Your Worst Hair "Care" Routine / Worst Hair Sins

[Ylva]

How terribly did you treat your hair before you learned to take proper care of it?
What are the worst hair sins you've committed?
Any photos?

I used to wash my hair every day using some Tresemmé or similar shampoo and conditioner that consisted of water, chemicals, silicones and some more chemicals. Nothing hydrating or good what so ever. I'd also blow dry my hair daily.

At one point, I bleached my permed hair of black box dye. I used to do a very big, teased, 80s style hair with lots of hairspray, which I'd often just brush out.

I apologise if a thread like this already exists. Couldn't find one through Google. :)

[Ylva]

https://image.ibb.co/moau89/omg.jpg

:crazyq:

edit: Photo doesn't show?

[LittleHealthy]

Washed daily with sulphate shampoo and silicone conditioner... raked through my hair with the brush as though I was trying to stamp out a fire with the brush... never paid attention to the ends. So my hair has grown lots but I missed about a whole year of length gains due to the ends snapping off. I also would do a messy bun or half-up messy bun and really tangle the hair tie in, and rip it out every night haha. My hair looked ok because it is straight... but the ends were awful. Lol!!

[nycelle]

Bleached highlights. I think my hair was always forgiving when it came to coloring a shade or two lighter, but anything that required more lift.. oh hell no.

[blushy]

Yeahhhh I have a Lot....I juuuust recently realized that hair was something you had to...take care of. Haha!! I bleached it with 40 developer every month to keep it white blonde...never wore it in ANY protective styles, never deep conditioned it, used sulfate and silicone Pantene products, RIPPED through it with a basic paddle brush, heat styled it DAILY with a curling iron and held it on for a loooong time each curl, sometimes I'd touch up my curls multiple times a day with the curling iron....and I wondered why it would "never" grow :thud: :lol:

[Jo Ann]

Washing once with shampoo only...and the ever (un)popular ripping a brush through it...

https://i.imgur.com/L31b0lq.jpg

[Arciela]

Bleach and whenever I use anything with proteins..haha my hair comes out awful.

[Stray_mind]

I used to wash with sulphate shampoos almost every day and Never used conditioner lmao.

I actually got scared the first time i did use conditioner. I thought my hair felt Oily though it was in fact just moisture.

I used to rip a brush trough my hair, wear it loose or in a ponytail all the time, didn't protect it from direct sunlight in summer, resulting in fried, straw like hair that has lost it's actual color...

I am surprised i managed to grow it below waist back then, but it looked Awful.

[leayellena]

deep conditioning with so-called home made natural products. it didn´t condition my hair but it created build-up on my scalp.

[GreenFairy]

Sleeping on wet hair

[lakhesis]

uh, where to start shudder:

Getting semi-permanent extension - good 150 g on my fine hair. The beads that attached the extensions sometimes ended up cutting my hair so I ended up with 2-3 cm hair strands. Then switching to tape extension, where the glue from them is removed by alcohol solution.

Bleaching my hair. I didn't use regular box dye, I used those lightening sprays (thinking how much better it must be than actual hair dye). Ended up with a lot of hair breakage like 10 cm from my scalp.

Brushing my wet hair. Hair that was already gummy when wet from the bleach causing even more breakage.

Straightening my 1a hair, just so it blends with extensions better. Then curling the ends the next day.


Amazing that I even still had some hair on my head. :confused:

[Joules]

I used to wash my hair every day using some Tresemmé or similar shampoo and conditioner that consisted of water, chemicals, silicones and some more chemicals. Nothing hydrating or good what so ever. I'd also blow dry my hair daily.


Same here, just a different brand, and not daily but every other day (which is still too often for me). Even when I started oiling my hair all that chemicals negated everything and my hair was still dry as hay and breaking off. Also, my first oils were cheap and horrible, I used them for 6 months, so I think they count as a bad routine.

Then when I started to be more conscious about what I put on my head I co-washed my hair for almost two years without clarifying (well, I did maybe a total of 5 clarifying washes during that time, but still, almost two years, 5 times is not enough). My hair was ok for the first year and something, and then started to look stringy and rough. It did do some good: when I (accidentally) incorporated shampoo back into my routine my hair started to look perfect.

There were also times back when I was 13 when I would blowdry my hair straight after each wash without heat protectant, and then go out and spend a day under blazing summer sunlight. After two months of such routine I needed a bob to cut off all the damage (I didn't get a bob, but still).

Thankfully I never had any dye and bleach disasters. I got into serious hair care at the age of 15, right when parents usually start to allow their kids to experiment with their hair, and I didn't want any experiments anymore :D

[toastmouse]

Washing my hair daily with shampoo and no conditioner.
Doing dusty work without covering it properly- plaster dust especially dried it out like nothing else.
The "I've just found TLHC and sulfates and silicones are the devil and oils are essential and shampoo bars are all you need and actually all you really need is eggs oh and vinegar rinses and what about clay and it's definitely a great idea to try all these things plus 10 different shampoos and conditioners in the space of a month" phase.

[cadaverinna]

Bleaching it!
It's fine if it's just a few highlights like it is now, but not the whole thing. I like my hair thick and with as much volume as possible.
Also heat tools, dear god. I didn't have a habit of using them until I cut my hair into a bob and it wouldn't look good if I didn't use a straightener or a curling iron.

[illicitlizard]

Hmmm probably washing everyday? Blow drying without heat protectant (which is something I still do, oops). Then the time I bleached whilst there was silicone buildup on there because I was a pantene fiend and didn't know you had to clarify. After that probably the continued bleaching and colouring until I finally dyed my hair brown. I thought it felt pretty ok for what it'd been through, but compared to virgin hair? Gross.

[lapushka]

How terribly did you treat your hair before you learned to take proper care of it?
What are the worst hair sins you've committed?
Any photos?

No photos of when my hair was messed up, but when I just came to this site, I still experimented with dye, box dye, henna, indigo, bleach, one after the other, and yes I had my share of green hair. That is why it took me 10 years to get to classic with all virgin hair. Due to a disaster where I melted my hair off (cut itself from BSL to shoulder/chin) and burned my scalp badly, I said no more, and started pretty much growing it out. There were a few curly perms in there too, and lots of heat damage (half my hair riddled in white dots).

Thank goodness that's all past me.

[MoonRabbit]

Heat styling daily and rough brushing.

[Ylva]

Thanks so much everyone who has shared their sins so far! So much to relate to... :)


The "I've just found TLHC and sulfates and silicones are the devil and oils are essential and shampoo bars are all you need and actually all you really need is eggs oh and vinegar rinses and what about clay and it's definitely a great idea to try all these things plus 10 different shampoos and conditioners in the space of a month" phase.

Hahaha, this is so true. I went through this before I found the LHC, but I am still partially recovering from it, trying to use up all the stuff I acquired. At least it was strongly leaning towards the "good way" already, just a bit maniacal.

[Carolyn]

I have a long list. I washed it daily and didn't always use conditioner. I ripped through it when wet with a brush, then I blew it dry on high heat and then used a curling iron. I used a ton of hair spray and then ripped through that mess with a brush. I used Clairol Natural Instincts for several years. It was not a wash out dye for me. I high lighted for years and still have a little highlighted hair to trim off. I tried baking soda for clarifying. That was one of the worse things. Shampoo bars really trashed my hair.

[daisy rei]

This pretty much sums up the state of my hair throughout high school:

https://i.gyazo.com/e0b7501a7211708fc26a6471143aacce.png

I would color strip and bleach in the same day. I also used a razor intended for legs on my hair to try and achieve "scene layers". shudder:

[sophia_]

I had always heard that people with fine, straight hair should never use conditioner because it would "weigh the hair down," even though I never knew what that meant- what would my hair look like if it wasn't "weighed down?" My hair was straight and flat regardless of whether I used conditioner, was I trying to get it to stand on end or something? All it did was give me horrible tangles that I would just tear through with a vinyl brush after blow-drying it in the worst possible way, just moving all my hair around and creating more tangles and drying them in. I would then proceed to use salt spray to give it "texture" (which is a code-word for tangles) and curl it with a superheated curling iron, backcomb the roots into oblivion, and follow with so much hairspray I would sometimes have to open my bathroom window. And surprise, surprise! After about an hour, the curls would have fallen out completely.

[mwallingford]

^^^Oh my goodness, this is the most relatable thing I've seen for a long time! ^^^

Everyone used to tell me not to use conditioner (though I never had the guts to try it), since my hair likes to imitate a three year old child and throw temper tantrums whenever it doesn't get it's way. The curls thing reminds me of the homecoming parade that I went to my sophomore year of high school: I went to a friend's house to get ready with her and two other people. Her mother offered to curl my hair for me (I wasn't a huge fan of heat tools, but it was a special occasion for me.) The curls were literally falling out as she was doing them, and were visibly sliding out as we walked from the parking lot to the field. My hair was 100% curl-less before we reached the event, but it was a noble effort!

