new thread
Hi all,
This is my first post here and I am hoping the collective wisdom may help me with some hair related issues.
First off, I want to say that I have been letting my "Freak Flag" fly off and on (off, military,"necktie" jobs etc.) for going on 30 years. Up until about 3 years ago, I always opted for the short/er on the side and top long in the back as I never had the patience to get beyond that aggravating stage where its too short to tie back but long enough to get in your face all the time.
I finally decided to let to grow all the way round.
The problem is my hair is baby fine and in spite of the fact that it hasn't been touched by scissors for over three years I haven't accumulated that much that is really long.
There is a part of it that reaches almost to my waist but not much.
It seems when I shower or comb it out, even with taking great care I get massive breakage and in fact sometimes I am amazed I have any at all given what seems to be breaking off and clogging the shower drain.
It is very easy to tangle and sometimes almost appears to be tied in knots. I used my fingers to get out as many tangles as I can and use combs with widely spaced teeth but no matter what I do it seems it breaks. Even taking a tie (I use the Goody ponytail bands, never a rubber band) out causes me to cringe because I know it will be wrapped in broken hair.
As far as shampoo and conditioner, I have never noticed much difference between the $10 a bottle salon kind and the $3 a bottle grocery store kind. Not saying there isn't any, just that I have not noticed it.
I am in a position where if I wanted to used some kind of product to keep it oiled or conditioned and then wrapped in something, I could do it, but I have no idea what would work.
And to be honest, (I have nothing against hair professionals) I haven't gotten alot of great advice from salon types on what to do.
When you have fine hair, fullness is hard to come by and you need all you have long to help out.
To be clear, when I say fine I mean the individual hair shaft is smaller in diameter. While I do not have an above average number of hairs per square inch, its not "thinning" or falling out, my hairline is not receding.
I'd really like to work on minimizing breakage so more of what I have will make it to the "long" state.
Any help or suggestions will be greatly appreciated, and thanks for taking the time to read this,
Ron
Wow!
I always envied the fine-haired guys in school who could flip their hair back with a haughty sweep of the head. I have never had the problem you describe because my hair is either thick or wavy or both (though I do find hair in the shower drain every day). This is serious, but the only bell that rang in my as yet barely longish hair-covered head was 'No More Tangles.' I never tried it, but I remember a commercial that stressed its benefit to parents who have to drag a comb through their kid's head without stressing the kid out.
Just an idea.
Charlie
Charlie, you said, "I have never had the problem you describe because my hair is either thick or wavy or both..."
You poor poor guy, :o)
And to think of all the trouble I have gone to over the years to try to make my hair as thick and wavy as I could get it.
Aaaah, to have the thick mane some of you guys have...
Thanks for the input,
Ron
Here are some things to keep in mind to cut down on damaging your hair.
Avoid hair ties
Avoid rubber bands
Use scrunchies or ribbon to tie your hair
Avoid detergents (I will post a supplement to this after I gather some information)
Shampoo as infrequently as possible
Make sure your diet is complete and well-rounded -- you may wish to get a blood-test done to see if you are missing something
brush/comb as infrequently as possible
never brush wet
Here is a message from Laura Jane Swanson, posted on ETLHS (email list of http://www.tlhs.org).
Ok, the whole silicone thing...
I have a B.S. in biochemistry, so I do know something on the
subject.
Silicones are polymers (long, stringy molecules made up of similar pieces all strung together) made of silicon, oxygen, hydrogen, and sometimes other elements (e.g. carbon). (Note the difference between the element SILICON, the compounds called SILICONES, and SILICA which is SiO2 the compound that makes up both sand and glass. The vast majority of people don't know there's any difference, let alone which is which, but they're really quite different things.)
As far as hair is concerned... Silicones coat the hair shaft. This often provides a smoothing effect, but depending on the type (and they do vary widely), they can build up and cause drying and tangling in the long run. There doesn't really seem to be a consensus on whether they're bad for everyone. Personally, they don't work well for me, but I know people who swear by them. As with so many other things, it seems to depend a lot on hair type.
