Hi everyone!

[queeen]

Hi everyone,

I just joined this community! A little bit about me...

A year ago, I had shoulder length hair. I was busy with school all year and never got a hair cut (not intentionally) so my hair is at bra strap length right now. I've had shoulder length hair my whole life so I thought that maybe I should try something new and go for long hair instead of cutting it back! So I've decided to start growing it out. I'm aiming for a length between hip length and tailbone length.
The problem is that my hair is pretty thin (pony tail circumference is around 2.5 in) and it's relatively straight and fine. I don't know if I can pull off hip length hair, but I'm going to give it my best shot.
I also never took my hair seriously up until now so I have a lot of broken pieces of hair, resulting in lots of flyaways =(. I think this is a result of harsh brushing and sleeping with my hair loose and wet. I also used to straighten the ends of my hair about once or twice a week.
To give me the best chances at growing healthy (and presentable looking) long hair, I've been doing the following for the past month or so.

-Never sleeping with loose or wet hair (I always put it in a braid or at least a loose low ponytail)
-Leaving castor oil in my hair overnight twice a week
-Using a wide toothed comb to gently get rid of tangles (I'm using a plastic comb right now but I just ordered a wooden one online)
-Shampooing only once or twice a week and applying conditioner to my hair after shampooing (I used to skip conditioner). This is the shampoo I use (and I use the matching conditioner): https://goo.gl/bqBUH1
-Very rarely straightening my hair (a little bit problematic because my hair is straight but the ends like to flap every which way, making it look weird when I'm wearing it down)
-Drinking as much water as I can throughout the day
-Eating lots of fruits and vegetables
-Being happyyy =D

Applying castor oil as well as conditioner to my hair has really helped it look more shiny and it's very soft to the touch now. My hair looks the healthiest that it's ever looked. But the flyways still haven't gone anywhere, making it still look quite "unsleek". I'm hoping that with some time and patience, my flyaways will calm down since I started treating my hair more gently.

I'm so excited to start this journey and growing my hair with you guys!

[lapis_lazuli]

The changes you've made to your hair care are already a huge step in the right direction. Give it lots of love, understanding, and time :o

If you're concerned about lingering damage, you can try S&D (searching for and cutting off split ends) with sharp, haircutting scissors. The fly-aways should get tamed eventually (though sometimes frizz will happen and that's okay :))

Best of luck on your journey, and welcome! :flower:

[leayellena]

hi :)
my ends flap too lol. why don´t they flap as much in a braid as they flap when loose? :D
just thought I could help u with a video from a girl who really has thin hair!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5GGpYzJW_A

[lapushka]

Hello & welcome to the forum. :) BSL (bra strap length) is quite long already.

Do you experience more shedding when applying oil to the scalp? Some of us can't take oils on the scalp and it causes more shedding (not hairs that would have come out anyway: more than that). I can't take oils on the scalp, or conditioner. If you have that, be careful, best thing to do then is to stop using oils on the scalp. Same thing goes for conditioner. I don't mean to scare you, but it's something to keep in mind and pay attention to.

[queeen]

Thanks! Yes, I actually recently got a trim to get rid of my split ends! Also, your hair is gorgeous! :eek:

[queeen]

Thanks for the video! It's quite encouraging to see that long and thin hair can look that nice!

[Sarahlabyrinth]

Welcome here, queen :)

[TatsuOni]

Welcome! :)

[Garnetgem]

Hello and welcome! :)