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Glitch
April 10th, 2018, 07:20 PM
I've read the worst ones, but how about the best? For me, it was microtrimming. I used to go years without cutting anything and the damage kept piling up and sabotaging the length. Routinely freshening up my ends has been my best hair decision. What helped your hair the most? :)

Sarahlabyrinth
April 10th, 2018, 07:21 PM
Giving up the dye, and micro trimming :D

MoonRabbit
April 10th, 2018, 07:25 PM
Giving up the flat iron. I never thought I could have hair longer than mbl because of heat damage. Also accepting my natural texture and waves.

Glitch
April 10th, 2018, 07:31 PM
Giving up the dye, and micro trimming :D

Yay to both! <3


Giving up the flat iron. I never thought I could have hair longer than mbl because of heat damage. Also accepting my natural texture and waves.

I must say, dropping the straightener from my routine was the hardest thing for me, it took me years to finally kick the habit!

MoonRabbit
April 10th, 2018, 07:58 PM
Yay to both! <3



I must say, dropping the straightener from my routine was the hardest thing for me, it took me years to finally kick the habit!

Oh I know the struggle. The straightening trend started when I was in middle school, and I did it every day for 10 years. I have to admit I sometimes think about it from time to time, the sleek, tangle and frizz free look.... Oh boy..let me not descend that road again. Hi I'm MoonRabbit and I have been flat iron free for 3 years ...Phew, okay I think the urge passed.

Rebeccalaurenxx
April 10th, 2018, 08:02 PM
Dropping the heat, the dye and micro trimming.

Glitch
April 10th, 2018, 08:28 PM
Oh I know the struggle. The straightening trend started when I was in middle school, and I did it every day for 10 years. I have to admit I sometimes think about it from time to time, the sleek, tangle and frizz free look.... Oh boy..let me not descend that road again. Hi I'm MoonRabbit and I have been flat iron free for 3 years ...Phew, okay I think the urge passed.

I also did it all the time for 10 years! I was so obsessed that I would straighten my hair before sleeping just for fun, even when I had nothing going on the next day, all because I liked it that much. Anyway wow, 3 years flat iron-free, that's wonderful! I just made 2 months and thought that was amazing :laugh:

Rowdy
April 10th, 2018, 08:36 PM
Hands down, ditching the hair dye.

Beeboo123
April 10th, 2018, 08:41 PM
Yay to both! <3



I must say, dropping the straightener from my routine was the hardest thing for me, it took me years to finally kick the habit!

Same here! I need to learn to heatlessly straighten my hair the way you do. Your hair looks so sleek and perfect!

Waterlilly21
April 10th, 2018, 08:41 PM
Stopping dye and giving up heat on my hair, also switching my products. How often do you all microtrin cause I’m trying to figure out when I should go, or if I should do it myself. Kinda unsure what to do cause I find lots of hairstylists tend to cut more than I ask.

Alissalocks
April 10th, 2018, 08:50 PM
Giving up heat tools forever to create curls.

Giving up brushing.

Oiling regularly. :cheer:

Glitch
April 10th, 2018, 09:33 PM
Same here! I need to learn to heatlessly straighten my hair the way you do. Your hair looks so sleek and perfect!

Aww thanks so much! I just had to find a way to perfect a heatless straightening method or I knew I was going to stay addicted to the straightener :rip:
Once you really know what you're doing, it takes less than a minute to set the hair up and then just air dry!


Stopping dye and giving up heat on my hair, also switching my products. How often do you all microtrin cause I’m trying to figure out when I should go, or if I should do it myself. Kinda unsure what to do cause I find lots of hairstylists tend to cut more than I ask.

Please don't be scared of my giant answer, it's not complicated, I just like to write a lot LOL.

Yes omg, while most hair stylists are lovely and kind, some do tend to chop off more than requested :( Back when I decided I should probably cut my fried hair, I did visit a hair stylist since I wanted a really solid, even cut. Personally, I made it clear I wanted a straight across, even, blunt cut with no layers. And made clear what I had planned (half an inch off? a quarter inch? 2 inches?). You can even say you don't want shorter hair, just an even hemline. I made it so (politely) clear, that the stylist took the black cape thing (clearly I'm not a stylist lmao) and checked a few times to make sure it was the correct length I wanted. I know it's a lot of detail to communicate at first but it's a terrible feeling to go home with hair you never wanted, so it's better to be safe than sorry ;)

After that, I just kept up the tiny trims myself (I can't afford $50 trims here and there, and my scalp doesn't do well with the rough handling). I just bought some basic hair scissors from a basic beauty store and would snip off bits to match the blunt cut the stylist had given me. At the start of this whole thing when I had collarbone length hair, I did go a little psycho with microtrimming heavily (is it even considered microtrimming at that point lol) every other week but it still paid off :) When it reached BSL, maybe a mini trim every month. Now that my hair is significantly more healthy, maybe in a couple months I'll repeat it. No matter what though, I'll never stop it fully, it's always really good for the hair. Oh, and S&D (cutting off split ends) was really frequent too. Like hours a week sometimes while watching a movie, whatever. Again now that my hair is okay, I don't really have split ends anymore and would probably S&D for a little while every couple months.

