How can you tell if your hair is healthy?

[BowTie]

I used to be very terrible to my hair.. dying a lot, heat styling, teasing (almost daily) I only shampooed and never used conditioner:doh:Needless to say my hair looked and felt terrible. I just blamed my genetics ( although my hair was healthy when
I was 12 and people actually admired it) because my mum's and auntie's hair are short and thin. I basically thought my hair would never grow past shoulders so I could aswell keep destroying it.

Last August I got my hair cut into a chin lenght bob and bleached. It will be my last bleaching though. While sitting there I decided to take better care of my hair. Since then I've totally stopped teasing and heat styling, started using conditioner and SLS free shampoo. I started oiling religiously my hair (before every wash), kept it up most of the time, started using BBB and wooden comb. I also try to eat as healthy as possible and I've added more fish, fresh vegetables and fruits to my diet. I shoukd exercise more though. Now, I'm experimenting with CO-washes

I have noticed my hair's health has been improved. Compared to what my hair loss was before, I hardly notice any hair falling. It also feels stronger and softer. Other people have been complementing my hair more than before.

However, I've been wondering if my hair is really healthier or am I just dreaming? P.S: I dont have measurement type so not sure if it's thin medium or thick. I guess it feels medium/thick. However, some people have said it looks thin and some say it looks thick. I'm very confused! What do you think?


Here us a picture of my hair, taken a few weeks ago.http://i41.tinypic.com/wsnr5y.jpg

[Madora]

Personally, I can tell if my hair is healthy by: shine and how it feels when brushing it. How it responds to combing. How it feels in my fingers. How it feels after being in braids all day. It is hard to describe, but it just feels healthy (even if it is actually "dead").

[verenikiscoma]

At the risk of sounding like a Bupa advert, healthy means different things to different people. I think it's all down to how your hair feels to you, because to be fair no one knows your hair as well as you. you know how it behaves and what it looks like so when you start noticing that things that used to be a constant issue for you are no longer a problem then your hair is getting better. In my experience my biggest revelation was when I noticed that a section of my hair that always tangled and looked dry and horrible started behaving like the rest of my hair, I knew then that I had found the way to keep my hair happier. I think you should trust your instincts, if it feels better to you then you must be doing something right. And just give it time, it takes time for all your good resolutions to actually properly kick in.

[melusine963]

For me, healthy hair on my head means not too many split ends appearing, hair that feels reasonably smoothe (or at least not brittle or velcro-y), and hair that doesn't tangle more than usual. I know what my hair feels like at its best, so I aim to keep it as close to that as I can. Everyone else's yardstick is different, of course.

[durgidog]

I echo the sentiment that only you can judge if your hair is healthier, and it sounds like it is. It's really hard to tell thickness from a photo. Do you have a ruler and a piece of string? You could wind the string around your pony, cut it to the proper length and then measure it if you want to find your thickness.

As for me, I haven't used heat, bleached or commercially dyed my hair in over 20 years (I use henna now). When my hair is healthy it is shiny and springy with no splits or white dots, and my frizz is minimal. We are all different.

[HintOfMint]

Healthy hair for me means minimal-to-no velcro ends that are also the same color as the rest of my hair. When my hair has that grabby dryness at the ends that doesn't go away with clarifying or deep treatments and is a couple shades lighter than the rest of my hair, I know it's damage and it's gotta go.

[jacqueline101]

I agree with madora and also I look for weak points, splits, and white dots. I can tell when my hair is healthy it's shiny and smooth. It styles easy and has a happy look to it.

[sarahthegemini]

To me, healthy hair is hair that hasn't been destroyed with dye or heat, or poor styling (I.e. tight ponytails, teasing etc). It's soft, shiny, smooth. Free of splits and severe dryness. Hair with the right protein balance. Tbh, although your hair probably looks a little healthier, to have hair that isn't damaged after all the bleach, heat and teasing, you're going to have to grow it out. Don't mean to be a party pooper!

[thirstylocks]

No splits, a thick and even hemline, no crunchy ends, and if I can run a comb through my hair without it getting stuck or tugging hair.

[ErinLeigh]

I feel hair can get better over time. My hair was completely trashed 1 month ago. I mean fried. I posted a pic of somewhere in the MANE forum under 'My Hair" if you want to see it.
It was breaking off, shedding a lot and was so dry and stiff I could have hair pointing straight out at a 90 degree angle. Really puffy, parched and ends had little zig zags.
After a month of putting a lot of effort into it the hair looks a LOT better. Its obviously not damage free since I bleach and color but its really soft, stronger, shiny again and it smoothed out. No more zig zag ends. No more tangles and no more breaking or excessive shedding. Frizz is even gone now which is shocking to me.
Even though hair is dead and is not going to be repaired completely, I think a lot can be done to turn around a bad condition. Splits no, but getting moisture and protein balanced can go a long way in the appearance and texture. It is called "healthy?" Maybe not, but it for sure can be improved greatly and rival "healthy" so I don't think it is all in your head if you notice a difference.
So answer is for me..is it healthy? who knows. But can it act like healthy hair? yes..

[ErinLeigh]

oh i just thought of an actual answer...I guess the proof of truly healthy hair is hair that is with able to stand the test of time. It isn't "temporarily healthy" in the sense it can only ge to perhaps APL/BSL. To me it is hair that can really grow and maintain at the truly long lengths. For instance my hair appears healthy now...but would it survive classic length? For me..no it probably wouldn't..a bit to delicate still..so I would say hair in a classified sense is not healthy.
Hope that makes sense.

[nobeltonya]

For me: minimal splits, smooth, shiny, doesn't tangle [very easily], no crispy ends. :disco: