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Rini
June 1st, 2011, 02:00 PM
I'll try not to make this into a big whingey post, but I'm a bit down about my hair at the moment. Actually, I expect not to be too happy about it for a couple of years since I quit the dye 8 months ago. I have many many new hairs sticking up all over the place, several hair colours going on, old dye going increasingly brassy.... and just a big mess really. Still, I'm sucking it up and persevering with all that. ;)

My problem is with my ends (isn't it always??). My hair grows pretty fast and I got from just above BSL to just above waist in 6 months. Not bad....BUT....only some of my hair grew fast. It looks as if the ends stick out of the "cloud" that is my fine, floaty pyramid-shaped hair like pathetic little pieces of straw. The thick part of my hair (ie the part that isn't see-through) hasn't moved down my back much at all. I'm left with a dilemma. I could chop my ends to even things up a bit, but then I'd lose length and therefore some tiny bit of weight that is preventing my hair from looking completely pyramid-shaped. I wouldn't say my ends are all that damaged, besides the fact they are dyed and obviously not the shiny smooth virgin hair I'm enjoying more and more every day. I've been around LHC for a few years now, so I'm not bad at hair care and preventing damage :eyebrows:

I feel as if I always get to this point (this length) and then do a big chop. I never really seem to get beyond this length due to the thickness thing. If I compare photos, it does seem that the thickness moves further down...but it's soooooo slow!

What to do? Wait it out, keep the ends and just wear it up for the next couple of years? Cut the ends off, be back to above BSL and have it look more even in thickness?

The other thing is, as it gets longer it seems to be getting "bigger"...ie growing outwards. My hair is not thick, but the fine-ness of it makes it float around my head and not hang well. At a certain length I expect it will sit nicely. Exactly what length will that be though??? :rolleyes: I'm also experiencing difficulty getting my hair to go into upstyles that previously were always reliable. Oh dear....I did say I wasn't going to whinge!!

I suppose I should end with the latest pic to illustrate my dilemma. Washed, still half wet, combed out a bit (so curls didn't eat length) and looking pretty ratty. Still, it shows the ends well and you get the idea of what I'm up against.

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=6953&pictureid=104142

On a positive note, I AM enjoying my new silver hair. It's coming in nicely and I feel better about it every day :o

Thanks for listening :)

Gabriel
June 1st, 2011, 02:19 PM
Hi Rini! :) We don't have similiar hair at all so I don't really have a lot of good advice but I wanted to say that I always have thought of your hair as super pretty.

My hair looked a little bit whispy like that when it was half wet too last year. Near the ends I mean, but it got better for me this year with regular seasonal trims. Try a picture of your hair completely dry, it probably doesn't look nearly as whispy!

Are you on a trimming schedule? Emichiee is a great inspiration for me when it comes to showing how to gradually grow in thickness. She did very small micro-trims for a while.

I think your hair growing outwards may mean that maybe you're going to have more curl formation coming in. That will be really pretty! Are you using any products to help weigh things down a little?

KatiSasha
June 1st, 2011, 02:24 PM
I agree, you're probably a lot curlier than you realize. Try this website : http://www.naturallycurly.com/ It's for wavies, wurlies too. Maybe those thinner ends can end up in really pretty spirals :)

Vervaine
June 1st, 2011, 02:27 PM
Do you wear ponytails often? I had a similar problem, where I had a weird "halo" that never seemed to grow (my hair was serially dyed too), and it turned out that it was damage from wearing a ponytail at work! I started wearing it in a braid or a big claw clip and I have noticed it finally getting longer.

I also expect that with regular trims the oldest and crispiest parts of your hair will get cut away and the newer more pampered hair won't have such a tendency toward breakage. Good luck though!

Anje
June 1st, 2011, 02:35 PM
If you take care of it, the thickness will move downward until you hit the point where the shorter hairs have hit their (annoyingly not-full-length) terminal length. The trick just seems to be waiting out the slow downward (and outward) progress of thickness and generally not damaging it.

I agree with the previous posters -- try some more curly-oriented methods, and consider microtrimming. Just maintaining your length will give the thickness a chance to catch up.

SilvraShadows
June 1st, 2011, 02:45 PM
I have the same thing going on as well. But after so many years I think, for me, my thickness will never grow longer. Albeit, my hair is much thinner than yours. Still I hope for it to grow longer. Yet still, I always cut it back when it gets just above my waist which is sad for me since I want hip length. It used to be I would cut it back always in hopes that the thickness would grow right along with the rest.

