My hair is driving me INSANE

GeorgeGlass · 11-02-2009, 12:10 AM

Confession: as mentioned in my sig, I'm not totally silicone free. I have a Redken deep treatment that contains a 'cone. It was quite expensive, so I can't quite bring myself to give up on it yet, so until I have the money to buy a new DT I thought I'd use it after my weekend low-poo and occasionally clarify with a sulphate shampoo.

Well, my hair was feeling pretty greasy and 'congested' last week, after a couple of days of not water washing, so I decided to clarify and DT. After that it felt like I hadn't properly washed out the DT - it felt a bit coated - so I co-washed the next day. And, EUGH.

I've had Kate Bush hair for days and I hate it. My hair feels crispy at the ends, 'congested,' stiff, it looks frizzy and dull. Nothing else has changed. I'm still co-washing most days, with a low-poo once or twice a week depending on how my hair feels. I Icequeen in my rinse-out, scrunch in a generous amount of mousse, air dry, then SOTC with my beloved Kevin.Murphy Easy Rider and a dab of MOP Liquid Wax. When I first started CG this worked really well, but not my hair looks just revolting. The weather has also changed, too - we've slammed into spring here in Australia.

What can I do??

kenzallan1212 · 11-02-2009, 01:14 AM

some of it could be the change in seasons. spring is pretty humid and moist, while winter is typically dry. Your hair could be over-moisturized. I would clarify with a sulfate and then use your rinse out, and don't put any stylers on it, maybe its one of those. Sometimes a certain thing stops working, or a certain combo makes your hair kinda nasty after a while. If your hair feels gross with just your rinse out, try a different one. If it feels fine, start adding in stylers one by one. I hope i helped!!

GeorgeGlass · 11-02-2009, 03:23 AM

That's a great idea, Kenzallen. I'll try it tomorrow morning. I might try the lightest styling product I have straight away, because I know my hair will turn into a dandelion-style puffball if I don't use something. I'll let you know how it goes!

GeorgeGlass · 11-02-2009, 04:56 PM

So I just did a sulphate 'poo. I used quite a bit of conditioner afterwards, more so I had enough slip to comb my hair out (sulphates always make my hair feel rough and gross - guess that's why we avoid them!), Icequeened to get the clumps going, left it in for a bit longer than usual, then rinsed thoroughly with very cool water. I squeezed in a dab of Easy.Rider while my hair was drippy, just to try and avoid dandelion hair. Now I am Leaving It Alone. I'll report back to let you know if this did anything with my Lousy Stiff Kate Bush Hair situation!

gekko422 · 11-02-2009, 05:01 PM

I can't cowash and condition, it over moisturizes my hair. So when I condition, I nubby scrub my scalp with my fingertips, then comb it through, let it sit, and then rinse it out. When I tried co-washing, my hair was awful.

kenzallan1212 · 11-02-2009, 11:44 PM

seriously??? I was told i could get away with adding tons of moisture because my hair's so thick....I was lucky enough to skip the greasies stage for the same reason....

GeorgeGlass · 11-03-2009, 12:15 AM

I get the feeling my hair might be a touch over-conditioned. After using such a light styling product today I know why I love mousse - without hold my hair looked lank, flat and shapeless, but at least it wasn't stiff, dull or crunchy. I didn't get much of a wave today. It was, as my hairdresser euphemistically puts it, 'textured.' I'll probably braid my hair before bed tonight, then try a bit of MOP Curl Refreshing Spray on the ends tomorrow. Again, I'll report back!

Sigh. I'd naively hoped CG would be some kind of magic hair bullet. But I am actually really appreciating reading about the woes of other wavies. It's good to know I'm not alone with struggling with such a difficult hair type!

goobernut · 11-03-2009, 09:35 AM

I have to say, that during the past 5 months, I've been very frustrated with CG. I mean, its hard work! LOL.

