Newbie baby steps and progress

[Shay0969]

I just wanted to share my baby steps in learning to care for my hair and what it has done. I'm hoping other newbies will share their first steps and we can get input from those of you who have been at this for a while.

Prior to finding LHC this January I had made 2 changes:

1) I stopped washing my hair by piling it on top and scrubbing. Just massaging the scalp and sliding my shampoo hands down what little length I have. Results: Less shedding in the shower, and less hair loss trying to untangle.

2) I had been trying to get away from shampooing every day. I have very greasy hair and it has seemed impossible. I didn't succeed at this until I had hung around LHC. It never occurred to me to just rinse with water. After learning here, I started shampoo one day and water rinse the next--back and forth. Now I can shampoo every other day without the water rinse, and now I'm working on seeing if I can shampoo every 2nd day. I've just started with shampoo day, off day, water rinse day, repeat. So far, my hair has only been good that 3rd day once, but I know now my scalp can adjust. Lucky it is long enough now to just put up in a tail or braid on those oily days.:D

Newer changes:

3) I haven't heat styled during this new year, except for one curling iron evening for my company Holiday Party.

4) I stopped using a brush about 1 1/2 weeks ago and I bought a large tooth and fine tooth comb without pieces of plastic that snag my hair. I thought I had to brush to get a "nice look" to my hair--but I'm finding I don't.

Next change:

5) I'm switching to non-SLS, non-chemical hair care. I've ordered Aubrey's Organics and am just waiting for their arrival. I've tried to go natural/low-chemical with home cleaning and it is time to do the same with my body. I bought some great natural body products while I was at it! I'm excited to see what changes this may bring.

2 interesting hair changes:

A) My hair has been stick straight my whole life, except with a perm. I noticed the other day, and again today, that I had lovely waves around my face and the sides of my hair. Both days, I had not combed--except with my fingers...Hmmm:hmm:

B) Between my layers growing out a little, and not shedding, or rather pulling, so much hair out--my very thin hair seems to be thickening. A small terry cloth band used to go around my hair 4 times just to hold the hair at all. Now it is 3 times for a snug tail and 2 days ago 2 times held a relaxed looser tail!

Other newbies, please share what you are trying and what results you are having. Longer-term LHC tresses--please comment or share what else you think may help.

I myself am so excited--my hair is in much better shape then it even was when really short and I got the damage cut off every couple months.

[Cirafly24]

Sounds like a lot of steps in the right direction!

[SummerSkye]

Hi, sounds like you are going in the right direction. Im going to be just making baby step changes just now too! Its very tempting to go mad and drastically change products, regime and lifestyle but going to only make one or two at a time as recommended. Since participating rather than just lurking occassionally here I've:
1. Stopped tugging through my hair with a nylon brush
2. Bought a tangle teezer
3. Am using a macadamia oil to condition my ends
4. Added MSM to my vitamin intake
Have also had to finally acknowledge that my fine hair can no longer be highlighted and long, one or other so have decided to go back to my natural colour and just keep a little blonde section around my face.
Just trying to decide what to try next in a couple of weeks, am thinking about the catnip rinse, seem to read a lot of good reports about that here :)

[Ishje]

that sounds great! isn't it wonderful to see your hair change for the better?

[EmiliaF]

How cool! I am also pretty new here. I started reading around end of November and joined some time in December.

After finding TLHC I stopped
blow-drying,
using regular brushes (only BBB and finger-combing now),
using SLS-shampoo and coney-conditioners
using all kinds of regular leave-in conditioners


and started
CO-washing,
sleeping on silk pillow case
wearing hair in a bun for the night
using coconut oil as a pre-wash twice a week
using castor oil for skin and hair
using hair sticks and wearing my hair up most of the time (6 1/2 days out of 7 per week ;))
started taking Biotin and other 'hair-vitamins'

Okay. That is what I've changed. Of course, my hair got much better. It's much softer, not frizzy, thicker and I have a lot of new growth. These are all things that I was kind of prepared for and that I hoped for.
One thing that got me totally by surprise is this:
I had really crunchy ends and no amount of oil seemed to help with that. Those ends made it hard to finger-comb because everything was tangled all the time. In the beginning of January I realized that all this tangling and trying to untangle will probably just lead to more damage and split ends, so one night (Jan 5) I took my scissors and cut 4 inches. So I went from 36'' to 32''. I was a little sad, because I had just reached tailbone and was know thrown back by 4 months.
But then, yesterday in the shower, I noticed that my hair is really long again and it seemed only 2'' from tailbone. So I measured when I got out and yes, I am at 34''.
That means 2'' in 23 days???? Too good to believe.

