PDA

View Full Version : Do you think it really makes a difference?



smerrie
May 18th, 2009, 09:24 AM
When I first started reading through this board, all of the TLC everyone does for their hair seemed very extreme.
Of course, now that I am battling some of my own hair woes, I am beginning to see their place, haha.

But. Do you really think that not shampooing, not heat styling, not dying, and not wearing you hair down are responsible for the length and condition of your hair?
Do you think it is possible to keep heat styling, and shampooing, and still end up with long enviable hair?

I'm suggesting a challenge. For myself, and anyone who would like to compare in the future.

I am going to lay off of the trims. I just bought a really nice 100% boar brush. And I bought this (http://www.matrixbeautiful.com/images/products/sleek/iron_smoother.jpg) to protect my hair from heat damage and humidity:

My goal is to be at BSL AND healthy looking, soft hair by May of next year. In the meantime, I am going to continue straightening my hair and washing with Aussie! And trim only every 3 months, which means, August.

We'll see how it goes!

JamieLeigh
May 18th, 2009, 09:28 AM
I'm thinking that the simple act of putting down the heating products alone would count a LOT toward having long, healthy hair. You'd definitely have to trim and do S&D a lot less often, because you would not have dry, heat-damaged ends from blow-frying & other heating products. If you're cutting less of it off, then it's getting longer more quickly.

Personally, I've stopped shampooing and I'm EXTREMELY happy with it...my hair would always frizz up really bad the day of/after a shampoo. Now I don't have that, I just have soft waves. :)

MsBubbles
May 18th, 2009, 09:33 AM
In my experience, what you can get away with at shoulder-length is a totally different story at BSL. For example, for me, daily blow-frying on velcro rollers and regular highlighting didn't produce any damage or split ends if kept at shoulder-length. Come BSL, however, it was a different story. My hair seemed to spontaneously combust overnight.

Good luck with your quest! It's entirely up to you how you treat your hair. Most people here give advice based on growing hair to ultra-long-lengths, as compared with real-life standards, i.e., waist and beyond.

InTheCity
May 18th, 2009, 09:34 AM
I'm curious as well.
I personally went cold turkey when I started reading LHC (not a touch of heat since.) But just the other day, I spoke with a coworker who has thick, shiny and incredibly healthy hair longer than BSL and said she straightens regularly, including while its already wet if she's trying to save time. I was shocked and chalked it up to having thick hair.

young&reckless
May 18th, 2009, 09:35 AM
Do you really think that not shampooing, not heat styling, not dying, and not wearing you hair down are responsible for the length and condition of your hair?
Do you think it is possible to keep heat styling, and shampooing, and still end up with long enviable hair?


Theres no right way, everyone here is just trying to find what works for them.

For me poo bars and cassia have made my hair so much better. Was it heathy before? Yeah, but now when I'm with friends if someone brushed against my hair it stops the conversation because it is so healthy and silky.

All the things your talking about, heat styling most of all, cause damage, and you can only to so much damage to your hair before it looks like it. All things in moderation, my friend.

viking_quest
May 18th, 2009, 09:36 AM
I'm thinking that the simple act of putting down the heating products alone would count a LOT toward having long, healthy hair. You'd definitely have to trim and do S&D a lot less often, because you would not have dry, heat-damaged ends from blow-frying & other heating products. If you're cutting less of it off, then it's getting longer more quickly.

Personally, I've stopped shampooing and I'm EXTREMELY happy with it...my hair would always frizz up really bad the day of/after a shampoo. Now I don't have that, I just have soft waves. :)

I agree. My mother blow-dries her hair everyday. Not only does she have a multitude of split ends but she also has a layer of broken hairs.
I'm also very happy with my results of not shampooing. My scalp is so much happier because of it.

Buddaphlyy
May 18th, 2009, 09:38 AM
When I first started reading through this board, all of the TLC everyone does for their hair seemed very extreme.
Of course, now that I am battling some of my own hair woes, I am beginning to see their place, haha.

But. Do you really think that not shampooing, not heat styling, not dying, and not wearing you hair down are responsible for the length and condition of your hair?
Do you think it is possible to keep heat styling, and shampooing, and still end up with long enviable hair?



Oh, absolutely. Even though my hair isn't at all long by LHC standard, it's grown longer and healthier in the past 2 years than it ever did in the 7 or 8 years when I used chemicals and heat styled regularly. Of course some people CAN do it, but if it only takes a short amount of time to see damage, I doubt one could still do it and still have nice hair at the end.


I do still shampoo (with a sulfate shampoo no less), but I definitely think that laying off chemicals and heat alone have greatly helped my hair.

