Changes over the Years In Routine

[DollyDagger]

Hi All,

Those of you who have been around for a while and have grown to longer lengths-

What are the biggest changes in your routine when comparing then (beginning of your journey) and now?

Was there any element in your routine that you ultimately decided was unnecessary or even deterimental to your hair growth/health?

T.I.A for sharing,
Dolly:blossom:

[Nadine <3]

When i first got here i was trying all sorts of different fancy methods...CO, CWC, sulfate free, egg washes, oat water washes. Now I'm just shampooing and conditioning and calling it a day. May shampoo cost me 75 cents and it's very sulfaty. I don't care and my hair looks good.

[DollyDagger]

Nadine<3 said
I don't care and my hair looks good


^ excellent..! that's the main objective we're striving for. The easier achieved the better! :)

[Fericera]

I've started to do regular (twice a month or so) moisture treatments, and protein treatments. I feel that's really made a difference for me. I can wear my hair down on special occasions and not feel afraid of breakage because I know it's healthy and strong enough to endure one night of being swished around.

Last time I grew out my hair as a teenager I didn't have access to oils or know much about how to mix up homemade conditioners, and while I've never hated my hair, I did get split ends much more often than I do now.

[RainbowBowser]

[only been here 2 years]
What are the biggest changes in your routine when comparing then (beginning of your journey) and now?

In the beginning of my journey, I started with the basic rules of stretching washes and no heat (basic knowledge from youtube (non LHCers))
The biggest change ultimately: wearing my hair up/preventing tangles.
It was the newest thing to me, because I never EVER wore my hair up (occasional ponytail/side braid) due to self consciousness (now I don't care)
Other smaller changes were oil (as opposed to coney leave-ins), conditioning twice, and so on.
I switched around between sulfates and no sulfates, and in the end, I really favour SLES. I need some foam, lol.
When looking at the routine from then and now, the ingredients changed more than anything.

Was there any element in your routine that you ultimately decided was unnecessary or even deterimental to your hair growth/health?

Protein: most of the time, I still love my deep conditioner but everything else...eh, it caused me buildup and brittleness.
Same deal with silicones, I'll compromise for water soluble but I will rarely bother with dimethicone/non solubles.

[endlessly]

I first joined this site after being on the receiving end of a terrible haircut and searching for ways to grow my hair long again in the shortest amount of time - never really did find a "miracle" way to get my hair to grow quicker. At the time, I was using a very expensive line of products from the salon: shampoo, conditioner, deep conditioner, masque, spray oil, leave-in cream, and leave-in oil. I spent roughly $100 a month on this expensive habit and you know what? It didn't make a single difference. It didn't make my hair grow faster, it definitely didn't prevent or repair past damage, and also, it never really made my hair look amazing. Also, on top of using those products every day, I used a hair dryer and hot rollers on my hair every day, too.

So, I cut out heat styling (no more hot rollers or hair dryer), used up my remaining supply of the salon products and switched to Lush. While Lush certainly isn't cheap, it definitely lasts me a lot longer than one month and it has actually improved the overall health of my hair. My routine is much, much simpler now: shampoo, conditioner, and leave-in conditioner... that's it. Every once in a while, I'll do a treatment mask or deep condition, but I keep it much simpler and in the two years I've stopped using the salon brand, my hair has doubled in thickness, so I must be doing something right by using Lush!

[Five of Five]

When I first joined LHC at about shoulder, the main changes I made was a reduction in blow-drying, wearing hair up much more often, oiling, and S & D.

At around hip - BCL length, I changed from predominantly braids or ponytails to predominantly buns, as the slipperiness became less of an issue and buns provided noticeably more protection to the ends. Futhermore, S & D became more important at this length, as this was the point splits and white dots started to became apparent.

In my early enthusiasm for greater lengths, I tried things like Monistat, biotin, castor oil and MSM for hair growth. None had any noticeable effect for me, so I decided to focus on keeping the growth I had, rather than obsessing over the growth rate. Protein treatments, fancy washing techniques and moisture treatments had little effect either (as long as I kept up with light oilings every few days) and so they went by the wayside as well.

I also had to compromise a little with the blow-drying in order to save the length I had attained. I found that my very fine hair could get away with some blow-drying, so long as I air-dried for an hour or two first and/or didn't do it every wash. Since my hair takes 8 hours or more to air-dry, I was seriously considering whether having long hair was worth spending all that time with wet hair.

