What hair advice would you give your 16 year old self?

[LouLaLa]

Ok i thought it might be fun to see what everyone would have told themselves about their hair at 16, if they knew what you know about it now.

Id tell myself to run away from the dye and never touch it and to not cut my hair (my hairdresser used to make me swear not to cut it)- of course I wouldnt have listened ;)

Maybe we can pick up some fun tips/suggestions/anecdotes along the way!

[Capybara]

To join LHC! :p

[ravenreed]

To do what I did. Cut, dye, bleach, shave, do funky things to it and enjoy the heck out of it 100%. I don't think that long hair is the only pretty hair out there.

[pepperminttea]

I think I would stress that perms and dyes really aren't all they're cracked up to be. But at the same time I'm glad I got it out of my system in my teens when experimenting with how you look is kind of expected, really, and all the damage from that has since grown out and been cut off (at last). If I tried to do it now, I think I'd be having even more trouble job-hunting than I am already. It's relatively easy to make long, natural coloured hair look "professional" in an updo, but I think I would've struggled with my faded-to-red/pink, thoroughly frazzled hair.

[xovictoryxo]

stop chopping dying your hair, and dont wear tight ponytails when its wet!

[Fern]

I would tell myself that I am better off without a flat iron and blow dryer, and I would have never allowed myself to dye my hair.

[Sarahmoon]

"Just let it grow, it's not boring. But get rid of that AWFUL brush!"

[*Aoife*]

Join LHC a couple of months before I did. I was 16 when I joined up, so not too much I'd like to say

[LouLaLa]

"Just let it grow, it's not boring. But get rid of that AWFUL brush!"

I had an awful brush too! But it was really funky so I refused to part with it!

On a side note I see you are from the Netherlands, seeing this makes me want to run to hema and stock up on some of their brushes- for some reason my hair loves them :s im always making my boyfriend buy me them when he comes to visit poor soul!

[Oksana]

1. Do not buy those straightners
2. Do not dye your hair dark brown you silly girl :p

[Sammich]

I'm 16 and I have no advice to give! :p

[Othala]

Stop colouring it , blow-drying it and cutting it to please others. You don't have to fit in.

[LouLaLa]

"Just let it grow, it's not boring. But get rid of that AWFUL brush!"


I'm 16 and I have no advice to give! :p


Hehe at least youre wise enough to take on board the lessons now! Sorry I had to put an age in the title!

On the plus side you have an awesome resource base for the rest of your life and will be able to avoid some of the pitfalls.
:meditate:

[ifyouforget]

Well I was with TLHS since I was 13ish...so I took pretty good care of my hair. I would have told myself to stick with COing and give up on having straight hair. Oh dear lord the poofy hair of highschool. *shudder*

And at 18 I would have told myself that impulse grief-based chops are a *bad* idea.
Also that if you don't speak the same language as your hairdresser, you should probably not let her do said big chop.

[ArienEllariel]

If I could speak to my 16 year old self, I would have quite a few things to say. Firstly, get rid of that brush! Second, use more conditioner and less shampoo. No, you don't need shampoo for oily hair; you're hair is too fragile to withstand using it. Third, trim your hair more frequently. Perhapse my hair would have been in better shape if I had known about the LHC as well at that time.

[In2wishin]

I would tell myself to not freak out when the grays start coming and fall into the coloring trap.

[Ami514]

I would have said, don't perm! I think it changed the texture of my hair permanently. :rolleyes:

Oh, and not to date that guy...he had a thing for longhairs and turned out to be a painful breakup. :poot:

[Pumpkin]

As a teenager in the 1980's, big hair was the rage, as many of you remember! Oh dear, if I had only NOT lived by the blowdryer and hot rollers. And of course mousse and hairspray!! Just say no!!! :rolleyes:

[Nae]

:patrol: Don't touch bleach or get a perm or I am coming after you!! And you know I will!!!!!!

[Copasetic]

Stop dying and flat-ironing like crazy. Your hair is brown and curly. Accept it.

[triumphator!]

Oh god. I needed so much advice.

Hair:
1. Don't cut, just 'cause everyone on MTV had short choppy mid-neck length hair. You did look cute, though.
2. Stop straightening! The waves are goooood.



TMI advice I desperately needed at 16, which I wish I could go back in time to give myself, along with a big slap across the face:
1. Don't get naked with him in your house over spring break. Your mom is coming home for lunch! Aaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!! shudder::doh:

[Euphony]

Don't spend 45 minutes blow drying your hair straight, just to turn around and take the next hour to curl it :rolleyes: Let it dry naturally, do NOT run that brush through it wet from the top to the bottom - here, try this comb.

Oh and that perm you're going to want in about 8 years, don't. Read the above advice again, if you let it - your hair has the texture you want...step away from the brush! Anyway, you'll take the next two years cutting that perm out of your hair. On the plus side you won't need that clown wig for Halloween after the first year of perm hell, just get some colored hair spray and brush your hair upside down - there's loads of entertainment in that problem!

[jera]

My hair reacts negatively to stress, so I would tell my sixteen year old self to start learning yoga, meditiation, nutrition, and stress management ASAP.
For me, healthy hair comes from the inside out. So if there was only one thing I could drum into my teenage head it would be that.
:luke:

[Cheeks1206]

Give up the SLS shampoo and brush already!!!

[Blandine]

Don't listen to mum when she talks you into that short cut.

[HuggyBear]

Stop cutting your hair off & stay far, far away from the hair dye aisle at Wal-Mart.

[Quixii]

Another sixteen year old unable to give advice to myself. :o

[jasper]

My advice would be: think twice about that hair cut because your mom is going to keep that photo of you on the fridge for a couple of decades.

[Finoriel]

To do what I did. Cut, dye, bleach, shave, do funky things to it and enjoy the heck out of it 100%. I don't think that long hair is the only pretty hair out there.
^^ This :agree:
Minus the bleaching and shaving, I´m just not interested in that. :wink: Would have done that too though, if I liked it.

[Sisko]

Please try a BSL layered style so you can get it out of your system while you've not been bitten by the very long hair bug. It might look good with your thick, wavy hair and you will know whether face framing layers suit you or not.

Please find a brush without ball tips. Don't rip it through your hair.

Don't wax your legs; you'll get ingrowns that will leave scars and take years to fade. shudder:

[Idun]

I would advice myself that my own natural straight hair is nice too and that an afro perm is not a good idea! :rollin:I wanted curls so badly you know!

[LouLaLa]

I would advice myself that my own natural straight hair is nice too and that an afro perm is not a good idea! :rollin:I wanted curls so badly you know!

Me too! I wish I had realized that the curly haired girls were at the straighteners trying to get our straight hair type! Time and patience teaches so much.

[Angeletti]

mine would be "don't be an idiot and bleach your hair blonde"... going from almost black to light blonde = not good, my hair was breaking off in chunks, eek

[Roseate]

Psst- self? Your hair is WAVY. Not straight with an attitude, wavy. Knock off the cones, stop brushing it into a giant poofball, and you'll see what I mean.

Also, those scabs all over your scalp? Sodium Lauryl Sulfate. Yes, it's in your dandruff shampoo too. Skip it, you'll be glad you did.

One last thing: the day before you go get your picture taken for your driver's license is a really rotten time to try to go platinum blonde at home. Just FYI. It won't work, anyway, and you'll look like a dandelion in the picture you have to carry in your wallet for the next ten years, so you might want to reconsider that one.

Otherwise, enjoy that shaved head you're about to get! Not gonna be a good look for you as it grows out, but it's sure fun to try! ;)

[adiapalic]

No more plastic prong brushes! Stop blow drying!

[Laurenji]

In a word: conditioner. I didn't use ANY until I joined TLCH. Just shampoo every day. Yikes!

The other thing: go crazy! Dye your hair! Do weird things with it! You're a teenager, so it's okay. I want dreadlocks now, but I now have to go out into the professional world where they frown on things like that...

[slythwolf]

PUT DOWN THE SCISSORS AND BACK AWAY SLOWLY.

