I am having serious problems.. SERIOUS

[tuffCOOKiE]

I need help ya'll. My hair has a CHRONIC case of dryness and I don't know what I can do to change it. It is CONSTANTLY dry (even before I found the forum).

I really dont know what it is. I do everything 'right'. I got a relaxer on May 11th (Vitale lye relaxer) and its ok at best. I was every four days using my CON shampoo and Biolage conditioner mixed with Sebatian Moisture base conditioner and a little of Nexxus Botainoil. In the past week I skipped the shampoo all together and did a CO wash w Infusium. That was ok too.. it detangled but no REAL slip. My leave in is Rusk Sensories smoother. So I wash, deep conditon and put in the Rusk and blow dry or put it in a bun and spray Sta Sof Fro (mixed with water) to let it air dry. I almost never blowdry though because my hair gets sooo dry.

What am I doing wrong?

Ive also tried a hot oil treatment but really, I dont know how to use them because it doesnt seem to help.

Also, a lot of people say to use the mango butter but a lot of the moisturizing agents I use seem to work then when they evaporate, leave my hair dry.. Is there anyway to get it to stay for at least 12 hours (til i get home from work).

HELP.

 

[pink_flower]

Are you relaxed?

 

[vikkisecret]

Maybe it could be the products that you are using? There might be better products our there that are more compatible with your hair and won't keep your strands all dired out. FYI That infusion 23 stuff makes my hair feel like wood.

Also,what about deep conditioning treatments? I had a problem with dryness but that stopped when I started doing weekly deep conditioning treatments with Lekair Cholestoral mixed w/ Olive Oil or ORs Replenishing Pak along with heat for 1 hr.Maybe you should do that for your hair twice weekly until you see change in moisture throughout your hair.

 

[hopeful]

I'm not an expert but I'll give it a go. First of all, it's a good idea to conditioner wash more and poo less which is what you said you did recently. Maybe conditioner wash the 4th and 8th day and poo & condition on the 12th day or at least alternate, ie., cw/ poo& condition/ cw, etc. You say you use a leave in and the sta sof fro but did not mention what you use to seal in the moisture, some type of oil would be nice. Also, how do you airdry? Do you slick it back in a pony? Put rollers on the ends? Or just leave it out. Covering with a snug silk scarf might help too. Good luck.

 

[MomofThreeBoys]

How long are you leaving the deep conditioner in for? Maybe you should try a different deep conditioner and leave in? Try some of the cheepo ones raved on this board like: NTM Hair Mask or Elasta QP DPR. Add honey and EVOO to the deep conditioner. Honey is an natural humectant.

Also, a lot of people say that creamy leave in do better than the watery ones. I would try NTM Silk Touch Leave In or Salerm 21. I would also use the NTM Leave In every 3 days until the moisture returned.

Is your skin dry too? If so, you might not be getting enough water and that may be what is affecting your hair.

 

[deedabug]

try leaving the hot oil treatment on for 30 minutes...

follow the instructions on the tube to warm it up if ur using somethin pre-packaged...

if u r mixing oils of ur own then put it in the microwave on warm for 2 minutes....

try doing the no poo routine for more than a week...

try to wash with conditioner only (no poo) more than once a week....

i dont know much about the products u r using cuz i never used them..cept the sta-sof-fro spray....i dont like it near as much as the stuff in the tube...and newly the curl activator cream (which maybe hard to find)...

but whatever u decide to eliminate or switch up...give the change more than a week to see how it works...

 

[moneychaser]

When is the last time you have clarified?? CON is know to cause major build-up, which leads to dryness

 

[junipertree]

Definitely do the hot oil treatment - maybe with Dabur Vatika (some people don't like the smell but it doesn't bother me and it works wonders). I would mix it with coconut oil or EVOO. Also, for an after poo/cw the product I like is Keracare Oil Moisturizer w/Jojoba oil. Very moisturizing.HTH

 

[scoobygirl]

Tuffcookie, is your hair dry from the day you leave the salon after the relaxer or does your hair get dryer later after a few weeks of newgrowth? I've used about 2/3 of the products you mentioned and they didn't work for me either. The mango butter made my hair greasy but not very moisturized. The Biolage poo/condtioner works fine on my hair 2/3 weeks after t-up but dries my hair out after that. Also most oils don't absorb well into my hair when it is too dry. They just sit on the strands like oil on straw.

I think the trick is finding a good poo/conditioner combo and work from there. Sometimes if you either the poo or cond wrong you will be fighting dry hair. I recently started using elucence MB poo and Kendra after all the raves it got for moisturizing. So far it has been excellent but I need twp months of solid use befor I give an A+. I heard Nexxus botanoil was good, but haven't used it. I do like coconut oil for pre-wash use but not everday. What kind of leave-in conditioner or moisturizer are you using? Biolage has a good detangling leave-in tonic, and NTM is a good moisturizer especially if you put it in before bedtime. Also is it possible that the relaxer or relaxer technique you're using is making the drynes worse.

