The best advice I ever got

[Browneyedbelle9]

I was freaking out at the hairdressers because as we all know each inch counts towards growth

The hairdresser turned around and said to me hair is supposed to be damaged you cut dye style it And cut it off and start again

It put things into perspective you should always do things that make you happy and not freak out over every split end

so what's the best advice you've been given about hair ?

[Stray_mind]

I wanted a little bit of layers but my hairdresser told me that while i'm growing and still am at short lenght, i shouldn't get layers... I think that it's a good advice since i wouldn't be able to put my hair up properly...

[Selkie-]

My hairdresser told me the only way to get hair very long was to cut it less often!! Haha - obvious but brilliant. She is definitely a keeper. :)

[sunrider_bby]

S&D and combing techniques. Comb first your ends, then move upward to detangle. I have terrible tangles, so that advice cut my shedding and breakage. ^^

[Wosie]

Never wearing the hair loose when outdoors in cold and windy weather (I think this was an advice of my own, though, but...). My hair has changed a lot since I began bunning it, and that's something I learned from LHC. Thanks, LHC. :love:

I always wore it loose before, and my hair was a tangly, dry, frizzy mess after being outside in certain hair-hating weathers.

However... "The hairdresser turned around and said to me hair is supposed to be damaged you cut dye style it And cut it off and start again"
This is not how I personally look at hair. "supposed to be damaged" and "cut it off and start again" are not mottos I would live by, as I'm trying to reach at least waist-long hair. %)

[Chromis]

Some of the best advise I ever got was the exact opposite. "Treat it like old lace"

I never dyed or heat styled my hair and don't like to get "edgy" or trendy cuts, but I did rip my brush through it both wet and dry and it was constantly a battle with tangles. Learning to treat it more gently made a big difference not just in how nice it looks, but it is also much easier and sheds less!

[aloha]

Advice learned from LHC also for me vinegar rinse ,co washes,coconut oil and the way to tell its not for you . This was very valuable .Thank you to everyone!

[chen bao jun]

Well, your hairdresser's advice that hair 'is supposed to be damaged' would work for her (money) but not for me. Imagine someone saying, 'eat that cookie, you're supposed to get fat, you can always lose the weight'. And they were a personal trainer.
The best advice I ever got was that you need to section thick hair to do anything with it. I learned a lot of other good things in the past couple years (co-wash, vinegar rinse, pretreat) but they would all be useless if, as always before, nothing ever touched the middle of my hair. I used to put shampoo, conditioner, everything, only on the canopy and the bottom and then wonder why my hair was so unmanageable.

[Scarlet_Heart]

I would say oiling is the most significant thing I learned about. I never would have thought to do it before. I oil my hair and face regularly and especially in the winter, it makes a big difference.

[Rosetta]

Don't agree with "supposed to be damaged" part, but the "you should always do things that make you happy and not freak out over every split end" truly is great advice - that's what I've come to realize over the years! (For example, I wouldn't be happy if I couldn't wear my hair down when I want to.) Or, in other words, "It's just hair" ;)

[Verdandi]

Split ends travel and how important it is to take care of your ends.

A friend of mine and I started to seriously grow our hair at roughly the same time, and her was a bit longer to start with. However, she never trim hers, never wear it in anything but loose or a braid and had pretty bad damaged ends to start with. Now she wonders why mine grows so much faster when I trim, and she won't accept the fact that her hair is probably breaking off faster than it grows.

[Johannah]

Never wearing the hair loose when outdoors in cold and windy weather

Exactly this!

[Madora]

"Treat your hair like antique lace"..from Dr. George Michael, who knew a thing or two about growing beautiful, healthy long hair!

[Browneyedbelle9]

Yeah, she meant you're not supposed to just let it hang and it's ok to style sometimes

I am very worried about my hair each passing day, I have OCD :(

[Theobroma]

Some of the best advise I ever got was the exact opposite. "Treat it like old lace"

You beat me to it!


Well, your hairdresser's advice that hair 'is supposed to be damaged' would work for her (money) but not for me. Imagine someone saying, 'eat that cookie, you're supposed to get fat, you can always lose the weight'. And they were a personal trainer.

