Need fine hair buddies!

[LotusFIre]

Hi, I'm new, and I'm sure veterans have seen questions like this posted many times, but I am looking for people with fine textured hair that have had success in growing their hair long, AND it not looking stringy.
Everywhere I go online looking for fine hair tips, it says, Cut your hair into a bob. Do not grow it long. I'm so sick of it! I don't have super thin hair, and it grows fairly quick. I haven't had long hair since I was 9, so I am a little nervous about this venture! I want my hair to be waist length. Another thing, I got it cut very short this summer, and it is in layers. I have heard that you should cut yout hair all one length before growing it out. I do NOT want to, my shortest layers are only 4 or 5 inches long! Anyone else in the same boat? Give me some hope for my fine hair please! :D The first pic here is my last haircut in mid September. SHORT!!
The other pics were taken today. http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5249/5218970338_2681ef722f_m.jpg
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4103/5218969910_61d64e5135_m.jpg
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5287/5218380703_683018348d_m.jpg
My goal is waist length, maybe longer. Am I dreamin' here?

[Themyst]

My hair is really fine, like a spiderweb. I was able to grow it long, but the longer it gets, the finer (and stringier) it seems to be. I have to do a lot of primping when I take my pics. It looked its best right around hip length. I'm just growing it now out of curiosity - I may cut it back to hip later on if I can't control it.

There are many tips and tricks on the board to try - I haven't been brave enough to try conditioner only washes, etc., so I don't know if they work or not. But also, what works for one may not work for another. All you can do is try, and if you really want long hair, it is possible. You just need to find a style that will work best with your hair type. That might mean wearing it up most of the time and taking it down on occasion. Or you might just be surprised at how nice your hair does look with some length.

[Angeletti]

Hello, just wanted to say welcome to LHC. There are plenty of fine haired members here that have grown their hair nice and long, I'm one of them. If your happy with your current hair then I don't see why you should have to cut it all the same length before you start your growth journey, I have a V hemline and it never affected anything so I suggest you grow your hair out the way you want : )

[Coan-Teen]

I'm somewhere close to your current length now with a similar cut. I will say with absolute certainty, fine hair does not have to be short hair. I've had my hair much longer than it is currently, somewhere around waist in high school and my hair did not look stringy. I don't think I have any pictures of it (the basement flooded in 2001 and took a lot of our stuff with it =P) but my hair was straight, healthy and had a good shine. And that was all just benign neglect on my part.

I've had my hair short now for a number of years but I'm starting the same journey, to grow my hair long again as I've wanted to for quite some time. There are tons of tips circulating this forum and I believe there is a thread just for fine-haired people. If you use the search feature I'm sure it will come up.

HTH, and welcome to LHC.

ETA: Oh, and there's no reason to cut to a blunt hemline for growing unless you want to. Hair grows just fine layered. :D

[littlenvy]

Welcome a board!! :) You sure are in the right place.

Just start growing and don't worry about what others say.
There are a lot of threads for fine hair girls like us. I'm sure you will find something that works well for you.

PS ... right now we are trying out oil/shampoo :whistle:
As in a spoon of coconut oil mixed in with your shampoo.

Good luck with your growth and have fun surfing the board.

[jojo]

Well I am a fine hair who has all my life been told "your hairs too fine to grow long blah de blah" but Ive managed to get to waist and my hair since coming on here has actually got thicker. Ive gained 12"in length since joining and the top 12" are my thickest bits, though my hair is slightly thinner the bottom bits. Thid is totally down im sure to not using heat as often and air drying 99% of the time.

My hair does go a bit stringy now its longer, especially if I wear it down, it clumps like rats tails but a quick comb sorts that out, but I tend to wear it up. I would have got a lot more length but ive dusted a lot to keep my hemline blunt, which gives the illusion of thicker hair, though I would class my hair as medium to thick. Hairdressers would always describe my hair as baby fine but add I have plenty of it. Though since hennaering my individual strands have thickened a little.

