Give yourself the piece of (hair) advice you wish you did long ago...

[Karala]

Give yourself the piece of (hair) advice you wish you'd given yourself (and taken) long ago.
Here's mine:

Dying the crap out of your hair every month for years, and then wishing for long healthy locks? Seriously, girl. Not gonna happen.
:D

[jojo]

Heat is not so hot for the hair....unless your after the scarecrow look!

[Bast]

Don't go to your mother's hair stylist to get it all chopped off. In fact, don't cut at all.

[girlcat36]

Stay far, far away from silicones!!!!!!!

[spidermom]

Leave it alone and let it grow; you'll love it long.

[Rabya-Khadija]

Don't bleach your hair you silly girl, you're a 14 year old Pakistani... not Malibu Barbie :D

[LotusFIre]

Don't rip through your hair with a brush like a pygmy hacking through the jungle with a machete!!!:trainwreck:

[spitfire511]

Stop chopping your hair off/dying it every time you feel like you're in need of a life change or things aren't going your way. You'll like it long, and you'll do much better to deal with the life "stuff" right off instead of deferring it for hair changes. :D

[sibiryachka]

Two words: Vinegar rinse.

[DARKMARTIAN]

Stop listening to "A Flock Of Seagulls"....:o

[growing2shine]

Don't let your friend tempt you to dye it black. It will be fun at first but after 3 months you will regret it so bad.
(Before I dyed, I had been growing my hair for a little while (to solid BSL), and if I hadn't done it I would be at my ultimate goal now; long, beautiful, healthy classic length hair.)

[Unofficial_Rose]

Use henna and indigo instead of bleach. It really doesn't look better blonde - your dad is right for once.

[Top_Cat]

Don't rip through your hair with a brush like a pygmy hacking through the jungle with a machete!!!:trainwreck:

LOL couldnt've put it better myself! That's exactly where I went wrong before joining LHC

[DARKMARTIAN]

"Angry brushing" is a no-no....

http://i618.photobucket.com/albums/tt267/DARKMARTIAN/Smilies/finger_waggle.gif

[andrea1982]

Never, ever, drastically chop of your hair while pregnant. I know you feel frumpy and akward, but having shorter hair won't make you feel better. (plus, the hormones have a negative impact on decision making skills!)

[remidosi]

Highlights are the start of a vicious cycle.

Learn to work with the curls and waves.

For Pete's sake, put down the blowfryer and learn to wrap your hair already!

That expensive shampoo and conditioner won't work. Neither will that one. Nor that one. No, not that one either. Not even that one. Just ditch shampoo and conditioner already and use baking soda and vinegar and oils. And don't wash every day. Twice a week is fine at most.

You're blonde. "Semi-permanent" and "temporary" do not apply to you.

If the majority of the salon's decor is by Ed Hardy or affiliates, turn around and go right back out that door.

Don't experiment with heavy oilings the night before a job interview. You never know when you'll wake up with no hot water.

DARKMARTIAN: Stop listening to "A Flock Of Seagulls"....HA! :D

[Copasetic]

Flat ironing isn't worth the effort.

Invest in some gel! (my hair needs it!)

[Avital88]

Stop using so much heat on your hair and stop the coloring for a while so you can notice yourself how much better your hair will going to look!

[mellie89]

1) Your hair is straight, you do not need to use a flat iron.

2) Yeah, it probably would be sweet to have red hair. But how about trying Manic Panic? That semi-permanent red WILL fade to orange, and the evil cycle of bleaching and dyeing will commence.

[jojo]

Don't bleach your hair you silly girl, you're a 14 year old Pakistani... not Malibu Barbie :D

ha ha this made me laugh out loud!!!

[Karala]

ha ha this made me laugh out loud!!!

Lol, me too ^^
love your answers so far! This is fun ^^

[triumphator!]

Don't cut on a whim because you're bored! Improve, improve, improve! :)

[Rabya-Khadija]

Hehe JoJo, it may be funny.. but it's true :p

[chopandchange]

You stupid, idiotic, blind little follower of society: why are you so convinced that you have to be blonde, when you clearly aren't?

(Please note I'm talking to myself here, and can use harsh language because I will not be offended by my own words directed at my younger, even stupider self! LOL)

Bleaching your hair will make it dry, parched, brittle, and broken. In addition, your dark roots growing back in will make it look like you have greasy hair.

Your brown hair is not "boring." Can't you see it's beautifully healthy and soft and silky, with subtle, natural highlights scattered through it already? What are you doing to it, you stupid, idiotic girl? Why do you keep going to the hairdresser and paying them money to put bleach on your hair and fry it?

*bangs head against wall and groans through teeth in frustration*

Oh, also, you know those hair straighteners you've discovered, that you think are the answer you've been waiting to find all your life?

They're not. PUT THEM DOWN!!

OK, mine is not a "piece of advice." It's a full-blown rant at my past self! LOL

[Pixna]

Do not -- under any circumstances -- "trim" your hair when you are unhappy, depressed, angry, or even remotely in a bad mood. That "trim" might turn into a pixie! :blueeek: Don't ask how I know this ... I just do.

[Laurenness]

Don't listen to your mother....a perm is NOT a great idea! Trust me, I would know....Seriously, without that perm you could've been over halfway to your goal!!! Grrr.

[Alexannee10]

Stop thinking that peroxyde bleach isn't bad for your hair ! And stop using heat .. your hair IS straight. So why flat ironing ? Umm stupid me.

[Olyve]

Teasing and back-combing breaks your hair- it looks ridiculous anyways, stop doing it.

Stop dying your hair because you want to hide your gray, yes your first one was found at 19 but embrace it. They are your wisdom strands.

Please, for the love of pete, stop cutting your hair when you are upset and mad at the world. It did nothing to you and you get so upset afterward!

[feralnature]

If you simply MUST perm, bleach, color, cut or otherwise torture your hair...PLEASE go to an experience hairdresser and DON'T try to save money by going to a "MacHaircutter". Horrible things can happen at the hands of inexperienced hairdressers.

[LisaMonster]

Just because that chin length bob looks adorable on all your friends does not mean that it will look adorable on you. :ponder:

[christine1989]

Drop the flat iron! DROP IT!! :patrol:

[DecafJane]

Don't go to your mother's hair stylist to get it all chopped off. In fact, don't cut at all.


Leave it alone and let it grow; you'll love it long.


Stop chopping your hair off/dying it every time you feel like you're in need of a life change or things aren't going your way. You'll like it long, and you'll do much better to deal with the life "stuff" right off instead of deferring it for hair changes. :D


Do not -- under any circumstances -- "trim" your hair when you are unhappy, depressed, angry, or even remotely in a bad mood. That "trim" might turn into a pixie! :blueeek: Don't ask how I know this ... I just do.

These and all the similar comments afterwards!

[Carolyn]

Stop cutting it into trendy styles. Learn to love the classicness of long hair.

[shockinglength]

Stop 'detangling' (more like abusing) your hair with a cheap 20 yr. old fine toothed comb. Give up the shampoo, and heat. Embrace CO!

[remidosi]

Drop the flat iron! DROP IT!! :patrol:
Goodness, this too! shudder:

[twopoints]

Don't cut your hair when the stylist is too busy talking to her friend! If it's too short, tell them to stop!!

[lindenblossom]

Like others said before:

Don't cut. Please.

Had to learn the hard way so many times - all cuts have been regretted.

[tinywife]

Get some moisture on that broom, girl.

Don't go to Wal-Mart for cuts or your friend's house for dye.

Don't listen to the teenagers who tell you to you HAVE to straighten it.

And don't cut it off just because the boy liked it. You will miss your hair much longer than you missed him.

[Druid of Alba]

Don't cut it! It's not who you are!
At least I'm only 18, I have many years of long hair to look forward to :)

[rapunzhell13]

Try BAQ henna! I always tried to get red hair, but it either didn't take or damaged my hair and then faded anyway.

[Cailie]

Learn to add moisture ! More ! And again !

