Coarse hair care?

[Dreams_in_Pink]

There's a fine hair thread, so it was obligatory for me to start one for coarse hair care

Seriously, how do we care for our wiry, sewing-thread-thick strands?

As far as i know (and experience) coarse hair doesn't split anywhere as frequent as fine hair does. This makes me believe that it's stronger than fine hair and doesn't require that much care. Could i be wrong? How does coarse hair show damage? How soft can coarse hair get, and what oils/products/routines work best?

Speaking of my own experience, pretty much nothing i put on my hair makes it smoother. I tried cones, conditioners, SMT, many kinds of oils (except for %100 pure coconut oil), WO wash, CO wash and SO. My hair's either weighed down or "sticky" (happens with conditioner) or brittle.

ETA: Have to mention this. I see there are many "OMG i found a coarse strand in my beautiful hair!" threads lately... Chill, people! coarse hair cannot be that bad, come oooon!

[Dreams_in_Pink]

*bump*

So, i'm the only coarse-haired member here?

[Vermelha]

I definitely have coarse hair. Like you described, my hair definitely is sewing-thread thick ^_^. Once, I picked up a pair of scissors with a strand of my hair. It held up without breaking.

But I wouldn't say it's invincible. I get splits because my hair is coarse AND curly and tends to get fairy knots. I get knots sometimes and because my hair is strong, knots are hard to remove. Those sometimes are worse than splits. But generally it's really strong; My hair can withstand high levels of heat with very little to no damage.

It's also coarse and dry, so I do regular oilings on my hair while it's wet. When it dries, it feels like a mixture of mink and silk (which is rather lovely, actually). I use warm coconut and castor oil mixed together on my hair and scalp. And because my hair is curly too, occasionally I'll use a little bit of vegetable shortening (not butter flavored, lol, unscented safflower and cottonseed oil, i'm not that crazy) on my length to smooth hair into buns and other styles, kind of like an inexpensive pomade. For some reason, my coarse hair loves to be oiled. I wonder if other coarsies are like that...

But I have had the stickiness before. I fixed that with using a bit less oil on wet hair, then brushing it through when dry to distribute. It got rid of the "stuck together" feel that my hair usually gets. If I've used too much oil, I'll just rinse with warm water and my hair still feels moisturized, but not sticky. I'm a WO washer too (well, mostly). When I actually have to do my hair (those wretched "special occasions") I use Garnier Fructis Triple Nutrition Shampoo because it has oil extracts in it and just SLS. My hair doesn't like conditioner very much.

Also, do you brush? I brush with my wooden BBB. My finer haired friends think I'm crazy, but my hair can hold up to daily brushing. It really helps with the oiling.

[Dreams_in_Pink]

I'm lucky to have 2a hair then I almost never get any knots (and i sleep with my hair loose, go figure )

My hair hardly ever responses anything i put on it. Recently, my hair laughed hard on the overnight SMT treatment All it did was to cut down on the poof, which could well be a result of not using shampoo to get it out.

Only oils work; i'm thinking of doing an overnight deep oil treatment with coconut and olive oils on my length and ends.

I'm neutral about BBB. I never use it on clean, dry hair though, i only use it for dirty or oiled hair. Besides, BBB breaks down all my wurls and makes my hair straight, which i don't like.

[Vermelha]

^^I brush through day-old hair, usually. Sometimes, I go overboard with the oil, so I do brush once my hair is dry from washing. But mostly, I brush when it's been a day or two. I'll need to do it more being that I'm starting to go even longer between washes.

I used to not brush because it actually is bad to run a brush through tight curls, but I braid or bun my length when it's wet and let it airdry so that my curls are much smoother and looser. Sometimes I band down my length. It actually turns out pretty straight and makes it easier for me to brush through.

But yeah, treatments laugh at my hair too. I have to leave them in for a really long time to get some softness. The only treatment I've used that actually made my hair feel like butter was Garnier Fructis 3-Minute Undo Treatment. I was amazed because my hair doesn't really respond to deep conditioners. I only left it in for 3 minutes too, or I think maybe less...it worked so well, my hair was borderline mushy...Oil is the only thing I can use that gives consistent results.

[chopandchange]

My underneath hair is coarse, but my top hair is much finer, silkier and smoother.

It's like I've had a partial hair transplant from an incompatible donor.

[Katurday]

I've got mostly coarse hair.I've found what works for me is really heavy oils (EVOO) for DT and lighter oils on wet hair for softness (Coconut). My hair usually does not split, but due to my ends being bleached, dyed, bleached, dyed, dyed, dyed, dyed... Cutting my hair feels odd because it feels like the scizzors are struggling to get through all the thick strands.

On another note, does anyone else who is coarse and fairly straight have problems with holding updos? I feel like my wiry strands are so slippery that everything just slips out of my hair.

[Dreams_in_Pink]

Sometimes I band down my length. It actually turns out pretty straight and makes it easier for me to brush through.

Oil is the only thing I can use that gives consistent results.

banding for straightening?? I have to try this one!!

My underneath hair is coarse, but my top hair is much finer, silkier and smoother.

It's like I've had a partial hair transplant from an incompatible donor.

I think that's the best combination; you have the silky-smooth canopy and coarse hair under to add volume.

Cutting my hair feels odd because it feels like the scizzors are struggling to get through all the thick strands.

hhahaha i know what you mean!! Back when i chopped my ponytail it took me about a minute to cut it all off and yeah, the scissors weren't too sharp either though

[chopandchange]

I think that's the best combination; you have the silky-smooth canopy and coarse hair under to add volume.

I tend to agree, although it frustrates me sometimes that I have two different sorts of hair. I am glad the silky shiny part is the visible part, on top, and not the other way around!

[my2cats1]

My hair is the reverse -- courser on the canopy and closer to medium on the underside.

My hair type is one of the factors that influenced my decision to grow. It tends to mushroom into "triangle head" at shoulder length (unless I get LOTS of layers put in) so I hope that having some length will help weigh it down and make it more manageable.

Ending my use of all heat styling and brushes gave me a pleasant surprise -- my hair looks smoother and happier if I just let it dry naturally and use a wide tooth-comb.

I've tried to go cone-free, but my hair rebelled. I use a combination of cones and oils now, and it seems to do the trick.

My course hair is nice in that I rarely get splits. Split ends are such a frequent concern here that I began to worry that I must not be seeing mine. I would clarify the cones away and then search and search....but no, no splits. It wasn't until I began to learn about my hair type that I began to relax about my unsuccessful split-end searches. Weird problem to have, I know!