mamakaty

Ok, I need someone to point me in a direction to get started!

More background than you wanted: I'm 36, I have wavy hair that is fine, and thin. I think it's low to medium porosity, best I can tell. It is cut above the shoulders, and I haven't colored it in a couple of months. I honestly don't know what the heck I'm doing when it comes to my hair. I found this site & have been doing some reading. I really want to try the no sulfate, no silicone, curly girl method. But...there are so many products. I know it will be trial & error to find put what works best for me, but can someone give me some suggestions for what to try first?

Also, I know I need to clarify my hair first to get rid of buildup, and then I think I get the steps, but do you conditioner wash every day, every other day, or ??

Thanks!!

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mamakaty

Ok, more thoughts. My hair feels and looks dry, but I don't know how much deep conditioning I need. Deep conditioners always weighted my hair down, bit I don't know how many non water soluble silicones I was putting in it, etc, ya know. I don't mind using a sulfate free shampoo, or water soluble silicones. Like I said, I'm just trying to figure out a starting place!!2

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hippiechic81

Hi there!! I would suggest heading over to the Wavy Boards first....things move a bit quicker plus we can relate to the woes of a wavy a bit better!! I personally don't co-wash but I do low-poo and use a rinse-out (RO) conditioner every other day. A lot of wavies use just a low-poo so that's pretty common. If your hair is fine, there's a good chance you'll benefit from a protein treatment (PT). Head to the Wavy section and post this there and I"m sure you'll be getting more responses in no time!!!

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2a, fine-med. text, normal porosity (I think)

[FONT=Going back and forth between Herbal Essence Don't Fade On Me shampoo and condish and L'oreal Sulfate Free shampoo

Stylers-- Not Your Mother's Curl Cream, La Bella Sports Gel, Aussie Sprunch Spray

[/COLOR][/FONT] [I][B]My waves are finally getting stronger thanks to weekly PTs and longer hair in general. Still trying to grow it out though!

mod-CG since December '10

I have Celiac's Disease so no gluten please!

My hair is basically my hobby!!

http://balancedbeauty.blogspot.com/

fetus

I think a lot of people start out with Suave Naturals or VO5 conditioner for cowashing (each cost, like, a dollar). You could try the Garnier Triple Nutrition ($4ish) as a rinse out, or GVP conditioning balm ($6) if you need something heavier. From my experience, it's better to start out with cheaper products while you're still figuring out what ingredients don't make your hair look like a homeless wirehaired terrier.

Regarding how often you need to wash it, that's up to you. If the day after you cowash it's a greasy mess, cowash again. If not, don't. Once your scalp gets used to your new sulfate-free product regimen, it will generally stop pumping out so much oil and you can stretch out the time between cowashes.

As far as deep conditioning, there are a lot of recipes on this site (Curl Recipes - Home Made Hair Product Recipes Presented by Carol's Daughter - NaturallyCurly.com). I'm lazy and usually just mix some kind of oil and (depending on the weather) honey with my conditioner and leave it in for awhile.

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mamakaty

Thanks! We have really hard well water, but we just got a water softener installed today, so I'm making plans to change up my hair routine in a few days, and trying to figure out what exactly I'm going to do seems silly, but I never realized what all was in the hair products I've been using until now. That and the hard water? No wonder my hair isn't happy!!

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mhen76

Welcome, mamakaty! My hair is curlier than yours but it's fine and easily gets weighed down. Unfortunately, there is no one right product or method that works for everyone. The boards here are filled with opinions and options. Sometimes it can get overwhelming. With a little patience and a few experiments, you'll find what works best for you.

I, also, started out with Suave Naturals. It was OK for me but not great. I really like Tresemme Naturals much better. I can't do just co-washes. I need to low-poo about twice a week. Deep treatments were helpful but I got the best results when I started to use protein treatments. I still occasionally "look like a homeless wirehaired terrier" (I love that reference! Thanks, fetus, for giving me my daily chuckle!). *sigh* It seems every time I get a routine down, the weather changes or my hair changes and I'm off looking for a new routine.

Good luck to you! You'll find everything you need here!

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3B, fine, normal to low porosity
Modified CG since June 2010
HGs: FSG, anything with glycerin, Tresemme Naturals conditioner, Curls Like Us cloths, satin pillowcases.