[LittleHealthy]

Oooh I just thought of something else I did which very literally trashed my hair... I had dreadlocks for nearly 5 years, during high school and part of college! I even bleached them once (evident in the photo) and let me tell you, you never really get all that bleach out when it is time to rinse!!!!
! Then when I was done with them I cut off half the length and brushed out the rest. I could’ve been smart and starting using hair masks etc to hydrate, but nope! Did nothing of the sort hahaha
https://s20.postimg.cc/g0ksjbyzh/030380_E1-9677-4_C1_A-_B685-712_AABC164_A3.jpg

[MoonRabbit]

Oooh I just thought of something else I did which very literally trashed my hair... I had dreadlocks for nearly 5 years, during high school and part of college! I even bleached them once (evident in the photo) and let me tell you, you never really get all that bleach out when it is time to rinse!!!!
! Then when I was done with them I cut off half the length and brushed out the rest. I could’ve been smart and starting using hair masks etc to hydrate, but nope! Did nothing of the sort hahaha
https://s20.postimg.cc/g0ksjbyzh/030380_E1-9677-4_C1_A-_B685-712_AABC164_A3.jpg

Really makes me miss my dreads so much! But you are right, they are hell on the hair.

[lithostoic]

Oh lord.

When I was 15 I cut my hair into a "scene" cut using a razor blade. I bleached it with 40vol shortly after. Box dye after box dye, black dye bleached back to strawberry blonde, etc. Used a flat iron EVERY DAY. With tons of hairspray. Luckily I was using silicones at the time so I never backcombed my hair, since it just didn't stay teased. This went on for a year!!

After that I stopped trying so hard and just let my hair do its thing aside from the occasional blowdry and box dye. When I was 16 I decided to stop combing my hair and get dreadlocks. Loved them for 2 years (bleached and dyed a couple times) then cut and combed them. Then shortly after I joined LHC and had a big chop to CBL!

I treat my hair much nicer these days haha.

[TashaW78]

Oh dear I bleached my hair myself with max strength 40 vol developer when my hair is already light brown and takes bleach easily, I was like 13 and my hair turned into a frizzy mess. Then dyed my entire head pink with manic panic which looked nice from afar but as soon as you got close you could see how fried my hair was... and being little old 13 year old me I didnt know about sulfate free or deep conditioner, I just used what my parents had in the shower, which was usually tresemme or pantene which now I would never dare touch those (If they work for you, great but they arent for me) then I dyed it all brown and then CONTINTUED TO BLEACH THE TIPS OF MY HAIR AND DO DIFFERENT DIP DIES I could see 1-2 inch strands of hair that were the blonde bits all over my clothing and my pillow at the end of the day or in the morning. Im glad I had my tragic hair days then and not now though :D

[saff.cel]

I regularly used to go into the salon and tell my stylist to get my hair "as close to my skin color as possible." I am very, very pasty.

[lapis_lazuli]

There were a few years of highlighting and daily flat ironing at 400° F, which singed my hair shudder:
Sometimes tying single-strand knots or pulling split ends apart during class . . .

Middle school was a dark time

[Flipgirl24]

I used to wash my hair every day and vigorously. I used cheap shampoo and conditioner. When I was much younger, my mom would use home perms on me. I hated it because my hair would just be a fried mess. I don't do anything special with my hair but I don't wash it often and use better shampoo and conditioner (for me anyway). I do use box colour though.

[TwilightMermaid]

When I was 11 I decided I wanted to give myself a no heat blowout because back then I was into hair and knew the heat was bad. I proceeded to cover it in a silicone serum and brush it into oblivion while failing to directly point the air at my hair. It ended up being this frizzy, silicone heavy, rewetted mess. I also gave myself bangs once in third grade because I thought it was a good idea to roll my hair into a com. Then when I couldn't get it out, I cut it off with scissors in my desk because I was so afraid of my teacher because she was very mean. I also used to give myself elaborate braids that would take a long time to perfect and when I was finally satisfied with my hair with y perfectionist self, I would often see a few hairs left out of the 'do. Like a normal person does, I pulled these hairs out.

[LittleHealthy]

I also used to give myself elaborate braids that would take a long time to perfect and when I was finally satisfied with my hair with y perfectionist self, I would often see a few hairs left out of the 'do. Like a normal person does, I pulled these hairs out.

Omg regarding pulling the missed hairs out! Bahaha! That’s hilarious! And cringe worthy. But you’re still here today with a head of hair so that’s the main thing LOL

[KJones2017]

I’m guilty of trusting the front of the label without ever checking the back. I just found a product called “love oil” in my hair product basket. Checked out the ingredients; it’s got 1 single oil in it way down the list of alcohols and silicones.

[Bryndhildr]

Brushing hair dry, with wrong tools

Using drugstore hair products with cones, parabens and the sort. Leaving said products in my hair... my poor hair.

[Sid0rela]

i tried to go platinium in one day from brown hair, and bleached it twice in the process. i dyed it brown and back to blonde with bleach in within a year span. tried to go back natural and dyed it dark brown to only bleaching it again 3 months later. good thing is that the last hair dye was one year ago to an ombre which consisted of 4cm ash brown root and blonde hair. haven't been dying it since and growing out beautifully.
ps: i sometimes sleep with wet hair, cause i have a shower late and dont wanna blow dry it.
used to brush it wet and strong and my ponytail/bun was too tight
(sorry for the mistakes, english is not my first language)

[Jo Ann]

FWIW, I used to think that blow-drying my hair and looking like this was *ahem!* a LOOK:

http://www.blogcdn.com/slideshows/images/slides/276/542/8/S2765428/slug/l/1828676121-1.jpg

[gustavonut]

I guess I do “sin” all the time. I use tresseme conditioner and straighten my bangs when I feel like it.
I also use a tangle teezer and fine tooth comb. The only “natural” product I use is coconut oil.

In the past I have had my hair bleached to platinum and that gave me a horrible bald spot that I still have to this day! It’s been almost 6 years now.

[Frankenstein]

I went from red to blonde in a salon and they had to bleach it twice in one day. Eventually the breakage got so bad that one side of my hair was several inches shorter than the other.

[TreesOfEternity]

I think for years I hated my hair, there’s no other explanation lol.
Apart from dying it, I washed it every second day with SLS shampoo (for me conditioner, serums or anything like that didn’t even exist) and then proceed to rub it with the towel extremely harshly until it was almost dry. Then I used to tear every single knot with a plastic brush and fry it with the blowdrier in the hottest setting, just to end up flat ironing my already burning 1A hair. Between washes I just kept on destroying it with the brush and tying it extremely tight with the worse hair ties existing.

[Ylva]

FWIW, I used to think that blow-drying my hair and looking like this was *ahem!* a LOOK:

http://www.blogcdn.com/slideshows/images/slides/276/542/8/S2765428/slug/l/1828676121-1.jpg

I did, too! And I still kinda like the big hair look... :) But at least I'm not crazy enough to still attempt it on myself.


I guess I do “sin” all the time. I use tresseme conditioner

Not all Tresemmé products are terrible, luckily. I, too, just ordered their clarifying shampoo. Thought the ingredients looked pretty okay for that purpose, and the price was superb. I've heard they have a more natural line these days, but I haven't come across it in my country.

[ravenskey]

Using cans and cans of hairspray trying to get my hair to stay in a bun net for ballet when I was little, swimming in a chlorinated pool with my hair loose, blow drying my hair really badly and then just ripping a brush though the wet hair, and just last week I decided to try and dye a streak of hair purple - now I didn't use bleach or lighten my hair before hand and it's only semi-permanent so I don't know how much damage it really did but ... still.

Oops, almost forgot the longest running sins: using a sulfate shampoo while using a non-silicone conditioner, and treating my wavy hair like it was still straight.

Despite this I still got to WL+ before joining LHC.

[LizzyGrant]

I have always been rather lazy with my hair so most of the time I just let it be (thank god). But I remember that I used to go horse-back riding with my hair loose all the time. I thought it looked pretty, my butt crack length hair loose in the wind hahah. Even the horse's hair was the same colour.
Anyway I was very lazy with my hair, rarely even used conditioner just because I didn't feel like it.
But my worst hair sin was when I decided to try heat styling. I didn't use them for that long (less than a year) but I was very bad with them just before I found LHC.. The worst thing I ever did to my poor hair: Flat iron it when it was still damp!! shudder:

[elfynity]

I am growing out previous bleach damage that I got from a salon where she forgot about me in the corner and I landed up looking like this:

https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=32914&d=1533224322

I had to dye over it with brown dye just to help it not look so yellow.

My bad habits last year before I found LHC were:

Sleeping with wet hair
Blowing drying on high heat while brushing through my wet hair
Hair straightening after every blowdry
Washing my hair in very hot water

I was losing a whole brushful of hair every few days - my hair was thinning so badly. My ends are still recovering and I s&d regularily to keep them in check.

[AutobotsAttack]

I would shampoo my hair maybe once every 2-3 weeks. Had a lot of dandruff issues back then too. I combed my hair with a fine tooth comb all the time, flat ironed almost everyday, and bleached and died my hair a bunch of bright colors for some years.
Stayed at ear/chin length for most of that time.

