Help me sort out my straight, limp hair!

[evertonmint]

So I've decided I need to try new stuff on my hair. I just use whatever shampoo/conditioner DH picks up in the supermarket which is usually whatever is on offer. And my hair just looks lank, and is greasy by the next day.

I use a bit of hairspray, did try hair oil which seemed to make it shinier, use dry shampoo sometimes. I have no real haircare routine at all.

My hair is very straight, chin length bob. Hairs are very fine but there is a lot of it.

I have annoying sticky up bits and baby hairs growing around my hairline as I'm 11m post-partum and this has happened elwith the previous 2 as well. So I need those hairs to lie down better.

The rest of my hair is lank, can't get volume into it despite having a lot of it, and it sort of separates into chunks very easily rather than staying like a smooth curtain.

Any suggestions of where to start: shampoo, conditioner, hair products, routine etc?

Thanks!

Mine is very similar whenever I use "normal" shampoo.
What currently works for me is using a couple of different lush shampoos specifically for oily/lifeless hair (I think called juicy and big). I alternate them. Then I've started to use a sea salt spray and blow dry my hair. It helps but never looks as good as when I've just left the hairdressers...

I used fudge oomph shampoo and conditioner and it does actually add volume. The phillip

Oops posted too soon!
The Philip Kingsley maximiser spray is also good. The fudge stuff can leave your hair greasy if you use it everyday but its the only volumising shampoo that's ever worked for me.

Same hair as yours; fine, straight but not loads of it and I have spent a fair bit of time and a bit of £ to come up with a magic formula. Not got very far I am sorry to say.

My top tips are:

Don't bother with conditioner
A BBH is great at giving hair shape but not volume.
Mousse is the best product at giving volume on clean hair, I wash every day and although I have tried to go longer between washes I always cave in.
Dry hair shampoo works BUT it tends to make my hair static as does some of the other volume products such as Oomph powder from Vo5.
Heated curlers also work well at giving volume but whatever is there at 8am has well and truly gone by 3pm (despite product in hair too).

I have not tried expensive hair products as I am worried about wasting money, perhaps someone else has a good suggestion.

I have however taken a different approach and have started looking at women with similar hair to in an attempt to change my attitude towards mine. I told dsis about my rollers and my frustration with my hair and she said 'oh, I rather like your hair'.

I use swell shampoo and conditioner. Can get in M&s or online. It's not cheap but I use another shampoo for first wash to look after my scalp and then one go of the shampoo and half a pump of conditioner worked through the ends with a tangle teaser. I also find brushing hair before washing means I can use less conditioner (so less grease after). Then I use a small amount of bumble and bumble styling cream though the ends and either blow dry or leave to dry naturally. V fine hair, lots of it, goes to grease in 12 hrs if j use the wrong stuff

I have thin, straight, limp, greasy, static, all round crappy hair. But I went shampoo free before Christmas and haven't looked back since! It took a few months to work out the right regime but really happy now. I wash it just with water every other day and don't need to style, blow dry or use products.

Beakyminder are you saying that you don't wash your hair with anything other than water? Does the grease not bother you, I can feel it travelling down my hair? My hair once went greasy in less than 12 hours when I was stressed about something. Also it's worse nearer my period. I would love not to be slave to the daily hair wash.

That's right just water. Believe it or not, the grease dies down by itself over a couple of weeks and then you end up with normal hair. Shampoo makes your hair overproduce grease. Look at cats, rabbits etc - lovely silky fur and they don't shampoo!

It's clear from everyone's posts that I need to cut way back on the conditioner (I use way too much) and possibly shampoo too.

I laughed at the "greasy in 12 hours" comment. I feel exactly the same. In fact when I read accepted hair wisdom like "hair always looks better on the second day" I smile wryly at my greasy reflection and want to punch every hairdresser in the land.

I'm going to cut back on the amount of stuff I use to wash it, and investigate mousse (gave up on it as too sticky years ago, though suspect formulations are better now)

Seasalt spray sounds intriguing. My hair looks more interesting and lively after a swim in the sea (though it feels a bit weird - not used to texture clearly!)

I want to sort this for me but also because my 4yo DD has inherited my hair. My mum's is coarse and she never had any clue how to help me as it wouldn't do what hers did. Interestingly DD hates having her hair washed and once a week is all she has - her hair looks much glossier and healthier than mine. Will be interesting to see what happens as puberty hits when she's bigger.

I didn't say thank you! So thank you

I'll investigate the product suggestions too.

OK Beaky, one for the future, I'll be kicking myself if it works.

Seasalt spray is pretty good.

My hair looks its best (imo not that anyone has said so) during our camping holidays when I use a 3 in 1 from Aldi and let it dry naturally without any other product. Can't seem to replicate this at home though, perhaps it's the sea air we're near?

Hair dryers also make your hair greasy, I've discovered - dunno why.

Rinse your hair in proper cold water too - that makes a big difference.

And finally a lot of brushing/combing, to distribute the grease away from the roots.

My top tip would be to dry your hair upside down until it is 95% dry. Then go back up and finish drying in in the position you like. Then upside down again, carry on drying for another 30 seconds, turn hair-drier off but stay upside down for a further 30 seconds to a minute until your hair cools down. Back up and re style your hair with fingers. Voila!

A Parlux hairdrier would help lots too as would some decent shampoo. My favourite is Brilliant from Aveda.

I find loreal elvive fibrology shampoo and conditioner makes a huge difference to my fine hair. I tried the treatment and serum too but they didn't seem to make a difference. It doesn't help with greasiness (but doesn't make it worse either) and it doesn't add root volume, but it has made my hair so much thicker that my ears no longer stick through the lengths.

I use vo5 blow dry spray, it's fab! It's dead cheap aswell.

No conditioner, volumising spray & babyliss big hair (after part drying hair upside down) worked for me when I had a bob.

Also do not touch your hair once styled- that way it won't get greasy as quickly.

Update: I bought some fibrology because my local supermarket had some. Using the shampoo plus a tiny blob of conditioner on the ends. It definitely has a thickening and hence volume effect, and my hair still feels fairly smooth.

I'm going to investigate grooming/styling products next, and experiment with more or less shampoo and conditioner too.

John Frieda 7 day volume shower something or other seems to be doing what it says on the box for me.

And spending money on a decent salon shampoo too. You use much less of it so although it seems expensive, I don't think the cost per week or month or year is any more.

Also, wash your hair as infrequently as you can. I second the reverse wash method too.
Rough dry your hair until it's 95% dry then style. Then LEAVE! Don't touch!