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View Full Version : My hair, and needing words of wisdom



AerithMoon
January 31st, 2011, 06:18 PM
Since I'm relatively new here, I just got my pictures up in my profile today. I was wondering if any of you could take the time to go through my hair pictures and give me ANY kind of advice, or comments on when it looks healthiest, the most fried, etc.

I would also like advice on hair colour for when my damage is all grown out. What suits me most? Natural? Blue-black? Brown? Blonde? I've been all over the place and am wondering, aside from damage, if there really is a colour that really suits me. I know the effects of dye but if I feel a colour is that important than I will keep it and take extra good care of my hair to make up for it.

I have all of the pictures dated though they aren't laid out in order. My concerns are first of all, my ends are pretty dry because I am still growing out a bleach incident from a couple years ago, which is the reason I had my big chop anyway. Now I HATE short hair, and short to me is anything above BSL.

Currently I am around shoulder length, which means collar bones when it's curly. I cannot afford to lose any more length for a while.

I have set up mini-goals for myself, and would eventually like to end up at tailbone length. Now I've lurked here for a while and I started my hardcore LHC routine a week ago and am experimenting with different treatments, etc, being very gentle, wearing my hair up most of the time. I am taking biotin, am a vigorous exerciser and eat very healthfully. I don't think my hair grows over a half inch a month, but it's hard to measure because of the curls. I'm going to be measuring while wet for the next few months.

I won't be straightening or trimming until December before my 21st birthday.

Anyone grow out from shoulder length to tailbone and want to tell me about their journey?


Thanks for your time and I hope to hear from you. :oops: It's time to stop cutting my hair off every time I get frustrated at how much I hate it. (again, NOT a short haired person)

frodolaughs
January 31st, 2011, 06:32 PM
I really like your natural hair and curlies. Others may have a different experience, but I think if you really want to grow out to tailbone length you'll have the best luck if you start pampering your hair now. There are lots of members here with lifetimes of experience taming and making friends with their curls and color. My own hair is straight, so I have no advice to offer along those lines, but I'm just past tailbone length now, and have grown it out from a chin-length bob I got in December 2005. One of the things which has helped me the most is learning to love updos. Wearing my hair up protects my ends, which are very prone to splits and dryness, and leaves it as healthy as possible for those rare occasions when I want to show it off.

spidermom
January 31st, 2011, 06:43 PM
I like the lighter colors on you. The dark colors drained all the color out of your face (at least that's how it looks on my monitor). I think you should stay with your natural color and add highlights around the face.

HintOfMint
January 31st, 2011, 07:26 PM
Definitely go with an ashy toned blonde or your natural color. They looked the best on you, especially the picture when you had the lighter highlights around your face.

milagro
February 1st, 2011, 12:53 AM
I like the cool brown one, it is the most flattering for your complexion IMO. It seems to be your original color, is it? And I love the straight fringe on you but I think you should wear your natural curls more, they are so pretty :flower: You have a very good hair texture, just store up with patience and happy growing!

AerithMoon
February 1st, 2011, 07:22 AM
Thanks a lot for taking the time. Natural colour is a dark ash blonde, that ash brown was a semi permanent I used to cover up bleach damage though.

frodolaughs, thank you! It's really comforting to know you've grown from that short. I'm making friends with my curlies, or trying to... and I'll definitely try updos once my hair gets long enough. Just seem stuck at this length but I think it's just because it's unmanageable, too short for anything, too long to look good short, etc. Awkward length with short layers is bad. ;)

Thanks everyone.

NouvelleNymphe2
February 1st, 2011, 07:33 AM
i'm not sure what kind of tones you have but the lighter hair is lovely. it will grow back, no worries. LHC is a wonderful resource. you just have to settle on a color because now you know you like it long, period. so no more strange haircuts, just wear it long. and pick the color you love most and pamper your hairs from there! i'm sure it'll work out :)

lyria
February 1st, 2011, 07:41 AM
I think your natural color is most flattering to your skin tone (you look like you have a healthy glow while some of the darker colors - especially black - wash you out a bit). I am a big fan of benign neglect and SMTs. I think the more you leave it alone the more you protect it and the happier it will be. Good luck!

Alvrodul
February 1st, 2011, 07:46 AM
I think you should stay away from the extremes. You look very pale in the pictures with the darkest hair - which may be OK if you are a Goth,:cool: but it was not really all that flattering on you.
Also, in the picture with the lightest hair, the hair was unnaturally pale, and looked damaged and just wrong. That color was also not very flattering for you.
I also think you should learn to get along with your curls. I am a straightie myself, and if you only knew how much money I have spent on buying myself curls... :rolleyes: Not that they looked good on me. :p

mellie89
February 1st, 2011, 08:36 AM
I also think that you should stick with an ashy blond. The black and the very light blond both looked a bit too harsh for your coloring. Your hair looks pretty healthy, actually. When it was at its lightest, it just looked a bit dry.