Sixteen was when I cut it all off from BSL to above chin. It looked adorable, but was a pain to keep up and style and then I was all sad because I couldn't do anything with it for Prom.

[Smile4Kiki]

Don't dye and blowfry your hair constantly out of boredom. Don't cut your hair chin length because you want to be edgy. Long wavy, healthy hair can be and is just as cool (or cooler.)

[heynormy]

Back away from the hair straightener. Accept the fact that you are a wavy.
Oh and listen to mom when she tells you not to dye your hair. The first time I dyed my hair I went from dark brown/black to a light brown. My hair was so dry it looked like straw!
To be young again!:D

[Igor]

Hm. My hair advice to my 16 year old self would be: “Keep having fun with it now. Bleach it, colour it and enjoy experimenting. You won’t be able to get away with that later in life, so get it out of your system now. PS: Please try dreadlocks at some point or you will end up 29 years old and kind of regretting you never tried that!”

:p

[Medievalmaniac]

DON'T PERM!!! DO! NOT! PERM!

And, for the love of all that is good and holy, DON'T PERM AND THEN USE SUN IN!

You stupid git, what the heck? Do you know how far down the road of hair purgatory you will lead yourself? It will take you almost twenty years to fix it!

Boy, I was a really dumb 16 year old. I didn't even WANT to perm or use sun in. I just wanted to fit in. And THAT never happened...what a useless, senseless waste of two decades of hair beauty.

Ah well - better late than never!! :)

[TrudieCat]

Like your hair! You can do whatever you want with it; just be glad you have it. Don't worry about what other people might think about it.

[Synthemesc]

If I could go back a year and a bit? Stop visiting the hairdresser who never gives you what you ask for, put the shampoo down (I'm talking washing every day, and I wondered why my colour faded so fast! :D) and get your butt over to LHC.

[HikerTrash]

I'd tell my 16-year-old self to enjoy that perm, but don't get another one because it'll never do that again. Also, keep letting the bangs grow. You're almost there. And don't get that hair cut in 12th grade. Keep it long.

[spidermom]

Honey - would you please leave your hair alone and let it grow? You won't be sorry.

[Eden_Rayn]

If I could go back I would tell myself not to cut my waist length hair to my nape, stay away from the heat (only did it every once and awhile), don't was every single day, don't always wear a pony tail. Their are a few other things I would tell myself namely LIGHTEN UP! and STOP STRESSING OUT!

[toaster]

Seriously? I'd tell myself to find a comb and clean myself up. I looked like a bum.

[Lunarennui]

DO NOT GET A PERM. EVER. Also, do not then just BRUSH YOUR HAIR VIGOROUSLY.

[PiroskaCicu]

"Accept and love your hair as it is."

[Feng-Shui]

No to perm, no to bleach and no to chemical hair colors.
Your natural hair color is beautiful.

No heat devices for styling!

Love your hair like it is. :love:

[Tabihito]

Kill the flat iron. Kill it with hammers and fire and maybe some nitric acid for good measure. Just get rid of the thing, because with that darned appliance around, it's going to take you a few more years to learn how to embrace your waviness.

Oh, also? Red box dye fades really weird on your hair. Don't do it unless you want maroon. Nothing is going to give you that auburn color you've been wanting, so just drop the dye and accept that you've got weird, wavy, brown hair.

And for the love of all that is holy, in a year or two you're going to want to cut all your hair off. Don't do it! If you see a Norwegian man with clippers near your head, run out of the building, put your skis on as fast as possible, and get the heck home!

[breezefaerie]

Sun-in is not your friend! You will end up with a head full of mushy straw!

[Mexibeach]

Do Not Crimp Your Hair~!!!

[Kaijah]

Use more conditioner, you fool!

[Teazel]

Use honey with your conditioner. :D

That's all the advice I can think of, really. At 16 my hair was waistlength, and I was happy with it. 'Cones had not yet infiltrated my products. I often 'shampooed' with eggs. Probably my ends could have used more moisture, and that's where honey would have been useful.

[jenknits]

Do not perm your hair, highlight it yourself, swim for a few hours a days in a cholorinated pool, blow dry it with the hand dryer in the locker room, and then curl your bangs. Let's just say I had some funky looking hair for quite awhile. I should have also grown out the bangs much sooner, but in the big scheme of hair problems I had, this was a pretty minor issue :)
Fortunately, I learned from my mistakes.

[squiggyflop]

i would tell me that pink hair is not a great color choice.. however if that was the year i had fire engine red hair i would tell me how awesome it looked but that henna looked even better

[sarahbrownie]

STEP AWAY FROM THE STRAIGHT IRON! NOW! AND DON'T YOU DARE GO TO THE STORE AND THINK ABOUT DYEING YOUR HAIR.

One time I dyed my hair 3 times in one week. I abused dye so badly. I love changing my hair color all the time. I used to be known for having different hair color every week. Oh, such a bad idea. I don't know how I got away with it. My mom did nothing but say 'oh your hair is going to fall out!' well it's still here!

[boomtownrat]

I would tell my 16-year-old self not to get that body wave on a bob. It was the worst hairdo I had from that age on (not to say I didn't have worse ones when I was younger). Otherwise, though, all the experimentation with color and cuts was fun and worth it. In fact, I might have encouraged my younger self to try more fun colors and not just magenta, purple, and blue. :) Not for terribly long, though, because I know the bleach would've killed my hair had I kept doing it.

[Merewen]

I would tell myself that just because I'd cut my hair short a couple years ago, it didn't mean I could never have long hair. Just don't let the hairdresser chop fifty thousand inches of hair every time you go for a "trim", and it'll get longer! I promise.

And about how harshly you brush your hair... y'know, nevermind, just ditch the brush completely. Your hair is a fair amount curlier than you think.

[JessTheMess]

Step away from the blowfryer, and stop ripping through your hair with that horrid brush. also... Pantene is making your hair crispy with all of them cones. Switch to VO5

[pineconejg]

If you cut your hair now, it doesn't mean you have to be a short hair for life.
Avoid dying pool-fried hair red, 'cause it will stay, but only below the shoulders.
If boys don't like you, its not because of your hair. Its probably because you're too afraid to talk to them.

[luckyduck]

More condtioner, less shampoo!

[shawty]

remarkably, i wouldn't have had to tell myself aything about it. i infrequently did anything damaging. brushing, clarifying, dying, heat treating - i just didn't care about that stuff and didn't think of doing it. i didn't even wash as often as most kids because i knew from personal experience that i didn't need to. the only thing i might have told myself would be to switch to a gentler shampoo with no SLS. =D

[apynip]

Dont chop. you will miss it

[littlenvy]

haha! :D I was just thinking that the other day :p

I would tell myself NEVER to do a perm ... and not to start dying my hair!
Eat more vitamins and minerals.
And be nicer to the hair.

*sigh*

If we only could.

[1953Diygal]

I would share all of the awesome hair recipes I've learned from LHC, especially the SMT. I would also teach the 16 year-old me about CO washing and henna. Oh, and I'd share all of the benefits of hair oiling.

The only color faux pas I'd try to steer 16 year-old me away from would be bleach/Effasol. Some of my fondest teenage memories revolve around hair color changes, especially when I dyed my hair bright violet during my senior year in high school. Most of my classmates remember my extreme color choices, too. It's better to regret something you have done than regret something you haven't done.

[bubblyredhead]

This would be to my 14 year old self:
DO NOT CUT YOUR HIP LENGTH HAIR or I will kill you self.
DO NOT dye your hair every color but black
do keep your natural color and ditch the SLS shampoo you really dont have an oily scalp your body just hates SLS

[constantki]

I am 16! How fitting. . .

[LittleOrca]

The henna was nice, but stop using the chemical dye if you want your hair as long as you dream about. Stop the excessive trims, start using oils, and take these vitamins. :)

[Juneii]

DON'T GET THOSE LAYERS.

Well, I had layers already at 16, but I got much more severe ones near the end of my year. I think I joined LHC when I was 16...

[littleflowerr]

Don't straighten your hairr! and STAY away from chemical dye boxes at the grocery store.

