Toughest lesson in haircare? Possibly the sad fact that sometimes, when you find (totally by chance) your perfect shampoo that allows for the almost once a week washing that you've been used to as a child and provides the right amount of care to keep your hair in the state you like them being in, you can happily use it only for as long as the manufacturer decides to make and sell it. True, I had some fifteen happy years with that shampoo. But now it's been gone forever for almost five years and my hair is sad.
I had the same experience. Plus I have many scent allergies. It took me years and quite a bit of money to experiment with the expensive horrible shampoos that were scent free. I finally found a shampoo bar that worked for my hair, scalp and nose
This is my experience ( though I wash my waist length hair twice a week). Manufacturers keep discontinuing the simple inexpensive shampoos that work for my thick, not too oily, not too dry hair, and replacing them with more expensive "nourishing" or "volumising" or "clarifying" shampoos.
This, hands down. I had one shampoo that worked absolute wonders for my mixed type hair with seborrhoeic dermatitis sprinkled in for a good measure, but they have stopped selling it somewhere soon after the main waves of COVID came to an end. I have not managed to find a shampoo that works right for me ever since, and am honestly this close to just trying to recreate the recipe from a saved photo of the ingredients...
This seems to be cycling faster and faster now, too! Even established brands are rotating out old formulas to keep up with the latest fads only to have to replace *those* in like 6 months 😢
My biggest haircare lesson of the past few years was learning to keep it under a hat when I'm in the sun. I go outside a lot and it was getting bleached and fragile from sun exposure. Historical hats and bonnets were also functional haircare, turns out.
I use the historically inspired hair care called “I have chronic fatigue yet having long hair is the only way to keep my sanity“. It consists of constantly wearing my hair in braids, never washing it and brushing it every day or two. Surprisingly it’s less uncomfortable than you‘d expect!
fellow CFS spoonie here. I wear the scrunchie ponytail daily and washing depends on energy levels, but mine gets itchy at the end of 3 days. Styles best on days 2 and 3, though! I have "river otter just climbed onto the bank hair", shiny but drippy-flat and fine. I miss having braiding energy, especially when travelling.
I was in my teens and early twenties when fantasy media featuring women with butt length hair and braids thicker than my arm was all the rage. As someone with very fine and thin hair, it definitely gave me a bit of a complex, especially when all of the hair influencers who had won the genetic hair lottery kept on telling me that it was because I wasn't taking care of my hair correctly. If I don't wash my hair for two days, I can plaster it to my scalp with its own grease. No, it does not magically self adjust if I wash it less frequently. Anyways, I think one of the best messages I ever heard from someone who did hairstyles on TH-cam was that women frequently used hair pieces to achieve historical hairstyles and that women with really long and full hair were just as much the exception then as now.
When I had hip length hair, I learned from the long hair community online how to use a natural bristle brush and braid my hair at night so it wouldn't get too tangled. One notable thing about that method is that it tends to remove natural curliness for many hair types. The long defined-curls look relies on getting the hair wet regularly and not brushing it afterwards. I missed having hair volume around my face.
That’s what I didn’t like too! My hair’s thick so I also had to section my hair to brush it with a bristle brush. Now I have a plastic detangling brush that can brush all my hair without sectioning and it’s easier to clean than a bristle brush. It doesn’t redistribute the oils but I don’t mind, I just use an oil on my ends more often
Might be worth seeing if you can comb, then get the curls/waves to come back by getting your hair only minimally wet. I can usually get a reasonable amount of curl back into mine by running water on my hands, and then gently scrunching my hair with my hands as wet as possible. It doesn't get too wet, no need for towels, and fine to leave the house immediately unless it's really cold. In summer I'm happy to let my hair get soaked when I shower for the cooling - wearing it wet to high school was how I learned I have curly hair. A friend saw it and asked why on earth I wore it so sad and fluffy all the time - when it's CURLY and gorgeous! As you noted, combing it when it's wet, or brushing, erases the curls and leaves you with fluffy hair. Braiding it wet after combing will also put some waves back into it, but I don't happen to like the look, or the logistics as much.
I tried historical hair care promoted by an influencer and my hair started falling out. I have super fine hair and I have come to the conclusion I need to wash my hair with a clarifying shampoo every other day. My hair can’t tolerate any oil added to it or dry shampoo. Any build up causes damage!
Same. I have fine hair and need to wash it every day or else my scalp gets SOO itchy and greasy. No amount of training can be done to it, because I have seborrheic dermatitis, and letting it get greasy for days on end would literally make me feel like there's a fire on my head. I do suppose however, that covering my hair with a linen scarf and braiding it away from my face could allow me to go 2 days instead of one without washing, but I'm not sure that would really make my hair grow healthier or faster, as it grows very fast even without that, and is shiny and healthy. If you're looking for an oil that aborbs well into fine hair, I would suggest "Argan Oil of Morocco" by the brand OGX. The oil comes in a spray form that you apply while your hair is damp. I suggest you wait 15-20 minutes after applying before blow drying your hair (or let it air dry, up to you). I use this oil sparingly, it's cheap, and it works wonders. Glad someone like you understands my struggles! 😅
I think a big part of this conversation is the frustration people feel about their hair, wandering around in the dark trying to find their perfect regimen, bumping into a bunch of random stuff along the way
Fun note: seeing this video pop up reminded me that I needed to "wash" my hair, ie apply my custom hair powder (which I mixed together after researching several different commercial hair powders and dry shampoos specifc for redheads and then made my own) because it's something I can do while already dressed since it's the middle of the week and my hair is too long to take less than an hour in the shower with a full washing and conditioning cycle. And yeah, my biggest haircare lesson was twofold: one, that I really didn't need to wash my hair with that full cycle more than once a month if I'm using the hair powder and the wooden combs and boar bristle brush the rest of the month, and two, buying the ingredients to those hair powders (arrowroot flour, ashwagandha powder, guarana powder, cocoa powder, cornstarch, and Indian red clay) to mix up my own custom blend in a big glass jar that lasts two years was a lot more cost effective than spending $30 on a small jar on Amazon that would only last a month before I have to buy more. My hair is a lot stronger and softer now than it was with the "wash daily for oily hair" routine that was pushed on me as a kid. 😂
The "exotic ingredients" angle gets interesting when they're African origin and markted to Black diaspora. Madam CJ Walker promoted her hair growing formula as something she got in a dream, and containing African ingredients. A more recent brand, Shea Moisture, uses a similar marketing and product tactic, only inspired by a trip to Africa. I think the idea is the ingredients are supposed to both be exotic and nostalgia inducing.
I think their sales tactic was less exoticism and more returning to/ embracing ethnic roots. They were catering to people who were neglected when it came to readily available products on the basis of race.
Where I live we have yearly shutdowns of central hot water supply for 2 to 3 weeks. Usually people get around by labourously heating pots of water and washing hair in basins (like, flatter bowls for washing stuff?). I used to do it too but as I have relatively long hair (around my waist long, never grew longer) doing it really becomes a chore. So, a few years back I stumbled upon your video about hair routine and maybe some similar from Abby Cox - and I decided to try out meticulous brushing, constant braiding and and covering at the very least the top of my head with bandana. The no-hot-water period was upon and I started the experiment. It worked perfectly! I didn't had any fancy occasions during that time, but otherwise my hair looked very good. I washed it once or twice during that time as far as I can remember - and it was enough to look and feel good. Since than I've doing brushing and headcovering for every summer (headcover also helps against heat stroke). I believe once I went through the whole no-hot-water period without washing my hair and my hair was fine! Yeah, it's completely personal how to care for your hair (I, for example, found my perfect shampoo and conditioner combo and keep using it) and adding some historical or foreign practices just can help greatly! So, thanks for your original video, SnappyDragon!
I brush every day with a modern hair brush, multiple times a day. I wash once a fortnight. I oil my hair as it needs it, plus extremely oil it the night before wash day, then use a purple shampoo and a regular conditioner on wash day. Then i use a heat protector and leave in conditioner and blow dry. I wear it in an English braid and protect with headscarves. I also work manual labour as a luthier, basically I make and play violins, violas, cellos and basses.
This made me laugh so hard, in a recognise this so hard good way. 🙂 I've got the curls, out a ruler straight hair family. Been through years of my mum trying to treat it the same as hers, the no-poo method when little kid me rebelled (itchy scalp and all), and daft exoticism of her shoving afro care products at me. Thank god I got sent to my Nanna's to a wee while, because her hair was dead short mum forgot it's curly. Fixed at sorted from looking like sheep dragged backwards through a hedge to ringles in 2 goes. (Still probably wasn't brilliant, but was first time I ever loved my hair). Sometimes family knowledge is this missing step.
@@vickymc9695 I had a similar experience, though my mother’s hair is very curly. She’s spent her whole life trying to brush/iron/bend it straight. It would look great (natural curls) when she came out of a salon, but would immediately brush it out when she got home. She even bought a diffuser, then proceeded to use the spacer nubs to rake through her hair while blow drying. It literally took me until my 40s and a whole lot of very generous Black women on TH-cam to learn how to care for my 3C curls. I’m forever grateful for them for sharing knowledge that my family just never developed. ❤️
My daughter has her hair to mid thigh, she never had a real haircut, I cut the ends maybe once a year, when the ends get too scraggly. I brush and braid her hair every day, no way I would let her go to school with loose hair that long, and she also sleeps with a braid. She just started to wash her hair with shampoo a few months back. She does it maybe once every 2-3 weeks, she is 11 years old. Before that water in the shower and brushing was enough with a no-poo washing every 2-3 months. Teenage hormones made her hair more oily. Not the same thing will work for the same person depending on the period of life you are in so you have to adapt your methods to that too.
When I let it grow long, I have very curly, but very dry, hair. In the past I've tried so many routines to "manage" it, trying to find the magic that would give me a style that I was satisfied with, but wouldn't take a significant part of my day. What I've learned is that my favorite style is the near pixie cut of my photo, occasionally colored, washed with an inexpensive baby shampoo a couple of times a week, combed, and allowed to air dry. No products. No heat. If needed, I'll spritz it with a little water before running my brush through it. I love the look of long hair on others, just not on me!
I learned the hard way after a move that solid shampoo bars (or at least the ones I used to get) and hard water do *not* mix. I went two months wondering why my hair was getting more and more grungy despite changing nothing about my routine, until it was literally matted so solid I couldn't brush it. Then I "gave up" (taking care of yourself is *never* a bad thing, but it's how my brain framed it at the time) and bought a more acidic clarifying shampoo, and that plus a couple of hours of brushing fixed the issue literally overnight.
Yup, same. The hard water buildup makes my curly hair look absolutely fried after a while (even worse with solid shampoos) and I had somehow forgotten that I need a good clarifying/chelating shampoo to keep those locks bouncy for, like, a year! Literally took one wash (I put the shampoo on dry hair as a mask for a bit before showering) for the horrible matted looking non-curling clumps to go back to their normal curl pattern.
