When you first started your long hair journey.....

[Florencienne]

Did you fully immerse yourself into changing your behaviour, habits and products regarding your hair - or was it a very gradual change? :D

After a butchered cut a few weeks ago, I had to cut inches off my hair to fix it. It's now shoulder length, and while I think change is good it's also pretty depressing.

: ( I'm actually trying to grow my hair long for my final year of high school (especially formal / prom which is in November 2011) so I'm starting my long hair journey *now* :(

[PrincessTieflin]

I went all out and changed everything.. tried lots of stuff before I found something that works! And just wore it up as much as I can..

[BeccaAngel]

i try to keep my hair taken care of whether i grow my hair out or cut it short. i am a healthy hair freak, so i do what i can to keep it happy and healthy. the only thing i really changed on the beginning of this growing out is i stopped colouring my hair about two months ago and i don't plan to colour it again for a long while.

good luck on your journey to having longer hair

[ooo]

It was a gradual change.
First I started to use natural hair care and then I grew out the die.
Got ouchless combs and brushes.
Started up doing and buying of hair toys :D

I already did a lot of that in 2008 when I joined an other board.

never did much heat styling, so I did not have to change that.

[Florencienne]

Because my hair's so short the straightening iron is like my best friend and greatest enemy rolled into one. I want to straighten it to look presentable, but I don't want to dry it out and cause horrible split ends either. :confused:

[Inchworm]

At first I thought it was weird that people stretched washes and washes with condish is messy but now I do that too and it's not weird. I also started SMTs and oiling a while after deciding it grow out my hair (I was a lurker at first) and now I started using BBB and a wide tooth comb for detangling.

[Eriko]

Hi Florencienne:
My hair journey was...both.
Gradual in that I stopped going to a salon for cuts so frequently because I didn't have the money for it any longer. I used to go every 4-6 weeks. Then I started stretching the time longer and longer. Then as it was getting near to Christmas 2 years ago, I dropped an appointment completely so I could buy gifts with the money instead. I never went back since then.
Once that happened, it was the beginning of the hair growth experiment. :-) Then I realized I could get all these cool hair toys and the rest is history!
It's funny, I've been so worried about running in to my stylist and that he'd be made at me. I avoided him for all this time but I ran in to him at a street fair. I felt a tug on my hair and I hear from behind me "I wondered what happened to you. Now I can SEE what you've been doing!"
-Eriko

[spidermom]

I didn't change a thing for the first four years, other than I stopped getting cute short haircuts. I started changing my habits when I joined LHC and became inspired by some of the more gorgeous hair I had ever seen in my life. Now I've come full circle; my hair inspires others.

[thirstylocks]

I started really caring for my hair in high school - I did treatments and trims every few weeks and it looked beautiful

After I bleached my hair and messed it up, I haven't been cutting it as often because I want to grow it out. I've also colored it darker many times so its fried. I want to trim it more often but its just not long enough.

Over the past two years I've stopped straightening it...I might straighten it once every couple of months for an occasion. I've also started using sulfate free products.

[Jeno86]

Mine was a bit of both. I did a lot of research before doing anything and then once I had a nice grasp on what I was doing, I went all out. Changed how I brushed my hair, eating habits, stopped dying it (however I just started re-dying but with henna now), used better cleaners for my hair and so on. Best thing I could have done.

[monsterna]

Because my hair's so short the straightening iron is like my best friend and greatest enemy rolled into one. I want to straighten it to look presentable, but I don't want to dry it out and cause horrible split ends either. :confused:

As a 2a, I would imagine you might not need to straighten as much as you think. A lot of us still use the hair dryer. I know I have to. Maybe come all the tangles out with a comb and then use a hair dryer and brush to straighten it? Use a warm and/or cool setting. A rule to go by is, if it's too hot for your hand to sit under the heat without moving it, it's too hot for your hair. I have 1c/2a hair and it is straighter right after a blow dry.

[monsterna]

Since I've joined, I've:

- Bought a seamless comb (love it) and mostly comb instead of brush, CAREFULLY
- Got lots of vitamins (multi, biotin, fish oil, calcium-magnesium-zinc) [I probably need a lot of them anyway, my diet is not super balanced.]
- CO, only shampooing 1-2 times a week
- Monistat for growth, hopefully
- Coconut oil!