I know this isn't what you want to hear, but I think the shorter cuts looked great on you! :)

Fufu
February 1st, 2011, 09:19 AM
Hair will grow, that's the beauty of hair :)

I adore the lighter colours on you. It is never too late to baby your hair.

Happy hair growing :)

GrowingGlory
February 1st, 2011, 09:40 AM
Your hair looks healthy in your album photos, and its color complements your skin tone. If I were you, I'd leave it alone.

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

Rocket22
February 1st, 2011, 09:48 AM
I personally think you should go natural and just do a few highlights around your face, I like the lighter shades on you. Your hair is beautiful and you just need to learn from similar hair types how to work with your curls! (they are beautiful)

Anywhere
February 1st, 2011, 12:13 PM
I really like the black hair on you, but I'm biased as I love dark hair. I felt it made your eyes pop. But the browner colors would probably look a lot more natural on you. Dyed hair can grow to TB as well (think Ultrabella).

kitten1986
February 1st, 2011, 01:37 PM
I am no expert on any of this stuff... but I really like the cool brown colour that you have at the moment... as long as continuing dyeing it isnt going to damage it ;)

I also really liked the fringe on you in the photo from winter 2010 where you had dark hair and curls.

freckles
February 1st, 2011, 01:54 PM
I think you're very lucky in that all the colours seem to suit you! :) Really, none of them look bad, they're all pretty nice. If you don't feel strongly about it -- which you don't seem to -- natural is always a pretty good bet, though of course if you DO feel strongly about a particular colour, go for it.

I'd see judging by your post you have a pretty good idea of what you need to do, so, not much more I can suggest. Coconut oil and S&D might help you baby those bleach damaged ends so you can keep them for a while.

Good luck! :)

jasper
February 1st, 2011, 06:06 PM
I liked the dark with your blue eyes. Your pictures made me wish I had the nerve to try something that dramatic. I think you look good with bangs.

Malibu Barbie
February 1st, 2011, 06:27 PM
I really enjoyed all the colors but I felt the blonde suited you best. I started growing my hair at your length, five years later I'm at tailbone:)

AerithMoon
February 1st, 2011, 06:50 PM
You guys are the best! I wish I had joined long ago. I'm really looking forward to growing with all of you.

The only colours I really love on me are my natural dark blonde with highlights and blue-black. I'm not really into the middle tones. I like extremes. ;] But I do realise that dye is damaging, but that might be a sacrifice I'm willing to make as long as I baby it the best I can. I think once I get to BSL I'll calm down and not being obessively looking for length.

I'm sure you all know how it is, when you first start out you just want hair growth more than anything, I just don't feel like myself without my long hair so it's disconcerting.

Thank you all for your honesty, advice, and encouragement ;)

Malibu Barbie, how often did you trim?

Malibu Barbie
February 1st, 2011, 07:04 PM
Its funny, I never really paid a lot of attention to my hair. I color it once a month(I'm dark blonde as well but like it lighter). No bleach just high lift color. I trim about every four months whatever my hairdresser thinks it needs. Recently, I was almost classic but was tired of it getting in the way. I just cut back up to tailbone. For me I had never had long hair, my hairdresser wanted to see if we could get it really long. My hair was always so thick so she thought it would look really nice long. Now, it's very long I love it. I do get mad at it when it gets stuck in the cars door and stuff. I'm geting used to it and maybe might go for classic again. Good luck growing!!

AerithMoon
February 1st, 2011, 07:09 PM
Haha, and here I am praying to have hair long enough to get stuck in doors. I'm surprised at the lightness you achieve without bleach! I didn't know that was possible... and it's not brassy ;O

<looks into high lift colouring...>

tinywife
February 1st, 2011, 07:18 PM
I wish I could give you sound advice, but we're of wildly different hairtypes. :p
I do think a cool-toned color suits you best. But if you want to make your hair really happy, do it with henna. You can get pretty much any color but blonde. Also, it makes your hair super shiny and soft.
I love henna!

Malibu Barbie
February 1st, 2011, 07:30 PM
A lot of people don't know about the high lift color over bleach. I stress this all the time. Find a really great colorist!! Ask around and find a person that really has lots of experience coloring dark blondes. If you were a toehead when you were young, most of the time you can get a perfect color with high lift. Also you must not neglect coloring. Do you touch ups at the same time every month. My old roommate owned a salon and his advice stuck with me over the years. If you find the right stylist they will always respect their work and you will always have beautiful hair.