Did Covid Change Your Haircare Routine?

[Stagecoach]

I'm curious if anyone else made intentional changes to their hair care routine during Covid, and if so, have those changes stuck?

I gave up shampoo on my scalp. I'd been toying with the idea for months, and decided that lockdown was the ideal time to see if my scalp would adjust, and adjust it did. I'd say it took a full year to completely regulate it's oil production, but I'm going on almost three years of no regular shampoo. Twice in those three years I have used a heavily diluted Dawn dish soap mix on my scalp when I used hair styling product for special occasions and it left residue that water alone could not remove.

I'm really pleased with my scalp these days, have very very little dandruff or oil and I don't see myself ever going back to washing my scalp with anything more than water.

[Shorty89]

Long time no see, Stagecoach. I didn't do anything hugely different during Covid except try a few random conditioners because it was harder to get to the store. I still the same conditioner although I found a new one for my ends. I did add a fine-toothed comb to my routine to stretch watches better. Otherwise, it's the same as ever.

[Lesley8]

I decided to really look after my hair and I've stuck with it. Started following the capillary schedule and just trying out new products.

[Mariekeeee14]

I’ve tried styling my hair curly and it worked kinda for my hair but not for me so it didn’t stick. My routine hasn’t changed drastically if I compare it to 4 years ago. Sure, the products have changed and I’ve learned new techniques, so there’s that.

Oh I guess I’ve gotten a shower filter to fix the calcium deposit on my hair, and I’ve started to do WWCC. Those things weren’t brought on by the staying at home cause of COVID though

[GoatLady]

My hair care routine changed drastically due to Covid. Pre-Covid I was getting regular haircuts and my hair was chin length. Once Covid hit I stopped going to the salon and thought, "Well, I might as well grow this hair long." After a year or so of growing it out (that was an ugly, awkward time, so I'm thankful I wasn't going out in public :p) I remembered this community and forum and have been here ever since. I now take careful, thoughtful, proper care of my hair. My hair is now WL and I am loving it. I have amassed a HUGE collection of hair toys and have fun wearing them and trying out new bun styles and braids. My beautiful, long hair is one good thing that came out of this pandemic.

[sipnsun]

It absolutely changed my routine and without the mandatory lockdown I can confidently say I would have never made it to my longtime goal of waist length. I had an appointment to get my usual cut and highlights the week the beauty shops closed here. Since I wasn't working or going anywhere, I started washing only once per week, oiling regularly and experimenting with new shampoos and masks because my ends were so dry from years of bleach. When the shops finally opened up I was almost to waist length after trying to get there since 2007! I decided to keep going and now I'm 2" from BCL which is unbelievable to me!

Edited to add: Yes, the new (good) habits have stuck. I trim once or twice per year and have only gotten highlights once since 2019 and it was only 10 tiny foils around my face to help blend gray hair before attending a wedding.

[lapis_lazuli]

Let me think back... I don't think so. The only thing that changed in March 2020 was that I stopped going to school in person and moved back home. My hair had just reached calf-length, and my routine had been SC washing once a week on Sundays and wearing a bun most days. It was the same during Covid, except I experimented with a few more down styles due to just being at home. Now that my hair's even longer, I wear it up all the time and scalp-wash once a week, albeit now with different shampoos.

[SandyBottom]

I'm still quite new here, less than a year. The pandemic didn't affect my hair care at all. Before it hit and before joining here I had already been growing it and doing self-trimming and tons of experimenting. That hasn't changed. I continued to work my normal schedule throughout it also, so it wasn't like I was home more and could let it get unruly:D

[pili]

Definitely. In 2020 I had made it all the way to TBL (my original goal length) for the first time in my life. Unfortunately, that is when I finally acknowledged that hair products were giving me bald patches. In May 2020 I started water only and using a BBB. Now my hair is APL and looks good without any products whatsoever. I cut back gradually over the last two years because learning to brush such long thick hair was hard to do. I was too rough in the beginning (after decades of never brushing), and it is only now that I feel confident enough to see if I can grow longer. The good news is that my bald patches have started to recover, and I have short hair all over. My scalp has never been in better health. I will take short hair with no balding over long hair and balding any day. I also got a shower filter last year, and that has helped tremendously.

[Stagecoach]

Long time no see, Stagecoach.

Hi Shorty89!

[Stagecoach]

I decided to really look after my hair and I've stuck with it. Started following the capillary schedule and just trying out new products.

I have not heard of the capillary schedule, what is it?

[Stagecoach]

My beautiful, long hair is one good thing that came out of this pandemic.

That's wonderful!

[Stagecoach]

.

Yay for reaching goal length!!!

[Stagecoach]

. Now that my hair's even longer, I wear it up all the time and scalp-wash once a week, albeit now with different shampoos.

I too wear mine up almost all the time.

[Stagecoach]

You have had quite the journey. Good job sticking through the ups and downs of it. I too know what it is like having to cut short after having long. In 2014 I went from upper calf length to chin length after bad damage.

[Bri-Chan]

During the first lockdown I experimented with my hair texture (classic wavish mane that I thought it was straight) and it was basically the same for the following 2 years more or less. Now that my hair is way longer,wavy styling isn't worth anymore for both result and effort, so my routine is much more similar to before covid.

[KokoroDragon]

Covid hit a few months after I started my hair growth journey, but I wouldn't necessarily say it was impacted too heavily by it. I already worked from home before lockdown, so my daily routine didn't really change much. Possibly the biggest impact covid had on my hair was just that so many other people were growing their hair, it was really inspiring and interesting to see a bunch of different perspectives.

[vampyyri]

Nope, I was still working full time and didn't get a proper lockdown due to the nature of my job. So nothing changed with my hair or anything else really.

[Stagecoach]

Covid hit a few months after I started my hair growth journey, but I wouldn't necessarily say it was impacted too heavily by it. I already worked from home before lockdown, so my daily routine didn't really change much. Possibly the biggest impact covid had on my hair was just that so many other people were growing their hair, it was really inspiring and interesting to see a bunch of different perspectives.

That makes sense. My hair was also much more wavy above BSL. By waist, its only got a bit of wave in tends and around my face