New to the idea of special hair care for long hair

[dmarie63]

Hi all,

I've just used basic shampoo from CVS or the grocery store, and I rarely use conditioner. My hair can be a bit oily which seems to be worsened by the use of conditioner. Once in a blue moon I use mousse to accentuate my curls. My hair is 2a/M/ii, I believe.

Also, I try to buy vegan/cruelty-free products whenever available. I am a struggling college student and can't afford to pay much for anything, including hair care. Plus, I'm low-maintenance so anything that requires a lot of prep time is not plausible for my lifestyle.

Now, based on the provided information, could anyone supply any tips for upping my hair's growth potential? I'd really appreciate it :)

[pixiestar]

Hi all,

I've just used basic shampoo from CVS or the grocery store, and I rarely use conditioner. My hair can be a bit oily which seems to be worsened by the use of conditioner. Once in a blue moon I use mousse to accentuate my curls. My hair is 2a/M/ii, I believe.

Also, I try to buy vegan/cruelty-free products whenever available. I am a struggling college student and can't afford to pay much for anything, including hair care. Plus, I'm low-maintenance so anything that requires a lot of prep time is not plausible for my lifestyle.

Now, based on the provided information, could anyone supply any tips for upping my hair's growth potential? I'd really appreciate it :)

Hi,
You could try Rooibos tea, its quite cheap, you can get from the supermarket. You can drink it and also use for tea rinses. Its great for growth. There is an experiment on the forum at the moment. Hope this helps:D

[teela1978]

I use cheap shampoo from the drug store. I use conditioner that is a step above the cheapest brand, and I use lots of it on my length. That works well for me. If your hair is at shoulder length (as in your avatar) you're probably fine not using too much conditioner.

[monsterna]

We seem to have the same type of hair.

The shampoo I use is just Burt's Bees volumizing (it is around 8 bucks give or take, but it lasts for MONTHS AND MONTHS!). The conditioner I use is Herbal Essences Hello Hydration. Should just be normally priced like most other conditioners in the store. It's lasted me a few months and probably has just shy of one month left in it.

For growth? Try checking out the Monistat thread (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=156&page=1). :D Seriously, a lot of people here, myself included, have seen a big increase in growth from using it. Some people seem to find it expensive, and it can be, but I make a whole tube of Walgreens brand last at least a month if not two, for about 8 bucks again.

Also, just eat a balanced diet and stay hydrated (I need to take my own advice, myself rarely drinking over 20 ounces of anything a day). I take a multi vitamin, biotin, fish oil, and just started MSM. Admittedly I'm a very bad scientist, and don't know my growth rate before I started all this, but I've gained around 4+ inches in 6 months.

Good luck!

[dmarie63]

If your hair is at shoulder length (as in your avatar) you're probably fine not using too much conditioner.
That makes me feel better, thanks. I felt like maybe it would hinder growth or something lol.


We seem to have the same type of hair.

The shampoo I use is just Burt's Bees volumizing (it is around 8 bucks give or take, but it lasts for MONTHS AND MONTHS!). The conditioner I use is Herbal Essences Hello Hydration. Should just be normally priced like most other conditioners in the store. It's lasted me a few months and probably has just shy of one month left in it.

For growth? Try checking out the Monistat thread (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=156&page=1). :D Seriously, a lot of people here, myself included, have seen a big increase in growth from using it. Some people seem to find it expensive, and it can be, but I make a whole tube of Walgreens brand last at least a month if not two, for about 8 bucks again.

Also, just eat a balanced diet and stay hydrated (I need to take my own advice, myself rarely drinking over 20 ounces of anything a day). I take a multi vitamin, biotin, fish oil, and just started MSM. Admittedly I'm a very bad scientist, and don't know my growth rate before I started all this, but I've gained around 4+ inches in 6 months.

Good luck!

This reply was extremely helpful! I will definitely have to try the Burt's Bees shampoo! And I'm right with you in the issue with keeping a balanced diet lol. I have multi-vitamins and just forget to take them, but what are the other things you take used for? And what is MSM?

Thanks so much for your help, everyone! :)

[Teazel]

Plus, I'm low-maintenance so anything that requires a lot of prep time is not plausible for my lifestyle.

