Twice a week wash with:
MopTop Gentle Shampoo
Shea Moisture Superfruit Complex conditioner
– Once a week Shikakai and Amla mask
– Oiling as needed, always on damp hair.
— Note: I had a Sprite water filter

Changes I made:

— Twice a week wash:
Waterman's GrowMe Shampoo
Shea Moisture Fruit Fusion Weightless Mask
— Everything else the same except no longer using the filter due to moving

Anyway, to anyone who read this entire post, I sincerely thank you.

[Ana H.]

Ingredients in products my hair loves:

MopTop Gentle Shampoo:

Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract,
Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate (from Cocoanut),
Cocamidopropyl Betaine,
Cocamide MEA,
Glycol Distearate,
Steareth-4,
Glycerin(Vegetable),
Hydroxypropyltrimonium Honey,
Silk Amino Acids,
Hypnea Musciformis (Red Alga) Extract,
Gelidiela Acerosa (Red Seaweed) Extract,
Sargassum Filipendula (Brown Alga) Extract,
Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract,
Salix Alba (Willow) Bark Extract,
Urtica Dioica (Nettle) Extract,
Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E),
Panthenol,
Sorbitol,
Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride,
Polyquaternium-10,
Fragrance (phthalate free),
Phenoxyethanol,
Ethylhexylglycerin,
Sorbic Acid,
Sodium Chloride,
Citric Acid.

Superfruit Complex 10-in-1 Conditioner:

Water, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter*,* Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil*,* Stearyl Alcohol,* Cetyl Alcohol,* Behentrimonium Chloride, Hydroxyethylcellulose,* Panthenol,* Biotin,* Glycerin,* Sclerocarya Birrea Seed Oil, Fragrance (Essential Oil Blend), Tocopherol,* Rubus Idaeus (Raspberry) Fruit Extract,* Lycium Barbarum Fruit Extract,* Euterpe Oleracea Fruit Extract,* Psidium Guajava Fruit Extract,* Hydrolyzed Rice Protein,* Cinnamidopropyltrimonium Chloride,* Caprylhydroxamic Acid,* Caprylyl Glycol,* Sodium Citrate,* Citric Acid,* Ipomoea Batatas Extract

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Ingredients in the products I was using when the problem started…

Waterman’s Grow Me Shampoo:

Aqua (Water) , Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Chloride, Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate, Acrylates Copolymer, Phenoxyethanol, Polyquaternium-10, PEG-150 Pentaerythrityl Tetrastearate, Citric Acid, Parfum (Fragrance), Hydrolyzed Lupine Protein, Sodium Hydroxide, Argania spinosa (Argan)Kernel Oil, Allantoin, PEG-6 Caprylic/Capric Glycerides, Niacinamide , Caffeine, Sodium Starch Octenyl Succinate, Tetrasodium EDTA, Maltodextrin, Styrene/VP Copolymer, Calcium Pantothenate, Ethylhexylglycerin, Sodium Benzoate, Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate, Glycerin, Tocopheryl Acetate, Pyridoxine HCL, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract, Magnesium Nitrate, Magnesium Chloride, Biotin, Silica, Sorbic Acid, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone, Potassium Sorbate

Fruit Fusion Coconut Water Weightless Masque:

Water, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Fruit Juice, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Cetearyl Alcohol, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter*, Capric/Caprylic Triglycerides, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Butter, Cetyl Alcohol, Stearyl Alcohol, Behentrimonium Chloride, Fragrance (Essential Oil Blend), Behentrimonium Methosulfate, Glyceryl Caprylate, Glycerin (Vegetable), Litchi Chinensis (Lychee) Fruit Extract, Hylocereus Undatus (Dragon Fruit) Fruit Extract, Pyrus Malus (Apple) Fruit Extract, Garcinia Livingstonei (African Mangosteen) Seed Oil, Persea Gratissima (Avocado) Oil, Mangifera Indica (Mango) Seed Butter, Hydrolyzed Rice Protein, Psidium Guajava Fruit Extract, Myrciaria Dubia Fruit Extract, Tocopheryl Acetate, Panthenol, Cetrimonium Chloride, Glyceryl Undecylenate, Citrus Grandis (Grapefruit) Fruit Extract

[Tosca]

I'm not an expert on hair stuff as much as some other members of this forum, but perhaps the simplest thing would be to go back to your old routine.

As for the dryness, oils or oils with cones in them help my hair when it gets like that.

The filter probably has a lot to do with it. When I wash my hair at my sister's house (she has hard water) it goes all weird and sticky, like the shampoo isn't working properly. She recently got a filter and she reported that her hair has improved a lot

[Ana H.]

