What the hell has happened to my hair.

[Bellygirl]

Firstly, I have been doing the silicone free thing and my hair has been silicone free for about a year now. It's all been fine, I'd say my hair has felt a lot better being cone free...until now. Out of nowhere (no change to hair products, diet etc) my hair has become the most ridiculously dry mess! It feels disgusting to run my hands through, it is so rough and literally feels like my hair is snapping off as I run my fingers through??? Does anyone know what could have caused this? Is there any silicone free products to help me? Or will I have to go back to silicone products as they coat the hair making it smoother? Help!

I should add I have naturally wavy-curly hair, usually just let it air dry. I blow dry and straighten it maybe a few times a month. Don't use chemical hair dyes anymore as I use henna.

Have you tried pure Argan oil? I got a big bottle on Amazon with a dropper. You only need a few drops and only use on the mid lengths to ends, any more and you'll look like you haven't washed your hair for weeks.

OP, me too!! I have long, wavy-curly thick hair and I've always had quite a few split ends, but over the past few months, my hair feels knotty, straw like and it breaks really easily. I feel a bit like a scarecrow actually! I too, have been using silicone free for a little over a year and assumed this maybe might happen the beginning, but it's just getting worse and worse.

I invested in a parlux hairdryer, which I can use on a lower heat setting and I rarely use my GHD's. If I do, I always use heat protection spray. I had used an at home semi hair dye several months ago, so am not sure if I'm having maybe a delayed (bad) reaction to this and the silicone free shampoo.

I had a consultation a few weeks ago to discuss maybe having some highlights and my hairdresser said she'd use an Olaplex treatment beforehand, but my hair just seems to be getting daily worse, so my hairdresser suggested I just had an Olaplex treatment and a very good trim. Not as adventurous as I intended, but it would be pretty dumb to put anything else on my hair right now!

Had you heard of Olaplex OP?

I have also gone silicone free, always use my argan oil

I'm not sure I've used a silicone free shampoo but if I ever try any sulphate free shampoo my hair goes horrible and straw like. My hair is waist length, poker straight and silky usually, but sulphate free makes it a knotty straw like mess while it's wet and it's so hard to brush, then when it's dry it feels horrible. The worst one I've used was the coconut milk one from boots, think its by Ogx or something? I just don't use them anymore I'd recommend oil though to make it feel softer, I use it often throughout the length on my hair.

Oh dear Can someone remind me why I started using this in the first place?...... It's hard to remember when your hair looks shit worse than it did before!

Sulphate free shampoo is utterly awful - I have had several, including the Dr Organics one which gets good reviews here. Just strips my hair to death.

I've been CO washing for a couple of years now, dousing hair in pure argan oil daily, and I am losing the battle - partly due to hormonal changes, partly due to emerging greys.

Dyeing, even semi permanent, makes it snap off I never use straighteners, and I am losing the will to live. Henna is good but doesn't cover greys adequately.

Argan oil is great, so is CO washing, but ageing ought to be avoided at all costs

Does your hair perhaps need protein, followed up by an intense moisture conditioner?

I would give Joico Kpak Deep Penetrating Reconstructor a go and follow it up with the Joico Intense hydration conditioner. (This is a must, otherwise the protein in the reconstructor will make it drier, but it may need a good protein boost if it's snapping off) I have wavy/ curly hair that is very dry and highlighted, mine was getting like you describe, couldn't run my fingers through it without it snagging and snapping, very dry and bluergh.

The 2 above things saved it and it really is lovely and silky and stronger after I use them.

Google for reviews. Worth a try!

Sometimes the pill can dry out skin/hair. Or maybe your hormones are changing?

Eat fish and primrose oil

I have used some pretty awful sulfate free shampoos in the past which yes, left my hair in a big knotball and couldn't get a comb through it. I now use John Masters Organics shampoo and conditioner, which is sulphate free etc, and it's not like that at all, my hair is just the same as if I used a SLS and silicone loaded products. It isn't cheap but I get the 1 litre bottles on StrawberryNet which last me ages and ages.

I've been using Timotei or Herbal Essence 'Naked', which are both really cheap and haven't dried my hair out at all. The more expensive ones, I found, were not so good.

I have naturally dry curly hair really recommend Body Shop Rainforest Moisture Hair Butter as silicon/color/paraben free conditioner after shampooing, and Palmers Olive Oil cleansing conditioner also cone free for Co Washing in between shampoos. I need to shampoo once a week minimum tried the co wash only curly hair method and hated it mainly because I don't feel co washing alone is enough to keep scalp/hair clean. On the other hand if I shampoo more often than very 5\7 days my hair suffers and its condition deteriorates so I co wash every 2 days to keep it in good condition. You can buy the Palmers in Amazon around a fiver big bottle lasts a long time, And Body Shop has right now offers if you order online
IMO low sulfate shampoos only make sense if you shampoo often, currently using Garnier Ultimate Blends Sleek Restorer shampoo not low sulphate but gentle for dry hair and cone free (the Garnier conditioner that goes with this in the brown bottles-coconut oil-cocoa butter is also good for cone free co washing)
They are all good products but the one I cannot live without and have also used for co washing successfully when hair really feels straw like is the BodyShop hair butter, and I have tried a few!

When i bought silicone free my hair did this. Really terrible. Currently I'm using something from Trevor Sorbie salon that isn't their own brand. I'm also going to pop into Khiels to see if they have a shampoo.

Is it maybe that your hair has too much protein?

Whereas too much moisture makes hair v stretchy and mushy, too much protein makes it brittle and tangly.

Check your products for proteins. I googled and found this link: www.curlynikki.com/2009/01/proteins-humectants-and-conesoh-my.html?m=1

In general if I see a products has silk or wheat and says strengthening on the front I assume it's going to be heavy on the protein front.

I'd look for a conditioner with less protein and see if it helps. For a while I used Dr organic from Holland and Barrett. Not fond of the smell of some of them, but I found them fairly moisturising. The argan oil one was the one I bought the most.

If it isn't the proteins then no idea I'm afraid!

This explains it better than I have: www.kinkycurlycoilyme.com/are-your-moisture-and-protein-levels-balanced/