having trouble washing out hair-products

If I put that much spray in, I'd want to wash it out every day just because the spray might leave white flakes when it breaks apart when you brush it the next day.  Does it not?  If you get a gentle shampoo washing your hair everyday should be fine. Shampoo without sulfates is more gentle than with (and there are also types of sulfates that are more gentle than others). You can also try diluting some of your shampoo 50/50 or more with water, which is easier on the hair and the scalp (doesn't strip them to dryness so bad).  I'm not familiar with the got2b product.

I use Avalon, which is sulfate free, but its 7 bucks a bottle so if you don't want expensive, its kind of high for shampoo.  Try searching the net for the name of the shampoo +ingredients and often you can find what's in them.  Usually the sulfates are a major component in them (high up on the list).

Products like hair sprays or gels (or anything sticky) will damage your hair a little if they have damaging ingredients (best to avoid ones with lots of alcohol).  And shampooing everyday isn't neccessarily the best thing for your scalp, because your scalp will adjust to try to compensate for the dryness by producing more oil (so that eventually, you will HAVE to wash your hair every day to remove excess oil).  This can be reversed of course by washing your hair less frequently and your scalp will readjust however. 
 
You don't say how long your hair is, but for any hair shorter than shoulder blades you may not notice any bad effects from shampooing every day or using hair products like that.  (For people growing their hair a lot longer, it may be more of an issue because they keep their ends around longer). If your hair is very fine (each hair thin enough to be almost invisible) you may also want to watch and make sure you aren't damaging it, and stop if you notice you are (fine hair can be more delicate). Any damage from those kinds of products should be less, and will likely be trimmed off before it really gets noticeable.  The real causes of major damage are chemicals like dyes, perms or relaxers, and heat styling. 

Yes, I meant diluting your shampoo 50/50 with water.  This would have the effect of making it more gentle if you don't want to spend more money on different shampoo.  (A few tips:  Use a small bottle and only make the amount you'll need per wash so its not sitting around dilute where it could potentially grow things in it...you are also diluting its preservatives.  After adding shampoo to the water, roll the bottle slowly to mix, don't shake it or it will foam too much).

If you want a good clarifying treatment to get rid of any residual product build up, you can also mix your shampoo 50/50 with baking soda.  This makes it a clarifying shampoo and will strip off residual product.  (Condition really well after using, it will strip off all the hair's moisture...also, don't use on dyed hair as it may remove some of the color too).  You may want to use clarifying shampoo once every 2 weeks or so - not more (and only if your hair isn't dyed) because I think those got2b products have ingredients that can build up over time and dull hair.

This hasn't been mentioned in this thread so I just wanted to add.. these products that stick to hair will not only flake off eventually, but they might take parts of your cuticle with it. This means the natural covering of the hair shaft might come off if it is stuck to any 'hold products' such as mousse and hair cement. WIth more products used, it can also potentially make hair more brittle than usual... which would feel weird after awhile, but little else. 

Other than that, Susan's advice is gospel!

by the way Susan, I've been looking at your website and your hair is just FABULOUS

Happy holidays
Anais

Thanks both of you! 

I remember reading that your scalp was the ONLY thing that doesn't overcompensate for dryness, hence the reason for itchy heads and flakes.  Perhaps that was wrong, or I misread. 

I guess I would agree that it doesn't OVERcompensate, in the sense that its your natural scalp oil so can't be bad for your hair (though we don't usually let our scalps get oily enough that this oil gets on much of the hair these days).  I find itchy heads and flakes are often caused by using the shampoo in its concentrated state so it overdries the scalp, and diluting it helps reduce the overdrying effect.  So in that sense your scalp isn't the thing helping, its using a less drying form of shampoo.  (And thats if you don't have flakes caused by a medical condition, like psoriasis or yeast overgrowth).

Damn it my msged just got erased...  Anyways back to square one I suppose.

Ya only got one layer of cuticle, and it never comes back  Some people experience brittleness and some people don't. If you do, just be sure to clarify.

What would be the worst if I were to get my cuticle stripped?  I have pretty thick hair and I've been using the product for about ...  a couple of months now.  Does hte intensity of the hold increase the chances of your cuticle's being stripped?  And are there certain products like glue, as opposed to gel that strip it more?  How would I know if the cuticle is stripped?  Is there a change in appearance or texture?  Is it noticable(although that may be a vague word since you pay a lot of attention to hair so lemme rephrase it).  Is it noticable to most people :P? 

I guess I would agree that it doesn't OVERcompensate, in the sense that its your natural scalp oil so can't be bad for your hair (though we don't usually let our scalps get oily enough that this oil gets on much of the hair these days).  I find itchy heads and flakes are often caused by using the shampoo in its concentrated state so it overdries the scalp, and diluting it helps reduce the overdrying effect.  So in that sense your scalp isn't the thing helping, its using a less drying form of shampoo.  (And thats if you don't have flakes caused by a medical condition, like psoriasis or yeast overgrowth).

Your welcome Susan :D.  But so it does compensate you're saying?  Interesting thing about the itchy scalp, I'll try your advice. 

AnaisSatin wrote: The cuticle covers your hairs like a "tube" and prevents the strand from shredding into long fibers. This is what happens when someone gets a split end- the covering is worn off, and the inside of the hair is exposed. Your hair is on the short side so it won't matter as much... but super-strong hold products like glue will definitely take off cuticle. You won't be able to really tell unless you get really intense tangles, or if you see lots of ends that look like forked tongues. They look bad if a person has a lot of them, and split ends have to be cut off, but they're not deadly either.  The key is to choose your hold products wisely and wash them out when you're done. Faery blessings Anais

Well I guess that explains how my hair looks all, forky unless I blow-dry it.  Or maybe it doesn't...

Anyways, since I'm going to need some super-strong hold products for the hair-styles i'm pulling off(since it's pretty chunked together and gravity defying) I guess there's no alternative but for me to have forky hair!  It doesn't look so bad when it's combed and styled without much hair product in it... yet I think. 

But what strips it of the cuticle?  The way you handle your hair and how it sticks on to your hair while u move it around?  I would've thought shampoo's and what-not would gently cleanse it off. 

Thanks Susan  With super strong hold products, they sometimes take parts of your cuticle with them when the product comes off. It works the same way as silicone damage, if that helps explain. ...but that's about as far as I know. The key thing is to handle the hair gently, wash out hold products at the end of the day, and use them only when needed.

Hugs
Anais

Silicone is an ingredient in most conditioners, and it basically forms a protective coating around each hair strand. It covers the entire cuticle (outer layer of hair). It binds to the cuticle, so sometimes the silicone will flake off and take some pieces of cuticle with it.... the same way that hold products could potentially do. But it's pretty microscopic and it takes a long time to accumulate damage.

HTH
Anais

If you're only going to let your hair get 6-7 inches long before you cut the ends off, that's not really enough time to accumulate silicone damage.  It takes a very long time for that kind of damage to appear. Thats something those of us who grow very long hair need to worry about.  Likewise for the alcohol...6-7 inches isn't really long enough that you'll notice any damage from your hold products.  Any damage you notice on hair that length will be from the dye you've put on it.

 

 

 

Thanks for posting where you got that.  Without reading it I would have said the heat was the real problem, and from that it looks like they say the same.  Use your blow dryer on the cool setting and you should be fine.