[Johannah]

At the beginning I've tried so many things, going SLS- and cone free, CO, all moisturizing masks I could find, different moisturizing conditioners, ... Nothing really worked. Now I know I can only *really* moisturize my hair with humectants and that means a lot of protein. Since using protein every time I wash my hair, my hair feels amazing and is so much healthier!

[DollyDagger]

Thanks so far to everyone who chimed in!:blossom:It was really great reading about your journeys so far!
It's very interesting to see how everyone has seemingly simplified their routing. I guess at the beginning we all start out with that unbridled enthusiasm and want to try every possible thing. A little experimentation at the outset might be good though to see if theres anything that really makes a huge difference. The problem can be if you add too many variables at once its hard to know exactly which is having the effect!! lol

[Hairkay]

I joined in January. The only change I made was to put my hair up. Before coming here, last year I started to do some deep conditioning treatments including some henna glosses.

[Groovy Granny]

When I read this, the first thing that came to mind was BRECK shampoo...that left my hair SQUEAKY CLEAN back in the 60's and 70's.
They didn't have conditioners back them either for the most part; it's a wonder I still have hair on my head lol

Then in the 80's I used curling irons and colored my hair...it makes my shin crawl to think of it now! shudder:

Once I hit 50 and went 'au naturale' after my stylist mishap that cost me a foot of hair, I also became more gentle without realizing it.

I did use a hot air brush curler at times but compared to the irons I was gentle lol.

Now since joining in 2013 my hair is in the best condition of my life; It should be considering all the pampering it gets :laugh:

Stretched washes
moisturizing S&C
leave ins/oils
air dried
diffuser dries
warm/cool blow dries in winter
BBB
wide tooth combs
gentle detangling
protective styles
put up to sleep

etc etc (whatever I am forgetting...you get the picture) :D

[DollyDagger]

^lol Breck..wasn't that the one with the commercial.."and they told 2 friends...and so on and so on ") oh no it was Fabrege

basically treating those silvers like Gold or platinum eh GG :) :sun::thumbsup:

[Johannah]

Thanks so far to everyone who chimed in!:blossom:It was really great reading about your journeys so far!
It's very interesting to see how everyone has seemingly simplified their routing. I guess at the beginning we all start out with that unbridled enthusiasm and want to try every possible thing. A little experimentation at the outset might be good though to see if theres anything that really makes a huge difference. The problem can be if you add too many variables at once its hard to know exactly which is having the effect!! lol

You need to make a lot of 'mistakes' first to discover what really works for you. And sometimes - in my case - it's actually pretty simple, but it just takes ages to understand your hair! ;)

[DollyDagger]

You need to make a lot of 'mistakes' first to discover what really works for you. And sometimes - in my case - it's actually pretty simple, but it just takes ages to understand your hair! ;)
Exactly...by experimenting we come to understand and become hair whisperers eventually ):) ..

[Johannah]

Exactly...by experimenting we come to understand and become hair whisperers eventually ):) ..

I love that description ha ;)

[DollyDagger]

yeah its funny :) Imagine youre out having a coffee with a friend and suddenly you say...."Shhhh-.." putting your hand up to silence friend who was in mid-sentence "my hair is talking to me..I must listen"..lol!

[Johannah]

yeah its funny :) Imagine youre out having a coffee with a friend and suddenly you say...."Shhhh-.." putting your hand up to silence friend who was in mid-sentence "my hair is talking to me..I must listen"..lol!

Well... It depends if that friend is an LHC member or not :lol: If that's the case, he/she will understand :lol:

[DollyDagger]

Well... It depends if that friend is an LHC member or not :lol: If that's the case, he/she will understand :lol:
So true...with a LHCr it would be totally de rigueur :wink:

[Marika]

When i first got here i was trying all sorts of different fancy methods...CO, CWC, sulfate free, egg washes, oat water washes. Now I'm just shampooing and conditioning and calling it a day. May shampoo cost me 75 cents and it's very sulfaty. I don't care and my hair looks good.

Me too, tried it all. I've certainly learnt over these years that less is more when it comes to hair. A shampoo with sulfates and a conditioner with cones is all I need. Buns (=protective styles) and wide tooth combs (=gentler detangling) are the only things I haven't messed with. They have always been a part of my (long hair) routine and always will.

