If you could do it all over again...

[MzCarrie]

So I chopped my hair off about a year ago into a 'pixie' cut. Yes it has advantages but I'm starting to miss my locks :rolleyes:. If you could start all over again what tips, tricks, suggestions would or could you give me? Currently my hair is about 2.5 inches at its longest length. My hair seems to do well with coconut oil (I hate the smell it leaves tho may try to add something to it). That's really all I've tried. I think my hair is 1bMi. I'm caucasian with what I consider fine strands but a head full of hair (although my ponytails have never been 'thick' in diameter I don't seem to be lacking for fullness). Seriously ladies I need all the help I can get and would prefer the opinion and guidance from those who have been there and done that. I appreciate your time and any input. :bowtome:
Also I only use semi dyes. I'm early 30s and have a LOT of solid white friggin hair. Not grey..WHITE. Not ready to sport white hair yet so those with color advice please add your two cents too!

[melusine963]

If I could start again, I'd use coconut oil as a leave-in moisturizer and detangler from the start, and I would be super gentle with my hair. I'd wear it in protective updos as soon as it was long enough.

In reality, I was far too rough (and lazy) brushing and detangling. After I gave up using nasty elastics with metal bits (that destroyed my hair), I wore a braid for years, thinking that would be enough to protect my hair. I didn't realize that most of my breakage was occuring where the braid rubbed against my collar. As a result, I have a noticeable taper from my waist to my tailbone that will take at least another two years to grow out while I maintain my current length.

Good luck with your growth!

[jacqueline101]

If I could do it all over again I'd never cut my hair into a shag in 08. It was mid back or nearing it.

[PetuniaBlossom]

If I could do it all over again, I'd buy shares in a coconut oil company!
And I'd never have cut my hair, ever. Just trim the ends. Here I am, a *ahem* lady of very mature years, and I have no clue as to what my terminal length is. So from now on, it's coconut oil (with castor oil for the overnight soaks) and no chops.

[Madora]

So I chopped my hair off about a year ago into a 'pixie' cut. Yes it has advantages but I'm starting to miss my locks :rolleyes:. If you could start all over again what tips, tricks, suggestions would or could you give me? Currently my hair is about 2.5 inches at its longest length. My hair seems to do well with coconut oil (I hate the smell it leaves tho may try to add something to it). That's really all I've tried. I think my hair is 1bMi. I'm caucasian with what I consider fine strands but a head full of hair (although my ponytails have never been 'thick' in diameter I don't seem to be lacking for fullness). Seriously ladies I need all the help I can get and would prefer the opinion and guidance from those who have been there and done that. I appreciate your time and any input. :bowtome:
Also I only use semi dyes. I'm early 30s and have a LOT of solid white friggin hair. Not grey..WHITE. Not ready to sport white hair yet so those with color advice please add your two cents too!

Start off with hair of one length. It is easier to arrange and easier to S and D.

Less is more!!! I can't emphasize this too strongly.

A clean scalp is a healthy scalp.

Wash your hair when it needs it.

Brushing daily with a pure boar bristle brush is one of the best things you can do for your hair (be sure to detangle with a wide tooth comb first)!

Stay away from harmful things: heat of any kind, straightening

Use a drop or 2 of mineral oil to keep your hair moisturized. It is also a great detangler and helps tame frizzies.

Learn how to wear your hair up.

Refrain if at all possible from wearing ponytails. They are not hair friendly for a number of reasons.

Eat healthy and try daily scalp massage. Above all, have patience! Good luck!

[alexis917]

If I could do it all again, I wouldn't have bleached my hair at the start of freshman year. God, that was a terrible idea!

[MaryMarx]

If I could start over I would have taken that straightening iron, THROWN IT ON THE GROUND, jumped on it, kicked it out of the window, gone out to find it and lit it on fire. :p

[melusine963]

If I could start over I would have taken that straightening iron, THROWN IT ON THE GROUND, jumped on it, kicked it out of the window, gone out to find it and lit it on fire. :p

Same here. :) And I would have known better than to use hair mousse and then brushed it out dry. I had spectacular curls, but the damage from brushing it out (thereby ripping the hair strands that had been glued together apart) was indescribeable. It took me well over a year of thorough S&D sessions to get rid of it, and now I have to live with the taper the broken off hairs have left me with.

