I have big hair.

[queen_anne78]

DEEP BREATH.

I think I am ready to throw out my shampoos and conditioners....but I don't know what to do next.

I have A LOT of thick, wavy, frizzy hair and my whole life I have used shampoos and conditioners that help with frizz control. I cannot buy anything volumizing otherwise my hair is huge. When people complain about a certain product weighing their hair down, I rush out and get it

What natural products/regimens can you reccomend that aren't too absurdly pricey and that my hair won't look horrible??? Vanity of vanities, I know....but I am worried if I stop using my regular shampoo/conditioner that my hair is going to be taking over the world.

[Spastica]

I had to laugh at your confession of big hair.

I personally love big hair, but you're right, when it frizzes, it's not attractive.

To tame your hair and make it look luscious rather than vicious, try using more moisturizing products, less heat on your hair, and less detergents in your shampoo (you can either use a natural shampoo, or go 'no-poo', which is a homemade hair cleansing solution).

You can check out the links in the first page of this thread (unless you have problems with your no poo recipe, you don't have to read the entire bazillion pages thread):

http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=469624


You can also see my humongous no-poo explanation in the sticky note:

http://www.mothering.com/discussions...=114069&page=5

Hope this helps and good luck!

I've got my natural waves and curls back, whereas I had shampooed it and blow-dried it straight to death and left my hair naturally frizzy and ugly if left to it's own devices. I still have to blow dry my hair because I hate walking around with sopping wet hair, but it looks nice and shiny now and I don't feel compelled to yank it straight anymore. The waves and curls I have now can possibly rival those 'Raphaelite' curls that you see on celebrities, but my hair isn't that long yet (theirs is a weave, those cheaters....), but I'm working on growing my hair out. They have personal stylists and loads of chemical goop products, but I barely use anything at all - same as other women on this forum who have gone 'no-poo'.

[UptownZoo]

I'm right there with ya'! Subbing, because I'd love to use more natural products, too.

Fortunately, I live in the desert. When I visit a humid place, my hair gets bigger and bigger and bigger until about the 4th or 5th day, when it reaches maximum gargantuosity and there's nothing to be done for it except to tie it down with a scarf. Seriously scary.

[queen_anne78]

Originally Posted by UptownZoo

I'm right there with ya'! Subbing, because I'd love to use more natural products, too.

Fortunately, I live in the desert. When I visit a humid place, my hair gets bigger and bigger and bigger until about the 4th or 5th day, when it reaches maximum gargantuosity and there's nothing to be done for it except to tie it down with a scarf. Seriously scary.

lol amen to that. I was born and raised in Alaska...so I had really thick hair but the lack of humidity kept things from getting too wild. Then my fam moved to KY 9 years ago and hel-LO! It's been crazy ever since.

Spastica....wow I bow before your knowledge....thanks!!

[Spastica]

It's weird, but the no-poo thing helps with humidity-based frizzing. You beat it down with conditioners and not letting your hair frizz with the detergents in regular shampoos. I've also noticed that if you try to blow dry your hair straight on humid days, which means more heat, and less moisture on your hair, most of us dry it dry as a bone -- the MORE your hair frizzes. If you partly or mostly dry your hair, and put a cold blast with your blow dryer, it frizzes less. The type of tools you use to work with your hair also make a difference: switch to wiiiiide combs, that look like a huge cartoon comb or something. The finer your combs are (teeth are really close together), the frizzier your hair gets. The wide combs will detangle without ruining the curl pattern or breaking your hair when it's wet. I also like vented brushes for blow drying. Other people like boar's bristles/nylon combos for smoothing down hair. I'm too lazy to use a diffuser on my blow dryer, but a lot of curly-haired people use a diffuser on their blow dryer and that helps their curls too.

There are also lavender essential oil and distilled water sprays you can make to further tame your curls, this helps keep the curls together and not frizz. You can also add honey or brown sugar in your no-poo cleansing solution (or rinse with those only if you don't feel like you need to cleanse), and it further holds your curls like a light hold gel.

[queen_anne78]

Spastica....in your big post in the no-pooing sticky, when you say mix baking soda with a "simple shampoo" what do you mean? Can you reccomend some brands to try?? I feel rather overwhelmed by all the info....plus my hair is weird...it's coarse and wavy in the back, but the front, near my face is straight and pretty smooth.

[JosephsMum]

Have you ever tried black soap or liquid black soap or a shampoo with black soap in it? It works really well for dry hair and skin. I use it for all of our family. It should helps curls stay in rather than become frizzy.

Try this company: http://shop.agbangakarite.com/category.sc?categoryId=3

They also have another website where they sell a condtioning shampoo with black soap in it.

Best wishes,

JM