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help for long, straight, dry, wiry hair

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alphabetsoup View Drop Down
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    Posted: September 22 2005 at 10:17am
hi everyone, i'm new here. i have long (past mid-back) hair that's medium thick, medium to coarse, straight with a little bit of wave, and very wiry. it's also very dry. (i've been told all this by a stylist). i don't color, blow-dry, or do anything damaging to my hair.

i get a dandruffy, itchy scalp if i don't shampoo my hair every day, so i currently alternate between head and shoulders (which is a must to keep my scalp happy) and a drugstore-variety "smooth and sleek" shampoo. i use an aveda conditioner once or twice a week, and after showering, use a defrizz serum and a leave-in conditioner. but none of these conditioners stop my hair from being dry and wiry.

i'm thinking i should use a cheap, light conditioner on the bottom half of my hair before shampooing to protect it from the dandruff shampoo. i'm also going to try a hot oil treatment this weekend. what else can i do? i want my hair to be more soft and silky and not so wiry!

thanks!
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Tyranna View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Tyranna Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 22 2005 at 1:54pm
Maybe you should try some of the more expensive salon products.  They do make a difference over the cheaper store-bought ones.  I prefer Biolage hydrating shampoo and conditioners, but other salon brands are good too.
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alphabetsoup View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote alphabetsoup Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 22 2005 at 3:47pm
thanks for the suggestion. the leave-in i'm using is paul mitchell; and i don't know of any salon products with real anti-dandruff ingredients (tea tree oil doesn't do the trick). so i'm not sure how much i can change the products, but maybe i'll look into biolage shampoo next time i run out of my current moisturizing shampoo.
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AnaisSatin View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote AnaisSatin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 22 2005 at 4:16pm
Sounds like my hair. You can read my journal if you like.
my LJ, 40 inches long
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alphabetsoup View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote alphabetsoup Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 22 2005 at 4:34pm
thanks, anais -- i thought so, too! i got the idea of conditioning before shampooing from your web site.
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Susan W View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Susan W Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 23 2005 at 8:09am
Alphabetsoup:  Nice braid!

I was never a fan of hot oil, mostly because the ingredients don't convince me that its worth putting it on my hair hot since nothing in it looks like an oil....I would be interested in hearing after you use it if you feel it helps your hair. 

As for your scalp, I'd try diluting regular shampoo and using that instead of dandruff shampoo, it may help or it may not, depending, but its worth a shot.  Some dandruff is caused by overcleaning the scalp either too frequently or with shampoo that is too concentrated, some dandruff is not.  It might be worth experimenting to see if yours can be cured with dilute shampoo (mine was).


Making metal barettes/concord clips hair safe, long hair style how to: http://alonghair.wordpress.com
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alphabetsoup View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote alphabetsoup Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 23 2005 at 8:55am
thanks, susan! the picture is about 5 years old now, but it seemed appropriate for this forum :). oh, the braids and buns and twists i used to do with my hair before i got lazy!

i mixed up some homemade hot oil (olive oil, vitamin e, aloe, calendula, rosemary oil, and whatever else i could find around the house) because i can't afford anything commercial right now. my hair's still wet from being washed so we'll see how it looks when dry.

it's hard to imagine that diluted shampoo would be the solution for my scalp, but i'll give it a shot!


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Sharyg11 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Sharyg11 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 24 2005 at 11:10pm
Ok, head and shoulders has sulfur in it, which will keep making your dry hair drier and your sensitive scalp irritated. You need an all natural shampoo, that can get rid of the flakes and nourish the hair at the same time. The chinise herbal shampoo from Lamasbeauty.com is amazing. It will get rid of your flakes and itchiness, without drying out your hair or irritating the scalp. They also came out with a new chinise herb conditioner. I haven't tried it, but if it is as good as the shampoo it must be great. For your dry hair try Redken all soft heavy cream, Redken all soft hair addictive reconstructor as a leave in (eventhought the instructions say to rinse it out). Trust me, after a few weeks of using that, your hair will be dry no more. All soft is rich in avocado oil wich is great for the hair. Trust me you'll love it. If the all soft hair addictive is not enough, then try using it along with a little Salerm 21 silk protein. It is great for dry hair. Well good luck and let me know if you try the products.
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