The enemies for fine hair are heat; especially straighteners, cones my hair hated them at shorter lengths but love them now non cones upto bsl actually bulked my hair out, layers a big no no make hair look stringy. Keep your hair up and ignore it, it is perfectly possible to grow long hair which is fine but regular dustings are a must. I am actually going to go for a year of non trimming just to see how much growth I can get, but because my hair is fine, its delicate and breaks easily so time will tell if I manage a year!

Good luck, you can do it just treat your hair like a china doll and it will thank you for it! xx

[embee]

Welcome! I have fine hair. :) My hair tends to be stringy no matter short or long, childhood or adult. That's my hair. :( So for me the updo is the answer. Which means growing hair long enough to put up.

I can just sit on the ends of my hair now, and I have worn my hair up for a number of years. Hairtoys are fun. Different styles are fun. And my hair is comfy. I'm pleased.

No you need not trim layers off to grow, just let 'er rip! :) Be aware there will come some awkward stages where your hair doesn't do what you want, but tough it out, that's just a stage. Maybe you can buy some big fancy earrings to see you through!

[Nenwing]

I too have fine hair, and know what you mean about it getting stringy. Does yours get easily staticky too?

I figure at least it can be long enough to do some really cool updos! My hair is a bit longer than yours, and finally makes a decent ponytail!

[Shellby]

Hello and welcome! I am a fine hair, too. I am currently at waist. Whoohooo. My mother told me for years and years my hair was too fine to be long unless it was permed and or colored for thickening. What was I thinking? Due to life and stuff I had ignored my hair for months and months. I put it in a braid and went about my day. That is how it got to brastrap length. Now I am consciously trying to take better care of it to see how long it will get. I am also doing the coconut oil shampoo mixture and my hair is loving it! I say grow your hair how you want. I dont think cutting it to one length is necessary. Just grow it! In no time you will be doing updos and buying hair toys...:D Just like the rest of us.

[Honestwitness]

I have fine hair and it's BSL now. It's very static-y now that cold weather has come. I have to use some kind of product like mousse or gel to keep it from floating around and tickling my face and neck. Today, I wore hair sticks to work for the first time. It was kinda nice and kinda weird. Beccause my hair is so fine, the sticks slowly slipped out of my bun. I had to redo the bun several times during the day.

I tried washing with conditioner only, but that made my hair limp and lifeless. I need shampoo and conditioner both. It's fun to keep trying new products and techniques.

Now that my hair is longer, it's definitely easier to style. I used to have to wash my hair every day, when it was short (pixie). But now, I can go up to four days and it still looks nice.

I use a ssatin pillowcase and a sleepccap in cooler weather. These have really helped keep my hair from getting damaged. I have also weaned myself from any heat at all and that is working out great.

[tinywife]

I have very fine hair too, and mine's been waist-length before. The important thing for us is to carefully avoid damage. Some people can get away with a little heat or a little rough brushing, but fine hair won't. But as long as you take very good care of your hair, there's no reason it can't grow to waist! By the way, I'm growing mine from about the same length. I am going to grow my 5-inch layers out, though. Good luck, and welcome to LHC!

[LotusFIre]

Thanks so much, that makes me feel more confident, I can see from the pics that fine hair can look pretty in a long style! I am anticipating with dread the awkward stages, which I am entering already with outgrown bangs in my eyes and a cowlick that flips out in the back. My hair does get staticky, but I don't think I have thin hair. Can someone tell me why everyone is saying to keep your hair up? I see it everywhere but I still don't know why?

[Anje]

I think you can do it. My hair didn't look any fuller than yours when it was that length. How thick your hair grows or how thick the individual strands are doesn't necessarily have much to do with terminal length.