Glitch
April 10th, 2018, 09:34 PM
Giving up heat tools forever to create curls.

Giving up brushing.

Oiling regularly. :cheer:

Ooh how interesting! Was brushing too rough for your hair?

Katsura
April 10th, 2018, 10:04 PM
Ditching chemical dyes, definitely.

divinedobbie
April 10th, 2018, 10:08 PM
Giving up heat (very easy for me) and giving up dye (somehow I kept *accidentally* falling back in ... by growing it out for a year or two and getting frustrated and dyeing it to fix it.... growing... fixing... but I've sworn I don't care how bad it gets I will never ever dye my hair again).

AutobotsAttack
April 10th, 2018, 10:10 PM
Stopping bleaching and coloring
Stopping heat usage
I’ve recently stopped using anything to detangle and switched to finger detangling
And I’ve stopped using shampoo

cjk
April 10th, 2018, 10:29 PM
Going water only.

Waterlilly21
April 10th, 2018, 11:17 PM
Wow thanks that’s super helpful!

ReptilianFeline
April 10th, 2018, 11:31 PM
Ditching shampoo and just using natural make-at-home 'poo. My scalp loves it and when my scalp is happy, so will my hair be.

GalaMoon
April 10th, 2018, 11:57 PM
Giving up chemical hair dye and blow drying on the heat setting, learning how to self trim, switching to more gentle options for shampoo and learning how to handle wet hair. There's much more, I used to be quite the Bogeyman for my hair, but these are the main good changes.

Frankenstein
April 11th, 2018, 01:04 AM
Ditching box dye/bleach
Trims every 3-6 months
Switching from moisturizing shampoo to clear sulfate ones
Sleeping with a satin bonnet

Stray_mind
April 11th, 2018, 01:05 AM
Giving up the dye saved me money and my hair is growing out really nice and healthy looking.

Of the Fae
April 11th, 2018, 02:05 AM
I also did it all the time for 10 years! I was so obsessed that I would straighten my hair before sleeping just for fun, even when I had nothing going on the next day, all because I liked it that much. Anyway wow, 3 years flat iron-free, that's wonderful! I just made 2 months and thought that was amazing :laugh:

In your picture your hair is beautifully sleek! Good thing you managed to give it up- I used to be very fond of curling with a hot curling iron long ago, and it totally destroyed my hair. Bleaching did not help either :P I gave it up when I had it cut into a horrible bowl cut because it was just too broken.

My best hair decisions after joining LHC have been to get trims, stop using anything but henna and indigo once in a blue moon (pun intended) instead of regular store dyes.
Also learning how to use a hairstick! The convenience!

Milady_DeWinter
April 11th, 2018, 04:47 AM
Hairsticks. My hair love them. Before that, my hair was ALWAYS down. Now it's protected and I'm enjoying infinitely my new hairtoys and styles! It was hard at first, but I'm so happy of joining this Whole New World.

Also, OILS. I never ever tried them before LHC! And kicking out heat and styling products like mousses, that dry hair a lot and made it crunchier instead of soft, ugh.

I don't count dyes/henna as I've just been using them some months, enough to cause great damage/destroy my curl pattern.

Once I gain enough lenght (BCL or so) I plan to start microtrimming too :)

Crystawni
April 11th, 2018, 04:49 AM
Joining LHC (for the info, techniques, hairtoys and support that's often morphed into friendships around the world :p), learning to fully embrace my whites, and actually letting my hair grow.

Lumienkeli
April 11th, 2018, 05:40 AM
For me the best decision was to fully accept my hair. The texture and thickness and now, the color too.
I am happy that I never hate enough my texture to risk the damage by heat curlers or flat irons. I am happy that I was enough wise to say no to bleach when I wanted blue hair a decade ago.
I was not that wise about dyes. I destroyed my MBL+ hair with box dyes, before i switched to hendigo. I just started the giving up hendigo journey so I don't know how I will feel about it in the future. Now I like my virgin roots.
I was afraid for many years that my hair is not enough thick to grow it long. When I found LHC I surprised that my ponytale circumference is avarage.

I am happy with my neither straigth not wavy texture. It gives me some volume but not eat up too much length. It isis floppy now, but getting longer. I am ok with my avarage thickness, it is not bad. I am happy that my hair is growing fast enough (0.5 inch a month is enough fast for me:) ). I like my dark hair, but I also like the white strands. I love silver color! :)

I don't have to do more than care about my hair and let it grow and this is much more easier if I am looking for the things I like about it and not stressed the things I don't like, especially if those things are visible only for me or can't change them. :)

ravenskey
April 11th, 2018, 06:00 AM
Air drying rather that using the hairdryer.

