Increased shedding now that my hair is mostly virgin?
Texture: 2a
Density: Thick
Treated: ~50% virgin, ~50% combination of chemically bleached & photobleached.
Almost a year ago I decided to go on a natural hair growth journey after going through phases of dying and bleaching my hair off and on for a decade. My hair has remained basically the same length for now since I get pretty frequent trims. Now that my hair is far healthier and thicker, I am noticing that products weigh it down a lot more. I also have increased shedding. I had assumed that growing out my natural hair would make it shed less. I use conditioner once every two/three washes instead of once every wash. Each time, even though it makes my hair smoother, I also shed a lot more. Did my hair need more product before to get moisture, and now that it needs less, I am causing the shedding by maintaining my old routine??
Does anyone have affordable lightweight conditioner & leave-in recs to combat this?