[Demetrue]

Don't cut, don't cut, don't cut! Cutting your hair from classic length to a Dorothy Hammill wedge will not make you look or skate like Dorothy Hammill! 40 vol. peroxide mixed with bleach will not make you look like Jessica Simpson - it will melt your hair off. Jojoba Oil, no SLS, Wide Tooth Comb ;>)

[lw8666]

Stop cutting off inches and inches of hair every couple months!

Kindly neglect and it will grow.

[kuku]

dont dont dontttt brush ur wet hair:(

[DARKMARTIAN]

dont dont dontttt brush ur wet hair:(

If that was a crime......Id be awaiting "the chair"...:o

[CrowningGlory]

Regardless of how well-intentioned your friends are, it's not their hair. You don't have to cut to please them (in fact, when I did cut they just wanted me to go even shorter). If you like it long and DH likes it long, who cares what anyone else likes?

(Ok, still telling myself that but perhaps if I'd started sooner it would be well and truly ingrained by now.)

[skaempfer]

Get a backbone. A bag of water balloons and a cactus-on-a-stick may also be helpful. Then:

When your mother drags you to the corner barber shop when you are ten, saying "they do as good a job as those fancy salons and only cost 4 bucks," realise you will come away with a 'short back and sides.' Use the water balloons and the cactus-on-a-stick NOW. Then, RUN.

When your mother is bored and starts eying your BS length hair when you are 13, WB, C-O-A-S and RUN.

When your mother starts to nagnagnagnagnag about how horrible your long hair makes you look, at every opportunity, every meal, and seems to especially enjoy doing it in the car when you can't walk away, it is not necessary to dye it black, shave the left side of your head, then strip all the color out leaving the natural white and the dyed black part bright orange just to show her once and for all that it's your hair.

So, basically, tell your mother to get stuffed as soon as you learn how to talk.

Oh, and the aforementioned 'angry-brushing' thing. Don't do that. Hair doesn't respond well to flogging and a hairbrush is not supposed to be an instrument of torture.

[Dragon]

Learn to stick up for your self. It’s not there hair, it’s yours.

Don’t give in to cutting it just to make them shut up. They and no one else ever compliments your hair after any way, even tho you get what they want you to get. Doesn’t that say something?

Heat is damaging. Don’t let it near you.

Learn to run from my mother when she wants to put scissors near your hair :scissors:

It doesn’t matter how much blond you get in your hair. Even 4 blond foils will damage it.

Don’t feel like you have to let other people mess with your hair when you don’t want them to.

Do not straighten your hair with a clothes iron. It wont just wreck it, it will burn it.

Your hair is dry because its telling you it needs moisture.

Don’t cut with blunt paper scissors :scissors:

If you want to grow your hair, go on the internet when you first got it connected and learn how to look after it. Why did you wait till this year :confused:

[Gilly]

Its your hair, YOU and ONLY YOU can decide what to do with it.

NEVER forget that!!:patrol:

[Octave]

Do NOT go to a hairdresser to get a haircut...I repeat do NOT...not even when you want a small change and that someone tells you it's the best hair saloon in the world.

You don't have to "massage" your scalp like crazy when washing your hair.

There´s a thing called internet, and you do know that you can find pretty much anything on it...so search for some hairstyles to help you with your heavy hair...so no need to cut it shorter when you have headaches due to the weight.

and to my kindergarden self: Do not put in those yarn thingies in your hair at the festival, even if everyone else has got them. You will just get bored of them. And if you do decide to get them, do not decide to get up in the morning and cut them off!! You will end up going to a saloon and getting the worst haircut ever to repair the damage...and you will only end up looking like boy!:rolleyes:

[thatjengirl1]

My advise would be

1) Just don't cut it! You don't need a trim every month for your hair to stay healthy. Just let it be, everyone gets split ends.

2) Don't straighten it. Just don't.
I get triple the split ends when i straighten it.

[madeline_]

All of it, really. I did some horrible things to my hair in years past, but I guess the worst part was washing every day (lathering twice even) and blowdrying with the blowdryer òn the hair while pulling it through a bristly brush.

[Luna Lavender]

Don't tell the hairdresser to freshen up the layers. Every. 8. Weeks.

:(

[Naphthylamine]

"Avoid wet brushing and stop pulling your hair when it gets stuck under the shoulder strip of your laptop case!"

[Cailie]

This goes against what many people like to do, but for me :

Do trim often, and before breakage !! simply, always trim less than it has grown ;-)

[jaine]

Go to cosmeticsdatabase.org ...

(well...that's mostly sensitive skin advice, not hair advice, but that's what my past self needed most!)

[Karala]

Bumping this thread for more replies, because I love reading them :]

[RadiantNeedle]

Get a backbone. A bag of water balloons and a cactus-on-a-stick may also be helpful. Then:

When your mother drags you to the corner barber shop when you are ten, saying "they do as good a job as those fancy salons and only cost 4 bucks," realise you will come away with a 'short back and sides.' Use the water balloons and the cactus-on-a-stick NOW. Then, RUN.

When your mother is bored and starts eying your BS length hair when you are 13, WB, C-O-A-S and RUN.

When your mother starts to nagnagnagnagnag about how horrible your long hair makes you look, at every opportunity, every meal, and seems to especially enjoy doing it in the car when you can't walk away, it is not necessary to dye it black, shave the left side of your head, then strip all the color out leaving the natural white and the dyed black part bright orange just to show her once and for all that it's your hair.

So, basically, tell your mother to get stuffed as soon as you learn how to talk.

Oh, and the aforementioned 'angry-brushing' thing. Don't do that. Hair doesn't respond well to flogging and a hairbrush is not supposed to be an instrument of torture.

Heeheheheheee!
We need a cactus-on-a-stick emoticon!

[milagro]

Don't depend on average hair stylist's recommendations and products' ads and find LHC to have fellows' advice and experience and learn things by yourself!

[x0h_bother]

The flat iron is not your best friend. Don't cut off as much as you grow. Your hair (type) is "fine just the way you are" (made.)

[x0h_bother]

Don't tell the hairdresser to freshen up the layers. Every. 8. Weeks.

:(
Oh yea, I forgot about the layers along with the rest of the good advice :doh:

[enfys]

See that bit of the forum "conventional products and accessories". Yes, that one. And the bit a little way underneath it "swap board"? Don't go on them.

Buy every set of black hair sticks in Claires; one set won't be enough and the closest ones you'll find again will cost more to get to the UK than a box of Lucky Charms.

Wanting cut ro at some point is probably an inevitability so don't beat yourself up when you do it. Especially if you like it at the time.

[boomygrrl]

I have curly hair; it used to be very dry and frizzy before I knew how to take care of it.

My advice:
Step away from the hair brush. Do not wash your hair with a sulfate shampoo EVERYDAY; Do not pile on the cones; Do not blowdry your hair and straighten it with curlers (and curling iron). Use leave-in conditioner-- the creamy kind.

I don't mind sulfates/ cones...but I overkilled it when I was younger.

Oh, also, do not bleach your hair blond-- especially since I was doing all the other damaging things.

Do not mess with your hair while it is drying...leave it alone, let it airdry, only style right when getting out of the shower, then let it dry, scrunch the crunch when it's fully dry (or close enough to fully dry). Do not use hairspray every stinkin' day!!! I use it now when it's very windy, but it should be the exception, not the rule.

I'm sure there's more.
I wish there was internet when I was a kid and young adult.

[Cailie]

comb gently with a wood/bone comb, and start at the bottom, not the roots !!!

[Coan-Teen]

My hair advice to my younger self, go for it. :cheese: Do it all! Wreck your freaking hair all you want because it's hair, and it grows back, and we both know it was SOOO much fun at the time. :) I promise, I'll fix it all when I get there.

[Karala]

My hair advice to my younger self, go for it. :cheese: Do it all! Wreck your freaking hair all you want because it's hair, and it grows back, and we both know it was SOOO much fun at the time. :) I promise, I'll fix it all when I get there.

