new thread
I'm on my third longhair journey and trying to do things right this time and not wind up with damaged hair again that doesn't go much beyond my shoulders. Right now I'm at 10 months from when I buzzed my hair down to 2 inches. So, I've been trying to go all natural by only putting stuff on my head that is out of my kitchen with no chemicals. For shampoo-baking soda and apple cider vinegar with moisturizimg oils-I do that twice a week. On the days I don't use the shampoo I use a hair rinse which is just a combo of some teas (green tea, chamomile, nettle, and reishi mushroom tea and combine this with argan oil. Up to a month ago my hair was looking healthy and a lot fuller than it did when it was long but I had always heard that conditioning daily is very important with long hair. My hair is around 5 inches. Maybe all the oils I'm putting on my head would count as conditioner?
I wasn't sure but decided to start putting Aussie conditioner on my head for a couple minutes each day and fully saturate my hair with it. Now my hair is starting to lose volume and body. It's pretty thin and wavy and if brushed much while dry it gets puffy in areas (I go with a hair pick after light brushing with a soft boars hair brush).
So am I over conditioning? Maybe I'm using way too much? Maybe I don't need conditioner since I'm putting oils in the shampoo and hair rinses each day?
Marty
Well I was over-conditioning. The name of the game is moisture in the hair that lasts...oil. As Bill said in his longhair page:
"so many of us use a "conditioner", which is really just a concoction to return to the hair much of what we just stripped out of it. My experience has been, though, that no conditioner makes my hair as supple and lubricated as good old natural scalp oil. Conditioners may perform better for a few hours, and they may briefly look better, but they dry out and deteriorate faster than does natural oil."
I stopped using the conditioner and right away my curls were back. I was worried that the conditioner was leaving residue on my locks but shampoo with apple cider vinegar and a little baking soda restored everything.
I already have argan or sweet almond oil in my hair rinses and shampoo and rinse in cool water. My hair isn't squeaky clean (meaning there is no oil in it) but it is clean and moisturized.
Marty
I don't wash or condition at all and my hair has never felt or looked so good. What can be simpler than allowing Mother Nature to take her course?
Unless you put or otherwise get nasty gunk in your hair, there is no real need to wash it with anything other than water. Just like sweat and pollution washes off the skin with water, it will from the hair.
Look up the no-poo method. Mine felt greasy and smelled musty for 2 weeks - the body adjusting to natural levels of oiliness. But since then, it looks thick, smooth and of a richer colour. I'm never going back to the 'detergent' style of washing hair.