growing lone with chemical treatments

[Brenna]

my hair is loosely wavy/curly and wanna grow it long.

however since my hair is still "transitioning". Even then, I have grey hair (starting going white since 21 and am now 28), and because my curls are inbetween I am thinking of having my curls permed (curlier not straightened) and dyed. and a micro-trim but since I haven't had my hair touched in 3 years I might need 1/2 inch or more trimmed off because I have dead ends more than 1/4 inch long, probably 1/2 inch long.

so could I still grow my hair with getting it chemicaled up? is it too much?


note ** ( haven't done anything to it in well over a year.

[Roscata]

Personally I would NOT recommend doing those things, if you do your hair will crumble, especially at the ends.

But if you 'must' dye it make sure you use coconut oil (apply heavily to hair, leave it on for one hour, then use the dye over the still oiled hair) to minimize damage. (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=10495) And possibly look into deposit only dyes that are peroxide and ammonia free. Or maybe look into natural hair dyes (http://adelinahair.blogspot.com/2012/12/all-about-cassia-obovada-henna-indigo.html) which will not damage your hair at all.

The perm is a really bad idea in my opinion because you can use other ways to curl your hair without damage (http://adelinahair.blogspot.com/2012/11/style-your-hair-without-damaging-it.html) and you would not want to leave your hair down on a regular basis anyway because the longer it gets the worse it is for your hair (tangles, environmental damage).

On the other hand it is your hair and you should do what makes you happy. Just know it will be damaged by perms and chemical dye so you'll probably have to trim often to keep it healthy and will gain length slowly and/or you will have a lot of split ends, dryness, lack of shine etc. on a regular basis. On that note if you use heat on your hair, now will be a good time to stop. This is one of those moments where you either accept/learn to love your natural hair texture and color or learn to live with damaged hair. If you're interested in avoiding damage and growing healthy hair, you may want to check out my blog entry: What you need to know about growing long healthy hair. (http://adelinahair.blogspot.com/2012/04/what-you-need-to-know-about-growing.html)

Good luck! :)

[arielágua]

wow roscata, that was one epic reply.
i agree with you.

[Roscata]

wow roscata, that was one epic reply.
i agree with you.

Lol. Thank you! :D :blushing:

[torrilin]

Looking at your profile pic, there's no way you're a 1c. We'd need a proper hair typing picture for sure, but I'd guess you're somewhere in the 2b to 3a range. Chances are if you want curlier hair, all you need to do is change to a more curl friendly hair routine.

[Sillage]

Brenna, double processing delivers a lot of damage. I permanently dye my hair (I started going white early too-- for me it was middle school!) with volume 20 developer (standard for gray coverage) but it's pretty healthy (no split ends at BSL+). Adding another chemical process on top of that tho :shudder:

I would go with Torrilin's advice first and switch to a more curl friendly routine and see where that takes you.

[jacqueline101]

I agree chemicals are evil. I'm going chemical free and my hair is doing better.

[spidermom]

I agree - your hair is not 1C but probably 3A. It's already curly, and a perm will give you crispy fries where beautiful curls now exist.

[Brenna]

hehe thanx for the replies.

soo - natural dyes. will look into it. No permanent -- i could hold off on that for a while and stick with a healthier regiment (sigh). hehe. but I know one thing that can't hold off - a good trim. haven't had one in YEARS!

any suggestions - I love my hair being blue black. but every time I try to color my hair it says to put it on dry and then it never penetrates all my hair. go figure.

[ravenreed]

I only got a perm once, and found it incredibly drying to my hair. I think it is more damaging than dyeing, personally. I managed to get to waist with dyeing regularly, so depending on your hair type and how long you want to grow your hair, it is possible. There are quite a few long hairs here who dye or bleach their hair. A lot depends on how much you are willing to baby it along the way.

[Allychan]

If you want it Blue black try adding a large dose of Indigo to a small amount of Henna. I accidently did that on one of my Henndigo applications and mine went black instead of dark brown.

[Brenna]

okay thanx. I have permed my hair on and off since I was 8 years old. I personally love it. and it usually lasts for a year in my hair. but since my hair is growing more it might be closer to 6-9 months if I get it done.

thanx I will look up indigo dying. thanx.

[jillosity]

Be very careful using indigo to get black hair, it is beyond permanent! You might look into Manic Panic or some other semi perm color to go black, before taking the indigo plunge. Also some people find indigo to be drying, I personally found it to be more drying than using henna alone, but YMMV. The thing with indigo is if you ever decide that you want to lighten your hair, or if you are out in the sun a great deal and your hair lightens from that, the indigo will show as green, so that's something to keep in mind.

I colored my hair for far too long and I was never able to get past BSL, might be my terminal length, but I'm pretty sure it was the color. So every chemical treatment affects length.

[Brenna]

well I have rethought it out - never had problems from henna or indigo, but I'm not in the sun like EVER either.

and perms - have never given me much issues as long as i take good care of my hair afterwards.

[jojo]

Personally I would NOT recommend doing those things, if you do your hair will crumble, especially at the ends.

But if you 'must' dye it make sure you use coconut oil (apply heavily to hair, leave it on for one hour, then use the dye over the still oiled hair) to minimize damage. (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=10495) And possibly look into deposit only dyes that are peroxide and ammonia free. Or maybe look into natural hair dyes (http://adelinahair.blogspot.com/2012/12/all-about-cassia-obovada-henna-indigo.html) which will not damage your hair at all.

The perm is a really bad idea in my opinion because you can use other ways to curl your hair without damage (http://adelinahair.blogspot.com/2012/11/style-your-hair-without-damaging-it.html) and you would not want to leave your hair down on a regular basis anyway because the longer it gets the worse it is for your hair (tangles, environmental damage).

On the other hand it is your hair and you should do what makes you happy. Just know it will be damaged by perms and chemical dye so you'll probably have to trim often to keep it healthy and will gain length slowly and/or you will have a lot of split ends, dryness, lack of shine etc. on a regular basis. On that note if you use heat on your hair, now will be a good time to stop. This is one of those moments where you either accept/learn to love your natural hair texture and color or learn to live with damaged hair. If you're interested in avoiding damage and growing healthy hair, you may want to check out my blog entry: What you need to know about growing long healthy hair. (http://adelinahair.blogspot.com/2012/04/what-you-need-to-know-about-growing.html)

Good luck! :) couldnt agree more, i use reflex which is just a rinse really but it lasts 6 weeks and causes no damage plus you can mix them which is what i do. I do them as it brightens my colour and is like a conditioning treatment.

[Brenna]

I am also thinking of maybe putting some henna in my daughters hair 2x a month, as I read it helps with curly hair and stuff. plus, my brown haired beauty wants to look like the little mermaid, hehe