One Year of Hair Growth!

[rachelbethany]

My last salon visit was in May of 2012, when I had my platinum, asymmetrical bob turned into a more straight across, ombre look. Since then, I've given up silicones/ most sulfates, thoroughly avoided heat styling of all kinds, used protective hairstyles, etc. I am so impressed with the rate of my hair growth. I still have a long way to go, but I've come a long way. The picture on the left was taken in September 2012. The one on the right is from this Sept. (2013)! I've only dusted my ends once and done a few S&D sessions.

Lately I've been debating trying henna or even going to the salon again for a tiny trim and some blonde highlights or red color. But I'm afraid seeing even the tiniest bit of difference in my length will make me sad. I'm growing out bleach and dye, so my hair is not at its healthiest, but my "virgin" color is just so boring that I'd consider slightly damaging the hair at this point just for a change in color! (I was super blonde as a kid, but my hair and eyes have both gotten much more muddy looking as I've aged.)

http://i1108.photobucket.com/albums/h402/rachelbnutt89/Hair/null_zps0aafdfd7.jpg

[woodswanderer]

Are you interested in non-damaging color that eventually comes out? Many people here like to use Manic Panic for the wilder colors. I am thinking of using Aveda root madder color depositing conditioner to add more red to my hair.

[Crumpet]

Actually, I think your natural suits your skin tone better. That being said, its your hair so you should do what makes you happy. In the meantime, it looks lovely!

[wildkratt]

Omg your hair is so beautiful! I love the rich brown with the ombre ends, they look really good on you. You could go red with henna if you want, but I personally like your current color. Like what Crumpet said, do what makes you happy.

Congrats on your progress! :D

[Silverbrumby]

Love your natural color btw. Reminds me of bella in twilight. I think blond washes you out a bit. I'd try manic panic, or henna or foils with tint only not bleach.

[MaryO]

Is it just me or is that A LOT of growth in a year? Well done, it looks lovely! I wouldn't jeopardise healthy hair with colour but that's just me!;-)

[CurlMonster]

Amazing progress! I think your natural colour looks lovely and really suits you, but of course it's up to you! :)

[Federica]

Your hair is lovely and it seems to grow very fast!
I think also your natural color has more potential than you think, you just never saw it at full-lenght, shining in the sunlight. But if you want to change it I think you definately should try the natural methods instead of bleaching/dying.
A friend of mine, who has really thin, straight ash blond hair uses to apply some beer on her hair and dry it under the sunshine with some coconut oil as a protection, and she gets beautiful highlights.
Also chamomile tea is known tho lighten hair.
If you want to go red, then, henna is the best solution.
But as I already told, I think your natural color has a great potential by his own :)
By the way you made a great progress! Keep growing and caring ;)

[mscm]

Gorgeous! There is hope for me too, then :D it sounds like you treat your hair very well so I would go for some highlights. I had my long natural hair with blonde highlights and I had the healthiest hair, took great care of it. :)

[mscm]

By the way, did you do oiltreatments and/or vitamins to help the growth?:)

[oatmealpie]

You could also use cassia instead of henna. It's a natural plant dye as well, but it brings out blonde rather than red tones.

[jacqueline101]

Your hair is pretty. As far as coloring goes I've used Clairol jazzing its wild colors deposit only will wash out. Anyways for a natural look you could try another Clairol product Ive never used before but my mom did that's the beautiful collection it's semi perminate. I don't think you need harsh chemicals to use it.

[melusine963]

Wow, that a lot of progress! Your hair looks great. :)

[AmyBeth]

I just wanted to jump in, in defense of your natural color. It's beautiful and looks so pretty on you. If I may say, I think it looks better than the blonde. It really brings out your eyes (which are also lovely) :). My own natural color is quite similar and I so wish I could have it back. When I began to grey, I sought to color over the greys and could never get that color replicated. I went to some very high end salons all across the state of Colorado and all I ever got was reddish brown. So I decided to hendigo to cover the grey and my hair is undamaged- but reddish/brown:(. I would be so glad to have my ash brownette/blonette back. For many of us, blonde highlights are going to be incompatible with the goal of extreme length. If your goal is not extreme length, you can probably do it. But I was always frustrated that my hair was never really blonde, but I wasn't really a brunette, and I just wanted a more defined hair color. My own hair was so "blah". I'm just telling you- it's not. It's pretty!

[rachelbethany]

Are you interested in non-damaging color that eventually comes out? Many people here like to use Manic Panic for the wilder colors. I am thinking of using Aveda root madder color depositing conditioner to add more red to my hair.

I used Manic Panic years ago when experimenting with lots of crazy colors, and I'd do so again in a heartbeat if I had a job that allowed me to have more out-of-the-ordinary colors. As it is, though, I'm trying to go more natural-looking colors.

