new thread
So from what I hear, you are only supposed to condition from where the hair goes below the ears? Well being my hair is thick and its about 5 or 6 inches long, that means it is about down to my eyes and starting to grow over my ears, does this mean the only part I should ever condition is from where it goes down my ears and below? I shouldn't condition it on the top of my head or my bangs at all? Im a bit confused as to all these supposed rules and need some clarification. Oh, and I should mention, I don't want my hair much longer than it is, I think I will keep it around 6 inches long all the time.
Sid you are having too much trouble with this.
Condition everything, you won't hurt any of your hair.
With 6 inch hair you have even less to "worry" about. Use any conditioner you want or like.
That is all.
Yes I probably am letting this drive me too bad, thank you Mr. Religion for the advice
Thanks for clearing that up! I was confused about that too. Why do people say not to condition above the ears? I always thought that was kind of odd.
~Jenn
The main reason I shampoo my hair is to get my scalp clean. The ends don't get oily and dirty like the base does. With really long hair it's more important to condition the ends than to strip the oils out with shampoo.
There is a lot of stuff that people do with their hair but many guys find that the practical things are what they can use the most.
I say this because there are a lot of guys that come here with great anxiety about growing their hair "properly" and get hung up on odd little haircare tips. The biggest thing is to just go and do it because hair grows slow enough that you have plenty of time to experiment and is strong enough that trying a product and finding that it doesn't work in your hair won't wreck it.
A good example of practical is why I recommend things like Aussie Moist to people. It may not be the absolute best product that you can find on the market but it does work great (for me), it's clean, it's inexpensive and very easy to find. When I take a trip and find that I left my conditioner in the shower I can just go to the local Walmart or wherever and get some more and have the same great results. That is useful info to pass on. But if the product is 5 times more expensive and has to be ordered by mail or from some speciality place then it can easily be not used for those reasons.
Growing hair isn't that hard, it just takes time so people just starting shouldn't get worried about all the details right away especially when they still have short hair that can't be damaged by the passage of time yet.
(I wasn't pointing this reply at you Jenn ; )
Condition everything.
I tried the 'below the ear' rule and I noticed the difference on the top of
my head.
Unless...
You are like me and have some kind of scalp condition that is aggrevated by conditioners.
...which is why experience answers your questions about your hair the best.
People just need to get out there and start growing their hair and trying stuff to see what works. There is plenty of time to learn about one's hair.
The reason we don't typically recommend conditioning scalp hair is because the scalp has these little sebacious glands that produce oil on the scalp for the hair, naturally. (Commonly known as the acid mantle.) And you don't want to upset this balance of nature by making it be less or overproduce because the pH balance was affected. Remember, scalp is skin and it has a pH. Then, combined with not conditioning scalp hair, it's also suggested to wash less frequently to allow the natural oils produced by the sebacious glands to build up on their own thereby moisturizing scalp hair.
Most importantly, those with skin scalp conditions, conditioning the scalp skin can adverseley affect these conditions causing yet more grief such as yeast growth (dandruff is a form of a yeast issue) to go into hyperdrive or for psoriasis to really get going, as an example!
Now, somebody here said his hair gets really dry unless he conditions his scalp hair. For that I would suggest that either his water condition could be improved or more likely that the shampoo he's using may be the wrong type for his hair type--too dry. I do like Biolage's Humidifying Shampoo. Nature's Gate is also excellent.
For those who may want to follow the maxim or need to follow the idea of not upsetting pH balance on scalp skin (for medical conditions), then you can take some conditioner to the fingertips and apply to the inches of hair you have but not touch the scalp itself. That's a possibility to explore.
Those of us with really long hair find that washing less frequently helps significantly if for no other reason than waiting a bunch of hours for hair to dry is not an option when having a work life. So some of these maxims prove helpful then.
However, the most important thing is to do what works best for your hair, and keep in mind, that as you mature in the years to come, oil production does change, medical conditions do arise and this information may prove more relevant at that time.
heidi w. (from TLHS)
Hello Heidi!
What a wonderful surprise to see you responding while I was. I bow to your take on the same question.
Elizabeth
P.S. I told you you have more fans than you know. It is good to see the reach of Heidi's Hair School expanding.
I, likewise, am surprised to find you here! I was browsing around one day and noticed that someone referenced my detangling post on TLHS (The Long Hair Site .org), so since then, I've been checking things out here and decided to post even though I'm of the female persuasion!!
Anyway, HELLLOOOOOOOO!!
Take care, I'm sure we'll catch up again soon!
heidi w. (from TLHS)
I really liked how you explained all this. If I go more than 2 days without shampooing, I get a really itchy, flaky scalp (it got pretty bad where the skin builds up into plaque, aka psoriasis). My hair is about 5-6 inches long right now. But I love the look and feel of my hair when I only rinse it with water and/or use conditioner (no shampoo). I live in Florida, so the water is naturally soft, but I think it has high levels of chlorine (because I can smell it). I am still experimenting and trying different combinations. A dermatologist gave me some prescription Nizoral A/D that I use once a week and seems to help a little. But it can't be good for my hair. Any other words of advice?
__________heidi w. on Nizoral_____________
I actually use Nizoral prescription strength with no adverse effects for a scalp condition I have (an overgrowth of yeast). I did switch to a cone free shampoo (Nature's Gate) and this seemed to help even more thereby requiring me to use Nizoral very little, once or twice a month versus previously, every single hair wash. I do know there's such a thing as conditioning shampooing only (is the best way I can describe it) -- that is some kind of recipe where conditioner is somewhat diluted and only conditioner is used. I learned about this on TLHS, that some of the women do this technique, especially those with wavy hair textures. Then there's the clay hair wash which I know little about (also TLHS and I think there's a thread that mentions it & where to find out about it), but I hear some people respond to it quite well. I am not sure what Nizoral "A/D" is per se .... Nizoral does not dry the hair like other 'dandruff' shampoos (such as head&shoulders or T/Gel line); indeed, it does make the scalp hair oily a bit faster! It needs to be left on around 5 minutes before rinsing. For those who find the odor strong during application, never worry: your hair will smell nice once it's all rinsed. Nizoral will tend to tingle or to some, perhaps even sting. It doesn't usually lather as much as other shampoos, but do lather it in the palms & apply by massaging it into the scalp with the pads of the fingers. Never forget: it's the scalp skin that needs cleansing, not the hair. You might be interested to explore the Aveda product line which is quite good and perhaps the Louise Marie hair product line. I mention these as possibilities for finding the best answer for your situation. Cone free shampoos (that is a shampoo that has no words ending in "-cone" are considered more natural and less harsh, and in my experimentation I did find less yeast growth when using -cone free shampoos. heidi w. (from TLHS)
Thanks for your advice. I'll keep trying new products until I find something I like. Tim
The reason behind conditioning below the ears is to go longer between washings, reducing wear on the hair. Conditioner on the head can be skipped because the scalp will produce enough oil to protect the hair on top when left unwashed for a few days. Brushing spreads the sebum into the hair length so that the head does not appear as greasy as it would on a shorter haired person in the same amount of time.
At Sid's length this would not work and I am guessing he shampoos frequently so that his hair does need the oils restored. Understanding what circumstances apply to suggestions will help people pick among them. I do agree with Hair Religion too, there is not much that is a must in hair care. Time to grow is the only thing in common among long haired people. There are enough people running around with lengthy locks that knew absolutely nothing about hair care and yet they have it. For some, paying attention to should's and shouldn'ts helps pass the time if not doing anything else toward long hair.
Elizabeth