Maybe try coconut oil? CO makes my hair look shiny without looking greasy.
Thanks! I have tried coconut oil in the past, but the dullness didn't go away. I think I apply too much to because it always feel greasy. I'll try it again though.
My hair has this issue too. I think many naturals who do not have that naturally sheeny/shiny hair will face this problem. It is partially why I cannot really do things like twists etc overnight for a twistout in the morning. Even if my hair is butter soft, I will just look dry as heck the next morning.
With that said, I recently did a hot oil treatment on dry hair at night and then went to bed with a shower cap on (under a scarf). In the morning, my hair looked moisturised and felt soft. Another thing I experimented with was mixing aloe vera and some oil together - it worked ok but left my hair feeling too hard for my liking.
Exactly! I see pics of other naturals with beautiful shiny, moisturized looking hair, and I wonder why can't I have some shiny hair too?
lol I guess I just can't stand that people IRL think my hair looks dry because it's really not.
I use coconut oil and drink alot (like a gallon/day) of water. It works for me.
I'll try the coconut oil again. I drink a lot of water too. It's the only thing I drink.
Anything oily usually gives my hair a good sheen. I say sheen because my hair never has shine, except in the flash of the camera. I've also found that shea butter, once it's soaked in my hair, leaves a nice shine.
You're right. I did get a nice sheen from shea butter, but it was really greasy. I have a habit of touching my hair throughout the day, and by the time I got home my forehead would be too shiny. I need to revisit the amount I'm using.
I do. My hair always looks dry even though it's not. It feels very moisturized but no shine, not even a sheen.
This is me!!
I second the shea butter! Look into coconut oil and castor oil as well if you're not using them already.
I also notice that my hair looks moisturized after rocking twists for a couple of days then unleashing a twistout INSTEAD of rocking my hair loose from the get. I think the twists allow my hair to really soak in the moisture and oils. They've gotta be in for a few days at the minimum though.
I agree with natural hair having more of a sheen than a shine. A sheen is sufficient though; hair that has sheen does not necessarily look dry.
Yea. I use castor oil now. I'll try to give shea butter and coconut oil another chance. Changing the amount that I use might help.
I know exactly what you mean. My hair looks dry in person but looks shiny in pics.
Do they still have the clear rinses? I love when I first color mine with a semi-permanent black rinse the first time because it shines a lot but after a wash or two it looks dull. I never tried the clear rinse to brighten it up though.
Maybe try a different rinse? I know certain rinses shine more than others. I've had good luck with Via or Elasta QP.
I think I did see some clear rinses at Sallys. I think a lot of this also has to do with all my coloring rinsing off, and giving me this dull color. I love black rinses the first couple weeks too, until the dullness reappears. Thanks!
I have this issue w/ my hair also...it's soft & moisturized but still appears to look very dry looking. What I usually do to give it shine is use a dab of vatika oil and run it through my hair and it gives it lots of shine. I know exactly what your talking about though...it's not dry but looks dry! Lol...I know it's the camera also for me too that makes it look shiny.
Thanks! Yep..that's exactly how it looks.
have you considered clear cellophane. Since the "appearance" of moisture and shine is the problem the cellophane may help.
I've heard about it, but I've never tried it before. I'll check that out. Thanks!!
I have the opposite problem. I sometimes can get my hair to look uber moisturized but it always, always feels dry.
If you want jet black hair with sheen, I would do the 2-step henndigo treatment. It left my hair a gorgeous blue-black, and blinged like crazy, and it was so soft the first day. After that it went back to it's normal dry self. But I highly recommend it if you don't mind a mess.
Thanks! I've tried the henna/indigo a few times before, and I'm kinda left with the same results. You're right though. It left my hair a really pretty shiny black, but for some reason the indigo didn't last. It rinsed out, and my hair is an ugly reddish/brown color in some parts.
I don't think it looks dry, it's more matt. NO matter the race, when you have curly hair, the shine is different...less. Smoothe and straight hair reflects more light. It looks very moisturized to me.
Yep.
Thanks!!
I have this problem as well, no natural sheen. I use henna/indigo to deepen my hair color which gives it some sheen.
However, if I don't do this then my hair will look dry and dusty because of the off black color.
Exactly! How often do you henna/indigo? My indigo rinses off really fast. I cowash almost daily/every other day, so that may have something to do with it.
Me!
My hair always looks shiny in pics, but it doesn't really translate to real life...
erplexed
My hair is always looking dry (regardless of how it feels) if I do WnGs, which is why I avoid them usually. The only time my hair seems to have a little shine is when I wash and then twist wet and let twists air dry. Which is why I do these pretty much everyday
I use a natural oil + conditioner as a leave in when I do this.
When it dries, and I take it out, I have a ton of sheen (and even shine in some places). I theorized
that it was bc my hair was laying against something while it dried (in this case other hair) and that helped to smooth the cuticle down and make it dry flat. My hair also has tons more shine when I rollerset than when I blowdry and flat iron. Again, I thought it was the same thing, it was laying flat against the roller to dry which helped to physically smooth the cuticle...i dunno
Hmm..that's really interesting. Yeah I remember when I shingled and wore my hair out, as soon as it dried it looked really dry. That's so annoying.
Thanks everyone for your comments!!