Love this one :] ...Yeah, when I think of it, it was fun having blonde hair, then strawberry blonde, then red, then pink, then purple, then black... etc ^^
It was fun for a while, I just regret that it took me so long to realize my hair could actually grow longer, if I just left it alone.

[oceanwoman111]

Stop chopping your hair off/dying it every time you feel like you're in need of a life change or things aren't going your way. You'll like it long, and you'll do much better to deal with the life "stuff" right off instead of deferring it for hair changes. :D

I couldn't have said it any better. :applause

[sleepingIn]

- if a hairstylist has awful hair, do not trust their opinion or recommendations (DUH)
- do NOT be spineless and allow a hairdresser to blindly chop with THINNING SHEARS to add "sass". You are plenty sassy already, those shears = SADNESS.
- box hair dye = satan
- oils are your friends! they will help tremendously.
- never EVER ask for "layers" unless you have no less than 5 pictures of what you are seeking to a hair salon, do not assume someone else can read your mind
- cutting your hair into a pixie in HS will not communicate to your father that you are the boss. Nope, not the pink dye either. Or anything else, actually.
- WIDE TOOTH COMB...only.
- stop thinking about it 24/7. there are more things to life.

[tinywife]

To my 3-year-old self:
Yes, scissors do "go with" hair, but not in the way you're thinking. Cutting it while Mom's in the other room will not make it longer.

[lesbia]

Layer are not good for fine and thin hair!!!!!!! don't do this!!

[freckles]

please don't dye it permanent black. You won't do the roots even once, the grow out period will start as soon as you leave the salon, and last (seemingly) FOREVER!

[mira-chan]

Don't switch from braids to ponytails as the go to style. It doesn't matter that it's the only style you see on girls in school, because ratty ends due to damage from wearing it in ponytails is so nice looking. :rolleyes: Be unique and enjoy your nice hair! Learn to braid earlier too so you don't have to ask your mum to do it every morning.

[adiapalic]

Self.... stop using plastic pronged brushes to rip through your hair!!!

[mrs_b]

don't use all home made hair product recipes at once and say that nothing works for your hair. stick with one, at least for a month or two.

[Yasmine91]

Listen to mum when she said henna and oil was good for hair growth XP

[Belledandy]

Go to the blackboard and write one hundred times each:

"Perms never work for you."
(No, you will not get the voluptuous waves you covet, you will get three feet of poodle coat that will fluff like a dandelion without a moment's hesitation. You are better off with well-planned rag curls.)

"Learn updos. Protect that length!" (You just might find your hair grows faster. Imagine that.)

"Brown is beautiful!". (It's not boring, or mousy. It doesn't need to be highlighted or "warmed". Yes, it one of the most common colors, but it contains streaks of so many natural variations and shades that it is uniquely YOUR brown. You will never have fairy princess golden locks, but you also won't be put to sleep by a spinning wheel, locked in a tower, or murdered by your stepmother.)

[Cailie]

Leave chemicals and any hard to pronounce / mysterious / industrial / expensive bottles and ingredients aside

.... and learn about plants and oils for hair care :flower:

[Eireann]

If you're bored with your hair, try a new up-do or new conditioning treatment. If you chop it off, it'll be YEARS before it grows back again!

[Cailie]

If you hair feels terrible and dead, do try clarifying before cutting it off !

[LadyJennifer]

Come to LHC! Lol. I was so bored with ponytails, I wish I'd have known about all the awesome updos!

Also, CO is awesome, and so is 'cone-free!

[DARKMARTIAN]

You have a mullet.......avoid cameras :o

[Tatybird]

Love YOUR hair. And never be ashamed of it because of someone's not nice comment on it in an early childhood:)

[Dolly]

You have a mullet.......avoid cameras :o


HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.....I just spit my icewater all over my laptop.....thanks for the laugh!

[PrincessBob]

Take it slow. Nothing happens all at once, so find updos that super thick haired individuals have had success with-- don't stress over the fact that french twists utterly fail in your hair. It doesn't matter you can do ton's of crazy things that people with thinner hair require Rats to pull off. ;)

[Rabya-Khadija]

Ufff... I cringe when I think about the many inches of hair I've cut off. All at once in some cases. :(

[Cailie]

Learn the self-trim method !

Saves money, you got control over how much you trim / cut, and no bad suprises :)

[PraiseCheeses]

There are better ways than "hair-dying parties" to bond with your string quartet at summer camp. It'll take you several years and a big chop to get rid of that.

[pelicano]

Hmmm where to start?!! The main ones would be:

1. Drip dry, don't towel dry
2. Seal the moisture in with oil
3. Use a chelating shampoo

[pelicano]

You have a mullet.......avoid cameras :o

Ah yes, I could have done with your advice in the 80s! :D

[xladolcevitax]

1. Do not get lots of short layers! They will take years and years to grow out.

Also, don't bleach hair to platinum blonde! You will have to cut it all off because it will be destroyed.

[Cailie]

Wish someone had told me to listen to her ! :p
http://www.youtube.com/user/kimmaytube#p/u/0/4_LKGqydL8s

[mireillemt]

Your natural hair color is the one that looks best on you. Really.

[LeahG]

Don't do highlights, they take a really long time to grow out, and no matter how nice and healthy your hair is, it isn't going to stay that way once you lighten it.
Don't give yourself a haircut at midnight on a school night because you're bored and can't sleep-especially if you aren't wearing your contacts!

[Toffee20]

The boxes on hair dye lie!
Quality over length!

[Beets]

Be fearless. It's only hair.

[brelj]

Don't believe commercials, its a waste of money and the lie!

[Cailie]

Be gentle.

[hazelnut]

1. Towel drying = frizzy hair
2. Indian herbs = friend
3. Flatiron + blow drying = no chance of getting that waist length hair you so desperately want.

[Karala]

You have a mullet.......avoid cameras :o

I missed that ! Love it, lol ^^

[MaryLA]

Don't blow dry your hair or use a flat iron!

[LunarAurora]

"Do NOT cut, only trim !"

[silverjen]

Step away from the scissors!

[patienceneeded]

Stop cutting your hair when you are bored with life! Also, short hair is not really a good look for you, remember that next time you feel like being "snippy." That and perms are a BAD idea for you...unless you like that fried poodle look you had going on back in 8th grade...

[ooo]

Don't cut, at all!

[TwilightBloom]

Love your hair for its natural self, stop trying to change the color, and embrace your curls and stop straightning to death.. Love your hair..

[lillylonghair]

Your natural color is beautiful! Stop bleaching and dying it. Also those ''super,edgy, trendy'' cuts don' look all a unique.

[Locksmith]

DON'T rip through your hair with a brush like that! Comb it carefully! It *does* break if you do that!

[Anatheme]

Start trimming your own hair regularly instead of big salon cuts every 1 or 2 years that always in tears. And stop being so rough with that brush, or just ditch it entirely!

[JuneBride]

Bleach and Shampoo are Evil!!!

[Sophiawavyhair]

Steam coming out of your hair when you flat iron is NOT "just" moisture like the sales rep made you believe! That is your hair burning! Also Using 420 degrees with NO heat protection will NOT make the flat iron work better :( AND that burnt smell in your hair afterwards is NOT your imagination ! Lol

2. When your hairdresser tells you that if she bleaches your hair one more time it's going to fall out, maybe just maybe you should stop bleaching lol :mad:

3. Stop shampooing everyday ... (or twice a day when you go to the gym)

[einna]

Moisturise!!!

Use the internet to find information on haircare (could have saved you months of orange hair while growing out that fading reddish brown colour).

Dont let the hairdressers thin out your hair at every visit, because it is so "thick". At least not with those horrible thinning scissors - they ruin your hair!

[Jessica Trapp]

You have a mullet.......avoid cameras :o

LOL! :D ...very funny...

[jesis]

Step Away From The Flat Iron!

[chelseamichelle]

STOP dying and straightening your hair!!! stop it, now!