Before:
https://i.imgflip.com/2ft9bt.jpg (https://imgflip.com/i/2ft9bt)
[url=https://imgflip.com/i/2ft9ea]https://i.imgflip.com/2ft9ea.jpg (https://imgflip.com/memegenerator)

Now:
[url=https://imgflip.com/i/2ft9ix]https://i.imgflip.com/2ft9ix.jpg (https://imgflip.com/memegenerator)via Imgflip Meme Generator (https://imgflip.com/memegenerator)

[Crna Kosa]

Keeping it always down and in ponytail for years , really harsh brushing. Cutting it for fun because I thougth hair grows really fast and never caring about it or keeping it secure.

[abribun]

Bleach, bleach and more bleach. I just damaged all of my hair 2 months ago, and now it's going to take over a year for all of the bleach to grow out. Just don't do it guys, it's not worth it ;;

[manticore]

Sleeping on wet hair

I do this all the time σ(^_^;)

[manticore]

I would shampoo my hair maybe once every 2-3 weeks. Had a lot of dandruff issues back then too. I combed my hair with a fine tooth comb all the time, flat ironed almost everyday, and bleached and died my hair a bunch of bright colors for some years.
Stayed at ear/chin length for most of that time.

Before:
https://i.imgflip.com/2ft9bt.jpg (https://imgflip.com/i/2ft9bt)
[url=https://imgflip.com/i/2ft9ea]https://i.imgflip.com/2ft9ea.jpg (https://imgflip.com/memegenerator)

Now:
[url=https://imgflip.com/i/2ft9ix]https://i.imgflip.com/2ft9ix.jpg (https://imgflip.com/memegenerator)via Imgflip Meme Generator (https://imgflip.com/memegenerator)

Oh my gosh that is some impressive growth! But I also love your bright&colorful look in the “before” pictures

[Jo Ann]

Sleeping on wet hair

I do this all the time σ(^_^;)

So did I...now, not so much. I try to wash it early enough in the day so it will be mostly dry (at least 90%) before I go to bed. The only exception is if I'm doing some kind of hair treatment on it, then it's contained in a plastic bag, which is covered by a scarf or towel, and my pillow is covered by both, a pillowcase and towel.

My hair's been much happier and my pillow's not wet/damp when I get up in the morning :p

[AutobotsAttack]

Oh my gosh that is some impressive growth! But I also love your bright&colorful look in the “before” pictures

Thank you! Don’t get me wrong I loved my bright colors back then, and still think about it from time to time, but I doubt my fragile hair could take a full on bleaching and coloring process. Espeacially my longest ends, with them being even older and more fragile.

[Ylva]

AutobotsAttack, the colourful short hair looks absolutely stunning on you! I especially love the pink one.

I also sleep with wet hair. I try to avoid it, because I know it's a hair sin, but it's just such a handy time to let your hair dry... :D I don't move around so much when I sleep though, and I always try to lay my hair somewhere neatly where it doesn't rub on anything. And I don't feel that I suffer any excessive damage because of it.

[Flowerness]

In high school I got a perm, but I didn't like how it turned out. The hair cut and the perm wasn't done so well, and I grew it out, but then I had partially straight, partially curly hair. So, I got a box of perm solution, and put it into my hair (with help) and combed my hair straight. Instant straight hair, bye bye perm! I didn't oil or deep condition it, instead I thought it would be awesome to blow it dry straight with a brush. I had it on the highest heat, and of course I didn't use heat protectant either! It didn't look nice for very long, I'll tell you that! I ended up with crazy breakage!

[Natalia_A00]

I still use sulphates, silicones, etc. I need to finish the bottles of shampoos I have and buy new ones.
In the past I didn't take care of my hair, never used conditioner, oils, masks, ANYTHING. I always wore it down and brushed it when it was soaked in water.

[LittleHealthy]

I still use sulphates, silicones, etc. I need to finish the bottles of shampoos I have and buy new ones.
In the past I didn't take care of my hair, never used conditioner, oils, masks, ANYTHING. I always wore it down and brushed it when it was soaked in water.

Sulphates and silicones aren’t all bad, don’t stress! I use a sulphate shampoo very rarely (maybe once in the month now) to wash off build-up... and use silicone conditioner in my bleach-damaged ends to coat and protect them! Using sulphates every wash could be a bit damaging but there’s no reason why you can’t skip the shampoo sometimes. Not that it will help with you using up the leftover product any faster ;)

[frolickingfairy]

The most damaging thing I've ever done to my hair is bleaching the ends, which I've been doing since last summer. Until I was 18, I had natural hair and took very good care of it, but it's far better now even with dye on it. Dark dye really smoothed out the cuticles on my hair...

[BeverlyHills]

Got my natural dark brown bleached all the way to platinum blonde when I was 12. I'll always regret that

[Ylva]

Ahahah, I just remembered another horrible one.

Back when I used to bleach my hair at home (I was around 16), I would initially get a nice, bright, platinum blonde result. Over time, however, it would turn yellow and brassy. When that happened, instead of using a toner or purple shampoo (I hadn't even heard of toners), I would just BLEACH MY HAIR AGAIN, even though it didn't need to become any lighter. Poor hair. Luckily it was barely down to my shoulders at the time.

[priinnz]

My hair suffered the most when I started using am "anti-breakage" protein-based shampoo, conditioner and leave in from a reputed brand. It made my hair extremely brittle with white dots where the hair would snap very easily.
Sadly, I had no clue about protein damage then and it took me a long time to my hair in decent shape again.

[squirrrel]

Things I still do include air drying over night — I do use a silk sheet thrown over the top of the bed, as well as a silk pillow case though.

I am also trying to wean myself off of the nasty habit of ‘gently’ tugging on strands within my plait where part of the strand has loosened enough I can pull on the curve of that single strand to increase the braidshed. Can we say weakening the hair strand, and causing breakage if it doesn’t pull right out?

[Synester]

Washing my dry dead over bleached hair daily. Using awful shampoos. "Whats a hair mask" 15 year old me never used any of those. Flat iron my hair sometimes more than once a day. the bleach box didnt lighten my hair enough? might as well use another box of bleach. (yikes) Bruising from the top down. ripping through all my knots. Dying my hair and bleaching it every color in one sitting.
I have been SO bad to my hair.

[MsKafka]

I used to put John Frieda Go Blonder in my hair every time after I washed it (about 2-3 times a week) and when I got a perm (it didn't take at all), the top half of my hair was completely fried.

[Jo Ann]

I still use sulphates, silicones, etc. I need to finish the bottles of shampoos I have and buy new ones.
In the past I didn't take care of my hair, never used conditioner, oils, masks, ANYTHING. I always wore it down and brushed it when it was soaked in water.

I rotate my shampoos--I have favorites I got back to constantly, but I'll alternate with older, pre-LHC shampoos and not-so-nice-for-my-hair shampoos. Good conditioners will help offset most ill effects from the less desirable shampoos and conditioners. I WCC and will use an undesirable conditioner first, then a Holy Grail conditioner (one my hair absolutely adores) as my second conditioner.

There's always using the not-so-good shampoos and conditioners as shaving cream or hand soap :p

[psyc2321]

Try as I might, I can't stand letting my hair dry fully before brushing. Not a lot, but at least enough to set my part as soon as I've squeegeed out the excess water, and fully detangling when it's about 90% dry.

[moonshroomm]

Oh dear I bleached my hair myself with max strength 40 vol developer when my hair is already light brown and takes bleach easily, I was like 13 and my hair turned into a frizzy mess. Then dyed my entire head pink with manic panic which looked nice from afar but as soon as you got close you could see how fried my hair was... and being little old 13 year old me I didnt know about sulfate free or deep conditioner, I just used what my parents had in the shower, which was usually tresemme or pantene which now I would never dare touch those (If they work for you, great but they arent for me) then I dyed it all brown and then CONTINTUED TO BLEACH THE TIPS OF MY HAIR AND DO DIFFERENT DIP DIES I could see 1-2 inch strands of hair that were the blonde bits all over my clothing and my pillow at the end of the day or in the morning. Im glad I had my tragic hair days then and not now though :D



I feel as though the best of us go through something akin to this process. It's a rite of passage to ruin your hair in middle school.

[moonshroomm]

I used to flat iron my hair to make it wavy in middle school. I pulled a 400-degree flat iron through it, distributing the heat quite inconsistently, and turned my wrist forwards and backwards. I wanted to have hair like the girls with WL hair who used to put theirs in plaits every night, while my APL hair was so damaged and thin on the ends that it wouldn't hold any sort of style. I also used to split and split ends I saw in class. I've colored bleached-blonde strips of my hair with Sharpies in class.

[hanniejayyy]

i used to wash my hair every night with two-in-one shampoo and conditioner, and then sleep on it wet. also, i’d pull my hair ties out as rough as i could stand and pulled a brush through it every morning... it’s a miracle i’m not bald after all that!

[moonshroomm]

My hair suffered the most when I started using am "anti-breakage" protein-based shampoo, conditioner and leave in from a reputed brand. It made my hair extremely brittle with white dots where the hair would snap very easily.
Sadly, I had no clue about protein damage then and it took me a long time to my hair in decent shape again.

I found that the same sort of thing happens to me as well. Protein treatments and antibreakage shampoos seem to only make my hair snap even worse. It could be an effect similar to using hardener treatments on your nails when they're not thin or brittle: it makes it a lot easier for them to snap off, instead of bending under the pressure. That's just my theory.

