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ghost
April 24th, 2013, 01:47 AM
The May issue of Allure actually has an article on growing/maintaining long hair that I thought would (more or less) pass muster with LHC. Granted, their definition of "long" seems to stop at about midback, and includes layers "a soft V shape that starts with face framing layers at your cheek bones...from there you want blended layers down to the ends. Your ends should come to a point in the middle of your back" but I found most of the article to be a pleasant surprise. They recommended trimming less than half an inch every two months which is reasonable, especially for someone in the first stages of growing out their hair who might be used to having it cut every 3 or 4 weeks. Also recommended are daily two minute scalp massages, oiling (in the form of serums or shampoos with oil, but hey, baby steps!), satin pillow cases+ sleeping with a high bun, stretching washes, barely blowdrying, and not using a whole lot of product other than a volumizer and shine spray. They even recommended a specific amount of biotin (5,000 mcg, as per a dermatologist) and the amount of time you would have to take it daily to see results (3-6 months, which explains why I'm just now starting to see a little faster growth).

I definitely felt like it was a mainstream-magazine spin on having long hair, especially to someone like me who wants hair that's at least knee length, but their minimalist approach to heat styling and product usage was pretty refreshing. I think it would be pretty helpful for people who want long hair but aren't sure how to go about growing it out or taking care of it once it's past their shoulders...maybe we'll start seeing more hair that's mid-back+.

embee
April 24th, 2013, 05:23 AM
Interesting to find something like that in Mainstream Media! ;) I am sure such a layered cut might be very attractive if you have the right hair for it - and never wanted to make an updo. For my thin straight hair, I'd be left with a few individual hairs at mid-back! ;)

duchesswannabe
April 24th, 2013, 05:31 AM
I have mixed feelings about this. I don't like articles that give the nod to something only to tell me how they would like it done. In other words, in order for you to feel good about wearing long hair, the writers of the article want everyone to do it their way--to go around with the same type of haircut.

Iolanthe13
April 24th, 2013, 06:24 AM
I think it was in the May edition of Elle that I read some surprisingly LHC-friendly advice. Something about avoiding heat, stretching washes and wearing hair up most of the time. Granted, the author of the article was complaining that this sort of thing wouldn't fit well with her lifestyle, but it was nice to see good hair advice printed in such a fashion-y magazine.

goldloli
April 24th, 2013, 07:32 AM
Kind of related: A girl at gymnastics class was telling the other girls with dye and heat damaged hair that moroccan oil (the branded silicone serum) scalp massages cured her bleach induced thinning and made her hair grow long (from above bsl to bsl). She tried it because of advice from a hairdresser on how to grow long hair.

SerinaDaith
April 24th, 2013, 07:49 AM
Styles cycle, long hair is in right now, next year everyone will be raving about pixies (not here but in mainstream media). I would look like hell with that layer plan, curls and poof and shrinkage on my! Follow what makes you happy and move on :)

Angelica
April 24th, 2013, 11:13 AM
I think it is refreshing to hear of a magazine advocating long hair. Too often they focus on short layered hair cuts. They also seem to focus on heating and curling the hair, so it's nice to hear of a magazine that is pro-long for a change.

sisi33
April 24th, 2013, 11:19 AM
That's very interesting that such a popular magazine is advocating minimal heat-usage, and stretching washes! Most of the time you see, "Use X, Y, and Z tools, then ruffle it!" And the "wash every. Single. Day!" articles in mags. I think it's very refreshing that they did this!

jacqueline101
April 24th, 2013, 01:48 PM
That is an interesting article.

MaryO
April 25th, 2013, 03:52 AM
I have mixed feelings about this. I don't like articles that give the nod to something only to tell me how they would like it done. In other words, in order for you to feel good about wearing long hair, the writers of the article want everyone to do it their way--to go around with the same type of haircut.

I totally agree!

cathair
April 25th, 2013, 08:32 AM
Wonder if the person researching this article googled 'long hair'. This site is the third result ;)

ghost
April 25th, 2013, 03:24 PM
I have mixed feelings about this. I don't like articles that give the nod to something only to tell me how they would like it done. In other words, in order for you to feel good about wearing long hair, the writers of the article want everyone to do it their way--to go around with the same type of haircut.

Yeah, I wasn't buying the whole "face framing layers" thing either, I like hair that's all one length. But the full article does have some good advice for people who aren't sure how to go about growing their hair, or for people who already have long hair and want to do something a little different with it. I didn't really get the feeling of "If you MUST have long hair, then it MUST be done like this otehrwise it's unfashionable and ugly". Of course, that's completely open to interpretation, and different readers will take away different things from the piece.


Wonder if the person researching this article googled 'long hair'. This site is the third result ;)

Heh, it's possible! LHC has been referenced before in other articles (not by Allure), with varying degrees of snark.

AgnesONutter
April 25th, 2013, 05:12 PM
If you look at fashion posters at the moment a lot of women have natural-ish bsl hair. That is, hair that looks pretty much just cut, washed and brushed be it straight, wavy or curly. It is refreshing, but as stated earlier in this thread, it is very much a "temporarily in fashion" thing, and not so much a sign of hair care changing.

Plus, I might be a bit cynical but there is a lot of money to be made in promoting natural hair care, no? There's special pillowcases needed, sleeping caps, soft elastics, a hundred different serums for different hair types and problems, scalp massage tools, scissors, special shampoos and conditioners that are actually beneficial to your hair etc. The beauty industry going natural is a way to keep things fresh, and keep the consumers consuming "new" products, no?

Still, it is refreshing. And I welcome it.

HintOfMint
April 25th, 2013, 09:50 PM
I've been reading about LHC-friendly hair care for years now (lifelong girl-mag connoisseur right here). The problem is, such advice involves liking your natural texture and working with it. I know so many girls who want to grow their hair out and they ask me for advice. When I tell them I don't heatstyle my hair, they just respond, "Ugh, my hair is so curly and frizzy, I HAVE to straighten it/have a brazillian keratin treatment/relax it!"
So they might think air-drying or the like is just out of the question for them and only for people who naturally have "nice hair" whatever that means.

In a way, I can see this advice actually being a little annoying if you're convinced your natural hair sucks. Like, have a cheeseburger to show your date how relaxed you are, but only if you're skinny and hot! Or, go without makeup to prove how confident you are, but only if you have even skin and dark eyelashes!
ETA: what I mean is, the advice is out there, but there's not a lot of push to embracing what you have instead of following trends.