I’m a black male with 3c type hair and as of now try to shampoo/leave in at least once a week (twice or more in some circumstances when I end up working out or swimming though). As of lately however, after about day 4 or 5 I begin to develop dry patches on my scalp, and by day 6 or 7 even “scabbing” on my scalp and usually on my side burns also. My hair is about on the shorter end of 6 inches, and I always use my leave in if I am doing a shampoo/conditioning wash, and promptly follow up with oil as well. Is there a more effective regimen to use for general shampoo/conditioning washes and leave in usage, that wont leave me with a dry scalp in between?
I don’t know how many valuable responses you’re going to get on this board but I will check in from time to time as I am also interested to hear what others do.
I have hair of multiple textures. All I do is wash and rinse. I don’t have a special regimen or use hair products. My hair does look dry, however, so I’d like to see what is out there that others use and their results.
There’s the LOC method: leave-in, oil, cream. It’s generally what I use (my hair is more 4a/b with some 3c) and my hair stays moisturized but I don’t do any protective styles (like twists) at night, nor do I sleep in a cap or on a silk pillowcover. I wash/condition once a week and in between I co-wash about every other day.
So, maybe try co-washing (conditioner washing, skipping the shampoo) and re-moisturizing on days when you co-wash. I always do oil on days when my hair gets wet in the shower just to keep my ends in check. Of course, this is just what works for me. You may want to look into a more black hair centric site (like Curly Nikki or something) for ideas.
Eta: To the OP, I’m assuming you’re asking because you want to wash and go, which is why I responded with what I do. I don’t go crazy on buying products so I’m curious what you’re using. What shampoo and conditioner are you using when you wash and what leave-in are you using after?
The dry patches and scabbing sound like they may very well be from another issue unrelated to your hair care regime. You might want to see a dermatologist.
What Dorjan said. Sounds like you have seborrheic dermatitis, unrelated to (or at worst aggravated by) your hair care regimen. See a dermatologist or try using T-Gel or another coal tar shampoo.
Am I the only one who thought the thread title said “black hole”?
Yes.
Thanks for your response. To show just how little I know about hair, I didn’t know hair types had been labeled and there is an actual hair type chart until reading this thread and looking it up.
I am biracial and have always had what I call combination hair. Based on the chart, my hair is 2c mostly in the back and on the sides, an uneven mixture of 2c/3a/3b on the top, and 3a at the crown. When I was much younger, my hair was pretty uniformly 2c/3a, but I have had 2 surgical hair transplant procedures that you can read about here if you want and so my textures are kind of mixed up, making styling a challenge.
At the roots my hair is oily so I am not in love with the idea of adding more oil. It is at the ends where my hair is dry especially on the top of my head, and looks it. I just need something to make it look healthy. In the past I have tried some spray-on products, but the only result was tacky or sticky hair.
I would also look into a dermatologist.
Onomatopoeia, there are light moisturizers that don’t have much oil (you will need a little oil, though, to lock the liquid into your hair, if your hair is so curly that the natural oil from your scalp can’t travel down the hair shaft).
This video might help. You can see that the man doesn't use much oil or conditioner. Someone with such a loose curl pattern might even be able to skip the oil step, if their conditioner has its own oil added.Interesting. Thanks for sharing that. I have a little cousin with alopecia and his hair is starting to come back, and while it’s a different circumstance from yours, many of us love seeing him regain his confidence.
I never really knew the true texture of my hair (due to relaxers that I’d been getting since i was a kid) so when I did my big chop a few years ago I had to relearn my hair. I always wore them in plaits (box braids to be more specific) because I hated my hair and I didn’t feel like dealing with it all. It was pretty long. I can’t deal with all that hair, so it was the right choice for me.
Anyway, I love my hair now. It’s so curly in ways i never expected. Some loose and wavy, some tightly coiled. I really should wrap it at night to keep the moisture in but I’m pretty low maintenance about it.
Yeah, that’s understandable. Since I use a good amount of product throughout the week, and I’m always wetting my hair to work out the knots (I actually don’t comb it lest I want an asymmetrical fro), I wash a lot more often than most sites suggest. I get some build up, which after a certain point kills my curls, so washing helps to strip those excess oils that I need since my scalp doesn’t really provide them for me, like **Omega Glory ** just mentioned.
YES!!
Quick question: was that a typo in the title, or where you speaking Latin?
I wonder if the “No Poo” method would work for you. Practitioners of this believe that shampoo strips the hair of natural oils and causes flaky, irritated scalp. They rinse with some combination of baking soda and apple cider vinegar. After a period of adjustment, apparently the hair becomes very soft, not oily, and easy to manage. There are lots of other links besides the one I posted.