[Lilacspectrum]

Some things I have done are
1. wash hair too much (like I would literally wash my hair every other day because my mom would say my hair was too oily not to and I just believed her and followed her advice. Thankfully I have found out this isn't the case!)
2. combed or brushed hair while it was wet.
3. dyed it so many times it was fried feeling (also my hair wouldn't hold the color? is that a genetics thing or because it's dyed too much?)
4. sleep with it wet (I still sometimes do this unfortunately but I'm trying to do better about it!)
5. wear hair super tight!!!

[MotherofPhoenix]

I used to wear my hair in half up ponytails and fall asleep with it. I used to think I was balding but it turns out ponytails are not good for my hair. I also used to straighten, blow dry, AND wash my hair everyday. I never used any thing hydrating or restorative. I also never gently combed, always violently brushed. Lol. So bad.

[RadioactiveLily]

I still sleep on wet hair, even after finding this place. Showers before bed as opposed to in the morning are much better for my allergies. I still take really hot showers too, though now I turn the heat down a little when it’s time to wet or rinse my hair.

[Ylva]

I still sleep on wet hair, even after finding this place.

Me too. It's handy. I can't have wet hair when feeding my dogs towards the evening, anyway.

[softheartedandl]

I always sleep with my hair wet. I actually didn't know there was anything wrong with it! (Is it weird that I find sleeping with wet hair comfortable? I always sleep better when my hair is wet vs dry!)

[kikikhaleesi]

Washing hair everyday
Putting it in a tight ponytail often
Straightening it every other day (caused the most damage by farrrrrrr)
Not putting it in a loose bun often
Bleaching honestly didn't cause too much damage even though I have fine hair. I think it was because I'm dark blonde naturally and only lightened it two shades or so. I think if you lighten your hair many shades that's when the damage starts.
Happy growing! :)

[Ylva]

Bleaching honestly didn't cause too much damage even though I have fine hair. I think it was because I'm dark blonde naturally and only lightened it two shades or so. I think if you lighten your hair many shades that's when the damage starts.

I think it happens mainly when people with darker hair want to go blonde in one day and thus end up using higher developer and doing it many times in a short time.

[Wendyp]

So many bad practices...getting my hair colored like monthly, washing the entire length, basically having no idea what I was doing and trusting hair dressers. STILL growing out damage :rolleyes:

[elsiedeluxe]

It's been a long, long time for me, but I still remember the heat damage from curling irons in high school. I definitely did notice that my hair got rough and that it kind of crackled when I was curling it, but I didn't really think about the damage that was happening. High school is a weird time. After high school I started using more natural products and stopped using heat, so there hasn't really been much damage in the 30 years since.

Except about three years ago, when my hair was short because I wanted a change from constant braids in the summer, and I wanted to look sharp for a job search, and I listened to my best friend and let my hairdresser put highlights in. They looked nice, and she knew what she was doing, so it wasn't terrible, but I definitely noticed when those ends got trimmed off earlier this year. At this point, I'm at shoulder and growing out virgin hair again.

[dvep]

I don't wear protective styles nearly as often as I should, and while I try my best I often don't comb my hair starting from the bottom up!

[Mademoiselle]

in my adolescence I ironed it daily, but I think that does not hurt it as much as what I did this year = (last summer I wanted to lighten my henndigo and had let my natural light brown hair grow for a year and a half, the hair that I had a stubble left green, I had to cut it from almost the coccyx to apl with many layers.Apart from that in April and I made wicks and 30 volt blond dye ... now I have almost bsl with layers at the height of the chin and hair very frizzy and dry ... I have achieved a disaster, now I try to grow and take care of it a lot and I only dye the root that is growing.

[Anaconda]

I always sleep with my hair wet. I actually didn't know there was anything wrong with it! (Is it weird that I find sleeping with wet hair comfortable? I always sleep better when my hair is wet vs dry!)

My hair takes ages to dry because it's cooked from the ears down. I have a choice to blow dry it or sleep on it wet so usually if I take a shower at night and need to wash my hair, I throw it over the silk pillowcase and haven't noticed any significant damage, but YMMV I suppose. :eye:

[lottiealice]

Box dyes & box bleaching!
That perm I got in 2016. It fell out after one wash.
I recently bleached over black BAQ henna. At home.
Years ago, I bleached my black (box dyed) hair, toned it (naturally strawberry blonde), dyed it pastel pink. In the space of 12 hours.
I wear it down all the time (unless it's in two braids or my side braid for sleeping).

[Jo Ann]

In high school, when I was bored, I'd check for split ends and, upon finding them, would take a split between my fingers and rip them upwards to get rid of them.

What. Was. I. Thinking.

[redhed515]

I use sulphate shampoos. I just haven't found non sulphate shampoos that remove the oil from my hair.

[Ylva]

I use sulphate shampoos. I just haven't found non sulphate shampoos that remove the oil from my hair.

There is nothing wrong with using sulfate shampoos. Only if one overuses them, whatever that means to each individual.

[Mademoiselle]

Jo Ann

My friend who did the same thing when she was studying 5 years ago, she wanted to grow her hair, I did not know anything about hair care but when I saw her do it I knew that was not good, talk to her about the subject and luckily she left to do it, I have nightmares about it hahahah :silly:
This has made me remember when I was a teenager I had my fringe very rebellious, and any hair that appeared disorderly pulled it off. I could have been bald from the fringe area !!:doh:shudder:

[Jo Ann]

@Mademoiselle,

Ah, youth... :knuckle:

Amazing, after all we have put our hair through back in the day, that we have any hair left at all :luke:

Viva biology!! :joy:

[Reservechic]

I would use/buy anything out of the drugstore and didn't care at all about the ingredients whatsoever. I had no real hair washing care regimen set up with my hair and didn't really bother myself a whole lot with such. When u wouldn't get my hair fondant the salon (and that actually came to a halt several years ago, I would wear my hair in these slicked backed styles wearing gobs and gobs of hair gel, the idea fgat provided max hold, so a tornado could pass and my hair honestly would never move. I would use rubber bands to hold my pintails in place. Oh, and anytime, I would flatiron my hair, I would do do without any heat protectant, way back in the past. Lord knows it's a wonder I still have hair on my head today!

[Fairyxlights]

Washing my hair every day, brushing/ripping hair out of my head with a plastic nib paddle brush while wet. Oh, and straightening it/crimping it often, and using "grippy" elastics that pulled my hair out. And of course, a horrible messy bun thing that caused my ends to split and shred and dry out.

[postpixie88]

I used to straighten it every day (while it was box dyed dark brown, almost black). My worst decision was impulsively bleaching my hair at home, but I didn't maintain that!

[Natashap]

Perms in a salon with harsh chemicals consistently to change texture of my hair (destroyed cuticles) as a teenager.

Washing it everyday to combat oiliness.

[bunchoflowers]

Oh boy! is a giant list. I almost want to cry just to remember everything I did wrong. Here we go. (My first language is not English, sorry for my grammatical mistakes. XD)


1- I used to dye my hair every month, sometimes three weeks (and when I didn't like the color I dyed it at two weeks).
2- I used to sleep with wet hair.
3- Wash my hair daily
4- Shampoos that were pure chemicals.
5- After bathing every night I never brushed my hair, so I slept with my hair tangled. Which brings us to the next point:
6- I used to brush my hair too hard, I'm not kidding, even sometimes I could hear how the hair stretched. Then I learned that this was a bad habit and I began to brush it, which leads us to the other point:
7- I used to brush my wet hair. (HAHAHA! Oh boy)


Point 2,5,6,7 I stopped doing it years ago(7-8 years ago). Point 3 and 4: about 6 years ago I began to use shampoos that I made in my house, so they were a little more natural, but still had chemicals for the mixtures I used. So, two years ago, I tried the method of only water (didn't work for me), but taught me to not to wash my hair daily (only 2 times a week). And I have been using chemical-free shampoo for 2 months, my hair is beautiful and the difference is abysmal. Point 1: Well, I knew it was wrong but I liked to dye my hair, but my hair came to a point where cried for help, it been almost 4 months without dyeing it, and I will not do it again in my life.

[windyballoons]

1) listened to the advice everyone (including commercials and magazines, even beauty books) gave about hairwithout realising it was for straight hair... Brushing my hair dry, brushing from the bottom up, using a BBB, rinsing out conditioner... all wrong for my poor curls!

2)pin- straight hair was popular when I was a teen... Curls were "ugly". But I had never seen a flat iron, they weren't really around yet I suppose?... I would iron my hair flat with ny mother's clothes iron. While wet, so it would "work better". No heat protector or anything.

3) any hint of frizz was unacceptable but mine was uncontrollable. I would get so desperate when hairspray and gel didn't work that I would glue my hair down. With GLUE. Oh lord.

4) then I discovered chemical relaxers and tried to use onenfrom a box on myself. Lost a huge chunk of hair... But still did it again when it began to grow out.

5)then, believed that BKTs were actually "good for hair" and did them regularly... Frying my head with 450+ degree iron did not make it healthier!

