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Katze
October 2nd, 2010, 04:24 AM
Just got a trim again to clean up my ends and realized...I now have virgin hair!!!

So, what to do?

The dye and bleach and corresponding velcroy, crispy, chronically dry ends are (I hope!) gone.

I have about half my length at (solid, not see through) BSL and the other half shoulder-length, due to new growth. Kind of waiting for the new growth to catch up because it looks VERY weird to have thick hair to shoulder then long strands hanging down...and much of the new growth is curly undercanopy, but my crown is fine and straighter. Quite hard to deal with, since half my hair does not stay in updos.

I wish I were blonde again, but longer hair is more important to me than being blonde. Still, I miss that feeling of feeling special and attractive (could be a factor of age and of being the mom of a toddler).

Anyone else got rid of the color then thought 'now what?' I can't very well get rid of my taper or make my new growth get longer faster, so I am kind of at a loss...

Dragon
October 2nd, 2010, 04:31 AM
No advice but congrats on getting your virgin hair back:)

kitten1986
October 2nd, 2010, 04:48 AM
Oh yes congratulations on your achievement, I am a bit jealous ;)

I want to get rid of all my dyed hair too it feels horrible from about 10 years of doing a full head application of permanent black dye about once a month, straightening practically every day and just generally treating it badly. I really like my natural colour but it looks horrible when 3 inches of my roots are natural and the rest is horrible dull black. So I am doing a semi-brown (which has no ammonia) about once every 3-4 months now and when I reach my mini goal of BSL I will start cutting out the horrible dyed ends, till then its only S&D and microtrims to even it up.

If you are wanting blonde...have you tried honey lightening? there is a thread on here somewhere, it might give you some nice natural highlights without the damage
If you want something a bit new... have you considered bangs if you dont already have them, or some face framing layers?

I am sure your hair looks lovely and you should be VERY proud of your efforts so far!

stkl
October 2nd, 2010, 05:03 AM
congratulations!!!
just a quick question. once you get to your goal length can you start going blonde again? because you'd be trimming more regually than if you were growing it, so youd be cutting the damaged ends off. or would that still cause loads of damage because your hair is older at the bottom?
im just asking because i miss my blonde hair loads, and its somthing i really want to do again when i reach waist. or is it a really bad idea?

Othala
October 2nd, 2010, 05:15 AM
What now? Now you continue good hair practices to ensure that your virgin hair retains it's quality all the way to your desired length.

Denebi
October 2nd, 2010, 05:16 AM
Congratulations! :flower:

What to do next?

Quoting from a cat's signature: "Now I just need to work on thickness and getting rid of taper..." :D

Oh, and I bet you are attractive with toddler, non-blonde, age, and all. I understand that you don't feel like that (I know this disease too well), but I doubt that bleaching your hair will heal you or make you any happier. Maybe it does for the moment. But in the long run you will probably think "why did I do this? It took me sooo long to get rid of that crunchy dyed hair, and now I have to start it all over again!" - or something like that.

Just my 0.02$ :)

Siava
October 2nd, 2010, 05:44 AM
You don't have to be blonde to be special although I understand what you mean. :) It can be a rough transition when you're so accustomed to having hair a particular way for so long. I'm envious you're back to virgin hair. Go you!!

Now what? I guess, now you can either keep growing or maintain until you thicken up the ends until you're satisfied and then grow some more. Having a goal is important so you don't get bored whether it's growing, maintaining, thickening up, retaining hair health, or whatever. Good luck on figuring out your goal! :D

Arianwen
October 2nd, 2010, 07:48 AM
The title of this thread made me do a double-take...anyone else? :lol:

angelthadiva
October 2nd, 2010, 08:23 AM
The title of this thread made me do a double-take...anyone else? :lol:


LOL, not until you mentioned it. I know OP has a wee Kitteh, so that thought never crossed my mind ;)

Congratulations!! I like the idea of small trims until you thicken up your ends. I had the same issue with layers I was growing out. I've maintained close to the same length since I've been here. I think I went from just above TBL to Classic now doing small trims as needed. I'm growing out dyed hair too and letting my silvers grow. I love the feel of my outgrowth. My virgin hair is so soft and silky and not frizzy at all. That alone encourages me to stay away from the dye bottle...Not that I would anyway. In January, I will be 2 years dye free!