[rachelbethany]

@MaryO For me it sure was a lot of growth! My hair used to grow so slowly (or seem to, anyway). But I went from straightening, hot rolling, bleaching, dyeing, etc., to the obsessive complete opposite, as well as really cracking down on my diet, so I think my hair was growing as fast as it possibly could for the past year! :)

[rachelbethany]

Gorgeous! There is hope for me too, then :D it sounds like you treat your hair very well so I would go for some highlights. I had my long natural hair with blonde highlights and I had the healthiest hair, took great care of it. :)

Hooray for ONE person defending some highlights. Thanks! Haha. A little fresh color really makes me feel so much more alive sometimes. I'm a VERY drastic person-- in the past I've lopped all my hair off on a day's thought, changed the color many times, and yet I've never really been unhappy with any of my hair choices. I feel like highlights, though damaging, are one of the safest routes I could go right now. The former me would have just chopped off all my hair immediately and drastically changed the entire color! haha! I agree that it's all about taking care of one's hair. As extremely careful as I am, I don't think the highlights would cause significant enough damage for me to worry.

Yes, I do oil treatments and the like from time to time. I am very interested in holistic care in general in my life, so I grow lots of herbs, an aloe plant, etc., that I use on my hair when I'm sensing it needs it. But mainly I just keep it very minimalistic. I have taken a raw multivitamin by Garden of Life that I really like, but typically I just try to eat lots of hair-healthy foods like sweet potatoes, fish, nuts, etc. I sometimes take a probiotic and stinging nettle, which I believe also support my hair health! :)

[rachelbethany]

You could also use cassia instead of henna. It's a natural plant dye as well, but it brings out blonde rather than red tones.

I've actually used cassia before and liked the results, but I am wanting something more drastic. With cassia, no one cold really notice a difference in my hair but me. Mainly, it just upped the shine of my hair. It did bring out the natural gold bits of my hair, but didn't really lighten the naturally darker parts, if that makes any sense.

[rachelbethany]

I just wanted to jump in, in defense of your natural color. It's beautiful and looks so pretty on you. If I may say, I think it looks better than the blonde. It really brings out your eyes (which are also lovely) :). My own natural color is quite similar and I so wish I could have it back. When I began to grey, I sought to color over the greys and could never get that color replicated. I went to some very high end salons all across the state of Colorado and all I ever got was reddish brown. So I decided to hendigo to cover the grey and my hair is undamaged- but reddish/brown:(. I would be so glad to have my ash brownette/blonette back. For many of us, blonde highlights are going to be incompatible with the goal of extreme length. If your goal is not extreme length, you can probably do it. But I was always frustrated that my hair was never really blonde, but I wasn't really a brunette, and I just wanted a more defined hair color. My own hair was so "blah". I'm just telling you- it's not. It's pretty!

Thanks for that! I've perused the blon(d)ette boards many a time over the years (I often browsed this website even before I was a member), and I certainly think it's an under-appreciated color. But when it comes down to it, I just feel like I'd love to warm my color up a bit. I honestly believe that my eyes always pop more with a warmer color; I think the side-by-side pics are a bit misleading in that one is taken under the sun with sunglasses on, while the other is in direct window light, which affects my eye color. But wanting a warmer color now doesn't mean I'll never let my natural color grow in again-- one great thing about being blonette is that I have so much natural color variation that growing out dye/bleach usually isn't such a harsh look. :) I think part of it is that, as a kid/teen, my hair was a different color, naturally, than it is now. So it almost feels like being true to my current natural hair color is like denying my REAL natural hair color, the one I was born with/looks best with my skin tone and eyes. Then again, my eyes have darkened as I've aged, too. Sad. haha.

[rachelbethany]

Thanks so much to everyone who responded! This was the first thread I ever started on the LHC, so thanks for taking time to notice me! Some people commenting that my natural hair color looks better or that blonde washes me out are causing me a bit of confusion, though. I believe there's a shade of blonde (and brown, etc.) that will work for anyone. Warmer shades for warmer skin tones, cooler ones for cooler skin tones, with exceptions, of course. I do think the washed-out, old, yucky platinum ends I had in my before picture do wash me out, but that's not the kind of blonde I'm talking about wanting! I have photos of myself with strawberry blonde, varying shades of blonde/highlights, etc. Perhaps I will share a few more pictures for some insight. :) I wonder how many photos one can share before it's obnoxious on a forum? Or perhaps I should just provide a link!

[AmyBeth]

Maybe look into a henna gloss? Or maybe a Manic Panic gloss, that would not be so permanent. That would be a healthy alternative to boxed dyes, for warming up the toe of your hair.

[GoldFrappe]

Your hair is so pretty :)