Hello, LHC!

[snowyx]

First of all I wanted to say HI!! I finally made an account here after lurking on and off for around 3 years. I started growing my hair from a pixie in 2010. I reached waist in October 2013. I was bullied by family into cutting it short again. :cry:
In November I cut my hair from an inch past waist to shoulder. A couple of days later I bleached the bottom 4 inches or so to create an ombre effect, and also got a small trim because it was very uneven (big chop was done by a family member).

Fast forward to present day. My longest hairs reach APL in the front, but I wont feel like APL for another inch or so.

I guess I'll tell you a little about my routine?

I wash my hair everyday or every other day because I am a professional athlete and I get very sweaty at practice. My hair doesn't get greasy but I just feel unclean if I don't wash it.
I wash with either a sulphate free shampoo or just rinse with water. I clarify once every 2 weeks because I do use cones and I have very hard water. When i get out of the shower I put a bit or coconut oil on my damp hair and blow-dry on cool. I try to do overnight oilings every week.

Well I think that is it!! Could ou please give me some feedback on my routine? Maybe you have something to add?
I'm so excited to officially be in this community. Thank you for reading!

[Anje]

A lot of your routine comes down to what works for you.

Are you using conditioner? You didn't mention it, but the majority of people find it almost necessary. How about how you're wearing it? I know my hair does best if I wear buns or braids to keep it from tangling, and it breaks if I ponytail (especially back in my pre-LHC days when I would "tighten" my ponytail frequently). Minimizing tangles seems to be the name of the game.

[snowyx]

Yes, I do use conditioner. I alternate between a non coney one and aussie 3mm, which has cones. I also sometimes use a coney leave in conditioner. Like i said, I am an athlete and my hair is in a ponytail whenever I am at practice. I use a safe hair scrunchie, though. Buns will not work for my hair at all. When i was waist length my hair was too heavy, and now my hair is too short and hair keeps poking out of the bun. Also I do like the length swinging around when I run :o

[lapushka]

You're a iii, so you're a *long* way from doing buns anyway. You'll need at least BSL to waist to be able to do that comfortably with your thickness. I see nothing wrong with your routine. If you have to wash that often, it is what it is. You can use a warm setting on your blowdryer, though, as long as the airstream doesn't burn (hold your hand in it, if you can do that comfortably for a long time it's not too warm). HTH.

[swearnsue]

You could braid your pony once in a while, that may be more protective, but I'm not sure. I guess my best advice would be to ignore helpful advice from your family! (they are always the worst!!)

During the Olympics I saw women with their hair in two braids and also French braids and it looked attractive and protective at the same time.