[Debra83]

Let it do it's natural wave (don't brush when drying/dry), and don't cut!!!

[Phexlyn]

Don't trust your hairdresser, she will take off more than you wanted.
Don't colour your hair red at her salon, you will look sick because it's going to wash out purple.

Stop using that shampoo for dandruff and oily hair, it will only make things more difficult.
Start reading in long hair forums.

I'm not sure if I should tell myself to colour my hair green and blue while I can still get away with it... :o

[Flossy]

Don't cut! I repeat, step away from the scissors! Other than that, embrace the fluff. You won't be able to find a product to reduce it, even in your thirties... the only way is to have some weight in your hair, so don't cut!!!!

[Elistariel]

Don't let your grandmother talk you into whatever style she wants you to have this go-round. It's YOUR hair, not her's. Also, stay away from sun-in, you have to GROW that junk out and it will just make your hair look like brass, not blond. Adding other lightening products will not help.
Also, you do not have Faith Hill's face shape. Her haircut will not look the same on you as it does on her.

Just bear with your grandmother and your cosmetologist aunt, when you move out you'll have free reign over your hair and will be able to go to other people to get your haircut. You'll finally be able to get what you ask for (bad as it may be), and not get it 2 inches shorter than what you wanted. (To give it time to grow. >< )

Oh! Don't be afraid to grab the blue hair dye, you may never get another chance.

[freckles]

The bob won't suit you, so don't bother. And oh! If you dye your hair black, you will be stuck with a demarcation line for what seems like forever. Also, conditioner does have a purpose, so use it!

[jackiesjottings]

I would tell myself..don't cut your hair. Three times in my life I have had it cut (once for a man who didn't like it long) and every time, I have regretted it and grown it long again.

[Alvrodul]

Ok i thought it might be fun to see what everyone would have told themselves about their hair at 16, if they knew what you know about it now.

Id tell myself to run away from the dye and never touch it and to not cut my hair (my hairdresser used to make me swear not to cut it)- of course I wouldnt have listened ;)

Maybe we can pick up some fun tips/suggestions/anecdotes along the way!

To avoid chemicals like the plague!!

Alternatively, to pour on the bleach, so that I could see the effects for myself.:poot:

[starlights]

1. stop colouring your hair
2. you can grow out your hair believe you can
3. be positive your hair can be thicker
4. oil and oil... & make sure you wash it off !!!
5. cut your split ends (please!) every other week
6. demand a head massage from mum and granny once a week

wow if i followed all the above at 16 i would have had floor length hair by now, hahaha

[LouLaLa]

Ive really enjoyed reading these guys! I love how perms, experimental short do's and sun in are a common theme!


Ah to be sixteen again!

[Gnomentum]

I'd pretty much recommend my current routine; NO SLS, NO Cones, coconut oil. I'd advise myself to stop with the home layers (they looked good at the time, but OH DEAR GODS I hate them now they are growing out. I'd tell myself I look waaay better with properly long hair and to quit trimming back to shoulder. And I'd tell myself to learn to make updos while I still had some upper body strength, it's HARD learning them now!

If I could go back to when I was 10, I'd advise myself to learn to care for my hair so my parents didn't cut it really short from hip length. My waves are HORRIBLE short, I looked like a dork all through secondary school, and it didn't help on the getting bullied front.

[Maddy25]

I would say stop with the bleach and stop with the really chunky highlights and layers! Oh, and do not straighten it everyday!!! You only straighten it to hide the damage which was caused by straightening in the first place :P

[BeatlesFanGirl]

I'd advice my 13 year-old-self NOT to cut!!!! :) (And not to start smoking) To my 18 year-old-self: no cones, no sls, use organic products, and almond oil. :)

[tinti]

I would tell myself to stop the blow frying and stop letting my mom convine me to cut layers :p

[kwaniesiam]

To find a better doctor. If I got my health problems sorted out sooner I never would have had so much thinning and wouldn't have done everything I did to my hair.

[dearladydisdain]

I had almost classic length hair when I was 16 and found LHC around then. I would probably tell myself to chop it off and enjoy dying it weird colors while I could, actually, since I can't do that now.

[renarok]

I'd say throw that hair in a pony and get serious about school.

[sipp10]

Don't relax...EVER! Cowash every-other-day. Do not use a fine tooth comb.

[nellreno]

I'd tell myself to:


Don't cut all my hair off! I did this right when I turned 17 and I've regretted it ever since.
Don't start coloring my hair.
Go see and endocrinologist right away to be put on medication.
Join LHC!

[schiele]

I was sixteen only a year ago, but I would tell myself this: Do not blowdry your hair. Don't do it. Put down the blowdryer. You think it's okay because it's on the "warm" setting instead of the hot, but it's not. You know why you have all of those split ends, you know why your hair has gotten dramatically thinner in the past two years? Because you use heat styling every day. Don't do it! Eventually you're going to want your thick hair back!

Oh, and by the way: you could save a lot of money if you just try the conditioner only method. Your hair doesn't need all of that silicone.... well actually, since you heat style it every day, I guess it kind of does. But still.

[Lil Red Vampire]

Oh good Lord, where do I begin? First I would have told me to NOT dye my hair. I dyed it for the first time at age 15. I had reddish brown hair and it wasn't cool in the 80's to be red headed so I tried blonde. Ewww....always came out strawberry blonde but wasn't pretty.

I curled my hair with a curling iron at times and sprayed Aqua Net directly on the heated curling iron. Eeks.

I did the same thing when I used hot rollers.

Oh yeah, and I washed and dried and curled my hair every day.

I made so many hair faux paus, it wasn't even funny.

[gnegirl]

I would tell her:

Step away from the Aqua Net and that home perm kit!!

[autumnsakura]

Don't cut!! My hair would be between classic and knee length right now if I'd stopped cutting my hair at 16.
All in all, though, I was pretty good to my hair at 16- only occasionally heat styled, never dyed, etc.

[MonikaHa]

At sixteen my hair was down to my waist, and waaaay better than it ever was so - nothing haha!

[HintOfMint]

1. Dye it bright pink and enjoy the heck out of it now, because when you're an adult, your employers will not look too kindly upon fluorescent hair. Get your crazy hair urges out of your system now.

2. You don't need straight hair to be pretty :)

3. Expensive shampoos and conditioners are a waste.

[chipzahoy]

Put down the curling irons! Boys will not like you more just because you forced your asian straight hair into spirals.

[eezepeeze]

1. Your curls are beautiful. Wear your hair down more often.

2. Do not cut your hair in college. It won't be a good look.

3. Do not straighten your hair in your 20s. It will make it thinner.

4. Don't dye your hair now. You'll be gray soon enough (35) and then you'll get LOTS of practice.

5. Investigate the ethnic hair care aisle. There is good stuff for curls there.

[JenniferNoel]

"Enjoy your hair. Do anything you want, except dye it blond. Please, don't do that."

[Yozhik]

1) Please stop using that brush to tear through your hair. Snapping is NOT a good sound!

2) Stop peeling your split ends -- this doesn't make them go away.

3) Don't use the curling iron as a modified straightening iron; and stop getting shorter and shorter layered hair!

4) Use more conditioner, and please, please don't pile all of your hair on the top of your head when you shampoo.

Other than that, my regimen was benign neglect, which wasn't too horrible :)

[Fairlight63]

I would tell myself that it is normal to shed and you are not going bald. ( I remember when I was 12 I had long hair (shoulder length) & it started to shed & I thought that I was going to go bald. So I got it cut short.)

I would NEVER have colored it. I would have never permed it.
I would have let it grow real long at least to my waist.
I would have not used any heat appliances on it.

[Meagan]

To do what I did. Cut, dye, bleach, shave, do funky things to it and enjoy the heck out of it 100%. I don't think that long hair is the only pretty hair out there.


amen to that.

[mhiap]

I'm not sure it would be worth telling my 16-year-old self anything, she would never have listened!

But I suppose I'd say don't cut it short ever again and don't use a hairdryer. I wouldn't say don't use dye because I loved the colours my hair was and I'm glad I did it. Just maybe stop earlier as I'm still growing the dye out!