[syndel]

I have utterly lost track of all the things I've tried and abandoned so far on my long hair journey. Had more losses than wins I think haha. It's been many years, but the major things that stand out in my memory that would have caused the biggest changes, for the better, probably went in about this order:

* Discovered heat protectant is a thing (this triggered me to get curious about what else was bad for your hair... turned out there's a lot :p)
* Decided to quit heat styling in any and all of its evil forms (thou shalt not flat iron, curl or blow dry)
* Abandoned all damaging hair implements (hair ties with the metal in them, seamed combs etc)
* Discovered deep conditioning is a thing, and that you could make your own (I have put several pantries worth of condiments on my hair)
* Got my chemistry education on and learned all about what the things listed on the hair product labels actually do...also learned that pretty much every major band in hair care are lairs and their products are made to be as cheap and damaging as possible, while also hiding said damage so that you are fooled into thinking they work (looking at you, pantene)
* Went sulfate free, silicone free and stretched washes
* Bought a Mason Pearson BBB (fell deeply, madly in love with it)
* Learned about hair oils and butters (a lot of trial and error finding which ones my hair liked there)
* Switched to shampoo bars
* Started doing henna glosses

It's funny to think back on how clueless I once was, never in my wildest dreams back then would I have thought I'd grow up to be such a hair hippie. :o

[school of fish]

DollyDagger, there's an old thread somewhere around here about people's routines who are tbl and longer - don't know if you've stumbled across it yet but I found it fascinating and very insightful!

Here's the link, I hope it works! Generally speaking the routines are rather simple and straightforward. The common denominator for all is that these long-time members KNOW their hair and simply give it what they know it wants, no fuss :)

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=119652

[lapushka]

What are the biggest changes in your routine when comparing then (beginning of your journey) and now?

Was there any element in your routine that you ultimately decided was unnecessary or even deterimental to your hair growth/health?

I first tried just about everything there was to try here, sulfate-free, CO-washing, even WO for a while - all didn't do it for me and I would get bouts of SD (seborrheic dermatitis). So I would have to bust out the Nizoral. As my hair grew longer, these past years, I noticed that I could stretch out the washes to once a week, and I discovered WCC as an alternative to not being able to go curly girl but still getting my waves moisturized despite the harsh sulfates. So that became my routine, then I added LOC, and also the rinse-out oil method (sometimes) and I'm happy with that. It works, somehow. For more info, check out my signature, should you be interested. :)

[DollyDagger]

DollyDagger, there's an old thread somewhere around here about people's routines who are tbl and longer - don't know if you've stumbled across it yet but I found it fascinating and very insightful!

Here's the link, I hope it works! Generally speaking the routines are rather simple and straightforward. The common denominator for all is that these long-time members KNOW their hair and simply give it what they know it wants, no fuss :)

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=119652

Thnx so much ! Ill have a look through it :)


I first tried just about everything there was to try here, sulfate-free, CO-washing, even WO for a while - all didn't do it for me and I would get bouts of SD (seborrheic dermatitis). So I would have to bust out the Nizoral. As my hair grew longer, these past years, I noticed that I could stretch out the washes to once a week, and I discovered WCC as an alternative to not being able to go curly girl but still getting my waves moisturized despite the harsh sulfates. So that became my routine, then I added LOC, and also the rinse-out oil method (sometimes) and I'm happy with that. It works, somehow. For more info, check out my signature, should you be interested. :)

:) Thnx lapushka. Its so good to hear the evolution of your routine and what helped you get to classic :) also the links in your siggy are very helpful!

[DollyDagger]

I have utterly lost track of all the things I've tried and abandoned so far on my long hair journey. Had more losses than wins I think haha. It's been many years, but the major things that stand out in my memory that would have caused the biggest changes, for the better, probably went in about this order:

* Discovered heat protectant is a thing (this triggered me to get curious about what else was bad for your hair... turned out there's a lot :p)
* Decided to quit heat styling in any and all of its evil forms (thou shalt not flat iron, curl or blow dry)
* Abandoned all damaging hair implements (hair ties with the metal in them, seamed combs etc)
* Discovered deep conditioning is a thing, and that you could make your own (I have put several pantries worth of condiments on my hair)
* Got my chemistry education on and learned all about what the things listed on the hair product labels actually do...also learned that pretty much every major band in hair care are lairs and their products are made to be as cheap and damaging as possible, while also hiding said damage so that you are fooled into thinking they work (looking at you, pantene)
* Went sulfate free, silicone free and stretched washes
* Bought a Mason Pearson BBB (fell deeply, madly in love with it)
* Learned about hair oils and butters (a lot of trial and error finding which ones my hair liked there)
* Switched to shampoo bars
* Started doing henna glosses

It's funny to think back on how clueless I once was, never in my wildest dreams back then would I have thought I'd grow up to be such a hair hippie. :o

