Dry hair without realising?

**fairy_hair** · December 17th, 2023, 11:35 AM

Hi everyone, I will start with some context. My hair is straight, fine stranded, medium thickness and I grew it easily and quite quickly to thigh length before I cut it years ago (I'm back on my journey and already near hip again!).

I didn't use oil on my hair much when i grew it before - I didn't feel like it did much so usually just shampooed and conditioned and wore it up most of the time, and even used a fine comb to detangle while wet, until dry... ouch!

These days, for the past few months or so, I have been consistently heavily applying almond or olive oil to my lengths (and a little massaged into my scalp) before washing as usual with shampoo.

Now, I have heard some people washing their hair extra when they apply oil, as if the shampoo doesn't wash it out enough. But when I shampoo as usual, my hair seems very happy and I can't imagine washing any more oil out of it. And I only massage shampoo into my scalp, never my lengths. My ends seem happier than ever.

My hair didn't seem very dry to me back in the day, but the quality of it seems to be ever-improving nowadays. The colour has become much more rich and golden rather than a little light and "see-through" as it was before. It is a little heavier after it dries too, which is good because my ends don't feel so fragile and flyaway.

Do you think I actually had dry hair before? Even though I hardly got any split ends and grew it to thigh length? I thought dry hair was brittle, and my hair is definitely super baby fine so you would think it would break very easily if it became dry? But I really had almost no split ends, and it looked good, albeit perhaps with a little static/frizziness. Today my hair seems to eat up oil and if washing only once is leaving oil residue in my hair, it seems to be helping rather than causing problems.

Thanks for any of your experiences!

**spidermom** · December 17th, 2023, 11:54 AM

It's hard to say. Hair changes due to hormonal shifts, environmental shifts, personal health, and all kinds of other things.

My hair went from 2C in NW Washington state to maybe 1C in NE Ohio. I think that blows up the theory of hair follicle shape determining degree of wave/curl. I can't imagine that moving made my hair follicles change shape.

**fairy_hair** · December 17th, 2023, 12:11 PM

Originally Posted by spidermom

It's hard to say. Hair changes due to hormonal shifts, environmental shifts, personal health, and all kinds of other things.

My hair went from 2C in NW Washington state to maybe 1C in NE Ohio. I think that blows up the theory of hair follicle shape determining degree of wave/curl. I can't imagine that moving made my hair follicles change shape.

It's interesting how har can change, but I must clarify that my hair hasn't changed since I grew it last time. It looked and felt the same as it used to before I started oiling, except these days it is healthier and thicker due to improved diet. My main unexpected observation is that the extra (excessive) oil that I apply before washing doesn't seem to make my hair oily, but rather it feels like my hair should never be washed without it! Like, I had dry hair all along and didn't realise, until now I pour oil on it and it just seems to get along really well with the residue that is likely on my hair after washing.

**luxurioushair** · December 20th, 2023, 02:53 AM

It was probably dry all the time, as you suspect. But I'm assuming it would've been okay, as long as you produce enough oils from your scalp. This is in contrast to my hair type, where my scalp hardly produces any oils and then those oils cannot flow down the strands, which are very tiny waves and zigzags. I believe your hair would've been fine without extra oil, but of course adding oil will ALWAYS make your hair better. Enjoy it!

**fairy_hair** · December 20th, 2023, 06:31 AM

Originally Posted by luxurioushair

It was probably dry all the time, as you suspect. But I'm assuming it would've been okay, as long as you produce enough oils from your scalp. This is in contrast to my hair type, where my scalp hardly produces any oils and then those oils cannot flow down the strands, which are very tiny waves and zigzags. I believe your hair would've been fine without extra oil, but of course adding oil will ALWAYS make your hair better. Enjoy it!

Yes I think so! It must have been a little dry but not dry enough to cause too much damage. The addition of oil is definitely helping make it even better so definitely recommend!

**mochichichi** · December 21st, 2023, 02:51 PM

I agree with luxurioushair that your hair was probably always dry--or at least drier than it is now--even if it wasn't so dry that it didn't break or split extensively. Perhaps you'll find it growing faster this time, or reach a length you wouldn't have before even if you didn't know it!

**fairy_hair** · December 22nd, 2023, 12:24 AM

Originally Posted by mochichichi

I agree with luxurioushair that your hair was probably always dry--or at least drier than it is now--even if it wasn't so dry that it didn't break or split extensively. Perhaps you'll find it growing faster this time, or reach a length you wouldn't have before even if you didn't know it!

I hope so!! It definitely seems to be growing fast, and I'm not feeling the need to cut off dry ends since I've been oiling like this. Also I've noticed that since I've been making sure to apply a little of the oil on my fragile baby hairs at the front, they seem healthier too!

**Nefcerka** · December 22nd, 2023, 02:03 AM

Correct me if I´m wrong, but oils do not have moisturizing properties. Oils are by their nature nourishing. If oils are applied over damp/wet hair, they can definitely help seal the moisture in. But oils applied on dry hair will keep the moisture out (unless the hair strands have enough moisture naturally) and also work at keeping the moisture from penetrating from outside (which can of course be beneficial to fine hair especially, because the shaft does not swell so dramatically with every wash, which can lead to hygral fatigue and thus breakage over time).
I am glad you found a method that works for you, but continue to watch what your hair needs. I have read more than one account of over-use of oils here on the forum, which resulted in very dry, brittle and damaged hair in the long run.

**fairy_hair** · December 22nd, 2023, 02:11 AM

Originally Posted by Nefcerka

Correct me if I´m wrong, but oils do not have moisturizing properties. Oils are by their nature nourishing. If oils are applied over damp/wet hair, they can definitely help seal the moisture in. But oils applied on dry hair will keep the moisture out (unless the hair strands have enough moisture naturally) and also work at keeping the moisture from penetrating from outside (which can of course be beneficial to fine hair especially, because the shaft does not swell so dramatically with every wash, which can lead to hygral fatigue and thus breakage over time).
I am glad you found a method that works for you, but continue to watch what your hair needs. I have read more than one account of over-use of oils here on the forum, which resulted in very dry, brittle and damaged hair in the long run.

Yes! I am using oil on dry hair only before washing once per week, and the purpose is to prevent the water and shampoo from acting so vigorously on naked hair (since my hair is very fine), so there is a barrier. And I actually haven't been using them other than for this purpose lately, also my scalp doesn't get much oil, just a little leftover from my hands for any extra protection during washing. Hope this won't lead to more dry hair, so far it seems to just be acting as a barrier and conditioning my ends a little perhaps.