[KittyLost]

I would have said "put down the straightners! but still continue to dye funky colours just remember to take photos because you'll be sick of dye soon" ;)

[Maverick494]

Hmm, I'd rather tell my 11 year old self with hip length hair NOT to cut it (got a bob that year). That would have spared me a lot of misery later.

But since you said 16...I would tell myself not to dye my hair. But my mom also told me that and I didn't listen, so...

[Sunsailing]

I don't know if I could convince my 16 yr old self, but I would try to convince him to grow his hair (because he really wanted to!). And the quality, texture, and thickness of my hair back then....I'd really like to see what it would've been like at my current length :)

But it's difficult to convince a 16 yr old that it really doesn't matter what others think.

[sibiryachka]

You know that clique you're so eager to fit into? Cutting your mid-back virgin hair to chin length will not accomplish that. Further, the Joan Jett shag you're trying to achieve will never work because guess what: The hair you'll be left with is wavy! The shorter, the wavier!
You will HATE only having one hairstyle available, after the years of making a game of never wearing it the same way 2 days in a row. Nothing about this cut will work for you; you will start growing it out immediately. This is a waste of time, energy and an essential part of yourself, and you will never get your Marsha Brady hair back, ever. Don't do it.
Oh, and switch from brushing to combing. This should help combat the frizz, which will keep your mom away from your head with that nasty VO5 ointmenty stuff you hate so much.

[Scottish Lass]

Stop higlighting hair! it's not safer as the hairdresser claims it still is bleaching hair, my hair was like straw back then:(

[Thinthondiel]

DO NOT LET YOUR SISTER COME NEAR YOUR HEAD WITH A PAIR OF SCISSORS EVER AGAIN.

(Yes, I felt that needed a caps lock :p)

[Calaelen]

I would tell my sixteen year old self

"Something bad is going to happen to you next year, and you're going to blame your long hair for it. Your hair wasn't at fault, and you will go into an even deeper despair if you chop it all off. Don't go for the scissors, find someone to trust, and talk about what happened, because a few years from now you will decide you want knee length hair, and will hate that you still have so far to go because of that chop"

[Long_hair_guy]

Apart from learn some updos and use conditioner I wouldn't of told myself anything

[cassie_g]

I wouldn't. I pretty much treat it the same way as I did then. If I had done things differently back then, I probably wouldn't have gotten the big chop and probably wouldn't have made it this long. And I had fun with my hair back then and I still do and that's the main goal enjoy it. Don't like it, change it.

[Bianca]

"Step away from the dye, and join LHC" :D

[Bast]

Don't cut any shorter than shoulder length.

When joining the Navy, don't be "smart" and go to your mother's hairdresser for a super-short cut before boot camp, you'll end up looking like your mother and if you end up not going...you've got a haircut that you don't like. Let THEM cut it for you.

Want red? Get some henna. It's the shade that you're going for, anyway.

[thebirdofhermes]

Do cut your hair short for college. You won't have time to take care of it while you're there, and, honestly, it'll be the last thing you want to deal with on top of everything else. However, do actually stick with your plan of growing it out after your freshman year is done. No, seriously, do that, 17 year old self. Do not think, "Oh, I'll be joining the Marine Corps and I'll want it short for boot camp." You want LONG hair for boot camp. Otherwise, you will be quietly going insane from the fact that you can only wash it on the whim of your Senior Drill Instructor, which means... yes, greasy hair in your eyes for a week. You will long to be able to bun it and forget it.

Also, do dye your hair that bright fuschia colour over the summer between senior year and college. Just be warned it's not all going to come out and you will have to dye over it... but you'll have the most amazing subtle pink-purple shimmer in the sun. You won't regret it. So stop looking longingly at that box every time you go hair dye shopping for your mom. Just get it.

Finally? You do NOT have the same hair type as your mother, so stop treating your hair like she treats hers!

[princessp]

At 16, I would have said you have plenty of time so have fun!

[Gingevere]

Well, I was already growing out my hair at age 16... I guess I would advise myself to buy a nice comb and stop hacking at my hair with that crappy brush. Oh, and I'd tell myself about LHC, so I could join a year earlier (I joined when I was 17).

[Anniekins]

I think I would tell myself " you are not your hair and your hair is not you. Grow or cut your hair if you want but do it for yourself and no one else. "

[Petite Simone]

For the love of all things you hold dear, don't chop off all of your hair (yet again), you silly silly girl.

[Kelly728]

I would have informed my 16 year old self that my hair was actually curly! I brushed it out every single day and usually wore it up in a ponytail because it was so poofy and frizzy.

[Herb]

Being sixteen now, I guess I'll just keep telling myself to keep doing what I'm doing. : )

[AlleyKitten]

Use more conditioner. Start using a comb instead of a brush. No, really, I mean it about the conditioner. Stretch out your washes, you don't really need to wash it every other day. You don't need to get it cut as often as the hairdresser says. Learn some real updos. Don't dye it when you get to college, it's not as cool as you think it'll be (if you really must, use henna, because the smell of dye is horrifyingly bad). When I say more conditioner, I mean actually get it on every part of your hair. You also don't have to wash every little bit of it out. Look into oiling and vinegar rinses. Try SLS-free shampoo.

[CourtneyBee]

Leopard print hair is not cute self...

[SurprisingWoman]

It's just hair. You shouldn't have to spend two hours a day on it. Find something easier and go have fun!

[curlycrown]

I would say join the cheerleading team, continue exercising, stop relaxing and wear your natural hair, Date Logan, and learn to play the guitar.

[DiablitaNoir]

I would have told myself to grow, grow, GROW! I spent most of high school with a chin-length bob. ;)

[akhkharu]

When I was sixteen I had pretty long hair and I hadn't dyed it in a while, but I'd tell myself to stop washing it every day and to brush it more carefully.

[Lil Red Vampire]

Leopard print hair is not cute self...


*giggles and giggles*

[may1em]

Wavy hair is not ugly, work with it.

Also, if you dye your hair blue, your parents won't kill you - and their sighing won't, either.

I wish I'd tried out the blue hair. Now I don't want to anymore, but still would have liked to have had the experience.

[bumblebums]

None. I would want my 16-year old self go through all the experiences and learn from her own mistakes so that she arrives at the hair knowledge I know possess.

[Keildra]

i've been growing since I was 13 so I would tell my 13 year old self not to get that bob and join LHC. I'd tell my 14 year old self not to get that awful afro pixie cut and stop with the harsh chemicals. I'd tell my 16 year old self to stop the heat styling and learn to do my own hair. I'd also tell my 16 year old self to give up soda and all the the other bad for you things, and focus on learning how to maintain a nutritionally healthy diet. Oh and quit being nocturnal

[Pear Martini]

You don't need straight hair to be pretty, I actually think I look much better with waves.


Do your homework!!

[donna'sdaughter]

HALT! Hands up young lady- turn around and slowly step away from that cheaply made and smoking flat iron. lol.:o

[akka naeda]

I wouldn't. It's necessary to do it all so you know what works and what doesn't. Mind you I don't seem to ever have worried as much about my hair as some people here did or even do :)

[Milui Elenath]

Don't bother getting 'feathering around the face" for the front of your hair. Your 'friend' will make you wait in the chair an incessantly long time without apology while she chats with her colleagues and then spend 30 secs razoring down both sides of the front length and charge you $30. (alot when you are 16)

You will leave looking no different then when you came in (hello your hair is straight!) and for the next 6 months you will have annoying sticky out bits in updos. On the plus side you will never visit a hairdresser again so maybe just go ahead.

ETA I would much rather tell my 14 year old self - Don't listen to your mothers advice and get the pixie cut - just don't - please. Infact when ever mum say's cut - RUN.

[Theobroma]

At 16... hmm. Not really sure. I made my big mistake at 13; I'd like to tell my 13-year-old self NOT to get that pixie cut because I'd hate it so much that I'd immediately start growing it out again!

