Beautiful Disaster

[HintOfMint]

For a dance, I decided to flat iron my hair for the first time in years. It looked great, was silky smooth, showed off my length... but there was hell to pay afterward and I knew it from the get go.

I used my regular cheap flat iron, thinking it would get the job done. It wasn't straightening my waves very well, so I cranked up the heat. :o
I made a few more passes before I smelled burning hair. :rolleyes:
Then I decided to borrow my friend's flat iron, which was of a decidedly better quality and used that to finish the rest of my hair. I had some Redken straightening balm, which probably didn't help when I scorched my hair the first time.
Then I danced so hard, my underlayer knotted up into a huge dreadlock.
I managed to detangle it the next day with my fingers and did a major S&D session.
The next day I could FEEL how dry my hair was.
I didn't wash it for 4 days and then when I did, I did an SMT and then used a new leave-in conditioner as a peace offering.

I think my hair is starting to forgive me, although, I'm still doing S&Ds like mad.
It was a high price to pay for the hair I wanted, but... as guilty as I feel about what I did to my hair... it was completely worth it! I looked perfect and I was able to see that I finally hit waist! I'm not going to flat iron my hair for at least 6 months, if not a year, but I will start wrapping my hair, because I realized that I miss having it straight sometimes.

Have you ever done something terrible to your hair, but loved it anyway?

[UltraBella]

I bleached my entire head once to lighten a dye job. I am lucky that my hair is very resistant to damage and still was healthy. And I loved the lighter color :)

[2peasinapod]

I used to dye my hair jet black. Although it wasn't very healthy, I liked the sleek, dark look.

[spidermom]

Every once in awhile, less than once per year, I allow my stylist to straighten my hair. We both like it that way.

[Vermelha]

I have done EXACTLY that. I wanted to see my length straightened for the longest time, so I flat ironed once a week for like a month. And even with the deep conditioning I did, my hair still felt like brittle straw. But I did enjoy it, no lie! I don't wear my hair straight very often, so that month was a break from dealing with curly hair.

Also, in turn, I learned how to better stretch washes and get second-day hair.

[christine1989]

I used to have a flat iron with 10 heat settings and I would only straighten it on the 10th setting. Looking back I was suprised that it never got burnt. I think because my strands are thick they are resilient to most damage. I did get a ton of split ends though. It took me over a year to get rid of them all.

[SilvraShadows]

Just the dyes. I loved the enhancement but lost so much hair in the process. :(

[Jessica Trapp]

I love the way my hair looks after I blow fry it and use hot rollers.

[Unofficial_Rose]

I've had my mid-brown hair a very light blonde quite a few times over the years. I loved it and it made me feel really cheerful and confident, even though it looked damaged.

Sounds like you had a great night out dancing. :D

[JulietCapulet]

I have definitely damaged my hair. The one and only time I died it...it was ruined. I am still growing it out. It's a really bad feeling to hurt ones hair. Also, I get my hair blow dried a lot which I know is really bad for it.

[purple_figtree]

I dreadlocked the back of my head, thinking I could hide it from my school. I did, for about six months, and then I had to comb/cut the dreads out. Now I have a lot of short chunks of hair, and have spent a ton of time snipping out split ends, but the hair on the back of my head will grow back out eventually (I hope). It was fun while it lasted, if a little stupid.

[Valdeon]

My DBF adores beautiful long curls. So once in a while I curl them using piggy tail buns and a styling gel. It always turns out to be great. But afterwards I have to do a major S&D. There are so many split ends every time :( But I guess there is always a price

[<3OnHerSleeve]

as much as I regretted perming my hair... it's still a temptation. as is my hair dye fettish. I'm so tempted to try Henna, but as it's permanent and I want to go natural... sigh I must resist. as much as I love it, it's what's best for my hair that I know I should go for

[mariika]

When a hairstylist asks me if I want my hair straight or curly and I choose curly I regret it 10 seconds into the straightening process. Once I asked my hairsdressed to just stop and let it be. I just can't bear the damage I can HEAR happening.

[Naphthylamine]

I used to iron my hair flat with a regular iron (the ones for ironing your clothing) every week during high school. It damaged my ends terribly even I used the iron in "silk/synthetic" program; but I loved the silkiness and smoothness.
Luckily my hair went from wavy to straight after high school, so I dropped the ironing and saved my ends.

[tinti]

I used to get streaks/highlights, and I loved them. I miss them, so I think I'll get new ones in May when my no trim year is over.

[Carolyn]

I get dye and a few high lights done approximately every 4 months. I love it. I also let her straighten it. I love it when it's nice and stick straight. I don't own a straightening iron and am careful for my hair the rest of the time. I don't feel like 3 days a year of having my dream hair is a bad thing. My hair is here for me to have fun with and enjoy. Who the hell am I saving it for?

[HintOfMint]

Glad to know I'm not the only one!

And, Unofficial Rose, yes, I had a fabulous time dancing. I was completely worn out when it was over, which is the sign of a good time.

[Qwackie]

I teased my hair to complete my Ninja from Beyond the Grave costume... Well, it looked awesome, and I successfully got the knots out with conditioner. I can't see the hair from the back of my head, because it's too short, but I probably gave myself /tons/ of splits.

[KittyLost]

Before LHC I used to straighten my waves and curls all the time unless I went to the hairdressers and she used to dry it curly for me with a diffuser because she wanted me to love my curls. I couldn't never do it like that though I just used to let my natural waves take over. It was still nice and pretty though :)

Also bleaching before adding in crazy colours :( I love my crazy colours but everytime I bleach little sections to do it with I always get nervous about the damage I'm doing even though most the time I survive past it with a SMT and S&D.

[mrs_coffee]

Sun In. It was nice at first, but then I decided I wanted a perm. Totally fried my hair. I was 14 and that little mishap turned into my first experience with a pixie cut.

[meek]

My hair ends are about 4-5 years old and survived 2 bleach jobs and 4 dye jobs! I'm pretty surprised that I don't have that many split ends; I suppose all the hair masking and deep conditioning I do helps out!

[Niwa]

I spent three months using a curling iron on my hair. I hadn't the slightest idea how to use it, and was often in a hurry while using it, so I used it on a very high temperature. I damaged the ends of my hair and my bangs, and caused thinning. I do not regret it, because I enjoyed satisfying my curiosity and also enjoyed the bouncy curls. Now, I have learned and will not go back to using direct heat.