Can someone tell me why everyone is saying to keep your hair up? I see it everywhere but I still don't know why?
It has more to do with hair past your current length. As hair gets longer, it tends to rub on shoulders, get under purse straps, get caught between your back and the chair, and generally gets tangled by day-to-day life. All this wear and tear causes hair to break off rather than growing to its full length. Tangles and even the detangling process can kink and break hairs. Moreover, fine hair is more prone to breaking than more robust hairs are, so it's more prone to damage this way. Wearing hair up is an easy method to minimize the tangles and friction, thus allowing hair to get longer than it otherwise would without breaking.

Of course, that's only if you can manage fewer tangles and broken hairs in wearing your hair up. Putting it up unskillfully or with damaging tools versus carefully managing it when it's loose can have the opposite effect.

[yellowchariot]

I have fine to medium textured hair. Though women's hair appears thicker than men's hair for some reason :p even at fine textures. However I have noticed that as it has grown, it is becoming slightly thicker and much healthier now that I know how to take better care of it. Thanks, to the members here. :D

As others have said. . . Do whatever you would like to do with your hair. Grow out long, if that's what you'd like! There are many styles you can do with long hair that look awesome with fine-medium texture hair! ;)

[mellie89]

I have fine hair too. I am at BSL right now, and I am loving my hair more and more the longer it gets. Don't listen to anyone who says that fine hair can't be long! I have seen plenty of gorgeous heads of fine, long hair around here. :D

Experimentation is encouraged, but take it slowly. I am almost 2 years into my hair growth journey, and I am just beginning to figure out what my ideal routine should be.

[LotusFIre]

I guess I am going to have to learn how to do my hair, since my skill level consists of putting in a tight ponytail, which I now know is not so good for your hair! Luckily I have grown it out from short and not done many things to damage my hair. I was blowdrying, but I have stopped that.
I think I need a big mirror so I can learn to do my hair in the back.

[linnepinne]

I'm in that same boat with you!
I have layers to, but bigger difference between mine (My longest is about 2" from APL, and my shortest is just pas chin). I don't plan on cutting my hair blunt to grow, but to cut back my layers gradually. I know i won't like a short bob, and my longest layers also helps me to be able to put my hair up to protect it.
This thread gave me inspiration and hope that me, and other fine hairs, CAN succeed :)

[linnepinne]

Btw. I know that alot of fine hairs haven't had much success with CO (conditioner only washing method). But that really works for me!
I had a long transition period though (about 3 months), were my hair just felt lika a total lank and stringy grease ball. I had to wash every, or every other day.
But now, my hair thanks me for it. It helps me to get my greasies under control, and therefore also my stringy-ness. Now I can strech my washes into every 4-5 day. And my hair looks fine in an updo even on the last day before washing.

If it sound interesting, don't be scared to give it a try!

Enjoy your hair journey!

[freckles]

I have fine hair. I started out from a cut a *smidge* longer than your first pic, and I will be honest, my hair looks stringier now than it did in a bob. But the bob did NOT suit me, and I enjoy long hair more, stringy or not. My hair does not look like a 'curtain' like coarser hair does unless it has just been combed/brushed, it does tend to section a bit if it's completely down. I wear it in updos mostly, but if I want to show off my length, ponytails and half-ups definitely hide the stringyness quite successfully :) And having my tangle teezer on me all the time can 'correct' stringyness for a bit.

I have waist length hair now,and it's still fairly full at the bottom. Fine hair CAN be grown long :)

[Bonkers57]

My story exactly! :disgust: I'll keep some sort of bangs for interest, but the rest will go up (or ponytailed) once it's all long enough.

I'm now practicing "benign neglect" so I won't obsess too much. My last chop was 9/10/10 to make it all blunt. I think it's grown a couple of inches since. It's growing a little faster on the left than on the right, but I'm holding off on any trims until the end of January; even then I may pass it up if my ends are in decent shape.