[Ylva]

2)pin- straight hair was popular when I was a teen... Curls were "ugly". But I had never seen a flat iron, they weren't really around yet I suppose?... I would iron my hair flat with ny mother's clothes iron. While wet, so it would "work better". No heat protector or anything.

3) any hint of frizz was unacceptable but mine was uncontrollable. I would get so desperate when hairspray and gel didn't work that I would glue my hair down. With GLUE. Oh lord.

These bits made me go :shocked: in real life. :lol:

[Spar]

Washing my hair everyday and not using conditioner :( Blowdrying it afterwards.

Somehow my hair made it to tailbone length, but the ends were yuck.

[nikittyy]

Ugh, I'm like the princess of hair sins. I used to (like up until a month ago) straighten my hair every single day, and rarely used heat protectant spray. I used to wash my hair everyday and blowdry it and then straighten it. I went months without getting trims, so the split ends were horrendous. I've never dyed my hair, but the heat damage I've done to it is probably on par with damage from bleach I'd imagine.

[Doreen]

Wringing my hair out after the shower. Letting it get caught on chairs at school and instead of gently pulling it loose, I'd just stand up and it would break or rip out. Not brushing before getting in the shower.

[Equestrianchic]

Oh gosh I was terrible, now it all makes me cringe so hard!
Spraying lots and lots of hairspray until it was crunchy then at the end of the day brushing it all out and ripping hair in the process😬
Bleaching
Straightening multiple times a day without even heat protection
Blow drying
Let's just say my hair was an absolute mess!
I don't regret it through, it taught me a lesson, and if I hadn't of messed it up so bad I wouldn't have the healthy hair I have today!☺️

[windyballoons]

These bits made me go :shocked: in real life. :lol:

I shudder now, but back then, I didn't see the negative effects of it all! Though when I look at old pictures... Yikes. It was straight, and that's about all!

[Zesty]

So many people dissing sulfates and silicones. :hmm: I use them every (weekly) wash and they've done me a world of good.

Anyway, as a young teenager I flat ironed my hair daily. I learned my lesson with bleach and dye after a pretty mild encounter (bleached the front and dyed it red and realized how terrible the texture was compared to my virgin hair). Up until I found the LHC I also brushed it with one of those ball-tipped plastic brushes while wet, and I blow dried a bit (with heat -- now I use the cold setting so it's like a fan). I also washed daily before the LHC but I don't think that hurt me too bad.

[Ylva]

So many people dissing sulfates and silicones. :hmm: I use them every (weekly) wash and they've done me a world of good.

I don't think almost anyone is dissing those ingredients per se. For me, it was that I didn't know any better. I simply thought you were supposed to wash your hair using sulfates, because that was just how it was done, no other option. And when it comes to silicones, I was using those conditioners which consisted of water, silicones and some more silicones. I don't think anyone can claim that those alone can do any good. :hmm:

I think most people who generally are sulfate free still use them to clarify and don't demonise them in any way.

[Zesty]

I don't think almost anyone is dissing those ingredients per se. For me, it was that I didn't know any better. I simply thought you were supposed to wash your hair using sulfates, because that was just how it was done, no other option. And when it comes to silicones, I was using those conditioners which consisted of water, silicones and some more silicones. I don't think anyone can claim that those alone can do any good. :hmm:

I think most people who generally are sulfate free still use them to clarify and don't demonise them in any way.

I'm not trying to be argumentative, I just think they're buzzwords that people hear and think "bad," and it's a pet peeve of mine. Sulfates get my hair clean, which is what I want when I wash, and they let me go much longer in between washes so I avoid hydral fatigue. Silicones do coat the hair, yes, and can build up, but that coating property does protect hair, reducing fiction and tangles. So conditioners that are primarily silicones can work for people because of that effect.

Anyway, not everyone's hair likes those ingredients but I don't like seeing them so frequently mentioned as a "hair sin" because I probably could have saved myself a lot of trouble if I hadn't thought that way for so long.

TL;DR: I guess the old LHC adage "YMMV" applies, and I hope everyone feels free to find what works for them. :flower:

[Ylva]

I'm not trying to be argumentative, I just think they're buzzwords that people hear and think "bad," and it's a pet peeve of mine. Sulfates get my hair clean, which is what I want when I wash, and they let me go much longer in between washes so I avoid hydral fatigue. Silicones do coat the hair, yes, and can build up, but that coating property does protect hair, reducing fiction and tangles. So conditioners that are primarily silicones can work for people because of that effect.

Anyway, not everyone's hair likes those ingredients but I don't like seeing them so frequently mentioned as a "hair sin" because I probably could have saved myself a lot of trouble if I hadn't thought that way for so long.

TL;DR: I guess the old LHC adage "YMMV" applies, and I hope everyone feels free to find what works for them. :flower:

I don't think people are against the cleansing and protecting properties of sulfates and silicones at all when they talk about them here. :) So simply using them doesn't make it a hair sin. It's just what they are accompanied by, or that they just really don't work for that person but they used them anyway.

[MemeAimee]

Definitely top ones for me are washing with sulfates, washing every day, sleeping with it down (wake up super dry and frizzy), and bleach! Also letting my mom brush my hair, she really knows how to make my scalp hurt.. lol

[blesseddamozel]

I used to be a bleach fiend...bleaching the entire length every few weeks and doing new colors of dye :run: none of the hair from that phase in my life is still currently on my head, I've since chopped and replaced it with much healthier stock ;)

[FineMiracle]

I wore my hair in a tight ponytail everyday for a year in middle school. At least, I hope it wasn't for longer than that...I didn't know what I was doing. I was very self conscious at that time, and for some reason thought I needed to wear it like that. I have an incredibly annoying "bald" spot in the crown of my head, although I can't tell if it's legit traction alopecia from my horrid ponytail saga, or if it's just a cowlick. I've been told it's a cowlick. Either way, it's pretty difficult to cover up. :(


Also letting my mom brush my hair, she really knows how to make my scalp hurt.. lol

Oh yes! They don't understand our hair is expensive lace to us. :p The way hairstylists do it is even worse. My eyes will swell with tears lol

[aethyra]

I guess I do “sin” all the time. I use tresseme conditioner and straighten my bangs when I feel like it.
I also use a tangle teezer and fine tooth comb. The only “natural” product I use is coconut oil.

In the past I have had my hair bleached to platinum and that gave me a horrible bald spot that I still have to this day! It’s been almost 6 years now.

I keep reading on this thread that Tresemme usage is a hair sin. I still use the moisture conditioner a few times a week. I wash almost daily.

Before starting on LHC, I washed daily, but now I am trying to wash every other day. If I dont wash often I get terrible knotting at the nape. I have suddenly (starting in March of this year) extremely damaged hair for unknown reasons. I have been growing out bleached highlights for close to 2 years. By the end of 2017 in my year without highlighting my hair was getting thicker and more lively and happy. The new growth (when getting highlights previously, I always demanded no overlapping on bleached hair) was amazing! I cant figure out what happened to suddenly kill my hair health other than city water adding additional chlorine. Could it be the Tresemme? I use it for slip as it helps with my comb out. I also used a Kerastase system for 2 years as well. The Bain Therapiste line in dark green tubes. Heavy cones though... Did the cones finally kill it? The added chlorine in city water further adding to this damage? I just want my BSL healthy and shiny hair back?

Intense damage is also causing hair loss. I am getting very scared. Should I stop the Tresemme? I am tapering off the Kerastase too. It no lo ger seems to help and the cost is astronomical. Castor oil causes hair loss for me. Coconut oil causes next day post rinse dryness.

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated and is desperately needed.

[MusicalSpoons]

I keep reading on this thread that Tresemme usage is a hair sin. I still use the moisture conditioner a few times a week. I wash almost daily.

Before starting on LHC, I washed daily, but now I am trying to wash every other day. If I dont wash often I get terrible knotting at the nape. I have suddenly (starting in March of this year) extremely damaged hair for unknown reasons. I have been growing out bleached highlights for close to 2 years. By the end of 2017 in my year without highlighting my hair was getting thicker and more lively and happy. The new growth (when getting highlights previously, I always demanded no overlapping on bleached hair) was amazing! I cant figure out what happened to suddenly kill my hair health other than city water adding additional chlorine. Could it be the Tresemme? I use it for slip as it helps with my comb out. I also used a Kerastase system for 2 years as well. The Bain Therapiste line in dark green tubes. Heavy cones though... Did the cones finally kill it? The added chlorine in city water further adding to this damage? I just want my BSL healthy and shiny hair back?

Intense damage is also causing hair loss. I am getting very scared. Should I stop the Tresemme? I am tapering off the Kerastase too. It no lo ger seems to help and the cost is astronomical. Castor oil causes hair loss for me. Coconut oil causes next day post rinse dryness.

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated and is desperately needed.

You could try clarifying your hair, using a generic shampoo without silicones or any heavy oils/waxes to strip off any potential buildup - which as far as I understand, can act like damaged hair. Start there, and see how it goes :flower:

[Makyle]

Until a few months ago TLHC would of had me drawn and quartered for what I was doing to my hair... I can say i did not brush or wash my hair to often once I stopped bleaching (this was due to laziness and working from home- but I think that saved me a little).