Denebi
October 2nd, 2010, 08:27 AM
yes, me. But I knew instantly that it really was hair-related... Katze started the thread and I know she was pregnant, had a baby, and all that.

But it seems to be intended ;)

Arianwen
October 2nd, 2010, 08:30 AM
yes, me. But I knew instantly that it really was hair-related... Katze started the thread and I know she was pregnant, had a baby, and all that.

But it seems to be intended ;)

OMG That makes it even funnier, somehow. :lol:

Siava
October 2nd, 2010, 09:21 AM
The title of this thread made me do a double-take...anyone else? :lol:

You pregnant people...you've got the deepest gutter brains. :p

spidermom
October 2nd, 2010, 12:01 PM
Now grow on; take good care of it, get little trims every once in awhile.

You can buy blonde streaks to clip into your hair when you're in that mood.

silverjen
October 2nd, 2010, 12:09 PM
Some times the hardest thing to do is nothing... But short of setting a new goal, it sounds like all you've got to do now is sit back and enjoy. Congrats!

Melisande
October 2nd, 2010, 12:11 PM
Dear Katze, you know I love your hair. Did you ever think about using natural dye to color it? I know warm tones may overwhelm your skin and eyes - but what about a mixture of katam and cassia?

My natural color is very similar to yours but a bit more reddish so I get along very well with Sante Terra. It also gives great body, shine and strength to my hair. I use it to cover my greys which I don't like. There are quite a number of natural solutions for giving more intensity to your color and keep the hair healthy at the same time.

Just an idea. I think your hair looks very well the way it does, and I'd like to see a newer picture... with the virgin baby halo growing in... (wow, virgin, baby and halo in one sentence and all of them related to hair, not religion!).

Pierre
October 2nd, 2010, 01:21 PM
Quoting from a cat's signature
I found it amusing that the first three posters to this thread are all felids ;)

I've never myself succumbed to the blond leading the blond, but congratulations!

akuamoonmaui
October 2nd, 2010, 02:13 PM
If you want more blond, what about honey lightening? There's a nice thread on it.

MissManda
October 2nd, 2010, 02:25 PM
That's so wonderful that you have all-virgin hair now! Congratulations! :flowers:

If you want to try something new, you could try some face-framing layers like the others have suggested. There are also ways to enhance blonde tones in your hair like honey, catnip, and even cassia.

FrannyG
October 2nd, 2010, 04:48 PM
Oh Katze, I am so excited for you. :happydance: I've been following your journey for years, and this is an amazing milestone!!!

I guess the next step is to keep taking care of your hair as well as you have been doing and keep your eye on your new goal of growing out the regrowth while trimming the ends to match your hemline.

Congratulations! I know what a long haul it's been. :blossom:

Katze
October 6th, 2010, 11:59 PM
Oh yes congratulations on your achievement, I am a bit jealous ;)

I want to get rid of all my dyed hair too it feels horrible from about 10 years of doing a full head application of permanent black dye about once a month, straightening practically every day and just generally treating it badly. I really like my natural colour but it looks horrible when 3 inches of my roots are natural and the rest is horrible dull black. So I am doing a semi-brown (which has no ammonia) about once every 3-4 months now and when I reach my mini goal of BSL I will start cutting out the horrible dyed ends, till then its only S&D and microtrims to even it up.

If you are wanting blonde...have you tried honey lightening? there is a thread on here somewhere, it might give you some nice natural highlights without the damage
If you want something a bit new... have you considered bangs if you dont already have them, or some face framing layers?


Thanks! Yeah, growing out was really rough, but in the end worth it. I mistreated my hair for about 15 years just as you describe, so this is the first time it has really been natural. I did what you are planning and it 'only' took 5 years. And my hair got better all the time.

Honey never lightened my hair, nor DH's hair. I tried to follow the instructions, tried again and again, but never found it to be a natural bleach. I think the evidence is a bit wonky, honestly, since honey does not bleach towels, clothing, or the sun damage spots on my face.


Congratulations! :flower:

What to do next?

Quoting from a cat's signature: "Now I just need to work on thickness and getting rid of taper..." :D

Oh, and I bet you are attractive with toddler, non-blonde, age, and all. I understand that you don't feel like that (I know this disease too well), but I doubt that bleaching your hair will heal you or make you any happier. Maybe it does for the moment. But in the long run you will probably think "why did I do this? It took me sooo long to get rid of that crunchy dyed hair, and now I have to start it all over again!" - or something like that.