BTW, good luck with your challenge.

lora410
May 18th, 2009, 09:39 AM
ABSOLUTELY. When my hair was this long before with sampoo, condish and blow frying, it was dry and tangly. Now, since I only shampoo and condish every few days, do vinager rinses and oiling my hair is soft, tangle free and silky. So yes it does make a huge difference.

Spike
May 18th, 2009, 09:40 AM
Mmmm . . . personal experience and preferences here, so your mileage will vary.

BUT: I can do just about anything to my hair and have it looking nice all the way to BSL. So if that's how you define "long enviable hair" then, yes, it is possible not to do extreme TLC gyrations and have long enviable yadda yadda.

HOWEVER: In my world, long hair begins at about tailbone. Enviable hair is classic to knee length. At my rate of growth, tailbone takes about 4 years (from buzz cut). BSL, by way of contrast, is about two years (from buzz cut).

That extra two years of slow cumulative heat and dye damage adds up a lot--not to mention machanical damage from backpacks and purse straps and mountain climbing classes (yup. No braid, no bun--that little adventure was responsible for a TON of breakage for years following college.)

So yeah, if your goal is BSL--and there is NOTHING wrong with that--then yes, you CAN have a casual white-bread/vanilla haircare routine that includes blow-drying and "protective" products to reduce heat damage. But I wouldn't expect to get much below BSL without inching over to the extreme hair care lifestyle.

Happy growing! Here's to meeting your goals! :flowers:

kdaniels8811
May 18th, 2009, 09:42 AM
It just depends on what your hair can handle. Some people have waist length hair (not me, sigh!) that is blown dry and colored. Others, like me, find that benign neglect and all the things you mentioned above help grow healthy hair. For me, not cutting it when I saw fairytale ends has helped immensely as I kept cutting off my growth. I have not cut or trimmed in over a year and it is growing! Yay! So I guess the answer is to find what works best for you.

melrose1985
May 18th, 2009, 09:52 AM
I have stopped using the blow drier and iron, mostly because I’m uber lazy and don’t want to get up earlier to do them.

I haven’t had hair longer the APL in like 3 years, but that's because i got bored and would get me hair cut all the time. And while i do believe heat does damage hair i don’t think it was that bad on my hair, Maybe though because i kept cutting so i never got a chance to see what happened over long periods of time.

Either way i think with ironing it, you are doing good with the heat spray, I don’t see why you can't get your hair to BSL with not looking nice. Just baby it differently. maybe you can get two days with out washing your hair and then you don’t have to straighten again that day.

Do what works best for you!

Forever_Sophie
May 18th, 2009, 09:55 AM
I totally attribute my healthy hair to no heat styling, my hair stylist always mentions this, too. I do believe heat protectors/silicones help prevent damage, but I wouldn't take the risk and heat style regularly, even w/ them.

GlassEyes
May 18th, 2009, 10:06 AM
It depends. Coarse hair can take more heat styling than say, fine hair, but eventually, it too will be damaged.

That said, heat-protection sprays are basically sweet lies in the form of liquids. If they could protect from heat that CAN SEAR THE SKIN AND POSSIBLY COOK A CHICKEN, then I think we'd be putting them to more use than in haircare products.

Also, shampooing varies in effectiveness depending on hair type. It's not always bad, and can often depend on the ingredients. I can't use it though.

akurah
May 18th, 2009, 10:10 AM
If I wasn't posting from my Blackberry, I would take the time to link Nightshade's favorite hair horror pictures.

If you intend to heat style, I personally think trims are an absolute must for healthy, tangle-free hair. However the trick is to figure out how fast your hair grows and make it a point to trim less than it grows, otherwise you get nowhere.

teela1978
May 18th, 2009, 10:19 AM
My hair is much thicker now that I've stopped dying... heat styling damage depends a lot on what you're doing. Using a straightening iron daily seriously damaged my hair. Using a blowdryer on low so you don't freeze from wet hair in the winter isn't quite so bad. The no-shampoo thing really depends on your hair. I shampoo and don't think that not-shampooing ever really helped me. For my hair, I've always felt that non-shampoo cleansing methods required more scrubbing and were actually more damaging than just using the commercial method. Everyone has different hair though. You kinda have to find what works best for you.

For me, it's just kinda leaving it alone. Shampoo when it's getting greasy, slather on some conditioner (usually with cones). Comb it out once in a while. I don't think there's anything extreme about that.

jojo
May 18th, 2009, 10:23 AM
In my experience, what you can get away with at shoulder-length is a totally different story at BSL. For example, for me, daily blow-frying on velcro rollers and regular highlighting didn't produce any damage or split ends if kept at shoulder-length. Come BSL, however, it was a different story. My hair seemed to spontaneously combust overnight.