[DifferentLex]

Hmm i would tell my 16 year old self do not dye your black hair red (you will have to dye that for the next 8 years trying to get back to your natural color) and go to a hairstylist do not let your sister cut 1 inch bangs ...oh and do not brush your hair - it's wurly hair never to be straight

[lapushka]

You have beautiful, almost BSL, *wavy* hair, damn it! Not frizzy straight hair that needs to be managed by impulsively cutting it in a short punky "hairspray-it-to-death" style. Also, be on the look-out for *her*. She's going to sit behind you in class the next morning and will pull your hair *hard* to determine whether you really cut it short or not, to see if it's not a wig. Hit her with your hairspray can right before she pulls your hair. Oh, and BTW, that guy you'll meet next year? Hit him where it hurts.

[Henrietta]

1. Join LHC, girl.
2. Stop using flat iron and blowdryer.
3. Use conditioner!
4. Stop using anti-darnduff shampoo, use the one for dry hair.
5. Could you please stop cutting your hair every few months if you want to have it long?
6. Stop experimenting with hydrogen peroxide. Your hair won't became red anyway.

[FrannyG]

Well, I would advise my 16 year-old self to do what I did, which was experiment a lot. I permed, heat-styled, crimped, highlighted, all of that; and it was fun!!!

However, I would like to advise my 30 year old self to embrace my straight hair, avoid heat styling and join LHC. Of course, LHC didn't exist when I was 30. That was in the olden days. :p

[Yamainu]

Don't dye your hair red with "temporary" dye - it'll look good for a week before fading, and you will never, EVER get your golden blonde color back.

Don't date Jon, it will end in heartbreak after two days, and will ruin your friendship forever. DO date Danny, because even though he'll break your heart, he'll also introduce you to his brother!

You ARE depressed and paranoid, it's NOT just teenage angst, and medication and therapy WILL change your life.

[Jenn of Pence]

Self, good job! You learned from that chin-length bob at 13 that you really do love long hair, and I promise that this won't change. So keep growing it.
Don't be ashamed that you only wash three times a week. It's actually good for your hair; everyone else is doing it too much!
Mom is probably right about your ends looking ratty, and they probably do need to come off. And she won't take off too much, either. However, if you ever want to achieve your dream of hair long enough to make Princess Leia buns, you can't cut off more than you grow, so learn why your ends get bad and fix it. And, while Mom is helpful to trim, she might not be exactly right when she says you can "overcondition."
When you get to college, there will be a thing called Internet which will aid you in your quest. Don't take the free hair straightener from your sister; okay, maybe you can, but realize you should use it sparingly.
And don't waste time with your roommate's little brother with the emo eyes...date that guy from your college ministry instead!

[emmabovary]

I would tell myself that dyes actually are *not* good for hair. Until I joined the LHC I believed they were healthy because they made my hair shiny.. for like two weeks.. :doh: Didn't realize they had so much crap in them..

[Nightshade]

Dye it green already, dammit, otherwise you're doing to find henna get healthy hair and will never EVER bring yourself to do it.

[Coriander]

If your first perm didn't work, why are you even thinking about another one?

Step awayyyyyyy from the Sun-In. Especially if you're going to have a helmet on for half the day.

Crimping irons are not a good idea. Just don't.

Conditioner!!!!!!!!!!!

[McFearless]

I'd tell myself not to take my beautiful hair for granted.

[Anywhere]

I joined shortly after I turned 16, I'd tell myself not to get caught up in this site just yet, and NOT TO GET HIGHLIGHTS NO MATTER HOW MUCH MY MOTHER PESTERS. The highlights make my hair look so gross. :mad:
I've given myself the advice of trying EVOO and Aloe after a shower, and to change to a cone-free condish (never knew what cones were until I got here) and not to put my hair into a ponytail for gym class, it will get tangled and I will regret it. ETA: and I told myself no more dyes, no matter how noticeable the change from roots to dyed, fried, and bleached ends is. I don't want to risk ruining my roots, it's been dyed and bleached since 5th grade and I will NEVER get to see my virgin hair if I keep giving in and dyeing it. :mad:

[MandaMom2Three]

I'd tell her (me :p) to go ahead and get the buzz cut, this is the only time in her life it will look good :lol:, then I would teach her to henna instead of chem dye, how to CWC and SMT, and tell her to cover up! *sigh* If I could just invent a time machine, I'd have ankle length hair now LOL

[LadyLately]

Please, please don't cut it. I'd be a foot closer to goal now if I hadn't had two really, really bad weeks and thought I needed a change.

[Ntaark]

Don't have a new, funky, short haircut every 6 months. Put down the bleach, hair dye, and flat iron!

[Ntaark]

Please, please don't cut it. I'd be a foot closer to goal now if I hadn't had two really, really bad weeks and thought I needed a change.

I know how you feel! i would be much closer to my goal too.

[aenflex]

Flat iron. Hate to say it but true. It would have saved me what seemed like a millenia of ridicule in school. Nevermind the damage, it would have been worth it.

[enfys]

Don't stop posting on the hair forums...you need them to keep you on track.

Set up a fund now called "toys". This thing called Etsy will come out in a few years and yeah...make it hard to access that account unless it's through that site :lol:

[Crazycatlady]

As a teenager in the 1980's, big hair was the rage, as many of you remember! Oh dear, if I had only NOT lived by the blowdryer and hot rollers. And of course mousse and hairspray!! Just say no!!! :rolleyes:
Oh I can relate to this! I used gallons of "Final Net" hair spray...remember in the pump bottle? I would spray each section of my hair to get it wet then use super hot heat rollers! My hair was fine and straight...it took work to get the big hair! But I don't remember a lot of damage though, guess I was lucky. ;)

[Fairlight63]

I would tell my 16 yr. old self:

Do not cut your hair short, it will be hard to grow long again.
Do not dye your hair black it will ruin your hair.
Do not get a perm, it will fry your hair.
Leave your hair alone & just let it just grow until it gets to waist then maintain it at that length.

[Aleria]

Do not let them backcomb your hair for the play, no matter how many hours of practice and sewing you've done.
I had to cut from BSL to shoulder because of this!

[Caldonia Sun]

In my motherly voice, I'd say, "Don't dye your hair. The chemicals will damage your scalp." And they did.

[nemileo]

I guess I would say the same thing all the grown ups said to me at that time; "If you keep messing so much with yor hair, you will ruin it!" And I thought; "Yeah, that is exactly what I want! Because I want to look cool and grunge..."

Still paying my hair-debt now I guess...

[Garnet66]

I wouldn't really have anything to tell my 16 year old self because I wasn't allowed to do anything to it. Not even a hair cut.

But, I'd LOVE to tell my 20 year old self that the reason that my hair felt like Elmers glue is that I MELTED it with all the bleaching and perms. I had no clue at the time what I was doing to my hair.

[DreadfulWoman]

I would tell myself that there's no way BSL is terminal. And that I should just be patient, and maybe stop dragging the brush through it twenty times a day... Well, I guess I broke that habit, at least. :p

[little_cherry]

This is a great thread!

Don't rip that brush through your hair. Protect your hair with a sleep cap while you sleep, and for goodness sake, eat better!

[bedazzlecat]

1. Don't cut your hair off short. You'll hate it. (I did.)
2. You do not look good as a blond or a red-head. You do, however, look pretty awesome in blue-black.
3. Oil is not bad for your hair or your skin.
4. Get rid of those nasty ponytail holders with the metal parts and the silly balls. What are you, four?
5. Take your vitamins.
6. Read the ingredients in your conditioner. Those -cones are that crap that makes your hair crunchy, waxy, and otherwise gross. Skip Pantene products altogether. It makes your scalp itch until it bleeds.
7. Don't rip that hairbrush through your hair like that!
8. Washing your hair every day may not be the best for your hair. Try to space it out to every other day at least.
9. Drink more water, less soda.
10. Don't ever try to go blonde at home by yourself. Your hair will be a very ugly shade of orange and you will have to cut that crap off.

:cool:

[lundmir]

Hahaha, wouldn't change a thing, just would tell myself to get coconut oil for hair.