Thanks so much for the input. Yes, I have already switched to my old routine but it's too early to tell if it's helping or not. I will try to use more oils and use filtered water too.

I decided to go silicone free a year or so ago but I've been seriously considering going back to cones. My hair never had any problems with them and actually responded quite well. I used them for years without any build up. I just kept reading that they were bad and dried out your hair so I stopped using them. But I'm not sure if I really believe that anymore. What is your favorite cone product?

[Ana H.]

I'm just a little worried about the idea that the cones can make your hair feel really nice but actually be doing damage underneath. But then again is invisible damage really damage if it never catches up to you? If your hair is strong, beautiful, and soft and not breaking or falling out does it really matter? What is your take on it?

[Anje]

Stretchy, mushy hair needs lots of protein, fast! You went the right direction with that one, but I'd keep with it. ApHogee's 2 step protein treatment has a great reputation, and the second step helps replace moisture, which you frequently need following protein.

Did you recently bleach or perm your hair or something? Suddenly getting mushy hair usually is precipitated some sort of chemical treatment.

Sprite water filter shouldn't hurt anything. I'm wondering if the shikakai is too harsh for you. You oil heavily before you use that, right?

[Garnetgem]

I went cone free for a couple of years and my hair was crunchy and tangle as a result it also shed often..now i switched back to cones and my hair has improved so much as a result,i just clarify once a month and hair is soft and manageable i no longer use conditioner either as its soft without it..cone free is not for everyone one i suppose..i must add i have very hard water here too but it seems the cone free were doing more harm than the water..

other members will most likely reply later and will have much more experience and knowledge to help you more..by the way welcome

as mentioned protein may help i do hope you get the answers soon.

[Tosca]

I've used cones all my life and I have never had any problems. I think it depends on your hair. Some hair likes them, other hair doesn't.

[lapushka]

I think I made one too many changes in my routine and now it's freaking out and SO dry and breaking. First it was mushy and stretchy yet dry at the same time. So I did a gelatin treatment and that helped for about a day. Then I left conditioner in it over night and that helped for a day too and then back to being dry. I tried clarifying too. Now it's not really stretchy anymore but it still is so so dry. I switched back to my old routine and my hair felt so much better for the rest of that day but now it's day two it's back to being very dry.

I've thought maybe it's protein overload but then I did a few strand tests and it either stretched and stayed stretched or stretched and broke. Plus the gelatin helped a lot (albeit temporarily). I'm scared cause my hair is starting to break. Admittedly it's only a few hairs a day but I didn't have any breakage before. I don't heat style and haven't for three years. My hair is 2a/2b and waist length. Completely virgin hair never been colored or chemically treated. Any advice? What is causing this? How do I fix it?

Also, can hair suddenly become more porous? When I first learned about porosity I decided my hair was probably low porosity. But now the strands feel bumpy and weird and my hair is drying faster too.

Here's the routine I had when my hair still loved me:

—Twice a week wash with:
MopTop Gentle Shampoo
Shea Moisture Superfruit Complex conditioner
– Once a week Shikakai and Amla mask
– Oiling as needed, always on damp hair.
— Note: I had a Sprite water filter

Changes I made:

— Twice a week wash:
Waterman's GrowMe Shampoo
Shea Moisture Fruit Fusion Weightless Mask
— Everything else the same except no longer using the filter due to moving

Anyway, to anyone who read this entire post, I sincerely thank you.

This I would not do, not ever. Just go with what's on the tub/tube/bottle and stick to the time that's on there.

You might need to clarify-wash with a sulfate shampoo. That usually solves *a lot* of issues. Then I'd go with what Anje said, a good protein treatment. I'd look into the Redken line. They do awesome protein treatments. Aphogee can be harsh on you!

And welcome, BTW!

[Ana H.]

No, I've never colored, bleached or chemically treated my hair. I haven't used any heat on it in 3 years. Which is why I'm so confused by my hair acting this way. Does it still need protein even if it's only stretchy when wet? And feels very dry when it's not wet?

Perhaps you're right about the Shikakai being to harsh. I first started using it about two years ago when I was experiencing some hair loss due to my illness. It really helped but I had to stop using it when I went through another period of being too ill to do almost anything.

I started using it again about 6 or 7 months ago and noticed it was making my hair dry. So I started mixing it with conditioner and oil and only using it on my scalp. I don't usually oil beforehand but like I said I mix it with conditioner and oil. I also usually end up leaving it on longer than I should/intend. Sometimes a whole hour. Last time I didn't have the conditioner I like on hand so I just mixed it with oil and I noticed a lot more shedding than normal. I might try taking a break from it and seeing if the dryness improves.

By the way, you guys are all so nice! I'm so grateful for your input. 😊