[Krystall]

Refrain if at all possible from wearing ponytails. They are not hair friendly for a number of reasons.


Not even with a satin scrunchie, placed in various places (High, low, mid)? :confused:

[Amber_Maiden]

I wouldn't have used henna. lol. And wouldn't have chopped so much.

[hermosamendoza]

Too many things to even remember probably!
It all started around age 13-14..starting to dye my hair,
age 15-16 cutting it all off into one of those punk hairstyles where it's spikey with two long pieces in the front.
age 17-20 dying my hair black, then red, then black, then red. then trying to bleach the ends several times...because the hairstylist wouldn't ever tell me no. Oh and I bleached the ends on top of a perm!
21 cutting it all off because it was literally breaking off. then pulling it up into a ponytale and cutting it off to get layers.
22-23 coloring it red. then using henna to seal the ends from breaking off (the henna was good thing)
23 cutting it all off like my siggy pic #1 and coloring it black, then getting highlights because the color was too harsh....
24/5and then once it grew out I bleached the ends and colored the ends then cut in a bunch of rediculous layers in. Now I'm currently growing out the bleach and the layers....

I'm only happy with my hair when it's one length and really long. I've only let my hair get that length twice...now I'm in the process of doing it again except I won't give in this time.

[bunnylake]

I would never have dyed my hair with permanent dyes or bleach, and I never would have straightened it. These habits lead me to chop BSL hair to chin length a few years ago.

Scalp massages are great for stimulating healthy growth. You can use a carrier oil like coconut or jojoba, mixed with a few drops of rosemary and lavender essential oils.

[hermosamendoza]

Not even with a satin scrunchie, placed in various places (High, low, mid)? :confused:

I wear my hear in various places and haven't noticed any major damage from. I just avoid metal pieces or jagged plastics

[laceyfairy]

I might not dye my hair red/pink/purple but it's fun and it's fading already. Maybe I'd get my wooden comb earlier.

[Angel Barchild]

I wouldn't change a thing (except maybe the mall bangs). It was all part of getting where I'm at now. Not to mention I had too much fun on the way :D.

[lundmir]

I wouldn't bleach it that much, I would get some color oops instead whenever I wanted to change my color.

[spookyghost]

If I could start over I would have taken that straightening iron, THROWN IT ON THE GROUND, jumped on it, kicked it out of the window, gone out to find it and lit it on fire. :p

LMAO! Me too! The straightening iron, bleach, and color have destoyed my hair. And the straightener being the worse one of them all! I cant believe I didnt realize what I was doing to my hair-Never Again!

[neko_kawaii]

I grew out a pixie starting in '08. When I noticed it was kinda long in '11 I needed to trim about 9 inches off to remove the dry split prone ends. That is an average of 3 inches of damage a year. One year later I needed to trim off one inch to remove the dry ends. The things I did differently were: deep oiling before washes and buns instead of braids to avoid hair band damage.

[Loviatar]

I would never, EVER, EVER have used Indigo. :(

[shutterpillar]

I would never have bleached it. I have zero remorse about using hair dye because I feel it is very important to be able to express myself and that is one of the ways I used to do it, but the bleached KILLED my hair. I only bleached a few streaks, and the difference between that hair and my dyed hair is insane. The dyed part isn't so bad, but the bleached bits have always had splits, white dots and breakage. Thankfully, I only have about 2 inches of bleach damage left, so it should be gone by spring of next year.

Another thing I wouldn't have done is use a straightener almost daily. I don't know why I was so dead-set on having stick straight hair, but it was not worth it.

[girlcat36]

I would never, ever have let my hair see the light of day! Two summers of working outside in the sun destroyed five years of hard earned growth. I had to cut back to 16" from nearly waist length. :(

I will always protect my hair from the sun!