Your hair is beautiful, the brassiness you are talking about... I can't see it.

Firefly
June 1st, 2011, 03:05 PM
Oh Rini, I think your hair is pretty! I think these things always looks worse to us than to others. I do see the thinness you're talking about and I had a similar issue pre-LHC. It has been slowly moving down my back and is past BSL now; it does take time. I've been tempted to chop as well but think I'd rather keep the length. We're similar hair types and I need some length to weigh it down, too. I wear it up a lot and try to forget about it. Hang in there!

elbow chic
June 1st, 2011, 03:10 PM
I bet the hemline will thicken up. Have you ever seen Cinnamon Hair's website? Her ends got really thin at various points but she said it just takes the rest of the hairs awhile to catch up after the faster ones have gotten to a particular marker. Made sense to me.

As for hair growing outward instead of down, I have no advice, but lots of sympathy. ;)

I had hoped mine would LAY DOWN by bsl but so far that's still not quite happening... ah well.

Misti
June 1st, 2011, 03:13 PM
Hi, Rini,

Just to add to the choir, I too think your hair is lovely just the way it is. Such pretty, delicate fairy tale ends! ;) (We always want what we don't havem though -- believe me, I get that. I'd gibe a lot to have thick, heavy hair...)

I would have suggested that you try lots of moisture and see if that helps tame the ends -- but other have suggested that you try some curly methods, and I see what they're saying -- your hair does look like frustrated curly. So now that's my suggestion, too.

You'll probably be happier if you keep the length, baby the ends, and when the thin ends get on your nerves, just put it up and ignore it. Yes, it will take time to get a nice even hem (I don't expect I ever will!) but in the end, isn't it really more important to have long and beautiful?




I could chop my ends to even things up a bit, but then I'd lose length and therefore some tiny bit of weight that is preventing my hair from looking completely pyramid-shaped. I wouldn't say my ends are all that damaged, besides the fact they are dyed and obviously not the shiny smooth virgin hair I'm enjoying more and more every day. I've been around LHC for a few years now, so I'm not bad at hair care and preventing damage :eyebrows:
What to do? Wait it out, keep the ends and just wear it up for the next couple of years? Cut the ends off, be back to above BSL and have it look more even in thickness?
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=6953&pictureid=104142

Slinks
June 1st, 2011, 03:15 PM
yep, I agree too micro trimming every 3 months .. I'm actually doing this myself to make sure I don't get fairy tails on my way to hip .. if you're not a salon visitor and not a self trimmer maybe you might want to get one of these, I bought one last week after I decided no more salons .. http://www.creaclip.com/ .. it's on it's way to me :-) my next trim is scheduled for September ..

Carolyn
June 1st, 2011, 03:31 PM
I think you are wavier than I am. I think I'm a 1c but 2 LHCers who have seen my hair in person thought I might be close to a 2a. So we are kind of close in hair type. My thickness is finally moving down. I thought it never would but it's finally getting there. I had damage due to a professional dye removal a few years ago. The damaged hair is finally getting past mid back. It's a very slow go as I only get 1/2" per month and am long waisted so mid back to waist is a very long grow out. The things I believe have helped me are:

1.) getting a home water softener.
2.) CO'ing a lot.
3.) Heavy applications of camellia or coconut oil the night before I wash.
4.) Buns or a braid almost all the time.
5.) Lots of S & D and a half inch trim about every 3 months.

My hair floats around a lot so I love heavy moisturizing conditioners.

I've gone to tailbone twice with less than stellar ends, and then cut back several inches. This time I'm trimming more often and doing smaller trims. My ends are too fragile to go too long between trims. It's been a very slow process. I go from wanting to cut it back to waist and have ends I like or slowly keeping on growing towards tailbone again. I'm at hip now and need another 5" to what I think is my goal. It will probably take another 2 years to gain that much length with my current rate of trims. What I am hoping for is the thickness will move down the length. I think you can do it too. If you can bring out your waves and curls more I think you may be more satisfied with your ends. Give that a try and see if things get better. You can always trim off a couple inches later and then do micro trims for a while.

UltraBella
June 1st, 2011, 03:31 PM
Yes, I see what you mean. The ends are thin but it looks healthy and I honestly think you should just let it grow for now. You can always trim it later, see if you feel better about it in a few months.

Mesmerise
June 1st, 2011, 04:08 PM
My advice, for what it's worth, would be to start trimming regularly to maintain the length, but to allow the shorter hairs a chance to catch up! My hair is quite similar to yours, and I, too, have stringy looking ends. At the moment I'm growing for length, but next year my goal is to maintain a lot more by trimming monthly (maybe 0.5 to 1cm a month) which I'm hoping will allow the thickness to catch up to the length a bit!

I think that is a better means of dealing with it than giving it all a big chop to get rid of the ends! And as everyone has said, they don't look that bad (yeah... it's one thing to say it, but another to believe it, because I think my ends are positively embarrassing), and if you wear your hair up a lot, then you'll hardly ever be showing them!

jojo
June 1st, 2011, 04:16 PM
hello ! well you know what your hair is gorgeous and I really think sometimes photos make our hair look thinner than it is, especially if the light catches in a certain way. My latest length photo looks like my ends are thin and they are thinner than my bulk but my daughter reassures me its not as bad as it looks.

However, I do believe with regular micro trims the bulk can travel down and thicken the ends up. Have you tried a volume shampoo and conditioner? Charles Worthington (its sulphates and cones though) does a great one.

I am on a 3-4 monthly dust to try and get my ends thicker. But be reassured your hair is lovely. I also think you are a closet curly, i love your ends and your hair it reminds me of girlcats.

Delila
June 1st, 2011, 04:25 PM
I'm a fan of micro-trims too. Micro-trims help keep these strands from getting too much longer than the bulk of my hair, so my hemline doesn't just keep getting thinner.

As time has gone on, I've gained a lot of thickness in the top part of my hair, and it does seem to be slowly moving toward longer lengths.

In2wishin
June 1st, 2011, 04:37 PM
Rini: our hair seems to be very similar (although I am F/M) and I am actually going through the same things you are. I am growing out dye and dealing with very skimpy ends as you can see in my dry hair:
http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk315/eclctcmnd/PBlength2.jpg

Do you use any leave-in products? I found that a small amount of a coney serum on the last 10" or so helps my hair to lay together better. Also, when my hair is a teensy bit damp still, I will bun it for a little while and my waves seem to be in control a bit better. My siggy pic was taken about a week after the one above and that is with the serum and temporary bunning.

As far as cutting, I guess you have to decide which is more important to you right now: getting as long as possible or as thick as possible. I have currently chosen to go for length. It is summer and I wear my hair up almost all of the time in summer to stay cooler so I don't care so much about scraggly ends. In the fall I will decide if I want to do another micro-trim.

Don't feel bad for whining a bit...these in-between stages are the pits :(

Kristamommyx3
June 1st, 2011, 04:50 PM
If it really really bothers you, then look at your picture posted, and trim back to what makes you like your hair again. If you can ignore it for a long time, then micro trims are fine, but it seems like you want to embrace the newer healthier hair. There is nothing wrong with cutting three inches or so in the name of thicker hair that you are happier to take care of every day, not just hide it "until". That magic day it's been all trimmed off. I guess what you have to ask yourself what you value more in the next two years, length or overall thickness. I know we are all in favor of length, but we are also about loving our hair at every phase...you can regrow it thicker and fuller and accept the time it takes, or baby the thinner ends and never have to give up the length. I think only you know what will make you happy with your hair every day and not just in the future. :)

Babyfine
June 1st, 2011, 05:44 PM
Rini, My ends are just like yours, except your hair is considerably thicker farther up than mine is. My ends really fairy-tail once I get past BSL. I was about 2 inches past BSL this january and I cut back to shoulders. I'm really sorry I did that, now. But I was lusting after blunt, thick ends. Lost a lot of length, though.
I'm a dye-er, although I otherwise treat my hair like antique lace, and so I often wonder if that's why my ends thin out. I'm also baby-fine, fragile haired.
For what it's worth, I think your hair is gorgeous. Maybe start with small trims, until you like it?
I wish my silvers looked as nice on me as yours do on you!
I love your crown braid, do you use two braids to do that,or just one?
I'm looking now to do micro-trims every other month to encourage more thickness at a longer length, I'm curious to see if it will work.

alyanna
June 1st, 2011, 07:36 PM
Honestly, I don't think your hair looks nearly as bad as you think. I do understand your frustration with your ends though. I've got the exact same hair type as you, I'm currently at shoulder and my hair has been growing outward rather than downward for the past month.

You have a lot going on though, with trying to grow out dye, letting grays come in and having wurly/curly hair.

