What Dye & Heat Really Do!

[snakes&stuff]

I have bangs! How in the world did I get BANGS?!
I quit dye & daily heat styling exactly one year ago on January 1st. I didn't have bangs when I quit, and I didn't have them done. From the 7 straight years of dye & heat abuse, I actually lost hairline. Now that I'm not burning off new growth on a daily basis, my hairline is returning. I didn't even know that my hairline was receding until it started growing back. This new growth is bang length now. Has this happened to anyone else after stopping dye & heat styling?

[bradlea]

No, that's pretty exciting though! Do you mind sharing pictures? I'm really curious about what they look like. Congrats on treating your hair more nicely, and its rewards! :3

[snakes&stuff]

They look like normal side-swept bangs! I actually dont know how to post photos in a thread, otherwise i would!

[Naiadryade]

Wow, that's crazy! So glad you have healthier hair habits now and that your hair is growing back!! It only gets better from here.

To post a photo in a thread, first upload the picture to the internet--some file hosting site like photobucket. Then when you are writing a post, right above the text box there are a bunch of buttons. The buttons at the right are like little pictures. Click the one that looks like a tiny tree or something in a picture frame. (When you hover your mouse over it, it says "Insert Image.") Then you enter the URL of your picture, and voila! We all get to see your beautiful rediscovered bangs!

[biogirl87]

snakes&stuff, I think that once you have more than 25 posts you are able to have your own album on LHC. You might be able to start your own album now. When you post pictures that you have uploaded to your album at LHC, if you use the BB code link, you can just paste it into your post since it contains the IMG necessary to see the picture. (if you use the BB code with the "insert image" icon, you will get the IMG tags around your picture and that gets annoying after a while).

[Agnieszka]

that is exciting!

[redtuss]

Wow! That is wonderful that you are regaining your hair! :D

I see that a lot with friends and family who dye and use heat, the little frilly fringe that makes my heart weep - just want to oil up those stray hairs and protect them!!

If you don't mind maybe you would like to take a picture? It would be good to see!

[Mya]

Has this happened to anyone else after stopping dye & heat styling?

Yes!

When I stopped abusing my hair, about one year and half ago, my ponytail circumference was 7 cm (2.75 in), now it's about 10 cm (4 in), and looks like it's not really over yet. I have a thick shoulder length layer that came from this new growth, not from a haircut (it's been years since I got a salon haircut). I also have a lot of new strands that aren't long enough to be put in a ponytail yet, but are definitely growing longer and longer, and stick out like I was a dandelion head. :D

I'm very curious to see where it will get to, as I'm new to proper hair care.

The only annoying thing is that all the layering makes my hair look thinner and I will have to cut a lot of length to get a even hemline... But I'm pushing that moment to when I will have super long hair.

[DancingGirl]

Yes! I'm starting to get bangs too from the growth. At the moment though they are pretty short.

[door72067]

I had the same thing happen (dye-free for 26 months)

there's a weird kind of *bump-out* in my hairline that happened about a few months after my last dye)

it didn't give my bangs, per se, as it was only a small-ish spot and I've since cut my hair to shoulder length, so the length blends right in now

I don't think I have any close-ups of my hairline prior to this happening, so I doubt anyone else would really notice it except for me (since I watched it happen)

but I agree, better habits made more hair grow!

[AmyBeth]

Congratulations! To some of us, it can feel like a sacrifice to give up coloring, styling, heat, perms etc, and it's wonderful that you get to enjoy some real rewards! I did not get bangs but the diameter of my pony tail almost doubled. My hair is so fine and fragile, I didn't even know that I was destroying it by half, just by styling. I wonder, if like me, you also noticed that the quality of your hair is nicer- shinier, healthier?

[meteor]

Wow! That's just surreal! Congratulations on getting your natural thickness back! I think whoever says they can't lay off heat & dye because their hair looks bad without it, should be referred to this thread for inspiration. :)

[GRU]

Pretty scary how many people are doing the heat and dye thing on a regular basis around the world... if everyone were suddenly required to start LHCing their hair, just imagine how many people would "all of a sudden" start having good hair days on a regular basis!

[Aingeal]

Yes! I've got new growth as well. It's not so much as yours, but I do have about an squared inch section of hair near my temples that is about two inches long. So weird! I wonder how many other places on my head that I have this much new growth. I can also feel how much thicker my hair is from my shoulders up as opposed to shoulders down. :) Exciting!

[Aingeal]

Just wanted to add: I was getting ready for my wash today and took my hair down. As I ran my hair through it, I noticed that I DO have a line of hair at my hair line that seems new! It's about an inch to two inches long all across my hair line. Crazy!

[otisanek]

I am so glad that I'm not the only one wondering why i have a new crop of wispy bangs all of a sudden. I cut my waist length hair to a bob about seven years ago, then started bleaching, dyeing, etc for years after that. I stopped using box dyes about a year ago, switching to henna to keep my hair red instead of my natural strawberry blonde, and its grown to about elbow length in the span of 18 months. Amazing what keeping heat and chemicals out of my hair can do. I thought that i was experiencing some sort of crazy breakage at my hairline and temples, but it feels like new growth, almost like baby hair (which isn't too far from my normal texture).