The Official Hair Thread

[OmniscientCause]



Still in the hunt for a good product for thick, straight, longer hair. After doing some research I've come away with the following:

Bumble and Bumble Sumowax

KMS HairPlay Molding Paste

Gatsby Wax

Anyone have any insight into any of those? For reference, I wear my hair similar to Patty in my avatar...

what kind of finish do you want? Matte ,shiny or somewhere inbetween.

 

[bourbonbasted]

Ideally I'd like a matte finish. Not a fan of looking like I put a handful of stuff in my hair each morning. That said, somewhere between dead matte and a slight sheen would be fine.

 

[Hair_Dude]



Ideally I'd like a matte finish. Not a fan of looking like I put a handful of stuff in my hair each morning. That said, somewhere between dead matte and a slight sheen would be fine.

Ever try Aveda Grooming Clay?

 

[OmniscientCause]



Ideally I'd like a matte finish. Not a fan of looking like I put a handful of stuff in my hair each morning. That said, somewhere between dead matte and a slight sheen would be fine.

I've liked Baxter products. I'm a big fan of the Clay pomade. Might also want to try Gold digger by vilan. I haven't tried it but plan to order some soon.

 

[bourbonbasted]



Ever try Aveda Grooming Clay?

I haven't, may need to give that a look.

I've liked Baxter products. I'm a big fan of the Clay pomade. Might also want to try Gold digger by vilan. I haven't tried it but plan to order some soon.

I'll take a look at the Baxter Clay Pomade as well. Thanks for the tips.

I've been using American Crew Fiber for the better part of five years and recently it seems to just be weighing my hair down. I attribute this to using better shampoo and having a better barber as of late. So I'm looking for something with a matte finish that will allow me to corral my longer, stick-straight hair. Need something to lend volume and hold. I'll have a look at all your suggestions. Thanks, guys!

 

[AndrewDoesHair]

You guys need to stop looking for a product to make you happy with your hair. All a product will do is fight what your hair wants to do, and also add a finish. The more hold you use, the heavier your finish will be. A blow dryer will CHANGE what your hair wants to do (make it stand up, lay back, straighten, wave, whatever), so you won't have to fight it with product, and then you can use a product just to achieve any finish you want. See it in action at andrewdoeshair dot com, or on my Instagram (@andrewdoeshair)

 

[OmniscientCause]



You guys need to stop looking for a product to make you happy with your hair. All a product will do is fight what your hair wants to do, and also add a finish. The more hold you use, the heavier your finish will be. A blow dryer will CHANGE what your hair wants to do (make it stand up, lay back, straighten, wave, whatever), so you won't have to fight it with product, and then you can use a product just to achieve any finish you want. See it in action at andrewdoeshair dot com, or on my Instagram (@andrewdoeshair)

my hair looks atrocious without something in it...I do blow dry my hair and its still terrible.

 

[patrickBOOTH]



Ok people, I have been doing a lot of research about hair and reading a lot of blogs and forums that girls post in. I am reading forums and blogs written by and for primarily curly, or wavy haired girls and I have learned a ton. CalTex, this will probably be useful for you. Basically I have been looking for a haircare routine that allows my hair to be more natural and controlled so I don't have to use as much product in the morning and such. Something a bit easier. This is what I learned:

1. Stop shampooing with sulfate based shampoo.

The majority of shampoos are made with detergents and not actual soap. These ingredients are sodium lauryl sulfate, sodium laureth sulfate, amonium lauryl sulfate, or amonium laureth sulfate. These were invented by the Germans during World War II because there was a soap shortage. These synthetic surfactants are what makes these products "foam-up". Basically they allow water and oils to mix so they can be rinsed away. There is a lot of hippy talk about these things and how they cause cancer, but it has never been proven. There are some things that have been proven, however. Sulfate based shampoos are a mild irritant, espcially in higher concentrations and if not rinsed properly. Sulfate based shampoos cause hair to fall out. If you loose a lot of hair in the shower, this could be the cause, not male pattern baldness. Sulfate shampoos strip your hair and wash away all natural and unnatural oils. These things are great at what they do and they are cheap that is why they are in products. The problem is you are washing away tons and tons of oils that your hair needs to look great. The ironic thing is many of these shampoos also have extracts of plant oils and moisturizers, but in reality it is bullshit because as soon as you lather up you're washing it right away. Most of the cheaper brand smoothing shampoos are using silicones to coat the hair to make it smooth. Some of them work ok, but they are very difficult to remove once on your hair, that is why they are usually added to the smoothing shampoos along with sulfates, which have a more difficult time removing them.

Now a lot of conditioners also contain smaller amounts of sulfates so read your ingredients.

A lot of brands are now making sulfate free shampoos so look for them, there is a brand called Kinky Curly that curly haired girls "in the know" go apeshit for. Get this. The issue most people have with these are the lack of foam, since there isn't any foaming agent people feeltheir hair isn't getting clean. Ignore this and keep at it. A lot of girl's out there make their own shampoo out of a simple home mixture of baking soda and water. Some swear by this.

