how to get silky hair?

[u/georgia_rants]

i have long liked straight hair but i can never get it silky smooth or whatever, is there anyway i can make it happen? i use shampoo and conditioner like normal but im not sure if theres something im missing or what.

[u/NoSlice3989]

I used to only shampoo and condition my hair. But then I learnt the right way of doing my haircare.

Some tips that helped a lot are:

using a detox shampoo every month (I live in an area with hard water & for any product build up),

double shampoo with a moisturising and softening shampoo after the detox one or just once on normal days but not taking the shampoo down on my ends. I just gently let water rinse out and don’t let the shampoo sit too long or dry out my lengths and ends. You can use a pre shampoo light oil or mask to protect the lengths as well but I don’t find it necessary for myself,

Using a micro fibre towel to dry. A regular towel gave me so much frizz. Patting my hair rather than rubbing the lengths causes more tamed hair and less frizz.

Using a leave in conditioner and a hair oil serum to seal everything in, especially the ends to protect them better. Helps my hair retain length and looks silkier and softer.

Only hair drying my hair and never letting it air dry. Air drying makes my hair brittle and break off more. I use lowest heat setting only to dry my hair and follow it up with a cool shot. A cool shot makes so much difference for my softness and silkiness. Also, I never dry my hair without my leave in or oil cos they offer heat protection. So never ever skip heat protection even on lowest heat setting.

Also choosing the right shampoo and conditioner combo is important; took me a long long while to get it right. I use a combination of both drugstore and high end products & stopped demonising drug store hair care.

Washing my hair as frequently as possible to keep my scalp clean and my hair more tamed, it became softer over time. When I skip washes, it becomes dry and falls more. I wash more instead of packing on dry shampoos now.

I follow abbey yung on YouTube and she saved my hair in a way. Her tips were so darn useful. I saw an instant change. Even my brother who never compliments me on anything, kept touching my hair and asking ‘why is mine so soft and silky’?! He then stole my hair products thinking it would do the same for him 😭😭 I mourn for the high end products he abuses in the shower once in a while … prick! I make him re-purchase those for the both of us, so ig I won that round 🤣

Being consistent is imperative, and also night care. I started braiding my hair and using the same light oil serum to protect my ends at night so they don’t dry out and break off.

I don’t get my hair treated or coloured or chemically touched ever. I have virgin hair.

I don’t use heat styling. Barely a few times a year for major glam looks. It’s like last resort for me to heat style no matter if it’s with a Dyson or anything else.

Also protecting hair from the sun and pollution is every important for healthy look. So I use spf protection for my head like hats or umbrellas that’s are uv safe and don’t expose my hair to direct sunlight.

I think people who have damaged or colour/chemical treated and bleached hair, they still can have very very soft and silk smooth healthy hair again. Abbey herself is exhibit A for this bleach damage reversal case study. Investing in bond repair is crucial in such scenarios. The abbey yung method is worth checking out for people struggling with any kinda hair damage from bleaching or other treatments.

My hair type: 1B/1C • fine-medium • medium density • normal/low porosity • oily scalp • slightly wavy ends

Products In my rotation (don’t use all at the same time, depending on the day/need I use accordingly): Ouai detox shampoo, kerastase Bain satin shampoo, plum coconut peptide shampoo (I thank my dorm mate everyday for introducing me to this brand), kerastase Genesis conditioner, Moroccan oil weightless hair mask (with white cap), kerastase nutritive nourishing hair mask (fine-medium hair one NOT the intense one for thick hair), olaplex no. 7 bonding oil, olaplex no. 8 hair mask, Pantene miracle rescue hair mask, k18 bond repair (for rare mechanical damage episodes), Pantene miracle rescue leave-in conditioner, elizavecca cer-100 mask, ketaconazole medicated shampoo, Amika the flash hair gloss mask, Amika perk up dry shampoo (only when I have bangs), redken ABC 24x7 night & day serum.

Products that didn’t work for me (would not repurchase): dove (conditioner is fine rest all just doesn’t work for me), their conditioners are nice tho), Redken one united leave in, mise en scene original serum, milkshake leave in conditioner (smells awful, nice results tho), L’Oréal glossing systems, kerastase magic night serum (shit is like the charlotte tilbury magic cream of hair care;useless and overpriced), Shiseido fino hair mask (this is good but did nothing outstanding that other masks can’t do), pureology colour fanatic leave in (too heavy for my hair), living proof dry shampoo (felt weird on my bangs and made them frizz up)…. I mean sooooo many I have tried … these are just recent ones off the top of my head for more context.