10 year hair

[Coran]

Ok. So as I mentioned in my introduction, I have been growing my hair for 10 years now this year. I started growing my hair in 2000 as I left school seeing as schools in this country does not allow boys to have long hair.

Anyway so my hair is approximately between 24 and 31 inches long (had to do a rough measuring with a ruler) and this is after 10 years. To be fair, it is my fault partly because I never cut my hair in that period, not even my ends until late last year and I wasn't aware it made a difference.

Someone I know started growing his hair 3 years ago and his hair is now already longer than mine but then his hair does grow fast. My question is: What do I need to do to get my hair to grow faster? I've got thin hair that breaks easily but I try and handle my hair as best as I can.

[cmnt831]

If you could elaborate on your hair care routine that might give us some ideas. Like how often do you wash your hair? Do you use SLS shampoos? Products with silicones? Etc. :)

[JamieLeigh]

It sounds as though you're at or close to waist, as far as length is concerned. Once it grows to and past your shoulder blades, it can rub against whatever you're sitting against and you might be getting some damage from that on your ends. Also, it makes a difference (most of us think) in the way you brush or comb it. If you think you could do without a brush, try using a wide-tooth comb and see if that cuts down on the breakage. Another option would be to wear it up to protect your length, but a lot of men don't really like to do that.

You might need to trim off some of your ends if you feel they're damaged and this is why you're losing length - damaged ends will continue to break off until you've shed out those particular hairs, and until you've changed your routine to a nicer, hair-friendly one. If you don't want to trim, maybe starting a good routine now would help your ends feel softer and possibly not break off so much.

It's really hard to diagnose anything with very little information to go on. Welcome to LHC, and please post anything you can that you think would be useful. :)

[Coran]

I wash my hair every 4 - 5 days and I use this shampoo and conditioner: http://www.tresemme.com/anti-breakage/products/vitamin-b12-shampoo.aspx
http://www.tresemme.com/anti-breakage/products/vitamin-b12-conditioner.aspx

That's about it. I wear my hair loose most of the time but tie it up if it's too hot. I sleep with my hair loose. I usually comb my hair out when still wet but I have recently found it's easier to comb out once it's dry so I wait for my hair to dry naturally first before I comb my hair out. That's about all I can think of.

[neon-dream]

Welcome, Coran :)!
Some people take vitamins in order to help their hair grow faster, such as Biotin. This might make a difference to your growth too.

[kdaniels8811]

Here is what worked to get my fine, easily damaged hair to GROW finally.

Keeping it up in protective styles all week, wearing it down weekends only.
Coconut oil on the length - a couple drops every day
Catnip tea soaks really cut down on splits and breakage.
Healthy food, regular exercise, vitamins
Giving up shampoo entirely and using indian herbs to wash instead.
Benign neglect


Monitoring this forum for ideas but mostly patience. My hair broke continually until I changed my routines and then grew 8 inches since December. I know, a guy probably does not want to wear his hair up, but that really is the best way to protect it. Good luck and let us know how you do!

[Manna84]

Like a pp said you could wear it up to prevent breakage, but most of my long hair guy friends just braid their hair back, and that could help.

[ericthegreat]

Ok. So as I mentioned in my introduction, I have been growing my hair for 10 years now this year. I started growing my hair in 2000 as I left school seeing as schools in this country does not allow boys to have long hair.

Anyway so my hair is approximately between 24 and 31 inches long (had to do a rough measuring with a ruler) and this is after 10 years. To be fair, it is my fault partly because I never cut my hair in that period, not even my ends until late last year and I wasn't aware it made a difference.

Someone I know started growing his hair 3 years ago and his hair is now already longer than mine but then his hair does grow fast. My question is: What do I need to do to get my hair to grow faster? I've got thin hair that breaks easily but I try and handle my hair as best as I can.

Hi Coran. To really give you an accurate answer, you need to give us much more information as to how you care for your hair.

First off, you need to get a tape measure so that you can accurately measure what your true length of hair is. Between "24 inches to 31 inches" is too huge a difference. And you also have to measure the correct way.......the right way to do this is to start measuring from the beginning of your hairline in the front, and then pull that tape down to the very ends of your hair.