I've read things like that on here, but never really believed them. But now... very happy :)

[turquoisebud]

Good for you! :) I'm glad everything is working well for you!
Well, let's see.
Changes since LHC:
1. I've stoped piling all my hair on my head and scrunching when I wash, thus the decrease in tangles.
2. Coconut oil on my ends every night.
3. Moisture treatments more often
4. Stopped ripping my hair out with a nylon brush, I now use a comb and Tangle Teezer.
5. Started being more gentle with my hair in general.
6. Satin pillow case.
7. Wear hair up at night.
8. Updos all the time during the day.
9. S & D
10. Just thinking of my hair as "old lace" :)
ETA: Stopped browdrying and straighening! How could I forget!:D

[in_technicolor]

Great idea for a thread! It's nice to see everyone's progress and what benefits they've already seen from these changes. I've been taking small steps, but since I found LHC I have:

1. Used henna instead of chemical hair dyes (this was before I joined, when I still a lurker)
2. Been using aloe vera as a styling gel instead of the expensive stuff I used to use (that didn't even work as well!)
3. Cut back on heat styling, which is probably the toughest step I've taken, as I used to straighten every day. I'm still not happy with how my hair looks when it dries naturally, but I hope that as it grows I'll figure something out.
4. Ordered coconut oil, which I'm still waiting impatiently for!

Keep up the good work everyone, I look forward to hearing everyone's progress!

[Viechen]

This is an awesome idea for a thread :) Since I joined I have:
- stopped using heat styling completely
- seriously cut down on blowdrying (now do it maybe once every two or three weeks on cool/warm setting)
- use coconut oil to remove flyways and smooth
- wash less often (from 4 times a week to 1-2 times a week)
- learned to brush and comb less harshly
- ordered and recieved the most amazing hair sticks :)
Ok the last one is not a progress one but I was just so excited to get my first set of hair sticks! My hair is not longer (cause it can grow without being ripped out) and so much softer and less frizzy than before I joined! I found that using coconut oil allowed me to eliminate ANYTHING else on my hair... No more leave in, shine spray, smooth serum, etc (they never worked for me anyway)...
:cheese: :happydance:

[Leoslaire]

I am brand new at LHC, thankfully I kicked the shampoo habit about two years ago. I joined LHC to try and find milder alternatives to the highlights I get to maintain my bottle-blond, and to find ways to protect my hair while at Burning Man (harsh alkaline desert salt flat)

1) I just started doing acidic water rinse.
2) Goal is to get only one trim this year.
3) Using Monistat (getting about 1 1/4"/mo)
4) Going to start MSM

Goal: Waist length hair!!!

[saf]

i learnt to do a wierd tuck thing with my hair, edwardian style, can't remember the name and now use a bit of a pair of old tights to tie my hair. Made a snotty slime from seeds and smeared that all over (flax seed gel) and very pleased with myself i am too. Working up to an smt from whats growing on the window sill (aloe) and really wanting to try honey lightening too but knowing i should not do too many things too quickly.

strange week really

[NouvelleNymphe2]

hi, i'm new as well and have made several changes. generally i treat my hair more gently. i use oil on my ends (most Camellia but also Avocado and Amla oils). i also have a better understanding of my hair-type, and now have realized it is quite dry (naturally) so it needs lots of moisture. i do SMTs now. i also really like putting a cassia gloss on my hair and sleeping with it on my hairs. i now CO for the most part, but haven't been able to totally cut out shampooing. so i use a few light shampoos perhaps twice a week. i'm hoping to get down to once a week eventually. i try to sleep with my hairs pulled up, but they are still quite short. i enjoy brushing with a BBB and only comb my hair with a wide tooth comb. i have also been letting it air dry more. i have gotten rid of the curling iron, and am really trying not to use the blow dryer. if i do (which has been like once in the past two months) i hold it far away from my head, brush gently, style, and keep the heat on low. i really like Aubrey Luxurious Camomile conditioner. it has a lovely smell and gives a lovely and light condition. i notice my hair is thicker and my baby hairs have really grown in. i can't wait to even them all out (according to Dr. GM's theory) and let them grow grow grow! i do to try to postpone shampooing/clarifying by using a white vinegar rinse (quite often). also only rinse or shampoo to my ears. lots of softer massaging. no piling on the head. only condition from ears down. use cool water to rinse hair. i take a multi-vitamin and have cut down on my biotin after reading about "mega dosing." i try to make sure i'm eating healthy and i always get out and exercise. the LHC is such a wonderful resource! i am always on here learning something new. :cheese:

[Panth]

