Hair type? And a couple other questions! :)

[smerrie]

I have been coming here for a while now, reading posts, and even posting a couple times in the past. But I have never been very consistent! However, I really want to grow out my hair, because I HAVE been consistently unhappy with it for two years now. A lot of this is due to my obsessiveness and frequent trims to get rid of unevenness and split-ends, but maybe you guys can inspire me to be a little bit more vigilant about letting it grow! I've been trying to correct a bad dye job + color stripping (never do!) + super short layers, all of which I had done 2 years ago! Should be old news by now, but alas..

My current goal is BSL - not as ambitious as many of you, but I've loved my hair at that length in the past! And I really want to get it healthy and soft.

So! A few questions, any help/advice would be much appreciated!!

1) What is my hair type? (See picture below!)

2) Does anyone know how to address excessive dryness caused by Accutane! I can go a week without seeing any natural oils - great for my face, but not for my hair.

3) My biggest hair concern for the past year has been breakage around my face. I am growing out some angled bangs, which are about nose-length, and uneven (because they were angled). But behind those, I have other short, verrry uneven spots of hair where breakage and split ends have occurred. The rest of my hair is healthy, but dry.
Should I just let it grow? (Which I am thinking maybe I should).. Or should I cut it chin length in order to minimize the damage, and even things up?

Again, any help is super appreciated! Thanks!!

And the picture: (sorry if it is huge)

http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t72/smmille1/IMG_2535.jpg?t=1242614359

This is how I typically have styled it - blow-dried and straightened! (and what it looks like from the front, though you can't see the damage)

http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t72/smmille1/IMG_2365.jpg?t=1242614725

And this is some of the damage I speak of! I've posted this picture here before, actually haha

http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t72/smmille1/IMG_1854.jpg?t=1242614796

[smerrie]

I should have mentioned that the first picture I posted is my natural hair texture.. I had not washed it with shampoo in about three days, but I had just washed it with conditioner, and let it air dry.

[Dementia1013]

You're not in as bad a condition as you may think. I think what your hair needs now is some Tender loving care. I dye and strip my hair on a regular basis, but it doesn't look bad, because I take extra care of it.

First of all when stripping I use Sally Brand Bleach packets and developer called ION. It's very Hair friendly and doesn't do nearly as much damage as the regular boxed stuff.

A deep conditioning treatment might help, if you're low on fundage and don't want to go overboard just get your favorite moisturizing conditioner and apply to your hair like you would in the shower. Only difference is instead of rinsing out the conditioner you put on a shower cap and wear it all night.

I've also heard that Cocoa butter is supposed to be really good for your hair, though you'll have to talk to one of the other ladies for that one. I've never personally done it.

You can also simply google suggestion on proper hair care for shine and growth.

Hope I was helpful. I've got some articles that I consult, if you would like the links just let me know. :D

[smerrie]

Thanks for the tips! Since you seem to know a lot about hair coloring, do you have any tips for keeping it from fading? The reddish color that I have now is more a result of faded out color jobs as opposed to my natural color (which is dark-blonde - light brownish).

The overnight conditioning sounds like a great idea!

[Cereus]

Your hair looks very pretty and healthy. I bet you could get away with letting it grow to BSL before trimming. I think a lot of us may be living with some damage. Perfection is such a hard road....

[smerrie]

Thanks!! I think I would like to try to grow it that long before I cut it again.. it is just so hard to have the patience to grow and not cut! I constantly get the urge to cut it.. :(

[zen_oven]

Hi smerrie! To address your hair type question, there is a good article on how to figure out your hair type right here on LHC: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=5

If I messed up that link and it doesn't work properly, just go to the articles section of LHC and look under Miscellaneous. There will be an article called "Fia's Hairtyping System." Hope this helps you!

[smerrie]

ah, I was wondering how everyone knew the system so well!
Judging from that, I think I am a 2b F
Regardless, I hate it :p

Thanks! :)

[Dementia1013]

Thanks for the tips! Since you seem to know a lot about hair coloring, do you have any tips for keeping it from fading? The reddish color that I have now is more a result of faded out color jobs as opposed to my natural color (which is dark-blonde - light brownish).

The overnight conditioning sounds like a great idea!

No problem! To prevent fading I actually leave my dye on for much longer then reccomended. I use Raw Color, because it's just taken to my hair so well for going on 9 years now. On the bottle it says to leave the color on for about 15 mins. That to me is a joke, in a few washes it would be time to redye. I leave my color on for nearly 2 hours. I thought that was long, but I read online gals that leave dye on for up to 10 hours! If you want to give that a go that's all up to you. Anyway, after 2 hours the color is extremely dark, for me almost black and as I wash it, it becomes brighter and brighter. This method allows me to go months at a time without dying my hair.

There is also something about using vinegar as a rinse. Again, I've never done it, but the gal at Sally's said that essentially when dying your hair what you're doing is staining it, and using Vinegar would help keep the stain. Think of Easter eggs. Same concept we add dye to the vinegar and stain the eggs.

Also, after a big dye job I immediately use a Color sealing treatment, again ION from Sally's. :D