Regular oiling.

Sleeping with my hair plaited.

Using a wide-toothed comb before brushing.

Wendyp
April 11th, 2018, 06:20 AM
Oh wow there’s a bunch, top 2 are installing a water softener and giving up hair dye I think.

TheForestFae
April 11th, 2018, 07:07 AM
Stop myself from torturing my hair to changed it texture, I wasnt happy with my straight hair so I have using a lot of chemicals to make it wavier :( Stop dying and trimming my hair too often lol :)

nycelle
April 11th, 2018, 07:15 AM
So far, the best decisions I've made is to have a big cut last year to get rid of all the highlights and dye.

Also, I completely stopped heat styling. I think this is a huge one for me. Learning to work with my wavy hair these last few months without heat has been interesting.

Glitch
April 11th, 2018, 08:11 AM
Wow thanks that’s super helpful!

You’re welcome!


In your picture your hair is beautifully sleek! Good thing you managed to give it up- I used to be very fond of curling with a hot curling iron long ago, and it totally destroyed my hair. Bleaching did not help either :P I gave it up when I had it cut into a horrible bowl cut because it was just too broken.

My best hair decisions after joining LHC have been to get trims, stop using anything but henna and indigo once in a blue moon (pun intended) instead of regular store dyes.
Also learning how to use a hairstick! The convenience!

Thank you! And for sure, back when I straightened, my hair *looked* okay but gosh, the damage, and the amount of hair that would fall out each time! Not even that deterred me :rolleyes:


Hairsticks. My hair love them. Before that, my hair was ALWAYS down. Now it's protected and I'm enjoying infinitely my new hairtoys and styles! It was hard at first, but I'm so happy of joining this Whole New World.

Also, OILS. I never ever tried them before LHC! And kicking out heat and styling products like mousses, that dry hair a lot and made it crunchier instead of soft, ugh.

I don't count dyes/henna as I've just been using them some months, enough to cause great damage/destroy my curl pattern.

Once I gain enough lenght (BCL or so) I plan to start microtrimming too :)

Is henna just too drying sometimes if used often? I used it lots as a kid with much shorter hair and don’t remember.

leayellena
April 11th, 2018, 08:24 AM
Using my hair mask with silicone and keratin. It was and it is still the best.

MusicalSpoons
April 11th, 2018, 08:45 AM
+Going sulphate-free - my scalp is still oily but after day 2 it now only needs a refresh rather than a stripping!

+Giving up hairties* and learning how to do actually protective styles.

+Learning about what different ingredients do, how they work with hair, and starting to learn what works for my own hair

Ooh, and!
+Learning about different textures of hair and appreciating my hair for what it is has really helped resist most of the trichotillomania urges too :happydance:

Everything I know about hair and how to care for it comes from finding LHC - without this forum I'd still be ignorant, still be damaging the ends, still trapped in a cycle of 'chop the straggly ends off, damage the new growth for a year, chop the straggly ends off, repeat' and still stuck between hip and tailbone :horse:

*I do occasionally still use hairties, as they do have their uses, but I'm much more careful and the infrequency means less chance of damage!

ETA: how could I forget?! Sleeping in a satin cap! It's made a HUGE difference in reducing tangles and splits.

Addy
April 11th, 2018, 09:18 AM
Best decision in regards to my hair was growing out a pixie into my natural ash brown and silver color. I am now hip length with 100% virgin hair.

Milady_DeWinter
April 11th, 2018, 09:29 AM
Is henna just too drying sometimes if used often? I used it lots as a kid with much shorter hair and don’t remember.

Absolutely not... My hair was much better with it, after the dyes disaster :( But it made my curls disappear, so it was highly annoying for me!

NightSister
April 11th, 2018, 09:33 AM
Letting my hair air dry. I used to hate my waves and now I embrace them! And it's less frizzy now too :)

shaluwm_agape
April 11th, 2018, 09:48 AM
Giving up dye
Throwing away all my elastics!

tangocurl
April 11th, 2018, 02:18 PM
Giving up the flat iron. I never thought I could have hair longer than mbl because of heat damage. Also accepting my natural texture and waves.

This!!! :beerchug:

Dendra
April 11th, 2018, 03:00 PM
Great idea for a thread Glitch!

Learning to love my natural colour was my best "decision", as this made me enjoy the growing out dye journey as well as look for ways to care for my hair instead of only wanting to change it. This led me to coconut oil and then LHC. Yay!

Glitch
April 11th, 2018, 03:17 PM
Great idea for a thread Glitch!