I brushed my hair without too much thought for breakage
I straightened my hair weekly - more often if I was going out
Blow dried it after washes or brushed while wet
Back and forth between dying dark hair to bleaching platinum - once doing it in 24 hours from dark to blonde
I was ableach addict so much so that a hairdresser accidentally gave me a chemical cut from MBL to chin - hello bubblegum wet hair.
But that didnt stop me bleaching yet - I had it colour corrected and carried on with highlights.
I never/hardly ever used oil
Never ever did a deep oil treatment.

Fast forward to now and I have dyed out the demarcation line to match my natural colour (I have left the roots untouched)
I oil daily with either coconut or argan oil
I oil pre poo
I do deep conditioning treatment and masks
I own a tangle teezer and BBB and only use these
Never brush when wet
and have sworn off heat COMPLETELY.

And the results showed as in my avatar :)

[AngelAlly]

I used sun in on my nearly hip length hair one summer between 11th and 12th grade. One of my biggest hair mistakes I ever made. The next summer on a road trip I used a product from somewhere that was supposed to be a body wash and shampoo. I used it without a conditioner and my hair was so dry plus I went swimming on top of not conditioning at all. My hair looked so bad in the pictures from the trip. Washing every single day when my hair was already super dry and it needed more moisture. I did occasionally flat iron it but it wasn't that often. I don't remember if I used protectant. I would have had way healthier hair if I'd known about LHC.

[aethyra]

Thank you, Musical Spoons! I will clarify and pray. Your hair is absolutely amazing!!

[Ylva]

I keep reading on this thread that Tresemme usage is a hair sin. I still use the moisture conditioner a few times a week. I wash almost daily.

What is a hair sin to someone isn't necessarily that for you. If you hair can take Tresemmé, that's fine. If not, then one should probably abstain from it. Simple as that. :D For my hair, anything Tresemmé is a terrible choice.

[lapushka]

What is a hair sin to someone isn't necessarily that for you. If you hair can take Tresemmé, that's fine. If not, then one should probably abstain from it. Simple as that. :D For my hair, anything Tresemmé is a terrible choice.

Ylva is right. If sulfates work for you, don't mess with it. You have to "know" your scalp a little; if it's not a difficult scalp (no problems), then you can experiment with going sulfate-free. Just get a sulfate-free shampoo and see how you fare. But don't throw out the sulfates because there's plenty of people (including me) who use them and need them for scalp health; and it is good for clarifying once in a while!

[DaintyOctopus]

My goodness I could write a novel on this...

When I first started experimenting with bleach and bright colours I'd do whole applications of 40vol bleach. Each time the whole head. No colour oops or anything, just that.

Always bright colour to black when fed up of bright colour. Then back again to blonde with bright colour dye on top using 40vol. One day I even did two lots of 40vol one after the other... I have no idea how I had any hair left or a scalp... Eventually my hair turned to bubblegum so I shaved to scalp when I was 21. I intended to take care of it that time. Four months later I began dying it again...

The heat damage to my hair as a teenager must have been awful. When I was at secondary school I was bullied ruthlessly for my curly hair (it was also the 90s/early 00s so stick straight hair was THE fashion) and I hated how other children would pull the ringlets so they sprung back to their amusement. So every single day I'd flat iron my hair to oblivion. Which never worked well anyway due to how often it's damp/wet here so I'd just end up with an even frizzier mess anyway. *sigh*

Although I never had glued in extensions I used clip in ones frequently which I broke a lot of hair with. I also used to wear synthetic dreadlocks for years when I went through my 'industrial' phase... *hides* So needless to say there was a lot of weight put on the roots of my hair for a long time. Still slightly thin in some places around the front of my hair line >.<

[ArabellaRose]

Aside from a couple of goes with bleaching out colour the worst thing I've ever done is wear synthetic dreads. All that crochet braiding and elastic wreaked havoc on my lengths.

And I still did it several times a year, for shame.

[paulownia]

Uhm...a few things I guess.
I used to think that my hair was straight:D only weird (any wavies recognize this one?:D)
Basically up to age 28 my hair was washed with shampoo only (no conditionner whatsoever) and brushed. Nothing else. Past the shoulder length it would be always full of splits.
Perfect excuse for my grandmother to cut it shorter every 6 to 8 weeks:D
Luckily I was staying away from bleach and heat;)

[PixieNixie]

I get my roots bleached about every 4 months. My hair is currently magenta and purple (underneath the dye it is about a lvl 9/10). I love to wear it down. I rarely put it up unless it is getting oily, at the gym, or super windy. I love to play with it too and am always fiddling with it. I have given up heat styling/blow drying and sulfates/silicones. Not perfect, but not too bad. :)

[M3DUS4]

When I was in the springtime of my youth, I curled my hair by just wrapping a strand around my flatiron , closing it, and just... holding it there

and continuing to hold

no movement, no nothing

just the smell of burning hair


man I did my best as a kid but my best was notsogood.

[Milkchocolate]

My worst hair sin was slathering virgin coconut oil in my hair and sleeping in it all night...the next morning my hair was coming out in bulk. I had to wash it about 8-10 times to get rid of it. The worst thing ever!!

[Wendyclaire]

I started to pull out gray hairs almost by my hairline. Finally stopped doing that and it’s grown back, thankfully! I also used to brush harshly! Just didn’t occur to me to be gentle with it! Glad I still have nice hair!

[Ylva]

When I was in the springtime of my youth, I curled my hair by just wrapping a strand around my flatiron , closing it, and just... holding it there

and continuing to hold

no movement, no nothing

just the smell of burning hair


man I did my best as a kid but my best was notsogood.

This almost reads out like a poem! :)

[egcmi]

I think I've done almost all hair sins and even multiple at the same time
- age 10-11: would brush through my (curly, didn't know at the time) hair when dry every day, I thought I had wavy hair; would (sulphate) shampoo my hair all the way through the ends and comb it with the shampoo in it with a brush or a fine toothed comb, never used conditioner; would comb/ brush it while wet; would use the blow drier on the highest settings without heat protection (what are leave-ins anyway?); slept with my hair loose on a cotton pillowcase; would regularly swim in a pool/lake with my hair loose and unprotected;
- age 12-13: all of the above, except that I had discovered (silicone) conditioners and was therefore combing my hair with the conditioner in; I had also discovered flat irons and I would straighten my hair on the highest setting without heat protection after the shower while it was still a bit damp; would also straighten my hair on the highest setting every day to maintain the look; would complain about split ends (what would you expect? :rolleyes:), so I'd spend "S&D sessions" looking for split ends to tear apart and broken strands to rip off
- age 14-15: all of the above; I had finally gotten sick of straightening my hair every day, so I'd do it once a week, gradually less and less, but I'd still straighten my bangs; stopped blowdrying my hair to "cause less damage" but went to sleep with wet hair; finally stopped brushing my dry hair and started discovering my curly hair; it all seemed like I had gotten better and I also stopped going to hairdressers (not that I was a frequent customer); then decided to (DIY) bleach the underneath portion of my hair to dye it blue and gave myself a horrible haircut using a regular body razor because I wanted scene layers;
- age 16-18: stopped using heat completely; started bleaching my entire head to dye it unnatural colours and kept bleaching for 3 years, dyeing for 4; gave myself regular trims to "cut off the damage" but my hair was so fragile it wouldn't even split, it would just snap off; it was curly at the roots and straight at the ends; tried washing with Marseille soap (the kind for laundry), baking soda, ACV; since I had found out my hair to be curly and couldn't comb it dry, I would comb it wet with a fine tooth comb; went to bed with wet hair; was using sulphate shampoo with silicone free conditioner (just why?), no leave ins, no oils, no deep conditioners;
from age 19 on, as I grew out the bleach, I slowly started mistreating my hair less, but it wasn't until last year that I began to properly take care of it.

[Ylva]

was using sulphate shampoo with silicone free conditioner (just why?)

Why not? Is it something about curly hair? I actually love that combo. :)

[RosaCurl]

Bleaching my hair, then neglecting to detangle and condition it. Spending hours afterwards ripping out the mats (and I mean ripping).

Wild.