My biggest aha-moment was in your haircare video when you talked about how brushing/combing distributes the oils throughout the hair, making it look less oily (which you again mentioned here). I had long wanted to get away from having to wash my hair every 2-3 days and this is what finally did it! Regular brushing, and dry shampoo after 4 days or so. I still use modern products but OMG my hair *loves* not being washed so much ❤
I use a combination of modern and historical hair care methods. I’d already been stretching out my time between hair washes for 8 years when I watched the PrettyShepherd’s video about how she washes her hair once a month. And then I started doing that and pretty soon I was stumbling upon all sorts of historical hair care videos and I started incorporating some of the things that fit my hair care needs.
I concur on that frustration with difficulty in doing braided styles with layered hair.... However, with shorter hair I can wear it down more.... I just need to find more ways to do the updos with this new hair of mine!
Thanks for another cool video, Vi! Perhaps it's because I am a senior now, but I noticed that the only thing you didn't talk about was the fact that your hair care needs can change as you grow older. I have baby-fine hair but have always had a lot of it. It's also wavy in a time when straight is the 'thing' to be. I finally embraced the way my hair is in my thirties. However, as I've started to age, it became more and more clear that the ways of caring for my hair as well as the styles themselves had to change, or I'd lose it all! I appreciate your many videos of hair care, both historical and modern methods, as you try to help your viewers attain their dreams of perfect hair. They've helped me more than you know. But the truth is, there is no such thing! We are human and women, so we will play and experiment with it until we no longer can. I no longer wash mine every day or have long hair because I want to have healthy hair. I've finally found a style I can live with too. It is possible to look in the mirror and be happy! Thanks for helping me get there! 😊
about the only historical-adjacent thing I've bonded with is sewing it up with ribbons. it spreads the weight of long, thick hair that I want up in hot weather/on the dancefloor. it's much more comfortable, even if I'm doing it in what looks like a modern bun. doing actual historical haircare feels like a lot more work. either you've got to take on a whole alien-to-us system of haircare OR you'll need to experiment a hell of a lot to build a personal hybrid routine
I honestly just use Jamaican black castor oil. I use a wooden comb to scratch some of the sebum off my scalp, brushes to get more sebum off, and just leave my hair in braids for a week or two. I don’t really wash my hair often, maybe once every few months.
My hair is mid-back and thick/dry/3B. I work in a MIG welding factory. It would be neat to learn how women in factories in the 18th century kept their hair nice.
I’m learning how to do good things for my curly hair. It’s a journey. My hair is fine, thick, and very elastic so the curl pulls out when I comb it. Things that work for a lot of other people do not work for me. But I’m doing better now than I was last year or the year before, or ten years ago. I’ll take it.
Things that work well for my hair are: using an old-fashioned (and old!) bristle brush, gently, and being sure to brush my scalp as well; washing as infrequently as I can get away with (luckily I don’t have greasy hair); and wearing it braided most of the time. I just wish it hadn’t got thinner as I aged!
I use a minimum of modern product (shampoo, conditioner worked in well, light gel). I wash every two weeks, dry halfway in a wrap (or with a '70s helmet-style dryer when I need it done quickly) and I rarely brush it. I detangle with my fingers. It works for me and it's so much less expensive than using all the recommended products every day.
I've been going to a hairdressing school weekly for perhaps 3 years (and was having my hair done by apprentices for a good 10-15 years prior to that). I go every week except during term breaks/school holidays, and each week, a student will practice washing & setting my hair. My starting point is usually a photo of Elizabeth Taylor in the 50s. During term breaks, I try to set my own hair, and sometimes it comes out looking ok. Every 6 weeks or so, apprentices practise scalp bleaching and colouring my hair as it's all purple now. I go once a year or so, usually in winter, to my old salon to get a qualified hairdresser to trim my hair. This way, by summer, it's long enough again to easily put up in a bun or french braids.
As someone going through menopause, trying to understand how my hair changes is crazy, like it is suddenly developing a wave. I have come to realize part of always having flyaway static hair is it is super dry, my needs are definitely different to others hair care.
I discovered that my super fine, thinning hair really like being combed out and braided, especially for sleeping. Also that it seems to have an unlimited appetite for protein, and doesn't care for soap or detergent. So now it stays mostly braided, gets combed and brushed out regularly, and gets washed every 7-9 days with a homemade clay and egg wash of my own concocting. It's very happy with this arrangement, and has gotten significantly fuller (I'm not sunburning my scalp anymore.), and longer - at least 3-4" longer than I've ever managed to grow it before. And since I love fancy braiding, I'm pretty happy too!
Learning that I could use corn starch instead of dry shampoo was a game-changer for me. And learning about protective hair styling for white people was definitely a game-changer for my mom, but it worked TOO well and she stopped being able to take care of her hair because it became too long and too full for her because it stopped thinning out through breakage.
@_oaktree_ SnappyDragon actually did a video about it! Historically there were a lot of ways Europeans styled their hair to protect it. Most of it comes down to braids, knots, and covering, but honestly leaving it there is like someone asking about afro-texture protective styling and someone saying "just braid it." Styles utilized things like hair taping (Morgan Donner did a video about that a while ago as well) and hair sticks. A common method for knots is literally just tying your hair in a knot and securing it with a hair stick which keeps most of the hair protected on the inside of the knot and distributes the weight more evenly across the many strands. Hair taping does something similar by braiding and then essentially using cords or ribbons and a tapestry needle to sew the braids the way you want them to lay on your head so the weight of the hair isn't pulling down all day. Stuff like that.
Boy Pajama V is on a roll today! 😂😂 maybe you should throw a pillow at her.😉😂😂 So a little over a year ago my daughter watched a video on victorian hair oiling and wanted to try it out. I have to admit as someone who has always had bad hair, always breaking and stubbornly straight and always frizzy, all the pictures of the gorgeous long locks was pretty enticing. Still I went into this experiment with her seriously doubting it would do any good. So down the rabbit hole we went and did our due diligence in researching oils and their properties. Since I had already started making soap at this point it gave me a good idea of what to look for. It lead to some interesting cultural research too. Specifically things like black women oiling their hair with castor oil. Very cool I didn't know that. Not too many black ladies that I know that have don't have their hair relaxed and straightened for them. Never occurred to me to ask them about their hair since I had vastly different hair. I have a dear friend who was more than happy to tell me about her weekly hair oiling routine for her and her little girl. I dove deeper since this was a homeschool project and after finding various recipes and other things we finally settled on trying out a ayuvedic hairl oil recipe we wanted to try. Since I was starting to get back into herbology I figured we would give it a go together. As the year went on and I studied more I added certain oils and adding light weight oils to my tips. Together we did our weekly oiling routine and after about 3 months I started noticing my hair was different. It was no longer stubbornly straight frizzy and everywhere with no hope of keeping it tamed outside of a bun or French braid. Even those couldn't keep my hair tamed. My hair became softer and more manageable. I didn't skip the shampooing but I did add in a conditioner. After shampooing all that oil out of my hair, it needed the conditioner. My hair has also developed a soft wave and feels softer. I started measuring my hair length at the end of the summer as my hair has felt longer and my husband noticing that it looked longer. I have since grown about 6 inches in length and my braids have become noticeably thicker. What started out as a fun homeschool experiment, turn into part of my hair routine. But I have to say when it's 115 out having oil in your hair feels gross and you look forward to washing it out. I can honestly say that o learned a lot about haircare since. I think I missed your viking hair video so I think I'm going to watch that video next. I'm sure to learn something new about my hair. 😉
When i was growing up people were telling me washing my hair was bad for it and i should do it as rarely as possible, so i washed it once a week. This was terrible for my hair and i was never happy with it until i started gradually washing it more frequently in my 20s. Now i rinse it with water every day and shampoo every other day, and comb and blow dry. No other products. Works great for me!
I appreciate the discussion on getting pulled in by marketing, starting at 8:36; it's always important to be aware of how easy it is to believe bullshit simply because a familiar face is repeating it, and now with AI flooding the zone, it's requires more effort to fact check things--but we absolutely must be on our guards, and put forth that effort. /tangential rant
braids. single braid, single braid pinned up, or braided pigtails (soooooo much easier to brush). I wash my hair once or twice a week. When I blow dry, I keep it on cool and focus on my scalp, only squeezing the ends with a towel and letting it air dry. Trying to find a comb I like, considering covering it edited to add: biggest hair care lesson I learned was not to bleach my hair twice in one day. ow. that hurt!!!
Something that has really surprised me over the years (I'm 51, fwiw) is how much my hair has changed as I've gone through different periods of my life. Shockingly curly when I was pregnant, straighter and finer now that I'm older, etc. Products and styles and even tools change as my hair has changed.
I have made a lot of interesting discoveries as of late. Probably the biggest is that you don't need a brush or a comb to detangle your hair. Finger detangling takes longer, but it's more cathartic and gentler on your hair. This works well for me as a busy person who was frustrated by always keeping a brush in my bag. I can use my frickin' fingers! Also, that there is a difference between hair growth and hair retention
Biggest thing I've learned about my haircare was about my hair becoming curly after menopause. I tried all sorts of products, talked to a lot of folks with curly hair about how to take care of it and I finally figured out that how I've always had my hair in front (brushed straight back until dry) is still how I want it. I let the back go curly crazy, but cannot stand it curling around my face. So sticking with how I've always done my hair still works for me.
I use a combination of modern and historical hair care methods. I’d been stretching out my hair washing time for 8 years when I watched the PrettyShepherd’s video about how she washes her hair once a month. And then I started doing that and pretty soon I was stumbling upon all sorts of historical hair care videos and I started incorporating some of the things that fit my hair care needs.
My hair is long and wavy/curly (humidity makes a difference), but also very fine and thin. My scalp has become visible in the last few years, thanks to menopause and PCOS. I cover it because I'm an Orthodox Jewish married woman, which I did for decades before it got this bad. I currently wash my hair once a week with modern shampoo, followed by conditioner, and a lightweight leave-in conditioner for curly hair. I let it air dry, occasionally scrunching and shaking it. I also sleep on a satin pillowcase. The satin pillowcase keeps the tangles down, but otherwise, I really haven't seen any change in the curls. They exist however they choose. Not washing my hair does make my shower routine much faster, though. Good for work nights. :)
I started growing my hair since I want to see it at its longest before my health and meds ruin it, so I really like protective techniques a freaking lot.
I started using bar of shampoo from a lady who home makes them. She does SCA and had a class on how to make your own soap. My hair is fine and thin, gets oily quick. The bar of shampoo has worked so well for me thus far. The only problem I have is growth. My hair grows as slow as a snail. Have not found a method to help grow it faster, but I am learning to live with what I have.