Next, you say that you have never trimmed your hair at all in these ten years. I'm sorry to say this so please don't take offense, but the accumulated damage to your ends has to be very bad. When your hair splits at the ends, it is literally splitting apart. The more it splits apart, the more they will break off from the rest of your hair strand. You will never gain any extra length because your hair is literally breaking at the ends. This is why you still need to trim your ends every few months, this is to prevent future damage.

Do not look at other people's hair and compare their growth rate to your own. Different people have different genes. Some people simply grow their hair much faster than other people. But it doesn't mean that simply because your hair grows slower, that you can't eventually grow longer hair. It will take a you a longer time however.

If you are not doing so already, make sure to use a good moisturizing conditioner every time you wash your hair.

There are so many other tips here that you could try, go to the Articles section if you want more detailed haircare. I do wish you the best in your quest for growing longer hair. :)

[cmnt831]

I wash my hair every 4 - 5 days and I use this shampoo and conditioner: http://www.tresemme.com/anti-breakage/products/vitamin-b12-shampoo.aspx
http://www.tresemme.com/anti-breakage/products/vitamin-b12-conditioner.aspx

That's about it. I wear my hair loose most of the time but tie it up if it's too hot. I sleep with my hair loose. I usually comb my hair out when still wet but I have recently found it's easier to comb out once it's dry so I wait for my hair to dry naturally first before I comb my hair out. That's about all I can think of.

Maybe you could try putting your hair up more, especially when you sleep. And maybe comb your hair out while it has conditioner in it, so that it doesn't pull and stretch the hair too much. And when you comb it out dry, be careful not to yank on it, but just be really gentle with it. Also, don't rub your hair with a towel to dry it, that also puts friction on the hair that could lead to damage. Those are just basic things that anyone can do.

Oh, do you put in any kind of leave-in product at all? Maybe your hair needs something to hold in the moisture after it dries?

[tralalalara]

http://vitamin.lifetips.com/cat/65874/healthy-hair-nails/index.html
the above link lists vitamins that are naturally in foods that are good for healthy hair and nail growth.

A lots of them are in milk, eggs, fish and other meats, which is why a lot of my vegetarian friends don't have long hair.

Make sure you've been eating right for the past ten years, and the years to come.

[MsBubbles]

http://vitamin.lifetips.com/cat/65874/healthy-hair-nails/index.html
the above link lists vitamins that are naturally in foods that are good for healthy hair and nail growth.
A lots of them are in milk, eggs, fish and other meats, which is why a lot of my vegetarian friends don't have long hair.


Useful article! However, I never knew so many vegetarians as my long-haired friends. There are a lot of vegetarians on this board, too. I don't agree that vegetarianism is the reason for your friends' short-hairedness :).

OK ETA: Seriously, and sorry for the thread-hijack, but do your friends try to grow their hair but it breaks, or just doesn't grow, Tralalalara? What are your observations? It's interesting. I'm not trying to pick a fight, but genuinely intrigued.. It'd be interesting to see a study on this.

To the OP...the first things that helped me were the right oil for my hair type (it's trial and error), and satin pillowcases, and keeping my hair contained in some way. Maybe some of those ponytail protector things that bikers wear might help? Generally, spending time reading up here will give you ideas to give your hair the best shot it has. I see we have similar hair types!

[Fractalsofhair]

Vegetarians with a proper diet will grow long hair. All that's needed for long hair is a reasonably healthy diet. In reality, in the past when most people had long hair, they ate a lot less meat than we do now because of the cost.(Of course, their hair might not have been the best. One of my great great great grandfathers couldn't get his hair past his shoulders after his wife took to curling it with a curling iron she heated over the fire...) I had thigh length hair eating very little meat as a child, and my brother had knee length hair that he treated very poorly as a vegetarian(well, mostly one, I'm not sure if he ate fish or not.). He wore it down all the time as well. But then he started to go bald and well, let's just say it looked odd. All you need to eat is a reasonably healthy diet. Supplements are likely not needed for most people.