Welcome! I have fine hair. :) My hair tends to be stringy no matter short or long, childhood or adult. That's my hair. :( So for me the updo is the answer. Which means growing hair long enough to put up. <snip>

[Quahatundightu]

I have fine hair and everyone told me I shouldn't or couldn't grow it long. When it was shoulder length it would fly all over the place!! To be honest I love it much more with some weight holding it down, it feels much thicker and heavier now even though the ends are thin (I'm at about hip length) Luckily I have some wave/curl which gives it a bit more volume. It does end up stringy occasionally, but for me it really depends on what products I use in it, and the weather. I'm sure your hair will look gorgeous long, you should just experiment and see what you like :)

[DarkChocolate]

I have fine hair. It is very much like cat hair,silk or a spider web. It gets tangled very easily. The ends are quite thin and I need to trim regularly to keep a good shape to my hair. Even though I have alot of hair it does not look like I do because of the fine strands. The ends tend to get very dry which I remedy with coconut oil.

[girlcat36]

My hair is super-fine but curly, and sometimes it's a struggle to keep it looking good. I have to micro-trim frequently, and I walk a fine line between over-conditioning and under-conditioning. I would never have it short, though! It might as well fine and long instead of fine and short! :)

[lapushka]

I have F hair and it's almost waist length. Yes, it's possible to grow it longer and depending on the texture of your hair it's even going to be much easier to take care of.

I think the length in the pics you took recently looks far more flattering on you than the bob did. :flower:

[Dolly]

Add me to the fine hair list! It has gotten much MUCH better since I started using henna, but I understand that henna is not the solution for everyone......but YES.....fine-haired people can have long beautiful hair. It may take a lot of work and babying, but it can be done!

[LotusFIre]

What does henna do for fine hair? Isn't it a coloring agent? I thought it would be damaging.

[Dolly]

What does henna do for fine hair? Isn't it a coloring agent? I thought it would be damaging.

Henna is a natural coloring agent, but it also bonds to the keratin in the hair, thus strengthening it. It is VERY permanent, so it is not something to be entered into lightly. My hair was being slowly destroyed by chemical dyes.....it was already thin and fine, but the dye was making it worse. Although henna is not a miracle for everyone, it literally saved my hair.....

[Angelica]

Hi! I belong here as well. Long hair for me is definitely easier to manage, although it is worn up all the time, I would miss it if I cut it. All my life people have been telling me that short hair is best for fine hair. I don't agree.

Unlike others I found henna a nightmare. For starters it didn't colour the hair, most of it ended up in the bath, it is so messy to use and my hair was horrible after it. Really rough. Luckily there was no permanent damage.

Of course many others have a different experience with it.

I used to use coloured mousses that were nice at one time, but they don't make the brands I used to like any more.

Happy growing!

[rags]

I have both baby fine and thin hair, and mine has been at tailbone most of my adult life. It was at BSL until just about a month ago. Now that I've chopped off a lot of damage, it's growing back out.

Honestly, when my hair gets past my shoulders, it does look more stringy and not like a "curtain" like some other hair types can. If I want to wear it down, I wear a half up, and plan to comb it a lot. :shrug: That's just the way baby fine, thin hair is.

And I agree with embee - it's going to be fine and thin no matter what. I'd rather it be LONG, fine and thin! :D

[feb26]

I'm at BSL and am medium-fine (sorry I don't post pics online).
If you're new to updos or are just not skilled at them (like me!) butterfly clips (also known as claws) and goody coated elastics are hair blessings. Sticks are great but the length of the stick is important, too long a stick and it's uncomfortable.
I do alot of braids, ballerina buns-buy a bunch of baby butterfly clips, you can easily keep a bun up without any tearing. Just pull hair up like you would for a ponytail, twist it all the way round, pin!

You'll reach your WL goal!

[LotusFIre]

Do I need to start keeping my hair up now or once I get to SL? just wondering. I am not skilled at doing hair but I want to learn.

[feb26]

Once it hits BSL or below is a good time to start, especially considering your daily activities. I live in Vancouver & take bus, train in to work (about 1hr&15min commute).
My rule: if it's rainy, up it goes. If it's gonna be in the way (shopping, running, etc) up it goes. Otherwise I leave it down cuz I love how it feels.