Hair trouble!!!

[jojo2324]

On a lighter note! :)

My hair is woefully flat, and straight, and just out and out BLAH. I kid you not, I could get a perm (I've had two) and it will fall out in three weeks. I can't stand to have it in my eyes, so I always wear my hair up or in a ponytail. I have a huge cowlick in front. (Though I discovered if I wear a baseball cap, cowlick is flattened and my hair kinda looks normal.) Currently, I lose about 6874 strands of hair a day. The three remaining strands are often tugged out by my dear child, Gannon. Gots to love him.

So, what shampoo/conditioner should I use? What do you use? I have to use conditioner, otherwise I will have a rat's nest for hair. I have tried most body building formulas. Nothing seems to work. (Also, I buy the vats of hair stuff at BJs, so it takes me a year to get through it.)

Admittedly, maybe some of the problem is related to my water supply. I tried a Pantene blend at my mom's in NYC, and my hair looked fantastic that day!! All I did was comb it, and I was sashaying around like *I* should have been in a commercial. :) At home, the same shampoo did not yield the same results.

[Saartje]

It could also be related to weather conditions, especially if humidity levels are different between your home and your mother's.

If you'd be willing to have your hair cut, a layered cut would add some body to your hair, and having it short would also hide the problem with it thinning out.

Can't give you too much other help, personally, I'm afraid -- I have the opposite problem, and have to search carefully to find shampoos that don't say "volume-added!" or "body building!". (I'm the only person I know who has good hair days when the humidity's high.)

[Rachels]

You've got a sympathetic ear here, my friend. You've seen me. You know what my hair looks like. I'm in awe of my daughter's bounce and curls. Sometimes a protein spray can be helpful. And hats.

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[MelissaTC]

My hair winds up being very much the same - flat, straight and blah. I got a cut with layers which has helped tremendously and I also went back to using Biolage volumizing shampoo and conditioner. I have gotten a few compliments on my hair since I started using it again and everyone is amazed that all I did was switch shampoo. I also use Wyld by Rusk which can help shape. You can use it on wet or dry hair. Talk about volume!

[jojo2324]

Well, duh. She gets it from your sister. :P

I actually like humid days, because then the cowlick might turn itself into a tendril. I have tried a layered cut, but then it looks like I have shaggy, unkempt bangs. Mousse, gel, blow drying, pastes. Nada, zilch, nothing.

Sigh...I will never be a movie star with this hair.

[Rachels]

LOL. My sister's hair is the family mystery. She actually just auditioned for a shampoo commercial. The shampoo people would laugh me right out of their studio.

But it's funny to see you post this, Joanne. I have actually always thought your hair is really beautiful. Really.

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[daisymommy]

A couple things you could try:
1) Use a clarifying shampoo (such as the one by Pantene) to strip all the build up off your hair that may be weighing it down. Do this once a month.

2)Use a spray in detangler or very leightweight spray-in conditioner that says its for body building/volume. The creamy ones that you put in then wash out are heavier on your hair. Do NOT spray the conditioner on your scalp area/roots, just the area that would be in your pony tail and below.

3) Use a root volumizer. Rub it in, then style as usual. Herbal Essence makes a good one.

4) Blow dry your hair while bending at the waist so your hair is hanging upside down. This will dry the cuticle standing up (for more volume when you are upright), versus flattening it out. You can also put your hair up into a pony tail, then blowdry, let out the ponytail and have great volume.

Good Luck, and let us know if this helps!

[caleymama]

No real advice for you, but I wanted to add that I've read that the volumizing shampoos and conditioners can actually be counterproductive because they coat each strand of hair to make it "fuller" and for some people this results in it being weighted down and blah.

Good luck!

[em_jon98]

I would also suggest layers. I have a bunch of very fine, very straight hair. It doesn't matter what kind of shampoo, conditioner, styling products, blow drying, curlers, etc., I use. I still end up with straight boring hair by midday because the fine strands combined with the weight make everything fall out of it.

A mid length (brushing my shoulders) cut with some longer layers does me a world of good. Most days, I'm wash and wear. I run a brush through it wet out of the shower and finger through it a few times in the car on the way to work. I might brush it at lunch, just to smooth it out a bit, but I pretty much don't touch it the rest of the day. If I want to look exceptionally good for a few hours (if I have a meeting or an important client or something like that) I might take the time to blow dry it so it looks smooth, but the look doesn't last so I usually just don't bother. The layers help it to fall nicely around my face without me working on a style. I won't lie to you and say it looks model perfect, but it looks good enough to make me feel good about myself.

My hairdresser told me that most volumizing shampoos and conditioners can actually make the problem with fine hair worse. They coat the hair shaft, weighing it down. I just use the Costco brand shampoo and a very small amount of a conditioner for normal hair (I put it on while my head is under the shower, so it rinses as I am putting it on) just to keep my hair from being a big tangled mess.

[lukkykatt]

I use the most wonderful stuff called Bumble and Bumble styling creme. It has changed my life :) Ok, maybe exaggerating just a little, but I do love it, so much that I still go to the snooty salon that I left because I couldn't stand the snootiness, just to buy it (they are the only place in town that sells it).

It is great for fine hair. It gives it volume and it also helps to hold a style - something that I have trouble with (maybe because I "style" my hair in like 2 seconds?)

I find that it doesn't matter what shampoo/conditioner I use, as long as I have my B&B. And a little goes a LOOOOONNNNNG way!