hair facts i've always suspected ...

[Hollyfire3]

I would add:
• hair needs conditioner or some kind of moisturizer, not just shampoo
• shampoo, and even conditioner, are not necessary

I just wish someone had told these things to my 14-year-old self! My poor hair as a teen... shampoo and no conditioner every day, sometimes double shampooing...

I wash daily...my hair is perfectly alright, its not too harsh and I sometimes lather up more than once, no harm done here, I guess it just varies. I use lots of conditioner though.

[Tisiloves]

I have thick hair so a lot of stylists like to layered my hair to make it "thinner." This only result is the ends of my hair being extremely but it puff up big time near the root which makes my head look like a ball. So:
-layers DOES NOT thin out thick hair, just make them more concentrated on top (at least for me)

This! Exactly this!

Especially if it's dry, I look like a porcupine.

[dulce]

TRISH IN SC,check out the" Gray and Proud" facebook page,also check their Gray and Proud vol 1 and vol 2 videos on utube.Great examples of silver hair,all styles and lengths and great before[dyed] and after[silver] shots for comparison.Hope that reassures you on going silver.

[dulce]

Gray and Proud[vol 2] on utube has the before and after pics.

[catamonica]

I have not trimmed my hair since last summer. I started wearing a braided bun November 2011.
In march my hair grew four inches. After two years of not growing. No need to trim. I have
no split ends. I wish I would have worn it up years ago. It would probably be a lot longer.
Wearing a bun really helps. You protect the ends, & it helps your hair to grow. I think you
should trim only if you really need to.

[Shermie Girl]

One of the biggest lessons I have learned since discovering LHC is that there are as many good ways to grow and care for hair as there are heads of hair. Everyone is different and products, processes and styling tricks that work for me may not work for you and vise versa.

As far as trimming is concerned, I am in infrequent trimmer and tend to take large-ish trims (a couple of inches or more) when I do. I haven't noticed an increase or decrease in my growth rate after a trim. (Easy for me to track, since I am a bottle blonde. ) My growth rate is a tad faster than the "norm" and my hair has a tendency to gallop, at times. It will grow very slowly for a few weeks or a month, then suddenly... Bam! Three quarters of an inch of roots are a showin'. I think that our growth rate varies and is not completely steady. I also believe that trims can coincide with a "gallop" and that gives the impression that a trim has "made the hair grow faster". I also agree that trimming damaged ends can give the appearance that the hair is growing faster because the ends are no longer breaking off as fast as the hair grows from the scalp. These are my observations, based on my experience with my own hair, of course. Your own experience may be very different.

I don't believe that bleaching/dyeing/high lift lightening are necessarily bad. If done carefully, if maintained with just doing roots, hair can grow long, looks and feel lovely and be shiny and "healthy" looking.

I blow dry, when I am in a hurry or want a specific look. I use low or medium heat, My fingers or a wide tooth comb. A brush doesn't touch my hair until it is nearly fully dry, then I round brush it with a huge round brush with gentle tension and liberal use of the cold shot button. Hair, much like skin can be burned. If the air coming out of my blow dryer is comfortable on the skin on my face, I don't think that it is doing that much harm to my hair.

I firmly believe that "heat protection products" is the biggest hair lie ever. So called heat protectors are nothing more than silicone/oil or a mix. They don't actually stop heat from getting to and damaging the hair. They do make the hair slick, preventing hot tools from sticking. These products also make the hair look and feel shiny and silky and make it look prettier. But true protection? No frakking way. Especially the way I have seen it used, a bare mist in the direction of the hair. Yeah... No.

I don't believe that hair can be "healthy". Hair is dead, kids. It can be pretty, shiny, smooth, silky and healthy looking. But healthy? Nope. Something dead can't have health.

Of course, all of this is just my opinion. I may be wrong.

[dulce]

The heat protection is a lie ,I used a flat iron with the spray religously a few years ago and after a year,stopped as my hair got so damaged.

[BeckyAH]

I agree with Shermie Girl. I think there are no real universal rules for anyone. People, lifestyles, hair-goals, water quality, access to product, and most importantly hair types are all so very different, that I don't think there any absolute dos and don'ts.

[ravenreed]

I have to trim often or my hair gets more tangles which leads to more damage. I don't trim much, but I do trim regularly. Trimming regularly doesn't make your hair grow faster, but it does let it get longer faster because the damage that would break off or cause problems is removed. Some people can get away without trimming, some cannot.

Additionally, I have to brush my hair when wet, or any tangles that would be allowed to dry will be there for ever. I use a tangle teazer and I am very careful. I don't have any damage from it. Finally, CO washing my hair every other day is a must. Otherwise, my ends get too dry. Some cleansing methods are more gentle than others.

Everything on LHC is YMMV. Everything.