Wondering What to do with my Shorter hair...

[A. Correira]

Hello,

I am new to this site and I had a few hair related questions that I was hoping that you all could help me with.

The first thing that I was wondering about was what to do with my shoulder length hair. I cut my hair to an A-line and it has grown out to my shoulders since then and has relatively evened out on its own. I have been trying not to stare at my hair and be sad that it is not the length I want it so I have been wearing it up and avoiding seeing its length for the time being. What should I be able to do with my hair?

The second thing that I was wondering about was how most of you use oils. I haven't really heard about how to use them. I am wondering what oils can help with hair growth. How often do you use oils and how much do you use?

Haha. Sorry this is a little all over the place. I've had long hair before, but clearly I wasn't giving it the attention that it needed. Hopefully this time I grow it out, it will be healthy and beautiful! Thank you all in advance for your help! :)

[Siiri]

You may be able to do at least a french or dutch braid and half up's, a french twist and a peacock twist. It depends on the thickness of your hair, if you have thicker hair, you need more length for the same hair style than a person with finer hair would. I'm at shoulder length too, but I can only do a pony tail because I have shorter pieces in the front and some layers left as well.

Probably most people here use oils as leave-in after washing to seal the moisture in the hair. I've just recently started using coconut oil, I apply a very still amount (about half the size of a pea) with my hands on damp/wet hair, concentrating on the length and tips. I've also tried coconut oil as a treatment before washing, where I used a lot more oil, but it didn't work too well. Also I've tried olive oil, but it was too heavy for me. Different oils work better for different people, but probably coconut and olive oils are most common here.

[coffinhert]

Castor oil applied to the scalp is supposed to help growth. There is a long thread about it here (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=18265)

I'm using castor oil and coconut oil 50/50 on my scalp currently and it has made my dry scalp much better.

[white.chocolate]

When I had shoulder-length hair I used to leave it down most of the time. I loved being able to do that. Now I cannot because I'm afraid it might get tangled somewhere. That's the reason why I really miss shoulder length hair. You could also do a French braid easily, I'm sure, or a seashell bun I suppose. There's a thread here on it.

Sorry, I won't be able to help you on your second question as I'm still in the experimenting stage. But you could do some digging around the site. There are very useful info around.

Good luck with growing it out!

[white.chocolate]

I forgot to add: the military bun (if it's your taste) and the sock bun.