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Hi, im just starting to grow out my hair, Well ive bin for about a month and a half now, Its about 2 inches. Ive bin using head and shoulders (mostly becouse i used to get a bit dandriff, but i gotta say it does feel good on the hair) Would you consider that a bad shampoo/conditioner. If anyone can, may you please tell me some good shampoo's and conditioners to use for my hair and what are some i should defintly stay away from.
As your hair gets longer you will probably not need to shampoo as often. Your scalp itches because it is being dryed out by exposure to harsh shampoo and air (since the oil is being stripped off by the shampoo). You could get a salon shampoo but a store brand that I like is Aussie Moist. Make sure you also get the Aussie Moist conditioner. The way to use them is (1) wash your hair with the shampoo, rinse with water, then put conditioner on it. The next day, don't use the shampoo, just rinse your hair with water then use the conditioner. Only use the shampoo when you notice your hair becomming greasy or if your scalp itches a *lot*. You may find you wash every 2nd day or even every 3rd day (like me and I have greasy hair). Your hair will be clean because you are still rinsing it every day, just not washing it with harsh chemicals. If you must use Head and Shoulders I'd limit it to once a week and make sure you condition afterwards. But if you try my program you may find you don't need dandruff shampoo because your problem is probably not dandruff, it is itchy scalp caused by harsh dandruff shampoo.
I had a bad oily dandruff problem. I found that none of those anti dandruff shampoos worked for me. They just dry your hair out. If you must, use what is perhaps the best anti dandruff shampoo out there, nizoral. Expensive, but got rid of my problem and also amazingly leaves your hair pretty soft.
Agreed on the Nizoral. I had itchy, flaky scalp for awhile. (Thats basically what dandruff is, the dead skin and stuff from your scalp) And Nizoral took care of it in ONE shampoo. Head and Shoulders is a vicious circle,as it only gets rid of the dandruff but not the actual cause, so in essence, you would have to use H&S forever. Ive only used my Nizoral a few times, and hardly anymore, my hair is back to normal again. Nizoral suggests once a week treatments, but this stuff was amazing. Oh-kay, this is sounding to commercial like now. Im off to work (a little nervous though, first day going with my training ponytail.)
This is just MY opinion, but...I do not think you will be able to use
Head & Shoulders once your hair gets longer. It's a bit harsh.
Many here like Aussie MOIST Shampoo and the MOIST Conditioner.
I have purchased: L'Oreal VIVE Smooth-Intense Shampoo and the VIVE Conditioner...
Tomorrow, I will let everyone here know what I think of them!
Good Luck!
Hello and welcome!
All the advice given so far is good - provided you have the same hair type.
What works well for some, may not work for you. Experiment.
As an example, I have fine hair - and using Aussie 'Moist' or any
shampoo for 'Normal/Dry' hair makes my hair too limp. I also shampoo
everyday (and condition - lightly) but that's just me.
So post what type of hair you have (or think you may have at this point), then
if you hang around here long enough you will find others that have
similar hair types as you. :-)
I do agree on the H&S comments - harsh stuff that provides temporary help.
My experience has been the longer my hair got, the less dandruff I see.