You're definitely not alone with your problem. This is always a battle with me too. But this site has been really helpful in finding the right products and tricks to fight the dryness.

 

[aivonfay]

I'm really new here but my hair is also very dry. I've used all types of moisturizers, but they didn't seem to help. I've gone back to using plain ol' grease, it keeps my hair from drying out and gives it a nice sheen. Lately I've been using sulfur 8 it stinks, but it's the bomb. I also love Kera care 1st lather shampoo and humecto conditioner. For my hair, (which is beyond 4b more like 4f) they are miracle workers. HTH

 

[ThursdayGirl]

When is the last time you have clarified?? CON is know to cause major build-up, which leads to dryness

I second this idea! This is what I would suggest-clarifying and then ...try to no poo again.

 

[GodsPromises]

Just one suggestion, I know with my hair I can't use anything on it that has water lasted first. For whatever reason it makes my hair dry, it feels good going on but now for long. I can use water listed 2nd but not first. Even mango butter I can't use as a moisturzer. Try to find something for your hair that doesn't have water listed first.

 

[Dolapo]

i agree on the no poo. i poo only twice a month and thats when i have to clarify. i also use the dabur vatika oil and it doesnt smell bad to me. i use it as a pre poo treatment. and i can get it out even with conditioner washing. you may have to clarify because it may be a build up problem and dont forget to deep condition

 

[WesternEyes]

I think you should do a long deep conditioner with Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

 

[caligirl]

Try leaving some regular conditioner in your hair. This works way better for me than any leave in.

 

[Porsche19]

Maybe it's the products you are using. Not that they are bad products, but maybe there are better things for your hair out there.

My advice is for you to become a little bit of a product junkie for a while until you find what works for you. That's what really helped me, being a PJ for about a year helped me find products that work the best for me and recognize the ingredients that agree and don't agree with my hair.

Also, could you be overprocessed?

 

[Ms Red]

I agree with the other ladies. I had the same problem as you a few months ago but I found out the culprits: Infusium 23 (made my hair hard as a brick ), Luster's Pink Oil Moisturizer (has petroleum and mineral oil in it. And I wondered why my hair was so dry) and not enough deep conditioning treatments.

Right now I shampoo w/CON, condition with LeKair Cholesterol or Nexxus Humectress and deep condition with NTM Hair Mask, just like natalied said. I leave the NTM on for 1 hours and sometimes mix olive oil in it.

The leave-ins I use now are: NTM Silk, WGO, NTM Foam Leave-In.

I hope this helps and good luck. Keep us posted!

 

[nurseN98]

Well everyone has given you great advice...I don't want to overwhelm you with more but I will....lol.

I agree with the clarifying, you may have some buildup working against you. If you are going to do frequent conditioner washes, I would suggest making sure the conditioners and products you use don't have silicone in them or silicone is towards the bottom of the list. The only reason I say this is because I had the same problem when I was relaxed and when I started transistioning. I know Rusk has silicones in them which won't come off with just rinsing. I used to use it and would start getting really dry by about the 3rd or 4th CW. Try the cheaper conditioners like Vo5 or Suave...even Mane&Tail if you are going to CW. Also like ladies already said, deep conditioning is key as well.

Good luck to you.

 

[Enchantmt]

When is the last time you have clarified?? CON is know to cause major build-up, which leads to dryness

I was thinking the same thing. When ever I lose slip this works for me.

 

[jasmin]

Clarify
hot oil treatments

I would change conditioners also. Most of Biolage and Sebastion products are drying for me. The only think I use by Sebastian is Penetrait which is just for a monthly heavy proteing treatment and colourshines.

 

[vickiepickles]

I need help ya'll. My hair has a CHRONIC case of dryness and I don't know what I can do to change it. It is CONSTANTLY dry (even before I found the forum).

I really dont know what it is. I do everything 'right'. I got a relaxer on May 11th (Vitale lye relaxer) and its ok at best. I was every four days using my CON shampoo and Biolage conditioner mixed with Sebatian Moisture base conditioner and a little of Nexxus Botainoil. In the past week I skipped the shampoo all together and did a CO wash w Infusium. That was ok too.. it detangled but no REAL slip. My leave in is Rusk Sensories smoother. So I wash, deep conditon and put in the Rusk and blow dry or put it in a bun and spray Sta Sof Fro (mixed with water) to let it air dry. I almost never blowdry though because my hair gets sooo dry.

What am I doing wrong?

Ive also tried a hot oil treatment but really, I dont know how to use them because it doesnt seem to help.

Also, a lot of people say to use the mango butter but a lot of the moisturizing agents I use seem to work then when they evaporate, leave my hair dry.. Is there anyway to get it to stay for at least 12 hours (til i get home from work).

HELP.

I would try sleeping in Extra Virgin Olive Oil on damp hair in a shower cap and than using a shampoo that does not contain sulfates (Aubrey Organics) and then following up with a good moisterising conditioner like IC Fantasia Aloe Moisterizer for about an hour, rinse and use Wild Growth Oil on scalp and hair and let it airdry in a bun or something.

