Hello folks! I've been lurking for a while but only just signed up to post here so this is my first thread! I must say - this forum is an amazing resource of advice on all-things beauty related!
Well, I am seeking the advice of those in-the-know about my hair situation. I am getting more and more exasperated with my hair and I just hate it. I'll try to outline my basics below...
So, first off it should be said I live in Frizz City - AKA Arkansas (!), so my conditions are almost perpetually humid, moist and frizzy. I am 34 yrs old, white, female. My ethnicity is best described as northern European - I was born blonde but transitioned to a dishwater-light-brown fairly quickly. Now, at 34, my natural color is an ugly, flat dishwater ashen-brown with about 30% gray. I color-treat my hair fairly often - maybe three to four times per year, once or twice at home and once or twice at the salon. I used to get highlights when I was a teenager, but in my late-20s and early-30s I have moved more towards embracing nice, darker brown-red tones. I do not heat-style my hair apart from blow drying. I do not use a flat iron or a curling iron. My hair, once dry, is pretty darned straight - with the occasional wave. Every time I go to a salon, they always remark on how "healthy" my hair is. It is about two inches below my shoulders, right now. If I do NOT blowdry my hair and allow it to air-dry, then god help me. It will be a DISASTER made of frizz and straw.
Now, after the background, comes my issues. What the heck is my hair?! Every time I get it cut, they always say my hair is "crazy", because they keep cutting at it and just more and more seems to appear. They say there is SO much of it! I can get pillowcases full of it cut from my head, and still have a full head of hair. When I wash it, it can take FOREVER to dry, and down at the nape of my neck can stay damp until lunchtime. I have to wash my hair pretty much every day, because my scalp gets uber-oily and VERY itchy after 24hrs of not washing, and my hair line gets GROSS with oil, not to mention the backs of my ears. I just feel gross when I don't wash my hair in the mornings - and believe me when I say that this is not something that is remedied by showering with a cap on.....I STILL feel gross if I don't literally wash my hair. I do not have any issues with dandruff.
After washing, conditioning, and drying with the blow-dryer, my hair invariably ends up frizzy and as soft-as-birds-feathers. It's hard to brush after drying, and the hair itself when still damp seems to have a LOT of elasticity and doesn't break very easily. I have a LOT of flyaways and a cowlick on the right hand side of my head at my bangs area that is uncontrollable and does not really grow and is very fine. After stepping outside in the morning, my hair looks like a disastrous straw bale with flyaways and frizz here in Arkansas - the more humid the weather, the worse it looks. It's totally uncontrollable. My hair breaks hair clasps, and there are very few that are strong enough to keep it in place. When I run a hand over my head/hair, I can feel roughness despite it being very straight and relatively long.
By afternoon, usually, every day my hair tends to calm down and behave a bit better - I like to say it has "cured" for a few hours after washing. It is then more brushable, although now it feels quite dry. I usually enjoy this stage of my days by using a clasp and getting my hair out of my way/eyes. I have very few split ends - although, admittedly, after having a handful of highlights put in about 9 months ago, I did see one or two appear.
My individual hairs are........odd. If I pull one or two from my head. Some can be dead straight. Most are very elastic, at least in the mornings after washing. Some are sort of kinky, or have little waves or chinks in them, but as a whole head of hair, it lies flat and isn't kinky/curly or even very wavy, much.
I use shampoo, conditioner, and a leave-in anti-frizz serum after washing, which is sometimes applied while still damp, sometimes after blowdrying, and sometimes both. I have been using EverPure/EverStrong shampooing and conditioning products, but just yesterday in my desperation I looked for a more anti-humectant product and chose the Formerly Organix Moroccan Argan Oil line of shampoo, conditioner and leave-in serum. After trying all these out this morning, I am disappointed. My hair feels the same as I have described above. Overly soft, flyaway, frizzy in the morning. Obviously haven't got to the afternoon yet, but I imagine it will be the same as I said before.
I just long for sleek, healthy, long hair, you know? I am SICK and TIRED of this massive, thick, dense, frizzy, flyaway mess (that, strangely enough, looks very straight to an onlooker). What am I doing wrong?? Why can I use all the anti-frizz stuff in the world, and still be frizzy? Why, given my ethnicity, is my hair SO dense, thick and soft??
Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated!!
Well, I am seeking the advice of those in-the-know about my hair situation. I am getting more and more exasperated with my hair and I just hate it. I'll try to outline my basics below...
So, first off it should be said I live in Frizz City - AKA Arkansas (!), so my conditions are almost perpetually humid, moist and frizzy. I am 34 yrs old, white, female. My ethnicity is best described as northern European - I was born blonde but transitioned to a dishwater-light-brown fairly quickly. Now, at 34, my natural color is an ugly, flat dishwater ashen-brown with about 30% gray. I color-treat my hair fairly often - maybe three to four times per year, once or twice at home and once or twice at the salon. I used to get highlights when I was a teenager, but in my late-20s and early-30s I have moved more towards embracing nice, darker brown-red tones. I do not heat-style my hair apart from blow drying. I do not use a flat iron or a curling iron. My hair, once dry, is pretty darned straight - with the occasional wave. Every time I go to a salon, they always remark on how "healthy" my hair is. It is about two inches below my shoulders, right now. If I do NOT blowdry my hair and allow it to air-dry, then god help me. It will be a DISASTER made of frizz and straw.
Now, after the background, comes my issues. What the heck is my hair?! Every time I get it cut, they always say my hair is "crazy", because they keep cutting at it and just more and more seems to appear. They say there is SO much of it! I can get pillowcases full of it cut from my head, and still have a full head of hair. When I wash it, it can take FOREVER to dry, and down at the nape of my neck can stay damp until lunchtime. I have to wash my hair pretty much every day, because my scalp gets uber-oily and VERY itchy after 24hrs of not washing, and my hair line gets GROSS with oil, not to mention the backs of my ears. I just feel gross when I don't wash my hair in the mornings - and believe me when I say that this is not something that is remedied by showering with a cap on.....I STILL feel gross if I don't literally wash my hair. I do not have any issues with dandruff.
After washing, conditioning, and drying with the blow-dryer, my hair invariably ends up frizzy and as soft-as-birds-feathers. It's hard to brush after drying, and the hair itself when still damp seems to have a LOT of elasticity and doesn't break very easily. I have a LOT of flyaways and a cowlick on the right hand side of my head at my bangs area that is uncontrollable and does not really grow and is very fine. After stepping outside in the morning, my hair looks like a disastrous straw bale with flyaways and frizz here in Arkansas - the more humid the weather, the worse it looks. It's totally uncontrollable. My hair breaks hair clasps, and there are very few that are strong enough to keep it in place. When I run a hand over my head/hair, I can feel roughness despite it being very straight and relatively long.
By afternoon, usually, every day my hair tends to calm down and behave a bit better - I like to say it has "cured" for a few hours after washing. It is then more brushable, although now it feels quite dry. I usually enjoy this stage of my days by using a clasp and getting my hair out of my way/eyes. I have very few split ends - although, admittedly, after having a handful of highlights put in about 9 months ago, I did see one or two appear.
My individual hairs are........odd. If I pull one or two from my head. Some can be dead straight. Most are very elastic, at least in the mornings after washing. Some are sort of kinky, or have little waves or chinks in them, but as a whole head of hair, it lies flat and isn't kinky/curly or even very wavy, much.
I use shampoo, conditioner, and a leave-in anti-frizz serum after washing, which is sometimes applied while still damp, sometimes after blowdrying, and sometimes both. I have been using EverPure/EverStrong shampooing and conditioning products, but just yesterday in my desperation I looked for a more anti-humectant product and chose the Formerly Organix Moroccan Argan Oil line of shampoo, conditioner and leave-in serum. After trying all these out this morning, I am disappointed. My hair feels the same as I have described above. Overly soft, flyaway, frizzy in the morning. Obviously haven't got to the afternoon yet, but I imagine it will be the same as I said before.
I just long for sleek, healthy, long hair, you know? I am SICK and TIRED of this massive, thick, dense, frizzy, flyaway mess (that, strangely enough, looks very straight to an onlooker). What am I doing wrong?? Why can I use all the anti-frizz stuff in the world, and still be frizzy? Why, given my ethnicity, is my hair SO dense, thick and soft??
Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated!!
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