new hair philosophy

[lovesjoyajm]

I put this in the Female Forum so the guys wouldn't have to read it.

People have been telling me for years that it's bad for your hair to wash it every day, and I tried several times to change my shower regiment so that I was only washing it 3 times a week or so (still a lot, I know) but it never really worked. I had this idea that I ALWAYS had to wash my hair after working out (wish I still did that, hahah) and that I could only use gel/product the day before I was going to wash it, because it was too gross to leave gel/product in it for 2 days in a row.

I've finally just realized that I can just take a hairdryer to it the day after I use gel, fluff it back up a bit, and I'm good to go. It's only been a week so I'm still washing it every other day but I'm going to get a shower cap and try going down to like 2 times a week. This might be wishful thinking but it seems less frizzy - and maybe more curly - already! YAY!

[Indignant]

yep, that's what i do. wash it twice a week. wake up in the morning spray some heat protectant, run hairdryer through it. and it's nice and fresh all over. by the way i use a really nice olive oil/honey mask which works wonders. you have to apply it to wet hair and not shampoo after, just rinse with warm water. i can give you the name when i get home.

[lovesjoyajm]

oh, that sounds great! let me know the name.

[misombra]

for people with curly hair, washing it every day is an absolute killer. it fries your hair.

your hair will get used to the new routine. it might be oily at first but that will stop. i'm down to twice a week with my hair and it's growing and healthy.

well... i wash my hair but i don't use shampoo. i guess that's what i mean.

[lovesjoyajm]

You mean you NEVER use shampoo? or you use shampoo only 2wice a week?

Also, do you think it grows faster when you don't wash it? That would be exciting.

This summer I only washed it every 4 days or so (which is how often I showered, hahah) but I also wore a cowboy hat every day so it got maaaaad greasy.

It's really requiring a switch to be flipped in my brain to think that it's not gross to not wash the gel out of it but to just reuse it the next day. Do you use gel or anything, Miso?

[Indignant]

oh btw, in regards to shampoo. have you tried matrix biolage?

[lovesjoyajm]

No... I did try something by Matrix a few years ago and didn't notice a difference. I don't go in for expensive shampoos, I can't afford it.

[misombra]

You mean you NEVER use shampoo? or you use shampoo only 2wice a week?

Also, do you think it grows faster when you don't wash it? That would be exciting.

This summer I only washed it every 4 days or so (which is how often I showered, hahah) but I also wore a cowboy hat every day so it got maaaaad greasy.

It's really requiring a switch to be flipped in my brain to think that it's not gross to not wash the gel out of it but to just reuse it the next day. Do you use gel or anything, Miso?

no i use shampoo twice a week, on the other days i wash it with water. sorry i knew that was confusing lol.

i don't use gel. it gets too sticky and my hair becomes impossible to comb through. it's already pretty difficult.

hair growing: my hair is not so dry so i don't have to cut it so often and don't have to cut so much at one time...

[LadieNisha4u2nv]

I realized the less chemicals in my hair, the more it grows. When I just let it grow without straightening it, it shoots out. But, I do wash my hair almost everyday. I dunno, it just makes me feel clean after a sweaty day. I wash it all the time so I can wrap it and tie it down and then it comes out very very soft. So my bf loves playing in it lol

[lovesjoyajm]

oh man, last time I washed it with water it was sooo gross, but I guess once it gets used to that it'll be ok. So no shower caps? They seem weird to me anyway.

[misombra]

does your hair get tangled easy? i have to wash with water for untangling purposes. i use conditioner though.

you could use a shower cap. it depends on what your hair does. for me, my hair tangles up into dreads if i don't wet it and comb it every day.

[misombra]

also, satin pillow cases are very nice for not getting nappies at night.

[lovesjoyajm]

ahh this is great. I've been washing my hair twice a week since I started this thread. I've also stopped combing it altogether in the last week (I used to comb the conditioner out but it's short enough that it doesn't tangle anyway.) This could be purely psychological but I feel like it's gotten curlier!! Could also be because I've stopped wearing a winter hat - that makes it straighter. Do you think it will get curlier since it's only been 3 weeks or so? That would be so nice.

I would take a picture but it's the back of my head and my hair's really dark.

[misombra]

that's good.

you know i've always struggled with my curly hair. i spent my entire school years trying to get it to look like everybody elses and it never worked. i used to straighten it every day because it was so much hell to deal with and i never knew how to wear it.

it's taken a long time to accept my hair and be happy with it. every time i go to cut my hair the person straightens it and suggests all these hair products for dryness and frizz. then they say wash and condition every day blah blah blah. they don't have a clue what to do with curly hair other than treat it like it's straight.

but you're in a good spot. you sound like me a few years ago when i embarked on my mission to do right by my hair and be proud of it. it's longer than ever now and when i straighten it i don't feel right. i don't feel like the same person at all and i miss my big, crazy hair.

[lovesjoyajm]

that's good.

you know i've always struggled with my curly hair. i spent my entire school years trying to get it to look like everybody elses and it never worked. i used to straighten it every day because it was so much hell to deal with and i never knew how to wear it.

it's taken a long time to accept my hair and be happy with it. every time i go to cut my hair the person straightens it and suggests all these hair products for dryness and frizz. then they say wash and condition every day blah blah blah. they don't have a clue what to do with curly hair other than treat it like it's straight.

but you're in a good spot. you sound like me a few years ago when i embarked on my mission to do right by my hair and be proud of it. it's longer than ever now and when i straighten it i don't feel right. i don't feel like the same person at all and i miss my big, crazy hair.

Ya sometimes I think about straightening it but then I think I'm trying so hard to get it to be curly. My flatmate has naturally curly hair but straightens it every day and then it takes weeks to get curly again. It's so sad.

I only realized my hair was curly when I graduated high school, before that I thought it was just frizzy and awful and I never, ever wore it down - always in braids or a ponytail or something. In college I started scrunching it but like I said, I never took the suggestion to not wash it every day. I think this could be a turning point.

And when I think it's too big or... different from everyone else's or something I try to convince myself it looks sort of 30s and then I'm happy. And I've never been able to handle the straight, plastered to your face look anyway. I'm really glad to have curly hair. I just want it to be curlier!