Jumper
March 5th, 2016, 11:42 AM
I'm BACK! Not that I was ever really a big poster, more of a lurker, and I haven't gotten on much in the past year. But I came looking for the forums, decided it was time to go back and join in again. I don't think I did a one year anniversary, but I do have pictures uploaded here from two years ago and pictures I took yesterday, so I'll share those.
I started this with a layered haircut I hated. The only good thing about it was that it did let loose the curls in my hair by taking some of the weight off. But, for the most part, general hatred of the cut.
Hair two years ago brushed out:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=9253&d=1392621253
Hair with leave in conditioner and scrunched upside down, then air dried:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=10774&d=1399433763
At the start I ran the gamut of possibilities. Tried every suggestion I saw. CWC, WCC, shampoo bars, ACV rinses, not brushing my hair, switching to a comb... Let's not forget SLS or silicone free products.
Shampoo bars and ACV, while nice, were just too much work with the thickness of my hair. Took forever to attempt to clean my scalp, and then if the length needed washed at all... Forget it.
Hated SLS free shampoos and conditioners. Did nothing good for me.
Once I got done experimenting I ended up almost exactly where I started. Using conventional shampoo and conditioner, but conditioning twice. The only real change that stuck was diluting my shampoo and conditioner (I love this - I can actually get shampoo all the way down to my scalp whereas before the products are so thick and my hair is so thick that there were spots that I would have to try a couple times to work shampoo or conditioner down to). Not brushing my hair was the best thing for it, that was amazing. However, I need to either bun or braid my hair for work and that is easiest if I either brush or comb. So typically the first couple days post wash I can get away with combing it, after that I move on to brushing. I bought a wet brush and I will say, it is very gentle and seems to pull out less hair than any brush I've used before.
As far as leave in products, I've got a handful I like and use regularly. The garnier fructis version of argan oil (you know, silicone plus a drop of oil somewhere in there) and then Nightblooming's panacea (used sparingly and for special occasions), plus regular coconut oil sometimes. I use leave in conditioner if I remember but if I forget my hair is still shiny, soft, and easy to comb.
Honestly though, I got frustrated with it for the past year and just sort of quit caring. I considered cutting it probably every other day because it's so heavy and I was just tired of dealing with it. I definitely didn't take care of it like I had been. So now I've got some breakage and split ends that I'm just pretending don't exist while I bun it and oil it and consider how much I'm willing to trim.
So two years ago I was brushing waist. Now, washed yesterday, combed, no leave ins (because I fell asleep last night):
https://scontent-dfw1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xlt1/v/t1.0-9/12670768_10153441944552503_3677899644123646216_n.j pg?oh=842dd6dd273f0f9be55590ba8fd22f85&oe=575DD109
There is one last layer in there driving me nuts that needs to grow out. You can see where it is, it's thick to my elbows then has a slight taper after. The layer pops out of braids and tangles and mats so I'm trying to bun it more often or just leave it down. I trimmed it for the first time by myself last night! I was thinking about having it trimmed when I realized it was finally long enough for me to be able to use the ponytail method. I just took a tiny bit off but I got it pretty straight. I guess I'm close to tailbone.
I'm undecided on how long I really want to grow it. I'm thinking I'll get to classic, do some photos with the horses for fun, and decide after that.
Oh, and hair toys! I think I have like 3 that I can find. A 3 pronged OverTheHaiwaiianMoon fork, a wooden hair stick, and a two pronged metal pin that I could remember who it was from if I went on Etsy. I'm surprisingly finding that as my hair gets longer and heavier, I prefer the single sticks. I have a hard time with the two pronged one, it wants to pull on only a few hairs no matter how I use it, and the three pronged one is great if I need my hair held really tightly. Other wise it's too tight for my 13 hour shifts and starts to hurt. Of course, I can still only do one bun because I haven't practiced any others. :rolleyes: Like so:
https://scontent-dfw1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfp1/v/t1.0-9/12801295_10153441944547503_3911916286964543363_n.j pg?oh=d2c62556808274ddb14ba938eed88e3e&oe=574BE31F
I started this with a layered haircut I hated. The only good thing about it was that it did let loose the curls in my hair by taking some of the weight off. But, for the most part, general hatred of the cut.
