Loving Your Hair

[Annibelle]

Last night, I decided to braid my hair after washing. I took the seven braids out this morning, and boy was I disappointed! My hair did everything I wanted it to-- it looked full and wavy, but boy did it look bad with my face shape! Now I realize that I love my straight/very slightly wavy hair.

Have any of you had a hair epiphany? Maybe you dyed your hair and then realized that your natural color suited you better?

[growingpains]

Haha when I was 18 I died my hair blond. Big mistake. My hair unfailingly pulls red and exhibits significant damage after several months when bleached. It looked terrible with my skin.

Similarly when I was 22 I had jet black/blue black hair. One day I looked in the mirror and though I looked like I was balding cause my roots were so much lighter.

Now I am almost all virgin and I lOVE it.

I'm also learning to embrace the waves. Kinda looks nicer on me that stick straight. Easier anyways.

[vanillabones]

Blonde looked so well on it me it looked natural. But I am learning to love my ashy brown color and I know I will never dye again, that was all just for fun and to get it out of me while I could. I had my hair box dyed dark brown for years in a pixie and DBF likes that but the color only suited me when I had fake tans which are a no and I'd rather not go darker than my natural ever again.

As for your braids waves I'm totally envious that you got them to turn out how you wanted. I can't wait for that. Waves/curlies look so natural on me I can't wait to get them. My straight hair appears badly flat-ironed IMO. Did you keep them in all day? Did they last or come out after a few hours?

[pcolahairgirl]

Yes! In high school and most of college I blow dried my hair every morning. Then one day I decided to let it air dry and NOT put it in a pony tail and WOAH! I found out I had curls! I love them more than anything in the world and I really miss them right now since I have cut it short to start from scratch. I kick myself for all the years I didn't know what I had sitting right on top of my own head!

[spidermom]

I desperately wanted to get rid of my layers, which left me with a chin-length bob. OMG; what a hideous style on my round-square face. Within days, I had layers again.

[WaitingSoLong]

So far the only major realization I have had is that I MUST HAVE CONES IN MY HAIR. I was cone free for a long time and my hair NEEDS cones. I am liking my hair so much more since I added them back in.

[CrystalStar]

Two realisations..

One: My hair did not look good bleach blonde. I may have had it for five years, but with my naturally almost black eyebrows.. it did not look good! :laugh:

Two: Why would I waste twenty minutes straightening every day when I HAD naturally straight hair. No-one notices/cares you have a kink on the right hand side.. people aren't looking! I now never use heat, and get people ask me what straighteners/heat protectant I use. :p

[buttercupmcgee]

That is such a good point, Crystal!

[TealValley]

I used to dye and bleach my hair and straight it O,o I made my hair suffer too much when I was a teenager ,it was one of those stages of experimenting with it.... but really looking back I really wish I haven't done it because it made my hair very unhealthy and dry >: I had to cut it short too so it will grow better ... and really, natural hair looks great!!! if you take care of it it would repay you with a healthy great look :]

[Kristin]

In addition to being damaging, blonde looks awful on me. I get lots of compliments on my almost-black hair, so I've learned to love it. There is also no curling my hair now that it is longer than waist. And honestly, even when I can get it to hold a curl for a short period, it just gets tangled. Straight is just easier.

[vaughner]

My big epiphany was that I looked fine with wavy hair, that it looks just as beautiful as straight hair. I stopped straightening it so much since then and learned to love my hair the way it is.

[silkheart]

When I was 10, my mom made me get a perm. I hated it. My hair looked sooo much better straight.

[AuburnTresses]

My epiphany was that I don't look good with Shirley Temple curls... crud. I think they look cute but they just don't go with my face. Now spirals - those I can do. Best of all when I want to curl my hair now I can enjoy it and know it goes with my face.

[gingylocks]

I've had various wigs on Halloween that made it obvious that I should never have short curly blonde hair like Marylin Monroe
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KmnF4VC2Ark/TchRCBmPP2I/AAAAAAAAABw/QIyg3mcg5vM/s1600/16433_634143394534_14316849_37235798_6905850_n.jpg
or short bob-cut dark red hair like I did as a flapper
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3nDnlbRgYTk/TchRyDoJlvI/AAAAAAAAAB4/eXaT_Zt1Wfk/s1600/me%2Band%2Bcorey.jpg
or platnum playboy-bunny-blonde like I did in this photoshopped pic.
http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v347/106/7/9029910/n9029910_37862369_4464.jpg?dl=1
I think I will stick to the strawberry blonde longish hair that I've always had. Wigs are definitely the safest way to experiment though, and Photoshop :)

[buttercupmcgee]

That is such a good point, Crystal!

[caiti42]

I keep thinking that I look so much better with short hair just past my shoulders. I have been thinking this for years and whenever my hair gets anywhere near bra strap I cut it off :( no more!

[torrilin]

Two realisations..

One: My hair did not look good bleach blonde. I may have had it for five years, but with my naturally almost black eyebrows.. it did not look good! :laugh:

Two: Why would I waste twenty minutes straightening every day when I HAD naturally straight hair. No-one notices/cares you have a kink on the right hand side.. people aren't looking! I now never use heat, and get people ask me what straighteners/heat protectant I use. :p

I actually *did* have a college roomie notice once. And my knitting group does notice when my hair tries to be wavy... but that's because they're sweethearts and they know my straight hair is not my favorite.

I didn't have the heart to tell her that the super smooth and straight hair days were days where I skipped shampoo and just used conditioner.

Mistakes: perming. Never doing that again. My hair hates the very notion. It was a good lesson, because it taught me that I'll never win an argument with my hair. It does what it does, and all I can do is work with it.

Blow-drying. My hair just won't tolerate it, and gets terrible split ends. Gave it up more than a decade ago, and life is much less tangly.

