A Hair Story.

[rhienelleth]

Tonight, I'm telling a story.  A hair story.  I think most of you have probably seen my posts about LUSH Henna, and know I've been making some hair changes.  Well, those changes continue.  Last week, I henna'd my hair for a third time, and finally I am happy with it.  I also discovered, through a friend, a site called naturallycurly.com.  I hadn't

Comments

[fatema]

Wow! Your hair looks so beautiful, color and curl.

Thanks for sharing your experience. Since I've been in Bangladesh, I've turned to using coconut oil in my hair before I shampoo (which I do twice a week). I don't usually need a conditioner, but if I use one, it works out. I started doing this in BD because the water is heavy and is really terrible on my hair. It was breaking and thinning quite a bit. But, I've been using it for eight or so months and I'm really happy. I predict I'll use it elsewhere, too, since it'll protect my hair overall. My hair is also fuller. :)

I was actually thinking about changing my hair up a bit with color. This is making me rethink it, though. I don't know how hair like mine (black) will take to henna either. Things to think about. :)

[vaznetti]

In my dark-brown-hair experience, henna does not have much of an effect, no matter how many hours I leave it in -- but you may be able to get something different in BD that will work on black heair.

[rhienelleth]

I've heard that henna has no effect on black hair - henna can't lighten, since it only gives the hair shaft an opaque coating through which the original hair color shows through. On the other hand, my friend with darker brown-auburn hair used a mix including some of the lightest henna LUSH offers this last time, and the very front part of her hair turned out WAY brighter a red than anything we've done in the past, and it sure didn't seem like she had THAT much gray grow out when we started, so...I'm unsure.

I've heard coconut oil is very good as well! If I don't like the Argan oil, I will try that. I would wager that also switching to a light cleanser vs. your shampoo would also see a huge difference, and perhaps allow longer times between using it.

[fatema]

I've seen henna used on older people here--the ones who've got grays in their hair. There are a lot of men with bright orange beards and hair walking around here. Some women, too. For me, that's not really the look I'm going for and I'm not sure if it would do anything. But, maybe it's worth looking into. It's just, I've not seen anyone in Bangladesh who had a color-job done in BD that I said, "Oh, I want that!" So, maybe I'll wait till I'm in the States.

Coconut oil is very popular here and most people use it as a protection to the bad water. It really just wears your hair down and destroys it. I'm so glad I started using it.

[sandy_williams]

Interesting post! And your hair looks great. I have straight hair, so I don't need to follow the curly girl routine, but I've been trying to take better care of my hair these last few months. It's so, so oily, that I've always had to wash it every morning, even if I wash it the night before. And, of course, then I blow dry it, which is really terrible for it. I'm trying to "train" it to go every other day without washing now. It's not going great, but I thought what you said about the conditioner working instead of a shampoo was interesting. I think I might give that a try.

:-)

[rhienelleth]

See, I think using shampoo is going to hamper your efforts. That harsh detergent strips your hair, so then it overproduces oils to try and compensate (well, your scalp does). The only part of the CG routine unique to curls is the drying method, I think. I bet if you switched to something like my paraben-sulfate-silcone free cleanser and conditioner, you'd find your hair less oily. I know mine is! And yes, using just the conditioner for three or four days between cleansings I bet would work well! I know there are some really inexpensive ones out there to try (goes to look) - ah, yes. You could try something from the Suave Naturals line, apparently. Their conditioners at least - not sure, but I can't find if their shampoos are p-s-s free.

If you try it, let me know how it goes!

[eggies_red_dres]

I've tried the same technique you describe, conditioning only as part of a straight hair growing routine. I will say for a straight haired person, there is what I would refer to as a 'braid phase'. You're hair is too limp and clingy at the roots to keep a style that isn't fully bound. After about 2 weeks of very 'off' hair, it will stop being so clingy at the roots and wearing it unbound will be more what you are used to right now.