My most notable self awareness moments were when I realized that I needed to "clean off"/groom my scalp more often, and that it helps my hair if I either protect it from dust & debris in the environment, or, rinse it out regularly (both came from the points you addressed in your no wash for a month video)
I for sure find that my hair stays long and more healthy when I end up wearing my hair in my helmet at competition. I also get really really lazy and just don’t spend much time washing it with more than just water until I am done since I am just going to wear it up and it is easier to keep it neat if it has a little bit of natural oils etc. But really when people always ask me how I grow my hair so long I just answer “ I don’t cut it?” It is that simple for me. I just let it grow and maybe trim it when the ends look like they need it. If my hair isn’t up, I try to wear it in a braid so it is less tangled.
My biggest moment of self-knowledge caveat a fairly. early age: I was in Middle School when the whole French Braid fad was all the rage. I bought into it with a passion. Two problems, though: 1. I have curly, frizz-prone hair, so to make it easier to French braid it required blow-drying it straight, and braiding it tight. Which leads us to problem 2. I suffer from migraine headaches. Those super tight braids may have been stylish, but they triggered the migraines like nobody's business. I gave up on the tight French braids pretty quickly. Just the memory is painful. My biggest self-care these days is shampooing just the roots and scalp of my hair as needed (maybe once a week), and using a good conditioner on the rest of my hair. Depending on the weather and my hair's needs, I will use different products on my hair to style it. Sometimes I will style it straight, sometimes I will just let it curl. And I love my long, beautiful, feminine, wavy, sometimes slightly frizzy hair.
My hair used to be long, straight, oily and highly resistant to curling of any kind. Mom tried home perms on me a couple of times, but it was gone by the second washing. I suffered as one of the few teenage girls in the early 90's that didn't have that "satellite dish" hairstyle 😂 Then I hit 30 something. It switched from oily to dry. I stopped washing it my usual once a week because it makes it even more brittle. I'm sure it's also affected by my current local water supply. I currently use the comb twice a day method. Also: got an ad for dermaplaining, whatever that is...
I have VERY LONG hair(past my bum) and it takes so so so long to dry so I started looking in to dry cleansing methods for my winter hair care because it is too cold to have wet hair. Thank you for the amazing vids
My biggest thing has been finger combing instead of using a brush and sleeping with it tied up/in a bonnet. I have fine thin hair with a big loose wave to it. Gotta protect it where I can so it stays on my head as long as possible! I also went from washing every day to every other day. If I go more than 2 days I look like a wet rat and my scalp is unhappy.
I wash my hair once a week and keep it in braids and buns pretty much all the time. If my scalp gets oily or itchy I do an oil treatment. It's not perfect but it works.
My best learned hair thing is that my own oils work better than anything else. I will never go back. It takes longer with all the combing---but, that in itself is amazing as I was never able to get a comb through my hair previously.
My biggest mistake is both too much and too little washing!! Got thick pin-straight hair. My hair and scalp gets super dry and gross at either end of the spectrum, so the max I can really do is what I do now, roughly every 3-4 days. As I am growing it out, I've been keeping it in a bandana to keep it out of my face and it's helped keep it cleaner/hides when I miss a wash!
I’d be really interested in knowing what your routine is during low periods. Since my low energy routine is to just about give up on hair care, it’d be great to know some practical tips for haircare when raising my arms to my head is excruciating.
Don't know if would help, a gal I knew did French braids by lying down on a bed, with her hair cascading down boyh sides of one corner. (Her body was across/diagonal on the bed. Her head in the corner) You'ld still be raising your arms, but maybe it would be less ?
For me and my dead straight hair, I wash it once a week, shampoo and conditioner, but use a fine spray of argon oil on my boar bristle brush once or twice a week. I brush my hair every day and use a wooden comb to help control the frizz from brushing my hair. It works and keeps my hair from feeling greasy and dirty!
I use a mix of historical and modern hair care. I have fairly curly hair, but since I'm trying to grow it out to see just how long my hair can get (currently just past my butt!), my hair is heavy enough to mess up my curl pattern. So I wear it up all the time, usually in a milkmaid/braided crown style, since it's fast, looks nice, and doesn't cause headaches from the weight of my hair pressing the pins into my scalp. My scalp tends to be quite dry, so I only need to wash about every week to week and a half, using a double-sided wooden comb and ligntly oiling the ends most days, but when I wash, that's when I go modern. I double shampoo, brush the conditioner through, and finish off with a leave-in conditioner with uv protection (among other benefits). I also go over my ends pretty regularly and trim any split ends that I catch.
thank you for this!! my hair type looks a lot like yours--long, thick, curly, color-treated. i recently saw videos by a historical sewist extoling the virtues of washing with clay for growing the hair very long (waist-length? hip-length?)...but there was so much extraneous talking that i just didn't have the patience to watch the whole video. have you ever tried clay-washing? if not, would you consider researching and trying it, maybe for a month, for a video? (edit: i want dramatically longer hair, but i have malassezia and am looking for a simpler weekly routine with less washing but also less oily itchy scalp with the hair itself being dry!)
I learned that as handy as dry shampoo is, I can't use it without experiencing itching, particularly around my eyes, even though I was careful to keep the spray in my hair and not in my face. I do better with regular brushing and washing my hair a couple times a week. I also leave it braided most of the time. I like the way it looks loose, but my hair is hip-length at this point, and it's just too inconvenient down.
Realistic expectations are key. I have fine, slow growing hair. I wanted thick, long, shiny waves for my wedding. So I did the realistic thing and got extensions.
Toughest haircare lesson. Combing my curly hair is good for my scalp. With a wide tooth comb and good gel and day two products I can keep modern curls for a least a few days. And with my u shaped cut after the first few days a good combing and brushing gives me vintage waves
My biggest hair care lesson was learning the curly girl method and then letting go of about half of it. I had smooth wavy hair as a child but it turned thick and frizzy as a young teen. My mom had straight hair and had no idea what to do with it (other than make me brush it and not believe that I did because it looked worse) The curly girl method was the first time I truly learned how to appreciate and style my curly hair and not just straighten it. I did later learn that it’s not all or nothing and that if no - poo activates my dandruff then I need sulfates.
Hair-related funny thing from kids: One of my sewing students has met my daughter and asked me why I had long hair but my daughter has short hair. I said because we both like it those respective ways, then asked if she had the same hairstyle as her mom. She blinked and went, "Oh."
Keeping my hair pinned up and covered the majority of the time has definitly made it lengthen more quickly with a lot less damage (it's now almost thigh length and very healthy)
I've learned how my hair and scalp are happiest in a desert, but if I ever move somewhere with humidity I'll have to completely relearn my hair! The fact that my desert routine is extremely low maintenance, which works with my disabilities, means that I can have fingertip length hair, but I'm pretty sure I would have to cut it shorter if I lived elsewhere.
I needed this video years ago, because it took me a long time on my own to come to the same conclusions. As someone with a long beard I've become frustrated with reading arcticles about ancient hair care only for it really to be an ad for the author's beard care line which was not directed related to the ancient hair care (such as an article about Ancient Greek beard care and a beard oil with a jojoba oil base, an oil unavailable to the Ancient Greeks). And then when I did the research and would use actual products and techniques and it still not work... because I used modern dyes and had a modern diet with modern water, modern issues like air pollution and air conditioning and global warming, and I live in a land very far away from Greece (or Scandinavia, or Babylon, or India, or Persia). I do find benefit from some things but also had to adapt it to myself while also realizing my goals were likely different in some ways not only to ancient people but even to modern day people with beards.
One thing that I hear gets touted often is "the longer your hair gets, the less you have to wash it." HA! The amount of sebum my scalp produces has not changed since my hair is now down to my lower back. I still have to wash it fairly frequently. I will say dry shampoo (home made and commercial) has helped me artificially extend periods between washing. The only truly helpful advice I've found were 1) Find out if your home has hard or soft water, and B) See if you have low, medium or high porosity hair.
I didn't cut my hair off before I had chemo. When some people have chemo, all their hair falls out, I only lost most of mine. My hair is very fine and I'd grown it to about 12 to 15 inches long. When it's that long, it tends to have a distinct curl towards the ends. Unlike some people who end up with "the pillow looking like a German Shepherd slept on it" with their chemo hair loss (it all falls out at the one time), a lot of my dropped hairs slid down so that the curly ends got caught on the curly ends that were still attached to my scalp and I'd end up with Gordian knots. In the end I gave up and got a buzz cut (at no. 6 or about 3/4 of an inch long). My hair is so fine that the cutter pushed some of the hair out the way, rather than catching it and cutting it, and so the hairdresser had to deal with some of it with scissors. I am somewhat surprised that the regrowth is coloured (I'm elderly and most of my hair was white before chemo, although I dyed it) and not nearly as curly as I expected. I still don't have anything resembling a full head of hair.
When I was a kid, I had LONG hair & a very impatient mother. Her way of dealing with hair was ripping tangles out in clumps. So, I took on my own hair care at an early age. However, my mother - being CONSERVATIVE - basically thought the only styles that were permissable were pony tail, braid, or bun. Now, when I was younger (I'm 62), the hair ties were pretty damaging ! And my mother thought loose hair made me look like a prostitute!!!! (Of course, she never said the word. She just left a silence, not hard to guess by context ! ) Also had my mother talked me into a perm in high school, so I looked a bit like a cocker spaniel ! Plus, the STENCH of the perm made me extremely leary of dumping chemicals on my head ! (You scalp is skin & is an organ!) Moved out at 17 and started learning about my hair without all the toxic shaming. I found that my hair was much wavier and healthier without blow drying it, and I started wearing it loose more often. I enjoyed my hair more, and it was a lot healthier ! I did notice I needed to wash my hair a lot less as I got older. I enjoy hearing about hair care from the past.
My biggest hair lesson? My hair HATES silicone, after I went silicone free, my hair got curlier (a lot like V's), thicker, and less frizzy. However, no poo is not for me, I wash every every 4 to 7 days, usually use a sulfate-free shampoo, however, occasionally I'll use a clarifying shampoo with sulfates. That's been my routine for 6 or 7 years, but now that my grays are coming in my hair texture is changing and I need to use more products and add moisture, and I shortened up to a shoulder length layered bob. Bonus on that one: My hair is even curlier now! Still more exploring needed on the ideal routine for my *NEW* hair... IT'S A JOURNEY.....
Hair care recepies from my grandmother: Brush your hair well every day (100 slow strokes recommended) and use a natural cow or buffalo horn comb or an animal bristle brush (boar, goat or badger). Wash hair before the weekend and use a pot of chamomile tea with la squirt of lemon juice to rinse. Eat well, sleep well. Get enough vitamin D by getting enough light and good oils. Eat eggs and dairy only from free-range animals, they need sun, to produce vitamin D, too. For minerals, eat millet.