My suggestion is that your hair type would really, really, ok one more time, REALLY, benefit from conditioner-only washing. Please visit the thread!

Also, it wouldn't hurt to trim just a tad. A tiny trim does wonders.

Finally, hang in there! I truly believe your thickness will move downwards and you'll have just the look you were going for ;)

frizzinator
June 1st, 2011, 08:09 PM
Your hair is gorgeous!

If I were you, I would keep the ends and wear it up. It will protect your length.

No need to worry about the difficulty of making your old styles work. I've noticed lots of variability in making an updo at a different length and with different thicknesses. More practice and lots of hair toys will solve this problem.

More moisture will add weight to your hair.

Rini
June 2nd, 2011, 12:48 AM
Thanks so much for the responses/encouragement everyone :flowers: I hate to whinge and I'm not on here often these days so I feel like I just came on to complain! It's not true, I do come here and contribute useful things too :D

To answer/comment specific posts:

Gabriel: yes, it does look a bit better when dry, but I was trying to get a good length shot and damp combing helps in that the curls can't form and eat length! hehe

KatiSasha: naturallycurly.com has been putting up with me since 1994 ;) I know my hair can be very curly with product, but my ends are still straightish even when the rest is curly.

Vervaine: I don't wear pony tails at all. My hair is always in a bun held only with a hairstick. I like the idea of regular trims.

Anje: yes, I'd like to maintain the length and wait for the thickness to catch up. It just seems to take SUCH a long time for me!

Silvrashadows & FireFly: Thanks for the encouraging words :flowers:

elbow chic: yes, I have drooled...err..seen Cinnamon's website. I see what you mean about her thickness moving down. Patience I guess

Misti: yes, I'm frustrated AND curly! hehe Thanks for the advice.

Slinks: I'm a self trimmer, so no problem to give myself a bit of a trim. That clip thing looks interesting, let us know how it goes!

Carolyn: hi :waving: It is encouraging to read that your thickness DID move down, albeit slowly. I do 3 out of the 5 things on your life. 1 is not possible as I am living in Italy and about to move back to Australia, so relying on rentals, hotels etc for a while. BUT I do intend to get one in my new house. I also don't do 5, but am thinking it might be a good idea to start! I shall start with microtrims, then maybe a bigger chop at the end of the year.

Mesmerise: ah yes, the upstyles! It's the reason I haven't chopped my hair off completely. The upstyles hide the colour transition AND the ends and also prevent me from having to look at all that mess. I'm starting to agree with the regular trimming advice.

jojo: I'm out of the closet actually, I just don't tend to take photos of my hair in it's curly state ;) I'm not too keen on any extra volume, but thanks for the shampoo/co suggestion. I'm a COer from way back

Delila: I'm glad your thickness IS moving down. Gives me hope

In2wishin: yes I think we are dealing with similar issues! I like the coney serum advice, I will try that. I currently use Karen's Body Beautiful leave in and am satisfied with it for now. These in-between stages ARE the pits :(

Kristamommyx3: The age-old question of thickness vs length is always relevant for me. I think a good compromise is small trims and keep length.

Babyfine: I wonder the same thing as you: ie whether not dyeing my hair now will make an eventual difference to the thickness of my ends (once the new hair grows down that far). Maybe this problem with my ends will not exist from now on? I hope!! I certainly have quite a bit of new hair since stopping the chemicals. Thanks for the silvers/crown braid compliment :) The crown braid is a dutch lace braid "woven" in all the way around my head. It takes some time so I don't do it all that often :D

alyanna: thanks for the encouragement. I have been CO washing for about 5 years now and have recently added honey to my final CO. It's making a difference in that it's adding more moisture. Yes to the microtrim!

frizzinator: thank you! All good advice which I will heed. I am getting lazy I guess and just stick with my usual bun. I was reading the articles the other night for inspiration and will start incorporating some new buns/braids into my routine :o

share801
June 2nd, 2011, 02:35 AM
I think your hair is very pretty.

I feel your pain too as I have been trying to move the thickness "down" for over a year with a sizable chop and trims since. It really does not seem to me that it is helping.

I am beginning to wonder how much influence I can really have over my hair (beyond not blow drying, flat ironing, etc) and its own natural tendencies.

Rini
June 2nd, 2011, 04:23 AM
I am beginning to wonder how much influence I can really have over my hair (beyond not blow drying, flat ironing, etc) and its own natural tendencies.

