New with a LOT to learn!

[CrisDee]

Hi to all from scenic South Jersey:D I just started surfing this board a week or so ago - i'd heard it referenced on the hennaforhair.com forum, but silly me, I thought it was for people who already had long hair, and I chopped all mine off in March of this year (if only I'd seen this board before then!).

My whole hair saga in pictorial review is here:
http://s338.photobucket.com/albums/n417/CrisDee1958/Hair/
I'd been chemically coloring my hair a gorgeous natural looking red for about 20 years, using Clairol professional color and developer purchased from my local beauty supply. Washed my hair conventionally every day, shampoo/conditioner, blow-dry and curl the ends under - that was all I knew. My hair was gorgeous - the only problem i'd had was my hair was annoyingly fine, and it was getting finer as I got older. I discovered henna in February of this year - took the henna plunge at the beginning of March. The color I got the very first day was the most spectacular I'd ever seen - but between oxidizing and heat styling, it quickly darkened to an unnatural burgundy - pretty, but I don't care for unnatural colors (colors a human couldn't be born with). In a fit of hair rage (and DH rage, but that's another story ;)) I cut it all off in a pixie and chemically dyed it brown. The brown lasted about a week, couldn't stand not being a redhead! Did another whole-head henna only application, and got a decent dark auburn. Grew the mess out and kept the pixie for a few months til all the chemical color was gone, doing whole-head henna applications as the roots grew in, and am now beginning the laborious process of growing it long again. :( I now mix henna with cassia, about 1/3 to 2/3, to try to get a less dark auburn, and do roots-only with no heat styling to avoid the burgundy. (Live and learn :rolleyes:)

I do like the condition my hair is in with the henna, the strands of hair are so much thicker. And I didn't like the color fade I got with chemical dye (always a problem with reds). But I also don't like the color changes I get with heat styling henna, and I'm having fits trying to style my short growing-out hair without heat! My job has extremely stringent appearance requirements (an entire section of the manual) which severely limit my options, both with styling and with accessories.

So here are a few of the many things I need help with :).

First and foremost, I'd love to see step by step photos of how people have grown out their pixies! Getting past the bat-wing stage is gonna drive me NUTS - and it's a short enough drive to start with! :D

Second, I'd love any and all recommendations on how people have gotten their hair to grow out faster. I've discovered a couple things in my LHC surfing (MN, biotin), but would welcome any suggestions.

I'm sure I'll have tons more questions as I go along, and I'm equally sure that most of my questions are already answered somewhere on this forum, but I'm still learning how to navigate it, and there's SO much information here my head is spinning! :headache: Thanks in advance for your help and your patience as I learn.

~CrisDee in NJ

[halo_tightens]

Hello and welcome!

Yeah, there is a ton of information to sift through, lol. I've spent countless hours on this site, and it seems like there's always something new to learn.

I haven't tried Monistat or biotin yet; I've been trying to grow by patience alone so far... There are plenty of other members who can help you, though.

Happy hair! :)

[RancheroTheBee]

Ask, and ye shall recieve.

I grew out from bald, actually.

This is the pixie I started from, from February 2008. I kept this for almost a year, maybe grew out another inch or two.

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b198/emagdalene/february-1.jpg

Here is February 2009, when I decided that I wanted to grow it out. I'd also cut out all of the black dye. I continued trimming a lot until the next July.

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b198/emagdalene/user19403_pic32167_1234987450.jpg

This is end of July, 2009, when I stopped trimming like, once a month.

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b198/emagdalene/july29.jpg

And this is now. I have trimmed once since the last picture. I know it's not much, but it's definitely not pixie anymore. So, basically, this is my progress for nine months, keeping in mind I trimmed a lot.

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b198/emagdalene/user19403_pic55508_1258405771.jpg

As for "stuff that makes your hair grow faster", bear in mind that it's a good idea to try each trick one at a time, and that also, sometimes they don't work out. If you're only genetically capable of growing half an inch a month, then that's usually all you'll get.

[CrisDee]

Thanks so much for the photos, Ranchero! Gives me hope that it won't take 100 years to grow this out again - and I won't have to look like a total dork in the process :-)

~CrisDee

[JamieLeigh]

Welcome to LHC! I really like your color, it's nice!! :flower:

[spidermom]

I couldn't see any pictures, but welcome. Have fun.

[missjessiecakes]

I'm growing from a pixie. :D

It can be done. Welcome this is a very nice place and I am sure you will enjoy it.

[CrisDee]

Thanks, everybody! It's nice to see such a supportive group - I've been on so many other types of boards that are factional, snarky and sometimes downright vicious, it's really nice to see people treating each other with respect :)