Can someone please fix my rubbish hair?

[Frazzlerock]

I never blow dry and only use straighteners very rarely (like 3 times a year). I use Argan oil on the ends daily, wash it about every 3/4 days. I use natural cocoa butter shampoo and conditioner.

I've started plaiting it at night to avoid rubbing on the pillow.

Yet it is still so dry looking and is thin and fly-away.

Any advice for luscious shiny and healthy locks would be most welcome!

Switch to an SLS free shampoo bar. They don't strip the hair, my hair has been so much better since I made the switch.

You need a keratin treatment to de-fizz and tame. It won't straighten but make it far more manageable.

I've had Keratease at my local hair salon at £200 a pop (lasts up to 5 months) and have done at home at £18 a time.

Fantastic results but no difference between either method. Therefore I Choose £18 at home rather than £200 salon!

Try Cantu shampoo, orange lid bottle from Boots. It's quite creamy. I don't even need to condition every time I use it.

Fair enough if you love having light hair! Maybe get about an inch cut off and keep the colour as it is? The cut alone should still give you a refresh in condition. Afterwards try different conditioning treatments/serums and don’t detangle your hair when wet. See how your condition is in a couple of months, who knows you may be able to recover it and keep the lighter hair!

I have a similar hair texture to you, and honestly it is a pain to get it looking healthy as it is prone to dryness/frizz, it sort of needs styling to look decent. I would recommend trying Moroccan Oil, a shine spray, and a good heat protectant (ghd, kerastase ciment thermique). My hair is quite reactive to the weather (heat, wind, humidity etc) and gets dry quite easily so i always carry around serum with me to keep it sufficiently moisturised when out.

Also if you want to try out a hairdryer, I’d recommend one with a diffuser. You can wait until your hair is about 80% naturally dry then finish it off with a diffuser. This will be less damaging and your hair should still be in your natural wave/curl rather than straight, but a bit sleeker.

I've just discovered Olive Oul ORS Glossing Hair Polisher and for me it worked brilliantly as a finishing product.

Olive Oil that should say

Cold water final rinse.
As cold as you can bear , makes a huge difference .

And YY , you need to lose a couple of inches off the ends .

To those who say blow dry, I've always been told that hairdryers really dry out hair so I've steered clear and let it dry naturally

I have hair like yours and wasted so many bad hair years thinking like this.

I put Kerastase nectar thermique (as a pp said, it's a heat protector for dry hair) on when my hair's damp and then blow dry, BBH and finish with GHDs.

My hair is so much softer, sleeker and healthier now that I do all that, rather than trying to 'protect' it by letting it dry naturally.

Because my hair is so prone to dryness, it doesn't need to be washed daily, so the styling is every two days. Takes about 20-25 mins. Yes, that time could be better spent, but I hate my hair in its natural state so 🤷🏻‍♀️

Sorry, reading back, it looks like the pp uses a slightly different product, but this one ^^ is great.

Are all your products silicone free and water soluble?...because if they’re not and you’re using an SLS free shampoo your hair will be coated with product that doesn’t let moisture in.

I think the curly girl method could work wonders for you. We have similar hair I think. I now wash mine once a week with a Shea Moisture shampoo and conditioner (it’s a lightweight one because my hair isn’t thick) and brush the conditioner out - I’m the same as you and don’t brush my hair any other time in the week. Then I use the Cantu Curl Activator Creme on soaking wet hair, use a 100% cotton tshirt to squeeze out the moisture and then plop my hair into the tshirt to dry off a bit. Then when it is a lot drier, I scrunch a bit of gel or Trepadora cream through it then diffuse on a low, cool heat. Doesn’t need to be 100% dry. For sleeping I just put it up in a pineapple on top of my head and it requires absolutely zero maintenance for the rest of the week, other than taking it out of the hair tie and jiggling under the roots with my fingers.

The wash routine sounds long, but because it’s only once a week, it’s fine. You could do it on a Sunday evening and be done for the rest of the week!

