Layers Vs. All One Length for hair w/ some unruly grays

[turtlelover]

Hi!



I am debating the pros and cons of layers vs. all one length hair in my situation. I currently have a ton of layering, and in the past I've preferred my hair to have layers since it brings out my natural waves/curls in my 2C/3A hair, but as I get more gray, my gray hairs don't have the same wave pattern as the rest of my hair -- a good number of them are STRAIGHT and coarse *sigh* -- so I'm starting to consider blow drying my hair straight on a regular basis since that smooths it down considerably and disguises those crazy grays quite well.

Unfortunately, with all of my layering, I CANNOT blow dry my hair straight very well like I can when it is all one length. When I blow dry w/ the layers, I get a ton of frizz, and very unpredictable results, so it would be much easier to do if I grow out my layers. Is it possible to have HEALTHY all one length BSL hair if I blowdry all the time? I know that blowdrying will cause some damage, but I'm not aiming for SUPER long hair anyway. Realistically, I won't go past BSL at this point.

Opinions?

[&rea]

If your making an effort to achieve the same texture through out, I think one length would be easier to control. If you want to disguise the grays, you may consider henna or a veggie based dye. Consistent heat styling will inevitably cause frizz. Some people look lovely with some gray strands, but its understandable if you aren't quite ready to let the gray grow out. Good luck!

[Liz_park]

Is it possible for you to blowdry your hair on low heat or only use it on the "cool blast" setting? This might help with heat damage because most of the damage from blowdrying comes from holding the blowdryer very close to your hair at a very high temperature.

[Madora]

Is it possible for you to blowdry your hair on low heat or only use it on the "cool blast" setting? This might help with heat damage because most of the damage from blowdrying comes from holding the blowdryer very close to your hair at a very high temperature.

Excellent advice, Liz_park.

One length hair is also less frustrating to work with...if you're into braids and buns, etc.

[turtlelover]

I currently have a demi-perm color in my hair, but I stripped most of it out w/ conditioner and Vitamin C. (I originally had a burgundy color that was nice for awhile, but high maintenance.) It is now a medium brown w/ the gray strands showing up more as a light red/brown.

However, at the moment I have an inch and a half of roots that are blending pretty well w/ the rest of my hair w/ the faded dye (I don't have LOADS of gray), and I am fairly certain that I will return to my natural gray streaked color, though my hair is easier to manage w/ demi dye in it for some strange reason, so I would miss that aspect of dyeing. I like gray hair as far as the color goes, it is the texture issues that have driven me nuts. On the other hand, I also love the look of henna on others, but honestly, I am afraid of the gray just looking plain ORANGE as I get more and more of it.

Oddly enough, I brushed out my curls/waves tonight, and after doing that, everything seems to be blending in my rebellious hairs much better than when I let the curls clump, and there isn't any frizz. Maybe brushed out waves w/ layers are an option. Hmmmm...isn't brushing curls and waves supposed to be taboo?
:wail:

[turtlelover]

Here is what my hair looked like before the last ordeal w/ demi dye -- clumped w/ layering. You can't really see all the little rebellious frizzies too well unless you blow up the picture, but there is enough that you might get some idea about what I'm talking about.

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/image.php?u=15952&dateline=1386733674&type=profile

[biogirl87]

I currently have a demi-perm color in my hair, but I stripped most of it out w/ conditioner and Vitamin C. (I originally had a burgundy color that was nice for awhile, but high maintenance.) It is now a medium brown w/ the gray strands showing up more as a light red/brown.

However, at the moment I have an inch and a half of roots that are blending pretty well w/ the rest of my hair w/ the faded dye (I don't have LOADS of gray), and I am fairly certain that I will return to my natural gray streaked color, though my hair is easier to manage w/ demi dye in it for some strange reason, so I would miss that aspect of dyeing. I like gray hair as far as the color goes, it is the texture issues that have driven me nuts. On the other hand, I also love the look of henna on others, but honestly, I am afraid of the gray just looking plain ORANGE as I get more and more of it.