Anyways, OP, I'd suggest looking at your hair to see if it's damaged at the ends. Do you see a lot of split ends, or virtually none? I'd also suggest wearing it braided, which will protect it a lot, or if you want your hair to be more protected, a bun. I'd also suggest looking into oiling, and being extremely gentle while brushing. Are you using a wide toothed comb or a fine toothed one? A wide toothed one can work quite well! Are you using a lot of conditioner? That can help prevent damage. I would also suggest considering a small trim, 1 inch or so just to make sure. I'm going to guess your hair is waist length or so, which is long! :)

Does the hair at the bottom turn into a "V" shape, or is all of your hair roughly the same length? Some people can't grow their hair very long, but if it's all blunt at the bottom, it's bound to just be damage or slow growing hair. If it's the former, it could be because you didn't get any hair cuts, or it could be that you're hitting something called terminal length, which means your hair won't get any longer than that. However, damage is the most common cause of hair not appearing to grow!

[Rhiannon7]

Happy to see another guy growing his hair. have you ever had long hair before? not sure if it is true but i heard that if you have never grown out your hair past collar then it might be a bit difficult to grow it at first.

A guy can wear a braid all the time, my ex hubby had hair down to his tailbone and always wore a braid, specially to sleep. vitamins help too, eating right, but in my experience if you have worn it down all the time it might be breakage or damage. plus have you clarified yet? tres emme is filled with cones and that could be one thing that is hindering the growth. i mix and match shampoo and condish, even use leave ins and have started to change the routine alot.

I have baby fine hair that tangles if you look at it and breaks with a sigh. changed shampoo until i found suave vanilla floral, works great. I alternate between 4 conditioners, suave vanilla floral for CO, Tres Emme damage repair, Herbal essences both long term relationship and hello hydration and Pantene deep moisture treatment for when i use shampoo. it works well, less damage and less tangles.

Maybe CO is what your hair needs? or if you want to use shampoo try CWC, or alternate, but the first thing you must do is clarify with a good clarifying shampoo. also try SMT (snowymoons moisture treatment in the recipes section.) saved my hair from a very short hair cut. then try either suave, alberto V05 or any other no cone conditioner for CO. check recipes on this forum and experiment, it is the best way to find what your hair needs.


Wishing you the best of luck in finding the best routine for your hair and congrats on growing it long. keep visiting and enjoy your visits here.

[Rivanariko]

I feel your pain! I had the same problem before I found LHC. I'd been "growing" my hair for years (or rather, just not cutting it) and was getting very frustrated that it never wanted to get longer than 27" (though I didn't measure it back then). The first thing I changed when I joined LHC is I started wearing it in a braid to sleep and the first month I got almost an inch and a half of growth! I couldn't believe it! The thing is, us fine-ys are so prone to damage, that we have to be extra careful of our hair all of the time. Tangles = breakage for me, no matter how gentle I am when I detangle.

If you haven't trimmed in 10 years, chances are you've got some substantial damage. I'd recommend starting out with a fairly significant chop (a couple inches, probably) to get rid of the worst of the damage. There are people that can get away with never trimming, and their hair still looks amazing, but I'd be willing to guess that most of them have hair that's significantly thicker and/or coarser than ours. I haven't looked much at the "no-trimming" threads though, because they make me sad. Even though I only take off about 1/4" every couple months, it's growth that I'm losing and I mourn it.

So, my main recommendations:
Braid at night to prevent tangling.
Finger-comb to detangle before brushing, or use a wide-toothed comb very carefully. Even the comb is no good for me. I don't use anything but my fingers.
If you don't want to wear a braid out in public (some guys don't think they're very manly, I guess) some people have had good luck with the "caterpiller" pony tail, where you put elastics in several places down the length. It keeps it a little more contained and prevents more tangles than a normal pony tail would.

You also have to find out what works for YOUR hair. My hair LOVES cones. Every time I've tried to go off of them, it has reacted very violently and started falling out in chunks. I've given up and will continue to supply my hair with cones from now on. I have also, however, recently discovered the wonders of catnip tea, and it may just be my new best friend. A lot of it's trial and error, but you have to figure out what your hair wants and needs.

Welcome to LHC! :flower:

[SpeakingEZ]

Sorry to continue the previous thread-jack, but I'm *almost* vegan/ strict vegetarian (eat fish once a month) and, if anything, the amount of care I had to put into monitoring my diet led to a much healthier me! This is including my hair, even before I started eating fish again. If anything, I went back to eating fish around the same time my hair started going downhill. But... end threadjack.

I think no one has mentioned this because you said you don't do it *anymore*, but make sure you don't go back to combing your hair when it's wet. I noticed significantly less damage when I stopped this. Also, take a look at the comb itself: does it have a seam running along the inside?

