Mumsnet Talk

I look like a scarecrow and can't work out whether it's diet (I get my five a day), tiredness, lack of water, hard water in area I live, cheap shampoo or what! I had a haircut in December which wasn't a good one and looks even more atrocious now, but I need to grow it out a bit more I think before getting another cut.
In the meantime, is there something magical out there that will transform tresses so I don't have to hide under a beanie hat? I've been using Tresemme but wouldn't bother buying it again.

I used to use aveda but I've tried Pantene recently and I'm very happy with it, especially the spray on overnight conditioning treatments and the deep conditioners.

Then to provide enough nutrients for growth i take brewers yeast and solgar kelp off amazon. Cheap kelp needs 3 tablets a day but solgar is only one tablet. Then I take MSM and a fish oil and I'm trying to eat more seeds, particularly hemp and linseed.

I (usually when at home) use the Aussie deep conditioners and shampoo, found it made a huge difference to my thick very long hair, not so much in manageability but in shine and much less frizz.

I used to use Aveda too, and it costs a lot. It did seem to keep my hair looking v shiny and well-conditioned (people commented on it ), but in the end I just realised I was paying ££££££ for, well, shampoo. Switched to Aussie stuff and haven't looked back especially when it's 3 for 2 at Boots

A good vitamin supplement might be worth trying, though?

What's an 'expensive' shampoo?...
Aussie is really good, wilkinsons do one exactly the same if you wanted to get it cheaper
And using a hair mask once a week, I find the ghd stuff makes my hair feel sticky so wouldn't recommend that!
Lots of conditioner and a good blowdry/straighten if you use them usually does the trick for me

I have used really expensive shampoo and really cheap, I find its about choosing what is right for your hair. I am currently using one from the pound shop, which is just brilliant, makes my hair super super shiny, but when I used Aveda, it did nothing for my hair.

I put warm oil (any kitchen cooking oil is fine) in my hair for about half an hour before shampooing, Then it's fab instead of like a coarse horse's mane. However I have thick hair and on finer hair, it may make it go limp, worth trying though

I use sainsburys basics shampoo and conditioner. Costs pennies and my hair is shiny and swishy I always get compliments on it

You mention shampoo but not conditioner. Are you using conditioner at every wash? I'd go for something low to mid-range (Aussie, Pantene etc) and leave it on for a few minutes.

Some of the patients I see are fed using tubes into their stomachs due to strokes damaging the swallow reflex (I am going somewhere with this) and the feeds are loaded with vitamins and minerals. They all have lovely skin and nails.

The hair isn't so good but often they are often very old so they don't have great hair anyway, but I wonder if a lot of these supplements for hair are mainly multivitamins and multi mineral with a few trace elements to make it sound special.

I switched to a shampoo (£16) that my hairdresser recommended. I was sooo cynical but it has made a huge difference.

Tip for conditioner - whatever you use leave it on for ages so it has chance to work

i went through a phase of using paul mitchell stuff but it always made me hair feel a bit weird and never really that clean. use tresemme now which probably strips all the goodness from hair but it feels clean and light

I used to use tresemme, made my long fine hair very frazzly. Moved to Dove and never looked back. Always condition.

My hairdresser said spend what you like on shampoo and conditioner but never, ever buy Pantene.

Locket juice, what is the wilkinsons one called? My DD loves the Aussie shampoo, but it's expensive!

I used Pantene and then Tresemme for years but recently changed to Redken products my hairdresser recommended for dry hair. Sadly it HAS made a good difference. My hair is shinier then it's been for years and far less knotty both when wet and when dry. They're about £16 each for the shampoo and the conditioner but saying that they have lasted since the beginning of November.

This is all really good. Thanks all! Aussie is coming out with good reports but I wouldn't call £3/4 expensive. What I meant is the salon ones they try and sell you at over a tenner. I have really fine hair which is currently supposed to be in a bob but has gone flyaway. I wash it every day and have to blow dry or it looks even worse. When I blow dry and go out in the wind it goes all messy and wavy and I look ragged. Need to find a better style methinks.

Does conditioner not make hair greasy and lank? I don't use it. Thanks!
Fluffy that's interesting about the yeast stuff. Do you think it makes a difference, ie have you tried using and not using?

I don't think it matters which shampoo, but an intensive conditioner is a must. If you have really straw-like hair now, can you find a day to stay at home? Slather an intensive conditioner all over your hair an tie it up, then leave it on all day (and night if your happy to sleep with your head on a towel). Wash it off after leaving it as long as possible (even though it dries out and goes a bit crusty round the edges), and it'll feel really different.

Also, do use heat protector spray if you blow dry/straighten, and ALWAYS completely dry your hair before straightening.

Try conditioner! But put it on form half way down, and finger-comb to the ends only - ie dont lput it on your roots. Really, that will make the difference. Go for a lightweight one.

I always bought mid-range stuff from Boots for my masses of fine, dry, damaged, long curly hair. Then I switched to litre sized bottles of redken shampoo and joico conditioner. My hair has improved beyond recognition, no more split ends, I'm amazed.

Even better, the bottles work out cheaper. One £25 bottle off eBay lasts me a year.

Don't bother with expensive shampoo but buy some l'oreal hair oil. Best thing ever! 2 pumps of it on wet hair after washing = lovely glossy hair.

I use mid range John Frieda Brilliant Brunette (for I am one shampoo and conditioner. And them once a week I used eye-wateringly expensive Phyto Hair Oil (about £30 a pop) as a deep conditioning treatment. Pricey but works. And a bottle will last 6 months or so.

The above combo Makes my hair very shiny, smooth and easy to blow dry (and I do that everyday. Yawn.)

Pantene here and Aveda conditioners.
I think shampoo only stays on your hair for a short time and conditioner for a lot longer.
So, logically, I save on shampoo.

Tresemmé didn't work for me, but it might have been the wrong kind.

I bought Dove shampoo and conditioner the other week because it was a pound in Asda. Its unbelievably good. I always leave the conditioner on while I have a wash, but I think its the shamoo thats so good, lovely and creamy.