[GeeLove]

moisturize, bun all the time, stop ripping out extreme tangles and stop sleeping with your hair out.

[Naughtalee]

That video was amazingly creative and coherent. I subscribed immediately after it ended!!! TY for the link!!! ^_^

[owlathena]

Don't model for a salon that insists on cutting all your hair off and dying it red. Its not a good look for you and you'll spend the next 4 years crying about it. Your self esteem will be shattered and you'll never think your hair is 'good enough' again. You'll cut and dye the crap out of it in an attempt to feel good about yourself, but the only thing that will make it better is to leave it alone and wait.

[Gabriel]

Don't decide brilliantly to cut your hair into a more "manageable length" right before heading out to basic training. This will not work out to your benefit. Learning how to quickly put up hair at an awkward length does not work when you only have 1 minute at 3 AM. Believe me, your drill instructer will not fail to notice the epic hair style you try to get away with.

Really... don't get that trendy (years ago) totally razored layered shag hair cut after you grew out your hair into one length. It would be great for a rock star or something but really... you're not a rock star and this is not a good look for you.

Leave your fringe alone! Your hair stylist knows what she is doing with that cowlick! You will not even it up but only make yourself look like one of the Three Stooges.

[Hatsumomo]

Do not dye your hair. You will only miss your natural colour yet again and delay the growing process as you have to grow out the colour.

Do not try to highlight your hair with a home highlighting kit and then use eyebrow dye to cover the botched, orange highlights.

Do not use semis to liven up your hair. Most of them contain peroxide and WILL change your natural colour permanently even if it says they won't, thus starting a new colour experimentation phase.

Do not henna your hair. Although you are pale, you do not have the colouring to carry off auburn hair. You will end up having to cut your waist length hair to shoulder length and then get it layered two years later in order to grow it out.

Do not get a fringe. You'll love it for a few weeks then hate it then fold and get it cut in again then hate it etc etc etc.

Do not use Domestos toilet bleach to try to open up your hair cuticles to release the colour you want to get rid of. Your scalp will itch like hell.

Do not fold to bulimia, your hair will fall off.

Do not layer your hair thinking it'll be easier.

Do not straighten your hair every day without heat protectant. Do not straighten it every week WITH heat protectant.

Do not sit and pull out your hairs randomly.



Yes I'm lucky to have my virgin, very thick, healthy, still medium-coarse hair but hell, it's taken a long time to get here!

[DiablitaNoir]

I would tell my teenage and early 20-something self to STOP CUTTING YOUR HAIR SHORT ALREADY! It does not look good on you...you do not look cute. What are you thinking? Grow it out - you'll thank me later! :D

[Kaori]

I would tell my young teenage self that short hair looks very bad on me, and to quit cutting it.

[Mina17]

I would tell myself not to wash, blowdry, and flatiron/curling iron every day.

[yassi]

Do not chop your hair into a bob that doesn't make your hair curl more, it just makes it fluffier. Particularly when you are going through the somewhat pudgy face stage. And for god's sake, don't keep getting that bob for two years!

[meggykins]

Stop listening to hairstylists who say you need layers, it just makes it 10x fluffier.

[long&blonde]

Benign neglect!

[WaitingSoLong]

If you comb through your hair with conditiner in the shower, it is detangled when you get out.

I kept my hair shorter for years because I could not detangle after a shower. Once I discovered THAT, I let it grow!

[Speedbump]

Heeheheheheee!
We need a cactus-on-a-stick emoticon!

Did someone ask for a cactus on a stick? :eyebrows::cheese:

http://www.declipsed.com/lhc/cactusonasticksm.jpg

:D

[Sammich]

Why keep cutting on impulse!? Stop it! It doesn't need cutting!

Why did I have to cut from hip/classic to shoulderish at 8? Did I think my hair could grow super fast or something? Whyyy? T-T

BTW, buy the tangle teezer!!!

[Cynder]

All that neglect you've been doing to your hair? You were on the right track.

Do not listen to your boyfriend when he tells you that is is "gross" to only wash your hair two times a week, and not to brush it out as soon as you get out of the shower (he is the one who goes BALD at 25 from his hair abuse)

Chemical red hair dye and almost waist length virgin blond hair is the start of a vicious downward spiral that ends badly.

Even though you have a high forehead, your cowlick is too strong to try wispy bangs, so stop cutting them once a year!

There is thing called the "internet". Please search it before you chop your hair off to chin length because you think you are getting too old to have long hair, at 26.

[jujube]

Moisturize. Everyday.

[IcarusBride]

Coconut oil and small trims to improve the quality of my ends! I wouldn't need to cut off 6 inches of the ends and re-grow APL to BSL every year for the last 10 years and wonder why my hair never got "LONG-long" if I could keep the ends in (decent) condition.

[vintersaga]

Stop bleaching and go CO. :)

[Victorious]

Speedbump, Can I use your cactus an a stick? LOL

[SpeakingEZ]

If you want your hair to stop being so frizzy, oil it once in a while and use a comb instead of a brush. That straightener that your friends will talk you into at 19? That will only make the problem worse. Tell them to take that straightener and . . . humph.

By the way, you're going to have to chop all of that damage off. You know that, right?

[curlymarcia]

Embrace your curls, and let the hair grow and stop layering hair.

[anna francesca]

coconut oil loves you, love it back :)

[PolarCathy]

Never wash hair with hot water. What is pleasant for the body in the shower is bad for the scalp.

[Dragon]

Salt and chlorine is drying to hair. Oil it before going near them.

[Jeno86]

Wash hair with cold water and use henna instead of cheap dye >_< took 18 inches of my hair to get rid of the damage.

[lacefrost]

Stop perming your hair. Yes, you've had a perm since you were 10. Yes, every other black person does it. But there is a reason why your hair won't grow past APL.

As a matter of fact ditch the straight look all together. Your hair doesn't grow like that. Stop fighting it.

Also:

*shampooing everyday is a BAD idea.
*getting your hair done by people who have never had hair anything remotely like yours is a BAD idea
*listening to your mother is a BAD idea
*the Denman brush MAY be a bad idea. . .don't know about that yet though.

[AspenSong]

Don't dye it!!! Gosh, I could have saved myself so much money/time/damage/length just by doing that one thing! =/

I'd also toss to CO and get rid of shampoo and start oiling.

[leoninnu]

For goodness sake, use a conditioner dear girl!

[utdesertrunner]

Don't do a major cut when your need a life change.

Don't ever bleach, perm, bleach then straighten unless you want to have to chop it all off.

Don't ever cut while pregnant! Seriously, I have done this 3 times!

Embrace your own beautiful color and texture.

[Fairlight63]

I started growing out my hair from chin length in 2007. It was getting pretty long - about APL 2009 - then I went on YouTube & watched how they cut their bangs & I got the bright idea to cut my long bangs off to eyebrow length. Bad mistake! I have been trying to grow them back out again ever since - but they get to a length that bug me & I cut them off again. So far I haven't cut them since last March & they are getting about mouth length, but the rest of my hair is waist length. I bought some pretty clips to hold them back, so maybe I will make it this time!

[Jimothea]

(Hi, I'm a long-time-lurker-newbie!)

I love all your hair advice tips! *smile* Mine would be:

1.) If your new hairdresser at that highly reccommended salon has AWFUL HAIR and seems to be tweaking--know that she is, in fact, tweaking...Which is probably connected to her awful hair, and the hair she's about to try and give you.
2.) Cut your own hair and you'll get exactly what you want.
3.) Baking soda + hard water + your scalp/hair = bad news bears

[Dragon]

Styling products will dry your hair out. Your hair colour is not all that bad, you don’t need to change the colour. If it’s that bad, why do people who don’t know you hate it compliment it.

[MandyBeth]

Do not dye your hair with anything permanent. The PPD mess. Which turned out to be pretty decent because I still love Miss Sally on my scalp and I met DH. But yuck. Chemical burns on your scalp are not fun. Now the henna, which never did darken past copper on me and now will not go away without a cut.

