Giving up the dye/bleach and growing out natural? Share your progress.

**JustPam** · July 30th, 2014, 06:09 AM

Last dye was May '13, currently 3 different shades, natural colour, the last colour dye I used, and some previously bleached base showing through at the ends.

**abauer789** · July 30th, 2014, 12:50 PM

jocosobe Yes, I got my hair chopped at about 19 months. I was on a natural high for weeks after that! I had it cut on May 23rd and I am still so excited when I think about it, touch my hair or see it in the mirror! I cut it shorter than yours so all the dye/bleach is gone. Mine was cut to just brush the shoulders. I hated the length but it was totally worth it. It has grown really fast since then. I going to do micro trims every 8 -10 weeks and let it grow. Not sure how long but at least to collar bone length.
How long are you letting yours grow?
I love your natural hair color BTW

**abauer789** · July 30th, 2014, 12:55 PM

JustPam Your transition looks so natural! You are lucky that you can grow out so gracefully!

I envy your hair color and length!!

**Angel_Abby** · July 30th, 2014, 03:00 PM

I've just had the most dramatic cut (to date) that's on my grow natural plan. From nearly waist back up to shoulder. The brassiness is still really apparent, but I'm going to let it go another year and cut back to shoulder each summer until it's my own virgin hair... No coloring, no heat.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/xew0y0h98z...2015.59.20.jpg

**jocosobe** · July 31st, 2014, 05:47 AM

abauer789 I totally get the "natural high" state, I can only find pros in having short hair! Less product needed when deep conditioning, it's a cute hairstyle, you feel so light, no tangles to deal with and the list goes on and on. I plan on doing microtrims aswell, and hopefully all the bleach will be gone in the end of the year

And the fact that the growing out process will be so much quicker when you're not dealing with heat and chemical damage is so comforting to know.

I think I'm letting it grow to about bellybutton length or a bit longer, which I had a couple of years ago. But for now, I'm really enjoying short hair! How about you, how long are you growing your hair?

**blue_eyes** · July 31st, 2014, 08:27 AM

Last night I had a dream that I had my hair cut to my shoulders, and after getting over the horror of losing so much length, I realized that my hair was all virgin! I was so excited & couldn't stop playing with it. Sadly I woke up to roots that are just about 6 inches long :P

I swear I has this dream because of this thread, haha.

**Sparklylady82** · July 31st, 2014, 08:50 AM

Originally Posted by jocosobe

On saturday, It's been 18 months since I last bleached my hair. And my best friend cut out nearly 8 inches of the bleach yesterday(!!)
I feel soo liberated and free, and I can't believe my hair is so soft and healthy. Right now, i'd say that I have about 75% of virgin hair and I'm feeling so close to my goal.
I'm going to keep on cutting layers in the bleached areas, and hopefully by October-November, It will all be gone

In the pictures, it looks a bit uneven and wavy because I slept in a bun, but it's straighter and a bit longer in it's natural state.

I love your natural color!

Originally Posted by Belle Paix

I'll join in! I'm a newbie, and after having short hair for four years (3 & 1/2, I guess!), I've decided no more coloring and no more heat. I colored my hair back to it's original brown last night (or pretty close), and am starting new. Holy Crap!

Welcome! You will notice such a big difference even within the first month of no heat styling! You won't want to use heat anymore :-)

Originally Posted by JustPam

Last dye was May '13, currently 3 different shades, natural colour, the last colour dye I used, and some previously bleached base showing through at the ends.

Your making progress! Love your length!

Originally Posted by Angel_Abby

I've just had the most dramatic cut (to date) that's on my grow natural plan. From nearly waist back up to shoulder. The brassiness is still really apparent, but I'm going to let it go another year and cut back to shoulder each summer until it's my own virgin hair... No coloring, no heat.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/xew0y0h98z...2015.59.20.jpg

Looks so healthy! I bet it feels great to start fresh!

Originally Posted by blue_eyes

Last night I had a dream that I had my hair cut to my shoulders, and after getting over the horror of losing so much length, I realized that my hair was all virgin! I was so excited & couldn't stop playing with it. Sadly I woke up to roots that are just about 6 inches long :P

I swear I has this dream because of this thread, haha.

Ahhh, I have hair dreams too! haha!

**kjm777** · July 31st, 2014, 12:09 PM

Hi everyone, I would like some advice to help my daughter, she has fine shoulder length curly hair, her natural hair colour is light brown but after two years of highlights her hair is quite dry and a very light blonde, she wants to grow out the highlights and also grow her hair. My questions are, is it best to keep her hair shoulder length until her highlights have grown out ? Is there a non permanent dye that will not damage her hair just to blend the highlights with the virgin hair, I have read about loreal non permanent 8 washes, I hear it has been discontinued but I can still obtain it, has anyone tried this ? All of her friends seem to have long straight lovely hair and I just want to help my daughter to feel good about herself