Just my 0.02$ :)

Thanks. Yeah, I will always battle taper, unfortunately, it seems I can never get rid of it, but I am not into the 'fairytale ends' look -on me it just looks damaged and unhealthy and I get tired of the doubting comments from well meaning loved ones.

I agree with you about bleach, but may get some highlights eventually (next summer...) Just feeling old and like I look my age, which is at odds with how I live and think. Working on losing weight healthily is helping a bit.


You don't have to be blonde to be special although I understand what you mean. :) It can be a rough transition when you're so accustomed to having hair a particular way for so long. I'm envious you're back to virgin hair. Go you!!

Now what? I guess, now you can either keep growing or maintain until you thicken up the ends until you're satisfied and then grow some more. Having a goal is important so you don't get bored whether it's growing, maintaining, thickening up, retaining hair health, or whatever. Good luck on figuring out your goal! :D

yeah, waist would be nice by the time my hair is silver (I have maybe 5-10% silvers up front, but they are still quite short). But honestly having it LOOK healthy at BSL is better than straggly, see-through ends at waist (which I had before - see avatar pic where they are carefully combed together)

And I do keep reminding myself that my hair color IS special since most women with this color bleach or dye...


The title of this thread made me do a double-take...anyone else? :lol:

Yep, that was kinda the intention! :silly:


Dear Katze, you know I love your hair. Did you ever think about using natural dye to color it? I know warm tones may overwhelm your skin and eyes - but what about a mixture of katam and cassia?

My natural color is very similar to yours but a bit more reddish so I get along very well with Sante Terra. It also gives great body, shine and strength to my hair. I use it to cover my greys which I don't like. There are quite a number of natural solutions for giving more intensity to your color and keep the hair healthy at the same time.

Just an idea. I think your hair looks very well the way it does, and I'd like to see a newer picture... with the virgin baby halo growing in... (wow, virgin, baby and halo in one sentence and all of them related to hair, not religion!).

Cassia gave a pale yellow that faded. I can get the same amont of color change by washing with sulfates (I get brighter, lighter hair when I do) so not sure it is worth the hassle at all.

What I would like of course - lighter but ashy shades -is not possible.


If you want more blond, what about honey lightening? There's a nice thread on it.

Heh, I am probably this site's biggest skeptic on that topic! I wanted to make it work, tried to make it work, did sample tests with control strands on both my and DH's hair, and saw NO difference. DH has a doctorate in chemistry and says the amounts of peroxide are so negligable as to be unable to bleach something like hair (not to mention that honey has never, in 20+ years of using it, bleached my skin, clothing, towels, bathroom rugs, nightclothes...) But to each their own. :)

Over the years I have tried sun, lemon, honey, chamomile, all those supposed folk recipes for bleaching hair, and my hair just doesn't bleach without, well, bleach. Which I guess is a good sign that it is healthy.

Thanks everyone for your input, gonna try to get a new camera so I can get some pictures up after my latest trim.

sakuraemily
October 7th, 2010, 10:52 AM
Turn into a natural hair beauty. Dyes and bleach really damage hair.

Katze
October 11th, 2010, 08:59 AM
Turn into a natural hair beauty. Dyes and bleach really damage hair.

ha, funny. :silly:

Yep, that was my goal, and what I have been doing since joining here in 2006. I first started bleaching my hair when I was 13, and didn't stop until I was over 30. Now I find I miss the blonde, but I don't miss the damage.

However, saying 'turn into a natural hair beauty' is fine for someone who's 17, but a bit harder when you are 37, the mother of a toddler, work full time and never, ever get a full night's sleep. If you ever get to this point in your life, you will understand why I sometimes yearn for a bit of jazzing or brightening up. For the moment I am now accomplishing this through more dramatic eye makeup instead. Note to other tired moms - light colored eye shadow really DOES make you look less tired!

The yearning for blonde will come again, I know. :)

Now if I could only break the updo curse and find something else to do besides messy bun, messy twist, or either of the above with messy braid (my hair does not do tidy, smooth, or neat).

MsBubbles
October 11th, 2010, 09:19 AM
saying 'turn into a natural hair beauty' is fine for someone who's 17, but a bit harder when you are 37, the mother of a toddler, work full time and never, ever get a full night's sleep. .

Bahahaha! Amen, Katze.

Big congrats for growing out ALL your highlights! I must've missed this thread earlier.