Is my regimen missing anything? What else could I do?

[Sarahh.]

So basically I need some reasurrance that what I'm doing for my hair is okay. I really want to grow my hair back. I used to flat iron it every day and as you can imagine it became very damaged and I cut it back to mouth length. The hair that I do have seems reasonably healthy, although it does break a little because it has been flat ironed a lot even though I don't use heat anymore. Below are the products I use and my regimen. I just want some comments and hopefully tips. Let me know if there's anything else I should/could be doing, or anything I'm doing wrong. Sorry if this is an annoying thread but I just want to be doing everything right. TIA!

Products;
Shampoo-Schwarzkopf Liquid Silk Shampoo.
Conditioner-Schwarzkopf Liquid Silk Conditioner.
Protein Conditioner-Matthew James Protein Treatment. (I don't think it's a particularly strong protein conditioner but it seems to stop breakage without drying out my hair very much at all)
Heat Protectant-Tresemme Heat Tamer Protective Spray.
Moisturiser-Redken All Soft Leave In Conditioner.
Sealing Oil-Olive Oil.
Vitamins-Nature’s Own Multivitamin, Herron Hair Skin & Nails.

Regimen;
-Shampoo and condition every 3rd day (twice a week)
-Air dry (I don’t use any heat anymore)
-Apply moisturiser and seal with oil daily
-Keep hair in pony tail (I’ll keep it in a bun when it’s long enough)
-Use protein conditioner when needed, usually every 2-3 weeks
-Take vitamins twice a day
-Sleep with satin pillow case
-Drink plenty of water, exercise regularly, try to rest enough and eat reasonably healthily.

 

[Divine Inspiration]

Looks good to me. I'm unfamiliar with those products so I can't really speak on those but everything else looks ok. My only advice would be to listen closely to your hair. Don't be married to a regimen that's not working. Stay flexible with the products, techniques, and washing frequency to be sure you're doing what's best for your strands.

 

[Neith]

I'm not familiar with the Schwarzkopf products.

Matthew James - I think this is an Australian company... I'm unsure if many people here use it, but we'll trust your judgement on the quality of the products.

Otherwise, it's a great regimen.

The only thing is that wearing your hair in a ponytail daily may give you breakage/hair loss.

Experiment with different types of clips and ponytail holders that don't snag, try and put the ponytail in a different spot a lot and don't do it too tightly!

 

[Sarahh.]

Looks good to me. I'm unfamiliar with those products so I can't really speak on those but everything else looks ok. My only advice would be to listen closely to your hair. Don't be married to a regimen that's not working. Stay flexible with the products, techniques, and washing frequency to be sure you're doing what's best for your strands.

Thanks.
Yep, I'll make sure I switch it up if something isn't working.

I'm not familiar with the Schwarzkopf products.

Matthew James - I think this is an Australian company... I'm unsure if many people here use it, but we'll trust your judgement on the quality of the products.

Otherwise, it's a great regimen.

The only thing is that wearing your hair in a ponytail daily may give you breakage/hair loss.

Experiment with different types of clips and ponytail holders that don't snag, try and put the ponytail in a different spot a lot and don't do it too tightly!

Thank you.
Yeah I have seen a bit of breakage from using hair ties and bobby pins, but I can't really find a better alternative. When my hair gets longer I won't need bobby pins to hold it up which I'm looking forward to!
Thanks for the advice.

 

[Eisani]

Thanks.
Yep, I'll make sure I switch it up if something isn't working.




Thank you.
Yeah I have seen a bit of breakage from using hair ties and bobby pins, but I can't really find a better alternative. When my hair gets longer I won't need bobby pins to hold it up which I'm looking forward to!
Thanks for the advice.

Try using a knee hi/nylon stocking to put your hair in a fairly loose pony . They're virtually friction free and don't snag the hair. Love it, and it's cheap!

 

[foxieroxienyc]

Hey Sarah, your hair looks nice and shiny and it looks like you're off to a good start. I too am unfamiliar with your products, but you may want to watch out for the protein products. Maybe what your hair really needs is more moisture, so try switching up to a good moisturizing conditioner, and start to include deep conditioning 1-2x a week. You ESPECIALLY want to deep condition your hair after use of any protein conditioner. Your deep conditioner should instruct you on the bottle to leave on for more than 5 mins and with heat (this is indirect heat so it won't hurt your hair at all). You don't have to change anything as far as your washing 2x a week, just take one of those washes and DC during that day. And maybe you can do a co-wash for the other wash.

Also with your shampoos, you want to avoid harsh sulfates (sodium lauryl sulfate, ammonium lauryl sulfate, ammonium laureth sulfate). Some say sodium LAURETH sulfate isn't as harsh, I find that to be true for my hair, so that's the only sulfate I allow in my shampoos. But lines like Giovanni have GREAT shampoos that have no sulfates. And if you read the labels there are a number of others too. Lately I've been using Dove moisturizing shampoo with Damage Repair Serum. Nexxus Therappe was a good one in my stash too.

That may start to make a huge difference in your hair.

 

[Iluvsmuhgrass]

Hey sarah!

I wanted to add a little tender nugget of joy. Shop for some hair candy! Elastics and ponytail holders can damage the hair. You should opt for some "hair safe" clips so you can change it up once in a while. This will eliminate the ponytail boredom AND help ease some of the tension on your hair and scalp.

 

[Sarahh.]

Try using a knee hi/nylon stocking to put your hair in a fairly loose pony . They're virtually friction free and don't snag the hair. Love it, and it's cheap!

That's a good idea!
I do use seamless metal-free hair ties but your idea sounds better.
I might have to give that a try.
Thanks.

Hey sarah!

I wanted to add a little tender nugget of joy. Shop for some hair candy! Elastics and ponytail holders can damage the hair. You should opt for some "hair safe" clips so you can change it up once in a while. This will eliminate the ponytail boredom AND help ease some of the tension on your hair and scalp.

Thanks for the idea!

Hey Sarah, your hair looks nice and shiny and it looks like you're off to a good start. I too am unfamiliar with your products, but you may want to watch out for the protein products. Maybe what your hair really needs is more moisture, so try switching up to a good moisturizing conditioner, and start to include deep conditioning 1-2x a week. You ESPECIALLY want to deep condition your hair after use of any protein conditioner. Your deep conditioner should instruct you on the bottle to leave on for more than 5 mins and with heat (this is indirect heat so it won't hurt your hair at all). You don't have to change anything as far as your washing 2x a week, just take one of those washes and DC during that day. And maybe you can do a co-wash for the other wash.

Also with your shampoos, you want to avoid harsh sulfates (sodium lauryl sulfate, ammonium lauryl sulfate, ammonium laureth sulfate). Some say sodium LAURETH sulfate isn't as harsh, I find that to be true for my hair, so that's the only sulfate I allow in my shampoos. But lines like Giovanni have GREAT shampoos that have no sulfates. And if you read the labels there are a number of others too. Lately I've been using Dove moisturizing shampoo with Damage Repair Serum. Nexxus Therappe was a good one in my stash too.

That may start to make a huge difference in your hair.

Thanks for the tips.
I've been thinking I should start deep conditioning regularly (I think I'm just about the only person on this board that doesn't) but I just never get around to it.
I will have to start from now on.
And I agree with you about the sulfates too.
I've actually had a bit of a look around for sulfate free shampoos but haven't had much luck.
I'm not too worried about getting one but I will make sure I keep an eye out.
Thanks again.