THAT is an excellent point! I have been thinking the same thing. My hair is always going to be my hair and it will do what it has always done. The wave pattern will be the same, the texture the same, the thickness/thinness the same....anything I do is just cosmetic (besides growing and trimming).

Nae
June 2nd, 2011, 05:09 AM
Rini, I think that you should leave it be. It is just at an awkward/weird stage. I know that in the past you have said that after many experiments you are ready to just let your hair grow. I give that advice back to you. Let it go. :meditate: It will only be awkward for so long, and the longer you let it go the faster you will leave the land of weird hair behind.

Micro-trims perhaps every three months or so should help it to thicken up without losing too much length. Take some progress pictures after each trim and see if it is helping. In a year or so you should really see a difference!!

You can do it!! :D

wendyg
June 2nd, 2011, 05:16 AM
Speaking as someone else with fine hair, my experience is that the longer it is the better it looks - it *will* stop floating when it's long enough to have some weight to it.

Of course, the other issue with fine hair (though I don't know about *curly* fine hair) is that you can't load it up with conditioners because it just goes limp. I use a rather light leave-in and nothing else.

My best suggestion: put it up for a year and then see. :)

wg

Rini
June 2nd, 2011, 07:40 AM
Nae....you remembered my old siggy!! LOL Yes, you are right, I do get frustrated and chop and change (literally!). I should just let it go...

wendyg: if I had half your collection of beautiful hair toys, it would be a pleasure to put it up for a year! Really though, I think I shall continue to persevere. I am so looking forward to the day where the length helps it to stop floating and I won't get there very fast if I keep doing big chops.

TiaKitty
June 2nd, 2011, 08:08 AM
I find that my length, which is fairy-tale ends, thinner after a shed, helps me with my updos.

Don't forget that if you whack those whispies, you'll have a harder time with that last bit of a bun where you tuck it under and around. It'll stop your braid from being long enough to go all the way around when you crown braid.

I think you should view the length as working hair and let it stay until your new virgin hair gets long enough to please you by laying right, staying in your fave updos.

Your silver is gorgeous, by the way!

xoxophelia
June 2nd, 2011, 08:22 AM
Personally I think some portion of the thinning at your ends may come from like you said, your hair reaching waist so quickly. You seem to have a lot of sprinters and then the bulk is slow growing. If your goal in to gain length and maintain the hemline you have now, I would agree with microtrims. But, if your goal right now is about waist length with a thicker hemline I would just start maintaining. You could even trim about 2" so you are happier wearing it down until then.

I've also been doing regular trims to remove old dye/damage/thinning from illness and while I wish my hair was TB length by now, it definitely is worth it to me. The trimming has really helped my hemline and the thickness is slowly moving down.

SilvraShadows
June 2nd, 2011, 08:24 AM
I love your ends, the whole look is very pretty. Blunt, thick ends seem to be the rave but I find beauty in delicate hair especially when it becomes longer because in part I know it takes much more patience, care, and determination to get there.

Babyfine
June 2nd, 2011, 08:49 AM
Rini, I've wondered the same thing about the dye. I use the gentlest demi I can and have it applied in a salon, I'm just not ready to embrace thegreys yet. I should do a science experiment and see if more hair comes in if I don't color.(but the silvers don't look as nice on me as you) I'm scared of henna, too much commitment. Did you have more thickness when you were using henna? I do have some med brown henna in my closet(Light Mountain) I'm just scared to use it.
Maybe I should do henna glosses.(But i can't carry off a lot of red).

SilvraShadows
June 2nd, 2011, 09:24 AM
When I dyed my hair, that was the downfall of my thickness. I lost a lot of hair each time I dyed it, which was every 6 to 8 weeks for too many years. I really, really hoped I would regain my thickness back when I stopped but I never did, although the massive shedding I experienced every 6 to 8 weeks stopped.

Now I look back and I think all that dye acted like weed killer and seeped deep into my skin and kill the hair follicles, killed out something because it's much thinner since that time.

There are others who have gorgeous thick manes and who have been dying their hair for years, as we know, so this is only my experience.

Rini... from what I see your comeback is coming along just fine!

curlymarcia
June 2nd, 2011, 09:27 AM
Rini, I'm another fine hair with thin ends. I have the same dilemma, length or thick-hem. I decided to keep growing and doing microtrims. I had made a lot of big chops and I always lost the nice hemline very fast after the trim. Luckily, the curls disguise the thin ends.

