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Do most of you guys with long hair blow dry your hair or let it dry naturally? How often do you shampoo/condition? For those of you who blow-dry, what products do you use to keep your hair from drying out? Is that new Thermasilk stuff any good? Or how about Pantene... they've recently reformulated some of their stuff so you can get a shampoo without the conditioner. -Thanks!
Tried Thermasilk and didn't like it. The conditioner did not perform as conditioners are supposed to, i.e. Knot City that took a long time to get straightened out.
I just started using Nexxus Therappe shampoo and Humectress conditioner. I'm impressed after just one washing.
If you don't want to spend the $$$$$ for Nexxus, I recommend Salon Selectives. VERY good stuff. Also, the Clairol Flex line is pretty good. The important thing I find, though, is that it's good to switch brands once in a while.
I wash my hair generally no more than three times a week, and always blow-dry; medium heat if I'm not in a rush. Some people can get away with just "air-drying" their hair; if I did that I'd look like a lion, especially this time of year when there's so much static electricity in the air.
I'm shoulder length haired and actually a stylist, so extra fussing
is not a big deal to me.
At a minimum, I either blow dry or use a large barrel curling iron,
sometimes have been known to put in in rollers to finish it.
Mostly it's blow dry with a large (5-in barrel) round brush and
finish with iron. Medium heat at max, and avoid the "cool shot"
buttons - nice toys but not really helpful.
A lot of keeping hair in good shape is discipline and technique.
My own rules:
1. Brush regularly and thoroughly every day. This helps distribute
oil (which is your body's own natural conditioner) and keep
the hair healthy.
2. If you must wash every day (and there are reasons that you
shouldn't) don't use shampoo every day - washing only with
water is fine, and "product" shampoo it only every two-three days.
3. When you do shampoo, don't overuse product. No more shampoo
than the size of a nickel is usually enough. Shampoo twice,
rather than once if you need more cleansing, Don't pile on
whatever cleanser.
4. Shampoo BEFORE getting in the shower, and apply conditioner
(again, use a good product, and use it SPARINGLY). Let it sit
on your hair while you shower and rinse out. You'll get better
results by leaving a thin layer on longer than troweling on
product. (I also give this lecture to women who complain about
limp long hair)
5. Don't blow dry/heat style without some product in your hair to
help protect it.
My favourite products? Unsurprisingly, I like the salon lines,
Aveda and Sebastian are my faves. Since you can generally do a
lot more with less product, the apparently "expensive" choice
ends up being more economical in the long run.
For my own use, I'm an Aveda fan.
Shampure is a good every other to every third day shampoo
Hair Detoxifier is a good deep cleaner every two-three weeks
(also good for swimmers, as it removes chlorine residues)
Elixir is a great leave-in conditioner for light conditioning
Rosemary/Mint conditioner for people with more need, and
there's Almond/Cherry bark or the new Brilliant line for more
intensive needs.
For styling protection, try Curessence or one of the Brilliant
series (humectant to support more curl, anti-humectant to
straighten hair)
Sounds like work? It can be a little extra, but you can have
hair that really does get attention, or just looks cruddy.
For me, the extra ten minutes (tops) is worth it.
BobbyT:
Question: How do you have your hair cut? (What style do you wear?)
Since you're a stylist, I was curious : )
Nick,
The basic cut is a shoulder length blunt cut with a slightly
shorter section at the front and no fringe (bangs in the U.S.)
Closely resembles what's popularly known as a bob - technically
a modified one length cut to the temporal area and vertical
graduation at the front hairline.
Bobby
You mentioned that it's good to *not* shampoo every day, but I have found that if I skip even one day without shampoo, my scalp becomes very dry and itchy - even if I just rinse my hair with clear water.
I don't like dandruff shampoos as they tend to make my hair feel really dry, and actually seem to make my dry scalp condition worse! I've found that my scalp actually flares up less when I shampoo daily, but I am concerned about the long term wear and tear on my hair as I'm trying to grow it out.
I may be just fighting the inevitable use of "professional" products, but I'm just not willing to pay the prices for Aveda, Nexxus, Redken, etc., etc. products at this point. Are there any "drugstore" lines that you're familiar with and comfortable with recommending? Thanks!
Kurt,
I'd rather first deal with the causes rather than accomodate the
problem.
IF your scalp is really that problematic, a couple of things come
to mind: (Sorry if this is unpleasant, but it's hard to 'see' over
a text file)
A. There's a possibility of a nutritional problem - you'd be
surprised at how many people don't get the required B and C
vitamins (and biotin) to really help hair and scalp conditions
B. There's a possibility of a low-grade fungal infection. For
years we "knew" that dandruff appeared to be very faintly
contagious, but never knew why. In the last few years, we
understand that some background fungi (present everywhere, in
the normal environment) appear to make scalp conditions like
you describe much worse or even initiate them. To really test
for this you'd need a dermatologist, not a hairdresser.
C. There may be other skin/scalp conditions that apply: low-grade
dermatitis (allergic/topical or systemic), or seborhhea, or
other disturbances of the sebaceous glands, including metabolic
problems.
I may be misreading this, but it sounds like you'd benefit from
a competent dermatologist - and they do exist. Beware, however,
if you feel dismissed or like it's not being taken seriously -
compared to let's say: melanoma (skin cancer) a dry scalp isn't
as professionally exciting and important, but it's important to
you. Also, many dermatologists reach for the coal tar derivatives
way early in the game. It's true that they can offer relief -
in part because coal tar has anti-fungal properties. However, it's
often an exercise in bringing down a gnat with a 12 gauge shotgun -
it's possible but kind of overkill.
Having said that, there are some reasonable treatments (including
plant oils) that can help - but without seeing and examining your
situation, I am reluctant to say: "X is OK for you." when it's
clear that you have issues to clear up first.
If you want to follow up, I'd be happy to.
Bobby