I have very fine, thin hair and at times I’m still trying to find things that work for me. One major thing that has improved my hair is only washing it twice a week and the fact that all our water is filtered straight from the faucets in the house. I’m so worried my hair isn’t going to be as healthy when I find my own place and they have unfiltered water 😢
I wash my hair every two weeks with "gentle" products, and yes, my hair is becoming oily. Probably a bit like in the past. With combing every day (twice a day if I have enough energy) it's fine: it looks reasonably clean, it does not itch..., but it looks "oilier" than what modern hair is supposed to look like. But since I wear my hair most of the time braided or in a bun for work or everyday life (like women have been doing in the past to go to work...), it's fine. Oily hair works perfect with these hair styles (I have the impression that the oil protects my hair when braided). It looks a bit silly when I get my hair loose at the end of the 2 weeks period, but it's fine. You just have to keep in mind the context: historical haircare was for *their* context, and you have to understand it if you want to apply then today (what I partially do, in my own way).
I tried all historical hair care for two years and it damaged my hair even more. What I learned afterwards, is that my hair is slighty porous, though it's very curly. Because of the curls I always thought it's high porous and added a lot of rich oils and exactly that was the problem. Now I'm back to washing once a week with a sensitive shampoo and using a light leave-in half of the time and sometimes vinegar rinse. But my curls seem to be better off without adding anything.
I have very thin, straight hair. I used to have so many tangles! But when I started using Rhassoul clay to clean it instead of shampoo, the tangles almost disappeared! I do that and then a rinse of water with a bit of applecider vinegar and a few drops of rosemary essential oil. With modern shampoo I was washing my hair everyday, now I'm able to have a day of no-wash in the middle, which had my weekly number of wash going from 7 to 3, max. 4. When my hair grows longer and I can braid it again, I would like to try 2/3 times a week. My biggest lesson is that short hair is not the thing for me, if I want to keep my hair healthy and don't want to wash it too often (and that my grandma was right doing the water and vinegar rinse to my hair when I was a child and had extra long hair)
My biggest haiir care lesson was that I can't/shouldn't use heated hair care items on my hair. They either break my hair off (curling irons) or don't really shorten waiting times (hair dryers - it took a professional stylist 2 1/2 hours to dry my hair with a salon/professional hand dryer (I watched the clock) - I told him not to, but he smirked and "he knew best".). If I let my hair air dry it'll take about 5 hours for it to fully dry, but I can be surface (visibly) dry in an hour. Another one was that using shampoo for oily hair causes me to need to wash my hair every 2 days (I have an oily scalp), but using normal hair shampoo makes my scalp happy and I can space out washing my hair to once a week.
Biggest hair care lesson: Not brushing or combing my hair. Ever. Have not done it in years and it just works. Combing destroys the structure of my curls and this structure keeps my very fine fluffy hair from tangling. Washing my hair and then conditioning is enough detangling for me usually.
I actually powder my hair. I will say that if I were to repowder my hair everyday, it would be very expensive, as I'm sure it would've been in the past. I bathe everyday, though I would only shampoo it on the weekends, because that washes out all the natural oils, which gets rid of its shape. I usually only put one layer of powder on after the pomade, which keeps my hair looking mostly natural with it combed in, though I'll sometimes go fully grey if I'm feeling adventurous. Sometimes I'll wear a head covering to avoid my hair getting wet in the bath. I can keep a powdering in for about three days that way before it starts to fade. I keep doing this because I love the effect and feel, but I've had to change several elements of my routine to accomodate it.
My hair's biggest enemy turned out to be shampoo. I can still dye it without it getting more damaged than every other day washings used to damage it. I haven't trimmed in six months and I can count my split ends, where when I used to use shampoo, I was itchy, flaky and had split ends despite trims every other month. I wash only with water (scalp massage under the shower), and yeah I was pretty gross for the first month or so after I stopped using shampoo but eventually my scalp DID catch on to the idea that I was no longer stripping out all the natural oils, I could go a month without wetting my hair and nobody but me would know. And I specifically cut my hair so it stays in a braid but also falls nicely (wavy hair hides a multitude of sin). And I only unbraid and brush it a couple times a week. Stopping shampoo was the best thing I ever did for my hair. It is about six inches longer than it ever used to get. My hair isn't very thick though so the tail of my braid is pretty thin, so I'm planning to create some hairpieces out of my own hair (that I save out of my hairbrush and will be scouring like a fleece) for when I feel like doing a historical hairstyle that requires more hair than is on my head.
What’s worked the best for me is Dove bar as a bar shampoo weekly. My hair used to tangle so terribly when I used a modern liquid shampoo. I have low porosity straight hair that not chemically treated in any way.
I’m still learning and readjusting my routine to suit what works best for me. I’m getting older and getting more white hair which has a different texture to what it once was. In addition to that, I have the complications of fibromyalgia and its friends Chronic Fatigue syndrome and POTS. This means washing my hair is a super fatiguing ordeal and I can’t hold my arms over my head to blow dry it because I risk passing out due to blood pooling. It also means my hair is dry and can’t be washed more than once a week. So what I’m trying right now is combing it daily with a wooden comb (when I remember), pinning it up out of the way, using a leave in conditioner every few days, then applying conditioner and leaving it under a cap for 2-3 hours before I wash and condition with purple hair care products (washing every two weeks). Towel dry and more leave in conditioner combed through, then twisted up in a cloth to mostly finish drying. Finish with air drying then style it up and out of the way
I have extremely fine, wavy hair of medium density with a highly variable curl pattern. Techniques for caring for coarse hair, afro-textured hair, really thick hair, naturally straight or chemically-straightened hair, etc., whether historical or up to the second, are probably not going to work for me! What does work is shampooing every 2-3 days, conditioning once a week, and braiding my hair at night. This all helps to minimize dandruff, tangling, and breakage. I use dry shampoo for volume when I want to, it works incredibly well. No amount of wishing I had super thick and very curly hair has made it so - you have to know yourself and accept what you have!
I have very fine hair, washing it more than twice a week strips away all my natural oils and it becomes a fly away mess. Actually every 5 days is about perfect. Also twice daily brushing with a natural bristle brush.
I used to wash my hair every other day with a strong dandruff shampoo.... I limit how often I wash my hair and try to stick to gentler shampoo bars. It has helped my dandruff, but occasionally, I still need to break out the strong stuff.
The biggest thing I've learned is that the best thing I can do for my scalp is the same as the best thing I can do for my skin, joints, and teeth: avoid sugar and simple carbs, and eat lots of fiber, legumes, and veggies.
Six inches of growth in a month seems really incredibly unlikely even with fancy hair growth products, mine only does about two inches of growth a month and it grows pretty fast from what I’ve heard and I don’t really do anything more fancy than shampoo it with the stuff that is either good for the scalp skin and I think it’s either emollient or clarifying or something else but usually not more often than when it starts to get greasy usually once or twice a week for hair care and massaging my scalp with a tangle teezer hair brush or a fine comb to scratch my scalp for exfoliating the skin without breaking my hair strands and combing more often if my scalp gets especially dry or itchy, but finger combing usually works just fine for me to deal with tangles and to style my hair so I need to remind myself to comb my scalp more often if I start to get flaky skin on my scalp. I’ve heard that one inch or half an inch of hair growth is more common for most people.
I was over 30 when I actually learned how to manage my wavy hair properly. Instead of trying to force it to be straight. Lessons I should have already known from... other areas of my life
Question! I have strawberry blonde, shoulder-length, thin hair that is mostly wavy, nigh on curly, but gets much straighter when it gets longer. I also have a decent amount of hair. I have tried no poo and even though the oil production has slowed significantly, the slightest amount of oil makes my hair look greasy. Brushing with a bbb helps a little bit. Is the issue that my hair is thin? Or straight-ish, or lighter colored? My hair feels better, stronger, and is more manageable so I don't want to give this up... but my hair needs some help... heh Edit: I have tried 8 or 9 different methods and the result is the same, both good and bad
Ugh. Hair. My hair used to be straight but keeps getting curlier as I go more and more grey. I've experimented with a lot of products to make it not so frizzy without making it greasy. It's reasonably fine so that's a trick.
I want to get a fine tooth comb to try brushing the oils through my hair on days when my chronic pain is too bad to take a shower but I don't want to be a total grease ball, I have very fine hair that can disguise oil well when brushed so I think this might work well for me when I can't shampoo
I don't understand why people are like this about hair. I was no poo for years. Ever since getting a shower filter, I use absolutely nothing on my hair. Other than my hands and pure water. And it works great. All this garbage about your hair care being unique to you is just more keeping up with the Jones nonsense. It's wild. People will do anything to maintain this unhealthy and unnecessary co-dependence on "hair care".
I don't mind if you, or some company, profits from your tips or marketing - as long as you do not cause harm to anyone. I don't think profit is bad. Profit on the expense of others is bad. For example, if people in the atlas mountains cannot afford to eat argan oil any more, just so I can smear argan oil into my hair, that would be bad.
This was more a problem with the industry and my beautician mother than a product: the standard of bullying hair into doing what you want vs working with your hair to do what it can My mother got her hair education in the early 90s when perms and chemical straightening and harsh gel and hairspray were the fashion (with the awful base it had of white, euro-centric, racist beauty standards that she didn't only get at school) so as a girl my wavy📍 hair got the gambit of chemical treatments that did nothing to actually get it in "control" I got into natural hair care in college by joining a forum online, but what it really taught me was that 📍 i don't have wavy hair at all! It's fine stranded and *curly*. Now that i take care of my hair properly, it's big floaty sausage curls that get weighed down hella easy (so no silicone or other 'cone ingredients). Now I'm conditioner only (CO washing) and my hair and scalp are so much happier. I'm even growing it out 😊 (Plus now that i have a beard 🏳️⚧️, i know how to take care of that kind of hair differently and correctly.)
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Toughest lesson in haircare?
Possibly the sad fact that sometimes, when you find (totally by chance) your perfect shampoo that allows for the almost once a week washing that you've been used to as a child and provides the right amount of care to keep your hair in the state you like them being in, you can happily use it only for as long as the manufacturer decides to make and sell it. True, I had some fifteen happy years with that shampoo. But now it's been gone forever for almost five years and my hair is sad.
I had the same experience. Plus I have many scent allergies. It took me years and quite a bit of money to experiment with the expensive horrible shampoos that were scent free. I finally found a shampoo bar that worked for my hair, scalp and nose
This is my experience ( though I wash my waist length hair twice a week). Manufacturers keep discontinuing the simple inexpensive shampoos that work for my thick, not too oily, not too dry hair, and replacing them with more expensive "nourishing" or "volumising" or "clarifying" shampoos.
This, hands down. I had one shampoo that worked absolute wonders for my mixed type hair with seborrhoeic dermatitis sprinkled in for a good measure, but they have stopped selling it somewhere soon after the main waves of COVID came to an end. I have not managed to find a shampoo that works right for me ever since, and am honestly this close to just trying to recreate the recipe from a saved photo of the ingredients...
