Damaged hair, will it get thicker?

[iszolda111]

I was looking at pictures of myself when I had my waist length hair. I was only 8 years old then, I am 21 now. I remember my hair feeling heavy, and in the pictures it looks thick. I was just wondering, if any of you while growing your hair out, as you grew out the damage, got thicker hair? Many of my hairs are split right to the top of my head, from blow-drying, agressive brushing, and straightening almost everyday since I was 13. It is so thin now, it is almost to my bra but it is light as a feather on my head. I am wondering if maybe it is naturally thicker and the thinness is from so much damage? Anyone had this experience?

[MissManda]

I know my hair has gotten much thicker since I grew out damage from chemical dye and perming. My hair was also in a super-layered and thinned-out style that made it even thinner. Now that all of those things are pretty much gone, my natural thickness is flourishing. It took me two years to get rid of the damage, but it has been so worth it. :)

[Amber_Maiden]

I doubt it. What's probably happened is that your hair has just changed as you've got older. My hair was thick when I was a kid, and I straightened it for about a decade before I stopped. It's still thick, even with all the damage from heat, styling, and dyeing.

[embee]

I think it may well seem thicker than right now. Because new *healthy* hairs will start to grow and they will not be broken off by heat or chemical damage => thicker length.

[spike316]

I think it may well seem thicker than right now. Because new *healthy* hairs will start to grow and they will not be broken off by heat or chemical damage => thicker length.

^ this. Although I'd like to add that like Amber Maiden said your hair has probably changed a bit over the years as well so I'm thinking it'll probably end up somewhere between after you've grown out the damage.

[coffinhert]

I think it will definitely become thicker, but it will take a couple years for the thickness to travel down the length and be noticeable.

[Marionette]

Once you stop abusing your hair and if you keep trimming it regular the thickness and condition will improve.

[iszolda111]

Thanks everyone! I really hope I can stick with it long enough to grow out the damage. I've left my hair natural for almost a week now, everytime I go out I feel self-consious and not pretty. I don't know if I can stick with it if I dont find a non-heat style that I can live with. I can't stand to have damaged, straightener dependant hair any longer either!

[Marionette]

I forgot to mention, yes the same thing happened to me, at one time I was hooked on straightners and my hair was so damaged that it went super thin and stopped growing because when I would brush my hair all these short bits of hair would snap off so it was snapping off at the same rate it was growing. It's much better now I trim it and go easy on the irons.

[coffinhert]

Thanks everyone! I really hope I can stick with it long enough to grow out the damage. I've left my hair natural for almost a week now, everytime I go out I feel self-consious and not pretty. I don't know if I can stick with it if I dont find a non-heat style that I can live with. I can't stand to have damaged, straightener dependant hair any longer either!

Have you tried experimenting with non-damaging ways to smooth it down? My favorite new thing is taking a little coconut oil, smoothing it onto a boar bristle brush, then brushing my ahir with it so all the hairs are evenly coated. It makes it shiny and holds it down, without looking too oily. I just do the ends. There's lots of stuff like that. Some people put aloe vera in their hair. You can learn a lot on here (that's why i'm here :p)

[spike316]

What's you're natural texture? If you're curly there's a full thread dedicated to curlies and how to make (and keep!) curly hair looking its best so you might want to check that out.

[iszolda111]

My hair is curly underneath, wavy on the top, and my bangs are cowlicked (is that a regional term? lol) and wavy. It is awful. It looks like a mop to me when I let it dry. I have this hope that it will straighten out as it grows, especially the front parts. I don't have any good pictures yet really, all I have is a webcam right now. Maybe this will work. This is my natural hair at the longest I could grow it, It was so much more bearable as it got longer. It was dead I had to cut off inches, now it is poofy again and stupid looking.



http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y270/chelseastratton/Image1986.jpg

[Rebeccalaurenxx]

My hair is curly underneath, wavy on the top, and my bangs are cowlicked (is that a regional term? lol) and wavy. It is awful. It looks like a mop to me when I let it dry. I have this hope that it will straighten out as it grows, especially the front parts. I don't have any good pictures yet really, all I have is a webcam right now. Maybe this will work. This is my natural hair at the longest I could grow it, It was so much more bearable as it got longer. It was dead I had to cut off inches, now it is poofy again and stupid looking.



http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y270/chelseastratton/Image1986.jpg

Personally, i think your hair is beautiful.

[spike316]

I think it's lovely! Again, I highly recommend checking out the wurly curly thread since they're the experts, but I think if you started experimenting with braiding and using oils as leave ins it would be much more manageable and defined. Also when do you brush/comb? I know many curly haired folks only use a wide tooth comb on their hair and only when it's wet otherwise it messes up their curl pattern. Have you tried this?

[celebriangel]

I have two laaarge and noticeable "demarcation lines" where my hair jumps up in thickness. 1 is at the point where the hair that I washed and blowdried daily and straightened regularly stops; the other is the point where I stopped using chemical dyes.

In fact, I gained 3/4" in ponytail circumference by stopping the dye. If you had thick hair as a kid, it is possible that it will be thinner now, but it probably won't be *thin*.

As for accepting your texture - well, I used to hate mine. It was a bushy lion's mane. However on here I discovered to treat it right, and now I have shiny wurls and spirals at the ends. You will find on here things that work for your here and make it look its best.

