Xepher
November 24th, 2010, 07:03 PM
I really hope I'm not violating anything by doing this, but I just wanted to show everyone my rockin' new hairstyle and explain why I did it. Think of this as my hair story up til now :)
For a good long while, I've been really, really unhappy with my hair. Before a few trims, it was a bit past my boobs. It was, in fact, at my 'dream length'... However, the quality of my hair was much better when I first started growing it long about 5 years ago. Mind you, I damaged it to heck until about 2 years later, but still; the hair growing in was healthy, smooth. Nice. Somewhere along the line, whether it was hormones, birth control (Which I almost never take now because I'm too scared, even though it's the only thing that saves me from my demonic PMS), or perhaps an iron deficiency which I've suspected I had for a few years now... What ever the culprit, my hair took a turn for the worst.
Most of my friends encouraged me to cut it because it was 'damaged' every time I complained about it, but they simply couldn't understand that the real problem was that my hair was growing in with that texture... it wasn't damage at all.
I have fine and rather thin hair that has only gotten thinner, and to make matters worse, it grows in feeling like it should be coarse hair. It's dry, brittle, lifeless, and yet virgin. I eat healthy, I exercise often enough, I drink a lot of water, I do take some supplements, but nothing seems to help.
The hair I already had never improved either. I did henna multiple times, I tried CO, WO, deep treatments, tons of different oils, using protein.
I tried things as natural as Morrocco Method to the most synthetic of things like Pantene, and EVERYTHING in between. I have tried so many products it's ridiculous. I put my hair up at night and I treat it as delicately as I possibly can. Still, nothing I did ever made a bit of difference, and I felt like I was shedding more lately, which only made me feel worse.
Point is, here I was at my goal length, after all the money spent, the time and effort spent, and I was... Unhappy. I wasn't enjoying my hair at all. I dreamt of shiny hair and mine was dull, I dreamt of hair that flowed and mine just sat there as a feathery and fuzzy mass. I wanted hair that made me feel pretty and feminine and that I would enjoy touching and styling and caring for... but I realized eventually that it simply wasn't the case, and caring for my hair was more like a stressful, full-time job and obsession that only made me feel worse and worse every day.
SO, put simply, last Tuesday, I finally went and got a faux hawk, a hairstyle I'd been wanting for a long time, but never went through with because I was still on my futile long-hair journey, and because I was afraid of short hair again. Amazingly, I wasn't horrified, or depressed, or anything... I felt so relieved, and I felt like my hair finally reflected my personality.
Ever since, I've been really happy and have received many positive responses to my new 'do :D Moreover, I can start fresh... I can experiment with new things and have a much easier time seeing if and how it affects my hair. Maybe, hopefully, I'll be able to grow in healthier and softer hair, and then begin my journey again and with much more confidence this time!
Now, onto the pictures!
Side view:
This was right after it was done, but the back is kinda flattened since I laid down to tan afterwards. Before you compliment the color; it's actually darker than that in person, and it's the result of reddish henna'd hair with dark, fading temp dye over it.
http://i52.tinypic.com/20us76w.jpg
Back/angled view:
This is recent, after I styled it myself. I call this one the 'Shark fin' because the hawk points backwards. It's actually the result of me screwing up when trying to style it but shhh, no one has to know :rolleyes: What's great about this hair is you can mess up as much as you want and it will still look intentional! Tee hee.
http://i56.tinypic.com/2nsqhyx.jpg
So that's it for now! I am by no means encouraging anyone to cut their hair. I just wanted to announce that I am, in a way, starting over, and that I am very happy with my hair for the first time in years. I will not be leaving this site, that's for sure! If anything I am now even more determined to put all the information on this wonderful website to good use. I thank all of you for the help you've given me along the way already!
For a good long while, I've been really, really unhappy with my hair. Before a few trims, it was a bit past my boobs. It was, in fact, at my 'dream length'... However, the quality of my hair was much better when I first started growing it long about 5 years ago. Mind you, I damaged it to heck until about 2 years later, but still; the hair growing in was healthy, smooth. Nice. Somewhere along the line, whether it was hormones, birth control (Which I almost never take now because I'm too scared, even though it's the only thing that saves me from my demonic PMS), or perhaps an iron deficiency which I've suspected I had for a few years now... What ever the culprit, my hair took a turn for the worst.
Most of my friends encouraged me to cut it because it was 'damaged' every time I complained about it, but they simply couldn't understand that the real problem was that my hair was growing in with that texture... it wasn't damage at all.
I have fine and rather thin hair that has only gotten thinner, and to make matters worse, it grows in feeling like it should be coarse hair. It's dry, brittle, lifeless, and yet virgin. I eat healthy, I exercise often enough, I drink a lot of water, I do take some supplements, but nothing seems to help.
The hair I already had never improved either. I did henna multiple times, I tried CO, WO, deep treatments, tons of different oils, using protein.
I tried things as natural as Morrocco Method to the most synthetic of things like Pantene, and EVERYTHING in between. I have tried so many products it's ridiculous. I put my hair up at night and I treat it as delicately as I possibly can. Still, nothing I did ever made a bit of difference, and I felt like I was shedding more lately, which only made me feel worse.
Point is, here I was at my goal length, after all the money spent, the time and effort spent, and I was... Unhappy. I wasn't enjoying my hair at all. I dreamt of shiny hair and mine was dull, I dreamt of hair that flowed and mine just sat there as a feathery and fuzzy mass. I wanted hair that made me feel pretty and feminine and that I would enjoy touching and styling and caring for... but I realized eventually that it simply wasn't the case, and caring for my hair was more like a stressful, full-time job and obsession that only made me feel worse and worse every day.
SO, put simply, last Tuesday, I finally went and got a faux hawk, a hairstyle I'd been wanting for a long time, but never went through with because I was still on my futile long-hair journey, and because I was afraid of short hair again. Amazingly, I wasn't horrified, or depressed, or anything... I felt so relieved, and I felt like my hair finally reflected my personality.
Ever since, I've been really happy and have received many positive responses to my new 'do :D Moreover, I can start fresh... I can experiment with new things and have a much easier time seeing if and how it affects my hair. Maybe, hopefully, I'll be able to grow in healthier and softer hair, and then begin my journey again and with much more confidence this time!
Now, onto the pictures!
Side view:
This was right after it was done, but the back is kinda flattened since I laid down to tan afterwards. Before you compliment the color; it's actually darker than that in person, and it's the result of reddish henna'd hair with dark, fading temp dye over it.
http://i52.tinypic.com/20us76w.jpg
Back/angled view:
This is recent, after I styled it myself. I call this one the 'Shark fin' because the hawk points backwards. It's actually the result of me screwing up when trying to style it but shhh, no one has to know :rolleyes: What's great about this hair is you can mess up as much as you want and it will still look intentional! Tee hee.
http://i56.tinypic.com/2nsqhyx.jpg
So that's it for now! I am by no means encouraging anyone to cut their hair. I just wanted to announce that I am, in a way, starting over, and that I am very happy with my hair for the first time in years. I will not be leaving this site, that's for sure! If anything I am now even more determined to put all the information on this wonderful website to good use. I thank all of you for the help you've given me along the way already!