I personally use Dr. Bronner's Tea Tree Castile Soap, which bings me to my next point about sulfates and soaps. Castile soap is what it is: Soap. It is called castile after the region it was developed in Spain and it is obtained by saponifying oils from plants using lye to create soap naturally. Here is the issue, using these kinds of soap, especially with very hard water sources with minerals and such in it can leave your hair feeling tangly and or waxy. What this is is slight buildup. This buildup can remain on your hair and furthermore in your tub and in your drains, this buildup is what people end up calling "soapscum". Sulfates don't have this because they strip everything away, however there is a solution for this. The solution lies in the conditioner, which is my next point:

​

2. Use an acidic rinse after using castile soap

You can use the non-sulfate conditoner if you are using a non-sulfate shampoo, but for castile the Dr. Bronner's Shikakai Conditioning Rinse works wonders. Since you washed with castile you need to get the buildup off of your hair and make it smooth. You do this with a solution that is slightly acidic. Acidic solutions don't only just strip buildup they also close the shafts of your hair strands making it lay better and much smoother. A lot of girls make their own apple cider vinegar and water solution and pour it slowly over their heads while massaging their scalp and combing it through their hair in the shower. The Bronner's Rinse is mainly lemon juice, shikakai powder, which has been used on hair for centuries in India and plant oils. Now vinegar has a PH of about 5 and the lemon juice about 2 or 3 so you can imagine the smoothing properties these ingredients have on your hair.​

3. Stop shampooing your hair so much

Yes, a lot of people know that their hair feels nicer, or behaves better when it isn't dry from shampoo (sulfates), but these girls, and now myself included, are shampooing even more infrequently like only when really needed, around once every two or three weeks. Two are three weeks!?!?! You scream! Calm down. Girls who go the sulfate free conditioner route literally condition everyday, but what they do is scrub the hell out of their scalps while the conditioner is in their hair, not using their nails but their fingertips and very hard and long time. What others do it use their rinse daily and scrub with the vingear/water, or Bronner's rinse. What is great about this is the low PH kills bacteria that can cause dandruff and the scrubbing helps move dirt away.​

I understand this all sounds strange and gross, but it isn't really. There are so many girls following this routine. Think Style Forum, but only girls talking about this kind of stuff. It was all started by this woman Lorraine Massey in NYC who popularized this sulfate-free/no shampooing thing in her salon and actually wrote a book about it.

What I do:

1) Shampoo with Dr. Bronner's Tea Tre Oil Castile soap
2) Repeat
3) Pour the solution of Dr. Bronner's Conditioning Rinse over my head and massage scalp and comb through hair
4) Rinse
5) Repeat step #3 and leave in and finish the rest of my shower routine before rinsing

On following days I just do steps #3 through #5 and only go back to step #1 when absolutely necassary.

Sources

http://www.livecurlylivefree.com/curly hair basics.htm
http://www.naturallycurly.com/curltalk/general-discussion-about-curly-hair/
http://thecurlyhairproblems.tumblr.com/cgmethod
http://www.wikihow.com/Follow-the-Curly-Girl-Method-for-Curly-Hair

I just wanted to add a bit to this that I posted a long while ago. If you use Bronner's (well I use Bronner's at least) natural food grade coconut oil in your hair as a pre-wash treatment your hair comes out even better. Basically put it on your hair dry and saturate it pretty well. Leave it in a while as you do other things and then do my 5 steps above except don't do Step 2 "Repeat". Also, if you use the shikakae hand and body soaps there are more oils and in it as well as white grape guide to help with moisture retention. Makes a huge difference. Also, after you wash with this stuff after using the coconut oil your hair will still feel somewhat smooth and maybe greasy. Go with it, after you use the Citrus Rinse it will remain sleek and smooth, but not greasy as the acidic nature of the product due to the lemon juice will strip excess oil away and close the hair's cuticle. I will be updating my above regiment because I think this info refines it better.

 

[Theralen]

What is my facial type, the form of my face? I need to know for haircut advice. Thanks.

 

[blue collar]



Still in the hunt for a good product for thick, straight, longer hair. After doing some research I've come away with the following:

Bumble and Bumble Sumowax

KMS HairPlay Molding Paste

Gatsby Wax

Anyone have any insight into any of those? For reference, I wear my hair similar to Patty in my avatar...

Ideally I'd like a matte finish. Not a fan of looking like I put a handful of stuff in my hair each morning. That said, somewhere between dead matte and a slight sheen would be fine.

Ever try Aveda Grooming Clay?

+1000

Aveda grooming clay and/or grooming cream is awesome stuff. Great workable hold without that sticky/waxy feeling.

Like 5 day old unwashed beach hair ...

 

[mensimageconsultant]



What is my facial type, the form of my face? I need to know for haircut advice. Thanks.

Oval.

 

[patrickBOOTH]

I don't understand what different it makes on what the shape of your face is called. Doesn't it matter just what it looks like?

 

[bumblehair]



Ever try Aveda Grooming Clay?

Thats great stuff if you live in the South doubles as a mosquito repellent. Actually applies to most aveda hair products.

 

[bumblehair]



I don't understand what different it makes on what the shape of your face is called. Doesn't it matter just what it looks like?

Just like glasses, a haircut can be based on you facial type. How could you not know this?

 

[OmniscientCause]



Just like glasses, a haircut can be based on you facial type. How could you not know this?

I dont know why people need to tell them what they think will look good for their face, when its their own face...we are all on style forum i assume we all know/have some what of a sense of what looks good for us and what doesnt. I dont need reassurance from someone telling me my hair looks good.

So if youve always had short hair, grow it out for 6 months and see how it shapes up. Doesnt seem that difficult to me. No one cant sit here and predict what will look better for someone who has been looking in the mirror all their life. I cant tell someone to get a certain hair cut because everyone else has it.


end rant/