I am just getting to the point where I am happy with my hair. This has brought me to the point where I realize that this thing is a journey. No magic bullet, its about education AND growing healthy hair. Everyone's hair is different, so your journey and epiphanies will be different! The last weeks I've started to really like what I see in the mirror when I style, and I also realize its a combination of a TON of things that finally started to come together, rather than just finding the right styler. Though, that helped a lot heh.

bfly36 · 11-04-2009, 07:49 PM

I am new here so not much experiance with CG, but I can say that RedKen has ALWAYS dried out my hair, just gave away the flat iron spray, smooth down shampoo and the heat glide. around $50 right there.
: (

runnerchicki · 11-05-2009, 01:47 AM

GeorgeGlass - If you are unhappy with the way your hair is responding, I would highly recommend getting rid of the 'cones. If you are not washing them out of your hair with sulfates you will end up with buildup. This will make your hair prone to frizz because moisture cannot get into your hair. Also, the rest of your products will not do their jobs very well. If you can't find a CG friendly product, then try finding a product that has water soluble silicones that will wash out with a co-wash or a low-poo.

If you do get the puff-ball hair, or if you are simply going through the transition that I call the "yuck phase" then a ponytail is a cute style to help you through that stage. I think a curly pony is cute whether it is frizzy or not. A little imperfection is attractive! Have fun with it!

bfly36 · 11-05-2009, 02:29 PM

So tempted to flat iron my hair and look soooo nice. But I have to stick with it. Washed with Prell Last night and just left Giovanni Leave in in my bangs to blow dry a bit. My hair looks like a poof ball LOL!!!! I thought runnerchick's advice was good. I did not put any product on my hair except alittle aloe gel on top for frizz. My hair is so use to the heat,it's begging for the iron, no no i will not LOL!!!

qimissung · 11-05-2009, 03:21 PM

I had a lot of trouble too. My hair has finally settled down and I finally found products that work. However it took almost a year to get there. Just keep hanging on!

putaheya · 11-05-2009, 04:03 PM

First of all George Glass, if you name is a Brady bunch reference, I love it. If it's just a name, that's good too.
My hair has some things in common with yours and some total opposite. My hair would never get over conditioned and is difficult to weigh down. My hair is very fine and probably porous or very porous.
Before going CG I was test driving CG conditioners for cowashes and leave in conditioners. My hair turned straw like from a reaction to several conditioners. Here is my thread on the subject, if that sounds like it your hair issue.
http://www.naturallycurly.com/curlta...62#post1098762
I still have no real idea what was causing the straw like reaction. If this sounds like your issue, we can compare notes. I suspect having very fine hair and possibly very porous hair may be a source of the straw like reaction to some products. I only have ideas,theories, and total guesses. I found Yes to Cucumbers conditioner and all is well.

GeorgeGlass · 11-05-2009, 07:53 PM

Wow, thanks for all the replies! To recap: after my last sulphate 'poo and light style my hair was much less stiff, but I had some flyaways and, of course, far less definition. My wave pattern was very weak and my hair looked a bit limp overall. I put my hair in a French braid overnight for second day hair, and in the morning just massaged a little hairspray into my roots (true confession: I LOVE Elnett, tease it to Jesus!) and scrunched some MOP Curl Refreshing spray into the ends with my hands. My waves were much silkier and more sculpted because, well, they'd been braided in, but it feels like a good second day hair solution to me.

The next day I did my first co-wash. My roots were feeling a touch oily, but definitely weren't after, so I have no doubts that co-washing cleans my hair. Remembering the comments about over conditioning, I Icequeened with the tiniest dab of my rinse-out. When I got out I decided on a whim to try plopping with a dab of Easy.Rider in my ends. This worked really well - my waves were much more defined and separated. The only thing is the wave pattern soon drooped without a product for hold.

So: my co-wash and rinse out seem to be working. I think it was the mousse and the DT I'd been using that caused the problems. I think I have a second day hair method that works, but I really do think I need a styling product with way more hold for my fine hair. How do I find one that doesn't give me freaked out, straw like Kate Bush hair? Any suggestions, remembering that I'm in Australia, aka the CG product desert?

