Another Hair/Shampoo Thread

[CharlieDog]

So, I've been having trouble with my hair, and while I don't read EVERY thread on Chaz I remember reading a lot of discussions about SLS and parabens, etc, and decided that maybe I should be reading more carefully.

I've always had SUPER thick hair, it's always a mess, frizzy, etc, so I was buying crap from the store that was supposed to help it, but so far, nothing has worked. And with the weather change my hair goes from too dry, to good looking for a day to disgustingly oily all in about three days. I TRY not to wash it too often, but I work at a doggie daycare, and Steven rather objects to me smelling like wet dog, bleach and just general eu de dog.

But, what has me really super worried is that it's starting to fall out at an alarming rate. Seriously, I can pull tons of hair off my head in the shower. I know some shedding is normal, but this doesn't seem to be normal. My hair is still a pain in the ass, but I've been using some cheap VO5 crap my mom picked up for the past few months, and I'm thinking this is contributing to it.

So, I went to CVS and picked up RenPure shampoo, conditioner, and another product for dry/damaged/frizzy hair from their line.

This seems really complicated, but I want my hair to grow out rather badly. I kept it REALLY super short all winter, and the last time I had a haircut was last year, in December. It's now down to my neck, but I really would like to get it to mid back. I had super long hair when I was a kid, but it seems like I can't get it past my shoulders anymore.

I don't have split ends at all, which really surprised one of my friends, because she was b*tching about hers, and I commented that I didn't know what those looked like, and how to tell if I had that problem. I do have dandruff really badly though

ANYWAY, I want to grow my hair out, but it's not cooperating :/

 

[Izzy's Valkyrie]

If it's warming up near you, that may contribute to the shedding too. There are vitamins you can take to help out your hair/nail growth so that might me something to look in to.

 

[CharlieDog]

Really? I'm not a big vitamin taker at all (try hardly never.) but I really would like my hair to be long again. I just get really frustrated with its overall unmanageableness and chop it off I mean, it grows relatively quickly, (it was seriously about an inch to two inches long in December, now it's five or six) but once it hits a certain length, it just doesn't seem to get any longer. I know it CAN, I've got pictures from when I was little with super long hair, but it just doesn't anymore.

What kind of vitamins should I be looking for?

 

[Izzy's Valkyrie]

If you go to a pharmacy/drug store or even a vitamin store like GNC they have bottles in the vitamin section that say hair/nail on them. A place like walmart might even have them. I've seen the at CVS before but I'm not exactly sure what is in the formula that makes the hair healthier. My guess would be a B vitamin though. I know shampoos with hemp or henna are good for thicker hair too to help add to the natural fibers. Just thoughts.

I used to have hair to my waist when I was in high school and I am just now re-growing it past my shoulders for my wedding lol. I feel your frustration! I keep wondering when it will be long again.

 

[CharlieDog]

That is also the reason I want my hair to grow out. June is NOT that far away! lol

I will have to go to CVS again tomorrow. I know there's a vitamin shoppe nearish to me too..

 

[Dekka]

Things that have worked for me.

I used SLS free shampoo, but not all work the same for me. So you might have to experiment to find one that works.

I don't use any of the ultra 'good' conditioners. My hair LOVES silicones. So I buy a really high in cones conditioner that through trial and error found works really well.

The other thing I do that keeps my hair nicely moisturised and flyaway (frizz related) free is to do a deep conditioning treatment a couple of times a week with pure coconut oil. Just slather it on, leave it for a while then shampoo out. Made a HUGE improvement.

 

[noludoru]

VO5 effs up my hair, too. Used it twice in the last few weeks and it's made my hair get nastily greasy and falling out.

I recommend an oil for your hair as well - do a conditioning treatment once a week or more. Rub it in and massage your scalep for at least 5 minutes or so when you do it, and work the oil through your hair. Leave itin for as long as you can.

