Eclectic Hair Type?

Amanitin

So this is a fairly standard "oh em gee first post please save me and my beautiful hair," but I haven't been able to find the answer to my question anywhere else, so hopefully this isn't too redundant.

My problem is this: When it comes to "hair type" if the curls of my hair vary from a slight wave to dense corkscrews according to whether or not the moon is currently waxing or waning (not literally, unfortunately), how do I know if my hair is currently in it's happy, natural state, or some chemical induced please-stop-massacring-me-with-product mutant form?

So I'll wash my hair, hardly dry it at all, and let it air dry for a few hours when I have the time. Hurrah, tight curls! Then I won't shampoo it for a few days (with my shampoo which, after some forum perusing, turned out to be filled with those allegedly oh-so-harmful sulfates), it gradually gets more oily, and my tight curls will transition into what I like to call a Mamie Eisenhower (fairly straight on the top, with a very intense curl at the end). Obviously if I have places to be and give it an aggressively towling, it is a looser, frizzy mess.

I know everyone says a definitive hair type doesn't matter at the end of the day, but is there a general guideline for, "The type of your hair is the state it is in when: X, Y, and Z?" Or rather, if my hair occasionally looks like Cat Stevens' but sometimes Mamie Eisenhower's, would it be healthy to adopt a regimen that put it more consistently into Cat Stevens' territory, or do I just need to roll with the Mamie when it is being served to me?

I suspect transitioning to a sulfrate-free shampoo might add some consistency, but given I go pretty light on the stuff as is, and never feel like my hair is particularly dry, it strikes me as a big "might."

forbee

If your hair forms tight curls at any stage in the process (especially when you first wash/condition/dry your hair), you probably have tight curls. If you didn't have the potential for that, it just wouldn't happen.

I do agree that using products free of silicones and sulfates will lead to consistency.

PRINCETON

The key to using sulfate/sulphate shampoo is only use it when you have residue either on your scalp or in the hair that won't rinse out easily with just water. Also, you can minimize the number of times you use a shampoo containing sulfate down to once a month or bi weekly if you learn about water-soluble chemicals and why it is important to go cone-free aka only use products or conditioners that don't contain dimethicone.

No cones is not a life or death concept but there are several benefits as well as several non-beneficial things about using "silicone" ingredients but the main thing to remember is the one chemical that removes dimethicone is sulphate and that's why I don't use cones. Give me all the other ingredients in shampoo but don't give me:

dimethicone
sodium hydroxide
sulphate, or
mineral oil


You didn't mention whether you even use conditioner after you shampoo but I can guarantee the curls are not at 100% if you are not feeding in some nutrients and even a slight amount of moisture daily.

I don't recommend going more than 48 hours without moisture if you like having curly hair.

PRINCETON

Korkscrew

PRINCETON wrote: »

I don't recommend going more than 48 hours without moisture if you like having curly hair.

PRINCETON

I respectfully disagree. Some people with curly hair suffer hygral fatigue if they over-moisturize their hair (especially if it has high porosity). For example, mine is of medium-high porosity and if I routinely wet it more than every four days or so, it becomes limp and soft (not soft in a good way either). You also need to balance moisturizing conditioners with protein-rich ones.