Good news: long hair is definitely for you if you want easy-care! Nor do you need to spend lots of money on it. My type is similar to yours and I use some of the cheapest products in the supermarket.

I never put conditioner on my head, it worsens all my scalp problems. If it causes problems for you just use it on the length and you'll get the benefit without the drawbacks.

I don't have any advice on increasing the growth of your hair, but if you take care of it so it doesn't break off it sort of produces the same result. LHC has lots of information on keeping your hair strong and healthy. :)

[dmarie63]

Hi,
You could try Rooibos tea, its quite cheap, you can get from the supermarket. You can drink it and also use for tea rinses. Its great for growth. There is an experiment on the forum at the moment. Hope this helps:D

I'll keep an eye out for it, thanks :) How do you do a tea rinse, though? I'm picturing a tea bag on your head as water runs down lol.

[pepperminttea]

A lot of people only use conditioner from their ears down, and avoid the scalp completely. :) At shoulder, that's only the very ends really, so you've not much to worry about.

Ditto what Teazel said about stopping breakage being the key to gaining length. This article (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=8) helped me a lot when I first joined. :D

[monsterna]

This reply was extremely helpful! I will definitely have to try the Burt's Bees shampoo! And I'm right with you in the issue with keeping a balanced diet lol. I have multi-vitamins and just forget to take them, but what are the other things you take used for? And what is MSM?

Thanks so much for your help, everyone! :)

I do want to mention though that I am stopping Burt's Bees in a few days after I receive the Aubrey Organics Calaguala Fern Shampoo. Only because I think protein is making my hair a little harder to manage, and Burt's Bees does have some in it. Calaguala is SLS-free (Important for my hair type!), protein-free, and cone-free (Not too bothered about this one; I LOVE my conditioners to be coney, so don't need the shampoo to be). It's expensive, though, and cost me about $15 bucks. The BB shampoo has still been fine though and I recommend it, it's just I'm trying to eliminate proteins to see if that will help.

Do you take birth control or some other kind of pill daily? The only way I remember to take all my vitamins is by taking it at the same time as my birth control since it puts me in pill-mode, heh. Maybe try working it around something you do every day.

Here (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=74) is an article alllll about supplements/vitamins! You can also find threads specifically for each of the vitamins I listed.

[torrilin]

My skin (all of it, scalp included) is the kind of dry skin that pitches fits if it is washed too much or in too harsh a cleanser. I'll look like a greaseball, have pimples galore, lots of redness and lots of itching. As a young woman, I was convinced my skin was terribly oily.

It's not.

My hair is pretty straight, so I can wash with a lightly diluted clarifying shampoo. A dime size amount lathered up in my hands gets my whole scalp. Depending on the weather, my activity level, and how much effort I feel like, I can wash as often as daily, or as little as once a week. A lot of women with curlier hair have even dryer skin than mine, and they can wash a *lot* less often with shampoo. Either way, a single small bottle of shampoo lasts me months and months. I'd budget on an 8oz bottle lasting 3-4 months, so a typical drugstore shampoo works out to maybe 75 cents a month. If I go whole hog and get fragrance free shampoo, maybe $2/mo. (part of the itching and redness is I'm sensitive to a lot of fragrances and botanicals, so the less fragrance the better for me)

For conditioner... I use a lot. Always have. Between the dry skin and the tangle prone hair, it's a must and has been since I was a small child. Cheap conditioner is fine. I usually will go for conditioners meant for dry or color treated hair, because see previous on dry skin. I would budget on 32oz of conditioner lasting about as long as an 8oz bottle of shampoo. Still, you can get plenty of perfectly serviceable conditioners for about $5 for a 4 month supply, so it's not terribly extravagant. Using plenty of conditioner means my hair doesn't split or tangle much, and that means I got into a routine of frequent haircuts being every 3-4 months. (a lot of cheap conditioners are heavily fragranced, but I know which ones don't cause trouble, so I can go for cheap stuff easily)

So at my absolute highest maintenance, I'm spending $7-15 on hair care products every 3-4 months, and $20-30 on hair cuts. Let's call it the worst case scenario of $45 every 3 months, which works out to $15/mo. Total. It's attainable for me to get that down to way less than $7/mo, because the better I am about good hair care, the less I need cuts.

