Hair help

[brittaniebump]

I have had a very long hair journey and I am about to give up on getting the long hair I've always wanted. My hair used to be down to my chest, that is the longest it has ever been. I got it cut about five years ago and I am at about the same length as I was when I got it cut. A short bob. I get trims, I use coconut oil treatments and deep conditioning treatments, I haven't been putting and heat on my hair or color and yet it still dies, so when I get it trimmed any length I gain she takes right back off. I have fine hair but I have quite a bit of it. Someone please help

[fiabia]

Perhaps your hairdresser is just cutting all of your growth right off. If you otherwise have healthy hair, why not quit trims for a longer while? :)

[Cg]

1. Stop going to that hairdresser. Forever.
2. Get a trusted friend to microtrim (just a tiny amount) damage only, at much longer intervals than you're used to. When your hair is long enough, you can try Feye's method of self-trimming. I had to wait for MBL before I could do a decent job of it alone.
3. Read the threads here on LHC about protecting ends from damage -- there are many, and lots of useful techniques to try, not just coconut oil and deep conditioning.

[Anje]

Yep, you need to ditch the hairdresser. You keep giving her money when she takes off all your growth? Seems like she's the only one benefiting from that arrangement. How often are you trimming? Our more breakage-prone members usually only need to microtrim every 3-4 months. Others can go 6 months or a year easily, and some don't trim at all.

Start wearing your hair up, if you don't. Around armpit or BSL, lots of people get breakage, because they lean against their hair when they're sitting down. Get some cute clips, twist it into a bun or a peacock twist, and wear it that way most of the time. You'll have fewer tangles and less breakage. Braids are also good, but pull them over your shoulder when you sit down.

[spidermom]

I agree, get rid of that hair stylist OR have a serious talk about your goals (to grow it longer) and see if you get cooperation. I went for trims every 8 weeks when I first started growing out my hair, and my stylist trimmed off so little that I couldn't really see a difference in length when she was finished, although I could feel the difference in my ends and see how much better the overall shape and style looked. Or, as already stated, get far fewer trims, although this may not work for you. As example only - my hair is very prone to splitting and other types of damage, so the less I got it trimmed, the worse my hair's condition became.

[lapushka]

Wait you had BSL or almost, hair, and you ended up with a lob or bob? It makes sense that the hairdresser is taking off more than is needed, right? By now the penny might have dropped. :flower: But sometimes it's hard to break with old habits and we see past what's logical.

Why not join the microtrimming thread on here, or even join the no trimming threads for the following year. There's 3, one for the first half of the year, one for the second half of the year, and one for the whole year. The info to know is in the first message of every thread. HTH!

Good luck, welcome, and happy growing! :D

[Annalouise]

I have had a very long hair journey and I am about to give up on getting the long hair I've always wanted. My hair used to be down to my chest, that is the longest it has ever been. I got it cut about five years ago and I am at about the same length as I was when I got it cut. A short bob. I get trims, I use coconut oil treatments and deep conditioning treatments, I haven't been putting and heat on my hair or color and yet it still dies, so when I get it trimmed any length I gain she takes right back off. I have fine hair but I have quite a bit of it. Someone please help

Hi there, I'm not sure what you mean by your hair dies? Would you care to elaborate on that?:)

[brittaniebump]

Hi there, I'm not sure what you mean by your hair dies? Would you care to elaborate on that?:)
My hair is fairly healthy overall but right down from my ears it starts to break and just doesn't stop I really don't understand why. I'm going to try to go longer without trims and see if that helps. Thank you all!

[fiabia]

Hmm, if it breaks off it can be brittle due to things like an overload of product in your hair (what products do you use?). In that case, you can try a clarifying shampoo. A clarifying shampoo removes traces of products, especially products with silicone (most conditioners, serum and leave in sprays have silicone in them) can build up.
It could also be that your hair is sensitive to coconut oil, alot of hair actually is. I think it's due to protein overload, as the coconut oil acts like a protein, though I might be wrong. But if you are using products with protein (silk protein, keratin etc.) plus the coconut oil, then I think fine hair tends to react badly to it. In that case you might benefit from putting more moisture into your hair with ex. an SMT-treatment: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=128 .
Hair basically needs to be in balance between protein and moisture. And perhaps try another oil, like almond oil, baby oil, avocado oil, olive oil etc.
Hope this made sense :)

[Carolyn]

If your hair is breaking off my first guess would be protein overload. What products are you using? There is a recent thread with a list of protein free conditioners that might be helpful. In any case, I agree with all the others, it's time to ditch that stylist. I wouldn't give her a second chance. You need to find a stylist who is on board with growing your hair longer and wanting to keep you as a happy client.

[Annalouise]

What sorts of tools are you using? A comb, brush? Do you brush your hair a lot? And do you brush your hair when its wet?

[brittaniebump]

I never knew that hair could go into protein overload but that does make sense to me now. I couldn't figure out why no matter what I did it still ended up dry and damaged in only certain areas. I have been using a loreal sulfate free shampoo and conditioner which is specifically for my fine hair and I rarely use products. In the morning I use a comb and then add in some macadamia oil to my ends. I see that a lot of people say to not brush or comb when wet though

[Annalouise]

Another thing to consider would be taking hair vitamins. Is your health generally good?

[brittaniebump]

Yes I am a 19 year old healthy female and I tried taking HSN vitamins before but didn't see much of a difference. My nails grow like crazy! But my hair always takes forever and I see no length

[Annalouise]

Hair vitamins make my nails long and strong as well. :) I'm sorry your not gaining length. Maybe in the future you could take a picture of your hair so we can see what it looks like. :flower:

[Dark40]

Yeah, I would ditch the hairdresser. I would do my own trims only when you need to. Especially, if your hair is already healthy.