Massive hair regrets

[gallows_gallery]

I'm having a horrible down time with my hair :( It's the worst it's been in the last 5 years.

I've made some horrible decisions...

Stripped it from the black in my display picture to dark brown
Had layers and a fringe cut in to the front
Cut off about 5 inches that was perfectly healthy
Kept re-trimming the layers!And on top of this the most massive shed I have ever experienced - so bad colleagues have commented on how much thinner my plait is! I looked at my brown hair albums from just before christmas - and it is SO much thinner. I swear I've lost about a third of my hair I had even AFTER layers.

All I can think of is how my hair would be now if I'd kept it black and not cut all the stupid layers in last :(

It would be EASILY at classic - if not longer. As silky, heavy and smooth as in my picture, and THICKER. Heaven.

I'm so annoyed at myself :( All I can do now is WAIT...ahh impatience :(

[Arctic_Mama]

I have hair regrets too, it totally sucks. The good thing is that hair GROWS and we're not stuck with our impulsive decisions forever! Just be patient and your hair will be thicker and longer before you know it :flower:

[gallows_gallery]

Aww thanks arctic mama - I am very thankful that hair grows! But for those of us who are obsessed with its length and health, it grows super slow! It's like the "watching grass grow" saying.

At least I have learned from my mistakes, and will appreciate my nice hair...when it returns one day!

[brok3nwings]

im sorry you feel this way, really, i know what its like to deal with bad decisions... but you still have your hair long eitherway it was worst for me when i had half an inch of hair :P dont worry it will recover as soon as you let it grow and forget about it for a little while..yes..i know its hard

[longhairedfairy]

Just wanted to send:grouphug:

[Eireann]

I'm so sorry you're having a tough time! I'm in a similar position. . . I just had a trim (not too much off the length but the bangs/fringe are too short and she went a little overboard with the layers), but the real disaster was the color. I won't bore you with the details, because I've gone on and on about it in other threads, but the bottom line is I went in for a trim to keep my hair "healthy" and now it's in worse shape than when I started. But, as others have said, it does grow, and the best we can do now is be patient and especially gentle and nurturing with our hair, and our spirits. :grouphug:

[gallows_gallery]

Thank you ladies :) x

[pilateschick7]

I am so sorry. Mine was the Great American Mullet Stage while growing out a horrible haircut in college. If I can find a pic you will LOL at the mullet....it was also a bleached Aveda Blonde. It was just heinous.
Good Luck:)

[gmdiaz]

I am so sorry. I know you just feel awful.

The really great thing is that your hair will come back. . .and thicken right back up.

In the meantime, play with wearing it up!

[Carolyn]

Yeah regrets suck. Big time. But fortunately hair grows and hopefully when we make a mistake we learn from it. If you don't learn, THAT is truly regrettable. You have tons of great hair help here and you'll get lots of support on improving your hair health. Vow to never make the same mistakes again :flowers: Most of us have been there, so you are not alone :grouphug:

[Carina]

I know exactly how you feel.I have the worst itches when it comes to have highlights every spring.But in august last year I had to cut 10 inches off due to damage.I so wish that I had those 10 inches now :(.But I am on my way to bsl again and with 100% virgin hair.I still want highlights but stay as far away from them as I can.I wish you the best of luck with your growing:thumbsup:.

[LaurelSpring]

I feel for you! I know the pain of hair regret. Its like you have to grieve it for awhile. Now that I am older I cant afford to keep starting over so I dont do anything anymore. Just a small fringe cut almost sent me over the edge. I do like it well enough though but it was just a tiny amount.

[Nes]

I wanted to post some words of comfort to you because I have similar feelings. I hope what I am trying to say comes across as I mean it to.

To try and not regret my past bad hair decisions I think of it like this:

I could have been at classic by now, but who knows what would have happened
I could have made even worse mistakes
I could have decided to cut it all off
I could have taken it for granted because I never had mistakes to learn from

Making relatively smaller mistakes makes me appreciate just how much I care about my hair.

