Oh.dear.god.how did this happen? My hair is dryer than the Sahara Desert!

[faifai]

Have you tried taking a hair supplement vitamin like Biotin, and also Vit. E capsules? They really work wonders for me.

Also have you tried going on makeupalley.com and searching for hair treatments? There are tons and tons of them and one of the deep conditioning treatments may help you out. Searching for terms like "oil," "deep," "mask," "masque," etc. will help narrow it down.

 

[AbercrombieBabe]

My hair was like this last year and I tried everything to fix it-- the only thing that would work is a mayonaise mask. Its incredibly gross but mayo is so full of moisturizing fat and everything that it made my hair smooth and shiny. You just saturate dry hair in mayo and let it sit about a half hour, wash rinse and style as usual. I was skeptical but it really did wonders for my hair, now I repeat every week

 

[Hawkeye]

oooh I couldn't do the Mayo mask. that would make me vomit to no end

 

[ruby_soho]

Lush's Hsuan Wen Hue hair mask works wonders, it's about $15 CAD and you can get a sample in store to try before you buy.

 

[hyperRealGurl]

You can also try K-Pak intense hydrating treatment by Joico works really good.. Also might want to try their deep penetrating reconstructor

 

[pixichik77]

At what point of the shaft is the hair breaking? Mid, ends, roots? Is the entire length of the hair dry? You mentioned eczema... how's your scalp? Pics?

Anything you do internally will only help hair that's growing, the hair that's on your head and is dry will stay relativly dry. Masks and such are temporary. I wash in HOT water, and I don't have a probem with dryness, but if your hair is already dry, keeping the water cooler can't hurt.

I recommend conditioner washing (CO washing). You can google it; it's cheap, it works (even on oily heads, but especially the dry ones) and I would rec that you wash with a light or clarifying conditioner and then condition with a heavier, moisturizing one. Not a reconstructor, the protiens just make hair drier and more brittle. If you are scared of just using a cheap conditioner and want something actually made for the purpose of cleansing, look up WEN by Chaz Dean. But sauve is cheaper and works just fine.

 

[Hawkeye]

Quote:

At what point of the shaft is the hair breaking? Mid, ends, roots? Is the entire length of the hair dry? You mentioned eczema... how's your scalp? Pics?

The shaft itself is breaking about the middle (I have about shoulderlength hair). The scalp is horrible. I didn't notice it until maybe a few days after this post but I started scratching my head and flakes came off. (Sooo gross I know). No pics, my camera phone is busted

 

[pixichik77]

NP. If the breakage is mid shaft, it sounds like some sort of new stress is happening. Since it's not at the ends, it doesn't sound like just dead dry hair and split ends. Since it's not at the root, it doesn't sound like some new health crisis. Do you pull your hair up? could it be from a hairtie?? As for the flakes and scalp... Is your scalp dry too? Are the flakes light and dry, or oily? My rec for co washing still stands, and also a visit to a derm or a at least a doc and a refferal to a derm. Just to rule out health probs, etc.

 

[Hawkeye]

Actually yes, I always wear my hair up in a ponytail. I don't like the feel of it on my neck but I look horrible with short hair (go figure right?) LOL

ANYWAY- I've already visited the Doctor, the Derm and nobody can figure out what's going on. The scalp on the back and top of my head it's dry and flakey on the sides of my head its oily and flakey

The gross part is I can literally pull off "sheets" of skin off my scalp (OK that was just disgusting but sorry ladies)

P.S. I'm going to look into this co washing stuff.

 

[msmack]

The 'CO' washing technique is very effective for my mom. She has very (i mean very) dry hair and scalp. She maybe washes her hair once a month with shampoo. She massages the conditioner onto her scalp and then focuses on the ends. She covers her head in conditioner and then places a produce bag (yah... the veggie bags...glamourous, I know! I use 'em when i color too, perfect size and stretches right over my head!) on her head and wraps a towel on there for about 10 min. Rinse REALLY well. Blot dry. My mom has really curly hair (SPIRALS! Why didn't I get them!?) and this technique had really increases the form in her curls. They look amazing! I hope you figure out what is wrong with your hair, Hawkeye, this can't be ANY fun for you. Perhaps as a short term solution you could try that Biosilk stuff... atleast your hair can feel smooth...

 

[pixichik77]

Ah, we may be getting somewhere! Try something other that the ponytail, seriously. I think you gots some breakage going on. Or do it looser, at least. Pantyhose/tights works really well and is less stressful on your hair (buy a cheap pair and snip off rings of it). Sorry to hear the derm couldn't pinpoint it. I am oily/flakey, and after a few rounds of swabs and a couple different meds we have laded on one pill, and the co washing helps bunches. I don't use the produce bag, I just pin it up while I do the rest of my shower. I also massage my scalp A LOT with one of those massagers at Sally's. BTW, where do you live? And have you tried more holistic practioners? (I'm sorry I seem so nosey abt this; but because of my own 5 year rampaging scalp probs, I am a bit scalp obsessed)

 

[Hawkeye]

I have tried just about anything you can mention (except the CO thing)

I live in GA near ATL

 

[pixichik77]

GA... so it's probably not dry weather causing your problems (ha ha). Did the derm give up? Try the mayo mask, really. There are also some treatments you can do with olive oil, or honey and egg... They'll all rinse out I promise. Google or search long hair boards for recipes.

 

[Starr1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hawkeye Hi Kali- Yes, I'm a health nut! That's what baffles me the most! I drink a minimum gallon of water a day, then I drink milk, I drink a nuwati tea for antioxidants, a nuwati tea for bone tissue (facelift in a bottle!) and about a ton of herbs that are incredible. My daily food plan is nothing but fruits, veggies, nuts, fish. But my hair is bone dry. I just don't get it!

It's obvious that you have a good diet, but I'm wondering if your eating enough protein internally (it's essential to hair structure). Instead of using a band to put your hair up, try a clip or barrette, something that will hold the hair looser. Don't shampoo every day, only about once every 7-10 days if you have dry hair. And don't forget to sterilize your combs, brushes, and anything else that comes in contact with your hair, because scalp infections can be contagious and you could be re-infecting yourself over and over again.

And as far as the ezcema- moisturize 2-4 times a day. My daughter has it and that's what her derm recommended. We use baby aveno and that keeps it in check.