Yes, that was my first thought too when I read the OP. Hair is "supposed" to be damaged? Cui bono? :nono:

[swearnsue]

Yeah, she meant you're not supposed to just let it hang and it's ok to style sometimes

I am very worried about my hair each passing day, I have OCD :(

I understand what you're saying about the message you were given by your stylist. She is basically saying that you can enjoy your hair and not be so overly concerned about damage that you are not able to relax and enjoy your hair. Some of us with OCD have to counter our obsessions with something that would be considered over the top by someone who doesn't have OCD. I get it.:)

[chen bao jun]

I have OCD, too. It's true you're not supposed to go crazy worrying. But take proper precautions and THEN don't worry. JMHO. Cui bono (who does this benefit) is always a good question to ask about anything.

[MadAddie]

"Treat your hair like antique lace"..from Dr. George Michael, who knew a thing or two about growing beautiful, healthy long hair!

Love this :). I think im a little rough on my hair. Going to be more gentle with it from now on and resist the urge to brush on it when its wet.
.

[Redvelvetdragon]

I'm confused though. Some here say don't cut your hair. Some here say you must trim your hair for it to be healthy. Which is it? I've not seriously cut my hair for the last year (I did a small trim myself to get rid of a few spots of left over highlight that were splitting badly). I've got a few splits and I will go a trim soon, but MUST I trim it for it to be healthy?

[Chromis]

I'm confused though. Some here say don't cut your hair. Some here say you must trim your hair for it to be healthy. Which is it? I've not seriously cut my hair for the last year (I did a small trim myself to get rid of a few spots of left over highlight that were splitting badly). I've got a few splits and I will go a trim soon, but MUST I trim it for it to be healthy?

It depends! If your hair is prone to splitting or getting rough ends, you might wish to trim it more. Many only do microtrims or dustings, others like doing larger trims. I don't think there is any one thing you *need* to do, other than not cut it off faster than it can grow perhaps :lol:

My hair loves shampoo bars, others love water-only, some do great with sulphates, some people even manage to use heat and still have long healthy hair. Everyone's hair is different just like everyone's body is different.

[G1ll]

One of the best tips I received is that you don't need to cut it every 6 weeks, you only need to cut it when it really needs it.
I used to cut my hair every 6 weeks and it gained no length at all.

[Browneyedbelle9]

Thanks for the insight guys :) I have never experimented with my hair that much- I've have blonde and brown highlights that are growing out I had chunky blonde highlights and have had it bob short and layered but that's it.

Everyone's hair here is so amazing!

[Loviatar]

For hair in general the best advice I got was look after it but enjoy it.

For growing hair, put it up, ignore it and ignore mirrors. Courtesy of our own wise Spidermom, and by gosh it works. :)

[ravenreed]

My old lace is kept in a drawer and never used because unlike my hair, it won't grow new length over time. My hair is not like old lace. It is like hair and I enjoy it as such!

[bunnylake]

The best hair advice I ever got was "it's just hair". :)

[hairpleasegrow]

Browneyeyedbelle I would be shocked if my hairdresser said that to me, I think i would run if a hairdresser said that to me :)! The best tips I heard were not to brush when wet, treat your hair like an antique lace, and oiling

[woodswanderer]

Use coconut oil. It really made a big difference for me too.

[G1ll]

Use coconut oil. It really made a big difference for me too.

This was good advice too. Coconut oil is definitely a holy grail product.

[Sharysa]

For myself, I'd like to amend the "coconut oil" part to "almond oil," or just "oil." Coconut oil is HORRIBLE on my hair, which is ironic because I'm Filipino-American and that was the first thing my mother recommended. Maybe it's just too heavy, maybe it's got too much protein for my titanium-strength hair, but either way my hair gets crunchy and stiff. Almond oil is a lot better for my hair.

I also love that LHC and UTT taught me about the different hair textures and that I'm a borderline wavy. I may have spent high school struggling with my "unmanageable and poofy" hair, but now I know borderline hair should be treated like curly/wavy hair.