Theobroma
June 2nd, 2011, 09:34 AM
Rini, for starters, your hair is pretty even in its half-dry state! Don't fret about it too much. :)

On to the (hopefully) constructive advice. I'm with the people who've been saying that you're probably curlier than you think you are, and curlier than you look on the photo you posted! If that's the case, you may find that your hair will sit better if you give it as much moisture as you possibly can. (I had no idea I was any kind of curly and my hair was a weird, random, fluffy, sticking-out mess until I started oiling, improved still more with CO washing, and improved once again after I started -- quite recently -- using a mix of aloe vera gel and coconut oil as a leave-in/curl cream. Moisture has been the key to good-looking hair!

I'm somewhat in the same boat as you regarding the thin ends. My length isn't dyed and never has been, but I'm recouping from a major shed about two-and-a-half years ago and the bottom 30% of my length is horribly wimpy. I hate that and I can't wait for the length to thicken up! It's coming along; the thickest part of my braid, which was only about the top inch or so of it a year ago, has now crept a goodly way down, but there's still a long way to go, and I'm forever tempted to chop off the ends to get rid of some of the thinness. What's keeping me from doing so is that every centimetre of length, no matter how thin, helps to keep my updos stable -- and updos are a must for the purpose of protecting my ends! So my advice to you would be: If you're planning to go the protective updo route, hang onto those ends unless they're too damaged to be worth keeping (which doesn't seem to be the case if that photo is anything to go by).

Rini
June 2nd, 2011, 09:42 AM
TiaKitty: What a good way of looking at thin ends - "working hair" :D That's great! You are right though, they do help with buns and sometimes I think of those ends as protection for the "good" hair above them. Weird I know.... Thanks for the silver compliment :)

xoxophelia: yes, my hair has always grown at a very uneven rate. Some very fast hairs mixed in with some very slow ones. It is annoying. I think trimming is the way to go...small trims anyway.

Babyfine: I'm afraid I do believe that dye is just no good for our hair type. I "thought" my hair was in good condition when I was colouring it, but it really wasn't. When I was a henna-head my hair was very smooth, straighter and thicker. I loved henna so much, but the maintenance was just impossible (white hair growing out of my scalp next to orange/red hair). Henna is a commitment for sure! I lost a lot of length removing it. There are other direct dyes though if you are not ready to embrace your silvers: Wella Colorfresh, Elumen, Clairol Beautiful collection, Sebastian cellophanes, Surya henna cream (not really henna).....such a long list. They don't use developers, deposit only and wash out gradually so no regrowth line. If I ever got sick of the silver, I'd use one of these for a temporary change.

Silvrashadows: Weed killer!! eeeek! I know what you mean though. I do think that the dye over so many years (about 20 years) had a detrimental effect on me as a whole. I am relieved to have stopped. Thanks for the nice comments :) I think that only LHCers appreciate fine hair

curlymarcia: curls also disguise an uneven self-trim! :o Actually I'm grateful that my hair is not straight as my wurlies give my hair the illusion that it is thicker than it actually is

Panth
June 2nd, 2011, 09:43 AM
As everyone else has said - your hair looks beautiful and no-one else is a critical of it as you are! Also, you have fantastic colouring - the silver coming in over the gold (dye?) is gorgeous.

As for will thickness really spread down to the ends, yes, it will - it just takes time. That your hair is growing outwards instead of down is probably just a symptom of your curls. They should start to hang down more once they get long enough to have enough weight to force them down.

Rini
June 2nd, 2011, 09:47 AM
Hi Theobroma :waving: We posted at the same time! Thanks for your comments/advice. I have been a bit lazy while I have been living in Italy. I usually CO wash, put my leave-in on, air dry, put up in a bun and that's it. I could use a curl cream or flax gel or whatever and I'd probably get a good-looking head of curls, but I've been so down about my hair in general (with all it's other problems) that I've preferred to just toss it into an updo and leave it. Yes, ends will help the updos, you are right about that. Microtrims for me I guess.

Deelight
June 2nd, 2011, 07:59 PM
This thread has been helpful to me. I feel like my thickness has not moved down in 1 1/2 years on LHC, despite having completely stopped blowdrying & flat ironing, and doing regular conditioning. I still use chemical dye so maybe that's the issue too. I just added a recent hair pic to my album so you can see what I'm talking about.

