I have very fine/thin and greasy hair. Last May I got sucked into the Wen system…lived it but it was too expensive.
I searched for an alternative…I now only wash my hair with conditioner. No shampoos. The secret is to look for silicone free conditioners like Alberto VO5 or Suave Naturals.
My hair has really thickened up after quitting shampoo.
Do a search on conditioner washing only. There are pages and message boards with hints and tricks.
On shampoo- I used to buy expensive shampoos and conditioners and I thought it made a big difference. Then a couple of weeks ago I had to buy shampoo but I was short on cash, so I bought a bottle of V05 shampoo for 87 cents. I love it- it works just as well!
I have a boar bristle brush but don’t use it; I’ll get it out and try.
I tried going no-poo with Wen and it was a disaster. Limp, stringly, and extremely greasy. I know you’re supposed to give your scalp six weeks to adjust, but I couldn’t last more than two days.
Sounds like I need to find a new shampoo and conditioner.
If you’re going to poo, use sulfate free! There’s a L’oreal one that I use, and I wash my hair like twice a week. I have sucky frizzy hair too, and even though I don’t have rich girl pretty hair now it’s much better now that I use a sulfate free shampoo.
Get some MUD or other thick, heavy styling product like that. Put a little bit in your palm and rub your palms together to emulsify it. Smooth onto top of head- little pieces stay down. Don’t use too much or it looks greasy.
Hey, still you’re halfway there! I thought you shampooed every day (since you said that in your OP) so I figured at least half the problem was coming from there.
Definitely get a heat protecting spray though. And a deep conditioner. Nothing is gonna tame the frizzies like a good, thick conditioner. The clear shampoo rec is clarifying, to get rid of the products you’ve used (like hairspray, heat protecting spray, dirt and oil) to start you out with a clean slate.
As for the brands I said, I’ve tried everything you can find at Target. Those are the best and the most affordable (Neutrogena Clean and Suave Pro Rosemary + Mint, and Aussie Deeeeep and Neutrogena Hair Mask). I’ve tried various salon brands as well; pureology and paul mitchell tea tree (shampoo only) are a liiiiittle bit better but not enough to justify the price tag.
If going no poo made you filthy greasy, it’s not for you.
Thanks. I’m the first to say I’m incredibly vain about my hair. I get tons of compliments from men and women, my own age on up through the elderly! Honestly, all those steps boil down to just “doing things a little differently” and adding a few minutes to my routine than from before. Actually, since I no longer need to straighten my hair and I don’t wash it every day so I’m using much less time.
Wise real-estate investments.
This powder does wonders for my thin hair. If you google it many testimonials come up with how magic it really is.
If you’re trying “no poo” you need to be sure your styling products don’t have silicone in them. Silicones need detergents to wash out of your hair and conditioner alone won’t do it. The first time I tried “no poo” my hair was a greasy mess after a few days, until I realized I couldn’t continue using John Frieda’s Frizz-Ease and not shampoo it out…
My stylist says the difference is the products you use.
You aren’t going to get Rich Girl Hair with Pantene because Rich Girls don’t use Pantene. They use seriously expensive product. Yes they get expensive haircuts and regular blowouts and keratin straitening for $400 a pop, but there really is a difference between $7 shampoo and $37 shampoo.
I use Pantene myself and have an expensive haircut and am ok with Middle-Class Girl Hair.
Pantene is well known for being a waxier brand.
The only 2 shampoos I trust from the drugstore are a) Neutrogena Triple Moisture and b) L’Oreal Evercreme, but I am also sulfate free.
That said, thickness is determined by genetics but bounce and volume are highly dependent on the cut (whether your stylist is adept at knowing how to properly layer) + your willingness to learn how to blow your hair out salon style.
I’d say in general most people benefit from finding a shampoo that’s right for them, then rotating through a clarifying, deep conditioning and protein treatment schedule. Hard to really say what products to use without knowing your hair type etc. Some people do ok with sulfates (I’m allergic), other people hate silicones (I’m ok with silicones), others
Not the most expensive out there, but I think Joico and One and Only have pretty good products across the board.
I have so many hair products I tend to rotate them-but right now I’m using
Shampoos: It’s a 10 Moisture/CHI Nourish Intense Bath/L’oreal Evercreme Cleansing Conditioner/L’Oreal Evercreme Moisture
Conditioners: L’Oreal Evercreme, One and Only, Joico KPak
Protein Treatment: Nexxus Emergencee/Colorful Neutral Protein Filler (with PM Awapuhi Moisture Mist as the carrier).
Anyway, if you are really interested you should go to the Makeupalley Boards as they actually have stylists who post there and the girls are obsessed with hair.
I’m no expert, but somehow I think genetics and getting a decent haircut matter more than the price of all those products. At some point there are simplty diminishing returns. Your hair can only look SO nice, but it’s easy for it to look shitty with a bad haircut or not styling it at all.
2nd this recommendation.
I have very curly hair and had not tried straightening in a really long time because it’s so time-consuming. The day I used this, it took less time to blow-dry than I remember, and after flat-ironing, it was really smooth and soft.
Pay the price for a really good cut. It makes all the difference.
Most any shampoo will do. If your hair is really limp don’t use a conditioner.
Air dry=more volume
Like how you look and others will notice.
The idea is that you need about six weeks to break the habit. After that, your hair realises it doesn’t need to pump out sebum like mad to compensate for it being harshly stripped away every day. So after those six weeks (give or take a couple weeks depending on the individual) you’re in rich girl hair heaven. Jessica Simpson, for instance, follows this method and her hair is to die for.
But most people give up before the six week point. I know I did.
Another thing about rich girl hair is they often have “rich girl colorists.” My twelve year old was in a wedding this year and I took her to my colorist and spend about $200 on a multi color foil for her. She didn’t end up with “colored” hair - the last thing I was looking for was a twelve year old with an obvious dye job in wedding photos - but she ended up with thicker hair from the color (she has fine hair), plus a thicker, richer look from highlights and lowlights.
Now after the wedding she had some red added by someone who did not charge nearly $200 - and that color just damaged her hair.
My favorite blowout tutorial. I like that she actually shows you how to hold the hair yourself and how to position the blowdryer.
Also, I bought a salon quality hair dryer from a licensed supplier (Paul Mitchell) and it does make a difference, but the most important aspect is getting the technique down before you start investing in expensive tools.
I think water quality must also be a factor. I’m too lazy to blow-dry my hair, but I get a good haircut and use good quality products and I can live with my Middle-Class Girl Hair. However, whenever I visit my parents, everything goes south in a hurry and I turn into a big puff ball. Conversely, my mom talks about how much easier her hair is to deal with when she visits us.
Climate is another factor. I spent a week in Wyoming, where they apparently don’t have humidity, last summer. I wore a baseball cap pretty much all day, and yet my hair was still awesome.
Unfortunately, both water supply and climate are pretty difficult to change to accommodate one’s hair.
I don’t like V05, 'cause it seems watery to me, and I go through it way too fast. But I like Suave just fine, and it’s almost as cheap!
Trader Joe’s also has a house brand shampoo and conditioner that are really quite good, and per ounce, not much more than Suave.
I had hair much like the OP describes, until I discovered I didn’t. I actually have *curly *hair, if I don’t abuse it. Coulda knocked me over with a feather! I found about 4 pages of Curly Girlquite useful (and the rest repetitive and not applicable to me), so I suggest getting it from a library, rather than buying it.
After I learned how to do my hair with the expensive sulfate and silicone free stuff, I went back to the cheap stuff, and lo and behold, it still looks good! Guess I can get away with rotating products, which is awesome news.