The pain!

[andrewducker]

One of the things I had on my nwe to-do list was "sort hair". The problem with my hair is that it tangles incredibly easily. This, combined with a scalp that gets sore very easily, means that if I get a knot in my hair it's very painful to get out. Which tends to lead to postponement of the disentanglement. Which means that it'll knot further, making it more painful, so I leave it for longer.

So I spent two hours getting most of it out on Saturday, before going out. This got it down to an invisible level. Then an hour yesterday. And today, it's taken about 3 hours of intermittent untangling, tugging and pulling to get the last of it out.

Ow. Ow. Ow.

Mustn't do that again.

Comments

[nickys.livejournal.com]

There's a yellow bottle of stuff called Johnson's No More Tangles which my kids use. I'm not sure the effect isn't mostly psychological, but they seem to like it.

CUT YOUR HAIR!

[taromazzy.livejournal.com]

I alway thought you looked better with short hair.

Or get it straightened - bet that would look good too!

Looks good when you wear it in a pony tail too.

Re: CUT YOUR HAIR!

[andrewducker]

The hot oil treatment I tried once looked really good. And it does look better when straight/wet.

But I'll be thrice-damned and living in hell before I have short hair again.

It does spend most of its time in a pony-tail tho. Unless Jesus Built My Hotrod is playing...

Re: CUT YOUR HAIR!

[taromazzy.livejournal.com]

Chemical straightening keeps it straight for about 4 - 5 weeks.....could be worth it.

Re: CUT YOUR HAIR!

[andrewducker]

Tell me more of this thing you earth people call "Chemical Straightening"

[nickys.livejournal.com]

Not a good idea unless your hair is quite thick and strong (individual strands, that is).
Afro-Carribean hair will cope with being straightenned, but Caucasian hair can get brittle and break off if you're unlucky.

[taromazzy.livejournal.com]

He's lucky -Mediteranean hair!

Or get it layered, so that it keeps the length but sits 'flatter'

Anyay, tisme will know more hair stuff -ask her.

[tisme.livejournal.com]

Uh, that would be the broken record I've been playing for about two years then?

[taromazzy.livejournal.com]

Yeah, but now he's single and trying to pull. Maybe he'll go for it.
The terrorist look is soooo over.

Re: CUT YOUR HAIR!

[cangetmad.livejournal.com]

Hot oil is the business. Or, have you tried spray-on stuff after washing it? That makes it more brushable and all-around biddable. I think my current one is some kind of patent protein whatsit.

Of course, I have the world's straightest, slipperiest hair, so you might not want to take any advice from me.

[moniqueleigh]

I thought that was my hair! Sheesh. Mine's about as thick as possible, but also baby fine. (Try finding shampoo & conditioner specifically for that combo!) Actually, though, mine's getting a bit of a wave to it. Last time I got it cut (right before the perm), it actually wanted to "flip" a bit at the ends. Odd.

[missedith01.livejournal.com]

Cut it all off, man. It's not worth the hassle. :-)

Are you conditioning religiously?

[andrewducker]

Nope. I did a few years back, but it only helps if I wah my hair every day, adn that's just not going to happen.

As it is I haven't used shampoo or conditioner in about 5 years and my hairs in better condition because of it.

[missedith01.livejournal.com]

No shampoo? What do you do with it then?

[andrewducker]

Water.

Shampoo strips all of the oils off of your hair, meaning that you then have to put fake oils back onto it (with conditioner). If you do this a lot, your scalp starts producing much more oil than it would do 'in the wild', meaning that your hair gets greasy and has to be washed even more often.

It takes 3-6 months for your scalp to adjust back, during which time short hair is suggested. After that the balance comes back again.

[rainstorm.livejournal.com]

it takesa a shorter time for me, i think. in the summer holidays i'd not wash my hair with shampoo etc and after about two weeks it didn't look greasy or mank, it was actually just nice..

but my hair has been dyed to buggery (on one side of my head, anyway ;) so i need to slap conditioner on, which means i need to shampoo it too...)

[missedith01.livejournal.com]

Interesting. My hair is short anyway, because if I grow it I tend to end up with an unmanageable afro, but I never tried not washing it.

hmmm ...

[darkoshi]

in regards to your original post, it reminded me of our dog and his long fluffy hair which had been all tangled and matted together when we found him.

in regards to not using shampoo, that's an interesting idea which i might try. i never use conditioner anyway, but whenever i don't wash my hair, after 3 days or so, it starts feeling greasy, plus my scalp starts itching badly. If using water instead of shampoo still keeps the itchiness away, that might work... otherwise I couldn't stand it.

I've often wondered how people in other parts of the world like nepal or tibet manage to have such unwashed-looking hair without it seeming to make them itch.
Or have I just got some weird skin condition?

[andrewducker]

You will need to wash your hair fairly frequently at first, but you'll find that it adjusts after a few weeks/a month.

[kpollock.livejournal.com]

You have my total sympathy. You know what my hair was like (pretty similar but with possibly a higher pain threshold!).

My eventual solution was to cut it all off. Don't think that'd work for you - wrong shape of face.