As far as washing your hair too often, stop doing it. Just wash it with conditioner. Skip the shampoo unless you NEED it, and conditioner wash and massage it when you just need to be clean ad good-smelling again. I conditioner wash my hair about 4 out of 5 times that it gets washed.

 

[JacksonsMom]

I really have liked Joico shampoo/conditioners. I use the shampoo, conditioner, moisture recovery and deep reconstruct. I have pretty thick hair too that gets mega-frizzy in the summer months especially. I've had great luck with this shampoo so far -- more than any other. It keeps my color shiny and it makes my hair really soft.

Joico used to only be sold in salons but I saw it K-Mart and Target the other day. I use all 4 things when I wash my hair and it REALLY helps! I can't really use most shampoos/etc that are just sold in grocery stores, etc, because they usually don't work for me. I have purchase shampoo from a salon.

 

[Zoom]

My hair has started behaving a LOT better since I switched to Arbonne's FC5 line...no more static craziness! And in this city, with it's typical 5% humidity levels, that's saying quite a bit. It's helping it grow out.

Also, prenatal vitamins will help with hair/nails because of the high levels of folic acid. I'm going to go pick up a bottle myself because I just hacked off a bunch of my hair and I want it back quicker.

 

[Renee750il]

I've liked the RenPure pretty well, not as much as the stuff I got from Mehandi.com, but it's handy and it's inexpensive. Since I quit using anything with SLS or parabens my hair has been growing quickly, and it's always grown maddeningly slowly. The vitamins won't hurt either.

 

[Fran101]

I use the Naked bee

It works very well, I have THICK hair and it gets it clean without stripping all the oils and creating a frizzy mess
I only wash my hair when needed, other than that, rinse and conditioner..

 

[CharlieDog]

Well, after washing it with the renpure, and using both conditioners, the regular and the one called deep deep deep conditioner, I will say that it feels much better this morning even. Usually after washing it and going to sleep, I wake up and it's a dry tangled flyaway mess.

But its still silky. It could have been the fact that I wrapped my hair in a soft cotton tshirt last night and slept in that for most of the night.

 

[Renee750il]

My hair was in TERRIBLE shape before I switched. I was getting worried that I was going to end up with thin, short hair It stayed so tangled and frayed that I could barely get anything through it and always had a comb or brush full of hair, even after soaking it with conditioner and then a leave-in, or only half washing out the conditioner.

Now I rarely even use conditioner and the brush slides through it without any trouble!

 

[Kmh1]

I almost never jump in on these types of threads but I got to say I can't believe the difference WEN hair care non lathering shampoo made with my hair the past 2 1/2 weeks. It takes some getting used to and I'm not sure how to describe it, but it has just made my hair much easier to style, and it seems stronger and smoother--downside you have to order it online

 

[Renee750il]

What makes the WEN so good is the fact that it's SLS and paraben free It's a lot like the HairOne at Sally Beauty Supply.

 

[Jules]

What makes the WEN so good is the fact that it's SLS and paraben free It's a lot like the HairOne at Sally Beauty Supply.

Is this my usual cue to jump in and say how much HairOne saved my hair? Lol, I just LOVE that stuff. Now that my hair us in better shape I only use it once a week, otherwise it weighs it down too much. But I still love to use it.

 

[Renee750il]

The stuff really does work, doesn't it, Jules? I use it once every couple of weeks or so now.

 

[PalmettoPaws]

I'm glad HairOne got mentioned. I was going to post and ask if anyone had tried it. My Mom works at Sally Beauty Supply and I've been considering having her pick some up for me for a while.

 

[Skivvies]

My sister has a problem with her hair falling out and breaking, so she started taking Biotin. It seems to have helped.

 

[AllieMackie]

SLS and paraben free all the waaaaay. My hair is SO MUCH healthier without all that crap.

Right now I'm using Yes To Carrots which is pretty nice, but I switch brands every time I empty the bottles. In the winter I try to use something with tea tree oil for dandruff.