And good luck, I wish more guys would grow out their hair! So sexy.

[angelthadiva]

I don't know how much a healthy diet can be attributed to healthy hair. I don't take vitamins, I don't eat fruits. I'm more of a veggie kinda girl. I do eat lean meats, rarely eat red meat (last 4 years). I eat tons of fish and chicken, grains etc...I'm pretty good with my water intake :shrug: Perhaps it is genetics and/or diet? I don't know, but I would not say that my diet is healthy, but my hair is in pretty good shape...It's high in protein and good fats though ;)

[Coran]

It sounds as though you're at or close to waist, as far as length is concerned. Once it grows to and past your shoulder blades, it can rub against whatever you're sitting against and you might be getting some damage from that on your ends. Also, it makes a difference (most of us think) in the way you brush or comb it. If you think you could do without a brush, try using a wide-tooth comb and see if that cuts down on the breakage. Another option would be to wear it up to protect your length, but a lot of men don't really like to do that.

You might need to trim off some of your ends if you feel they're damaged and this is why you're losing length - damaged ends will continue to break off until you've shed out those particular hairs, and until you've changed your routine to a nicer, hair-friendly one. If you don't want to trim, maybe starting a good routine now would help your ends feel softer and possibly not break off so much.

It's really hard to diagnose anything with very little information to go on. Welcome to LHC, and please post anything you can that you think would be useful. :)

Thank you JamieLeigh :) I'll try and figure out a way to keep it more protected. I do prefer it loose overall but it is summer here so I should be fine :p

I'll definitely contribute where I can but I fear I am still a baby when it comes to hair care :p

[Coran]

Welcome, Coran :)!
Some people take vitamins in order to help their hair grow faster, such as Biotin. This might make a difference to your growth too.

Thank you for the welcome neon-dream :)

I do actually take biotin supplements but it doesn't seem to do much really, I also used to eat 2 eggs a day and eggs contain biotin naturally apparently but that didn't help either. My hair only now seems to be returning to the length I had before I had my trim about 4 months ago.

[HKay]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but our head of hair is completely changed every 6 or 7 years, so there isn't really 10-year-old hair. It depends on how long your hair cycle is (particularly the "anagen" phase - see Hair cycle (http://journals.cambridge.org/fulltext_content/ERM/ERM4_22/S1462399402005112sup004.htm)).

The question is what affects the length of the cycle, genetics or environment (probably both).

[Natalia]

Welcome to the board :grouphug: ! Everyone here seems to have goven you alot to think on but i wanted to point out that there is a new best tips/tricks thread going on right now you might want to check out :). Hope that helps a bit!

[FrannyG]

Welcome to LHC, Coran. I suspect that your lack of apparent growth is more to do with breakage than slow growth.

As you said yourself, you've been doing nothing to protect your hair from damage and you've been doing some negative things, like combing your hair when wet. Especially for those of us with fine hair, protection and gentle treatment is particularly important.

People with medium and coarse hair can often get away without trims, but I have found that very small, but regular trims are a must for my fine hair.

I just told this story on another thread, so I feel as though I'm repeating myself, however it fits the situation.

When I joined LHC, my daughter was 17 and her hair was about 28 inches long. Her hair is 1a/f/i, like you. She had not had it trimmed since she began growing it from a fairly short length. A full year later, when she was 18, without any trimming, her hair was still about 28 inches long. It did not seem that she had reached terminal length, but it did seem as though her hair was not growing. However, by looking at her scalp and seeing the shade difference from summer/winter growth, it was clear that her hair had grown at a normal rate.

The ends were just breaking off as fast as her hair was growing. Since that time, she's cut the damaged part of her hair out, and her hair quickly grew beyond that 28 inches.

So, I suggest to you that you perhaps get a small trim--perhaps an inch or maybe two, and then start giving your hair the good treatment it deserves.

Protect your hair when possible with a braid. Sleep with a braid if you can. Keep avoiding combing your fragile hair when wet. Don't over brush your hair. Detangle with your fingers, when your hair is dry, then gently use a wide toothed comb. There are of course many other suggestions you'll receive or discover here at LHC

I'm sure you'll begin to see a difference quite quickly.

Good luck to you! :)

[Coran]

Here is what worked to get my fine, easily damaged hair to GROW finally.