Learning to love my natural colour was my best "decision", as this made me enjoy the growing out dye journey as well as look for ways to care for my hair instead of only wanting to change it. This led me to coconut oil and then LHC. Yay!

Thanks! It's really interesting to know what helped people the most. I'm pretty surprised by some (like a water softener -never knew)!

Flowerness
April 11th, 2018, 04:21 PM
I hadn't ever really paid any attention to my scalp, and I used to end up with greasy limp hair on day 2. My first ACV rinse, and limiting hair conditioner to the length only made a huge difference. Also, forgetting the hair dryer. (Drying my hair by touching my hair to the dryer with only a hair brush in between? Bad idea! It would end up to hot to touch! Ouch!) Oh! and hair oil. Wow. That's all I can say. Oil does wonders for my dry hair!

MoonRabbit
April 11th, 2018, 04:59 PM
I also did it all the time for 10 years! I was so obsessed that I would straighten my hair before sleeping just for fun, even when I had nothing going on the next day, all because I liked it that much. Anyway wow, 3 years flat iron-free, that's wonderful! I just made 2 months and thought that was amazing :laugh:

2 months is amazing! I did heat style once back in September for my sisters wedding. I did soft curls with a wand, then flipped my hair over and sprayed hairspray all through it. After spending 8 hours outside, I got home and realized I had giant knots all though the under layer. It took a few hours, and half a bottle of olive oil to get them out. Maybe it was from the stress of planning the wedding and spending days without sleep to bake/decorate. I just sat on the couch sobbing my eyes out while dumping oil all though my hair lol...at least I won't make that mistake again!

Synester
April 11th, 2018, 06:32 PM
Giving up dye and bleach, never touching a flat iron ever again! my hair is much happier.

Glitch
April 11th, 2018, 07:44 PM
2 months is amazing! I did heat style once back in September for my sisters wedding. I did soft curls with a wand, then flipped my hair over and sprayed hairspray all through it. After spending 8 hours outside, I got home and realized I had giant knots all though the under layer. It took a few hours, and half a bottle of olive oil to get them out. Maybe it was from the stress of planning the wedding and spending days without sleep to bake/decorate. I just sat on the couch sobbing my eyes out while dumping oil all though my hair lol...at least I won't make that mistake again!

Thanks a lot for your kind words, even though 2 months isn't technically that long, I'm really proud I was able to truly quit. And it's okay, you live and you learn :grouphug: Last spring I quit heat straightening for a good while but like you, I curled my hair for a family wedding. Asian weddings (at least in my culture) are super long with a bunch of celebratory events day after day and so... I ended up using heat for styling everyday :( Completely ruined all of my progress and I was back into the cycle. I'm glad you at least stopped after that experience. For me, nothing really went wrong and so I continued on :doh:

Dark40
April 11th, 2018, 08:01 PM
Eliminating using so much heat during the week. That has helped me to grow to longer lengths for the last 8 years I've been a member here at the LHC.

Reservechic
April 12th, 2018, 09:44 AM
Giving up having chemical processes done on my hair on a routine basis, I stopped being addicted to flat irons, and I started making wiser product decisions when it comes to what I choose to use on my hair and scalp. Plus, I finally took the time to find a hair care regimen that truly works best for me, and I remain committed towards such, versus constantly switching up my hair care regimen at the drop of a dime like I used to do in the past.

I now wear my hair in its naturally curly state 99% of the time, and only use use direct heat on my hair to straighten it on a very infrequent basis. I only use vegan, cruelty products on my hair that don't contain silicones, mineral oil, sulfates, parabens or other ingredients that either don't agree best with my hair and/or scalp. I do suffer with scalp eczema that at times has been very severe, which is why, I have to be extra cautious about what I use that comes in contact with my scalp. And, personally, avoiding products that are filled with lots of chemical ingredients in them is a no-go for me, anymore. Products containing natural ingredients are what work best for my scalp and hair, even though I still do get scalp eczema flare ups the severity and frequency of such has slowly started to get better over time. Also, deep conditioning with heat, OMG on a weekly basis has been the best one of the greatest things for my hair ever. In the past, I didn't put a whole lot of emphasis on deep conditioning on a regular basis or even using heat when deep conditioning either. However, once I decided to become committed towards doing such, the benefits of doing it are truly incredible, I must say. And, when it comes to detangling my hair, never will I part from the best detangling tool I've ever found, and that's the Denman No. 3 brush. It definitely helps with providing superior curl elongation, plus, it also helps a whole lot in my opinion, with keeping my hair relatively frizz free, due to my long-term usage of it for sure.

Arciela
April 12th, 2018, 10:13 AM
Giving up bleach/dyes, ditching heat, sleeping on a silk pillow case.

My hair is regaining its thickness after a year and looking and feeling so much better!