[Roscata]

When I first started my hair growing journey, it was before LHC and I stopped using chemical coloring and started using organic sulfate free shampoo and sulfate/cone free conditioner.
After LHC I did a lot of changes from the very beginning, but they were all about gentle handling (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=8), then I slowly started to try things out in order to see what works for me. It's still a work in progress.
Here is an alternative to straightening your hair: How to relax curly hair (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=17291)
If you straighten your hair to get rid of frizz here is an alternate way to do that: get rid of frizz (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=53745&highlight=lemon+frizz)
When it comes to split end (other than gentle handling and no heat) if you want, you can always try henna because: "Henna dye blocks UV so your hair doesn’t become sun damaged, strengthens your hair so it won’t get split ends, makes your hair glossy and shiny, eliminates dandruff and [...]" (quoted from the ebook I got here (http://www.mehandi.com/shop/hennahairbook/index.html))
I wish you good luck in your hair journey and remember to enjoy it! :D

[Messyhair]

I'm still making changes here and there to see what works best for my hair. So I'd definitely say I've done things gradually. Some things were immediate, like switching to a wide-toothed wooden comb, satin pillowcase, conditioning the entire length from the nape down, and (for me) only shampooing the hair on the scalp. Those quick changes made a big difference and it's just been fine-tuning my routine since.

[Jules diamond]

It took me a while to figure out what I wanted to try. Some things I just didn't need. Others were a big help.

Good luck growing. Hopefully you'll make it by Prom!

[IndigoAsh]

I changed everything right away. No blow dryer, no flat iron, no SLS.

[IvySchex]

I have been trying to grow my hair out for about 7 years, but I didn't know most of the stuff on this forum. However, I never used heat or chemicals on it and I only washed it once a week (lazy me!). But I was rather hard on my hair in other ways.

A year ago, I learned that it is helpful to braid or protect your hair at night. Then, about a month ago, I found this forum and I changed how I handle and take care of my hair. For me, it was an easy transition. I am excited to see how some of these things will help my hair to be healthy and keep what grows!

So, it was both gradual and sudden for me.

I am sure you will do great!

Merry Christmas,

Ivy

[Druid of Alba]

I went straight into it. I'm a very impulse-driven person, being very right-brained. I love spontaneity and doing things out of emotion. I actually watched a music video one night on Youtube, it was a really pretty Celtic metal song, and the guitarist had beautiful long hair, and they were in the forest, and it was so inspiring, so I just decided there and then that I'd grow it long. That was in May 2010. Hopefully I don't spontaneously cut it! No, I'm not that lacking in self control!

[Juneii]

Very gradual for me, I first started off cutting down on the heat styling until I didn't need it anymore (layers made my hair look horrendous). Then I changed to shampoo/conditioner that is better suited for my hair type. I started stretching my washes and putting my hair up in hair friendly styles. And now I am trying out different oils and treatments :)

[silverjen]

Kind of both. When I found LHC I read obsessively and tried a number of things. But I didn't have bad hair habits that I needed to get rid of (was already WO and hadn't used heat in a decade or more). So for me it was more about finding a routine I liked, and less about repairing damage.

[joiekimochi]

I jumped into it. I ordered a couple of horn combs, a hair fork, bought a Flexi-8 off the swap board, experimented with oils and oiling, tried CWC and CO, went cone-free, sulfate-free, whatever-free, basically did anything I could. I then gradually tapered off the experimenting when I found what worked and didn't, and streamlined my routine and care.

[redneckprincess]

It was gradual, everything I ever knew about "nice hair" was false...it was hard to let that go. I'm happy with the results of these changes so I stick with them, and my hair has never looked better...

[CarpeDM]

Full immersion!

[thatjengirl1]

it was a verrrrry slow process.

I'll tell you about it real quick.
Around March 2006, i decided i wanted to grow my hair long and it was BSL by summer 2006.

Then Winter 2006 I cut it to my shoulders.

I kept getting it cut and it stayed around APL til December 2008, i cut it to my shoulders again.

By March 2009, it was back to APL.

I cut it alot of 2009 and 2010, but i...
Finally reached BSL again Sepetember 2010.

Now i'm more motivated than ever. I've got 5 more inches til i have my dream hair. woot:cheese:

[Lianna]

Yes, I did. Tried sulfate free shampoos, CO, CWC, even water only for 1 month (I know not enough). Now I wear my hair 90% of the time up (which I like, it's hot here). I even tried to grow out my natural color. Accepted/liked my waves...(though I had stoped flat iron before). Started regular heavy and light oilings.

You know what? I back now to almost the same as before. The best for me is sulfates shampoos, and I don't need to be heavy oiling all the time, or even light oiling...but I still light oil often. The year I did co-washings I had the slowest growth, back to shampoo I was my normal again.

What I end up doing that's 100% because of LHC is wearing hair up most of the time, since hair oiling was already in my culture...I use to do it sometimes. I was back to my dyed color, because that's what I like and I don't have damage from it (level 7 blonde).