Our "Beauty" thread got me thinking… My hair is long. Gray. Wavy (soft curly when moisturized properly). And very fine. And REALLY frizzy. I'm trying to tame the frizz but just found out that most of the products I use are probably making it worse, not better. Been reading about co-washing (using conditioner only washing). Do any of you do this? Does it work? Debating about trying it, but nervous.
I tried just conditioner, but it didn't work. With that said, I use hair spray, so that might have made the difference. My hair is a loose curl. For years it was frizzy. Then I stopped using shampoo. It took a few weeks, but now I can wear my hair straight or curled with no frizz. I usually wash my hair with diluted glycerin soap. The least ingredients the better. I also use Yardelys Oatmeal Soap on occasion. When I have build up, I use baking soda. I always rinse with vinegar and a few drops of essential oil. For a while I didn't care for the vinegar, but I was using too much. I have cut the amount suggested and now love it. I try to not wash my hair more than twice a week. Since I no longer use shampoo, not only does my hair not frizz, it doesn't get overly greasy and the strands do not get overly dry. Now I rarely get split ends, and I get a lot of compliments on how soft and shiny my hair is. If you saw my hair when I washed with shampoo daily, you would know how drastic the difference is.
I need to change what I said about the vinegar. When my hair was dry and frizzed, I didn't care for the vinegar. The amount recommended also lightened my hair. I cut the amount and it didn't work as well. THEN, once my hair became healthier and grew out, I have used less vinegar with great results. I think it has to do with the condition of your hair.
Well, I'd been doing some reading about the products I used on my hair (I use Frizz-Ease), and found out that it could be back-firing and causing my shampoo to over strip my hair and keeping moisture from getting it. Thus, in the end, making my hair frizzier and less manageable. I don't use ANY other product, though. No hairspray, no mousse, no gel, etc. Going to toss that freaking Frizz-Ease. Makes me mad that it was CAUSING the problem it's supposed to fix. Guess it's really just a marketing ploy. I already don't wash my hair more than every other day - and actually try to go every 3 days if possible. I did do a hot oil treatment tonight. I haven't done one of those in FOREVER, I used to do them once a month when I used to have to perm my hair. Since children, though, my hair has a loose curl, like you said. Hmmmm….washing with soap….And how exactly do you rinse with vinegar? Does that get expensive? I'm going tomorrow to get about 2" cut off, it's just gotten so dry and frizzy at the bottom, I have to. I want to shave my head. The thing that bugs me is that when my hair was very short, I had no trouble, but my husband doesn't like my hair short at all. And while I'm overweight, I don't like it much either. Thanks for your suggestions. Would love to know how to "rinse" with vinegar".
Most vinegar rinses I have tried call for one part vinegar to three parts water, but there are different recipes you can find online. Many people swear by it as is. For me, it was too strong. I use less then 1 part vinegar. I can't say how much. I use a small bottle and fill it with water and add a little apple cider vinegar. I add about two to three drops of essential oil. After I rinse my "shampoo" out, I squeeze on the vinegar. I shake the bottle a few times as I apply the rinse, since oil and water do not mix. Leave it on for at least three minutes. Rinse well. Your hair will smell like vinegar until it dries. Then no odor, except for the essential oil you use. Your hair will not feel soft when it is wet, but you should be able to brush through it without any problems. Once it dries, you will notice the difference. You will not have that soft feel that you get from a store bought conditioner, but I like how my hair feels. It is soft, but a different type of soft, and not weighed down. You can adjust the ingredients to suit your hair. The best thing I use together is the baking soda wash and the vinegar rinse. They go beautifully together and your hair will be clean and soft. BUT! The baking soda wash is too harsh on my hair to be used for each washing. Some people only use baking soda and vinegar and swear by it. Again, I think it depends on your hair type.
Oh, it is a lot cheaper. If you can't find a large bottle of apple cider vinegar, you can use white vinegar. It works fine. I prefer apple cider vinegar because it seems to work the best, but white does work, but the smell is stronger.
I do use coconut oil as a hot oil treatment and LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it! You will need to wash with soap or shampoo to get it out. Your hair will still be soft afterward. I add spearmint and tea tree oil to the oil treatment and have seen a more even growth in my hair. No kidding. You can find information regarding spearmint and tea tree oil for the hair. Castor oil is amazing in helping hair regrow, but it is ridiculous to get out of your hair. I also use it on my chickens to help regrow their feathers. It really works.
Thanks. I did a regular hot oil treatment tonight. My husband and oldest daughter said it looks better than it has in a LONG time. Next time, I might try coconut oil instead (since I have it in the cabinet already!). I have a friend who sells Young Living Oils, maybe I'll order a spearmint and tea tree from her.
Frizz Ease is the worst! I use a product called Right On curl activator by Lustrasilk. It is found with the African American hair products. It is great to use when you want your hair more curly. I use it when I want to wear my hair down. It feels oily in your hands when you put it on but when your hair dries it is not oily at all. I have heard tea tree oil is great for your hair and we use coconut oil body lotion and love it. I can't believe I've never thought to try it as a hot oil treatment. Gotta try that now. Debbie
Have you heard of Moracian oil? when were in Illinois the lady that dyed my girls hair (purple) ---- she works at a salon ....... had a small bottle of the Moraccan oil and rubbed it in the hair when she was done. --- but it didn't have anything to do with the hair coloring.
