Teach me how to take care of this hair!

Hi, all,

I am new here, and I feel like finding this board has been a sign from a higher power. I have never really learned (no one taught me) how to take care of or style my hair, and as a result, I always kept it short, mainly because that way I didn`t really have to take care of it other than washing it. Then a while ago, I got tired of my hair being the way it was, I was never satisfied with it, and so I decided to deal with it by not dealing with it. I just let it grow. I have not been to the hair stylist in the last year and a half. My hair is now down to the second visible vertabrea on my spine. I don`t have split ends, but it is frizzy at times and seems to always be tangled. My hair has some natural curl to it, but with length it is more wavy than curly. I never blow dry, rarely curl, and it is usually kept swept back in a barrette or a pony tail, sometimes in a bun with hairsticks.

I don`t know how to take care of my hair, for some reason my mother did not take an interest in teaching us that kind of stuff. Anything that you could share with me, I would really appreciate. I like my hair this long, it seems a lot more versatile, but I just want it to look and feel more healthy. I want to know how to style it so I don`t look like a hick when I go out.

Anyway, I hope this doesn`t sound too pathitic or whiny. And I am really sorry it is so long. I have been dying to have someone to ask these questions too.

Thanks,

Jan

1. I use suave shampoo and conditioner. I find it does just as good a job as the more expensive stuff I can get at the drugstore. I condition every time I shampoo, every other day. I wash in warm water, not hot. I wash my hair by applying the shampoo, working it into the scalp, and roots, and then squishing the shampoo down the length of my hair to the tips. I use a brush, with those bristles tipped with balls on the ends. When I get out of the shower, I wrap my hair up in a clean tall while I dry and get dressed. Then I spray Infusium on it, let that sit a little while, then brush it out. Then I let it air dry, so that it stays kind of curly. Just this week I started using a hot oil treatment. I guess that I will do once a week. I am still noticing a lot of snarls in my hair, towards the tips. So then I went and got a trim, thinking maybe I just had a lot of split ends or something, but that hasn`t helped either. I would really like to be able to pull my fingers through my hair and not meet any resistance, and that isn`t happening.

Jan

P.s. Thanks for the reply!

I will check for the cone...I know different shampoos work for different people, and I have never really found one that I love, so I guess I will keep looking. I do have almond oil here and will try that as well. and yes, your brush description made sense, I knew exactly what you were talking about. My brush doesn`t have those little bristles, but I have seen them in other brushes before.

Thanks for all the posts, foxfan. It makes me feel better that I have been doing things about right all along, LOL. I really think that adding the once a week hot oil treatment is helping a lot as well, I noticed yesterday that my hair was a lot softer than it has been, and I think maybe a few less tangles as well. Maybe in a couple of weeks I will have it under control.

Jan