Can I get away with this?

[missblueeyes]

I once heard that you can basically pick one bad habit (like regular blow-drying) if you pamper your hair otherwise. What I would like to know of you if I could get away with wearing my hair down a lot if I trim regularly? I'm thinking of monthly or bimonthly trims to make up for the damage I'm causing by wearing it down. Or would S&D be a better option for keeping the damage at bay? I wouldn't mind trimming regularly as I do want to change my hemline slightly and it has to be done eventually anyway.

In general, I'm pretty careful when my hair is down but since the ends still carry a lot of chemical damage with them, it's harder to keep them from splitting than virgin hair.
What would you suggest? :)

[divinedobbie]

I wear my hair down practically all the time and I'm in the no trim challenge this year (already 6 months in) and my ends are still fine so I'm sure you'd be perfectly okay, especially if you trimmed bimonthly. My roommate has hip length hair and wears it down 24/7 and her ends are incredibly healthy (plus she blowdries every day). We both have the same hair type, hers is somewhat thicker. I guess it depends on your hair.

[Sarahlabyrinth]

It would probably be ok and I guess it depends on how long you want to grow your hair. You won't know if it will work for you unless you try it, anyway.

[Nadine <3]

I think if you're hair isn't prone to tangling and it's not really fine, you can get away with it. I wear my hair in buns to keep it from tangling because tangles=damage, especially on my spider web hair.

[Zesty]

I don't think wearing it down most of the time would ruin your hair or anything, especially if you are conscious of it and avoid letting it get caught in/on things. If you're aiming for hip I'd say you're fine. But the most important thing is that you enjoy your hair, and if wearing it down does that for you, then go for it.

Besides, the code is more like guidelines than actual rules. ;)

[missblueeyes]

Thank you for your thoughts. :) I think I'll try how much I can get away with minimal trimming or without first. The thing is, ever since I joined TLHC, I became a little anxious of wearing my hair down and I really want to get over it because the only reason I'm growing it out is to wear it down because I love it. I also don't want to grow super long for that reason. The longest I'd ever go would probably be TBL. Basically, as long as it's possible to wear it down without too many complications, I'll let it grow. :)

[Nique1202]

I think wearing hair down is probably the most common vice for long hairs, because it does feel a little pointless sometimes if you can't FEEL like it's long.

If you really want to trim every month or two, you could probably keep it to 1/4 or 1/2 inch. You could also probably avoid the need to trim so often if you S&D regularly, and only trim when your ends look thinner than you'd like or if they start feeling velcro-y or if you find too many splits to deal with. It's really up to you, what you want your ends to look and feel like over time.

[yahirwaO.o]

I wear my hair down 75% of time and I micro-trim my hair every month or 2 moths with no problem whatsoever. I really dont see any damage when trimming, I just do it because Im shaping my hair in neater way..... So I say yeah go ahead!!!

[MINAKO]

I would say go for it but compensate by doing more deep treatments, or using more leave ins to protect the ends. Also nightime protection can make up for alot of things that happen during the day, so if you dont already sleep on silk. all the time do so. I have silk pillow cases and also a drawstring bun cover made of silk because i cant wear caps.
With time there is always going to be damage to some degree, with with alot of precautions my ends are now healthier at classic then they have previously been at BSL, and you know i still use heat on my hair, so you might as well get away with wearing yours down.

[Islandgrrl]

I think it mostly depends on your hair. What's the texture, how prone to damage it is, how long you want to grow it.

[Robot Ninja]

I wear my chemically dyed hair down quite a bit at classic. I trim monthly but that's because I'm maintaining at this length for a while, and while I do have splits I don't have an insane amount, and I'm very lazy about S&D. I think if you detangle gently, and contain it somehow if it's windy outside or you'll be doing a lot of physical activity, it wouldn't be too bad.

[lunalocks]

I made it to waist wearing it down almost every day. But after that, if I wanted to gain length, i had to keep it up and away from everyday damage. But everyone's hair is different. Maybe youwill be able to manage it.

[endlessly]

Back when I used to wear my hair down all the time - literally, I never wore it up unless it was wrapped in a towel - I noticed very minimal damage and I didn't trim very regularly at all. Sometimes, it just depends on how healthy your hair is to begin with and that will determine the type of damage you develop when wearing it down. I'd say that you could always just try the S&D method, then trim all over if you notice it isn't keeping up with splits.

Here's a great example of how you can get away with causing some damage and still see growth:

Back when I was in High School, I had TBL hair that was washed twice per day, dried both times, and occasionally styled. Plus, I color-treated frequently. My hair still grew long and I never had a split end, but I also made it a point to have 1/4 inch trimmed every 8-12 weeks just in case. My stylist at the time couldn't believe how healthy my hair was, but to make up for all of the damage, I spoiled my hair with good quality products and moisturized it constantly. So, I do believe that while damage will occur if you aren't taking care of your hair, you can definitely help prevent it and even counteract it if you give it enough care.