Keeping it up in protective styles all week, wearing it down weekends only.
Coconut oil on the length - a couple drops every day
Catnip tea soaks really cut down on splits and breakage.
Healthy food, regular exercise, vitamins
Giving up shampoo entirely and using indian herbs to wash instead.
Benign neglect


Monitoring this forum for ideas but mostly patience. My hair broke continually until I changed my routines and then grew 8 inches since December. I know, a guy probably does not want to wear his hair up, but that really is the best way to protect it. Good luck and let us know how you do!

Thank you kdaniels8811. I'll try and see if I can get anything you suggested. I don't know where to get any of those things but I'll look around and hopefully find it if it's not expensive. Will follow your advice if I find anything..

[Coran]

Like a pp said you could wear it up to prevent breakage, but most of my long hair guy friends just braid their hair back, and that could help.

Braiding is difficult seeing as I have no idea how to do it myself unfortunately. I have tried but with no success.

[Coran]

Hi Coran. To really give you an accurate answer, you need to give us much more information as to how you care for your hair.

First off, you need to get a tape measure so that you can accurately measure what your true length of hair is. Between "24 inches to 31 inches" is too huge a difference. And you also have to measure the correct way.......the right way to do this is to start measuring from the beginning of your hairline in the front, and then pull that tape down to the very ends of your hair.

I'll do so when I have measuring tape unfortunately all I had to my disposal was a ruler. I think 24" might be more accurate since that is the length of my "fringe" according to the ruler I used.


Next, you say that you have never trimmed your hair at all in these ten years. I'm sorry to say this so please don't take offense, but the accumulated damage to your ends has to be very bad. When your hair splits at the ends, it is literally splitting apart. The more it splits apart, the more they will break off from the rest of your hair strand. You will never gain any extra length because your hair is literally breaking at the ends. This is why you still need to trim your ends every few months, this is to prevent future damage.

I was slightly incorrect. I remember I did get my hair trimmed about 2 years after I started growing my hair but since then I only got my hair cut about 4 months ago. I need to get a trim again soon but I have to wait until I have the money for it.


Do not look at other people's hair and compare their growth rate to your own. Different people have different genes. Some people simply grow their hair much faster than other people. But it doesn't mean that simply because your hair grows slower, that you can't eventually grow longer hair. It will take a you a longer time however.

I don't really compare my hair to other people, I can't help how fast my hair grows really. I don't want to wait another ten years and my hair isn't even near the length I want it to be. I want my hair to grow as fast as possible.


If you are not doing so already, make sure to use a good moisturizing conditioner every time you wash your hair.

There are so many other tips here that you could try, go to the Articles section if you want more detailed haircare. I do wish you the best in your quest for growing longer hair. :)

Thank you ericthegreat. Your advice is greatly appreciated as is everyone elses :)

[MsBubbles]

If you don't want to wear a braid out in public (some guys don't think they're very manly, I guess) some people have had good luck with the "caterpiller" pony tail, where you put elastics in several places down the length. It keeps it a little more contained and prevents more tangles than a normal pony tail would.

You also have to find out what works for YOUR hair. My hair LOVES cones. Every time I've tried to go off of them, it has reacted very violently and started falling out in chunks. I've given up and will continue to supply my hair with cones from now on. I have also, however, recently discovered the wonders of catnip tea, and it may just be my new best friend.

Three very good points I'd like to second! The caterpillar ponytail is a great idea, and for my fragile hair I have to use the softest, floppiest ponytail holders I can find. Even the supposed 'ouchless' ones destroy my hair. Just because it's an elastic covered in cloth without a metal bit, doesn't mean it won't kill my hair. The best ones for me are the wide Conair ones that look like they're made out of sweatshirt material. They're loose but when you've got them on they stay put.

I also recommend the catnip soaks. See 'Catnip for Split Ends' in the Recipes, Henna and Herbal Haircare section.

And it's worth seeing at some point whether your hair loves silicone conditioners or hates them. My hair has to have them otherwise it breaks due to tangles.


Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but our head of hair is completely changed every 6 or 7 years, so there isn't really 10-year-old hair. It depends on how long your hair cycle is (particularly the "anagen" phase - see Hair cycle (http://journals.cambridge.org/fulltext_content/ERM/ERM4_22/S1462399402005112sup004.htm)).
.