[Tia2010]

DO NOT WALK INTO THAT SALON !!! I came out with my naturally reddish strawberry blond hair easter egg yellow... and to top it off they waxed my eyebrows *first time I ever had it done* from Brooke Shield thickness to Pam Anderson thin ! :( I was a walking disaster !!! I had to go back three times for them to try and fix it and eventually I just cut it all off .. I didn't go to a salon for YEARS after that !

So yeah , I would tell myself RUN GIRL RUN !!!! :D

[luxepiggy]

STOP!
http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff33/shoppingpiglet/piggies/6heo156.gif

You there! Little piggy! Now just put the household scissors down and back away slowly . . . :p Throw the brush away too while you're at it - you won't even notice it's gone (^(oo)^)v

ETA: And really? Swim team? Practice twice a day in that overchlorinated pool? Future piggy does not appreciate these bleached out looking ends!

[Mairéad]

I would have told 16 year old me not to dye my hair black. :rolleyes:

You'll need two bleach kits, a box of brown dye, and a box of red dye. It will cost a lot and even though your hair didn't disintegrate, it took way too freaking long and calculation.

[nmarie33]

Don't Use Sun-in!!!

[Roscata]

I would tell myself not to color with chemical dye and use henna and indigo instead. I would also say that it's ok to cut my hair short, I loved it for the 10 years I had it and it is the reason why I can be happy about growing my hair now.

[HoneyJubilee]

DO NOT WALK INTO THAT SALON !!! I came out with my naturally reddish strawberry blond hair easter egg yellow... and to top it off they waxed my eyebrows *first time I ever had it done* from Brooke Shield thickness to Pam Anderson thin ! :( I was a walking disaster !!! I had to go back three times for them to try and fix it and eventually I just cut it all off .. I didn't go to a salon for YEARS after that !

So yeah , I would tell myself RUN GIRL RUN !!!! :D

This is what I'd tell myself too. The perm only lasted about a month and the stylist chopped my hair from waist length to shoulders when I had asked her to take off 2 inches at the most. Almost 10 years later I still have trust issues with salons and trend to bring a ruler with me when I go for trims.

[RachieBaby]

PUT DOWN THOSE HAIR STRAIGHTENERS!!!!!!

hahahaa

[feralnature]

I would tell my16 year old self this:

You are beautful by virtue of your youth. You do not have to "fit in". Wear your hair as you like it and only go to very highly praised hairdressers if at all. Trends are fun, go for it while you are young.

[Avvoltoio]

Do not engage the pressure by the others, you can start grow your hair!

[bluesnowflake]

Unfortunately, I can't give advice to my future self :P

[ddiana1979]

1. Just because everyone else has poofy bangs and permed hair, does NOT mean you have to. You'll end up looking like a poodle. You don't have the patience to style it anyway. Accept that you are different & have beautiful straight hair.

2. Crimping looks terrible on everyone & it's horrible for your hair. Don't do it.

3. Give up on heat curling entirely. It's bad for your hair, and your curls fall out after 15-30 minutes anyway, so why bother?

4. When you go to college, don't cut your hair. Yeah, at the time, you'll think it makes you look older & more mature, but you had gorgeous, thick waist length hair, dammit.

5. Don't date that guy you meet during Freshman orientation. He's an abusive @ssh*le.

6. During your junior year of college, you're going to dye your hair black with semi-permanent box dye & decide it looks too "Gothic" with your pale skin. Just wait for it to fade. Freaking out & going to the salon to have it stripped & then dyed TWICE back to a "normal" color will be the worst hair mistake you ever make.

7. Despite the fact that your mother drives you insane, she's right. You really do look best with bangs.

[Armelle]

Defy your mom, grow your hair!

[MAO]

I would have told myself:

1. Bleach is the devil! Stay away from it!

2. It is not necessary to S&C, mousse, and blowdry EVERY.SINGLE.DAY.

3. Your hair looks like crap with that chemical hair dye!

[MandyBeth]

Put down the PPD dye and stay away. I would then not ruin my hair and scalp, but would never grow my hair out.

[slz]

Cut ! bleach ! dye green, blue, pink ! Or you will end up waiting until it's too late :/

[<3OnHerSleeve]

I would so be telling myself to stop straightening my hair, stop dying and bleaching, stop going to hairdressers that have done a bad job before, and do not even think of perming or relaxing my hair! (yes I've done the lot)... and join LHC

[Kallenie]

Honestly my hair at 16 was pretty fantastic. I had fun with it and enjoyed it and then enjoyed it again when I chopped it all off. So I guess I would pat myself on the back and tell myself to just have fun with it.

[bnward5]

Psst- self? Your hair is WAVY. Not straight with an attitude, wavy. Knock off the cones, stop brushing it into a giant poofball, and you'll see what I mean.

Also, those scabs all over your scalp? Sodium Lauryl Sulfate. Yes, it's in your dandruff shampoo too. Skip it, you'll be glad you did.

One last thing: the day before you go get your picture taken for your driver's license is a really rotten time to try to go platinum blonde at home. Just FYI. It won't work, anyway, and you'll look like a dandelion in the picture you have to carry in your wallet for the next ten years, so you might want to reconsider that one.

Otherwise, enjoy that shaved head you're about to get! Not gonna be a good look for you as it grows out, but it's sure fun to try! ;)

Oh wow, I keep getting scabs on my scalp and could never figure out why thx:cheese: Also if anyone knows a good shampoo that is Sodium Lauryl Sulfate free. Will it be like when I went cone free, my hair was terrible for the 6 months that I stuck to it.
To my 16 year old self I would say don't dye your hair black it does NOT wash out. a 340 dollar mistake.

[Annushka]

I would tell myself to be sure to take pictures of all the crazy things I did to my hair: the styles, the colors, etc.

[Jezerellica]

Do not wash your hair and blow dry and curling iron abuse it each and every day!!! Do what you want not what you think will be "cool". It is our life in the end. Oh, and I would hug her and tell her she looks beautiful without all the makeup. Sorry, just had to throw that in.

[smileycat]

Actually, I had a hair epiphany at sixteen, quit the perming (eighties... sigh) and cut to a classic chin-length bob. It was my style for most of two subsequent decades, and I still get people that tell me that it was my style!

[Lady Mary]

Don't dye your hair! Don't cut it off! :D

[Roscata]

Oh wow, I keep getting scabs on my scalp and could never figure out why thx:cheese: Also if anyone knows a good shampoo that is Sodium Lauryl Sulfate free. Will it be like when I went cone free, my hair was terrible for the 6 months that I stuck to it.
To my 16 year old self I would say don't dye your hair black it does NOT wash out. a 340 dollar mistake.
Sulfate/Sulphate-Free Shampoo List (http://archive.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=34009)

[HeatherMae]

I would warn myself in advance of the horrible week that I had DH help me frost my hair. Him trying to get my hair through the little holes in that cap was a nightmare resulting in a mound of hair ripped out and on the floor. And my hair looked dandelion yellow when it was all done. Sounds horrible right? And that was my 3rd attempt at lightening my hair in less than 2 weeks. The very next day I colored my hair dark dark brown and didn't touch it again with dye for over 3 years.

I would also warn myself about the time that I had pretty waist length + hair and after thinking about it for weeks I decided to donate 8 inches to locks of love. I had measured 8 inches over and over again before leaving the house. It would have taken me to about BSL. I went and told the lady I wanted to donate the 8 inches. I FOOLISHLY closed my eyes because I LOVE to have my hair combed. Its so relaxing. When I opened my eyes I had chin length hair. :( I will never EVER do that ever again and actually haven't stepped foot in a salon since then. That was 3 years ago in September.

[Alix]

You want a pixie cut, get a pixie cut. Not the crappy shag cut that your mom and hairdresser made you get because thats what they thought you meant and there was no way you really wanted it that short.

[Vermelha]

None. My 16-year-old self knew better than my 22-year-old self. I kept it simple back then, that's when I cut all my hair off and started over. My self back then was smart.

[kschr2004]

I would say, 'Your hair won't gain any length with inches of split ends!'

[StraduX]

I would convince myself to grow out my hair :) I started when I was 17, and if I had started when I was 16, I'd be able to put it in a ponytail by now haha.