I have been following the Curly Girl method for about 9 months. Today it was raining and we had an outdoor event to go to. My daughter looked at me and said "Why isn't YOUR hair frizzing??" lol... Love the Curly Girl method! I "wash" my hair with conditioner and once a week I use Shea Moisture Deep Conditioning treatment. http://www.naturallycurly.com/curltalk/
I'm a little nervous about trying the curly girl method, more because I don't consider myself curly as much as "wavy"…I mean, it DOES have curl. What I find amusing is my hair was POKER straight when I was child, and now it's not. Hormones sure do funky things. I did finally find a conditioner that has no "-cones" in it. We have a Trader Joes here. I got their Tea Tree Oil Shampoo and Conditioner. I also found an "olive oil" beauty treatment - well, you're supposed to use it like you'd use Frizz Ease (which is what ruined my hair in the first place!!!), but it's all natural and has no silicones in it. After one wash with the shampoo/conditioner/olive oil, it IS softer. It was still frizzy (we are having tons of rain right now!), but it did not feel like straw after I washed it. For the first time I can remember in at least 2 years. Trying to be patient, it's gonna take a while to heal all the damage from the Frizz Ease. I'm still so mad over a product that's SUPPOSED to help making it worse. Hugest marketing ploy in the business!!! I did get about 2" cut off this weekend, too. Hoping the combination helps. I'm waiting until next week to try the coconut oil conditioning treatment, too. I'll keep you posted!!!
I have very smooth frizz free hair. It is always clean and shiny in the non oily looking fashion. All hair dressers comment on the healthy condition of my hair, then they cringe and want to run away screaming when I answer their question as to what I use. It is really funny. I enjoy watching their deameanor change so drastically, some even stammer. I use Prell to wash everyone in my family does and we all get comments about our nice smooth healthy hair. It is so funny, because people tout Prell as the most caustic chemically shampoo ever. We have oily scalps and this handles that without drying the rest of our hair. The girls and I have long hair and we just scrub the scalp, then push the lather through the rest while massaging only a bit. I used to use a John Frieda conditioner until they changed an ingredient a couple years back and I started getting large knots on the back of my neck and lower scalp. I now use a fructis leave on conditioner, but use it as I would a regular conditioner rinsing it out. Sometimes I only condition every other shampoo. If I let my hair dry wet without coming at the right time and have a few sticking up, sometimes, I will do the following. Wet my hand under the faucet, then spray with hairspray, then rub both hands together then lightly run my hands over any loose hairs. Then comb them. These usually will be on top of my head, or stragglers near my ears. I never have stickiness or stiffness from the spray (Herbal essence - I don't get the air liner WC experience BTW) this way and it is nice when I get distracted and don't comb my hair into place before it dries and I need to go somewhere soon where rewetting would be a pain.
There are a lot of wavies that find out they are curlies after doing the CG method for a little while. I use Curl Care conditioner from Sally Beauty Supply. It cost me about $9 for a gallon. I use that to wash and condition my hair. I comb through my hair to get knots out while in the shower with conditioner in my hair. When I get out I use a t shirt to scrunch the excess water out of my hair. Then I scrunch in TIGI Catwalk Curls Rock. It does have a -cone in it, but it has one that is water soluble. If I have somewhere to do I will difuse it til dry, then "scrunch out the crunch" to get rid of that '80s wet look.
Being a cheapskate, I boil water and melt a glycerin bar in it. I let it cool and put it into a gallon container. I fill an old Infusium bottle and squeeze it onto my hair. I use the Yardley's straight off the bar. I have been using the glycerin for many years now, and just started using the Yardley's. My friend told me about it. It works very good, but I am going to try to melt it down, too, and see if it works just as good. For a while, I was diluting the glycerin "shampoo" into two gallons. It still worked fine, but my husband liked it when I only made one gallon per bar. It is very cost efficient. I buy three glycerin bars for $2.??, and I get three gallons of hair cleaner. If I dilute it twice, I get six gallons.
Thanks, Jakk. I have a Sally right around the corner from me, maybe I"ll see if they have a small bottle or sample and give it a try. Although, I might be able to use the Conditioner bottle I got and use it. I can't believe that i haven't washed my hair in 4 days (I've showered, just not washed my hair, I'm not a pig! LOL ) and it's STILL clean and soft!!! LOL It's gotten a little frizzy today, but I had it pulled up. I'm thinking I might try the condition only method in the summer when I'm at the pool a lot - if it doesn't look good, people will just think my hair is wet! LOL
Cure Care from Sally's is what I've used for years. The gal that (used to) do my hair suggested it. I also use it on the rare occasions I shave my legs, lol! The vinegar intrigues me. What do you do to kill the smell? I mean, I can't imagine going out with hubby, and smelling like vinegar! (Though maybe it would offset the "eu de petrol" from his filling the car on the way, lol!)