True but the damaging habits have been happening more recently than 10 years ago.

[Coran]

Maybe you could try putting your hair up more, especially when you sleep.

How would you suggest?


And maybe comb your hair out while it has conditioner in it, so that it doesn't pull and stretch the hair too much.

Well my hair dresser suggested I mix conditioner with water in a spray bottle and spray that on my hair as I'm combing it out but that didn't work too well and my hair ended taking longer to dry.


And when you comb it out dry, be careful not to yank on it, but just be really gentle with it. Also, don't rub your hair with a towel to dry it, that also puts friction on the hair that could lead to damage. Those are just basic things that anyone can do.

You do make sense but then I have to figure out how to dry my hair without rubbing it. I should probably not wrap my hair in a towel after I showered either right?


Oh, do you put in any kind of leave-in product at all? Maybe your hair needs something to hold in the moisture after it dries?

No I don't. What is a leave-in product? I don't know these things :p

[Coran]

http://vitamin.lifetips.com/cat/65874/healthy-hair-nails/index.html
the above link lists vitamins that are naturally in foods that are good for healthy hair and nail growth.

A lots of them are in milk, eggs, fish and other meats, which is why a lot of my vegetarian friends don't have long hair.

Make sure you've been eating right for the past ten years, and the years to come.

Will check it out. Thank you :D

[Coran]

To the OP...the first things that helped me were the right oil for my hair type (it's trial and error), and satin pillowcases, and keeping my hair contained in some way. Maybe some of those ponytail protector things that bikers wear might help? Generally, spending time reading up here will give you ideas to give your hair the best shot it has. I see we have similar hair types!

Oil? I won't be able buy a satin pillow case anytime soon but I'll keep it in mind for when I have money one day :)

I've been wanting to get someone to make one like that for me since it's not available in shops here. Still don't know how though but I'll see.

*high five for similar hair types*

[Coran]

Anyways, OP, I'd suggest looking at your hair to see if it's damaged at the ends. Do you see a lot of split ends, or virtually none? I'd also suggest wearing it braided, which will protect it a lot, or if you want your hair to be more protected, a bun. I'd also suggest looking into oiling, and being extremely gentle while brushing. Are you using a wide toothed comb or a fine toothed one? A wide toothed one can work quite well! Are you using a lot of conditioner? That can help prevent damage. I would also suggest considering a small trim, 1 inch or so just to make sure. I'm going to guess your hair is waist length or so, which is long! :)

I see some split ends now but not many. I used to have a lot before my last trim. As I mentioned before, I don't know how to braid my own hair unfortunately. Also know idea what oiling is. I use a brush and not a very good brush. I read on the internet that there is a specific type of brush that works very well but I can't remember the name, I'll have to look for it. I definitely need to go for a trim again soon. Yes my hair is waist length.


Does the hair at the bottom turn into a "V" shape, or is all of your hair roughly the same length? Some people can't grow their hair very long, but if it's all blunt at the bottom, it's bound to just be damage or slow growing hair. If it's the former, it could be because you didn't get any hair cuts, or it could be that you're hitting something called terminal length, which means your hair won't get any longer than that. However, damage is the most common cause of hair not appearing to grow!

My hair is V shaped because I never cut it so it grew out naturally. I quite like it like this though :D The damage might have kept my hair from growing because it didn't grow a lot in the last few years. Hopefully it'll start growing more now.

[Coran]

Happy to see another guy growing his hair. have you ever had long hair before? not sure if it is true but i heard that if you have never grown out your hair past collar then it might be a bit difficult to grow it at first.

No I haven't. In school we weren't allowed to have long hair so I started growing my hair when I left school.


A guy can wear a braid all the time, my ex hubby had hair down to his tailbone and always wore a braid, specially to sleep. vitamins help too, eating right, but in my experience if you have worn it down all the time it might be breakage or damage. plus have you clarified yet? tres emme is filled with cones and that could be one thing that is hindering the growth. i mix and match shampoo and condish, even use leave ins and have started to change the routine alot.

I would do a braid more often but I don't know how to make one unfortunately. I wouldn't know what tresemme has unfortunately but I do know it's what works best for my hair so far out of everything I tried over the years. It makes my hair easier to comb out and still leaves my hair nice and fluffy :p Leave-ins?


