I apologize if this has been asked before, but I didn't see this topic anywhere else and I am curious about what shampoo and conditioners everyone is using at the moment.

What shampoo and conditioner are you curently using for your hair?
Are you happy with the results you're getting from using these products?
-If not, then what would you feel confident in reccomending?
-If yes, then what products have you had bad experiances with that you would not reccomend?

I'm using Body Shop Olive Oil shampoo and Body Shop Honey Conditioner in CWC (condition-wash-condition) style. This combination works for me wonderfully. I changed to it after Body Shop renewed its shampoos. This is best combination I have ever used.

First I tried Honey Conditioner with Honey shampoo, but that was a bit too heavy for me, causing my hair look dirty. I've been planning to give it a second chance though.

Before moving to Body Shop products, I used cheap supermarket shampoos.

I've also used Wella's hair mask for dry hair once a week. It works for me, but I've started to experiment a bit. VO5 hot oil didn't impress me much, but I've got still XZ cone-free deep conditioner waiting for test use.

well, i'll go through my routine to show my products....

wash scalp with head and shoulders all in one shampoo & conditioner
~rinse~
pour diluted Fructus Long and Strong over hair
~rinse~
apply Fructus Long and Strong conditioner to ends
~rinse after a few minutes~

once every week or so i clarify:
wash scalp with pantene clarifying shampoo
~rinse~
work a little of the shampoo into length
~rinse~
apply pantene deep conditioner with 3xamino acids
~rinse after about 5mins~

i'll also use V05 hot oil every now and then.

my hair seems to really like this rountine....especially when i follow it with jojoba whilst my hair is still damp. its always soft and shiney  :)

I shampoo and condition about twice a week, the scalp with Austrailian Organics and condition with Australian Organics.  I use a bit of the conditioner as a leave in.   I do a vinegar rinse about once a month.  I oil with jojoba oil as needed - more in the winter - almost nightly and anytime I do a dry sauna.

I have color assisted hair-red with blond highlight.  I have had very little color fade with Avalon Organic Botanical Therapeutic Lavender Shampoo and Conditioner.  My hair is quite thick and wavy so its a bit dry naturally.  I've found that if I shampoo and condition everyother day that's best for me, sometimes I go a little longer before washing, just depending on how my hair is on any given day (diet and weather effects).
Then, sometimes I shampoo and then use a deep conditioner (about once a week) like Silk Elements Luxury Moisturizing or Beyond the Zone Last Call hair mask.  If my scalp is itchy, I will oil my hair and scalp leaving the oil on overnight, washing with shampoo and condidtioning the next day.
I've just begun to add a once a month vinegar rinse.  I think it dries me a bit, but I want to avoid buildup.
Bikerbraid, do you oil your hair right before going into the sauna?  Please elaborate.  Thanks!

Yes, I oil my hair heavily and mist it to make it damp - my version of a hot oil treatment!  (I then shower and shampoo/condition my hair).

I alternate, I have at least a dozen different shampoos and I use something different every time...I keep rotating them.  :D

wrote on Jan 3^rd, 2005 at 3:05am:

Yes, I oil my hair heavily and mist it to make it damp - my version of a hot oil treatment!  (I then shower and shampoo/condition my hair).

Do you put a shower cap on in the sauna?  Do you think a steam room would work as well?
I have access to several gyms with such amenities(sp?)
How long do you stay in the sauna?
Thanks, BB

When in the sauna, I have my hair loosely braided.  A shower cap or warm towel would work well to keep more heat on the hair as well.  I believe a steam room or wet sauna would work just as well - the idea is to use heat to help the hair absorb as much of the oil and moisture as possible.

30 minutes is usually my limit (and is the advised limit as well).  If you have access to these sources of heat, I'd say go for it!  It helps loosen the muscles and joints as well as helping the hair - you can't lose!

Thank you :D

What a good question, Bardic Love!