[SilvraShadows]

This was ages upon ages ago for me! But I should look back and take advice from my 16 year old self.

When I was fourteen I began taking really good care of my hair and decided to cut it short where my bangs had grown out to... which was chin length, just to start fresh and do things differently. I decided I wanted to be a Breck girl, and I was ...for the next few years. I didn't trim it for about 18 months at first; never detangled wet; and in the beginning of my growing out phase I used a comb exclusively. But then my Italian Auntie bought me a beautiful brush with soft nylon bristles. She told me I needed to brush my hair too. So this is what I did every night. Later I trimmed only when needed. By the time I was a junior in high school... at 16, I had the most beautiful long hair! It had reached my hips.

Never ever since have I had such hair as then :roll: After my big cut at 17, which was foolish and unexpected, it never grew back quite the same for some reason, or as fast.

There ya go... I would advise me-self to apply the two week rule.

[excentricat]

It's ok to dye black if you really really want to, but understand that it's not coming out. Ever. Trying to bleach it back to normal after you've let it grow 3 inches WILL give you polka-dot hair.

Stop ripping a brush through wet tangles.

[Bene]

I don't think I could have told my 16 year old self anything. I wouldn't have listened :laugh:


Still, I probably would've mentioned that damp bunning would work better than soaking wet bunning. Other than that, I was roughly doing the same thing I do now. Except for when I chopped all my hair off and had to blow dry after every wash :nono: I'd like to say that I would've advised against that cut, but my 16 year old self needed to do it at the time.

[mellie89]

Ugh, that hits pretty close to home for me. I had gorgeous hair when I was 16, but I went in for a trim one day and my BSL+ hair went to collarbone length. After that, I got pretty bummed about my hair and played with different colors and lengths. I started straightening it around age 16, too.

Here I am now, 4 years later, with a couple inches of damage left, and hair that is still not as long as it was then, even after two years of growing.

SO, I would tell myself to stop whining about the stupid lady who cut too much off and just start growing it back out. It would be so long by now... hurts to think about it!

[MissBellydance]

I would say, "no! Don't you dare bleach over that already bleached, brittle, orange hair!"

Damn me trying to put in blonde streaks in by myself. The roots went platinum, and the length brassy. So I tried a second time. That didn't work, so then I dyed it black, haha. Lucky it's nearly grown out.

[Bellatrix]

OMG. so much advice. I've spent so much money, time and anguish on my hair.

Actually, I discovered long hair communities online at 13, but I never took the advice to heart.

Basically my advice would be:

Conditioner only

Let your hair air dry, don't straighten it

No dye, no bleach

Henna

[artemis_e.]

To my 16 year old self, I'd say:
1. Learn about deep conditioning, and do it weekly.
2. Only go to the salon for regular trims, otherwise stay away.
3. Do not flat iron every day
4. Braids are not the only style you can wear and be pretty (I wore them for 4 years)

I think I'd also tell her to start considering a "shave the head" experiment (or at least discontinuing relaxers altogether), since at 18 I did cut it down to 2 inches and started over natural from there. Had I learned about healthy hair care before doing so, it would have turned out better years later. Starting over again :o

[AnnaJamila]

Purple? Really? :suspect: Eh, at least it's a wash out.

And don't cut it into a duckbutt, you'll just spend months growing it out HATING it the entire way...

[noelgirl]

I'd have done just what I did, my hair (at that time just past waist and growing) was right for the time. My only advice would have been to wear it more assertively - better comebacks for the girls who wanted me to cut it! I just sort of shrugged at their remarks, but didn't really stand up for myself or let it be known that it was an intentional choice on my part.

A couple of years later, however? To my 18-year-old self: Those "fake" dreads are going to turn real! Don't do it!

[christine1989]

I would have said never EVER straighten your hair while damp! Its bad enough doing it dry but when I was 16 I starightened when damp or even wet.

[Intransigentia]

Just because your boyfriend has a thing for redheads, does not mean you look good with red hair.

If a hairdresser starts verbally abusing you while he's shampooing your hair, get up and leave right then, instead of letting him give you the worst haircut ever the day before prom.

Do the crazy things now, because later what people think might affect things like your paycheck, instead of just what kind of looks you get walking down the street.

[Nera]

Only not to dye. I've been growing out since I was 15 so... (:
Oh and maybe also not to care about it or obsess over it.

[teela1978]

Teela. April is going to try to talk you into going blonde with her in a few years. Don't do it. It won't work. You'll end up with a very odd reddish color and growing it out is going to be a PITA.

[Dreams_in_Pink]

Keep it up.

I started to mess with my hair after 17.

[linda g]

I would say, "Linda, all that blow-drying, curling ironing, mousse and hairspray.... you can get the exact same effect by air-drying your hair."

And "Could you please tell our 25 year old self that dying your hair because you feel fat doesn't make any sense at all?!"

[Mariah!!]

I would say "STOP dying your hair and STOP cutting it yourself! You don't even know how to cut it right!!!!".... "Oh and stop letting your boyfriend yank the tangles out of your hair with his fingers when he is playing with it!"

[BrightEyes7]

"Put down the heat styling device and step away! I said put it DOWN! NOW!!!" :laugh:

[Eireann]

When I was 16, I had never had my hair cut other than occasional trims. I would tell my 16 year old self that if I wanted to change my style I could get layers or cut to BSL, rather than hack it all off into a pixie, which is what I did after I went off to college. Don't get me wrong. I loved the pixie, but it might have been better to ease into a new look!

[firefly42]

i would have told myself not to cut my waist length hair back to shoulder when i was twenty...to just leave it alone and let it grow if i'd done that i'd be at knee length by now...

[Aredhel77]

i would have told myself not to cut my waist length hair back to shoulder when i was twenty...to just leave it alone and let it grow if i'd done that i'd be at knee length by now...

I'd tell myself that that poodle perm was a really bad idea. And that I didn't really need to dye my hair a lighter blonde. Or henna it bright orange shudder:. And finally, agreeing to let my mum cut my fringe was IDIOTIC :o. I did all this before I was 16 :laugh:

[chelles2kids]

Please do not perm you're hair and PLEASE OH PLEASE!!!! whatever you do, don't cut it!:p

[sarah061]

I'd tell myself to color it auburn and for the love of god don't cut it!!

[meerikal]

As alot of the ladies before me have stated, drop the scissors, back away from the home perm and no one will get hurt. Also, stop ripping that brush thru your hair before you go bald.

[BellCat]

stop using heat everyday!!!

[Rabya-Khadija]

I wish I could tell my 13 year old self not to get that classic length plait cut off!

[Drynwhyl]

Don't dye that underlayer black, you'll be growing it out until you're 21! xD

[CastaDiva]

I would have told myself to be more gentle with the brush/comb, not to give my hair a perm about every 8 weeks, and not bleach it and that if I had been taking better care of my hair it would have gotten long much sooner. But then again, when I was 16, really long hair wasn`t exactely the coolest thing you could have, so I probably wouldn`t have listened anyway:) And besides, at 16 I was still not completely allowed to decide for myself, old mom still had the last word.

[tigerlily38]

No cutting, and no blowfryers

[JulietCapulet]

Don't cut!!!!

[arwenevenstar37]

Don't give in to peer pressure and cut your waist hair off!!!! Also, stop using so much gel and hairspray to get the "wet look"

[looniac]

Go give your dad a huge hug for buying you the "Curly Girl" book. Again. Why not three hugs for good measure?!

[Ryanne]

I was just shy of my sixteenth birtday when I joined. I don't really have advice to give.

[Speckla]

Enjoy the heat, the curlers, the straighteners and all the craziness in between because it can be fun but learn to love your natural texture and color. Don't change it because you think there's something wrong with it. Change because you like to have fun.

[curlylocks85]

Ok i thought it might be fun to see what everyone would have told themselves about their hair at 16, if they knew what you know about it now.

Id tell myself to run away from the dye and never touch it and to not cut my hair (my hairdresser used to make me swear not to cut it)- of course I wouldnt have listened ;)

Maybe we can pick up some fun tips/suggestions/anecdotes along the way!