[battles]

I would have never used henna.

[PerkyCurlz]

I would have:
- kept my hair all one length after my hair grew below my shoulders
- learned more ways to wear my hair up during the 'growing out' stage
- avoided hair elastics (even the 'ouchless' ones)
- never put my hair in a ponytail or braid for work when wet
- oiled my hair more
- used Robert Craig hair coloring exclusively
- never tried to go red a couple of years ago

[Miss Maisie]

I would never, ever, ever, ever have bought a flat iron. EVER.

That's...pretty much it. I wish I would have grown it out sooner, but you know what? I looked GREAT with short hair. :-P Long hair gives me a different vibe, and while I'm starting to enjoy it now (almost BSL), I hated it from shoulder length until about a week ago!

[MzCarrie]

Thanks for all the replies!! I'm going to have to look into this oiling thing a bit more to get serious about getting a routing down.

Madora: I tried the mineral oil today, just a tiny amount because I have been having to use like a pomade for my short hair because in my part I have pieces that stick straight up. It worked GREAT! And made my hair shiny too. I will never buy another tub of gunk to put on my hair again!

Someone also suggested adding lavender to my oil during scalp massage. Gonna have to try it because I don't really like how the oil smells and I love lavender!

**Speaking of lavender have any of you used Paul Mitchell Lavender Shampoo and Conditioner before? Is it any good for your hair?

[Mesmerise]

I would never have bought a flat iron... and I would have kept with the henna instead of using it a couple of times and then returning to box dye before FINALLY committing to henna. Oh, and I wouldn't have gone vegan! I know vegan seems to work for some people, but that precluded the worst ever shedding of my life... and I've lost literally years of growth because my hair got so stringy and I've had to cut off so much.

[MzCarrie]

Thanks for all the replies!! I'm going to have to look into this oiling thing a bit more to get serious about getting a routine down.

Madora: I tried the mineral oil today, just a tiny amount because I have been having to use like a pomade for my short hair because in my part I have pieces that stick straight up. It worked GREAT! And made my hair shiny too. I will never buy another tub of gunk to put on my hair again!

Someone also suggested adding lavender to my oil during scalp massage. Gonna have to try it because I don't really like how the oil smells and I love lavender!

**Speaking of lavender have any of you used Paul Mitchell Lavender Shampoo and Conditioner before? Is it any good for your hair?

[CurlyCap]

Absolutely nothing. :D

Tips.
1. Enjoy your pixie. Hair always seem to grow SO slowly....unless you're trying to maintain a pixie.

2. Enjoy every length and make sure the cut is something flattering and that you enjoy. The progress may be a bit slower, but you won't feel "unfinished" because your hair isn't yet long.

3. Pamper your short locks. Pretty hair is pretty hair and any goodness you give your short hair translates directly into the health of your future ends.

4. Keep your ear to the ground for ways to better take care of your hair. It's SO much easier to experiment with new concoctions, products, or techniques with short hair. You don't need as much goop/tools and you don't have to wrangle as much hair.

5. Don't be afraid of trims. Make sure the hairdresser (and as it grows..yourself) doesn't trim too much, but healthy ends now mean that you don't have to do major chops later to cut a massive amount of splits, damage or thinning.

6. Take a picture about once a month demonstrating how cool your hair is. It will feel like your hair is never growing, but having photos always quickly drives home that your hair IS actually growing. It's like a security blanket for the immense amount of patience it takes to grow long hair.

Good luck. Love that pixie!

[MissAlyssa]

I wouldn't have used a very dark permanent dye on my hair for a year after all the trouble I went through bleaching it blonde(my natural color). I lost a lot of length and good hair health because I had to bleach it a second time, probably would have been almost waist by now :P oh well, now I appreciate my natural color soo much more :)

[KwaveT]

I think I have done everything right except I probably should have never did CO. I would have started growing my hair sooner so that it would be longer than it is now. I waited way too long to make decision to grow my hair.