Oddly enough, I brushed out my curls/waves tonight, and after doing that, everything seems to be blending in my rebellious hairs much better than when I let the curls clump, and there isn't any frizz. Maybe brushed out waves w/ layers are an option. Hmmmm...isn't brushing curls and waves supposed to be taboo?
:wail:turtlelover, it is only taboo for those whose hair does not like brushes. My hair loves brushing and needs to be brushed or I get tangly-to-the-point-of-becoming-matted hair and itchy scalp. If your hair looks better after you have brushed out the curls/waves, by all means brush out the curls/waves in your hair. I'd like to see Firefox7275 counter this conundrum of how brushed out curls/waves can look better than curls/waves that are allowed to stay in their natural state (but I have a few other challenges in mind for Firefox7275 if my hair will cooperate long enough for that to happen).

[spidermom]

I recently got layers after a long time without, and my hair is about 95% easier to detangle with the layers. I think it's LOVE, but I'm sure I'll want to change it sometime in the future.

[Mya]

Is it possible to have HEALTHY all one length BSL hair if I blowdry all the time?

No. Plain and simple.

I used to blow dry my hair all the time before joining LHC and it simply wouldn't stop breaking off. It wasn't even BSL. You have fine hair, so it would be even worse: my mom has fine hair and I know it breaks and fries if it just touches heat of any kind.


Opinions?

You may want to blow dry your hair on cold setting, as mentioned, but I think you would get fed up with it fast. It takes ages, in winter especially.

One good method to get frizz free and well behaving hair is to let it dry in rollers after you wash it. I think a heat cap instead of air drying would work too, even if I haven't personally tried that. Rollers + blow dry = no, it causes frizz.
Many say velcro rollers cause static, but I have never had that problem. It depends on how much "static-sensitive" your hair is, mine isn't very much, but your hair may be since it's fine. You can find any kind of rollers on the market anyway. The bigger the rollers, the straighter your hair will turn out.

[Mya]

Oddly enough, I brushed out my curls/waves tonight, and after doing that, everything seems to be blending in my rebellious hairs much better than when I let the curls clump, and there isn't any frizz. Maybe brushed out waves w/ layers are an option. Hmmmm...isn't brushing curls and waves supposed to be taboo?
:wail:

Not for everyone.

Maybe it depends on the heavy layering that easily makes my length look sadder and thinner if my strands clump together, but my hair looks better when brushed. Also, I love the big bush look it creates on me.

My hair has always hated large tooth combs too, and I find soft brushes a much better untangling tool.

[RegretsHerCut]

Personally on my hair, I prefer all one length.. Right now I have crazy layers after a pixie and I'm scared to cut them because I don't wanna lose the length... Do whichever you feel is easier for you and whichever your hair loves ;)

[Lyv]

I prefer the weight and look of my hair with layers but I'm growing mine out because they're a pain for braiding. If you think it'll be better to have one length grow them out or cut your hair shorter, you can always get layers again if it doesn't go the way you want. As for blow drying yes I think you can still have healthy hair if you do it often. You can always tape down your cold shot button so you hair dryer doesn't use heat and use the lowest fan setting (not sure what it's actually called lol) so your hair won't tangle as much.

[&rea]

Another thought. You asked if it's possible to have healthy hair and use a blow dryer all the time (keeping in mind that you do not wish to exceed BSL). Over the summer, I got a chin length bob and I used heat everyday. Even my freshly cut ends became a bit brittle and started snapping off, so I stopped using all heat tools. I used heat tools to make my hair less frizzy, but now that I don't use heat, I don't have frizz.

[DweamGoiL]

I had all one length hair about 3 months ago. It was about 2" past BSL and it was sooo heavy. I have fine hair, but it's very thick. Updos, despite how I balanced them would hurt after a short time and so would ponytails. I got some face framing layers and some layering in the back to blend the length and the front layers. I love the movement it added to my hair and how light it feels now. Yes, braiding is a pain, but I wasn't a big braider to begin with and I had to relearn how to bun my hair somewhat, but I love being able to wear my hair down whenever I want and the layers add a lot of body to my fine hair. For me, I can't imagine letting my hair grow again past BSL without layering it.