*arranges all her hair care products about her*

This is when I go to clean my hair:

I start with a good amount of JoJoba oil on my ends, and work them in the entire length with my BB brush.

I've started to use Dove Intense Moisture Shampoo mixed half and half with Pantene Pro-V complete thereapy conditioner Daily Moisture renewal on my scalp to clean

Then a nice long rinse

Followed by more Pantene conditioner on the ends...

Another nice long rinse.. this time in cold water... eeeep!

Then, while my hair is still damp, I spritz on Aussie Hair Insurance Leave-in conditioner.

Those are my "wash day" products.

I try to use JoJoba oil each night on my ends when I comb and brush my hair out, followed with a spritz from a water bottle filled with water and a few drops of my EO du jour....

Once a month I do a vinegar rinse to clarify.

Also, once a month I use Pantene Pro-V deep fortifying treatement  "restore and renew" for a deep-conditioning treatment.

WHEW!

*laughs*

But I love how my hair is looking.. shiny and soft and just generally HEALTHY

                   

Bardic Love,

Oooh great question!

I do a CWC, O(il)WC, CWCC, or OWCC depending on my hair's condition or my mood.

First C can be any combination of the following: - Pure A Teas Green Tea conditioner (discontinued, I bought the last six bottles from the dollar store)
- V05 Tangerine Tickle conditioner that I can just slather on because it only costs 78 cents a bottle
- coconut oil, not fractionated
- macadamia nut oil, bleached. my supplier doesn't sell unbleached mac oil, maybe there's no such thing..?
- regular golden jojoba oil

Shampoo: Kirkland Marine Algae Shampoo, diluted in a cup just like Dave.

Final conditioner: if I'm in a good mood, then I whip out my Secret Weapon, Suave BioBasics. The most wonderful cone conditioner in the world IMHO. Otherwise I just use a generic cone, one that still gives me incredible shine and balance and detanglingness... the all powerful phenyltrimethiconated.... Lemongrass something-or-other .. um.. I need to check my journal.

and a rainwater rinse when it rains hard enough. Maybe this winter I can do it with snow. Rainwater rinses are wonderful!

Hugs,
Anais

Okay;

Phytojoba shampoo almost every day
Occasionally alternate Phytorhum Shampoo or Aveda Sap Moss Shampoo  
I keep meaning to try it diluted in a cup a la Dave but haven't done it yet.

Biolage Conditioning Balm; straight, diluted, left in, rinsed out, you name it.

Jojoba oil; just a wisp of a drop on my ends daily or every other day.

Red wine vinegar and water rinse 1-2 times a month; it may not really enhance the red in my hair but it is pretty in the bottle and works well.

In an emergency, I have been known to use baking soda and shampoo to clarify.  But since I'm doing much less experimenting now, maybe build up won't be a problem.

I do use a shower filter to filter out the chlorine and my hair feels really nice and I use much less shampoo and conditioner with it.

That may be TMI, but hope it helps.

SF

ETA: I am now diluting my shampoo with one part shampoo and five parts filtered water from my shower filter in a plastic hair color bottle with a nozzle.  With this I can apply the dilute shampoo mixture exactly where I want it on the scalp.

I also have begun using 3-4 drops of jojoba oil with a little rose EO added.  I apply this immediately after squeezing out excess moisture, mostly on ends and on top layer below ears.  I still use about a drop or two on the ends almost every day.

I've been quite pleased with the results thanks to all the great tips and adviced I've gathered here on this site!

I also use jojoba oil- normally after my hair has been washed and it's dry, but now that it's winter, I have noticed that my ends require more oil. I also mist my scalp with rosewater daily to prevent itching, to moisturize and for avoiding unwashed smell.

As we are talking of caring routines, I should probably mention that I keep my hair always (day and night) braided or in a bun. I hope this prevents damage at least a little.

For the last two weeks now I have been using slightly diluted L'Oreal Elvive Conditioner with a drop of mild henna shampoo on my scalp to wash every other day, and then straight conditioner on my ends.