When our hair gets to classic, we will fully realise what an achievement that is and treasure it, because we know how easy it is to make mistakes.

I hope you understand what i'm saying. I don't want you to think i'm belittling your feelings or anything, because I know they are powerful.

Nes x

[Debra83]

I'm still playing out my hair regrets!!! I will be happy when it reaches back to waist. It was a long time ago that I cut it all off - and always wanted long hair again, but kept cutting it off, and it seemed it was slower growing until I joined this site in October, and realized that it was more than likely the rough treatment I was giving it that was causing the damage. In a way, it was a good thing that led to LHC and better hair care/body care tips that will help me grow to the length I desire with better results than if I just grew it out before.

[MimiKeki]

Hey hun, I totally sympathise.
I certainly know how it feels to make seemingly bad hair choices.

*clears throat* I grew up with waist-long healthy hair. Then at about 12 years old, for some unknown reason, I started messing with it. I dyed it, bleached it, let the dog brush it with her paws and teeth (!), cut it myself very badly, and one day shaved it.
Not all at the same time of course!

Luckily, now I'm older, and I'm on-track, however I REALLY regret the layers I got cut a few months ago.
The one thing I'd like you to remember is that your hair, no MATTER what state it is in, it is, to somebody, utterly gorgeous. Your hair could be the envy to so many girls, whether they lost theirs to chemotherapy, stress, or illness.
This is the thought that I remind myself when I feel down about my hair, and I instantly feel like "You know what, I'm doing okay, I'm getting closer to my goals every day"

Try to remember the patience you exercised when you were growing your hair. You will get back to where you were before you know it, and then some. Don't worry chick :)

[DecafJane]

Hang in there! At least it is still long. :)

[Elenna]

I'm having a horrible down time with my hair.

Your hair is really beautiful in your avatar like black silk, and you still have the means to have hair that way again. What were you doing right the first time around?

[RavennaNight]

I feel for you and I hope you saw the doctor about that shed. I agree with Elenna. What were you doing before you made all these changes? What was that routine? It sounds like whatever it was it worked great for you.:grouphug:

[Katurday]

EVERYTHING I do is a hair regret.Hahaha. I try not to let it get to me otherwise I'd be permanently depressed. Think happy thoughts,and try to avoid future screw ups.

List of mistakes:
Hilighted hair.
Chopped it all off.
Again.
And again.
Dyed dyed dyed.
Choppy choppy.
Dyed.
Dyed x1000.
Choppy- Not as bad.
Dyed again.FOR THE LAST TIME GAAAH.

And now, at shoulder length, I've got 3 inches of natural color, somewhat ruined ends, and still fairly smooth and shiny hair. The hair gods must love me, but for now, I'll keep growing and pampering it.

[Electric Sky]

*sigh* About six months ago (before I found LHC) I chopped off my BSL length hair to just a little bit above shoulder length. Why? I thought it was too damaged to be fixed. Now I realize that I could've easily fixed it with better conditioner and some of the stuff I found on here. :(
Plus, my hair only grows about half an inch every 3 months, which means it'll take a very, very long time to grow it back.

[SimplyLonghair]

Sorry that you are dealing with such hair issues! We have all had hair regrets, anyone that has hair most likely has hair regrets! Having said that, I feel your pain, I went through a major shed of over half of my hair due to low iron and celiac issues. SO check the health issues out and make sure that is okay, unless you think that it us what you have been doing to your hair. :rolleyes:

Make sure you are okay, and then just start taking better care of you and your hair, and it will grow, I know mine has thanked me for it!
Just because we come on a hair board doesn't mean that we are immune to hair mistakes or hair regrets. :grouphug:

[Darkhorse1]

Ooh--so sorry to hear this. Your hair is gorgeous though and will grow in healthier. Thankfully, hair grows so what I try to do is see it in a positive light---looking forward to growing new hair.

Hugs to you!!
(ps, I've had SO many hair regrets, it's probably why I'm not adventerous with my hair ;) )

[enfys]

I can relate to this type of hair regret! The type where you do something stupid that takes very little time to do, but take years correcting it and recovering from it.