[Flor]

Most split ends occur when brushing out tangles. If you're ok with silicones and cyclops, get a detangler spray and a brush that works best for you (tangle teezer or wet brush for example) and go gently. Oil is good for detangling too, if you prefer it.

[missblueeyes]

I would say go for it but compensate by doing more deep treatments, or using more leave ins to protect the ends. Also nightime protection can make up for alot of things that happen during the day, so if you dont already sleep on silk. all the time do so. I have silk pillow cases and also a drawstring bun cover made of silk because i cant wear caps.
With time there is always going to be damage to some degree, with with alot of precautions my ends are now healthier at classic then they have previously been at BSL, and you know i still use heat on my hair, so you might as well get away with wearing yours down.

Thank you, MINAKO! Doing more DT's does make sense a lot! A bit OT but do you know if you can do a SMT over a water-soluble cone? I usually do one when I clarify once a month but I don't want to have to clarify twice.
I'm currently sleeping on satin and keep my hair up in a cinnabun /w one spin pin.

Thank you for everyone's insights on this topic! I'm definitely going to save this thread for motivational purposes. :)

I personally grew from a bob to BSL while wearing it down all the time and chemically abusing it heavily so I know that my hair can take quite a beating. I'm also going to invest in some silk blouses.
I'm going to try and see how far I can get without trimming and then start doing it as neccessary.

I am definitely going to update this thread in a couple of months with my progress, if there is any, and to give anyone with a similar question as me some updates. :)

[Federica]

It's really up to your hair how much it gets damaged from wearing it down.
If I decide to wear it loose, I check my clothes: there must be no zippers or velcro, possibly a soft and smooth fabric/leather and I'm very careful to not get trapped in things/random people (this happens A LOT on the public transport).
I also find that my hair gets quickly dirty when I wear it down, and more dry on the ends, so maybe you should oil/condition it more often.

[meteor]

Yes, you can get away with that, especially since your goal length is not extremely super-long. :agree: But I'd suggest keeping an eye on your ends, check regularly if the condition suffers at all.
I think it's usually somewhat easy to grow hair pretty long (and still in very good condition) while wearing it down. The fact that you have some bleach probably makes it harder: bleach has a stealthy way of accumulating damage faster than virgin hair would, because the integrity of hair fibre is compromised.
You might want to do deep conditioning treatments more often and moisturize and oil your hair a bit more often, since hair ends can loose moisture faster when they are spread out and loose rather than tucked into a bun. And make sure you wear silky or relatively smooth materials when your hair is down.
Wearing hair in half-ups can help, too, because you can still show your hair length while keeping it a bit contained and somewhat less likely to tangle. :)

[missblueeyes]

Yes, you can get away with that, especially since your goal length is not extremely super-long. :agree: But I'd suggest keeping an eye on your ends, check regularly if the condition suffers at all.
I think it's usually somewhat easy to grow hair pretty long (and still in very good condition) while wearing it down. The fact that you have some bleach probably makes it harder: bleach has a stealthy way of accumulating damage faster than virgin hair would, because the integrity of hair fibre is compromised.
You might want to do deep conditioning treatments more often and moisturize and oil your hair a bit more often, since hair ends can loose moisture faster when they are spread out and loose rather than tucked into a bun. And make sure you wear silky or relatively smooth materials when your hair is down.
Wearing hair in half-ups can help, too, because you can still show your hair length while keeping it a bit contained and somewhat less likely to tangle. :)

Thank you, meteor! I think instead of wearing it all down, I'll probably braid it a lot since it shows off length but keeps it contained somewhat. I guess I'm just a little fidgety because it's getting warmer and it's easier to wear it down in the spring / summer than in autumn / winter. I still love wearing my hairtoys but I want to train myself to be able to handle it when it's down, too, because I want to keep it as an option.

[meteor]

^ Yay! Braids are significantly more protective than half-ups (and especially loose hair!), so that's a very good option! :thumbsup:
And if you use soft ties (no metal and not those super-tight silicone tiny elastics), and wear your braids over shoulder, and oil the tassel from time to time, then you should be able to avoid all damage. :D

[yogagirl]

I think you've gotta give it a try and see how it works. No way of knowing how your hair will react otherwise. Since you've had good results in the past, I'd say it's looking good for you! I did want to add, I'm not sure trimming alone will do the trick if you do notice damage. You'd probably have to S&D too, because the damage might not be contained to the ends only.

I also like to wear my hair down. Right now my compromise is, wear it down on day one (and sometimes two) after washing. Then bun until the next wash. Works well for me so far :)

Good luck!