Good luck with your quest! It's entirely up to you how you treat your hair. Most people here give advice based on growing hair to ultra-long-lengths, as compared with real-life standards, i.e., waist and beyond.
I have to totally agree with this statement. My hair is past bsl now and my ends have gone through a lot with just weather conditions and catching on stuff, now I do straighten occassionally but if I was to do this all the time, my hair would not look shiny or healthy but this is just my hair which is fine and breaks very easily.

Everybody is different, hair is different but I truely do believe heat hurts the hair, maybe not immediatelly but eventually damage will show. Why not comprimise and just straighten/blowdry on say weekends and just let your hair do its own thing inbetween?

Sheltie_Momma
May 18th, 2009, 10:29 AM
For myself, I've been following some of the advice on these boards for about 6 weeks now. I quit using heat & silicone products, I do the SMT every two weeks, I wash only about every 4 days and use coconut oil and braid it safely at night. And I had a pretty big (for me) trim of 1.5 inches. These things combined, have made a HUGE difference in the texture of my hair. I would never have thought it would make such a difference in such a short time. The really miraculous thing to me is that now that I'm taking better care of it, I don't even feel like I need to flat iron it - because it isn't really all that frizzy anymore. And it shines even though it's wavy without needing to be stick straight and greased up with "shine" products. And I don't need to wash it as often because I'm not gunking it up in the first place.

I'm not trying to be dogmatic in any way in terms of what anyone else should do, just answering the "does it really make a difference" question. For me it really has and I'm really grateful.

Honey39
May 18th, 2009, 10:32 AM
Hmmm. I recently met up with my cousin, and when we were in our teens, we had IDENTICAL hair. I remember that we were on a bus, and our mothers were behind us, and they noticed that where our hair touched (we had long hair), you couldn't tell the hair apart, it was absolutely identical in terms of colour and thickness etc.

Fast forward 20 odd years, and when I met my cousin, I hugged her and noticed that her box-dyed hair looked and felt completely different to mine - she has used a lot of heat and straightners on hers, and it felt like coarse wire to the touch. So it was weird for me, to see how identical hair can look and feel completely different when it has been treated very differently!

I think it depends on your hair as well. My hair for instance thrives on no heat, no straightening, no shampoo etc. I'm not trying to grow my hair super-long, but it's mid-back now, and I've noticed the ends are definitely tangling more easily

GlassEyes
May 18th, 2009, 10:34 AM
Also, it depends WHEN you use them.

If you're going to blow dry from soaking wet and top it off with a flat iron, you'll have issues. If you air dry, then iron, it'll be better, or if you blow dry and don't iron, it'll be better. Actually, not doing ANY of these from soaking wet will help it.

White dots, i.e., splits on the length and not at the ends, result from this, as it boils the water inside the hair, and forms a bubble akin to what heat does to skin, although permanent, where some burns are not. THOSE wil make you lose length.

LadyGunn
May 18th, 2009, 10:49 AM
If I wasn't posting from my Blackberry, I would take the time to link Nightshade's favorite hair horror pictures.

Nightshade's Damaged Hair Article (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=79)

Quite eye-opening.

Peggy E.
May 18th, 2009, 10:57 AM
You've pretty much been given the gist of anything I can provide - that being "different strokes...." To a certain degree, and for only so long.

All that beautiful over-processed, heat-styled hair may well not age along very well. I'm thinking of the note mentioning the MIL's problems with breaking, aging hair. Of course, if you're trimming along you're ridding yourself of the damaged ends - but not the damaged scalp.

This is the one area I've come to regard from info gained here - how much the health of the scalp affects the hair. I'd always focussed on the ends, seeing if they were splitting, breaking, dry, whatever. Never gave much thought to what the scalp was doing and role it plays in total hair health.

Then I got sebhorea (which I can never spell - I should only develop health problems that I can spell....) and my scalp issues suddenly caught my attention. Well, better late than never!

Anyway, the point being that there are lots of different ways to care for your hair - and your scalp - that seems to make hair happy. What you have here is an excellent resource where you'll find the results of many, many forms of hair care, advice and inspiration, all in one handy location with well informed, helpful people (and then there's me....).

You will probably find that you'll try many different hair care routines along your journey. You know your skin changes over time, so does your hair, and what worked at 20 is probably not going to be what you should be turning to when you're 50.

The important thing is to keep an open mind to accepting the many routes to hair beauty you'll discover. You don't have to try them all, but if something doesn't work for you that doesn't mean it won't be the answer for someone else.