[meteor]

Oiling. I learned about it a long time ago - and definitely not from a hairdresser :) - but I wouldn't have come up with the idea of putting oil in my hair on my own.

[LanaBanana]

"Don't use hair elastics" is the best advice I've received. It's hard to stop doing something that doesn't SEEM like it's damaging, but now that I have stopped using hair ties and learned how to do buns with hair sticks, I'm actually retaining length!

[Browneyedbelle9]

I just want to make sure that everyone gets what I was saying- I don't think she was saying go ahead and damage it.

She meant to do all the things you love and enjoy it- don't agonise too much.

I'm very cautious about my hair lol.

Great tips everyone!

[ErinLeigh]

I understand what you're saying about the message you were given by your stylist. She is basically saying that you can enjoy your hair and not be so overly concerned about damage that you are not able to relax and enjoy your hair. Some of us with OCD have to counter our obsessions with something that would be considered over the top by someone who doesn't have OCD. I get it.:)

Thats how i took it as what she meant as well. And also take it as it is ok to do things that may be damaging if you want like color, curling irons and flat irons etc. Yes it Damages but you can cut it and try something else. i mean in the styling world they probably see a lot of Chin Length to BSL length hair and all those things are doable at those lengths without major crisis usually. Totally get it - I live it! Sure I see changes in myself as I am trying to get healthier hair..but for me that is just so it behaves better and becomes low maintenance :)

Best hair advise I got? It would be from Firefox pointing me to links about keeping an eye on buildup and protein/moisture balances and explaining about watching out for hydral fatigue. It's something i kinda knew about as far as it existed.. but didn't consider or understand prior. Also explanations on ingredients. Just the whole bag of things to know..She responded to my very first post with some links that pointed me in the right direction.

[ErinLeigh]

For hair in general the best advice I got was look after it but enjoy it.

For growing hair, put it up, ignore it and ignore mirrors. Courtesy of our own wise Spidermom, and by gosh it works. :)

That is perfect advice for growing!

[ErinLeigh]

Oiling. I learned about it a long time ago - and definitely not from a hairdresser :) - but I wouldn't have come up with the idea of putting oil in my hair on my own.

I was surprised when I came here and found everyone did it. I started it right before finding this site. My hair was so fried i needed olive oil to get a comb thru it and was pleased to find it was not only ok..but a GOOD idea.

[Flor]

I don't know... "Dye, style, cut - it grows back anyway" seems to be most hairdresser's moto towards hair is general. They treat it like an endless disposable canvas in a roll. Sure, if it makes you happy, why not? But if what makes you happy is growing long hair, then it seems like a counter-productive advice. Especially considering that chances of needing a major cut increase drastically with every dye/style procedure applied.

Don't worry about every split end? Yes, that I agree with.

[restless]

Long before I found LHC I did read somewhere that olive oil was supposed to be nice for the hair so I tried some but wasnt overly impressed. I didnt feel like it made any bigger difference in one way or another. I then found this place and everybody was going on about coconut oil being awesome for the hair so I got curious and decided to try it. And yes. Its been good for my hair. Really good. It makes it softer than any other product Ive ever tried and it definitly saved my old damaged ends. Best advice I ever got (read) regarding hair care for sure.

[ErinLeigh]

I don't know... "Dye, style, cut - it grows back anyway" seems to be most hairdresser's moto towards hair is general. They treat it like an endless disposable canvas in a roll. Sure, if it makes you happy, why not? But if what makes you happy is growing long hair, then it seems like a counter-productive advice. Especially considering that chances of needing a major cut increase drastically with every dye/style procedure applied.

Don't worry about every split end? Yes, that I agree with.

I think it is because it seems people who truly want to grow pretty long avoid stylists, so the stylist tend to see people who do see their their hair as an endless canvas. Just a guess.

[jacqueline101]

I've never heard any hair dresser tell someone to damage their hair but I guess if you did take her advice she'd make more money. That does seen to fit the bill. Anyways best advice I got was treat your hair like old lace.