Certainly some are less damaging than others. Whether they're more or less hydrophobic (literally "water-fearing", as opposed to hydrophilic which is "water-loving") makes a big difference. All other things being equal, silicones that are more hydrophilic will wash and rinse out more easily, causing less buildup.
Sticking to all-organic products will not necessarily be best for your hair, although there are some excellent all-organic products out there. I'm personally a big fan of Aubrey Organics, not for ingredients reasons, but because they work well FOR ME. (This doesn't mean anything about how well they'll work for anyone else, of course.) There are plenty of organics that would be bad for your hair.
Things to avoid, in general, are strongly alkaline substances (this is a big one!), and chemicals that tend to build up on the hair shaft. To be used in moderation are detergents (which can strip hair of oils or even damage the proteins if overused, but which must be used to clean the hair unless a soap is being used) and oils (we all know, of course, that too much oil is yucky!).
A few words on detergents, since this is a big topic in lots of long hair discussions, and so much misinformation exists. Detergents are not necessarily bad. Actually, they're quite useful. To remove excess oils and dirt and so on from hair, it's necessary to use either detergent or some form of soap. They serve essentially the same purposes, and have essentially the same effects in a general sense. Soaps tend to build up more than detergents (or, to put it another way, detergents tend to rinse out more completely). This is actually why detergents were originally developed - to counteract soap scum. Detergents are often more effective than soaps at removing oils and dirt, which makes them easier to overdo it with (leaving your hair stripped and dry and possibly damaged).
Sodium lauryl (note correct spelling - it's not laurel, which is how many people misspell it) sulfate (SLS, more properly referred to as sodium dodecyl sulfate or SDS) is a detergent. Contrary to much
misinformation out there, it is not dangerous (check with NIH, for example - the claims that is causes cancer are just so much nonsense!), nor is it necessarily harmful to your hair or skin. Like any other detergent, it can be drying if overused, but so can soap.
Personally, I use castile-based shampoos by Aubrey Organics. This is not because I think soap-based shampoos are necessarily superior to detergent-based shampoos, but because I've tried them and they work well for me. (They're also convenient, don't make my allergies act up - a real challenge anymore, since I have so many - and smell nice without being overpowering. For me, they're cost-effective, because I don't have to wash my hair as often as I used to, and it doesn't take much.)
In the end, what's most important is, of course, what works for you. The few hard-and-fast rules I'd suggest are watch out for strongly alkaline (basic) chemicals and watch out for peroxides. Be careful if you choose to use silicones, and keep an eye out for buildup, which may or may not be a problem for you. Some alcohols can be drying (some aren't - it's not really a simple "alcohols are drying" situation, in spite of what you may hear).
If you have specific questions about chemicals, let me know - I'll be glad to try to answer them if I can. I'm not a health and beauty product expert, but I know a good bit of biochemistry, so I may be able to be of some help.
Laura Jane
who probably told you much more than you wanted to know
For detangeling the hair I use a special sort of comb: "Hard Rubber saw-cut" comb with widely spaced teeth. It also works well on superlong hair, as I got as a reply from some women. In Munich this sort of comb costs about 16 Deutschmark and can be buyed at Hertie (near the central railway station). After washing a conditioner is very helpful to avoid damages through combing. Recently I use Plantur shampoo and conditioner. From a long haired women I heard that Redkin products work good. From own experiences I can also recommend Gliss Kur.
Hello all! I stumbled upon this site while looking for braiding instructions.
Ron, I KNOW what you're going through! My hair is past waist length, stick straight, fine and colored (Goldwell only). The best detangler I have found is Back to Basics Sunflower Detangler which can be purchased at many salons. Buy it by the quart because you'll probably love it! Tangles just fall out! For shampoo, I use Pantene for fine hair and L'Oreal conditioner -- EVERY DAY. One tip is just to wash your scalp, as the lather from a good scalp cleaning is enough for the rest (unless you've been rolling in the hay!). I also do not dry my hair; I just get the drips out and let it air dry.
I also strongly believe in Vitamin E supplements. I know from experience that when I stop taking them, my hair and nails get brittle. Another supplement you may want to try is zinc. I used this temporarily after a long illness and everything's just fine now.
Hope this helps!
Catherine