Healthy Hair Care advice

Thank you Susan and SugarCube for your replies!  I am going to do some clarifying to get the cones out of my hair and also try using some jojoba oil.  Luckily I only used the Infusium one day since I've gotten my hair cut.  Also, I have to buy myself a new cone free conditioner and I'll be all set!  Being that I'm new on the forum I did some searching on here yesterday and found a lot of information about cones and ingredients in shampoos and stuff and fortunately found out that the shampoo I'm using (Sunsilk Hydratherapy) has the good kind of chemical and not the bad ones-so that was good!  Anyways, now I know what to look for so I'm a happy camper.  I just want to keep my locks healthy now and thanks to you guys and this website I've learned so much in order to do so! 

I haven't checked many leave-ins, so I don't know.  When I looked at them years ago I found most were coney.  I have heard that some of the ones made for kids are not coney, but one would have to check.

Many people use jojoba or coconut oil, some even use olive oil I've heard.  You just use a drop or two spread on from the ears down and comb it through. Your hair should not look oily afterwards or get grease on your clothes, if it does it means you used too much.

You can get it online, at any natural type health food store, and sometimes you will see a bottle at the GNC store.  Jojoba costs a bit, you may want to get the smallest bottle until you are sure you like it.  I get mine here as I think its one of the cheapest places:  http://www.internatural-alternative-health.com/

If you think buildup is your problem, to fix it you should probably clarify the cones off, but be aware that this will leave your hair strawlike and it will need to be heavily conditioned afterwards.  You may even see some breakage if you've been coning it for years without ever clarifying, but be aware that this is probably breakage that was already there, you just couldn't see it because of the "cone coat".  Its good to remove the cone coat because after many months it starts to chip and can break your hair off with it.  If you still do want to use silicones, you could without damage, you just have to remove the coat every 2 months or so before it can start to chip.  Be sure not to use a clarifying shampoo more frequently than every 2 weeks to every 2 months, its way too drying for more frequent use.  Cones do help greatly with detangling, but they do tend to increase frizz as well, so some hair types really don't like them.

If you want to use a less harsh shampoo, try diluting a small amount of it in water.  Then the harshness of the ingredients don't matter as much because you'll be making it a weaker detergent.

If your water is hard you'll also find a final rinse with dilute vinegar water helps greatly to improve hair quality by removing hard water minerals that dull and crispify hair.




Edited by Susan W - May 30 2007 at 8:49am

That leave-in conditioner is CHOCK FULL of cones.  From what I read, most wavies/curlies don't respond well to silicones and that may be why your hair is getting so dry (since you don't use chemicals or heat, it has to be the only reason).    Those can build up on your hair, and are written about extensively on the long hair support forum.

Another thing that may be causing undue frizzies is if you wake up in the morning and brush wavy hair dry, it will just tend to frizz it.  It frizzes mine even though mine is straight (1b).  Try using a wide toothed comb only.  (Some curlies only comb their hair wet, then not again to keep it from frizzing - but since its more damaging to comb wet hair than dry, this would have to be a personal choice).  Instead of using the infusium, you may want to try oiling your hair.  Just use a drop or two, and it helps a lot with detangling, dryness and frizzies. 

Hi Everyone,