[EtherealOde]

Umm...trust me when I say that flat ironing, curling irons, and blow dryers are so not doing your hair any favors. You will regret the heat damage one day. And by the way, all that bleaching you do, followed up with coloring and then highlighting (hello? bleach then bleach again, are you serious???) is why your hair keeps breaking so badly. And for heaven's sake, if you MUST put a ponytail in your hair, quit using those bands with metal in them or *gasps in horror* whatever rubberband you happen to find? How many times have you had to cut one of those out of your hair anyway? And lastly, dear girl, you do know your hair is just as vulnerable in the sun as your skin, right? You slather on sunblock so you won't burn, but won't wear a hat or scarf.

I am only telling you this for your own good.

[Fufu]

Before using curling ion on your hair, make sure you use a heat protector first... If not you can say FAREWELL to your hair.

[Dragon]

It’s not a good idea to use rubber bands in your hair. They will get stuck.

[LD224]

Sun-In is not your friend honey, and orange isn't your color.
:-S

[stefafra]

Don't listen to the "a short and modern cut is practical" comments.
I did it, did not like the results and the repeated session at the hairdresser to keep it "short and practical".
I decided to regrow to a decent length, luckily my hair grows fast and it 3 years it was well past shoulder length.

[SlightlySoprano]

Don't cut!!! It will thicken out if you just leave it alone!! Dumb dumb!!!

[Muse]

Don't ever say to a hairdresser to cut the ends. They will cut about 14 inch. Give them hard numbers. Even better: start cutting your own hair. Here is a link to Feye’s self trim. :p

[skyblue]

just don't cut it!
I use to cut mine if I was in a mood or bored ugh! I wish I thought of it before!

[Alvrodul]

If you decide to pour that bleach over your hair after all, don't be surprised when it ends up looking and feeling like straw.
A perm will make you look like a sheep - or a poodle.
No, dear, you don't really need to wash your hair every day. And you don't need to use so much shampoo - in fact, skip the shampoo altogether!
The conditioner is your friend.
The curling iron is NOT!
Nor is the hairspray.
Neither is that cheap plastic hairbrush. And all that hair you remove from it after brushing? Half of it is probably broken ends!
Shell out some money on a couple of GOOD combs. Then throw away the old, crappy brushes and seam-infested old combs and embrace those GOOD detangling tools!
If you absolutely MUST blowdry, don't be surprised at the poufy, tangly, dry mess you will get.
Henna is your friend.
Yes, DO put oil in your hair! You will love the results!

[BunnyBee]

The dye feels like it's burning your head, because IT'S BURNING YOUR HEAD! So quit using it every week.

Leaving the bleach on 'til it goes crispy does not make it work better. It just makes your hair melt off.

Nylon round brushes are meant for blowdrying not detangling.

Leave your hair alone and quit trying to look like a peacock.

That clarifying shampoo might smell nice, but do you even know what a clarifying shampoo is? No. You don't need it.

Short hair makes your face look even fatter. You will never look like Winona Ryder so shaddup.

Cutting your own fringe does not make you self sufficient and money saving, it just makes you look like a cabbage patch doll.

[Arthiel]

(to ten year old self) Regardless of what mom said, it is okay to use conditioner on your scalp! In fact, wash your hair with it! oh, and stop brushing while it's still wet.
(to twelve year old self) Put the curling iron down. It will do absoultly nothing to waist length hair except burn it because you will hold it there too much.
Because it smells good is not a varifiable reason to buy new shampoo and conditioner excessively.

Okay, I'm done. This thread is fun!

[InTheCity]

Do not use Dark N Lovely, you ain't "dark!"

And furthermore, sis, do not bleach your newly relaxed hair.

[vintersaga]

This thread is wonderful, I love it :inlove:

I wish I would have listened to all these advices so many years ago... it's easy to be wise and sensible when you're looking back, afterwards. But no grieving for the past. Now we know better, we hold our heads high and head for healthier hair. :)

:blossom:

[TheBluffs]

You brush the hair, not leave it for a week.

Oil! :D

Don't let other people brush our hair after you haven't brushed it.

Just because you get curls when you almost torch your hair, doesn't mean you do it every day.

Wash after swimming, blond hair goes green.

Trying the 'curl your hair like mommy' doesn't mean you wind your hair around fine toothed brushes, wet it, and leave it. then expect it get it out. It means mum will chop off your hair. :/

[yellowflower]

Do NOT dye hair

[Sinisiew]

Stop letting hairdressers tell you that you should have layers, it only makes your hair look thin and broken. In fact, stop letting hairdressers tell you anything - stop going to hairdressers!

and for the love of god, IF you're going to a harrdresser anyway DON'T use the same hairdresser as your mum, you don't even like what he does to her hair!

[KnightsLady]

Back away from the shampoo... NO No no! Not towards the scissors!! :rolleyes:

And never believe Mum or hairdressers when they start talking about perms. Especially note that a perm will not make your hair look longer!!! :o (Stop and actually think instead of believing what other people tell you!)

[Allychan]

Black hair does not suit you it makes you look like a witch
Bleaching your hair will only turn it orange and it will all snap off. Plus it does not suit your colouring.
A straight fringe (bangs) does not look good on your round face and it will just emphasise the cowlicks.

[Chamy]

I would just say: "DO NOT CUT IT!" but i wouldnt have listened anyway, haha.

[Oz]

RUN girl RUN RUN far far away from your mother. dont let her touch it!

[papillion]

Don't get highlights.

Don't let other people decide what to do with your hair.

[pop]

Dont dye your hair it is definitely the worst damage for them and dont use heat!!Dont wash it everyday!

[Konstifik]

That trimming your hair every month will make the hair grow faster... NOT!

[pretty wings]

Don't be afraid of oiling your hair.
Don't worry so much about protein treatments.
Stop cutting and trimming it all the time!
Stop relaxing your hair when you don't know how to care for the damage.
Leave your hair alone! It does not need to be detangled all the time.
Put down the curling iron, flat iron and blow dryer right now! Stop using it all the time.
Your hair LOVES water! Moisturize, condition and deep condition as much as you want.
And for the love of all that good in the world don't sleep on cotton! It snaps your hair right off.

[Tookii]

Oh god, my list could go on and on...

[fluffybunny]

60's: (to my mom) never give your child a bowl haircut. Ever.
70's: that cute shag style will not look good on you.
80's: that short spiky stand-up style will not work with your hair
90's: that pixie cut will emphasize your very very large head
00's: step away from the drugstore color, highlighters, glazes, henna, and manic panick-y stuff. You will regret it.

[AnnaMarie]

Just because that chin length bob looks adorable on all your friends does not mean that it will look adorable on you. :ponder:

:D Oh yes, I've been there!

[Doxie]

Stop chopping your hair off/dying it every time you feel like you're in need of a life change or things aren't going your way. You'll like it long, and you'll do much better to deal with the life "stuff" right off instead of deferring it for hair changes. :D

YES! Everytime I would get depressed or stressed I would dye my hair and give myself bangs. This could happen weekly, I just couldn't stop. I wish I could have told myself to figure out a new way to deal with my feeling cause changing my hair wasn't going to fix it.

[Saila_]

If you hair feels terrible and dead, do try clarifying before cutting it off !

YES! This is what I needed to hear before chopping off to a pixie.

#1 thing I'd tell myself: visit naturallycurly.com! I just wish I had done it sooner.

[Silverhalo]

I had the challenge of trying to keep my hair in some sort of style during a time when nail polish, hair dye, perms, and cigarettes all stunk up the beauty salons. All of these were asthma triggers for me, so I could not go where women got their hair cuts done. I found a barber shop with a sweet older couple from Hungary who did not allow smoking in their shop. It was good for a few years there, but...

After the barber you loved retired, you should have found a different shop instead of getting boy cuts for years - boy cuts do not look good on extra-large 45 year-old women!

You should have realized sooner that all those nice thick gray hairs on the front of your head gave you body and weight that you never had when you were young and had long, straggly hair.