Dye is not a mistake on me. Any attempts at blonde end up looking like the way my hair sunbleaches. Dark brown ends up being nicely gothy, as long as I can find a dark ash brown... which sadly is harder than it oughta be. Any attempt at red tho tends to look a bit freakish until the color washes out and my hair is busy looking sunbleached blonde.

[annieangel149]

I had many perms for years because i use to hate my straight locks but it caused so much damage! Im glad that i began to accept my natural straightness. im learning to love my straight hair now! I also discovered only very recently that my hair does not like shampoo. with much experimenting i have adopted a regimen where water washes with leave in conditioner every other day will keep my hair clean for longer than i thought was possible! Now i only need to use the shampoo once a week and my hair is much happier now :)

[celebriangel]

I am still struggling with this. I love my natural texture now - having gone conefree, it sits so well in whatever variety of waves/curls it wants - but my natural colour is much harder to love. Light ASH brown, emphasis on the ash. No warmth or richness or depth whatsoever. Kinda like I was trying to be blonde, but had too much black pigment.

Also, I have brown-black eyebrows and eyelashes. Yeah, you can imagine how good and "natural" *that* looks (I mean when I have my natural colour). I dyed chocolate brown for ages and everyone I met assumed it was natural.

So, henna for me I guess.

[nena_shawty]

I love how curls look on other people ,but when i try curls ugh it looks horrible on my face shape. I used to have really curly hair when i was little and i looked so cute i dont know why it doesnt look good on me now.My hair curls really good and esily even,but i looke way better with my natural hair.wavy straight

[JuliaDancer]

In high school, I used to hate my hair. It wasn't pin straight and shiny like the Chinese girls, but it was also didn't have nice waves. It was neither here nor there. I guess it's a normal mutt syndrome to want to "belong" to a specific category. Now I love that I don't "belong" and I love my hair now! Everyone else compliments it too. I think it's a part of growing up and loving your own body for what it is.

[xoerincolleen]

When I was in high school I cheerleaded, and would have the big, curly high pony for competitions. I wanted to have the same look for games, which were on school days, and I would always sleep in rag curls, pin curls, foam rollers, whatever to get those bouncy, tight curls. My hair is naturally slightly wavy, and it took me a while to realize that it looked SO much better with the natural wave and not with ridiculous poodle-y curls!

[Annibelle]

Did you keep them in all day? Did they last or come out after a few hours?

I slept in the braids and then took them out in the morning. By night, my hair was still very voluminous and wavy-- I ended up washing in conditioner to get my hair back to normal! My hair holds curl extremely well (I've had curls last for days), but once water hits it, it gets very straight!

[Annibelle]

I desperately wanted to get rid of my layers, which left me with a chin-length bob. OMG; what a hideous style on my round-square face. Within days, I had layers again.

I have a squarish/round face, too! That's part of the reason I decided to grow my hair out-- from what I can tell, the longer my hair is, the better my face looks. And the braid waves from this morning made my jaw look like Superman's! :p

[Quixii]

I never liked my hair very much. One time I let it finish air-drying without brushing it first, and discovered I had pretty waves and curls, much like I have always wanted.
I love my hair. :)

[invisiblebabe]

My hair epiphany was discovering hair dye. ;) Dark ASH blonde does not look right with my skin. I have that porcelain pale tone that needs something bright around the face. Slightly lighter and GOLDEN blonde, or adding some light blonde highlights, works beautifully!

[cowgirllong]

I always wanted to have stick straight hair, but I have wavy. I think you just have to learn to love the hair you have.

[Ermine]

My hair's going to be fairly flat when I get it to my goal length, but that's ok because I'll still have a nice flowing sheet of blonde hair. :)

[julliams]

I'm going through this very thing at the moment! I've been imagining myself with all one hip-length hair cut in a U shape, and I've realised that if I do that, I'm going to lose my curl which I like so much.

I straightened my hair the other day and I loved it and took a photo from the front which I never do. I was struck with how the length didn't do much for my face (I thought it made me look older) so I posted about getting some layers around my face. Today I posted some photos of my hair wavy/curly and even I can see that I just look better that way. Sometimes we are looking for that bit "makeover" moment but it's possible that we have already found the way our hair looks best on us and it's time to enjoy that.

[tgagurl27]

i died my hair red wash out... i looked at myself in the mirror and got straight back in the shower and washed 8 times (yea i no thts probs not good but i was bout 14) then after tht it was pink.. i had to wait another week or 2 of washing it daily for it to be all washed out haha not good

[ravenreed]

My epiphany occurred when I went natural for a year after years and years of dyeing my hair and realizing that I really prefer my hair with dye in it.

[dragonchickx]

yeah I bleached my auburn hair.. and I will never do that again.. I dont look right with blondish hair..I will stick with my real color.

[Peanutter]

I've been dying my hair red off and on since high school. Eventually I found out about BAQ henna and for over a year had silky soft gorgeous red hair. I was thrilled until I was looking at old and new pics of me, and saw how curly and bouncy my ashy brown hair used to be. I hadn't noticed how much henna had flattened it :( I was sad to let the red go, but I am looking forward to curls again! You dont know what you've got till its gone, eh?

[HintOfMint]

As much as I loved the subversiveness of a short haircut, it was just more flattering to my face (hello little round cheeks!) and natural hair texture (and natural laziness) to have it long.

So I'm no Audrey Hepburn/Keira Knightley. Ah well.

[Blackfire]

I dyed my hair black while I was working to jobs and had just lost 50 pounds..... on a crash diet too....MAN I looked like a dead chick! I kinda liked it when I felt like getting all gothed up but sometimes I scared myself in the mirror and my mom was crying because I looked like a corpse!