I've made some changes since about Nov last year and am slowly seeing the benefit. :)

-stopped piling all my hair on the top of my head when washing (WHY did I not know this before!?)
-stopped putting shampoo on my length
-did my first clarifying - oh, wow! you mean I've been trimming all that time before when this was really all I needed to do!? *headdesk*
-tried no SLS/'cones (having accidentally tried it before - it was nice before but Welleda was too expensive for me after it stopped being on offer ... this time I tried Body Shop S&C and it was not what my hair likes!)
-tried catnip - probably would have been better if I used it with a shampoo that wasn't the awful Body Shop one ... anyway, it was too faffy for me anyways
-tried coconut oil on dry hair ... ooo, my hair likes this! ^_^
-tried heavy coconut oilings pre-washing ... ooo, my hair likes this even better, so much so that I can skip on the conditioner
-tried oil shampoo - even better than heavy pre-wash oiling (similar effect; more even; harder to accidentally put on too much; easier; quicker!)
-made myself a silk satin sleep sock-thingy (provided I'm not headachey, this is great - not sure how much it stops breakage in my length, but it certainly stops DBF from killing the upper parts of my hair with his stubble when he cuddles me)
-just this week, discovered I can bee-butt bun my sleep sock - this way it gets in the way less and is less likely to get pulled off overnight by me/DBF sleeping on the end of it
-tried every-day updo wearing - I can get past TB without shredding the bottom into a shreddy nasty mess! whoop! whoop!
-tried amish pins made from double pointed knitting needles - like them, though I only use them for plaited cinnabuns atm as any other bun is slightly too small for them, resulting in cactus bun, resulting in DBF nearly loosing an eye...
-tried a L flexi-8 - LOVE IT ... but now I need an XL
-tried hair sticks - the one I bought broke, I can't afford another atm and I'm waiting for a small consignment of interesting wood from dad so I can maybe make myself some/some forks ^_^
-tried BBB ... jury's still out - I like the softness it gives and the shine ... the poofyness can be good or bad, depending on what I'm trying to do ... I seem to get bad frizzy tangles at the back once I come upright after brushing which is annoying and I think I might be getting extra split ends after using it ... it is great for smoothing whilst doing updos though


And ... looking at that list ... yikes! I didn't realise I'd got so thoroughly bitten by the LHC bug! My hair is going steadily and slowly past classic now, though, for the first time ever! Yay!

[Shay0969]

Thank you everyone who is sharing, and for the encouraging comments from others. It is helpful to see different approaches, changes that those of you who are more experienced, and the different positive changes everyone is experiencing.

Also, it is nice to "be" somewhere where I can be excited about my hair. Sometimes even I think it is silly how pleased I am, how it crosses my mind and I just smile:o

EmiliaF--I'm glad your length is returning quickly and more healthy. All my friends who are like hip-length and below have the hardest time with getting their hair cut--even when they know they will be happier with healthier hair at the end. And some of them say their hair grows a lot slower as it gets longer. How cool that you already have 2 of your 4 inches back:)

[pop]

Hello Shay0969 (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/member.php?u=35575) and welcome!!
Im new here also..Hmm the things that did after meet LHC are:
1. Stop blow dry /ironing my hair
2. Oiling my hair(coconut oil, almond oil, olive oil, laurel oil)
3. Start braiding my hair everynight(this is new, Im doing it for a week)
4. Using only BBB and wooden tooth comb brush
5. SLS free shampoo and Im trying only CO method (my hair loved this method)
6. Last rinse with apple vinegar
7. Im using only warm water and a last rinse of cold instead of hot that I used before
8. Try to have my hair most up everyday and Im so excited with so much hair stylings (braids, updos etc) that I m learning right now. i used to shampoo my hair and do nothing..
9. Learning that cutting my hair dont grow longer that my hairdresser told me all the time, because always cut my hair every 6 weeks and never grow up. So Im trying to trim my hair alone.
10. Never brush my hair wet anymore
:cheese::cheese::cheese:

[Mountaingrrl]

I've been on LHC for about a month, and am getting great results already with the advice I've received here.

1. Getting rid of SLS and cones.
2. Oiling my hair. Coconut oil has worked well for keeping my hair in good condition, and I've just tried and loved argan oil. (I tried olive oil, too, but didn't like the texture as well.)
3. Benign neglect / antique lace approach. No more combing, and no more split ends!
4. Good nutrition and sensible supplementation.
5. Satin pillowcases.
6. Updos that actually protect my ends. No more damaging elastics.
7. Clarifying my hair.
8. CO and CWC.
9. Most washings in the shower, rather than mermaid-soaking.