Thnx for sharing that snydel..The start of your journey looks to be very similar to mine with the putting away of the almighty flat iron and blow dryer...the rest is similar too..apart from the brushes, shampoo bar and glosses :)

[dogzdinner]

I've certainly learnt over these years that less is more when it comes to hair.
Funny how it often comes back to that! Ive never been one for hair 'styling' so never really used heat on my hair or any posh products but I was guilty of having umpteen half finished shampoo and conditioner bottles in my bathroom...and then going out on windy days with my hair down so I actually broke a couple of brushes when I tried to yank them through my hair!
Now I just have one shampoo bar and some argan oil that I use once a week and my hair feels lovely. Also I never would of considered putting my hair up in the past and probably been self concious about it but now I do it without thinking (long hair and up do's seem to be coming back into fashion! :)).
Its daft that its taken me this long to work out TBH coz I figured it out years ago when it comes to skin care. I went from terrible, greasy skin to smooth, healthy skin by cutting out all toners, washes and moisturisers and just using water and a flannel!LOL:rolleyes:

[syndel]

Thnx for sharing that snydel..The start of your journey looks to be very similar to mine with the putting away of the almighty flat iron and blow dryer...the rest is similar too..apart from the brushes, shampoo bar and glosses :)

It felt like such a loss at the time but it really made me embrace my natural hair. I recoil at the sight of heat styling appliances now lol.

[Loveisaverb]

Before I used to daily or every other day wash my hair clarifying shampoo and never use conditioner. :doh:
Then following the months I joined I tried no-poo and baking soda/vinegar or tried WO for awhile. But it didn't work for me besides the vinegar.
But I stretched my washes every 4 days and use SLS-free shampoo now.
I just now started using conditioner now since I didn't want the conditioner on my scalp and it getting greasy.

[meteor]

I've tried lots and lots of things and many of them were good but not groundbreaking (deep treatments, many DIY masks, herbal rinses...) or too fussy to keep up (oil scalp massages, complex washing procedures...), so my changes were more about streamlining products/routine down to bare bones.

The most important changes I've made back at BSL that I still stick to now, at Classic+ are:
- throwing away all brushes (I used to get breakage by ripping a brush through wet hair all the time :scared:);
- wearing hair up as much as possible in simple styles (I didn't know any updos pre-LHC);
- detangling with a wide-tooth comb infrequently - every day or every other day (the less I comb it, the less it tangles actually :shrug:);
- stretching washes (the longer it gets, the less frequently it needs to be washed);
- getting trims infrequently (I used to get all my new growth cut off during those frequent trims :lol: );
- conditioning religiously (pre-LHC, I used to think conditioning was a waste of time :doh: );
- resisting temptation to bleach (bleach is hugely damaging, of course).

Really, for me, it's all about leaving hair alone as much as possible. That's when hair thrives the most, IMHO. :)

[Sarahlabyrinth]

I gradually learned that simple is usually best (and easiest to stick to) when it comes to hair care.

Diluted shampoo and conditioner, a little oil after washing and Hair is quite happy.

Gentle, gentle, super-gentle handling, every single day.

[Hairkay]

Well when I was a child I could use shampoo until puberty hit. Hair always got oiled slightly damp. After shampoo times I tried doc's concoctions, once a week. Every day I rinsed the hair. I'd pull on the hair if I was bored, pulling out split ends. I'd comb hair sometimes twice a day. I'd also brush the life out of the my curls. I quit the brush a few years ago and admitted that the alternative I used for shampoo did not improve my scalp and made things worse by stripping my hair strands. My skin got even more sensitive and painful especially my scalp so I no longer combed the hair every day. I did it every 3 days. I settled on water only with a few coconut oil rinses/baths or oat water rinses or baths. Then I went for finding out some conditioning treatments that wouldn't trigger allergic reactions. I added variety to the hair oiling by having olive oil for winter and adding almond oil. I got a satin night cap and tried out finger detangling. After that I found LHC and put my hair up, styling it once a week using only finger detangling.

[DollyDagger]

Before I used to daily or every other day wash my hair clarifying shampoo and never use conditioner. :doh:
Then following the months I joined I tried no-poo and baking soda/vinegar or tried WO for awhile. But it didn't work for me besides the vinegar.
But I stretched my washes every 4 days and use SLS-free shampoo now.
I just now started using conditioner now since I didn't want the conditioner on my scalp and it getting greasy.
thnx Loveisaverb..I bet you'll start seeing even more improvements with conditioner too now.


I've tried lots and lots of things and many of them were good but not groundbreaking (deep treatments, many DIY masks, herbal rinses...) or too fussy to keep up (oil scalp massages, complex washing procedures...), so my changes were more about streamlining products/routine down to bare bones.