Your dream of being a willowy old lady with long silver locks who wears long skirts and long braids around her head does not have to wait until you get willowy. If you like your hair long and feel happy playing with up-do's, go for the long hair and then get the willowy part when you are feeling better about yourself.

The "ethnic" hair care aisle is your friend (even when you look as WASPy as they come). Shop there to get oils that they do not try to sell to white women. White women's prejudices about hair that is not like theirs keeps them from getting to take advantage of all the good products!

There is a secret society of white-haired ladies. We all make eye contact and smile at each other in passing. The smile and nod are codes for, "Good for you! Looks great! Don't give in and dye!"

[ScarlettAdelle]

What are you doing? What - what - what are you doing? Step AWAY from the Creamy-Crack!!! Just trust me on this one, babydoll. You'll thank me later. The chemical straightening is NOT for you. Also, don't allow anyone within a four foot radius of you with a pair of scissors. Bad day, my friend, bad day.

[Amraann]

Don't bleach your hair you silly girl, you're a 14 year old Pakistani... not Malibu Barbie :D

This was a cute post!

I would tell myself to be kinder to my hair and learn to care for the hair type you have.

[Speckla]

Your hair looks terrible straight. Embrace your natural curls.

[QMacrocarpa]

Put your hair up! It's not true that your hair "won't grow any longer", but it needs a bit of protection.

[impaciente1981]

You stupid, idiotic, blind little follower of society: why are you so convinced that you have to be blonde, when you clearly aren't?

(Please note I'm talking to myself here, and can use harsh language because I will not be offended by my own words directed at my younger, even stupider self! LOL)

Bleaching your hair will make it dry, parched, brittle, and broken. In addition, your dark roots growing back in will make it look like you have greasy hair.

Your brown hair is not "boring." Can't you see it's beautifully healthy and soft and silky, with subtle, natural highlights scattered through it already? What are you doing to it, you stupid, idiotic girl? Why do you keep going to the hairdresser and paying them money to put bleach on your hair and fry it?

*bangs head against wall and groans through teeth in frustration*

Oh, also, you know those hair straighteners you've discovered, that you think are the answer you've been waiting to find all your life?

They're not. PUT THEM DOWN!!

OK, mine is not a "piece of advice." It's a full-blown rant at my past self! LOL



This one is the history of my life :brickwall

[Arielle8960]

Layers will not magically look better this time around than the other 12 times you tried them with poor results. Stop trying to make them work!

[miss_purple]

Leave it alone and let it grow; you'll love it long.

I so agree! :D

[swivelhop]

Do what ever you want, just don't cut it. Hmm been following that for 10 years, works well.

[perkidanman]

Stop shampooing! Arizona bakes hair enough as it is, you don't need to dry it out further! Wash with conditioner and lemon rinses and stop denying you have curls.

[Mountaingrrl]

Stop brushing -- you'll have beautiful curls and you'll get rid of a lot of the frizz and damage you've been complaining about.

[walterSCAN]

DON'T GO TO GREATCLIPS!!!! and if you must, DON'T ask for bangs!! Look at that woman's hair before you take your glasses off... do you think she has any conception of what a 15 year old girl wants in bangs?? You WILL look like Eric Foreman (that 70's show) and you WILL cry for hours. It won't look in any way attractive for at least one horrible, self-esteem-crushing year.

Also, even earlier, to my 11-13 year old self: No, you really don't have to wash every night. Suck it up, skip washes every few days and instead of being oily 12 hours after washing, it will be oily after 2-3 DAYS. Yes, days. Do this now, and you will save your hair damage and yourself self-esteem and time to do productive things, like more reading! And stop brushing your hair. Comb it!

[Guinevere]

to 17 y.o self :
Your jet black hair is beautiful! Stop whining to "decorate it" with blonde highlights!! :crazyq:

(No offense whatsoever to those beautiful natural blondes! But my highlight dries out my hair so bad and definitely made me look retarded (_ _") )

[sunshine-locks]

(to my 11 year old self) Why did you cut it into a chin length bob?!? it was getting close to waist! It was pale, moon-shine blonde, looked like it was straight out of a fairy tale! Silly, silly girl :( Dyeing it dark brown was stupid, too. That just led to more and more hair dyeing procedures. IDIOT! This time, leave it to grow, no layers, no razoring, no big cuts, no chemical dye, and only occasional heat styling. Also, conditioner is a GOOD thing, use it!
:rant: :oops: :brickwall:

[Mesmerise]

Don't cut it!

DON'T CUT IT!

REMEMBER - It NEVER looks good and you ALWAYS grow it again...so just suck it up and keep growing or you will spend the next THREE years regretting it...

Trust me, I know...I've been there... over and over and over...

Oh and while you're at it... bleach is not your friend. You do not need to be blonde...

Nor do you need to have raven black hair. Yes, it looks nice... but getting rid of it is no fun at all!

[Noula]

You like your hair better long so let it stay that way.

Don't mess with colour and things, you like it better natural anyway and it will fade too quickly to be worth it.

It's the motion you use more so than the shampoo that cleans the scalp.

Scalp massages are good.

You really don't need to wash your hair every day unless it's actually dirty, and oily is not the same as dirty.

Get yourself some headscarves so I won't have to. :p

[Paranda Belle]

Use coconut oil. But just a little.

Brush and wash gently.

Try not to use too many cones.

[Annalise]

Your mother has straight hair. Your father has curly hair. You know that giant 'fro that he had in college? That's what'll happen to your hair if you brush it like your mother wants you to.

Your grandmother will tell you that you need to cut your hair when it gets past shoulder length. But when its waist length, she'll tell you repeatedly how pretty it is. Don't feel like you have to cut it because she told you to. She actually likes it better long.

Cuts that look good on your friend with coarse, straight hair will make you look like you got electrocuted.

Don't brush gel out of your hair on the school bus. It looks like you have a bad dandruff problem. In fact, don't use gel at all.

[CariadA]

I wish I could tell myself not to listen to others' opinions. I would also tell myself not to brush my hair when wet (which I did until a month or two ago... oopps) and not to aggressively brush out tangles. I also, for some reason, used to use a straightener on my already straight hair. Until reading these forums, it had never occurred to me that wearing my hair up would protect it. I wore it down every day and every night. I wish I would have known to wear it up when possible, especially at night.

[HintOfMint]

Cut it into a pixie, bleach it white, dye it pink, do all methods of terrible things to it because eventually you have to have "grown up" hair. It's too late for me, but if I could turn back time...

[Dragon]

To my 16 year old self. Don't let a little kid brush you hair. They will start from the top and it will heart like crazy.

[going gray]

Stop chopping your hair off/dying it every time you feel like you're in need of a life change or things aren't going your way. You'll like it long, and you'll do much better to deal with the life "stuff" right off instead of deferring it for hair changes. :D

Couldn't have said it better!

[going gray]

I love this!

[daaisychains]

Say buh-bye to those awful brushes!

[Imnotarobot]

Don't bleach your hair you silly girl, you're a 14 year old Pakistani... not Malibu Barbie :D

You are pakistani? Kya haal hai .. :)

[rose.grace]

"The world is big. There are many people in it. There are many people who would like to sabotage your happiness. Do not let them influence you. Be true to your own self. Listen to your heart.

There are many advertisers who make money deceiving people. Don't let them. Don't listen to them, don't believe them.

Never use shampoo, conditioner or anything else on your hair but your fingers and a nice non-damaging brush and a natural (wood or bone) comb.

Keep your hair away from water unless it's ocean, lake or rain water. Never touch your hair when it's wet.

Never cut your hair, unless it's dragging the ground and then only trim it back up to floor length.

Your own natural sebum is the perfect conditioner. Massaging and scritching your scalp are the best ways to clean it. Preening is the best way to condition the ends and keep them from splitting."

And below are some of my favorites by others:


Stop listening to "A Flock Of Seagulls"....:o
:lol: This one reminds me of a "Friends" episode.


