Hello, my names Jonathan. I'm 26yo and bad at coming up with good user names. :P

I decided to grow my hair long back in the late 90's. Right now it's currently down to my lower back area. The main reason why I have it this long is because my life revolves around heavy metal music. So it's basically a requirement. ;)

Anyways i'm getting extremely frustrated with it and finally decided to get some suggestions. I know I do a lot of things wrong with it in the way of maintenance but it's been beautiful up until the last year or two.

Some bad things off the top of my head include: I never use any hair products other then shampoo, I almost never tie it back (not even while sleeping) between washings I just comb it with my fingers, and last but not least I only get it trimmed once a year. I have my mother do it. She’s worked as a hairdresser and does a great job.

I've read many articles on long hair care and try to follow what’s said. I do things like let it air dry after washing and then blow dry it using very little heat. I mainly just use the cool air setting. I never comb it when wet. I sleep on a satin pillowcase and never sleep on my hair. I use the recommended combs/brushes to comb it while blow drying. and I use shampoos that don’t contain any ingredients ending in ‘cone’ and other things I can't think of at the moment.

I used to have to wash it once a week. Then as time went on it turned into twice a week. Then three times a week. Now in the past year it’s turned into every other day. After I get out of the shower I let it air dry for how ever long it takes before it's not wet any more but it's not completely dry. This is usually around half an hour to 45 minutes. Then it takes 45 minutes of combing and blow drying before my hairs finally done. The whole process from when I get into the shower until my hairs dried and combed is in the area of 2 hours. That was all fine and dandy when I only had to go through it twice a week. But when having to do that every other day it really becomes a problem.

What’s worse is I’ve been having a hair problem lately which is the main reason I signed up. Maybe some of you can offer some suggestions. My bottom layer of hair stays stringy. It’s not oily, just very stringy. It’s like I didn’t get all the shampoo out. The top layer of my hair is fine. You almost can’t see the stringy underneath unless I show it to you. It’s the worst around the nape of my neck but is like this all over. I’ve thought the problems been not getting all the shampoo out. So in the past few months I’ve been trying all kinds of different things to makes sure all the shampoo is washed out. Nothing has worked. What I’ve resorted having to do is take two showers. If it’s excessively stringing after I’m down blow drying and combing it the first time I take another quick shower and repeat the process all over again. It makes it better but not completely. Having to go through this easily eats up three hours. I can’t keep doing this every other day!

I have a couple ideas why my hair started doing this but this post has become way longer then I initially planed. So I’ll wait to hear from other first.  :)

Welcome,Jonathan!  Glad to have you here!  First off,maybe you need to use a clarifying shampoo to see if that helps.
If not,maybe a vinegar rinse.
I do suggest you oil you ends with a light oil and braid your hair at night before you go to sleep to help protect it.  There could be many reasons for the "stringy thing" happening.
You might also want to check out using a shampoo bar.  A few here on the boards have used them and get wonderful results,myself included.
I am sure there will be others here to offer suggestion,advice and some of their experiences.
Please check the boards here for info.
Once again,welcome to LL!

Hi Jonathan!  You've found the best place for hair!  Curlygirl has given you some great ideas.  My hair goes stringy at times too and oiling has really helped, jojoba oil is really good for this.  Also try conditoner and see what happens.  Just put it on your lenght after shampoo and vinger rinse the rinse ths out after a while with lots of water.  This, I found helps prolong the lenght of time between shampoos (about every 4 to 5 days for me)  Good luck and kept us posted! 8-)

Welcome Jonathan!  Sounds like you are trying to do the right things - good for you!

I would also recommend trying a clarifying shampoo to see if maybe your stringyness is due to product build up.  A vinegar rinse could also help in this area.  Either/both of these might also help you increase the time between shampooings.  
I'm sure the reason you are using the blow dryer is to speed up the drying process, but even on a cool setting it could be enough that your head is producing more oil to offset what it thinks is being lost due to the heat.  Try letting your hair air dry and see if that helps at all.  Most people find that as their hair gets longer, the need to shampoo decreases due to handling the hair less and using less product on it that attracts dirt, etc.

Keep hanging around here - I'm sure we can give you more suggestions/ideas.

Hello and welcome, Jonathan (I do love that name!). Nice to see another metalhead on the boards.  ;)

Sorry to hear of your hair frustrations. All of us have them from time to time.
   What I would suggest, in a word, would be conditioner! Without it, your hair is only going to keep drying out. Especially if you continue using the blow fryer. Even without heat, it still causes wind damage, which not only dries hair out but causes the individual hairs to rub together. Especially without conditioners, that can strip away the "scales" on the hair shaft. Oiling would also help.
   Another suggestion would be to trim the ends back to a more manageable length. This might help eliminate some of the more extreme damage and make your hair easier to work with.

Hope you find a solution soon. Keep rockin.'  8-)

Hi and welcome, Jonathan.
I don't really have anything new to add-do a vinegar rinse and then condition.  I would add conditioner to your routine everytime you wash.  Do not put it on the roots or scalp-just from the ears down.  If you're not doing a vinegar rinse but just a wash, put the conditioner on the ends from the ears down and then wash your scalp with the shampoo.  This will protect ends.  If the top layer of your hair feels dry, then add about a teaspoon or 2 just to the top layer and run fingers through from root to ends.

Good Luck, I hope you find a solution soon.  

One other thing-microfiber towels really reduce air drying time.  Aquis brand is my favorite, maybe you'll want to check it out!

Hi Jonathan, I have nothing to add to what others have told you.  Just wanted to welcome you.  I know you will love it here.

JD

Hey thanks for the welcome and all the great suggestions! They really are appreciated. http://planetsmilies.net/grinning-smiley-17116.gif I can't wait to try some of them.

It seems like product buildup. Thats what it looks and feels like to me. From googling it I found a site that had a woman with a similar problem. It was suggested for her to use a clarifying shampoo as well.

I have never let it completely air dry before. That's something else I want to try. I think when I try that i'll use one of those microfiber towels.

I'm also going to try some conditioner. I remember back last time I used it i'm pretty sure I liked the out come. It was such a long time ago I can't remember fully.  ;D

I'll most likely experiment on the days I know I don't have anyplace to go. Just in case something I try doesn't work out so well.

Thanks again http://planetsmilies.net/vicious-smiley-17034.gif

Another option for the micro fiber towel which is less expensive than the Aquis towels are towels used for dog grooming.  They are lighter weight but still do a great job of sucking the water off your hair and into the towel, and they cost about 1/2 of what the name brands cost.

Also, remember to apply conditioner just to the length - not to the scalp hair.  That hair typically does not need the conditioner and might become greasy looking  if conditioner is added.

Let us know how your "experiments" work out.  :D

Sounds like your off to a good start, Jonathan. Let us know what works out.

As for the microfiber towels, they are excellent! You can also find them in the auto dept. of most chain stores like Target, Wal*Mart, etc.

Good luck!