Overall it's worthwhile to practice it in increasing doses of no- poo washing, as *you* get used to it. One of the long hair sites I was reading said (and I agree with) you can always go back to gentle shampoo.

Suave naturals: Cheap and do the job without adding to your hairs problems! If you want to be 'natural' or additive free but need a root clensing, you can try dissolving one Tablespoon of Baking Soda into 8 oz of water as an alternate cleansing method. Rinse well and condition. Easy.

[rhienelleth]

Interesting from a straight hair perspective! Yes, I believe there is a two week transitional phase for everyone who switches like this, with varying degrees of smoothness (of the process) or difficulty totally dependent how each person's hair reacts

[vaznetti]

I have a friend who absolutely swears by the curlygirl system. I keep thinking of trying something like it, but do need to comb my hair out, especially if I don't keep it short (my hair basically sticks to itself as it gets longer).

I really enjoyed reading your earlier posts about henn -- it reminded me of many teenaged experiments with the stuff (which has no effect on my hair -- to dark), and how nice and silky it made my hair feel!

[rhienelleth]

Hmm, yes but what's your current care routine? I convinced a friend of mine with horribly tangly (SUPER naturally curly and LONG) hair to give this a go. She has always had to "comb" her conditioner through her hair in the shower to get it to de-tangle properly. This always results in a huge ball of hair that has come out/broken off during the process. I took my products over to her house (she'd been complaining about losing her curl definition and more frizz to her hair these days) and waited while she tried it. When she was done, she said "I have to show you something!" and held out the hair pic she'd used on her hair - a few, as in maybe four or five, strands of hair clung to it. That was all that came out of her hair during her detangle experience.

She's going to try the method for a couple of weeks, and see if her tangling issues lessen. Anyway, you could try it and always see if you can wean away the comb as time goes. There's definitely a "transition" period when switching to this.

[peartreealley]

Ooooh. That looks lovely.

I have straight hair with the slightest wave (just enough to give me friz!), and now that it's down past my waist (and most of the bleached parts are gone), I've been fiddling with ways to keep it healthier. I've been washing my hair every day for decades, and been trying to get to every other day. I manage for a while, but then go back to it because my hair feels funny if I don't, because I'm so used to the squeaky-clean feel. Luckily, I don't ever blow-dry. I've been using LUSH's R&B with some luck for the friz-factor, though.

Anyway! Your hair looks gorgeous, and I'm going to have to try some these techniques ^_^

[rhienelleth]

I remember your hair! Yeah, probably not much for actual curls, but I think you might want to consider trying the conditioner-wash method (ie, washing w/conditioner instead of shampoo). My hair still feels really clean. As I write this, I haven't taken my morning shower yet. Usually, this results in greasy or getting stringy and gross hair for me, but it still feels soft and clean. Just remember to massage it over your scalp, where dirt collects, and then rinse. Most conditioners have enough actual cleanser in them to use as a mild wash for your hair in between actual washings.

[woodrunner]

Aw, gorgeous hair!

I wonder if there's a similar website for girls with straight hair? I'm like sandy_williams -- straight hair, but after a day it gets so greasy I have to wash it again.

[rhienelleth]

You should look at my reply to her - the gist being, other than the drying/scunching stuff at the end, I think you might want to try the washing/conditioning method I describe. Straight ot curly, it's a healthier way for your hair. The sulfates in most shampoos startup your hair of its natural oils, and then your overproduce oil, making it get all greasy. (I speak from the experience of having the exact same problem previously, except with wavy hair).

I used to actually feel a little better about my hair coloring it, because it felt less greasy all the time (because I'd damaged it within an inch of its life! Not the best anti-grease method.)

Anyway, there are some really inexpensive conditioners out there, to try the conditioner-wash, or no-shampoo method. If that's too drastic, try a No-poo or Low-poo shampoo (the one I link to on amazon, or here's an inexpensive one someone recc'd on the CG forums. I think if you try it you'll see a difference.