how does your hair feel when it's dry? Is it brittle and limp? Do you notice your hair feels stripped after washing? That shampoo has sulfates. Also, do you use a leave in conditioner? Oil isn't enough. Deep conditioning is good, but i would limit the henna treatments.
It sounds like you need to seal with something better than coconut oil. Also, many people's hair doesn't like coconut. It absorbs into the hair and plasticizes the hair cortex. It is also an astringent, and it repels water. Ultimately it can build up and weigh down your hair. I also think it isn't the best thing to seal if your hair feels dry, since it is an astringent. I would use a botanical gel or custard.
The
Number 1 thing you need to do is
stop using those dark and lovely products immediately.
Especially the shampoo. The conditioner and shampoos have mineral oil, wax, sulfates, and polyquats. also a quaternary ammonium salt which builds up on the hair after several uses.
I would definitely, definitely, not use their shampoo. It contains
sodium hydroxide, aka lye which dissolves the hair in water based products, no matter the percentage because the effect is accumulative and depends on how sensitive your hairtype is. I know this from experience to break hair. I was using ecostyler and wetline gel and they both formed lye compounds on my hair, and caused me to have a bald spot for almost a year. The sodium hydroxide could also be what is loosening your curl pattern. So drop the dark and lovely products.
Shampoo Ingredients
Water
,
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
,
Sodium Laureth Sulfate
, PPG 5 Ceteth 10 Phosphate
,
Cocamide MEA
, Polysorbate 20
, Glycol Stearate
, Fragrance
,
Sodium Chloride
,
Polyquaternium 7
, PEG/PPG/Polybutene Glycol 8/5/3 Glycerin
,
Sodium Benzoate
, Methylparaben
,
Salicylic Acid
,
Polyquaternium 10
, Ethylparaben
, Panthenol
,
Hexadimethrine Chloride
, Hexyl Cinnamal
,
Sodium Hydroxide
, Linalool
, Limonene
, Geraniol
, Citric Acid
Cocamide MEA + some acidic ingredient (to lower the ph since it is very high)+ water based and heat= Lye salt and sodium hydroxide is already lye salt.
And just look how many stripping ingredients are in this product, its ridiculous. Some of them wouldn't be that bad, but it combination, its like dumping a pile of salt on your head. This shampoo is extremely drying.
Edited by pinkecube - May 01 2014 at 5:04pm