Sadly all you can do is remember not to fall for it again while you wait to get over it.

[janeytilllie]

You are not alone :grouphug:. I too coloured and layered it which I regret big style!
It was in a horrible state! My hair too lots it's thickness. And in a really bad state.

But hair does get better :) it's just a matter of waiting ;)

[practikalmagik]

I just wanna add that I've been there (went from almost wait to about 2 inches and bright pillarbox red in one go) and that it WILL grow back. Here's hoping it recovers quickly for you :) Mistakes help us to learn!

[gallows_gallery]

Aww thanks for the positive thoughts ladies, you're all SO gorgeous! Good to know even some of you with dream hair have regrets!

My routine before the said regrets was INSANELY simple - wash and condition with pantene as often as I wanted, and every-day use of dabur amla oil...and neglect!

I think it was more the total lack of layers/shed and NO colour damage (it was 100% black dye - I'd grown out all the other bleach and reds underneath). I might buy some more amla oil.

[Darkhorse1]

GG--what is your natural color? Is it naturally dark or light? I just remember some of my friends with blond hair who had colored it a lot had some shedding problems. They eased off on coloring for awhile and found it helped.

I've had a few mishaps with hair and cringed, cried and stressed. In the end, I had to realize that it would grow back and that with proper care, it'd be ok. Doesn't help while you are in the midst of that feeling, but from all of us, your hair will be natural, soft and thick--just give it time :)

[Islandgrrl]

I think most of us have hair regrets. I have some real whoppers....like why did I take my knee-length blunt hemline to a pixie. What was I thinking???

As mentioned before...thankfully, hair grows. If it grew as fast as the grass in my front yard, I'd be one seriously happy girl. But it grows and all that's required is patience and some decent hair care.

No use in obsessing over the past and the regrets you may have - that will only get in the way of enjoying what you have now. Even if it's not perfect, you're not bald. And really, it's only going to get better from this point forward.

:grouphug:

[JamieLeigh]

I'm sorry you're having issues! I'm sure it looks beautiful, though. Sometimes we're our own worst critics, but if we don't wear our hair in a way that pleases US, then we're not doing the right thing. Sometimes we all have a period of unrest, when it's not thick enough, or smooth enough, or it's not the right color...but luckily you're at LHC!! If there is anything at all that you feel you need to do with/for your hair, then you are in the perfect spot to get every possible good bit of information on when/what to do.

I hope that you get to a point where you're happy with your hair again! :flower:

[Firefly]

I think most of us have been in the same boat with hair regrets. Hang in there, you are definitely not alone!

[brok3nwings]

yes you are not alone and i will say it again, you still have hair to deal with, some of us just choped it ALL off ... eheh
im sure you are being too critical about it, i tend to be about my hair when i dont like it for some reason... and fighting against it will only lead to even more regrets and mistakes

[spidermom]

Things will get better; hang in there. If you hadn't done different things to your hair, you might be regretting that. Sometimes I regret that I haven't done more to make my hair more "becoming" on me; long and healthy just isn't enough.

[Addy]

O, I have a few through out the years. :o

One time I made the mistake in letting my sister of all people trim my hair. She chopped it off! I could have killed her! Then there was the time I bleached it out. It was horrible to say the least. :mad: Then one of my last regrets most recently in Aug 07' I walked into a salon and this very pretty blonde girl with nearly waist length hair hacked my beautiful bsl hair off to my shoulders! :thud:

We've all been there done that and I'm finally feeling good about having my hair back even though it took what? 20 months. I know it sounds like a long time but really, the time has flown by.

We all screw up. Sometimes, it's just really bad! Just chalk it up to BTDT experience. I'm sure someone will come on in a few years and say they totally ruined their hair and you can say, HEY!!! I did that and it will be okay! :D

Sometimes, we don't appreciate what we have til it's gone. I'm pretty sure it pertains to hair too!