Yay, I'm happy things are looking up!! I love the plan. And I totally understand feeling like you should know better. It's true, you know your hair better than any of us. We can provide suggestions but you're the only one who knows what your normal/healthy hair feels and acts like.
@Prisangela gave some really good advice and product recommendations! And I 2nd her advice to always DC w heat. So funny bc the only other neutralizing poo that I liked was ORS Olive oil Creamy Aloe. That's available everywhere (grocery stores, Walmart/Target, online) and not super expensive. Back when I used it the ladies said it was a neutralizer and chelator. Thanks for the clarification.
Speaking of more expensive poo, I just don't usually do expensive products. I believe technique is more important. Almost every time I try out an expensive product, I'm disappointed that it's usually not as good as my cheap stuff or self-mixed stuff.
Having said that... Unless you're in a humid climate, glycerin may not be a good moisturizer if you're not sealing it in with something heavy. Some ppl seal with grease, vaseline or a butter (shea, mango, etc). Back in the day, the long haired relaxed ladies who were "juicing" usually sprayed the s-curl and then bunned or something that, to me, helped insulate the moisture. I could see that working. I personally can't do glycerin as a moisturizer at all but it (and other humectants) are very moisturizing when mixed into a DC.
Here's what I've been using as my daily moisturizing combo since 2009: water, condish, oil. Water, Suave Tropical Coconut and EVOO and/or Grapeseed oil. That's it! This combo has never failed me and does not break the bank.
I put those three items in a spray bottle to make my daily moisturizing spray. When I M&S I spray my hair until damp and then seal it in with EVOO and/or Grapeseed oil. Sometimes my mix is mostly water and sometimes it's thicker, about 50/50, but always no more than 10% oil. I do like to add essential oils for scent, my go to is Sweet Orange Oil.
Sometimes to M&S, I rub in the the Suave straight and then just massage in oil to seal and then cover my head. Suave is usually about $1-3.
For a moisturizing DC, cheap old Queen Helene Cholesterol is my staple. I keep tubs of it under the counter. I add things to either make more moisturizing (salt, EVOO, Hibiscus) or strengthening (plain full fat yogurt, ayurveda powders or amino acid w baking soda) depending on what type of conditioning my hair needs. But it's my understanding that just using it alone on a regular basis is good as it is supposed to be moisturizing. It's usually about $2-3. And grocery bags make really good conditioning caps!
The other ladies can probably suggest good product lines to try if that's better for you.
I just wanna make sure that you're actually getting moisture into your hair. That way you can get to a point where you can put it away for a little bit to let it rest. Or even just do biweekly wash, DC, blowouts.