[princess007]

I am growing out a pixie that I got April of 2011. It is now a couple inches below my shoulders. I would suggest.....
1. Keep up on the trims.
Obviously not every 6-8 weeks like you do to maintain the pixie but enough to keep from getting the mullet look. Also to keep it healthy! I think alot of people wait too long in between trims and then they realize they have to cut LOTS of length off at once and end up back in a much shorter length again.

2. Find pictures (I did this) of goal styles/lengths in between. For me, my true final goal length is tailbone. However, it would feel like FOREVER if that was the only goal I had. So I find pics of lengths at every step of the way. Then every 4- 6 months or so, I realize that I have met my next goal length and it feels great.

3. Start NOW with being gentle on your hair even though its still really short....no heat, no rough brushing ....etc.

[Miss Catrina]

Another vote for "I never should have started straightening my hair". My hair is so much nicer now than it was when I straightened and that's the only explanation.

I never would have let my crazy teacher cut my hair in June. I looked like I'd had surgery on the back of my head!

I never would have gotten "bangs" at the same time.

I wouldn't have cut my own bangs last time around. Somewhere along the line something went terribly wrong.

[Delila]

Not even with a satin scrunchie, placed in various places (High, low, mid)? :confused:

Ponytails of any type seem to have damaged my hair.

The tension through the strands causes breakage, and since there are only a few positions available, over time, the damage will be basically in one place.

I only ever realized how much damage I was doing tying off my braids once I quit tying them off.

For me, a curved three tine fork has proved to be the most reliably gentle hairtoy option.

[Delila]

Absolutely nothing. :D

Tips.
1. Enjoy your pixie. Hair always seem to grow SO slowly....unless you're trying to maintain a pixie.

2. Enjoy every length and make sure the cut is something flattering and that you enjoy. The progress may be a bit slower, but you won't feel "unfinished" because your hair isn't yet long.

3. Pamper your short locks. Pretty hair is pretty hair and any goodness you give your short hair translates directly into the health of your future ends.

4. Keep your ear to the ground for ways to better take care of your hair. It's SO much easier to experiment with new concoctions, products, or techniques with short hair. You don't need as much goop/tools and you don't have to wrangle as much hair.

5. Don't be afraid of trims. Make sure the hairdresser (and as it grows..yourself) doesn't trim too much, but healthy ends now mean that you don't have to do major chops later to cut a massive amount of splits, damage or thinning.

6. Take a picture about once a month demonstrating how cool your hair is. It will feel like your hair is never growing, but having photos always quickly drives home that your hair IS actually growing. It's like a security blanket for the immense amount of patience it takes to grow long hair.

Good luck. Love that pixie!

Great advice. Thanks for saving me all that typing. :)

I grew mine out from a pixie, with help from a stylist. Growing out bangs was the toughest, but growing out the layers was also a pain.

For me, though, as a complete newbie for all things about long hair, I had a lot to learn about, so some of the damage I did along the way was done in service to my need to know what works and what doesn't.

What'd I learn? Anything that makes my scalp itch and have tender spots is bad, so I avoid putting my hair up when it's damp, and I avoid putting conditioner on my scalp. Those two things have saved me a lot of physical discomfort. Took me a lot of journal posting to figure out what was working for me, and what wasn't.

[RileyJane]

If i could start all over again, i woulda ran into the salon my 10th grade self was in screaming "DON'T!!!" and never let me cut my hair into a bob, how silly that i thought i would like it :P hmmm, i guess i woulda stopped myself from dying it blonde, even though it was an adventure in itself

[Fnugg]

If I could do it again, I would have stopped using harsh shampoos and silicone filled conditioners that didn't do much for my hair. I would also have chucked my regular brush and gotten a boar bristle brush or similar. Changed my brushing style to a less aggressive one, and not tugging on the tangles. And one of the things that still annoys me a lot, actually establishing a brushing schedule, brushing often enough to avoid the toughest and most damaging tangles that take for ever to brush out.