Good luck to you and enjoy the ride! You will find your hair will be very pleased that you found your way here - and if you have happy hair, chances are good the rest of you will be wearing a smile, as well! ;o)

wackyredtangles
May 18th, 2009, 11:02 AM
I would have to say for me, even on BSL hair, no heat and dying made a huge difference. I was never that into heat styling, and dying, except for about 6 months or so when my friend introduced me to a hair straightener and highlights. From there I straightened my hair very frequently, and got it dyed at a salon, or box dyed it myself. In about 6 months I went from having long, shiny, very wavy hair to a dry, frizzy, awful looking mess. Its been over two years, and I finally feel like I'm getting my hair back.

That being said, I do straighten my hair once every few months. I wait until its completely dry, put some heat protecting stuff on, and just go at it. I even blow dry slightly every once in awhile, but too often.

In the end its your hair, and you should have it how you want it.

RancheroTheBee
May 18th, 2009, 11:18 AM
There's ways to avoid damage even while you do things that are "bad" for your hair. (I'm playing the devil's advocate here). I have a friend who dyes, rips through wet hair with a brush while she blowdries, etc, etc. Her hair still looks amazing. ETA: I may also mention her hair is past waist.

I also have friends who can't grow their hair past shoulder.

Really, I support your challenge. If you can get to BSL with heat styling, I'll be very proud of you! I'd suggest you visit the BeautyBrains.com and check out some of their information on ingredients in heat protectants and shampoos. Also, again, coconut oil may really help you keep your hair in nice condition in your challenge. :)

Heavenly Locks
May 18th, 2009, 11:20 AM
Damage is cumulative...the longer your hair grows, the older it is and the more times it has been exposed to damaging effects. :) The less of these you can impose, the longer your hair will stay nice. The ends of my hair at BSL are approximately 4 years old. How many washes, dries, comb throughs can it have had in that time? Being careful does pay of IMO.

spidermom
May 18th, 2009, 11:21 AM
Stopping the heat-styling was an important step for me. I only straightened my hair about twice a month, but by the time I was at BSL length, my ends felt like and stuck together like Velcro. So I cut back to APL and don't heat-style anymore, except once since then.

I shampoo my hair whenever I think it needs to be washed and have had no bad effects from it. I do it CWC style with diluted shampoo, so it doesn't dry out my hair and it doesn't give me a gigantic cloud of frizz. I consider not washing hair to be poor hygiene, and whenever somebody brags about not washing their hair, I start wondering what they do with their hands after using the bathroom.

Deborah
May 18th, 2009, 11:25 AM
Other ways to wash, etc., may help your hair, but heat curling or straightening WILL damage your hair. There's no getting around this one. Don't let product manufacturers trick you - direct heat will harm your hair no matter what products you apply before or after.

Think about this. Hair product manufacturers are not in business to help you. They are in business to make money. So, if they can sell you curling or straightening irons or whatever else, then also sell you yet another product to protect your hair from the product causing damage, that's a whole lot of extra money they have gotten from you. Skipping BOTH the heat products AND the repair serums or whatever else they tell you will protect or repair your hair, will save you a lot of money, and your hair will be healthier and more beautiful because you did NOT SPEND your money on their products.

I know this is not what you want to hear, but it is true. :flower:

I say this not to criticize you, but rather keeping in mind that it is YOUR hair, and you can do whatever makes you happiest. :) I hope you find a hair care method that both helps your hair, and makes you happy at the same time! :)

RancheroTheBee
May 18th, 2009, 11:32 AM
Think about this. Hair product manufacturers are not in business to help you. They are in business to make money. So, if they can sell you curling or straightening irons or whatever else, then also sell you yet another product to protect your hair from the product causing damage, that's a whole lot of extra money they have gotten from you. Skipping BOTH the heat products AND the repair serums or whatever else they tell you will protect or repair your hair, will save you a lot of money, and your hair will be healthier and more beautiful because you did NOT SPEND your money on their products.


I agree to an extent, but I think this is a little harsh. The companies who manufacture products for hair are not likely to be sitting around thinking of ways to trick you. Chances are, they have created these products as a way to provide a product for something for which there is a demand. Seeing as there is no monopoly on haircare products, it is more likely that most companies are trying their best to create products they think will benefit people.

That said, some people do not benefit from any products available, especially people who want to grow waist and beyond hair. But to be frank, the majority of people aren't interested in growing their hair that long, and so it's rather understandable that haircare companies do not take these people into consideration. That said, I doubt that any damaging results of long term use on long hair was anything they did maliciously and intentionally.