It's because you aren't styling it , most people have rubbish hair left to its own devices surely ??... either straighten it or use some mousse or curling product to make it curly .

Ooh I think I might give the Curly Girl a go.
Trouble with all the styling, and the main reason I let it dry naturally, is because I am up at 5:30am (or 5am if I do a workout), and rushing around like a loon to catch my train to work every morning.
My hair is wet when I leave the house.

I could do evenings but I barely have any time to relax. I'm home at 6:30 and it's rush rush to get dinner on, DC to football, pick ups from Cubs etc.. and usually spend half an hour cleaning (as I do theOrganised Mum Method). By 9pm I'm utterly exhausted.

Sooo, I would love to have time to dry it and style it but I just don't think I do, unless I wake even earlier which just horrifies me!
Or I might be making excuses.

The Curly Girl might be better as (as PP said) I could do it on a Sunday eve. Though not sure if it will last a whole week as my roots get greasy. I will give it a good go! And also get a trim
If that fails then I will invest in a good hair dryer and start waking earlier (4:30/5am 😭)

5:30 😵 In that case, I'd definitely try the curly girl method first!

In planet organic they have an Argan oil which is £25 it’s organic cold pressed and if your hair is as dry as mine you won’t even need to wash it out. I put in a drop or two a day.
Get a satin pillow case.
DONT SHAMPOO YOUR HAIR only wash with conditioner.
Unless you have had a hair mask only on that day do I use shampoo as conditioner won’t get the egg and avocado smell out of my hair.
Every few weeks make a egg, oil and avocado mask apply to damp hair then wash out after a few hours.

I hear you, OP. I live on a farm and getting up earlier to style my hair is never going to be a priority! With the curly girl, it almost seems to improve after being in blustery wind/damp air, whereas before it would triple in size and frizz.

It took a while to build up to weekly washing, but it’s worth it if you can power through.

Avoid having it coloured in future! Bleached hair often ends up like straw!

It's the bleaching, not the blow-drying that is damaging your hair.
I've washed and blow dried my hair daily for 25 years and it doesn't look like that.

I think thr colour is doing you no favours, I'm sorry.

Try the Aussie miracle leave in conditioner, it's fantastic, and really softens hair, but I'd advise getting rhe colour fixed.

Sorry to disappoint but when you see shining, ‘natural’,healthy looking hair in pictures it is almost always the result of products, blow-drying and straightening!

Find a regime to suit you and and as your hair is quite fragile you only need to wash and blow dry every 3/4 days, and just run straighteners over the ends in between. Treatments and regular trims as well.

Looks ok to me just a bit dry/broken at ends. Do you colour it? Is it breaking a bit? I bought silk pillowcases (v good anyway) etc but with hindsight it was the colour. Mine went like that when I went a bit too blonde but now I just go as light as it will without peroxide. I also wash often and leave to dry with hair oil on lower half (applied when pretty wet)

Also might need a shampoo which will stop residue building up - eg don't use a siilicone/dimethicone based oil or mousse and then a sulfate free shampoo.

If you don't have time to was/blow dry more often maybe natural bristle brush good idea when dry

Ps I also read letting hair dry naturally worse for condition than blow drying bec it's weak when wet. I have a layered lob and just stick my head upside down for a 3 min blast on full power at the root. Then the rest dries quicker on way to work. Who has time for a salon style brush and blow dry idk

Sorry, no help but just wanted to say I think your hair is really lovely 😊

Thank you so much for your brilliant help and advice. I'm going to do an arvo and egg hair mask tonight and I am now armed with Shea butter shampoo/cond and a bottle of curl activator. Plus I've stolen a couple of DP's cotton t-shirts.
I will let you know how I get on!

When I have some money I will invest in a good hair cut!

Thank you to the ones who complimented my mad hair. You're very kind. Hopefully applying the recommendations below it will be much better 🙌🏻