I leave it on for 5-10 minutes then rinse.

Then rinse cold. (Brrrrr!!!!!)

I'm trying to get into the habit of a vinegar rinse once a month too.

Once I'm done, I carefully towel dry, then put coconut/sweet almond oil mixed on my hair and then carefully comb with a widetooth comb. Then I allow it to air dry, which this time of year takes FOREVER if I put it in a braid or anything.

My hair feels in fab condition since starting this. I know I've already said it, but oh good grief, I wish I had started this sooner!!!

i totally put away the shampoo, i'll be using it only before and after a dye, so not more than once every 3 - 4 months.

to wash i use the local supermarket brand conditioner with palm milk for all hair types to which i add some elseve alpha-jojoba conditioner cuze it smells fruity, and sometimes a few drops of EO like lavender.  elseve citrus for greasy hair is nice too for coing.

on my length i only use coneless masks or conditioners (i am not absolutely against them but i find them pretty incompatible with jojoba oiling):
*elseve alpha-jojoba,
*dove hair silk mask for colored hair (this is still one of my fave coneless brands),
*dove color booster (a must!),  
*Hema hair mask with jojoba,
* garnier ultra soft relaxing and smoothing mask with walnut oil and feuille de pêcher (dunno how to translate that one)
* garnier ultra soft conditioner for normal hair with plant milk (initially bought for coing but i found it nice enough for the lengths)

* recently found and amazing English brand: Crabtree&Evelyn jojoba oil conditioner

and despite using only coneless stuff, i do rinse often with ACV. everytime i think i have too many tangles and it always does wonders (nearly every week).

 Currently *cringe* I am using Suave Naturals shampoo & conditioner.  But I took some advice from this board and have mixed a small amount in water before using it and it works great - or better ;D  Then about 2 days later I am COing with VO5 kiwi lime.  Sometimes I can do two CO's before shampooing again, sometimes not.  I use a vinegar rinse about once a month.  
I just got some jojoba oil today and did my ends - feels wonderful!  
I think I've been able to get away with some of the harsher shampoo because my hair is still relatively short and it hasn't been colored or permed.

Wow... all your routines are so complicated... mine is usually pretty simple.

I do a oil treatment once a week- on Friday nights so I don't have to worry about overdoing it- I always take a bath on Saturday after my dance rehearsal.  What I do then is brush it out really well, then work the oil in, then brush it through, then bun it and ignore it till the next day.

Then I wash it with Jason curl defining shampoo, concentrating on the scalp.  Follow with Jason curl defining conditioner.  
Occasionally I comb some aloe vera through to help with frizzies.

Except for my leave-in conditioner which I buy from my hairdresser, I only use supermarket brands and I find that they work just fine.

I mainly buy Gliss products though at times I find that Pantene's smoothing products work best.  I like my products heavy for thicker and coarser hair types.  I don't doubt that I could get better results if I paid more but for the money I pay I feel I get more than I should expect.

The leave-in conditioner is PurePact ylang-ylang conditioning mist.  It's the best hair care product I've ever used.  It needs shaking before each use.  

I'm not oiling currently.  Laziness.  I really should start again.  Olive oil used to work fine when I had long hair but I think I'd have to use a lot less of it now.  I have sesame, sunflower seed oil, and erh....that other type of common yellow oil that I can't remember what's called in English.  It comes from those yellow fields :-?

Since the beginning of this year, I've been using Pantene Restoratives products exclusively. Breakage Defense for the warmer months and Time Renewal for the colder months.
   While I'm pretty happy with the results of both, I do want to try other products from time to time.

Products - specifically S&C's - that I would not recommend are cheap brands like Suave & VO5. The shampoos are very harsh and the conditioners are insufficient. I had nightmarish split ends when I used these.
   That being said, the conditioners work well as light conditioners for CWC's.