I, like you, have felt very discouraged at times. On the other hand, I do so much enjoy taking care of my longer hair (it feels very luxurious at the longer length) that it's distracting me from the lack of volume. I very rarely wear my wurly hair in its natural state: I straighten it while wet by putting it in a hair wrap, and afterwards wear it all together over one shoulder. It looks very sleek and pretty that way, and when it's not spread out across one's back one doesn't see the thin spots at all.

wahmof9
June 2nd, 2011, 10:53 PM
hello ! well you know what your hair is gorgeous and I really think sometimes photos make our hair look thinner than it is, especially if the light catches in a certain way. My latest length photo looks like my ends are thin and they are thinner than my bulk but my daughter reassures me its not as bad as it looks.

However, I do believe with regular micro trims the bulk can travel down and thicken the ends up. Have you tried a volume shampoo and conditioner? Charles Worthington (its sulphates and cones though) does a great one.

I am on a 3-4 monthly dust to try and get my ends thicker. But be reassured your hair is lovely. I also think you are a closet curly, i love your ends and your hair it reminds me of girlcats.
Agreed! My hair in pictures looks pretty sad to me. I have asked hubby and teenagers of my household who all say it looks fine

wahmof9
June 2nd, 2011, 10:55 PM
Rini, My ends are just like yours, except your hair is considerably thicker farther up than mine is. My ends really fairy-tail once I get past BSL. I was about 2 inches past BSL this january and I cut back to shoulders. I'm really sorry I did that, now. But I was lusting after blunt, thick ends. Lost a lot of length, though.
I'm a dye-er, although I otherwise treat my hair like antique lace, and so I often wonder if that's why my ends thin out. I'm also baby-fine, fragile haired.
For what it's worth, I think your hair is gorgeous. Maybe start with small trims, until you like it?
I wish my silvers looked as nice on me as yours do on you!
I love your crown braid, do you use two braids to do that,or just one?
I'm looking now to do micro-trims every other month to encourage more thickness at a longer length, I'm curious to see if it will work.
Same here, I cut 2 inches in Dec and felt very sorry for it and it did not make that big of a difference so right now I am going for length.

Athena's Owl
June 2nd, 2011, 11:59 PM
I'm going through this too, and so this year I've been trimming one inch or less off my hair every other month in the hopes that it will help the tapering issues. I've committed the year to this. I should have taken a picture in January, but I think i'll know if I like what I see in December.

30isthenewblack
June 3rd, 2011, 06:37 AM
Hello :flowers:

Just posting to say you're not alone. I'm thickening my ends at the moment as well as a lot of others on the board. My 2011 hair maintenance plan is:

- Trimming my longest layer 0.5 centimetres every month
- Washing my hair every second or third day
- Oiling the ends of my hair with johoba oil the night before I'm going to wash my hair
- Wearing my hair in a braid more often when I go out instead of wearing my hair down (my biggest hair vice)
- Sleeping on a satin pillow
- Doing an S&D weekly
- Putting amla in my hair every three months
- Taking my hair vitamins; Qsillica, Biotin, MSM & Omega 3

I look forward to seeing your next progress pic!

Rini
June 3rd, 2011, 06:45 AM
It's so great to be amongst people with similar issues! Somehow when others share your frustrations, it makes them less of a burden. Thank you :flowers:

I will definitely opt out of the no-trimmers club now :D I will do a post-trim pic soon!

Mesmerise
June 3rd, 2011, 07:02 AM
I'm going through this too, and so this year I've been trimming one inch or less off my hair every other month in the hopes that it will help the tapering issues. I've committed the year to this. I should have taken a picture in January, but I think i'll know if I like what I see in December.

This is my goal for next year! I figured I would grow as long as possible this year (with a micro trim every three months), and next year I'll pretty much just maintain my length and see if I can get back some thickness to the end! I will try and document it with pictures too...


Hello
- Taking my hair vitamins; Qsillica, Biotin, MSM & Omega 3



This is pretty much exactly what I take too! I am also taking some Evening Primrose Oil, I must have read somewhere it's good for hair :).

Tressie
June 3rd, 2011, 07:09 AM
I think your hair is lovely, and you should just continue to pamper it, encourage the romantic curls and enjoy it! :blossom:

vindo
June 6th, 2011, 05:01 PM
What to do? Wait it out, keep the ends and just wear it up for the next couple of years? Cut the ends off, be back to above BSL and have it look more even in thickness?

I prefer maintaining for increasing the thickness to the possible max. It will move down if it it supposed to. The good news is that due to uneven growth pretty much everyone can at least improve it somewhat.
Only thing you need is a decent base hemline for thickening up and removing all growth monthly. I have maintained for a year and am still no further, even shorter than I was after my shed. But the thickness is coming back.