This seems to be cycling faster and faster now, too! Even established brands are rotating out old formulas to keep up with the latest fads only to have to replace *those* in like 6 months 😢
this is why i started phasing out storebought products and started making my own haircare stuff. can't lose access to something only i make!
My biggest haircare lesson of the past few years was learning to keep it under a hat when I'm in the sun. I go outside a lot and it was getting bleached and fragile from sun exposure. Historical hats and bonnets were also functional haircare, turns out.
I use the historically inspired hair care called “I have chronic fatigue yet having long hair is the only way to keep my sanity“.
It consists of constantly wearing my hair in braids, never washing it and brushing it every day or two.
Surprisingly it’s less uncomfortable than you‘d expect!
_never_ washing it?
Maybe. Depends on the hair and scalp type.
@@marialouise3450 probably a hyperbole
fellow CFS spoonie here. I wear the scrunchie ponytail daily and washing depends on energy levels, but mine gets itchy at the end of 3 days. Styles best on days 2 and 3, though! I have "river otter just climbed onto the bank hair", shiny but drippy-flat and fine. I miss having braiding energy, especially when travelling.
Brushing must definitely be a major component of the that routine.
I was in my teens and early twenties when fantasy media featuring women with butt length hair and braids thicker than my arm was all the rage. As someone with very fine and thin hair, it definitely gave me a bit of a complex, especially when all of the hair influencers who had won the genetic hair lottery kept on telling me that it was because I wasn't taking care of my hair correctly. If I don't wash my hair for two days, I can plaster it to my scalp with its own grease. No, it does not magically self adjust if I wash it less frequently. Anyways, I think one of the best messages I ever heard from someone who did hairstyles on TH-cam was that women frequently used hair pieces to achieve historical hairstyles and that women with really long and full hair were just as much the exception then as now.
When I had hip length hair, I learned from the long hair community online how to use a natural bristle brush and braid my hair at night so it wouldn't get too tangled. One notable thing about that method is that it tends to remove natural curliness for many hair types. The long defined-curls look relies on getting the hair wet regularly and not brushing it afterwards. I missed having hair volume around my face.
That’s what I didn’t like too! My hair’s thick so I also had to section my hair to brush it with a bristle brush. Now I have a plastic detangling brush that can brush all my hair without sectioning and it’s easier to clean than a bristle brush. It doesn’t redistribute the oils but I don’t mind, I just use an oil on my ends more often
🧀 😊
Might be worth seeing if you can comb, then get the curls/waves to come back by getting your hair only minimally wet.
I can usually get a reasonable amount of curl back into mine by running water on my hands, and then gently scrunching my hair with my hands as wet as possible. It doesn't get too wet, no need for towels, and fine to leave the house immediately unless it's really cold.
In summer I'm happy to let my hair get soaked when I shower for the cooling - wearing it wet to high school was how I learned I have curly hair. A friend saw it and asked why on earth I wore it so sad and fluffy all the time - when it's CURLY and gorgeous!
As you noted, combing it when it's wet, or brushing, erases the curls and leaves you with fluffy hair.
Braiding it wet after combing will also put some waves back into it, but I don't happen to like the look, or the logistics as much.
I may have a modern, dyed, straight pixie cut, but i will always get excited when you post a new historical hair video!
@@Sewcial-Anxietea me too!
I tried historical hair care promoted by an influencer and my hair started falling out. I have super fine hair and I have come to the conclusion I need to wash my hair with a clarifying shampoo every other day. My hair can’t tolerate any oil added to it or dry shampoo. Any build up causes damage!
Same. I have fine hair and need to wash it every day or else my scalp gets SOO itchy and greasy. No amount of training can be done to it, because I have seborrheic dermatitis, and letting it get greasy for days on end would literally make me feel like there's a fire on my head.
I do suppose however, that covering my hair with a linen scarf and braiding it away from my face could allow me to go 2 days instead of one without washing, but I'm not sure that would really make my hair grow healthier or faster, as it grows very fast even without that, and is shiny and healthy.
If you're looking for an oil that aborbs well into fine hair, I would suggest "Argan Oil of Morocco" by the brand OGX. The oil comes in a spray form that you apply while your hair is damp. I suggest you wait 15-20 minutes after applying before blow drying your hair (or let it air dry, up to you). I use this oil sparingly, it's cheap, and it works wonders. Glad someone like you understands my struggles! 😅
I think a big part of this conversation is the frustration people feel about their hair, wandering around in the dark trying to find their perfect regimen, bumping into a bunch of random stuff along the way
Fun note: seeing this video pop up reminded me that I needed to "wash" my hair, ie apply my custom hair powder (which I mixed together after researching several different commercial hair powders and dry shampoos specifc for redheads and then made my own) because it's something I can do while already dressed since it's the middle of the week and my hair is too long to take less than an hour in the shower with a full washing and conditioning cycle. And yeah, my biggest haircare lesson was twofold: one, that I really didn't need to wash my hair with that full cycle more than once a month if I'm using the hair powder and the wooden combs and boar bristle brush the rest of the month, and two, buying the ingredients to those hair powders (arrowroot flour, ashwagandha powder, guarana powder, cocoa powder, cornstarch, and Indian red clay) to mix up my own custom blend in a big glass jar that lasts two years was a lot more cost effective than spending $30 on a small jar on Amazon that would only last a month before I have to buy more. My hair is a lot stronger and softer now than it was with the "wash daily for oily hair" routine that was pushed on me as a kid. 😂
The "exotic ingredients" angle gets interesting when they're African origin and markted to Black diaspora. Madam CJ Walker promoted her hair growing formula as something she got in a dream, and containing African ingredients. A more recent brand, Shea Moisture, uses a similar marketing and product tactic, only inspired by a trip to Africa.
I think the idea is the ingredients are supposed to both be exotic and nostalgia inducing.
I think their sales tactic was less exoticism and more returning to/ embracing ethnic roots. They were catering to people who were neglected when it came to readily available products on the basis of race.
The biggest thing i learned was that my 2C hair would not, could not, will never take 3C oils.
Where I live we have yearly shutdowns of central hot water supply for 2 to 3 weeks. Usually people get around by labourously heating pots of water and washing hair in basins (like, flatter bowls for washing stuff?). I used to do it too but as I have relatively long hair (around my waist long, never grew longer) doing it really becomes a chore.
So, a few years back I stumbled upon your video about hair routine and maybe some similar from Abby Cox - and I decided to try out meticulous brushing, constant braiding and and covering at the very least the top of my head with bandana. The no-hot-water period was upon and I started the experiment. It worked perfectly! I didn't had any fancy occasions during that time, but otherwise my hair looked very good. I washed it once or twice during that time as far as I can remember - and it was enough to look and feel good. Since than I've doing brushing and headcovering for every summer (headcover also helps against heat stroke). I believe once I went through the whole no-hot-water period without washing my hair and my hair was fine!
Yeah, it's completely personal how to care for your hair (I, for example, found my perfect shampoo and conditioner combo and keep using it) and adding some historical or foreign practices just can help greatly!
So, thanks for your original video, SnappyDragon!
I brush every day with a modern hair brush, multiple times a day. I wash once a fortnight. I oil my hair as it needs it, plus extremely oil it the night before wash day, then use a purple shampoo and a regular conditioner on wash day. Then i use a heat protector and leave in conditioner and blow dry. I wear it in an English braid and protect with headscarves. I also work manual labour as a luthier, basically I make and play violins, violas, cellos and basses.
Yeah, for female luthiers ! I've only ever met male luthiers !
Noticed you didn't mention mandolins? My favorite stringed instrument!
This made me laugh so hard, in a recognise this so hard good way. 🙂 I've got the curls, out a ruler straight hair family. Been through years of my mum trying to treat it the same as hers, the no-poo method when little kid me rebelled (itchy scalp and all), and daft exoticism of her shoving afro care products at me.
Thank god I got sent to my Nanna's to a wee while, because her hair was dead short mum forgot it's curly. Fixed at sorted from looking like sheep dragged backwards through a hedge to ringles in 2 goes. (Still probably wasn't brilliant, but was first time I ever loved my hair). Sometimes family knowledge is this missing step.
@@vickymc9695 I had a similar experience, though my mother’s hair is very curly. She’s spent her whole life trying to brush/iron/bend it straight. It would look great (natural curls) when she came out of a salon, but would immediately brush it out when she got home. She even bought a diffuser, then proceeded to use the spacer nubs to rake through her hair while blow drying.
It literally took me until my 40s and a whole lot of very generous Black women on TH-cam to learn how to care for my 3C curls. I’m forever grateful for them for sharing knowledge that my family just never developed. ❤️
My daughter has her hair to mid thigh, she never had a real haircut, I cut the ends maybe once a year, when the ends get too scraggly. I brush and braid her hair every day, no way I would let her go to school with loose hair that long, and she also sleeps with a braid. She just started to wash her hair with shampoo a few months back. She does it maybe once every 2-3 weeks, she is 11 years old. Before that water in the shower and brushing was enough with a no-poo washing every 2-3 months. Teenage hormones made her hair more oily. Not the same thing will work for the same person depending on the period of life you are in so you have to adapt your methods to that too.
When I let it grow long, I have very curly, but very dry, hair. In the past I've tried so many routines to "manage" it, trying to find the magic that would give me a style that I was satisfied with, but wouldn't take a significant part of my day. What I've learned is that my favorite style is the near pixie cut of my photo, occasionally colored, washed with an inexpensive baby shampoo a couple of times a week, combed, and allowed to air dry. No products. No heat. If needed, I'll spritz it with a little water before running my brush through it. I love the look of long hair on others, just not on me!
It's super lovely and your glasses compliment it well :)
I learned the hard way after a move that solid shampoo bars (or at least the ones I used to get) and hard water do *not* mix. I went two months wondering why my hair was getting more and more grungy despite changing nothing about my routine, until it was literally matted so solid I couldn't brush it. Then I "gave up" (taking care of yourself is *never* a bad thing, but it's how my brain framed it at the time) and bought a more acidic clarifying shampoo, and that plus a couple of hours of brushing fixed the issue literally overnight.
Hu think you've just solved a mystery
Yup, same. The hard water buildup makes my curly hair look absolutely fried after a while (even worse with solid shampoos) and I had somehow forgotten that I need a good clarifying/chelating shampoo to keep those locks bouncy for, like, a year! Literally took one wash (I put the shampoo on dry hair as a mask for a bit before showering) for the horrible matted looking non-curling clumps to go back to their normal curl pattern.