[egcmi]

Why not? Is it something about curly hair? I actually love that combo. :)

If it works for you then totally go for it. Maybe it's some curly hair fixation, but I find that sulphates shampoos are too harsh for me, especially if there is no excess dirt/oil/build-up to strip away. YMMV :) At the time I was also washing my hair only once a week and it would never look oily or dirty or greasy, even when I worked out, it was just constantly dry even at CBL. My hair is happier sufate-free and I'm now incorporating silicones back into my routine to see what my hair likes best now. Last time I used them was many years ago when I kept it straight

I know I have already posted a long list of hair sins I committed... but I forgot to mention that until age 15 I was piling all of my hair up on my head whilst shampooing and vigorously scrubbing the ends with the roots in a big lather. I would use more shampoo than I actually needed just because I liked the lather and I was also shampooing twice in a row until like age 12 because it said on the bottle. I sometimes used baby shampoo before I was 15 because I thought that would be gentler, I later found out that baby shampoos are actually harsher. I have used regular terry-cloth towels to dry my hair until last year, even though I was often using microfibre towels for my body. Until 15 I was also very rough with my towel: I would wring my hair in it to make sure that all of the excess water was squeezed out and then I would forcefully rub my head and entire hair root to tip with said towel to accelerate drying time. No wonder my hair was frizzy :whistle:

[amiraaah]

my hair has been through a lot and i'm only 20 years old..:(
the early stage of damage:
-i would use the shampoo 3 to 4 times in the shower.would saturate my hair with it and detangle it(hard)with a plastic cheap brush while the shampoo is still in my hair,i used to believe that shampoo is meant for moisturizing not cleaning the hair.
-i used no conditioner after all of that shampooing.
-i would use hot i mean really hot water to wash my hair and i spend at least an hour in the shower.
-i used to have thick classic length hair despite of all that damage.before my uncle's wedding i begged my mom to let me cut my hair,the hairdresser chopped it to BSL and thinned it out,.i remember that i used to look at my hair and see no 2 hairs are at the same length but each hair strand had a length of it's own i swear.:laugh:
-at the age of 13 i think my grandmother told me that my hair is thinning so i have to use a garlic paste mixed with olive and castor oil then wrap my oiled scalp with a hot towel.i did it,oh my god.when i unwrapped the towel and was ready to wash my hair.i saw huge hair clumps falling from my hair to the point that my mom rushed me to the bathroom and washed my hair quickely.
-my cousins were jealous from my hair(my mom told me after this accident lol).they told me let us do a new hairstyle in your hair.i said okay they took small hair sections and they formed small dreads.since my hair is curly it tangeled horribly.when i saw that disaster i grabbed a hair comb and a scissors;started detangling really hard and when i couldn't i would just cut it.
-i did other things regularly:brushing my hair when it's soaking wet-towel dry it roughly-going days without detangling it-i used perfume on my hair directly to make it smell good-i used hair bands with that metal thing,my hair would wrap around this metal and i would pull my hair hard to free it lol.

later stage
-i had "hair pulling disorder"for years,i am addicted to pulling my hair from the root or even when i see a split ;i would hold it from both sides and try to divide it into 2 individual hairs to see how long it will reach.
-my story with heat;would use the flat iron on my wet hair.i pass it on each section 8 to 12 times to make sure it is fully straightened.never used heat protectant.the hair straightener was considered my hair brush.
-visiting the hair salon regularly,the hairdresser used this weird tool (that he places on fire and then curl the hair with it)whenever i go to get my hair done.
two accidents i remember:
1-once i was straightening my hair with my friend's flat iron(it has some holes which produces steam).my hair sticked to it and this section of hair literally fell in my hand.
2-a hairdresser used a bad flatiron my hair,it pulled my hair because i have fine hair.i told hair alot but she said "no your hair is not falling out or anything".when she finished,i looked down my chair and saw tons of hair on the ground.
this is only what i can remember now.oh my poor hair,you are a hero haha!

[Ylva]

If it works for you then totally go for it. Maybe it's some curly hair fixation, but I find that sulphates shampoos are too harsh for me, especially if there is no excess dirt/oil/build-up to strip away. YMMV :) At the time I was also washing my hair only once a week and it would never look oily or dirty or greasy, even when I worked out, it was just constantly dry even at CBL. My hair is happier sufate-free and I'm now incorporating silicones back into my routine to see what my hair likes best now. Last time I used them was many years ago when I kept it straight

Most sulfate shampoos are too harsh for my taste and hair as well, but I personally LOVE the Oblepikha Intensive Hydration Shampoo by Natura Siberica. It contains sodium coco-sulfate, which is said to be a milder sulfate. I just find that shampoo very hydrating and it's also an excellent detangler. :)

[WyntreBlossom]

In the course of a single night I Went from bright red to light blue......

Step 1: Bleach

Step 2: Bleach

Step 3: a third round of bleach.

Orange hair felt brittle and horse hair like but I did not care. Photo in the albums sections of my profile. (Blonde/orange. Very obvious)

Step 4: Dye dark blue with a demi

Hate it. Sleep due to being too tired to fix it (with it WET)

Step 5: First thing in the morning run a color stripper through it to get light blue almost turquoise hair. Then straighten and style.

No kind's of conditioner or protectant.

Yea that was a bad year for my poor hair.

[RavenMane]

Like so many have posted-
I washed my hair every single morning with a shampoo that had sulfates. Then blow-dried it EVERY MORNING. Then used a flat iron. EVERY MORNING! My poor hair. I think my hair is pretty fragile. And now I can't believe I was doing all of that to it. It was damaged and full of split ends.

[egcmi]

Most sulfate shampoos are too harsh for my taste and hair as well, but I personally LOVE the Oblepikha Intensive Hydration Shampoo by Natura Siberica. It contains sodium coco-sulfate, which is said to be a milder sulfate. I just find that shampoo very hydrating and it's also an excellent detangler. :)

Thanks for the suggestion, not a brand that is available in Italy unfortunately. But I'm moving to Finland in a few months so I'll take it into account. For now I'm using sulphate free shampoos that have cocamidopropyl betaine as main cleansing agent and getting good results :)

[Ylva]

Thanks for the suggestion, not a brand that is available in Italy unfortunately. But I'm moving to Finland in a few months so I'll take it into account. For now I'm using sulphate free shampoos that have cocamidopropyl betaine as main cleansing agent and getting good results :)

OH! Welcome! :D I haven't seen it in any stores in Finland, but it's certainly available online, for example here: https://www.hehku.fi/fi/EUR/Tuotteet/Kauneus/Hiukset/Shampoot/Natura-Siberica-Oblepikha-shampoo-Normal-%26dry-hair/p/10046853 :)

[egcmi]

OH! Welcome! :D I haven't seen it in any stores in Finland, but it's certainly available online, for example here: https://www.hehku.fi/fi/EUR/Tuotteet/Kauneus/Hiukset/Shampoot/Natura-Siberica-Oblepikha-shampoo-Normal-%26dry-hair/p/10046853 :)

Thank you! :) I clicked on your link but I get a blank page that only says Blocked!, don't know what's wrong with it :shrug:

[Ylva]

Thank you! :) I clicked on your link but I get a blank page that only says Blocked!, don't know what's wrong with it :shrug:

Oh, hmm. Well, if you go to http://www.hehku.fi and search for "Natura Siberica Oblepikha shampoo-Normal &dry hair 400ml", you'll find it. :)

[egcmi]

Oh, hmm. Well, if you go to http://www.hehku.fi and search for "Natura Siberica Oblepikha shampoo-Normal &dry hair 400ml", you'll find it. :)

found it thanks! :)

[ArtOfNoot]

I don't know if this already exists ( I haven't seen it, but please correct me if I'm wrong) but I really want to hear the WORST mistakes everyone has done with regards to their hair care.

I used to rip a hair brush through my hair after a shower, it got brutal and once I pulled so hard I ripped out a brush tooth. Then, to not get my pillow wet, I'd sleep on a thick rough towel overnight and have it be tangled again in the morning so I'd have to rip through my hair yet again.

Thank goodness I discovered the hair care community :beercheer:

[Faraniel]

probably trying to get rid of a bad hair dye with six rounds of dandruff shampoo and baking soda...daaaamn, I thought I lost my hair :D SO DRY

Edit: I would like to point out I have a loooooooooooooooong history of rash hair decisions (bleaching, dying, bleaching again, hair dye removers, you name it). This was the worst.

[Bri-Chan]

I used to detangle my hair wet for years. I mean, I detangled it before washing, but after it was seriously tangled again. So after washing, I brushed it with some leave in conditioner. I used (I still use tbh) hairdryer and every 5 minutes I stopped it to detangle again (I needed about 30-40 minutes of hairdryer). This for my whole life, I never realized WHY my hair was always so tangled, also when it was totally healthy.
At age of 23, I discovered that I was not simply detangling: I was brushing out my natural (loose) waves' pattern. Those were not simple tangles, they were my waves trying to came out. I felt so stupid when I realized it :doh:

I did several bleach and dye, but I think this is the worst thing because I did it for all my life.

[Ylva]

This (https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=147262) is a pretty similar thread. :)

[victor_tinyduck]

My hair takes forever to dry (I have no idea why, it's not that thick), but I used to rub it with a towel to try to dry it faster :/

[Natalia_A00]

Not brushing it for DAYS until it's a tangled (and kind of matted) mess, brushing it wet, detangling it violently because I have no patience for knots... Oh, my poor hair!

[hennalonghair]

Biggest hair mistake? Trusting hairstylists to do what I ask them. The last time I went to a hair dresser to get a one inch trim, she combed my hair up so I couldn’t tell what she was doing but she put in 6 inches of layers. I had just told her that I’d spent 2 plus years meticulously trimming off each layer at a time to get rid of them. I was furious. That was back in 2013.

Another big mistake was throwing gum out the window while I was driving. It never made it out. :lala:

[ArtOfNoot]

This (https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=147262) is a pretty similar thread. :)

Thank you so much! haha I was actually worried I'd just be copying another thread and I guess I did. oops :doh: How do I fix this? I don't want to spam the site :confused:

[Bat]

now I'm confused where to post, here or there, though the other looks like it hasn't been posted in since 2018, is Necro posting a nono here?

