What I've learnt since joining over a year ago

[Lile]

Dear Everybody!

I just felt like i want to share all that i experienced since i joined LHC, hopefully it will be useful for some of you, especially for newbies.

So I have expermiented with basically everything. All kind of hair packs, many different shampoos, including the all natural methods.
So here's what I've come up with:

1. cones are great for damaged hair. Don't ever give up on cones unless your hair is in perfect condition. I did, and the result was more cutting, coz my ends split really a lot.

2. catnip is great if you have time for it. And if you want no volume in hair:-P

3.experimenting with too many thing at a time leads nowhere....choose something,and stick to it!!!

4. hair won't look better when washed often, even if you put different treatments before. I know now that my hair looks best when i wash 1-2 times a week and not more often, otherwise it dries out terribly.

5. trimming is really necessary!!!dunno how come that the roots know about the split ends(i thought hair is dead), but they do,and hair doesn't grow when ends are unhealthy...

6. sls / als is not thaaat bad. especially when hair is damaged. Sls clears off residue from conditioner and styling products.(and i don't use styling products...conditioner builds up too!!!)


7. not all natural is great! although my scalp liked it, soap nuts did no good for my hair. It might work for some, but keep in mind: just because it's natural, it's not necessarily good.

8. henna is great! But not for everybody!

9. I use a plastic comb, since it's better, smoother than my body shop wooden comb...sometimes plastic works better...

10. I let my hair airdry, and I don't comb it when wet...these simple things work wonders!

11. vegetable oils are great! But there's no need to buy something very exotic. They work best as a pre-wash treatment ( for me). Good old olive oil, or almond oil is just as good as anything else.(and i tried several oils!!!)



These might not be the same as your experiences, since we are all different, but one thing is sure: don't underestimate the "growing power" of benign neglect!:)


Best of luck for your growing!

[IcarusBride]

Thanks for sharing your experiences!!! I agree with most of these, except about SLS it totally turns my hair into a frizz-ball! haha

[Pandora.]

Great post. :D

However, in regards to number 5, my hair has always grown at it's normal rate no matter how damaged it was. I thought hair grew from the root, but the damaged ends just eventually break off, so basically your hair is actually still growing - or am I missing something? :S

[Hypnotica]

Great post. :D

However, in regards to number 5, my hair has always grown at it's normal rate no matter how damaged it was. I thought hair grew from the root, but the damaged ends just eventually break off, so basically your hair is actually still growing - or am I missing something? :S

No, you are correct. If the ends are breaking off, you will not see any difference in lenght but you rots are still producing new growth.

[Arniky]

hi
nice information.
may like to add a good balanced diet also helps.

[jera]

Thanks for sharing your experiences and successes. That was interesting. :) I didn't know catnip could add volume. Hmmn, time to rip open Mercutio's catnip mouse. :D I'll have to try it.

[Kathie]

Thanks for sharing your experiences and successes. That was interesting. :) I didn't know catnip could add volume. Hmmn, time to rip open Mercutio's catnip mouse. :D I'll have to try it.

Oh no, wait- before you murder an innocent catnip mouse :p... she said it to use it if you want no volume

[Gypsygirl]

Thanks for sharing all of that! I'm sure this will be a big help for newbies with your hair type! Personally I don't agree with all of it but with most of it. ;) Oh, and I have a question. Did you use cones and vegetable oils at the same time??

[Loreley]

Thanks for sharing your experience! :)
I don't agree with the SLS part, though. Maybe it's not bad for your hair (you're lucky then ;)), but it's very bad for mine. Makes it frizzy, extremely dry and demaged. I don't use SLS and SLES, and because milder shampoos can't remove cone build-up I don't use cones. My hair feels much better this way. :)

[fairystar32]

Nice post..
i also dont agree with some points but as you say its what works for you, personally i avoid all cones and chemicals for my hair as I am trying to be as natural as possible and not pollute my body with any unneccessary chemicals, seems to have worked as my hair stayed the same length for years and now in 2 yrs its gone from bra strap to almost waist and thats with having a baby too (my hair went dry and thin and broke whilst pregnant ;( )

I think its trial and error ;)

[kdaniels8811]

I agree with the trial and error of what works for you. And catnip (for me) works much better than scissors at preventing split ends and made my hair shiny and full. Check out the catnip thread if you are interested in learning more. I found the more I trimmed my hair, the more it stayed the same length. Protective styles and stopping cutting/trims grew my BSL hair to my waist in a year.

[Lile]

Thanks for sharing all of that! I'm sure this will be a big help for newbies with your hair type! Personally I don't agree with all of it but with most of it. ;) Oh, and I have a question. Did you use cones and vegetable oils at the same time??

No ,I didn't. I knew they wouldn't work together.
And thanks everybody for the input:) I know everybody has different experiences, so I might be wrong in some points, even for people with my hairtype!!!
The thing that i wanted to emphasise is that it's all trial and error,as you said...
And I certainly had some errors during the past year...as a result i had to cut back to my starting length...

My hair is getting really healthy now since I settled with a simple routine that works for me, so I would also like to add the most important thing:

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it!!!" This is very important!!!!!!!!!!
If something works, try to stick to it!!!! Hair is grateful for regularity!!!