My biggest aha-moment was in your haircare video when you talked about how brushing/combing distributes the oils throughout the hair, making it look less oily (which you again mentioned here). I had long wanted to get away from having to wash my hair every 2-3 days and this is what finally did it! Regular brushing, and dry shampoo after 4 days or so. I still use modern products but OMG my hair *loves* not being washed so much ❤
I use a combination of modern and historical hair care methods. I’d already been stretching out my time between hair washes for 8 years when I watched the PrettyShepherd’s video about how she washes her hair once a month. And then I started doing that and pretty soon I was stumbling upon all sorts of historical hair care videos and I started incorporating some of the things that fit my hair care needs.
I concur on that frustration with difficulty in doing braided styles with layered hair.... However, with shorter hair I can wear it down more.... I just need to find more ways to do the updos with this new hair of mine!
Thanks for another cool video, Vi! Perhaps it's because I am a senior now, but I noticed that the only thing you didn't talk about was the fact that your hair care needs can change as you grow older. I have baby-fine hair but have always had a lot of it. It's also wavy in a time when straight is the 'thing' to be. I finally embraced the way my hair is in my thirties. However, as I've started to age, it became more and more clear that the ways of caring for my hair as well as the styles themselves had to change, or I'd lose it all! I appreciate your many videos of hair care, both historical and modern methods, as you try to help your viewers attain their dreams of perfect hair. They've helped me more than you know. But the truth is, there is no such thing! We are human and women, so we will play and experiment with it until we no longer can. I no longer wash mine every day or have long hair because I want to have healthy hair. I've finally found a style I can live with too. It is possible to look in the mirror and be happy! Thanks for helping me get there! 😊
about the only historical-adjacent thing I've bonded with is sewing it up with ribbons. it spreads the weight of long, thick hair that I want up in hot weather/on the dancefloor. it's much more comfortable, even if I'm doing it in what looks like a modern bun.
doing actual historical haircare feels like a lot more work. either you've got to take on a whole alien-to-us system of haircare OR you'll need to experiment a hell of a lot to build a personal hybrid routine
I honestly just use Jamaican black castor oil. I use a wooden comb to scratch some of the sebum off my scalp, brushes to get more sebum off, and just leave my hair in braids for a week or two. I don’t really wash my hair often, maybe once every few months.
My hair is mid-back and thick/dry/3B. I work in a MIG welding factory. It would be neat to learn how women in factories in the 18th century kept their hair nice.
If you look at any "Rosie the riveter" type of posters, most wore kerchiefs on their hair !
Braids or pinned curls wrapped up in a scarf and possibly powdered the scalp like dry shampoo.
I’m learning how to do good things for my curly hair. It’s a journey. My hair is fine, thick, and very elastic so the curl pulls out when I comb it. Things that work for a lot of other people do not work for me. But I’m doing better now than I was last year or the year before, or ten years ago. I’ll take it.
Things that work well for my hair are: using an old-fashioned (and old!) bristle brush, gently, and being sure to brush my scalp as well; washing as infrequently as I can get away with (luckily I don’t have greasy hair); and wearing it braided most of the time. I just wish it hadn’t got thinner as I aged!
I use a minimum of modern product (shampoo, conditioner worked in well, light gel). I wash every two weeks, dry halfway in a wrap (or with a '70s helmet-style dryer when I need it done quickly) and I rarely brush it. I detangle with my fingers. It works for me and it's so much less expensive than using all the recommended products every day.
I've been going to a hairdressing school weekly for perhaps 3 years (and was having my hair done by apprentices for a good 10-15 years prior to that). I go every week except during term breaks/school holidays, and each week, a student will practice washing & setting my hair. My starting point is usually a photo of Elizabeth Taylor in the 50s. During term breaks, I try to set my own hair, and sometimes it comes out looking ok.
Every 6 weeks or so, apprentices practise scalp bleaching and colouring my hair as it's all purple now. I go once a year or so, usually in winter, to my old salon to get a qualified hairdresser to trim my hair. This way, by summer, it's long enough again to easily put up in a bun or french braids.
As someone going through menopause, trying to understand how my hair changes is crazy, like it is suddenly developing a wave. I have come to realize part of always having flyaway static hair is it is super dry, my needs are definitely different to others hair care.
I discovered that my super fine, thinning hair really like being combed out and braided, especially for sleeping. Also that it seems to have an unlimited appetite for protein, and doesn't care for soap or detergent.
So now it stays mostly braided, gets combed and brushed out regularly, and gets washed every 7-9 days with a homemade clay and egg wash of my own concocting. It's very happy with this arrangement, and has gotten significantly fuller (I'm not sunburning my scalp anymore.), and longer - at least 3-4" longer than I've ever managed to grow it before. And since I love fancy braiding, I'm pretty happy too!
Learning that I could use corn starch instead of dry shampoo was a game-changer for me.
And learning about protective hair styling for white people was definitely a game-changer for my mom, but it worked TOO well and she stopped being able to take care of her hair because it became too long and too full for her because it stopped thinning out through breakage.
"protective hair styling for white people" - say more about this, please!! all of us with non-afro-textured hair could probably learn a thing or two!
@@_oaktree_ I assume braids and covering - that’s how a lot of people dealt with their hair before daily washing was possible
@@_oaktree_ I’m curious too. Just commenting so I get notified if there’s any more answers!
@_oaktree_ SnappyDragon actually did a video about it! Historically there were a lot of ways Europeans styled their hair to protect it. Most of it comes down to braids, knots, and covering, but honestly leaving it there is like someone asking about afro-texture protective styling and someone saying "just braid it." Styles utilized things like hair taping (Morgan Donner did a video about that a while ago as well) and hair sticks. A common method for knots is literally just tying your hair in a knot and securing it with a hair stick which keeps most of the hair protected on the inside of the knot and distributes the weight more evenly across the many strands. Hair taping does something similar by braiding and then essentially using cords or ribbons and a tapestry needle to sew the braids the way you want them to lay on your head so the weight of the hair isn't pulling down all day. Stuff like that.
Boy Pajama V is on a roll today! 😂😂 maybe you should throw a pillow at her.😉😂😂 So a little over a year ago my daughter watched a video on victorian hair oiling and wanted to try it out. I have to admit as someone who has always had bad hair, always breaking and stubbornly straight and always frizzy, all the pictures of the gorgeous long locks was pretty enticing. Still I went into this experiment with her seriously doubting it would do any good. So down the rabbit hole we went and did our due diligence in researching oils and their properties. Since I had already started making soap at this point it gave me a good idea of what to look for. It lead to some interesting cultural research too. Specifically things like black women oiling their hair with castor oil. Very cool I didn't know that. Not too many black ladies that I know that have don't have their hair relaxed and straightened for them. Never occurred to me to ask them about their hair since I had vastly different hair. I have a dear friend who was more than happy to tell me about her weekly hair oiling routine for her and her little girl. I dove deeper since this was a homeschool project and after finding various recipes and other things we finally settled on trying out a ayuvedic hairl oil recipe we wanted to try. Since I was starting to get back into herbology I figured we would give it a go together. As the year went on and I studied more I added certain oils and adding light weight oils to my tips. Together we did our weekly oiling routine and after about 3 months I started noticing my hair was different. It was no longer stubbornly straight frizzy and everywhere with no hope of keeping it tamed outside of a bun or French braid. Even those couldn't keep my hair tamed. My hair became softer and more manageable. I didn't skip the shampooing but I did add in a conditioner. After shampooing all that oil out of my hair, it needed the conditioner. My hair has also developed a soft wave and feels softer. I started measuring my hair length at the end of the summer as my hair has felt longer and my husband noticing that it looked longer. I have since grown about 6 inches in length and my braids have become noticeably thicker. What started out as a fun homeschool experiment, turn into part of my hair routine. But I have to say when it's 115 out having oil in your hair feels gross and you look forward to washing it out. I can honestly say that o learned a lot about haircare since. I think I missed your viking hair video so I think I'm going to watch that video next. I'm sure to learn something new about my hair. 😉
When i was growing up people were telling me washing my hair was bad for it and i should do it as rarely as possible, so i washed it once a week. This was terrible for my hair and i was never happy with it until i started gradually washing it more frequently in my 20s. Now i rinse it with water every day and shampoo every other day, and comb and blow dry. No other products. Works great for me!
I appreciate the discussion on getting pulled in by marketing, starting at 8:36; it's always important to be aware of how easy it is to believe bullshit simply because a familiar face is repeating it, and now with AI flooding the zone, it's requires more effort to fact check things--but we absolutely must be on our guards, and put forth that effort. /tangential rant
braids. single braid, single braid pinned up, or braided pigtails (soooooo much easier to brush). I wash my hair once or twice a week. When I blow dry, I keep it on cool and focus on my scalp, only squeezing the ends with a towel and letting it air dry.
Trying to find a comb I like, considering covering it
edited to add: biggest hair care lesson I learned was not to bleach my hair twice in one day. ow. that hurt!!!
Something that has really surprised me over the years (I'm 51, fwiw) is how much my hair has changed as I've gone through different periods of my life. Shockingly curly when I was pregnant, straighter and finer now that I'm older, etc. Products and styles and even tools change as my hair has changed.
I have made a lot of interesting discoveries as of late. Probably the biggest is that you don't need a brush or a comb to detangle your hair. Finger detangling takes longer, but it's more cathartic and gentler on your hair. This works well for me as a busy person who was frustrated by always keeping a brush in my bag. I can use my frickin' fingers!
Also, that there is a difference between hair growth and hair retention
Biggest thing I've learned about my haircare was about my hair becoming curly after menopause. I tried all sorts of products, talked to a lot of folks with curly hair about how to take care of it and I finally figured out that how I've always had my hair in front (brushed straight back until dry) is still how I want it. I let the back go curly crazy, but cannot stand it curling around my face. So sticking with how I've always done my hair still works for me.
I use a combination of modern and historical hair care methods. I’d been stretching out my hair washing time for 8 years when I watched the PrettyShepherd’s video about how she washes her hair once a month. And then I started doing that and pretty soon I was stumbling upon all sorts of historical hair care videos and I started incorporating some of the things that fit my hair care needs.
My hair is long and wavy/curly (humidity makes a difference), but also very fine and thin. My scalp has become visible in the last few years, thanks to menopause and PCOS. I cover it because I'm an Orthodox Jewish married woman, which I did for decades before it got this bad. I currently wash my hair once a week with modern shampoo, followed by conditioner, and a lightweight leave-in conditioner for curly hair. I let it air dry, occasionally scrunching and shaking it. I also sleep on a satin pillowcase. The satin pillowcase keeps the tangles down, but otherwise, I really haven't seen any change in the curls. They exist however they choose. Not washing my hair does make my shower routine much faster, though. Good for work nights. :)
I started growing my hair since I want to see it at its longest before my health and meds ruin it, so I really like protective techniques a freaking lot.