Runnerchick - I'm totally with you re: getting rid of the 'cones. I just had this one DT that I couldn't bear to part with because it was so expensive! I haven't used it since my last sulphate 'poo and my hair does feel a little less stiff.

I also think I'll start avoiding Redken now, Bfly! I've left my mousse well alone and I've had less stiffness, but also much less definition. Also, I know what you mean about the siren call of heated tools. I actually, *cough* tonged a few waves this morning just to give my hair a little something. I feel like I cheated!

Putaheya - I feel like I should be taking notes in your condish thread! I'll do an ACV rinse after I buy some tomorrow. Maybe my products are a little basic?

putaheya · 11-05-2009, 11:46 PM

I actually am still bewildered as to what caused my straw hair reaction. It may be the slight ph balance in the conditioner and may not be. After I read a bit more on the internet I found that although conditioners do vary somewhat in PH, they are all pretty neutral. They have to have a pretty neutral PH so they don't hurt if they get into your eyes. That said, I picked a conditioner without a lot of cationic ingredients and my hair didn't rebell.
I used a ACV rinse and it did noting for my hair. No difference. Many people swear by this however. I rinsed it out leaning over the tub. I didn't get the ACV rinsed out enough in the front and got scalp burn. It reminded me of my perm burns in the 80's. My scalp fixed itself in a few day. Moral of the story...rinse well.
Sounds like things are starting to come together for your hair. Woo-hoo! Since you have porous, wavy hair, you may want to check out the spritz and condish method on a day when you can experiment. It works for many people with porous wavy hair. I like it so far. I'm new and still experimenting with everything.
http://www.naturallycurly.com/curlta...ad.php?t=89299

SouthernMoss · 11-07-2009, 03:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by putaheya

I didn't get the ACV rinsed out enough in the front and got scalp burn.

Are you using full-strength ACV???

You should be diluting the ACV; a common ratio is 1 tablespoon of ACV to 1 cup of water. I know that some folks rinse it out, but Struttswife (Tiffany) recommends NOT rinsing it out, and I find that I get better results by following her advice.

putaheya · 11-08-2009, 10:50 AM

Sorry. I already solved the ACV "burn" mystery but had forgotten. I did dilute the ACV. I had done a DT before that included either honey or molasses (can't remember which). I rinsed that out leaning over the tub too. I'd guess some honey was left on the front of my head. Add ACV and poof! Scalp chemistry experiment. Don't do that.

SouthernMoss · 11-08-2009, 03:28 PM

Yikes! I'll keep that in mind!

DEL2C · 11-08-2009, 08:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by runnerchicki

GeorgeGlass - If you are unhappy with the way your hair is responding, I would highly recommend getting rid of the 'cones. If you are not washing them out of your hair with sulfates you will end up with buildup. This will make your hair prone to frizz because moisture cannot get into your hair. Also, the rest of your products will not do their jobs very well. If you can't find a CG friendly product, then try finding a product that has water soluble silicones that will wash out with a co-wash or a low-poo.

If you do get the puff-ball hair, or if you are simply going through the transition that I call the "yuck phase" then a ponytail is a cute style to help you through that stage. I think a curly pony is cute whether it is frizzy or not. A little imperfection is attractive! Have fun with it!

Actually sulphates aren't always necessary to remove silicones.

http://www.naturallycurly.com/curlre...p-on-silicones

http://jillipoo.blogspot.com/2009/09...-and-soap.html

Alexjoujou · 11-08-2009, 10:46 PM

Actually GG I'm wondering if the Mop Wax was a contributing culprit? Sometimes, depending on the wax, this can coat and can be hard to remove w/o a harsher surfactant.

For my daughter's hair we've seen 2 causes of straw hair: too much protein and product buildup. Once we really limited the protein and did a sulfate wash we were good. Try looking at the ingredients in your products. It is possible to get too much protein and have a straw like problem. The converse is true..if your products now don't have enough you can be protein lacking. The key is finding your balance.

That's my opinion anyway