[Bat]

trying to go from black to silver, which is bad enough, but when you are an idiot and keep going from black to red to silver and man many times have had gooey messes that always have to be cut before they could even get the razor to work, I think I've finally learned my lesson! well i hope so anyway who knows with me I'm impulsive

[Bat]

crap wrong topic accidental Necropost sorry!

[Ylva]

Thank you so much! haha I was actually worried I'd just be copying another thread and I guess I did. oops :doh: How do I fix this? I don't want to spam the site :confused:

They can be merged. Use the report button (a little exclamation mark in a triangle) to alert the mods. :)


now I'm confused where to post, here or there, though the other looks like it hasn't been posted in since 2018, is Necro posting a nono here?

It's perfectly okay to post in old threads, it happens often!

[Bat]

oh good! I've been in forums where they don't allow you to post in topics older than 30 days

[GoddesJourney]

I used to have oily scalp and dry hair. So, I naturally used heavy sls shampoo to get rid of the oil and "extra moisturizing" (aka extra silicone) conditioner to fix my awful hair. I also tried silicone serums that supposedly repaired damage. Not on my head. Then I thought that brushing a lot would help distribute the oils as I had read. Eventually, I realized that my scalp was reacting to too harsh a shampoo used too often. I also found out that extra moisture doesn't really mean what it says and that silicones make my specific hair extra dry and split. BBB makes my hair frizz and extra brushing just made me shed more and caused mechanical damage. What a mess that was by about APL to BSL. I hated my hair. I didn't know I could love my hair at hip.

Thankfully, I was never one to blow dry.

[Gabrielina]

Oh boy, when I remember...
I used to wash my hair with a lot (like half a bottle) of clarifying shampoo once a week because I wanted to have that really clean feeling and weird sound. Yikes! Poor old hair! And I was wondering why the frizz... had no idea!

Edit: After the 1st shampooing I would do a 2nd one with antidandruff shampoo (Head & Shoulders) and then apply coney conditioner.

[kinnyuu]

Full bleached head and every morning washing, gel, and high heat diffuser. I am a wavy so this routine would give
Me pretty good curly hair BUT SO CRISPY lol

[Miss Thyme]

I used to be way too rough and impatient when brushing, and I used a brush with metal teeth with little plastic balls at the end.
I slept with my hair loose even at hip-length.
S&D with nail scissors.
This one is accidental, but I got the tip of my braid too close to the gas stove and singed a bunch of hairs.
A few days ago I sanitised my hair with alcohol wipes :( (It accidentally got into contact with the environment of a patient who was isolated on suspicion of COVID-19)

[LadyMikaelson]

I used to shampoo without conditioning.

[cestlavie]

Bleaching roots every 2 weeks...

[Bellalla]

I used to shampoo without conditioning.

I did this for awhile with baby shampoo. Somehow I got it in my head that that would be the gentlest way to take care of my hair.


Bleaching roots every 2 weeks...

Ooh yeah, did this too. I wasn't ever able to grow my hair past chin level as a result. It was so bleached it was white.

[cestlavie]

Strangely enough I managed to get my hair around SL and CBL and my hair was white too. It was fairly healthy but nothing like it is today with virgin hair though. I'm glad the bleaching urge is over!

[Bellalla]

Strangely enough I managed to get my hair around SL and CBL and my hair was white too. It was fairly healthy but nothing like it is today with virgin hair though. I'm glad the bleaching urge is over!

I could have grown it a fair amount if I had stopped at platinum, my hair lightens very easily, but it has this last little stubborn tinge of yellow that took hours and hours to get rid of, it was horrifying what I put my hair and scalp through back then. Ahh the folly of youth. It was particularly silly too because platinum blonde suited me so much better than white.

[DropStitches]

I used to shampoo without conditioning.


I did this for awhile with baby shampoo. Somehow I got it in my head that that would be the gentlest way to take care of my hair.

Me three! When I first discovered, around seventeen, that my hair could be curly if I didn't blowdry it straight, I felt I got the 'best' curls by washing it with a harsh shampoo and no conditioner, and then I would scrunch gel into that frizzy mess.

I also used to pull it into a tight, high ponytail most days, and would get a lot of breakage from that - I remember having little 'wings' of broken, short hairs not long enough to pull into the ponytail that would frizz and flip up at the sides of my head.

The unhappiest my hair has ever been, though, was during the baking soda washing phase... and I was so convinced I was being kind to it by being 'natural'!

[PurpleKitty11]

Adding highlights by bleaching my hair 😥

[Bri-Chan]

I think that the most damaging thing, tbh, was going blond from black dyed hair in... A week?

[Jools69]

Old habits were washing my hair 3-4 times a week (all with sulphates and cones). Shampooing the whole hair and sometimes too lazy to apply conditioner. Rough drying with hard towels and applying heat - straightening it daily on high and sometimes touching it up during the day.:eek:

Highlighting it - bleach upon bleach to touch up the roots. Once, I permed it 4 weeks after dyeing it and not only the colour came out, but I shed lots of hair. Both procedures were done at the same hairdressers.:mad: I was also quite rough with my hair when putting hair toys in. No wonder my hair wasn’t getting longer. :(

Now, since changing my routine, my hair is in much better condition. It’s got the longest it’s been in 35 years and at the last trim, I barely had 1/4 inch off after 7 months. :happydance:

[Feral_]

I used to be a goth so my hair was dyed black - I’d crimp it (remember those?!) brush out the crimps then back comb it and use lots of hairspray. But I’d only need to do that once a week as it would just stay in place.

Fast forward several decades to water only washing and generally looking after my hair - it’s the healthiest it’s ever been and I’m learning so much from the wonderful folk on here too.

[Clollii]

I don't know what I was thinking but there was a time in my life where I would shampoo 4/5 times in the same shower using all different shampoo.... And then I would straighten my hair when WET with a straightener that wasn't even meant to be used on wet hair

[Spitfire]

The blow fryer. I'm borderline abusive with that thing. I don't have a good tolerance to cold temps so any time it's under basically 70 I'm blow drying. I get too impatient with the heat when I should be using the cool button more. I'm gonna change!

[Laurab]

In high school I'd shower, get my hair wet with no shampoo or conditioner (this makes my hair tangle terribly), sleep on it wet, and rip through it with a big paddle brush in the mourning. I also should've cleaned that brush more than I did.

I look back at that now and I'm like.... sis a shower cap's like $10 max it's worth the investment please stop doing this

[auburntressed]

Honestly, I think the worst thing I ever did to my hair was the fact that I never had a decent hair brush until I was in my 20s. Throughout childhood and up into teenager years, all I had were those awful brushes with ball tipped plastic bristles that rip through your tangles by ripping through your hair.

[Ylva]

Hahahah, I'm not sure if I've ever mentioned this before, but when I was 19-22 and living with my ex-boyfriend, I had just one hairbrush which broke so that the rubbery middle part with the bristles was the only part that I had left of it. I was still using it as my brush. When my buzzcut-sporting mom saw it, even she got so terrified that she immediately went and bought me a new hairbrush. :rollin:

[Hexana]

In highschool and college I used only shampoos (the cheapest stuff I could find) and always wore my hair down, and imagine I couldn't figure out why my hair didn't want to grow... :confused:

[JulianaCapalbo]

I think for me, the worst thing I have done for my hair is use a straightener. I have never used it often but high porosity hair gets damaged quickly. Also I don't view this as really a sin but I have not done enough scalp massages lately.

[BraidedBunch]

Probably serial cutting at this point. I can't seem to get ahold of wanting long hair anymore.

[0xalis]

https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/668563929282117725/711720107973410846/2012-3-11_4.JPG

Looks fine right? Well it wasn't. I had bleached my hair several times in a month, with dollar store bleach nonetheless, and the top looked fine but I kept bleaching because the ends were grown out black dye..
I completely fried my hair and decided to just cut it all off into a pixie and start fresh. Swore off bleach permanently and I've stuck to that. Then I found TLHC not too long after!
That was back in 2012 when I was a 10th grader. I have been much gentler to my hair ever since.

[bokeh]

Really, for me the damage was done at 12 years of age by living all day outside at the pool while living in California. I never wore a hat and let the sun beat on me all day long. I couldn’t understand why my hair wouldn’t grow. I didn’t pay enough attention to notice the pieces of hair that must have been breaking off. Almost every strand of hair had a split end. I have no memory of what my routine was at that time but it’s probably best forgotten.

That wasn’t a good way to treat my skin either.

[momao]

Bleached my hair white in one sitting! Took awhile to grow it out, but I'm glad I did. My hair takes very well to bleach, and terrible to color, but it was still pretty damaged.

[luzimerka]

Dyed my hair pink, which wasn't bad in itself, but then I decided I didn't like it and washed it out wish DISH SOAP!! had to cut at least 12 cm off my ruined ends..........

[RunOnCaffeine]

Box dyeing, wash every day, blow dry on highest temp and speed, straighten on highest temp. Occasionally curling after straightening.

I did always use good conditioner and heat defence products, but even though my hair was BSL, it was frizzy as heck.

[Lady_Eowyn]

Washing hair daily and without using a conditioner or a mask brushing wet hair in a hurry, and then wondering, why I have so much breakage and notice almost no growth.