I recommend you browse the threads on here with lots of pictures, such as the LHC length shot thread, and observe the many beautiful heads of wavy/wurly hair.

Damaged hair also doesn't form its wave/curl pattern properly. Ask me how I know. As your hair improves, and you snip out the damaged parts (and also once the hair gets past about APL, in my experience), your wave pattern will be much better.

[iszolda111]

Thank you very much for the compliments! I actually love the way curly hair looks on others, espeacially long curly hair. I just do not like my own, my hair on someone else could be nice, I just look so unkempt or something with hair that is not straight. It makes me look so different. My profile picture (sort of a funny picture but the best I could find of my long hair) is of it straightened, and I just think I look like myself, and with curly I look like someone different I do not like. Haha if that makes any sense. I am really going to give this a shot though, maybe once it gets to waist I can just blowdry my bangs straight with cold air, the back curls do not bother me, it is those stupid bang and front curls around my face.

[spike316]

Well if that's the case perhaps it's more a matter of just getting used to it? I got my hair dyed brown a couple of years ago and I felt like I was wearing a wig for 2 weeks since I'm naturally a lightish ash blonde.

[jacqueline101]

I think the thicker hairs are due to improved health of the hair.

[iszolda111]

I hope I will get used to it. I am hpeful it will be thicker, my hair is full of hairs that are split right to top of my head. If I can get those to grow, in a couple of years, I think it will be thicker.

[Panth]

I gained 3/8" ponytail circumference just from bunning, stopping using ponytail bands and stopping 'angry combing'. Another post recently had someone gaining 1/4" after growing out highlights (not even a full head of dye). So, it's certainly possible that an improved routine, even if it is only small things, can make hair (as a total) thicker.

However, I wouldn't get my heart set on my old hair if I was you - hair can change a lot during the teenage years. So, while I'm pretty certain your hair can be thicker than it is, it's not by any means certain that it'd go back to exactly how you remember it.

[Theobroma]

I just look so unkempt or something with hair that is not straight. It makes me look so different. My profile picture (sort of a funny picture but the best I could find of my long hair) is of it straightened, and I just think I look like myself, and with curly I look like someone different I do not like.

I can relate. It does take a bit of getting used to, doesn't it! When I first joined LHC I thought I was a fluffy sort of 1c; then I tried airdrying my hair and the 2c/3a result that popped up absolutely sent me into culture shock! It took a couple of months or so, but I ended up loving it. I'm sure you'll get used to it too, and bear in mind that your look can only improve as you learn how to make your natural texture look its best.

In the meantime, remember that if you aren't happy with how it's looking on any given day, you have the option of putting it up in a pretty updo. Learn a few bun styles and, if you can and you want to, invest in a few nice hairtoys, and you'll never have a bad hair day again! :)

[Mischamiu]

My hair is curly underneath, wavy on the top, and my bangs are cowlicked (is that a regional term? lol) and wavy. It is awful. It looks like a mop to me when I let it dry. I have this hope that it will straighten out as it grows, especially the front parts. I don't have any good pictures yet really, all I have is a webcam right now. Maybe this will work. This is my natural hair at the longest I could grow it, It was so much more bearable as it got longer. It was dead I had to cut off inches, now it is poofy again and stupid looking.



http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y270/chelseastratton/Image1986.jpg

Most parts of my hair is wavy, but the top is curly and the bottom is straight :D I know it can be really weird and you just don't know how to manage it , I recomend you to brush your hair first with your fingers and then with a wide tooth comb(only). You could also sleep with your hair braided, it gives it a nice texture on the mornings

[Nordlilja]

Hi Iszolda111! I can relate to your struggle to get your curls looking nice, it is difficult, and it takes time to get to know your curls. Try to give your hair a moisture treatment! There are plenty of ideas here, SMT (conditioner, honey, aloe vera) is popular, but to begin with you can wash your hair like you normally would, add conditioner and let it soak in for an hour or so. While waiting, read some articles here at LHC to get some inspiration for your future haircare routine!

[Avital88]

yes it will come back,i'm still working on mine because its not at its thickest, but its already 4times as thick as 2,5years ago

[Avital88]

Thanks everyone! I really hope I can stick with it long enough to grow out the damage. I've left my hair natural for almost a week now, everytime I go out I feel self-consious and not pretty. I don't know if I can stick with it if I dont find a non-heat style that I can live with. I can't stand to have damaged, straightener dependant hair any longer either!

i can so relate to this!! i had the same 1,5year ago when i stopped straightening, believe me the first weeks are the toughest!! and so worth it too,in a few weeks you will see already some improvement,in 2 months even more and after 3 months you will see hair in so much better condition and new growth! please try it, you will be surprised by your own hair. you can also check my albums to see where i am coming from.. ironed bleached short hair:)

[iszolda111]

Thank you everyone, making through yet another day with no heat! I have been washing every second day and my hair seems to be getting used to that, it doesnt get greasy the second day, just fluffy and ugly. I have only been brushing with a wide tooth comb and what a difference that makes! I would pull a wad of hair off of my brush every couple of days! I didn't even realize.


Avital88, your album is such an inspiration to me! Your hair texture actually looks a lot like mine, the transformation your hair has gone through is really amazing. You have the most beautiful hair now! Looking at your pictures really makes me want to stick with it. Fingers crossed. I am my own worst enemy here lol.