Hi, I did have a good time and I love the sass. I can hardly wait for the next helping of it. Yours, Ann
I started using bar of shampoo from a lady who home makes them. She does SCA and had a class on how to make your own soap. My hair is fine and thin, gets oily quick. The bar of shampoo has worked so well for me thus far. The only problem I have is growth. My hair grows as slow as a snail. Have not found a method to help grow it faster, but I am learning to live with what I have.
Odd question but how do you get bar shampoo off again? I can never get it to rinse out when I've tried lol
@@vickymc9695maybe a diluted vinegar rinse?
My most notable self awareness moments were when I realized that I needed to "clean off"/groom my scalp more often, and that it helps my hair if I either protect it from dust & debris in the environment, or, rinse it out regularly (both came from the points you addressed in your no wash for a month video)
I for sure find that my hair stays long and more healthy when I end up wearing my hair in my helmet at competition. I also get really really lazy and just don’t spend much time washing it with more than just water until I am done since I am just going to wear it up and it is easier to keep it neat if it has a little bit of natural oils etc.
But really when people always ask me how I grow my hair so long I just answer “ I don’t cut it?” It is that simple for me. I just let it grow and maybe trim it when the ends look like they need it. If my hair isn’t up, I try to wear it in a braid so it is less tangled.
My biggest moment of self-knowledge caveat a fairly. early age: I was in Middle School when the whole French Braid fad was all the rage. I bought into it with a passion. Two problems, though: 1. I have curly, frizz-prone hair, so to make it easier to French braid it required blow-drying it straight, and braiding it tight. Which leads us to problem 2. I suffer from migraine headaches. Those super tight braids may have been stylish, but they triggered the migraines like nobody's business. I gave up on the tight French braids pretty quickly. Just the memory is painful. My biggest self-care these days is shampooing just the roots and scalp of my hair as needed (maybe once a week), and using a good conditioner on the rest of my hair. Depending on the weather and my hair's needs, I will use different products on my hair to style it. Sometimes I will style it straight, sometimes I will just let it curl. And I love my long, beautiful, feminine, wavy, sometimes slightly frizzy hair.
My hair used to be long, straight, oily and highly resistant to curling of any kind. Mom tried home perms on me a couple of times, but it was gone by the second washing. I suffered as one of the few teenage girls in the early 90's that didn't have that "satellite dish" hairstyle 😂
Then I hit 30 something. It switched from oily to dry. I stopped washing it my usual once a week because it makes it even more brittle. I'm sure it's also affected by my current local water supply.
I currently use the comb twice a day method.
Also: got an ad for dermaplaining, whatever that is...
I have VERY LONG hair(past my bum) and it takes so so so long to dry so I started looking in to dry cleansing methods for my winter hair care because it is too cold to have wet hair.
Thank you for the amazing vids
My biggest thing has been finger combing instead of using a brush and sleeping with it tied up/in a bonnet. I have fine thin hair with a big loose wave to it. Gotta protect it where I can so it stays on my head as long as possible! I also went from washing every day to every other day. If I go more than 2 days I look like a wet rat and my scalp is unhappy.
i love your videos so much. thank you for creating content ♥️
I wash my hair once a week and keep it in braids and buns pretty much all the time. If my scalp gets oily or itchy I do an oil treatment. It's not perfect but it works.
My best learned hair thing is that my own oils work better than anything else. I will never go back. It takes longer with all the combing---but, that in itself is amazing as I was never able to get a comb through my hair previously.
My biggest mistake is both too much and too little washing!! Got thick pin-straight hair. My hair and scalp gets super dry and gross at either end of the spectrum, so the max I can really do is what I do now, roughly every 3-4 days. As I am growing it out, I've been keeping it in a bandana to keep it out of my face and it's helped keep it cleaner/hides when I miss a wash!
I love this conversation, it makes so much sense to me!
I’d be really interested in knowing what your routine is during low periods. Since my low energy routine is to just about give up on hair care, it’d be great to know some practical tips for haircare when raising my arms to my head is excruciating.
Don't know if would help, a gal I knew did French braids by lying down on a bed, with her hair cascading down boyh sides of one corner. (Her body was across/diagonal on the bed. Her head in the corner) You'ld still be raising your arms, but maybe it would be less ?
For me and my dead straight hair, I wash it once a week, shampoo and conditioner, but use a fine spray of argon oil on my boar bristle brush once or twice a week. I brush my hair every day and use a wooden comb to help control the frizz from brushing my hair. It works and keeps my hair from feeling greasy and dirty!
I use a mix of historical and modern hair care. I have fairly curly hair, but since I'm trying to grow it out to see just how long my hair can get (currently just past my butt!), my hair is heavy enough to mess up my curl pattern. So I wear it up all the time, usually in a milkmaid/braided crown style, since it's fast, looks nice, and doesn't cause headaches from the weight of my hair pressing the pins into my scalp. My scalp tends to be quite dry, so I only need to wash about every week to week and a half, using a double-sided wooden comb and ligntly oiling the ends most days, but when I wash, that's when I go modern. I double shampoo, brush the conditioner through, and finish off with a leave-in conditioner with uv protection (among other benefits). I also go over my ends pretty regularly and trim any split ends that I catch.
thank you for this!! my hair type looks a lot like yours--long, thick, curly, color-treated. i recently saw videos by a historical sewist extoling the virtues of washing with clay for growing the hair very long (waist-length? hip-length?)...but there was so much extraneous talking that i just didn't have the patience to watch the whole video. have you ever tried clay-washing? if not, would you consider researching and trying it, maybe for a month, for a video? (edit: i want dramatically longer hair, but i have malassezia and am looking for a simpler weekly routine with less washing but also less oily itchy scalp with the hair itself being dry!)
I learned that as handy as dry shampoo is, I can't use it without experiencing itching, particularly around my eyes, even though I was careful to keep the spray in my hair and not in my face. I do better with regular brushing and washing my hair a couple times a week. I also leave it braided most of the time. I like the way it looks loose, but my hair is hip-length at this point, and it's just too inconvenient down.
Realistic expectations are key. I have fine, slow growing hair. I wanted thick, long, shiny waves for my wedding. So I did the realistic thing and got extensions.
Toughest haircare lesson. Combing my curly hair is good for my scalp. With a wide tooth comb and good gel and day two products I can keep modern curls for a least a few days. And with my u shaped cut after the first few days a good combing and brushing gives me vintage waves
My biggest hair care lesson was learning the curly girl method and then letting go of about half of it. I had smooth wavy hair as a child but it turned thick and frizzy as a young teen. My mom had straight hair and had no idea what to do with it (other than make me brush it and not believe that I did because it looked worse)
The curly girl method was the first time I truly learned how to appreciate and style my curly hair and not just straighten it. I did later learn that it’s not all or nothing and that if no - poo activates my dandruff then I need sulfates.
Hair-related funny thing from kids: One of my sewing students has met my daughter and asked me why I had long hair but my daughter has short hair. I said because we both like it those respective ways, then asked if she had the same hairstyle as her mom. She blinked and went, "Oh."
Keeping my hair pinned up and covered the majority of the time has definitly made it lengthen more quickly with a lot less damage (it's now almost thigh length and very healthy)
I've learned how my hair and scalp are happiest in a desert, but if I ever move somewhere with humidity I'll have to completely relearn my hair! The fact that my desert routine is extremely low maintenance, which works with my disabilities, means that I can have fingertip length hair, but I'm pretty sure I would have to cut it shorter if I lived elsewhere.
I needed this video years ago, because it took me a long time on my own to come to the same conclusions. As someone with a long beard I've become frustrated with reading arcticles about ancient hair care only for it really to be an ad for the author's beard care line which was not directed related to the ancient hair care (such as an article about Ancient Greek beard care and a beard oil with a jojoba oil base, an oil unavailable to the Ancient Greeks). And then when I did the research and would use actual products and techniques and it still not work... because I used modern dyes and had a modern diet with modern water, modern issues like air pollution and air conditioning and global warming, and I live in a land very far away from Greece (or Scandinavia, or Babylon, or India, or Persia). I do find benefit from some things but also had to adapt it to myself while also realizing my goals were likely different in some ways not only to ancient people but even to modern day people with beards.
Thanks for more hair info.
One thing that I hear gets touted often is "the longer your hair gets, the less you have to wash it."
HA!
The amount of sebum my scalp produces has not changed since my hair is now down to my lower back. I still have to wash it fairly frequently.
I will say dry shampoo (home made and commercial) has helped me artificially extend periods between washing.
The only truly helpful advice I've found were 1) Find out if your home has hard or soft water, and B) See if you have low, medium or high porosity hair.
I didn't cut my hair off before I had chemo. When some people have chemo, all their hair falls out, I only lost most of mine.
My hair is very fine and I'd grown it to about 12 to 15 inches long. When it's that long, it tends to have a distinct curl towards the ends. Unlike some people who end up with "the pillow looking like a German Shepherd slept on it" with their chemo hair loss (it all falls out at the one time), a lot of my dropped hairs slid down so that the curly ends got caught on the curly ends that were still attached to my scalp and I'd end up with Gordian knots.
In the end I gave up and got a buzz cut (at no. 6 or about 3/4 of an inch long). My hair is so fine that the cutter pushed some of the hair out the way, rather than catching it and cutting it, and so the hairdresser had to deal with some of it with scissors.
I am somewhat surprised that the regrowth is coloured (I'm elderly and most of my hair was white before chemo, although I dyed it) and not nearly as curly as I expected. I still don't have anything resembling a full head of hair.
When I was a kid, I had LONG hair & a very impatient mother. Her way of dealing with hair was ripping tangles out in clumps. So, I took on my own hair care at an early age.
However, my mother - being CONSERVATIVE - basically thought the only styles that were permissable were pony tail, braid, or bun. Now, when I was younger (I'm 62), the hair ties were pretty damaging ! And my mother thought loose hair made me look like a prostitute!!!! (Of course, she never said the word. She just left a silence, not hard to guess by context ! )
Also had my mother talked me into a perm in high school, so I looked a bit like a cocker spaniel ! Plus, the STENCH of the perm made me extremely leary of dumping chemicals on my head ! (You scalp is skin & is an organ!)
Moved out at 17 and started learning about my hair without all the toxic shaming. I found that my hair was much wavier and healthier without blow drying it, and I started wearing it loose more often. I enjoyed my hair more, and it was a lot healthier !
I did notice I needed to wash my hair a lot less as I got older.
I enjoy hearing about hair care from the past.
Super helpful video, thanks!
My biggest hair lesson? My hair HATES silicone, after I went silicone free, my hair got curlier (a lot like V's), thicker, and less frizzy. However, no poo is not for me, I wash every every 4 to 7 days, usually use a sulfate-free shampoo, however, occasionally I'll use a clarifying shampoo with sulfates. That's been my routine for 6 or 7 years, but now that my grays are coming in my hair texture is changing and I need to use more products and add moisture, and I shortened up to a shoulder length layered bob. Bonus on that one: My hair is even curlier now! Still more exploring needed on the ideal routine for my *NEW* hair... IT'S A JOURNEY.....