Never, ever, drastically chop of your hair while pregnant. I know you feel frumpy and akward, but having shorter hair won't make you feel better. (plus, the hormones have a negative impact on decision making skills!)
Amen!


Do not -- under any circumstances -- "trim" your hair when you are unhappy, depressed, angry, or even remotely in a bad mood. That "trim" might turn into a pixie! :blueeek: Don't ask how I know this ... I just do.


Don't listen to your mother.
:thumbsup:


Just because that chin length bob looks adorable on all your friends does not mean that it will look adorable on you. :ponder:


...don't cut it off just because the boy liked it. You will miss your hair much longer than you missed him.:agree:


Don't cut it! It's not who you are!
:)
Amen twice!


Your natural hair color is the one that looks best on you. Really.

:love: So very true!


RUN girl RUN RUN far far away from your mother. dont let her touch it! My very favorite :heartbeat

(Oh, if I only could have run from her...)

[Funwithsharps]

No matter what the hair dresser says--that "body perm" or wave perm will not take in your pin straight hair. It will only fry it. ""piggy backing" the rods and using extra perm solution won't make it stay either and it costs twice as much for a hair killing frizzball.

Also, your hair looks good up too. I wish I learned how to put my hair up earlier in life.

[cybernetica]

kool aid and bingo dabber is not a good choice to color near black hair!

Never allow bleach near your head!

I know your in a hurry but be gentle.

Grandma I love you, but never come near my head with scissors.

[Neecola]

Just because a hair/body product is made by a brand name that everyone knows does not mean it is any good.

Contrary to what you believe, you really don't have insanely frizzy hair. It's the vicious cycle of sulfates, cones, polymers and all the other junk you are putting in your hair (see first comment) that has caused it to be so frizzy.

Above all, learn to accept your curls. Sure they have a mind of their own and can be very misbehaved at times but this is your unique identity. Besides, you'll have the good fortune of marrying a man who loves 'em :crush:

[Dark Queen]

No matter what the hair dresser says--that "body perm" or wave perm will not take in your pin straight hair. It will only fry it. ""piggy backing" the rods and using extra perm solution won't make it stay either and it costs twice as much for a hair killing frizzball.

Also, your hair looks good up too. I wish I learned how to put my hair up earlier in life.

This. I'd also have told myself to stop blow drying so much. Yes the hair looks fluffy, but it's actually leading to more breakage!

[Ludde]

Skip the cosmetic industry products, even though heavily recommended by all experts around you. Stick to your natural EVOO-ideas that you know works on coats and skin. They will work on your hair too.

[CaveB]

Do NOT be a class project in Cosmetology school...8 girls, 1 crazy instructor, no mirror. My nickname became the Labyrinth Queen...seriously. David Bowie looked great in the spiky mullet...me? Not so much!

[Mírien]

I wish I had known earlier how to comb my hair properly. Begin at the ends, move slowly and gently upwards. This method reduced mechanical damage. :D

No SLS, no cones. Ever since I use organic products I shed much less. :cheese:

No more ponytails - it only causes damage, damage, damage...

[NouvelleNymphe2]

why can't you just leave it alone! aren't you the least bit curious? you don't even know what it will look like long and natural because it hasn't truly been worn that way since you were a little girl. gentle neglect will serve you best fool!

[moon-child]

This thread is brilliant! I agree with everyone so far!

My advice would be if the ends are bad, just get a trim. I bleached, straightened, blow dried, everything and when I decided to grow it out, I didn't think the ratty ends would matter because I'd stopped bleaching/straightening etc. It didn't grow an inch for three years and finally, after one small trim is it making any progress! :(

[Pyvsi]

When you're grieving or going through a major life change, don't shave your head. Cover it. Neglect your hair, even. But keep it.

[Vaemethius]

As a child, BRUSH YOUR HAIR! Yes, you were obsessed with oral hygiene but why wouldn't you brush it?! If you had just run a brush though it mom wouldn't have had to cut it from tail bone length to chin length! :nono:
Then when you did brush it why did you cut from back side length to just above your shoulder four different times; you most definitely do not look good with short hair, especially since it was brassy orange. You looked like a boy.
Just because you put bleach into your shampoo doesn't mean that it won't damage it as much.
Then in your later teens you'd bleach random sections and dye them with weird colours, why? Yes, rainbows are fantastic and all but you will never be able to look like a rainbow.

Oh, and stop playing with scissors. The snip-snip noise is fun but limit it to split ends please. -_-

[Fairlight63]

When I was 18 I had dark brown hair but I wanted my hair darker so I put a black dye on my hair, it was so black that it looked blue. I tried everything to make it look not so dark, washing in Prell Shamp, dish soap, etc. Nothing would get it out.
Note to self be happy with your natural color, it was beautiful as is with redish highlights.

[Zindell]

Don't go to hair stylists. Ever. Not if you want to grow your hair long! :D

(My DD trims my hair every once in a blue moon these days. She knows that 3 cm is 3 cm and not 10 cm. Bless her!)

[CAPA7]

You have curly hair, accept that it is beautiful the way it is. No matter how many times you try (and how much money you spend!) you will NOT get smooth straight hair because that's just not what you hair is like. Why don't you start to learn how to make your curly hair look beautiful instead?

Oh, and also, going to the haidresser to get your hair trimmed every 7 weeks is a) bad for your bank account and b) absolutely not necessary.

[Ais]

Don't, in the name of all that is good, dye your hair yourself if it could be in anyway permanent..
Also, don't panic when that happens and stop half way through, unless you're really into a pink and orange top layer, which will pop up uninvited anytime for several years when you neglect to cover it.
And finally, do not cut off your lovely long hair because you like how short ponytails look :( I'd be at waist length years ago.. :rant:

[lunache]

Dear misguided teenage and 20-sth self,

Life, albeit beautiful, will bring plenty of challenges and frustrations. Drugstore hair dye wil not help you cope; neither will pixie cuts. In fact, you'll find it harder to work through "issues" if you're feeling like a frumpy poodle.

You have curly hair. This, like all other natural hair, is "good hair." You don't need relaxer. Ever. If everyone says you look good with straight hair, everyone is wrong. And in denial of your ethnicity.

Coconut oil is your best friend.

[Anje]

Oh, I've got a couple.

1) Slow down with the brushing. It's not a race. Stop breaking the hairs.
2) Try just not using shampoo, OK?
3) There's no particular reason you need to cut your hair every time it gets past BSL.
4) You know styles other than a ponytail. Why don't you do them!?

[ladylovecraft]

Dearest thirteen-year-old-self; there is no logical reason to cut your hair to pixie length, it will look much cuter long. IDIOT.

Dear sixteen-year-old-self; Don't go back to pink, just don't. You only keep it for a month and then get bored again, and it takes FIVE full head bleaches to get it out...

[GrowingGlory]

Don't keep on trying to use hair care products that ruin your hair. Just put them aside, let go of the wasted money, and try something else. Don't risk your length over the price of those products. And don't forget, corrective hair cuts cost money, too.

[Yavene]

Stop using shampoo, and start treating your hair properly.

[Quirky]

This is genius...:cheese:
Stop chopping your hair off/dying it every time you feel like you're in need of a life change or things aren't going your way. You'll like it long, and you'll do much better to deal with the life "stuff" right off instead of deferring it for hair changes. :D

[Hala]

This may not be a popular answer:

"Go ahead and bleach and do all the weird colors you want, shave it and bob it and have fun with it. Because one day, you'll just feel done with all of that and want it long, and you'll always kind of wish you'd had an emerald-green schoolgirl bob when you were 19. Alas, you'll be 35, and you'll HAVE the long reddish-blackish hair you always wanted, so just go ahead and have fun now!"

[CaliforniaAnne]

Don't listen to your stupid doctor who keeps telling you that you have a scalp condition. The scalp condition wasn't what it was diagnosed as, and the chemical shampoo that was prescribed as a remedy for it for eight years ruined my hair, which is only starting to be healthy again seven years after that. :P

[jil]

I would have advised myself to embrace my the natural qualities of my hair sooner, rather than trying to change the color and texture for so many years!