I'm not saying that most companies are complete angels, but I don't think they're intentionally ruining people's hair as part of a conspiracy.

Chanterelle
May 18th, 2009, 11:36 AM
Do you think it is possible to keep heat styling, and shampooing, and still end up with long enviable hair?
In my experience - yes, especially if you trim the ends every 3 months. Though it all depends on how you define long and enviable. :)

I shampoo and blowdry every 5 days, wear my hair down all the time and I have BSL hair without visible damage. Granted, by LHC standards it's not long and doubtfully enviable but I'm quite happy with it. I'm not planning to grow it any longer than waist so I guess my routine is OK.

GoddesJourney
May 18th, 2009, 12:02 PM
Since you are at relatively short length, it doesn't really make a difference. I, personally, never was into heat styling but I was physically very brutal with my hair and I washed it every day, slept with wet hair down, hacked at it with my brush, etc. I never found any damage until it got to somewhere between APL and BSL. Since that's where I used to keep it, everything worked fine. However, I found that right around BSL is when it starts to require a little help by simply not trying to damage it. My hair is naturally medium to thick and quite healthy if I don't do anything disastrous, but eventually it can't take it anymore.

Think of it this way, HAIR LIVES IN DOG YEARS. Any hair that's just two to three years old can take anything without any special treatment. You can overdo it and it's fine. By the times hair is about five or six years old, it really isn't that resilient to the daily damaging behavior. Beyond that and you really have to be nice to it for it to be healthy.

I hope you like my analogy.:D

Boudicca
May 18th, 2009, 12:04 PM
I never heat styled, so can't comment on that, but switching to no-cones and wearing my hair up has given me a good extra 4 inches of growth. The thickness of my hair is improving too.

Deborah
May 18th, 2009, 12:07 PM
I agree to an extent, but I think this is a little harsh. The companies who manufacture products for hair are not likely to be sitting around thinking of ways to trick you. Chances are, they have created these products as a way to provide a product for something for which there is a demand. Seeing as there is no monopoly on haircare products, it is more likely that most companies are trying their best to create products they think will benefit people.

That said, some people do not benefit from any products available, especially people who want to grow waist and beyond hair. But to be frank, the majority of people aren't interested in growing their hair that long, and so it's rather understandable that haircare companies do not take these people into consideration. That said, I doubt that any damaging results of long term use on long hair was anything they did maliciously and intentionally.

I'm not saying that most companies are complete angels, but I don't think they're intentionally ruining people's hair as part of a conspiracy.


I don't recall saying anything about 'malice', or about 'intentionally ruining people's hair', or particularly anything about any 'conspiracy'. Those are your own harsh words.

RancheroTheBee
May 18th, 2009, 12:23 PM
I don't recall saying anything about 'malice', or about 'intentionally ruining people's hair', or particularly anything about any 'conspiracy'. Those are your own harsh words.

Understandable. I apologize for my choice of words.

Curlsgirl
May 18th, 2009, 12:47 PM
Absolutely has made a difference for me. I have especially strong hair but it is completely different since not using heat or cones.

Drynwhyl
May 18th, 2009, 12:56 PM
Well, some people's hair may like cones in conventional products, so that may vary.
But as for heat styling, yes, cutting it out will result in much prettier hair. Same goes for most hairsprays and gels, excessive shampooing, etc.

Deborah
May 18th, 2009, 01:04 PM
Understandable. I apologize for my choice of words.

Thanks. :flower:

akka naeda
May 18th, 2009, 01:08 PM
It depends on your hair.
I can't be bothered with heat styling, but I do blowdry my hair, and I do shampoo it. Once a week to once every 2 weeks, because I am lazy and my hair is happy that way. I do use conefree conditioner, and my hair does need oiling once a week (length and scalp) in order to be happy, otherwise it becomes strawlike and breaks.
Anything else is too much like hard work, which means with the exception of oiling and using conefree conditioner I carry on as I did before I found this site.
My hair is kneelength and happy. And still getting longer:)

EdG
May 18th, 2009, 01:29 PM
I learned to avoid blow dryers a long time ago. They are truly bad for one's hair. :evil:

Shampooing isn't all that bad. I used to be a daily washer and I regularly received hair complements. I have since slowed down on washing.