Hello boys :)
I'm not sure if I'm committing a cardinal sin by posting here, but being a Woman who has had long hair her entire 31 years, I know a thing or three about the things you ask each other. So, about shampoos, washing etc. I have red hair, which is usually somewhat dry by nature. I also have wavy hair, and the curlier it is, the harder it is to keep moisturized as a general rule. That said, I have to work very hard to keep it from being crackly. I own about 7 different types of shampoo at once, and about 4 conditioners. They range from super moisturizing shampoos to deep cleanse with tea tree oil (which, by the way, is the best for itchy scalp, and it feels great too.) to a buildup remover that is citrus based. Now, the tea tree and citrus (and henna shampoos too, but I doubt a guy would use that) are drying by nature, so make sure to follow them up with a good conditioning. The Tea Tree I use when I have itchy head, which comes from Candadia Albicans usually, a yeast. Yeast like dark, wet, warm places and under a layer of hair that takes awhile to dry is perfect, especially if you don’t blow dry your hair and just let it air out, b/c it stays wet longer. The ketocanozole in Nizoral is an antifungal similar to the active ingredients in jock itch or athlete’s foot medications, so it does kill the beasts, but it does not get at the root of the problem. ( pun intended ;). Similarly, Tea Tree oil only kills them, but it is also soothing and cooling to an itchy scalp. Just don't apply it directly to broken skin, b/c it will hurt like hell and retard healing. The BEST way to treat itchy scalp is not let the buggers grow at all, which means maybe washing your hair every other day (which is also a great way to keep it well conditioned, b/c natural skin oils work the best) or blow drying it once in awhile. Or, do what I do. I have oily skin, so washing every day is a must, and blow drying robs me of my waves and makes it frizzy. So, I wet down my head and soak my hair through with either lemon juice (not concentrate, dilute to regular strength!) or household vinegar and leave it on for 5-10 min while I shave my legs etc. A plastic shower cap works great for keeping it out of your eyes in the meantime. Then just rinse it out and wash as usual, MAKE sure you condition after this! This works b/c yeast do not like an acidic environment, it kills them. Doing this drops the ph of your scalp down to about 3-4, which they just cant take. Very effective, much cheaper than Nizoral, and one less drug for your body to deal with. The citrus shampoo is to strip off styling product build up, which happens eventually and leads to dull looking hair that does not curl as well b/c it is so junked up. Again, condition well after this. My other shampoos are curl enhancing or moisturizing. Forget the shampoos that say they are moisturizing, they typically don't. Go for the ones for permed and/or color treated hair. Yes, you will have to look in women's hair care sections for this. Perming and coloring is the worst thing you can do to lead to dry hair, but there are women who keep their hair permed *and* color treated constantly, and it still looks healthy. Their secrets are always using a good quality shampoo for permed or colored hair, *and* conditioning with a similar product for permed and colored hair at least every other wash. Permed women rarely blow dry their hair too; diffuse it lightly at most, which helps. My hair is naturally red and wavy, but I use these shampoos and conditioners anyway b/c they work, period. And honestly I see little difference in effectiveness between expensive salon shampoos and store brands. My current conditioning shampoos are Pantene and Garnier Fructis, both for permed/colored hair. I do, however, buy the curl enhancing shampoo from a salon. The Tea tree oil shampoo I get from a granola type store (Nature's, Wild Oats, Trader Joe's, or your local whole foods/organic store), and the citrus based is Aussie Citrifier, available in most larger stores. If I were going to spend a ton on a hair care product, it would be on a conditioner, not a shampoo. One of my conditioners is Aussie Moist, which isn't really expensive. The other is the partner to the curl enhancing shampoo. My other 2 conditioning regimes are not really traditional bottled products. I use West African Shea Butter and Jojoba Oil (find these at the granola store too), both as a "hot oil treatment". This means in the evening when I'm not going to go anywhere, I warm some of it up in a tube inside a mug of warm to hot water. I then apply it to my clean, pretty damp hair and leave it on as long as I feel like it. Usually I let it dry that way and sleep on it. Yes, it will be a bit oily, but it shouldn’t be dripping or leaving oil stains on your pillowcase (if it does you used too much). Then I wash with a non-drying shampoo in the morning, the Pantene or Garnier. Viola!, nice soft bouncy waves when it dries. The Shea Butter will be a bit pricey, but it will also last a long time b/c you don't need much. Just make sure it isn't diluted with cheaper stuff, like an oil. It should be in a tub, hard to the touch but easily scraped up with a nail or little spoon. It also has a bit of an odd smell to it, but if you find one with an essential oil added to it, you wont notice it. Personally I like the smell, but not everyone does. More masculine smelling essential oils are patchouli, sandalwood, cedar wood, cinnamon, clove, rosemary, and bay. Stay away from flowers, vanilla, citrus, and ylang ylang, it's very girly. So see, if you feel like you have ever been rudely blown off by a girl b/c "she had to wash her hair" she may have meant it! Finally, read the labels on your styling products and avoid like the plague anything with SD alcohol, Alcohol 40, SD 40, and every alcohol you may see. Alcohols are very drying, and better styling products that work well exist without them.
Ok, I hope this helps :)
Long live all the incredibly sexy, long locked MEN of the world, straight, gay, bi, and otherwise!
Oh, and if any of those straight, unattached, long locked, beautiful men happen to reside near Portland, OR....I wouldn't mind an email from you.
Thanx!
I'm sure there is enough info in your post
for everyone here to pick & choose what they need!