[missblueeyes]

^ Yay! Braids are significantly more protective than half-ups (and especially loose hair!), so that's a very good option! :thumbsup:
And if you use soft ties (no metal and not those super-tight silicone tiny elastics), and wear your braids over shoulder, and oil the tassel from time to time, then you should be able to avoid all damage. :D

I got some of these ribbon hairties: http://image.dhgate.com/albu_355189365_00/1.0x0.jpg
What do you think of these?
I personally love the tiny silicone hairties for GoT- or LotR- inspired hairstyles which involves combining braids or something like that. :)

[meteor]

I got some of these ribbon hairties: http://image.dhgate.com/albu_355189365_00/1.0x0.jpg
What do you think of these?
I personally love the tiny silicone hairties for GoT- or LotR- inspired hairstyles which involves combining braids or something like that. :)

They look perfectly safe to me! :D Great find, missblueeyes! :thumbsup:

About those tiny, tight silicone ones... so many folks reported damage from them... I don't know, I'd stay away or, if you do use them, be super-careful how you put them on and carefully cut them with scissors taking them out (they are meant to be good for only 1 or 2 uses anyway).

[Nique1202]

^ Yay! Braids are significantly more protective than half-ups (and especially loose hair!), so that's a very good option! :thumbsup:
And if you use soft ties (no metal and not those super-tight silicone tiny elastics), and wear your braids over shoulder, and oil the tassel from time to time, then you should be able to avoid all damage. :D

The tiny silicone ties are less damaging on my hair, at least, than no-metal thread/fabric covered elastics, especially as braid ties because they're so close to the bottom of the hair they're much easier to remove with little or no friction on the hair. The compression of the hair is sometimes less damaging than the friction. (It's very much individual, though.)

[meteor]

^ I agree, it's probably very individual. :agree: For me, the silicone ones are actually really hard to slide off hair - they practically don't budge on me, LOL. I guess the best way would be to test out a few different types of hair-ties and see which ones are easiest to put on/take off and cause minimal mechanical damage for you personally. :)

[missblueeyes]

They look perfectly safe to me! :D Great find, missblueeyes! :thumbsup:

About those tiny, tight silicone ones... so many folks reported damage from them... I don't know, I'd stay away or, if you do use them, be super-careful how you put them on and carefully cut them with scissors taking them out (they are meant to be good for only 1 or 2 uses anyway).

That's great to hear. :)

My hair usually spits out the silicone hairties or they just break so I only use them occasionally. I'm honestly not too phased by the damage caused by silicone hairties myself as I only really use them for these complicated, braided styles which require invisible hairties to look good. Especially since they mostly only hold the bleached parts of my hair, which I don't plan to keep forever, anyway. :P I'm going to consider cutting them out after one use but I'm a little afraid I might cut a hair in the process. :/

[yogagirl]

You could try undoing them carefully loop by loop, basically the reverse way you put them in. It takes longer, but it's way less friction on your ends.

[lapushka]

Blowdrying is not a bad habit, it is if you do it wrong. If you respect the rules (cool/warm, no roundbrushing), then it's perfectly *fine*!

[Arctic]

I have never thought or felt those mini silicone hair ties to be damaging. I think they feel very gentle compared to some others. They glide off easily after use. I really like mine a lot! (Ofcourse anything can be damaging, if used too tightly and always on same spot, etc etc)

ETA: I have also been using the same 1 packet of them for years and years, probably at least 5 years (although I had a pixie there inbetween, but even then I used them on my braided bangs sometimes). I have never ever broken even one. I never broke elastics in general.

[meteor]

^ Maybe it's a question of the quality of the elastics or different manufacturers? :hmm: I know all bobby pins aren't created equal at all, and the same refers to elastics, too.
Also, if your hair doesn't break elastics in general, maybe you use elastics more gently, which is a great thing. :) My hair tends to eat even thick elastics for breakfast, and those tiny silicone ones rip or become otherwise unusable after one or 2 uses on me - I thought they are sold in packs of 500 because they are one-use items. :hmm:

[Arctic]

Mine was a pack of probably 20 pieces, lol. I should have said that, it didn't even occur to me that package size differ :blush: Good things about medium-thinner hair is that I never break anything :D I bet thickness has a lot to do with it.

[Arctic]

Update on the mini silicone elastics. I bought a new small bag of them (30 pieces), from different brand (because my old were not actually colourless, but seethrough pastel coloured, and I wanted colourless).

And there is a big difference between the old and new silicone elastics in how well you can remove them from hair. The new ones are maybe slightly flatter in profile and seem to grap more to the hair, the finish/surface seem more shiny. The old ones had a tiny bit higher profile and are easy to glide off from hair when removing (yet stay put really well when used). The finish/surface has maybe tiny bit matte in it, not really matte, but not super shiny either. Both new and old ones are approx same size and thickness. I have to say I like the old ones more, and am going to go and see if the store I bought them years ago would still carry them (thankfully I remember where I bought them).

The new ones are such, that they can re-used if they are tied at the end of the braid, but I think cutting them off would be easier and more hair friendly if they are used higher up, like in halfup or ponytail. Also it might be that the new ones are not as durable because of their flatter profile, but that remains to be seen.