Wearing one's hair down is not necessarily problematic - just be very careful, especially around hot or moving objects. Also proper untangling is necessary since hair worn loose tangles easily. :)
Ed

LILBERT
May 18th, 2009, 01:33 PM
I use shampoo :) and i cant find any splits at the moment. as for heat styling, my ive only ever had my hair between mid back and waist, and used heat, maybe, once a week? when i wanted to look nice or couldnt wait for it to dry for whatever reason and it didnt make a jot of difference from when i never used heat. but longer hair i dont know!

and please bear in mind my hair is really thick and coarse, and seems to be permanently healthy, i know a lot of people whos hair cant take heat at all so it all depends on the head of hair :p

GlennaGirl
May 18th, 2009, 01:54 PM
When I first started reading through this board, all of the TLC everyone does for their hair seemed very extreme.
Of course, now that I am battling some of my own hair woes, I am beginning to see their place, haha.

But. Do you really think that not shampooing, not heat styling, not dying, and not wearing you hair down are responsible for the length and condition of your hair?
Do you think it is possible to keep heat styling, and shampooing, and still end up with long enviable hair?

I'm suggesting a challenge. For myself, and anyone who would like to compare in the future.

I am going to lay off of the trims. I just bought a really nice 100% boar brush. And I bought this to protect my hair from heat damage and humidity:

http://www.matrixbeautiful.com/images/products/sleek/iron_smoother.jpg

My goal is to be at BSL AND healthy looking, soft hair by May of next year. In the meantime, I am going to continue straightening my hair and washing with Aussie! And trim only every 3 months, which means, August.

We'll see how it goes!

Well, I did find that COing completely changed the texture of my hair to make it feel like "real hair" instead of greasy-yet-dry (don't even ask...I can't explain that one). It also feels far less fragile.

enfys
May 18th, 2009, 02:21 PM
Think of it this way, HAIR LIVES IN DOG YEARS. Any hair that's just two to three years old can take anything without any special treatment. You can overdo it and it's fine. By the times hair is about five or six years old, it really isn't that resilient to the daily damaging behavior. Beyond that and you really have to be nice to it for it to be healthy.

I hope you like my analogy.:D

I like your analogy! And I like dogs.

I didn't even own a hairdryer for about four years, mine broke and my mum replaced it eventually because she was worried I'd catch a death. How do you catch a death anyway?

I used to use shampoo and conditioner from Boots, but now I use herbs because I know what's in them and prefer the natural smell of them, as well as my hair being keen.

I use catnip because it's better than conditioner for me, same reasons as herbs.

I wear my hair up because I hate my hair being in my way, so it's up or a buzzcut.

I use oil because I like supersoft hair.

I take a million supplements because my hair and nails like it.

Maybe it's extreme, and maybe it's the reason I have long, enviable hair (I've been told), but I think it's less extreme than dragging a 200 degree piece of metal sandwiching my hair over my head everyday.

Hair is made of protein, right? Get three slices of bacon. One is your "control group", leave it as it is. The second, run your straighteners over a few times. The third, spray with a heat protectant then run your straighteners over it.

As you compare the results, enjoy a tasty snack of the second slice of, now cooked, bacon. This is optional, but I hope it gives an idea for what heat does.

I have lots of friends with pretty hair that they use all manner of things on that we never would, but though it's pretty now they couldn't get lengths I will. That's what they say.

Of course, the main way to have your hair grow is to cut less than what grows. :p

rogue_psyche
May 18th, 2009, 02:58 PM
All I know is that hairdressers always complimented my healthy hair and didn't want to take more than an inch off, but then I dyed it and it changed to "We should probably take 3 inches off to get rid of damage."

I've also found that let your hair be how it wants to be will always result in great looking hair. If you have a cowlick, make sure your bangs are cut to compliment said cowlick so you don't have to use styling products other than a comb or brush to make it look good. If your hair is wavy, let it be wavy. If it is straight, let it be straight. When you're in the mood for a change rag curls, braid waves, and that straightening head wrap updo thing are good ways to change your hair without heat.

Do what you want, but you probably won't be able to maintain APL hair using heat, no matter what products you use before. You will find yourself heading to the salon for trims more often then non heated hair.

As far as shampoo goes, I agree with the no-poo philosophy only in the sense that you should not use SLS shampoos regularly, and let your hair tell you when it wants to be washed. For me sometimes it is two days in a row, and sometimes it is three days apart.

LadyGunn
May 18th, 2009, 03:10 PM
<snip>Hair is made of protein, right? Get three slices of bacon. One is your "control group", leave it as it is. The second, run your straighteners over a few times. The third, spray with a heat protectant then run your straighteners over it.

As you compare the results, enjoy a tasty snack of the second slice of, now cooked, bacon. This is optional, but I hope it gives an idea for what heat does.<snip>

I'll have to try this! Not that I've ever used a straightener - I just like bacon... Yum!

Laurenji
May 18th, 2009, 03:12 PM
Well, I did find that COing completely changed the texture of my hair to make it feel like "real hair" instead of greasy-yet-dry (don't even ask...I can't explain that one).

