What the best thing you have changed about your hair care routine and why?


I would say the best thing i did was stopping conditioner only washes.

When my hair was 100% chemically dyed it loved c/o washes now i have some good growth of virgin hair my hair hates c/o washes on my scalp.

For me, I think it was to stop lightening my hair, then stopping the use of -cone based shampoos and conditioners.

My hair is in much better condition without the -cones building up on the hair.  Of course, I knew that coloring my hair was not good for it, but I was careful to color only the roots and I did not change the color by much - I was primarily covering gray.  But the new hair is much stronger and is less prone to breakage.

Rainbow, I am exactly the opposite... my hair is sooooo much better since I began using Condition Only washes.  My hair used to be really dry and flyaway, but now it is much softer and more manageable.  

Other things I changed: no more brushes, only a wide tooth comb once in a while, Moisture Treatments (SMT), search and destroy missions for split ends, and avoiding hair things that break my super fine hair.  

But the best, by far, is CO washes!

I guess I would have to say oiling the ends of my hair.  Before joining LongLocks, I would never have considered it!

Three things come to mind right away:

1)  Changing the way I wash my hair.  Before LL I'd lather up everything, root to tip every day & scrub it like I just came from the coal mines.  Now I have learned that I only really need to concentrate on my scalp & have mercy on my ends.

2)  Like Trisha, oiling the ends of my hair, I never would have begun to do this on my own.

3)  Keeping it protected when sleeping.  I never realized how much knotting and damage occured from sleeping with my hair down.

COing has helped my hair a lot and also switching from no cones to cones recently.

S&D, oiling, not using a straightening iron and not brushing my hair when wet has greatly helped too.  ;D

For me, the #1 would be stopping believing my stylist and the advice from "hair professionals" and realizing that they were more interested of my money than my goal of growing long, healthy hair.
. The info I got from longhair boards was much better and the advice I received was given because people really wanted to help me, without underlying business interests.
#2 . Learning to style my hair gently: stopping brushing it and stopping using styling products. Before learning better, I was a styling product junkie- I loved to try all sorts of styling products, and besides, I was never totally happy with my hair. I also brushed it every morning, and was so surprised when I switched to combing only and my shedding rate dropped dramatically immediately.Now aloe vera gel and a few hair accessories are all I need. My hair is in better condition and I like it better too.
#3 Learning to handle my hair gently. I didn't think my hair habits were all that harsh, but in reality, they were. I used to pile my hair on the top of my head when I washed it, then rub it vigorously with a towel. At nights, I slept with my hair loose and had awful time detangling in the morning. Just to mention some things.

I find it quite interesting that the things that led to biggest improvements were so opposite from all the "conventional" haircare info and cost next to nothing.

The best thing I've changed about my hair care routine would probably have to be oiling the ends. Before coming to LongLocks, I would have shunned the idea, as I generally avoid anything containing oil - my skin does not like it!
   But I've learned how spritzing just the ends of my hair with a mix of oil, aloe & water is quite beneficial without it coming in contact with my skin.