Hair care recepies from my grandmother: Brush your hair well every day (100 slow strokes recommended) and use a natural cow or buffalo horn comb or an animal bristle brush (boar, goat or badger). Wash hair before the weekend and use a pot of chamomile tea with la squirt of lemon juice to rinse.
Eat well, sleep well. Get enough vitamin D by getting enough light and good oils. Eat eggs and dairy only from free-range animals, they need sun, to produce vitamin D, too. For minerals, eat millet.
I have very fine, thin hair and at times I’m still trying to find things that work for me. One major thing that has improved my hair is only washing it twice a week and the fact that all our water is filtered straight from the faucets in the house. I’m so worried my hair isn’t going to be as healthy when I find my own place and they have unfiltered water 😢
I wash my hair every two weeks with "gentle" products, and yes, my hair is becoming oily. Probably a bit like in the past. With combing every day (twice a day if I have enough energy) it's fine: it looks reasonably clean, it does not itch..., but it looks "oilier" than what modern hair is supposed to look like.
But since I wear my hair most of the time braided or in a bun for work or everyday life (like women have been doing in the past to go to work...), it's fine. Oily hair works perfect with these hair styles (I have the impression that the oil protects my hair when braided). It looks a bit silly when I get my hair loose at the end of the 2 weeks period, but it's fine.
You just have to keep in mind the context: historical haircare was for *their* context, and you have to understand it if you want to apply then today (what I partially do, in my own way).
I tried all historical hair care for two years and it damaged my hair even more. What I learned afterwards, is that my hair is slighty porous, though it's very curly. Because of the curls I always thought it's high porous and added a lot of rich oils and exactly that was the problem. Now I'm back to washing once a week with a sensitive shampoo and using a light leave-in half of the time and sometimes vinegar rinse. But my curls seem to be better off without adding anything.
I have very thin, straight hair. I used to have so many tangles! But when I started using Rhassoul clay to clean it instead of shampoo, the tangles almost disappeared! I do that and then a rinse of water with a bit of applecider vinegar and a few drops of rosemary essential oil. With modern shampoo I was washing my hair everyday, now I'm able to have a day of no-wash in the middle, which had my weekly number of wash going from 7 to 3, max. 4. When my hair grows longer and I can braid it again, I would like to try 2/3 times a week. My biggest lesson is that short hair is not the thing for me, if I want to keep my hair healthy and don't want to wash it too often (and that my grandma was right doing the water and vinegar rinse to my hair when I was a child and had extra long hair)
My biggest haiir care lesson was that I can't/shouldn't use heated hair care items on my hair. They either break my hair off (curling irons) or don't really shorten waiting times (hair dryers - it took a professional stylist 2 1/2 hours to dry my hair with a salon/professional hand dryer (I watched the clock) - I told him not to, but he smirked and "he knew best".). If I let my hair air dry it'll take about 5 hours for it to fully dry, but I can be surface (visibly) dry in an hour.
Another one was that using shampoo for oily hair causes me to need to wash my hair every 2 days (I have an oily scalp), but using normal hair shampoo makes my scalp happy and I can space out washing my hair to once a week.
Biggest hair care lesson: Not brushing or combing my hair. Ever. Have not done it in years and it just works. Combing destroys the structure of my curls and this structure keeps my very fine fluffy hair from tangling. Washing my hair and then conditioning is enough detangling for me usually.
I actually powder my hair. I will say that if I were to repowder my hair everyday, it would be very expensive, as I'm sure it would've been in the past. I bathe everyday, though I would only shampoo it on the weekends, because that washes out all the natural oils, which gets rid of its shape. I usually only put one layer of powder on after the pomade, which keeps my hair looking mostly natural with it combed in, though I'll sometimes go fully grey if I'm feeling adventurous. Sometimes I'll wear a head covering to avoid my hair getting wet in the bath. I can keep a powdering in for about three days that way before it starts to fade. I keep doing this because I love the effect and feel, but I've had to change several elements of my routine to accomodate it.
My hair's biggest enemy turned out to be shampoo. I can still dye it without it getting more damaged than every other day washings used to damage it. I haven't trimmed in six months and I can count my split ends, where when I used to use shampoo, I was itchy, flaky and had split ends despite trims every other month. I wash only with water (scalp massage under the shower), and yeah I was pretty gross for the first month or so after I stopped using shampoo but eventually my scalp DID catch on to the idea that I was no longer stripping out all the natural oils, I could go a month without wetting my hair and nobody but me would know. And I specifically cut my hair so it stays in a braid but also falls nicely (wavy hair hides a multitude of sin). And I only unbraid and brush it a couple times a week. Stopping shampoo was the best thing I ever did for my hair. It is about six inches longer than it ever used to get. My hair isn't very thick though so the tail of my braid is pretty thin, so I'm planning to create some hairpieces out of my own hair (that I save out of my hairbrush and will be scouring like a fleece) for when I feel like doing a historical hairstyle that requires more hair than is on my head.
very cool, thanks!
What’s worked the best for me is Dove bar as a bar shampoo weekly. My hair used to tangle so terribly when I used a modern liquid shampoo.
I have low porosity straight hair that not chemically treated in any way.
I’m still learning and readjusting my routine to suit what works best for me. I’m getting older and getting more white hair which has a different texture to what it once was. In addition to that, I have the complications of fibromyalgia and its friends Chronic Fatigue syndrome and POTS. This means washing my hair is a super fatiguing ordeal and I can’t hold my arms over my head to blow dry it because I risk passing out due to blood pooling. It also means my hair is dry and can’t be washed more than once a week.
So what I’m trying right now is combing it daily with a wooden comb (when I remember), pinning it up out of the way, using a leave in conditioner every few days, then applying conditioner and leaving it under a cap for 2-3 hours before I wash and condition with purple hair care products (washing every two weeks). Towel dry and more leave in conditioner combed through, then twisted up in a cloth to mostly finish drying. Finish with air drying then style it up and out of the way
I have chronic fatigue too, luckily I’ve avoided the others so far. I’m wishing you lots of good days, restful sleep, and all the support you need 💕
I have extremely fine, wavy hair of medium density with a highly variable curl pattern. Techniques for caring for coarse hair, afro-textured hair, really thick hair, naturally straight or chemically-straightened hair, etc., whether historical or up to the second, are probably not going to work for me! What does work is shampooing every 2-3 days, conditioning once a week, and braiding my hair at night. This all helps to minimize dandruff, tangling, and breakage. I use dry shampoo for volume when I want to, it works incredibly well. No amount of wishing I had super thick and very curly hair has made it so - you have to know yourself and accept what you have!
I have very fine hair, washing it more than twice a week strips away all my natural oils and it becomes a fly away mess. Actually every 5 days is about perfect. Also twice daily brushing with a natural bristle brush.
I used to wash my hair every other day with a strong dandruff shampoo.... I limit how often I wash my hair and try to stick to gentler shampoo bars. It has helped my dandruff, but occasionally, I still need to break out the strong stuff.
You should check out Kathrine Sewing!
The biggest thing I've learned is that the best thing I can do for my scalp is the same as the best thing I can do for my skin, joints, and teeth: avoid sugar and simple carbs, and eat lots of fiber, legumes, and veggies.
Your videos are so fun I love your videos and you ❤
Six inches of growth in a month seems really incredibly unlikely even with fancy hair growth products, mine only does about two inches of growth a month and it grows pretty fast from what I’ve heard and I don’t really do anything more fancy than shampoo it with the stuff that is either good for the scalp skin and I think it’s either emollient or clarifying or something else but usually not more often than when it starts to get greasy usually once or twice a week for hair care and massaging my scalp with a tangle teezer hair brush or a fine comb to scratch my scalp for exfoliating the skin without breaking my hair strands and combing more often if my scalp gets especially dry or itchy, but finger combing usually works just fine for me to deal with tangles and to style my hair so I need to remind myself to comb my scalp more often if I start to get flaky skin on my scalp. I’ve heard that one inch or half an inch of hair growth is more common for most people.
I was over 30 when I actually learned how to manage my wavy hair properly. Instead of trying to force it to be straight. Lessons I should have already known from... other areas of my life
Also there's an ironclad law of the universe: if I like it for my hair it WILL be discontinued immediately
Question!
I have strawberry blonde, shoulder-length, thin hair that is mostly wavy, nigh on curly, but gets much straighter when it gets longer. I also have a decent amount of hair. I have tried no poo and even though the oil production has slowed significantly, the slightest amount of oil makes my hair look greasy. Brushing with a bbb helps a little bit.
Is the issue that my hair is thin? Or straight-ish, or lighter colored? My hair feels better, stronger, and is more manageable so I don't want to give this up... but my hair needs some help... heh
Edit: I have tried 8 or 9 different methods and the result is the same, both good and bad
Ugh. Hair. My hair used to be straight but keeps getting curlier as I go more and more grey. I've experimented with a lot of products to make it not so frizzy without making it greasy. It's reasonably fine so that's a trick.
I want to get a fine tooth comb to try brushing the oils through my hair on days when my chronic pain is too bad to take a shower but I don't want to be a total grease ball, I have very fine hair that can disguise oil well when brushed so I think this might work well for me when I can't shampoo
I don't understand why people are like this about hair. I was no poo for years. Ever since getting a shower filter, I use absolutely nothing on my hair. Other than my hands and pure water. And it works great.
All this garbage about your hair care being unique to you is just more keeping up with the Jones nonsense. It's wild. People will do anything to maintain this unhealthy and unnecessary co-dependence on "hair care".
I don't mind if you, or some company, profits from your tips or marketing - as long as you do not cause harm to anyone. I don't think profit is bad. Profit on the expense of others is bad. For example, if people in the atlas mountains cannot afford to eat argan oil any more, just so I can smear argan oil into my hair, that would be bad.
💛
This was more a problem with the industry and my beautician mother than a product: the standard of bullying hair into doing what you want vs working with your hair to do what it can
My mother got her hair education in the early 90s when perms and chemical straightening and harsh gel and hairspray were the fashion (with the awful base it had of white, euro-centric, racist beauty standards that she didn't only get at school) so as a girl my wavy📍 hair got the gambit of chemical treatments that did nothing to actually get it in "control"
I got into natural hair care in college by joining a forum online, but what it really taught me was that 📍 i don't have wavy hair at all! It's fine stranded and *curly*. Now that i take care of my hair properly, it's big floaty sausage curls that get weighed down hella easy (so no silicone or other 'cone ingredients). Now I'm conditioner only (CO washing) and my hair and scalp are so much happier. I'm even growing it out 😊 (Plus now that i have a beard 🏳️⚧️, i know how to take care of that kind of hair differently and correctly.)