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View Full Version : Taking care of hair before it reaches the "benign neglect" phase?



jlpearce
July 24th, 2009, 03:56 PM
My hair is really short, and as much as I read here about the ways to take care of it (don't brush, keep it up, etc) it seems impossible right now! My hair is not physically long enough to tie back, and while it's down I compulsively run my fingers through it, or brush it, or just mess with it in general.

I really want my hair to look good, but I'm afraid that I'm going to have to wait for it to reach a certain point before I can start using the hints I've gotten here! Any suggestions?

spidermom
July 24th, 2009, 04:07 PM
Enjoy your hair and don't worry so much. Unless you're ripping through tangles, you won't hurt your hair by combing/brushing/or running your fingers through it. Just avoid heat styling as much as you can. I almost destroyed my hair with curling iron and flat iron use. I had to cut back from nearly waist to APL in 2005 because the ends got so bad they were like Velcro.

Myeka
July 24th, 2009, 04:09 PM
^Yep. At that length I did a loooot of SMT's and kept motivated by admiring all the beautiful long hair photos there are at LHC. It will get there eventually!

jlpearce
July 24th, 2009, 04:11 PM
I have stopped using heat on it. Really I've found that it works best when I don't do anything to it, so that makes my morning routine easy!

Carolyn
July 24th, 2009, 04:20 PM
Do the best you can now to be gentle with your hair, not cause damage and keep it moisturized. Later on when it's longer you can do the "put it up and forget it" thing. Try to enjoy it as it grows. As I look back I can see I was so focused on growing that I didn't make an effort to enjoy all the stages.

nowxisxforever
July 24th, 2009, 04:21 PM
I agree with the above. Just enjoy your hair! Once you *can* pull it back and forget about it, do so. 'til then, it's still young! Be nice to it and it'll be ok.

Renbirde
July 24th, 2009, 05:26 PM
Can you French of Dutch braid on your self? You might be long enough to do it, especially if you do double or triple braids.

jlpearce
July 24th, 2009, 07:51 PM
I can't french braid at all, even when my hair was long. My fingers get all twisted and it ends up just a hot mess. What's a dutch braid?

AnneAdeline
July 24th, 2009, 07:57 PM
A Dutch braid is just when you pull the strands under instead of over. Basically the opposite of a French braid. It gives the appearance of a braid lying on top of your hair.

jlpearce
July 25th, 2009, 08:22 AM
Oh, I never knew what that was called? Do you really think my hair is long enough for that?

rach
July 25th, 2009, 08:32 AM
these are kinda handy if you want you hair out the way and want a bit of protection -
http://thumbs.ebaystatic.com/pict/3203919689716464_1.jpghttp://thumbs.ebaystatic.com/pict/2204455775006464_1.jpg or just use them like a headband :D

<3OnHerSleeve
October 14th, 2010, 11:37 PM
A Dutch braid is just when you pull the strands under instead of over. Basically the opposite of a French braid. It gives the appearance of a braid lying on top of your hair.

aka reverse braid. You can usually braid your hair as soon as you can pull it back into a pony, doesn't matter how long, just as long as you can pull all your hair into it. also try 2 braids rather than one because you need the hair to be long enough to be held down by the rest of the braid. :)

my2cats1
October 15th, 2010, 09:06 AM
You can also try a super-wide (9-12 inch) cloth headband to keep it off your face and out of the sun. I got one here ( http://www.coveryourhair.com/headbands/denim-wide-headband.html ) but you may also see them in stores.

Happy growing!

Alexannee10
October 15th, 2010, 09:14 AM
At this point, I think that the best you could do for your hair is to let them grow by itself .. for sure, don't use styling tools and bla bla bla (loll) and let it grow until you could tie it back and do updos.

For the moment, maybe you can just be careful not to wear syntetic scarves that could "rub" your hair and break it !

Good luck ♥

Nenyath
October 15th, 2010, 10:06 AM
I wouldn't worry too much so long as you're being generally gentle! I grew my hair out from shoulder length to about waist on the basis of gentle neglect. For a long time it went fine but after it reached mid back, I wasn't too happy with it, it was dry, tangly and seemed worn. After I found LHC about 9 months ago it has become gradually better. The most important thing I have changed I think, aside from smothering my hair in shampoo, has been to put up my hair almost always. I suspect my old chair is widely to blame for my sad ends, I sat there a lot doing homework and working with pictures and I don't think the friction between my back and the back of the chair did my hair much good.. My point is, don't worry, be gentle, put it up as best you can in windy weather and beware evil chairs!

Happy growing!