I have baby fine hair that tangles if you look at it and breaks with a sigh. LOL! So true for mine as well.


changed shampoo until i found suave vanilla floral, works great. I alternate between 4 conditioners, suave vanilla floral for CO, Tres Emme damage repair, Herbal essences both long term relationship and hello hydration and Pantene deep moisture treatment for when i use shampoo. it works well, less damage and less tangles.

I'll look into those products and see if they sell any of them here. I know we have Pantene.


Maybe CO is what your hair needs? or if you want to use shampoo try CWC, or alternate, but the first thing you must do is clarify with a good clarifying shampoo. also try SMT (snowymoons moisture treatment in the recipes section.) saved my hair from a very short hair cut. then try either suave, alberto V05 or any other no cone conditioner for CO. check recipes on this forum and experiment, it is the best way to find what your hair needs.

Thank you. I'll see what is available here and experiment.


Wishing you the best of luck in finding the best routine for your hair and congrats on growing it long. keep visiting and enjoy your visits here.

Thank you :) I will be a regular visitor from now on. One can never get too much good hair advice!

[cmnt831]

How would you suggest?

Easiest would probably be to braid it.

Well my hair dresser suggested I mix conditioner with water in a spray bottle and spray that on my hair as I'm combing it out but that didn't work too well and my hair ended taking longer to dry.

De-tangle it when you're conditioning it in the shower. Then rinse the conditioner out. Your hair should still be relatively de-tangled at that point.

You do make sense but then I have to figure out how to dry my hair without rubbing it. I should probably not wrap my hair in a towel after I showered either right?

I've been wrapping mine in a cotton t-shirt to dry. You could also use a pillow case or something similar. If you still want to use the towel, just pat your hair dry, don't rub back and forth.


No I don't. What is a leave-in product? I don't know these things :p

I use a mixture of shea butter and olive oil. After I wash my hair and pat it with the towel to get the excess water off, I put the shea/olive oil mix in my hair and just leave it until next time I wash. My husband does the same thing and it really helped the condition of his hair. It was very dried out before and now it's super soft and looks like it might be trying to grow some more :D.

Sorry for the weird way this post came out. Your questions are in bold, my answers are obviously not. :p

[Coran]

I feel your pain! I had the same problem before I found LHC. I'd been "growing" my hair for years (or rather, just not cutting it) and was getting very frustrated that it never wanted to get longer than 27" (though I didn't measure it back then). The first thing I changed when I joined LHC is I started wearing it in a braid to sleep and the first month I got almost an inch and a half of growth! I couldn't believe it! The thing is, us fine-ys are so prone to damage, that we have to be extra careful of our hair all of the time. Tangles = breakage for me, no matter how gentle I am when I detangle.

Very interesting. I'll ask my sister to braid my hair in the evenings before I go to sleep maybe.


If you haven't trimmed in 10 years, chances are you've got some substantial damage. I'd recommend starting out with a fairly significant chop (a couple inches, probably) to get rid of the worst of the damage. There are people that can get away with never trimming, and their hair still looks amazing, but I'd be willing to guess that most of them have hair that's significantly thicker and/or coarser than ours. I haven't looked much at the "no-trimming" threads though, because they make me sad. Even though I only take off about 1/4" every couple months, it's growth that I'm losing and I mourn it.

I trimmed it a couple of months ago and my hair wasn't too damaged luckily so I didn't need to lose too much. The growth loss is exactly why I didn't get my hair trimmed in my earlier years. My hairdresser cut off what I thought was too much and I got scared and never went to anyone else again.


So, my main recommendations:
Braid at night to prevent tangling.
Finger-comb to detangle before brushing, or use a wide-toothed comb very carefully. Even the comb is no good for me. I don't use anything but my fingers.
If you don't want to wear a braid out in public (some guys don't think they're very manly, I guess) some people have had good luck with the "caterpiller" pony tail, where you put elastics in several places down the length. It keeps it a little more contained and prevents more tangles than a normal pony tail would.

*nods* Will try to do my best with all those suggestions.


You also have to find out what works for YOUR hair. My hair LOVES cones. Every time I've tried to go off of them, it has reacted very violently and started falling out in chunks. I've given up and will continue to supply my hair with cones from now on. I have also, however, recently discovered the wonders of catnip tea, and it may just be my new best friend. A lot of it's trial and error, but you have to figure out what your hair wants and needs.