My exact routine likely won't work for you, since our hair is really different. But the principle of doing the minimum needed, and preventing hair damage so you can dodge haircuts works for everyone.

[dmarie63]

A lot of people only use conditioner from their ears down, and avoid the scalp completely. :) At shoulder, that's only the very ends really, so you've not much to worry about.

Ditto what Teazel said about stopping breakage being the key to gaining length. This article (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=8) helped me a lot when I first joined. :D

Wow, that article is really helpful, thanks! I like how it has simple instructions that are easy to follow :)

---

And thank you everyone else for your knowledgeable insights :) It's great to know that when I have a question, people on here are eager to help
<3

[wendyg]

I quite like this article from Long Locks as a good guide: http://www.longlocks.com/how-to-grow-long-hair.htm

wg

[CrisDee]

You may also want to consider CO (conditioner only) cleansing. Many of us who use this method find that some of the cheapest conditioners work best for it - Suave Naturals, VO5 and White Rain are each only $.99 a bottle. Also, one of the best things you can do is to exercise - it stimulates blood flow, which is good for a lot of things, including hair growth. Good luck! :flower:

[dmarie63]

You may also want to consider CO (conditioner only) cleansing. Many of us who use this method find that some of the cheapest conditioners work best for it - Suave Naturals, VO5 and White Rain are each only $.99 a bottle. Also, one of the best things you can do is to exercise - it stimulates blood flow, which is good for a lot of things, including hair growth. Good luck! :flower:

Unfortunately, CO is not a plausible washing system for me...

Hi all,

I've just used basic shampoo from CVS or the grocery store, and I rarely use conditioner. My hair can be a bit oily which seems to be worsened by the use of conditioner.

But thank you for the tip anyway :) I'll keep the exercise thing in mind.

[Lippytoes]

Just a note - I thought my hair would be way too oily for CO, since the C part of a regular S&C often left my hair gunky. But no! CO, when done right, has totally helped with my oiliness issues. \o/ It's not for everyone, of course, but you could always give it a go?

[Signe]

If you are really into saving money and cruelty-free hair care, maybe you should look into WO washing. Also, this might help your scalp transition so that it isn't oily anymore. I was skeptical at first, but now I love this method and it is incredibly cheap and eco/animal/travel friendly.
Also, for saving money etc, I would reccommend getting a pair of hair scissors and trimming yourself. It is easy and the money your save from one trip to the salon is more than enough to get the scissors.

[dmarie63]

If you are really into saving money and cruelty-free hair care, maybe you should look into WO washing. Also, this might help your scalp transition so that it isn't oily anymore. I was skeptical at first, but now I love this method and it is incredibly cheap and eco/animal/travel friendly.
Also, for saving money etc, I would reccommend getting a pair of hair scissors and trimming yourself. It is easy and the money your save from one trip to the salon is more than enough to get the scissors.

I'm guessing WO is Water Only, yes? I don't know how I'd feel about that... but maybe some time in the future I might try it.
As for the salon, I don't go to a pro salon cause they never listen to me when I give directions on what I want lol. So instead I have my sister (a former cosmetologist) trim my hair maybe once a year. :) But this year, I'm going for no trims, and if that works out fine, then I'll probably go another year :)

[proo]

Another satisfied water only person here - I use distilled water, half a gallon each week, so it's 2 bucks a month. I hear that you're not ready, but keep it on the back burner. My hair has never been better.

[JadeTigress]

Just a note - I thought my hair would be way too oily for CO, since the C part of a regular S&C often left my hair gunky. But no! CO, when done right, has totally helped with my oiliness issues. \o/ It's not for everyone, of course, but you could always give it a go?

Same here. I have really fine hair that's always been extremely oily, and conditioner has always made my hair super greasy and limp and horrible, so I never used it.

But for some reason CO has been amazing for my hair, which I never would have expected in a million years. My hair looks and feels better, is way easier to brush, and it's helped a ton with the oiliness. Usually by the end of my wash day my hair was already really greasy and you couldn't tell it had just been washed that same day. But with CO, I'm finding that my hair still looks fine not only the day after, but a couple days even after that.

I would definitely recommend trying it atleast once or twice.