[battles]

Just... don't cut your hair.. please.

[cinemax]

Don't buy that round, metal brush used to give lift to your flat air.

[Rowanne]

This may not be a popular answer:

"Go ahead and bleach and do all the weird colors you want, shave it and bob it and have fun with it. Because one day, you'll just feel done with all of that and want it long, and you'll always kind of wish you'd had an emerald-green schoolgirl bob when you were 19. Alas, you'll be 35, and you'll HAVE the long reddish-blackish hair you always wanted, so just go ahead and have fun now!"

I like your answer! I've never had anything as extreme as emerald green hair but I still feel that the hair experiments and mistakes I've made have brought me to where I am now.

However there are a few pieces of advice I'd like to be able to give my younger self:

1) There's absolutely no need to cut a bob just because you're outgrowing your bangs. If you want to have a bob, fine; if you don't, just be patient with your bangs. Otherwise you'll end up crying your eyes out afterwards.

2) Learn to understand your colours before making any decisions about hair dye, henna or highlights. There are 12 seasons, not 4.

3) Of course your natural hair colour looks awful! You're standing in a windowless bathroom wearing black, what can you expect? Just get out, change into something nice and take another look in the mirror.

4) If you want to take a perm don't do it in an African hair saloon. I know they are professionals but you must realize that their clientele has very different hair type from yours. Unless you know anyone who shares your hair type and had a successful perm in that saloon, wait until you're back home.

[Becky9679]

I would have told myself not to cut it short 5 years ago! At the time it was to get rid of dye... and now I've dyed it back to the same colour again.

If I ever want to get rid of a dye job again I'll just grow it out, then at least I'll get to keep the long hair that I love, even if it is two-toned

[elbow chic]

Your hair looks like fuzzy crap because you never, ever use conditioner, and because you spend too much time at the beach, not because of some genetic inability to grow decent looking hair past your chin. :D

[brickworld13]

I have so many things I wish I had said to myself.

Never let your gramma or your mom brush your hair! NEVER! They rip it out.
Don't chop off your classic hair at 11 because you want to look like the other girls with hair that barely brushes your shoulders. It looks stupid on you, and you will hate it.
Don't ever dye it blonde. The first go round you got orange hair, and five years later it was a fried mess.
Don't chop off your classic length hair AGAIN because you are tired of it. Learn new up-dos.
Stop chopping off your hair every time your life becomes too stressful! STOP IT! It will only make you sad.
Bangs were cute as a 5 year old. At 20 they will just make you mad because you don't want to style them every day.


I think that pretty much covers my hair regrets.

[LadyInBlack]

Don't chop off your long hair at age 12 because your mother tells you you look horrible and ugly with long hair. And don't wait until you are 40 to grow it long again. Should have ignored her mean spirited words girlie. She was wrong wrong wrong.

[Kumiko033]

Your have curly hair women so don't expect bangs and a bob to wok for you with no products or heating tool ! I was so stupid...

[pink.sara]

Don't cut it! It won't grow nearly as fast when you're pushing 30 :(

And black to blonde should never, ever be done.

[EmmyNemmy]

There would be a lot of "don't cut it"-s and "stop teasing it"-s.

[krissykins]

Do not start down the path of flat ironing!!

I had waist length hair when I was 13, if I had just taken care of it then, it would've been all healthy at my goal length by now... Boo!

[gthlvrmx]

Don't listen to all those comments and remarks from people that say you look bad, like a girl, or gay with long hair. Your hair is your choice and no one elses, if you wanted it long in 5th grade, then you shouldve gone long ever since instead of listening to mommy and daddy to keeping it "styled" and shoulder length, the way you thought it'd make them happy.
especially if now you're hair is longer than shoulder and mommy loves your hair more than her own :)

[brickworld13]

Oh, I forgot one.

Watch out for those kids in grade school with head lice! It is nightmarish to remove that from long hair. So much so that your mom chops it all off so she can get rid of the little bugs.

[Clarita]

Stop using those gentle semi-permanent dyes you find in the grocery store every month! They still contain peroxide and will fry your hair!

[firicia]

Stop trying to be a red head, it only looks good for a week and then you just feel bad about yourself for not actually being a red head and having faded looking hair.

You do NOT look old, worn down, and unhappy with long hair. Your friend just wanted to get you to cut it because she can't grow hers out due to her styling habits. (p.s. 1) why are you letting a friend talk to you like that anyways? 2) you are only 21!!! You do not look old, lmao)

Do not ever ever ever let the friend mentioned above cut your hair! Like seriously she had no training, hahaha.

Your dirty blond hair is beautiful, and is not "an ugly ash colour" like that stylist who wants you as a customer every 2 months told you. Plus with pale skin and freckles dirty blond hair is more rare than that red hair you've always wanted anyways. (god I love red hair, it's so cool so if you have it please don't think I am bashing you in any way, this is just for me to stop beating myself up about not being born with it, lol)

Go on the internet and learn about how to grow long hair if you want it so badly ;) (but here's to hoping that starting now at 25 you'll have nice long hair by 30 *crosses fingers*)

Being lazy, and not wanting to be like the other women you see taking 1 hour to get their hair ready and styled will turn out to be a good thing for you :)

p.s. don't buy that $450 flat iron, waste of money, waste of hair, plus you look funny with dead straight hair, you have curls some women would pay anything to get so what's the problem? *lol*

[moonlight]

you gray in SUCH a cool pattern! Don't dye it out!!

I love my henna'd hair, but I really really wish there was a painless way to grow out my gray. I now wish to be the Renegray I was meant to be since I got my first gray at 16, but can't :(

[MaiCarInMtl]

Don't chop it all off, try oiling it first! Sheeesh!

[dmitri]

A lot of this falls under "Grow a backbone!"

1. When all the women in your family decide when your about 6 years old that it's time to start taking you to the barber your great-grandfather used instead of the salon you've gone to as long as you can remember, RESIST! The man is crazy and cuts hair so quickly he practically rips it out and nearly slices your ears. Years of bad haircuts are in your future if you go along with this idea.

2. Don't let your grandma use those razor comb things to "neaten up" your hair. They snag and rip, and it hurts.

3. When you are seven, a hair dryer will short out and shoot sparks while you are using it for an experiment with a balloon to demonstrate air currents. This should be a clue that they are evil!

4. Don't get that buzz cut at the end of 4th grade! It may feel cool, but it really isn't you and it will take forever for your hair to look "right" again.

5. Using tons of spray or gel may be fun... but don't. your hair is better without it in the long run.

6. In your senior year, when you enter the Miss Ugly contest... Stay away from the curling iron! It doesn't make beautiful soft curls, it makes crunchy ones.

7. Black hair dye won't looks as cool in reality as it does in your head.

8. Figure out exactly what you want and don't be afraid to tell the stylist in precise terms. It's his/her job, and you will likely be much more satisfied with the result.

9. You like your hair long -- don't let everyone nag you into cutting it!

10. You like your hair long (part 2) -- when it gets "too awkward," don't cut it, get a bandanna or 10 until you can pony it!

11. Don't brush when wet!

12. Get a seamless comb!

13. It's your hair/your body... stop letting other people control its appearance. Eventually, most people will shut up and you'll be a lot happier.

[Neneka]

Do not bleach it! Do not dye it! Do not listen to your boyfriend in any hair related issues! And for the future: Continue what you are doing now!

[MissBiss]

Stay away from heat and relaxers.

[Finnenna]

Let's see:
Do not cut. Do not use harsh chemicals to dye it a myriad of colours. Do not heat it to crunchy toast.

[leandrahime]

NO. DYE. Try henna!

Lay off the heat styling!

Listen to your mother! Your hair is beautiful!

[firicia]

Don't chop it all off, try oiling it first! Sheeesh!


So true! I wish I had known this 2 months ago:cool:

[DivineComedian]

Just one thing...

For the love of God, woman, put those bloody straighteners down!

:D