I would advise my 16 year old self to:


~ Leave the brush alone and invest in a wide toothcomb.

~ Use conditioner as a leave in and not rinse it out at all.

~ Look into Jojoba Oil.

~ Stop using the flat iron.

~ Braid my hair and not leave it down so much.

~ Learn to self trim.

~ Deep condition at least once per week.

~ Embrace my curls/wurls.

[joiekimochi]

I would tell my 16-year-old self that:

- it's okay to have straight black hair, that it is chic, that I am beautiful as a Chinese girl, and that I didn't need to embark on a 6-year journey of chemical dyes and bleaches to make me look like a race that I wasn't.

- I didn't have to spend all that money on curling irons, because 1) there are other ways to get beautiful waves i.e. bun waves and 2) some people would kill to have the straight texture I was born with.

- basically, I didn't have to change my looks to love myself. I didn't have to attempt to look non-Chinese to feel beautiful. I was already beautiful but I just couldn't see it at that time.

[leslissocool]

TMI advice I desperately needed at 16, which I wish I could go back in time to give myself, along with a big slap across the face:
1. Don't get naked with him in your house over spring break. Your mom is coming home for lunch! Aaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!! shudder::doh:


Oh God!!! I'm so sorry!!


Hair advice: Just because you left your country on your own, and are heavily depressed leaving your chaotic life and your dear friends behind does not mean you need to cut your virgin hip length hair!!!!:slap:

Have a backbone!!! You are just emotional, you do not need a bad haircut on top of the problems you are facing!!! Your hair is gorgeous, let it be! And FYI in the near future, bleach will give you a horrible chemical haircut.

[BeachBabe91]

-You were born with beautiful dark brown locks, so stop trying to obsessively bleach and dye it blonde! You will regret it so much later.
-Don't cut your hair! Let it grow long!

[dropinthebucket]

That hair colour you think is so boring and blah and mousy, just because you're 16 and totally way too self-critical - ISN'T!! I dyed my hair blonde for 20 year because I thought my hair was a blechy mousy brown. Finally, I had enough, and hendigoed the blonde hair, and let my own hair colour grow out - and oh my gosh, I LOVE it! Why did I ever not LOVE it???? It's perfect for me. And I have some silvers now, too. I wish I had had my own colour to enjoy for years and years before it started turning, but, I intend to enjoy my silvers now, as well. I feel like my own self again for the first time in a long time - why did I ever start dying it?

Just, love your hair. That's all. :)

[Clarisse]

I’m 16, and I don’t really have much advice to give myself at the moment...

[Tiina]

Black hair does NOT suit you. And don't dye your roots another colour when they come in. Tri-colored skunk stripe made you look like an idiot.

[MinderMutsig]

You don't appreciate your family hairdresser nearly enough. Really, you don't. She might not know how to cut every new hip style out there but hairdressers who take hours to S&D and dust your hair with no extra cost are worth their weight in gold. Gold I tell you! Besides, having your hair cut with a razor does nothing for your hair except make it frizzy.

Thank you for not perming or straightening your hair but you really should be more bold in trying new hairstyles. Go pink or green or any other crazy color you can think of. Do it now because you won't be able to when you are older.

Oh and about that grey/silver envy you've been sporting for the past three years: yes you will still think grey/silver is an amazing haircolor in 15 years and naturally grey/silver hair isn't very common in your family so do it already!


Hmmm, now I'm thinking maybe I should dye my hair silver...

[kettle]

I'd tell myself to have a bit more fun with it... dye it, cut it, whatever! Except I wouldn't listen. I needed to hide behind my hair when I was sixteen.

[DorothyAtForty]

I would tell myself to STOP cutting length off my hair when frustrated. Just. Stop. It will become a very bad habit that makes you feel worse after you do it.

[becker]

Don't let Great Clips give you a chin length bob a couple months before senior pictures. When you grow to waist length from that bob, keep it there.

[Blueneko]

Shave your head. Now is your chance. Enjoy the baldness. Then grow!

[Rafaelle]

Haha, basically what I did at that age-have fun with it. There always comes a time later in life to "go classic".

[Freija]

I'd tell her just to keep having fun (although possibly I'd encourage her to go through with the Manic Panic bleaching rather than chicken out at the last minute, and to get a faux hawk while it's still short. I always wish I'd tried that...). "Just for the record, you never do regret the crazy chop-it-all-off, dye-it-every-colour-you-can-get-dye-made-in hair adventures - and it does grow back. By age 21, you're depressingly normal again."

[Amber_Maiden]

Don't use a straightener. Never dye your hair.

[morrigan*]

Don't use box dyes only deposit ones.

[eshta]

I would tell my self to never get super layered hair esp. not with razors, I will thin out heavy thick hair yes, but with my texture it was frizz heaven and those short layers will stand up right. Also don't trust the hairdresser who suggest a bright copper in summer when I have natural highlights around my face. Neon orange is a nice color but not for my hair. Luckily that was around a soccer world championship and orange is a national color :D.

[Kiwiwi]

Dear Kiwi,

Please don't bleach a few streaks of your hair and then a few months later relax it. It will break you hair. Just don't relax your hair at all. It looks ridiculous when it grows out. Poofy hair on top, straight hair at the bottom.

Kiwi, you have very nice curly hair. I know you know this but you don't have the knowledge of taking care of your hair so your curls look nice and not poofy. You will hate your hair for years because you don't have this knowledge. I can't suggest to go read The Curly Girl cos it's not out yet. So I will just give you the info.
It comes down to this. Don't wash your hair with strong sulfates. Wash with low-poo and conditioner only(without silicones), alternate. Squeeze your hair with a t-shirt after a shower, stop using towels. If you want to go curly for the day(and not just wear it up) use just conditioner. Finger comb with the conditioner in it in the shower. Rinse 70&#37; of the conditioner out. Squeeze with a t-shirt. Put some natural gel it in and let it air dry; do not brush. And there ya go; nice curls.

Also, get a tiny trim a bit more often. But... if you don't bleach and relax you will not have to do it. because that's basicly what damaged your hair and made it taper intro nothing.

Also; use argan oil. Just 4 drops for your whole hair after every shower. Your hair loves it.

[PinkyCat]

Get Away From The Chemical Relaxer!!!

[lesbia]

NO layers, why?!? :)

[XcaliburGirl]

Stop using 'cones on your scalp (sorry Dove shampoo and conditioner). Be more diligent about scrubbing your scalp (no fingernails) and using dandruff shampoo.

I wasn't doing anything damaging to my hair, but I had horrible flakes.

[morrigan*]

If i only know back then that there was deposit dyes only.

[Diamond.Eyes]

I was reading threads on TLHC long before I was a member. I had already stopped heat styling and dying my hair when I was sixteen, and I was a frequent user of ACV and virgin coconut oil. If I could give myself any advicest that age, I would stop myself from getting the layers that I'm still trying to grow out :(.

[honeydippedxo]

I would tell her to get that gunky ass gel out of her hair and quit killing the ozone and drying the hell out of her hair/scalp with all that nasty aerosol hairspray! If she didn't put all that crap in her hair she wouldn't have to wash it every single day. Then I would smack myself for ironing my hair with a clothing iron and putting heat on my hair almost every day.

hahaha I love this thread.

[ericthegreat]

LOL my hair was actually healthier when I was 16! :)

Then, my hair was totally virgin and jet black, I hadn't started regularly heat-styling with a blow-dryer or flat iron yet, and I let my hair completely air-dry in the breeze. At that time it was also only shoulder length, so the ends themselves were younger and healthier.

But I would never want to go back. I love the hair I have now so much better, which is a nice blend of copper and golden blonde, often styled pin straight and shiny with both a blow dryer and flat iron, and now reaching classic length.

[CrunchyMama]

At 16 I had APL hair, at least... Maybe almost BSL? I didn't do much with it--it may have been highlighted... not sure... I would blow dry it when I had time. I think the worst thing I did with my hair was NOT dry it in the winter and go to school with it still wet. We're talking -20+ C temperatures... My hair would freeze! Not good!!