 

[hairmaster]

try NEXXUS HUMECTRESS CONDITIONER AS A DEEP CONDITIONER. ever 4-days and sit under dryer 4-10 minutes.,Rinse . Use small amount of Humectress as a leave in.

 

[shellzfoshizzle]

it could be your relaxer...my hair was extremely dry and my stylist recommend to switch relaxers.

 

[tuffCOOKiE]

Maybe it could be the products that you are using? There might be better products our there that are more compatible with your hair and won't keep your strands all dired out. FYI That infusion 23 stuff makes my hair feel like wood.

Also,what about deep conditioning treatments? I had a problem with dryness but that stopped when I started doing weekly deep conditioning treatments with Lekair Cholestoral mixed w/ Olive Oil or ORs Replenishing Pak along with heat for 1 hr.Maybe you should do that for your hair twice weekly until you see change in moisture throughout your hair.

I use deep conditioners: Nexxus Omni pak (which has protein), Keraphix (protein), but I always follow it with Nexxus Humectress. Also, in the last two weeks I stopped usiing Keraphix and proteins alltogether (i think) . Now I use Biolage Ultra Hydrating Balm (which I just noticed that the 10th ingredient is Hydrolyzed keratin) mixed with Botanoil and Sebastian Moisture base (6th ingredient is hydrolyzed soy protein).

Ok, ok. I get it but I dont get it. Is there anything that doesnt have Protein? at all??!

 

[tuffCOOKiE]

I'm not an expert but I'll give it a go. First of all, it's a good idea to conditioner wash more and poo less which is what you said you did recently. Maybe conditioner wash the 4th and 8th day and poo & condition on the 12th day or at least alternate, ie., cw/ poo& condition/ cw, etc. You say you use a leave in and the sta sof fro but did not mention what you use to seal in the moisture, some type of oil would be nice. Also, how do you airdry? Do you slick it back in a pony? Put rollers on the ends? Or just leave it out. Covering with a snug silk scarf might help too. Good luck.

Honestly, I dont know how to airdry. All i do is put a scarf on my shoulders and let it out. I put a little oil before it's totally dry.

 

[tuffCOOKiE]

When is the last time you have clarified?? CON is know to cause major build-up, which leads to dryness

wooow, really?? I LOVE the CON shampoo! it makes my hair soft and do you know I never thought of that? I thought that if i shampoo'd at all I didnt need to clarify. I used to use Neutrogena clarifying shampoo but it stripped my hair soo badly so i just stopped.

Also, if you use diff shamppos doesnt that count as a clarifier??

thanks again guys, youre so helpful

 

[tuffCOOKiE]

Tuffcookie, is your hair dry from the day you leave the salon after the relaxer or does your hair get dryer later after a few weeks of newgrowth? I've used about 2/3 of the products you mentioned and they didn't work for me either.

Actually, I tried another relacer this time and my hair was really, really dry when i left there. They used Vitale lye.

I think that I might have to get up on the Kendra shampoo/conditioner because I may be using the wrong line. I thought I was doing good with the CON shampoo, I love it, i really do but it causes build up I hear soo.. me and CON might have to work something out. Where did you fine elucence? (I live on Long Island, New York) (or anywhere online). Is it expensive?

The nexus Bontanoil is really good and I love it because I dont get that heavy greasy feel.

How do you do a coconut oil pre wash?

I use Nexxus Humectress as a Leave in.. its ok at best but i continue to use it for lack of a better one,

How does the relaxer technique make the dryness worse?

I have the NTM but I never thought of putting it in before bed. But when you wake up in the morning, isnt your hair dried out? That always hpps to me.

I'm sorry about all the questions but I really need to know... hey, whats your hair type?

 

[tuffCOOKiE]

Just one suggestion, I know with my hair I can't use anything on it that has water lasted first. For whatever reason it makes my hair dry, it feels good going on but now for long. I can use water listed 2nd but not first. Even mango butter I can't use as a moisturzer. Try to find something for your hair that doesn't have water listed first.

o0o0ooo, never thought of that. Is that only for moisturizers? Or for every product? So what do you use?

 

[tuffCOOKiE]

I would try sleeping in Extra Virgin Olive Oil on damp hair in a shower cap and than using a shampoo that does not contain sulfates (Aubrey Organics) and then following up with a good moisterising conditioner like IC Fantasia Aloe Moisterizer for about an hour, rinse and use Wild Growth Oil on scalp and hair and let it airdry in a bun or something.

vikie, that sounds like a plan. I think I need to clarify first though. How do you apply the oil? like, doyou do it with a color applicator? How long does everyone leave the deep conditioner on for? Because I've tried the NTM deep recovery mask, and it was trash! (please dont kill me) but maybe I'll use it again...

 

[tuffCOOKiE]

buuummmp? bump?