The other thing is, as it gets longer it seems to be getting "bigger"...ie growing outwards. My hair is not thick, but the fine-ness of it makes it float around my head and not hang well. At a certain length I expect it will sit nicely. Exactly what length will that be though???
That has to do with the taper, if the ends are more blunt everything will be weighed down, the more taper, the more your top layers will fluff up, almost like scene cut layered hair. I had the same problem after my shed and it gets better the more the hair grows even :).

Btw. I love your silver!

Lisa R
June 6th, 2011, 11:34 PM
Hi Rini

Great to hear you are moving back to Australia!! Hope all goes smoothly for you there.

I love you hair and think it is beautiful. There are so many of us fine haired people at LHC.

I've got no other tips that haven't already been mentioned. I'm so glad that your burden is a bit lighter with all the advise and compliments!

Happy hair growing:)

Joliebaby
June 7th, 2011, 12:21 AM
I just wanted to say that I think fluffy hair is pretty :) I sometimes try to make mine was fluffier! :)
Your hair looks nice, but I do get the impatience. I stopped dyeing my hair last summer a bit less than a year ago and I'm constantly complaining about the color difference.. and the layers..

Rini
January 18th, 2021, 04:55 PM
OK, so I have not been around LHC for a while and was just going through some of my old threads and saw this one!! It's making me laugh because this is EXACTLY what I'm thinking right now :D

I'm growing it out again and probably growing out the subtle blonde tint I have right now too (although I'm not decided on that), and once again I'm feeling like my hair is so fluffy and bushy. I don't obsess over it like I used to, but I do feel like I'm the only one in the world with this type of hair especially when everyone around me has that nice shiny swingy hair with some weight to it. I know that's not true, but I do feel it sometimes :(

Anyway, just thought it was funny how my thoughts on that haven't changed (and my hair is still pretty much the same length as it was when I was last on here regularly! LOL)

Hi everyone btw :waving: It's fun to be back :)

Shorty89
January 18th, 2021, 05:04 PM
OK, so I have not been around LHC for a while and was just going through some of my old threads and saw this one!! It's making me laugh because this is EXACTLY what I'm thinking right now :D

I'm growing it out again and probably growing out the subtle blonde tint I have right now too (although I'm not decided on that), and once again I'm feeling like my hair is so fluffy and bushy. I don't obsess over it like I used to, but I do feel like I'm the only one in the world with this type of hair especially when everyone around me has that nice shiny swingy hair with some weight to it. I know that's not true, but I do feel it sometimes :(

Anyway, just thought it was funny how my thoughts on that haven't changed (and my hair is still pretty much the same length as it was when I was last on here regularly! LOL)

Hi everyone btw :waving: It's fun to be back :)

:waving: Welcome back!

lapis_lazuli
January 18th, 2021, 05:30 PM
Haha that's so fun how you can reflect on your thoughts from a decade ago here! I hope you'll feel better about your hair soon; it looks very soft and pretty in your photos. Welcome back :)

elise.autumn
January 18th, 2021, 05:45 PM
OK, so I have not been around LHC for a while and was just going through some of my old threads and saw this one!! It's making me laugh because this is EXACTLY what I'm thinking right now :D

I'm growing it out again and probably growing out the subtle blonde tint I have right now too (although I'm not decided on that), and once again I'm feeling like my hair is so fluffy and bushy. I don't obsess over it like I used to, but I do feel like I'm the only one in the world with this type of hair especially when everyone around me has that nice shiny swingy hair with some weight to it. I know that's not true, but I do feel it sometimes :(

Anyway, just thought it was funny how my thoughts on that haven't changed (and my hair is still pretty much the same length as it was when I was last on here regularly! LOL)

Hi everyone btw :waving: It's fun to be back :)

Hi! I have very fluffy hair (https://imgur.com/a/kSnSQeq) a lot of the time. I've come to appreciate it. I find myself questioning it more when I listen to culture (at least US culture) telling me that hair needs to be sleek to be pretty. Not true!

Your hair looks very pretty. :)

Dark40
January 19th, 2021, 01:33 PM
For me, I would say, "Yes, as mine is getting longer the thickness is moving downward." Instead of getting thinner as it's growing out. My hair is between fine/thick, and my hair was almost hip length at one point in my life, and it has never thinned out as it got to that point, and I don't think it ever will as it will grow even longer than hip length. My hair's thickness will always stay the same.