Hair two years ago brushed out:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=9253&d=1392621253
Hair with leave in conditioner and scrunched upside down, then air dried:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=10774&d=1399433763
At the start I ran the gamut of possibilities. Tried every suggestion I saw. CWC, WCC, shampoo bars, ACV rinses, not brushing my hair, switching to a comb... Let's not forget SLS or silicone free products.
Shampoo bars and ACV, while nice, were just too much work with the thickness of my hair. Took forever to attempt to clean my scalp, and then if the length needed washed at all... Forget it.
Hated SLS free shampoos and conditioners. Did nothing good for me.
Once I got done experimenting I ended up almost exactly where I started. Using conventional shampoo and conditioner, but conditioning twice. The only real change that stuck was diluting my shampoo and conditioner (I love this - I can actually get shampoo all the way down to my scalp whereas before the products are so thick and my hair is so thick that there were spots that I would have to try a couple times to work shampoo or conditioner down to). Not brushing my hair was the best thing for it, that was amazing. However, I need to either bun or braid my hair for work and that is easiest if I either brush or comb. So typically the first couple days post wash I can get away with combing it, after that I move on to brushing. I bought a wet brush and I will say, it is very gentle and seems to pull out less hair than any brush I've used before.
As far as leave in products, I've got a handful I like and use regularly. The garnier fructis version of argan oil (you know, silicone plus a drop of oil somewhere in there) and then Nightblooming's panacea (used sparingly and for special occasions), plus regular coconut oil sometimes. I use leave in conditioner if I remember but if I forget my hair is still shiny, soft, and easy to comb.
Honestly though, I got frustrated with it for the past year and just sort of quit caring. I considered cutting it probably every other day because it's so heavy and I was just tired of dealing with it. I definitely didn't take care of it like I had been. So now I've got some breakage and split ends that I'm just pretending don't exist while I bun it and oil it and consider how much I'm willing to trim.
So two years ago I was brushing waist. Now, washed yesterday, combed, no leave ins (because I fell asleep last night):
https://scontent-dfw1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xlt1/v/t1.0-9/12670768_10153441944552503_3677899644123646216_n.j pg?oh=842dd6dd273f0f9be55590ba8fd22f85&oe=575DD109
There is one last layer in there driving me nuts that needs to grow out. You can see where it is, it's thick to my elbows then has a slight taper after. The layer pops out of braids and tangles and mats so I'm trying to bun it more often or just leave it down. I trimmed it for the first time by myself last night! I was thinking about having it trimmed when I realized it was finally long enough for me to be able to use the ponytail method. I just took a tiny bit off but I got it pretty straight. I guess I'm close to tailbone.
I'm undecided on how long I really want to grow it. I'm thinking I'll get to classic, do some photos with the horses for fun, and decide after that.
Oh, and hair toys! I think I have like 3 that I can find. A 3 pronged OverTheHaiwaiianMoon fork, a wooden hair stick, and a two pronged metal pin that I could remember who it was from if I went on Etsy. I'm surprisingly finding that as my hair gets longer and heavier, I prefer the single sticks. I have a hard time with the two pronged one, it wants to pull on only a few hairs no matter how I use it, and the three pronged one is great if I need my hair held really tightly. Other wise it's too tight for my 13 hour shifts and starts to hurt. Of course, I can still only do one bun because I haven't practiced any others. :rolleyes: Like so:
https://scontent-dfw1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfp1/v/t1.0-9/12801295_10153441944547503_3911916286964543363_n.j pg?oh=d2c62556808274ddb14ba938eed88e3e&oe=574BE31F