The most important changes I've made back at BSL that I still stick to now, at Classic+ are:
- throwing away all brushes (I used to get breakage by ripping a brush through wet hair all the time :scared:);
- wearing hair up as much as possible in simple styles (I didn't know any updos pre-LHC);
- detangling with a wide-tooth comb infrequently - every day or every other day (the less I comb it, the less it tangles actually :shrug:);
- stretching washes (the longer it gets, the less frequently it needs to be washed);
- getting trims infrequently (I used to get all my new growth cut off during those frequent trims :lol: );
- conditioning religiously (pre-LHC, I used to think conditioning was a waste of time :doh: );
- resisting temptation to bleach (bleach is hugely damaging, of course).

Really, for me, it's all about leaving hair alone as much as possible. That's when hair thrives the most, IMHO. :)
Thnx meteor for outlining those changes...:) what you dropped and what you kept-very helpful. I used to feel the same way too about conditioning..lol wut were we thinking! same with the way too frequent trims..lol


I gradually learned that simple is usually best (and easiest to stick to) when it comes to hair care.

Diluted shampoo and conditioner, a little oil after washing and Hair is quite happy.

Gentle, gentle, super-gentle handling, every single day.
Thanks Sarah..:)Seems to be the common denominator :) simplifying and streamlining


Well when I was a child I could use shampoo until puberty hit. After that I tried doc's concoctions, once a week. Every day I rinsed the hair. I'd pull on the hair if I was bored, pulling out split ends. I'd comb hair sometimes twice a day. I'd also brush the life out of the my curls. I quit the brush a few years ago and admitted that the alternative I used for shampoo did not improve my scalp but made things worse by stripping my hair strands. I settled on water only with a few oil rinses/baths or oat water rinses or baths. Then I went for finding out some conditioning treatments that wouldn't trigger allergic reactions. I got a satin night cap and tried out finger detangling. After that I found LHC and put my hair up, styling it once a week using only finger detangling.

Putting it up and getting out of sight out of mind...Im trying to do this too :) thnx for sharing Hairkay

[DweamGoiL]

I grew out my hair to TBL prior to 2004 and was an active member on LHC. At that time, I discovered an MP brush, which at first, I didn't like and gave it to my daughter who never used it and simply put it in a drawer. I tried many different things, but primarily was cone and SLS free. I discovered then the magic of Monoi Oil and Jojoba oil. I used to love damp bunning and discovered the benefits of sleeping with a cap. Those are the only 2 oils besides Sesame Seed oil that really worked for me so I stuck with them. I kept my thick hair all one length and would regularly visit the GM salon here in NYC. I also purchased 2 Sierra Legacy wooden combs. I used to get quite fancy with my vinegar rinses. I also discovered treating my hair gently and nourishing it, but that at that length, it was quite heavy and took hours to dry naturally. In 2004, I had a baby and cut my hair to shoulder. Back then, I hardly wore my hair down to protect it. I was the bun queen.

For years, I would just let it do it's thing and didn't really blow dry and so forth, but because I was very physically active, I washed it way too often and began dying it. Then, about 2 or 3 years ago or so, I decided to actively grow it again. Now, WL is fine for me. I don't wish to go any longer. I also have cut layers into my hair, which I am currently growing into a gentle U. I love the look and stylishness of the layers when the hair is down, but for updo's, they are such a pain in the you know what. I am still cone and SLS free. I have pretty much eliminated cones out of my routine altogether and I have discovered that my hair LOVES protein. I still use Monoi Oil and occasionally Jojoba oil. I took the MP out of the drawer and began using it on about day 3 or so after a wash. I still have my wooden combs and use them regularly. I used to damp bun a lot, but now, don't do it anymore. I still put my hair up in a top knot to sleep, but I only wear a cap in the Winter. I just can't stand it during the warmer months. This time around, since I have begun to grey, I have embraced being a henndigo head. It's a bit of a cumbersome process, but I don't have to repeat it every single month...thankfully. I still do vinegar rinses, but do them much more diluted and have cut out all the myriad of herbs I experimented with previously. I S&D about every 3-6 months and I go for trims twice a year. Before, I did S&D a lot more often, but the salon routine has pretty much remained the same. Now, I wear my hair down mostly. I enjoy it this way much more. I only bun when it's getting close to wash day and it just starts to look greasy. I think the biggest change has been that now I have my hair long because I enjoy it not because I want it to look good or obsses over breakage or whatever.