I totally know what this feels like! I used to shampoo every day with big globs of sulfate shampoo and no conditioner. The hair near my scalp would only stay clean-looking for 12 hours or so before it started looking greasy again, but the ends were static-y and really really dry. So I'd wash it more to get the greasiness to go away, but it only made the static worse. Thank goodness I learned my lesson.

jivete
May 18th, 2009, 03:18 PM
I think it really depends on your hair, like others have said. I can't do anything to mine. I was stuck somewhere between shoulder and APL for years because I couldn't believe that I had to be that gentle with my hair when I had friends that did more to their hair then me and their's was still nicer. My hair is super fragile though.

feralnature
May 18th, 2009, 04:27 PM
My hair has never been as healthy as it is now, since I have been here, at LHC. It has a heaviness and a weight to it. It feels slick and is shiney. I will eventually cut off the ends, which are damaged from my hair's past life, but for now I am a non-trimmer. I have given up all "bad" things and my hair loves me :)

andrea1982
May 18th, 2009, 06:57 PM
First of all, good luck with your challenge! I really hope you succeed! I have quite resilient hair, and I was able to have healthy bra- strap length hair when I was a teenager, and I blow dried it evey time I washed (although on a low setting), washed it daily or every other day, slathered on the cones, and bleached it once with "sun in".

I even used curling irons or (shudders) a hair crimper a couple of times a year. My hair still looked great, and I always got compliments on it. However, if I ever washed my hair with a clarifying shampoo and didn't condition (like when I was in a hotel and used just the clear hotel shampoo on my hair) my hair felt absolutely awful like straw and full of tangles, and I couldn't get a comb through it without ripping through my hair, and if I looked closely there were tonnes of splits on the ends of my hair.

I now have APL hair, I've been taking good care (LHC style: i.e. I wash a couple times a week, use only henna, no synthetic dyes or bleach, avoid heat styling like the plague) of it for two years. It doesn't neccessarily look much healthier to the naked eye, but if I clarify with shampoo and don't use conditioner, my hair is still tangle free and shiney, and I have only one or two split ends when I S&D.

So, I know my hair is in MUCH better condition than it was before, and more able to "go the distance".

That being said, I think you can definately reach your goal (as long as you have resistant hair) if you modify your approach in one of two ways:

1.If you must flat iron, slather on the cones and only wash/dry/style your hair once or at most twice a week. Try dry shampoo in between, and use a satin pillowcase to maintain the style.

2.Avoid flat ironing and use an alternate method of straghtening, like using a bonnet style dryer and large rollers.

I think cones will help to give you some pretection, and are a must to help you on your challenge. Also, choose a shampoo with SLES instead of SLS or ALS. Pre shampoo coconut oil treatments may help alot too.

Good Luck!

SleepySin
May 18th, 2009, 08:18 PM
I just wanted to mention that I also used to wash every single day and use SLS and cone products. The lesson I learned was that your hair could look pretty healthy for a long time using those products but eventually, the damage will catch up. By a long time, I mean for several years.

Honestly though, I feel that using those products in the long term will damage your hair slowly but surely and the synthetic additives just mask the problem. Then, when you finally realize that you're hair has years of growth WITH damage, there's no turning back. The only way to rid yourself of it is to lop it all off.. Why go through all that when there are such simple means to have healthy hair?

Also, in response to an earlier issue on this thread, I'm sure the hair product companies know that much of the ingredients they use cause long term damage and really, why should they care? What they need is immediate results or they wont have customers. To have companies that are truly caring of their customers is a rarity in the modern age. No company is going to stay in business if their product takes a long time for their customers to see improvement.

rose_in_bloom
May 18th, 2009, 09:13 PM
I used to wash every day, and sometimes twice a day. And I would blow dry each time I washed, and often I would use hot rollers or a flat iron. I shudder to think of it now...

Now I don't do any kind of heat styling whatsoever, I wear protective styles, and I wash every other day or every two days if I'm not going anywhere. I try not to use sulfates more than once a week, and the rest of the week I either do CO washes or use gentle sulfate-free shampoo. I am a conehead because I have to have slip, otherwise I'm not a happy girl. :) ACV rinses eliminate most (if not all) tangles, and cold water rinses give me amazing shine.