Welcome to LHC! :flower:

Oh dear. Seems my hair care knowledge will only be starting now. I have no idea what will work or not lol

Thank you though!

[Coran]

I think no one has mentioned this because you said you don't do it *anymore*, but make sure you don't go back to combing your hair when it's wet. I noticed significantly less damage when I stopped this. Also, take a look at the comb itself: does it have a seam running along the inside?

Thanks. I'll make sure I don't comb it out when it is wet.


And good luck, I wish more guys would grow out their hair! So sexy.

Nah. If more guys grew their hair I wouldn't stand out lol.

[Coran]

Welcome to the board :grouphug: ! Everyone here seems to have goven you alot to think on but i wanted to point out that there is a new best tips/tricks thread going on right now you might want to check out :). Hope that helps a bit!

Thank you :D Every bit helps :)

[Coran]

Welcome to LHC, Coran. I suspect that your lack of apparent growth is more to do with breakage than slow growth.

As you said yourself, you've been doing nothing to protect your hair from damage and you've been doing some negative things, like combing your hair when wet. Especially for those of us with fine hair, protection and gentle treatment is particularly important.

People with medium and coarse hair can often get away without trims, but I have found that very small, but regular trims are a must for my fine hair.

I just told this story on another thread, so I feel as though I'm repeating myself, however it fits the situation.

When I joined LHC, my daughter was 17 and her hair was about 28 inches long. Her hair is 1a/f/i, like you. She had not had it trimmed since she began growing it from a fairly short length. A full year later, when she was 18, without any trimming, her hair was still about 28 inches long. It did not seem that she had reached terminal length, but it did seem as though her hair was not growing. However, by looking at her scalp and seeing the shade difference from summer/winter growth, it was clear that her hair had grown at a normal rate.

The ends were just breaking off as fast as her hair was growing. Since that time, she's cut the damaged part of her hair out, and her hair quickly grew beyond that 28 inches.

So, I suggest to you that you perhaps get a small trim--perhaps an inch or maybe two, and then start giving your hair the good treatment it deserves.

Protect your hair when possible with a braid. Sleep with a braid if you can. Keep avoiding combing your fragile hair when wet. Don't over brush your hair. Detangle with your fingers, when your hair is dry, then gently use a wide toothed comb. There are of course many other suggestions you'll receive or discover here at LHC

I'm sure you'll begin to see a difference quite quickly.

Good luck to you! :)

Thank you :) I will try everything you suggested!

[Fractalsofhair]

AngelTheDiva-A healthy diet basically means making sure you're getting enough calories and basic nuirition. It need not be perfect! By eating veggies and grains and lean meats, and making sure you're eating enough(mostly a danger for anorexics and people with eating disorders, or a poor diet due to poverty.), you'll be fine! Basically, if you're in generally good health, your hair will grow. If your body is having trouble surviving, hair is one of the first things to go.

Conan-Oiling is when you take a little bit of oil(like olive oil or coconut oil), and put that drop in your hand, and rub it on your hair like you would a "shine serum", which is commonly used to prevent frizz during flat ironing. Just don't flat iron your hair after!

Also, the brushes that a lot of people suggest are Denmen's brushes(like combs but with rows) or boar bristle brushes. Mason Person is a good and well known brand,(VERY EXPENSIVE!!! But nice!) but you can pick one up at most drug stores for a low price. Just make sure all the bristles feel like hair basically, coarse and tough, but still "hair" as opposed to clear stalks of plastic.

I think your hair might not be growing if you're getting it cut often with a few inches each time. That is probably why it is growing slowly! Baby your hair and only when it desperately needs split ends, should you get a small trim.

[Coran]

My apologies for not replying to all the posts in my thread and my apologies for not posting in a while. It's been busy the last few weeks.

I have not been able to go look for some of the things that everyone mentioned in here but I have been sleeping with my hair in a braid every night and I can see how that is better for your hair. My hair is much easier to brush out every day after I take my braid out and that alone is helping a lot for my hair already.

I'll eventually get to looking for some of the things everyone mentioned here but as far as professional hair care is concerned the products available in our country are limited. There might be specialist shops that hold some of the things mentioned but they would be expensive then.