This has all made a huge difference in my hair. It is softer, less tangled, and it is shiny and looks healthy. So yes, I'd say it makes a difference. :D

smerrie
May 18th, 2009, 09:36 PM
THANK-YOU all for, first of all, taking the time to write such informative and supportive responses! I reread what I had typed initially, and I was so afraid going off to work that I would come back to find a bunch of offended people! I was afraid I came off as rude!
So glad to find that you all didn't take it that way, and that SO many people have written back with their experiences... all of you have such lovely long hair, so I am definitely interested in learning from you guys!
I can never see myself having tail-bone length or longer hair, but I do want it to be what I consider long. I think by mixing a lot of your tips, and trying to make my choices more hair friendly (I went three days without washing my hair last week, and today, everyone raved about how nice it looked! Connected? Maybe! :) ), I can get my hair the way I want it to be.

Anyways, I've read about 2 pages of responses, but I MUST get to bed, super exhausted. But I can't wait to keep reading tomorrow, please don't think that because it is impossible for me to respond to EVERYONE that I will not read every single response and article! THANKS!

Runzel
May 18th, 2009, 09:40 PM
I know that giving ou my plastic brush with balls on the end made an imemdiate difference on my hair that was noticeable within a few days. I had used that same brush for about five years, so I didn't think I'd part with it easily, but after purshasing a cheap plastic comb filing off the seams, and useing it instead for two days I was sold. Never looked back.

I suspect that overall health plays a role as well. About 7 years ago, when I had a little longer thant BSL hair and did almost all the wrong things (brush, intermittant heat styling, shampoo nearly every day, wear it in a ponytail all the time) and rarely trimmed, I had never in my life checked for split ends, and a friend of mine became incredulous when she could not easily find any. I shrugged it off and she then became very intent on finding one. 15 minutes later she shouted truimphantly, "I've found it!" :rolleyes:

Fast forward to now, as I've been dealing with very severe chronic illness and some malnutrition for years. My first S&D was pretty much just a "Destroy" because there was not "search"ing necessary! Yet I'm taking better care of my hair now. So I think being healthy plays a huge role.

AlleyKitten
May 19th, 2009, 02:28 PM
I made a change in my routine when my hair was elbow-length, because it didn't seem to be getting any longer. Once I started being more gentle with it (SLS-free shampoo, combing instead of a brush with balls on the bristles, more conditioner, more updos) it not only was easier to manage and better-looking, but also started growing again! It's at tailbone now, and I'm pretty sure it wouldn't have ever gotten here if I had kept up my previous routine.

Calanthe
May 19th, 2009, 10:48 PM
Yes, it does make a difference. Not like, an eye-opener, but over time changes to my haircare have made a huge difference.

As a finehair you are not only fighting against damage through heat, handling and styling, you also fight against constant product-overload :D. That was a major issue back during the days of straight vanilla haircare. Switching to alternative ways to clean my hair and scalp has helped in a big way, same as quitting the hairdryer, styling brush, heated rollers, cheap brushes, the cones and combs...

That said, you will have to find your own way - there's no right or wrong, just right or wrong for you. What works fine for your friend might be a killer for your hair and scalp and vice versa.

Good luck for your "hair project"! :)

Arctic
May 20th, 2009, 05:47 AM
Oh my, I love that "normal" hair care is dubbed "vanilla" hair care :D

PhillyGirl1978@
May 20th, 2009, 06:38 AM
When I first started reading through this board, all of the TLC everyone does for their hair seemed very extreme.
Of course, now that I am battling some of my own hair woes, I am beginning to see their place, haha.

But. Do you really think that not shampooing, not heat styling, not dying, and not wearing you hair down are responsible for the length and condition of your hair?
Do you think it is possible to keep heat styling, and shampooing, and still end up with long enviable hair?

I'm suggesting a challenge. For myself, and anyone who would like to compare in the future.

I am going to lay off of the trims. I just bought a really nice 100% boar brush. And I bought this (http://www.matrixbeautiful.com/images/products/sleek/iron_smoother.jpg) to protect my hair from heat damage and humidity:

My goal is to be at BSL AND healthy looking, soft hair by May of next year. In the meantime, I am going to continue straightening my hair and washing with Aussie! And trim only every 3 months, which means, August.

We'll see how it goes!

I think so...I used to shampoo at least once a day, I blow dried it regularly, got relaxers it only grew to a little past shoulder, that's it. I never wore it curly cause it looked like crap curly. It looked like crap curly cause I didn't know how to take care of it. Now that I pretty much leave it alone, I realize that my hair actually doesn't grow slow like I thought, it grows pretty fast it's just that before when I did bad things to it it broke off or got damage I was forced to cut off. Now that it's healthy I can easily go a year without going to the hair dresser. I mostly cut it myself. Everyone in my family notices how much better my hair looks now than when I straightened. My hair is almost waist when stretched, it is well past BSL when dry and curly....I'd say this treatment definitely makes a difference.