Do you remember your pre-LHC hair?

[Kaya]

So, I was contemplating my 1 year anniversary here on the lovely LHC (:cheese:) and I couldn't help looking back at my pre-LHC hair and care routine. And I must say, I don't know how the heck my hair survived before! :D

I don't actually remember how I wore my hair day-to-day; and it's only been a year! Maybe a ponytail, pulled nice and tight? Hmmm. Or just loose. Toss in about once-a-week heat straightening without any sort of protectant and the damage potential back then makes me cringe now. And the shower routine! Yikes! Harsh SLS shampoos everyday paired with super-coney conditioners, followed by a careless grooming with a fine-toothed comb. shudder: Not to mention I never had even heard of clarifying. And to think that I would wear my wet hair in a ponytail over night with a regular cotton pillowcase. And I was none too gentle when it came to dragging a plastic pin brush through my snarls the next morning. :bigeyes: Wide-tooth combs did not exist in my house back then.

And I still can't figure out how in the world my hair survived without oil...:ponder:

Anyone else care to take a trip down memory lane?

[Amber_Maiden]

It was poofy. I washed it twice a week, sometimes more. It was dry. Split ends. Wore it down always. And I'd rip a brush with those tiny plastic headed bristles through it. You could hear my hair breaking. I also dyed it weekly with chemical dyes out of sheer boredom. I also straightened the s**t out of it. Nice huh? My poor old hair... :( GOOD THING I WISED UP!

[vanillabones]

It's almost been a year for me as well :) I honestly don't remember what brush I used... I think my hair got so damaged from bleaching it that previous summer I didn't brush my hair any more or it would fall out... Now I only use a wide tooth comb and only use it when brushing detangler in after a shower.

Product... don't even remember what products I was using... I'd buy the ones offered to me at salons and none of them worked well. I'd buy expensive product from stores even though when I was younger the cheaper products worked better for me Herbal Essences, etc. but my family would make fun of me for buying cheaper products. I still love sulphates and cones but use an SLS free poo when not clarifying.

I love coconut oil :) and just leaving my hair alone to grow and prosper... all I used to do was dye dye dye tease tease bleach to try to look pretty. I'm looking forward to 2 years of progress next year and seeing how far it has come on its own.

[Gothchiq]

Yeah. It hasn't been that long lol. My hair was a freakin' disaster! I kept cutting it because I could in no other way get it to look or feel good. I'm now working to get rid of the damage that I ignorantly inflicted. :/

[Jessibear2854]

The main thing I remember is wondering why my hair wouldn't grow already! Meanwhile, I was on a strict salon "trim" every 6 weeks routine, getting at least half an inch cut off each time. Plus, layers and thinning and whatever else the stylist thought would look good - because after all, they're a stylist. They know about hair, right?:rolleyes:

[sarah061]

I know this is going to sound bad, but I almost liked my hair better before... For one reason!
Before, I wasn't concerned about length and got very frequent haircuts from this woman that I LOVED -
So, the ends were always healthy and it was always cut into a nice face-framing shape, well maintained layers. It had gorgeous shape to it, the haircut itself.

Now, I've been going for length and growing out layers which looks a little sloppy on me right now and I have more splits than I'd like but cutting off the damage would mean losing more than I'd like.

My hair is much shinier now and I can do more cute styles like braids and updos. But I do kind of miss having a great style. I think it will be better once I'm at my goal of waist and have grown out layers / damage.

I know I've learned healthier habits here, but even with my previous bad habits, the frequent hair cuts and coney shampoos helped a lot! :shrug:

ETA: Or like in my avatar picture on the left <-- That was not too long after a haircut I liked. I like the shape / layers. Maybe it's time for me to get a haircut??

[girlcat36]

It was awful. Twenty years of frizztastic, broken, thinning, chronically messy hair.

[isabelx]

Ahhhhh I wish I didn't remember it! short(er), extremely dry, frizzy, splitting left right and central, complete cone overload, dyed it every month, straightened it twice a day :brains: shudder:

[clairenewcastle]

My hair was a nghtmare pre-LHC: thin, dry, bleached.....I cut most of it off, then started again and haven't looked back.

[Oksana]

I used to straighten my hair 2-3 times a day! shudder:

How I even had hair is beyond me! Now I feel guilty for days if I even blowdry on warm heat :p

[gazelle]

I am in my 5th month since discovering LHC. I was not struggling with my hair very much before, I didn't have the habit of straightening and chemical coloring. My mom was recommending me to use olive oil deep conditioning, so I was not foreign to oiling. I was also using henna

But I have been wearing it down and very messy(still sometimes) , allowing everything break my hair. My bag, my clothes, my chair etc. Now I have learnt the importance of putting it up. Also I learnt light oiling after shower, diluting shampoo... many many things, so my hair improved much in only 5 months

[Copasetic]

I was short, and I always flat ironed it. I had a mohawk of broken hairs from all the damage, and I used to find multiple splits on one hair all the time.

[jacqueline101]

I washed daily done chemicals to my hair perm until it grew out and then straightened perm kits. I would blow dry it and I didn't wear it up at all. Ripped a comb through it and made it a mess.

[longcurlygirl<3]

I was already cg, but I would wear my hair out like 6 out of 7 days a week, and I would really care about protective styles, it was curlier ;[ but I love my length. And it did not tangle as much.

[XcaliburGirl]

Well, actually, it wasn't much different than it is now, but a lot longer. I do credit LHC for helping me solve my dandruff problem, though. Also, I will have a lot more updos and nicer hairsticks in my arsenal due to LHC (when it's finally long enough for them again).

[racrane]

My pre-LHC hair was frizzy, poufy, dull from product overuse and never clarifying and damage from highlighting.

*shudders*

[novemberfoxtrot]

Well, this is the picture I'll be comparing to in 1 year. It's about 3 weeks into LHC. Plunking is new, coconut oil is new (not applied here).

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=9323&pictureid=121387

Hair is still a little wet in the photo. In fact, it's still wet now, 6 hours after my shower. lordy.

ETA...that's a big picture. sorry. :(

[Hollyfire3]

I had frizzy, poofy, impossible hair that never listened. I would obsesivly straighten it every time i went into the bathroom, i washed everyday, did not comb, deep conditioner or care about products. I look back on my fried, poofy, disgusting hair and wonder when it got so shiney and beautiful. . . i want to burn those olld pictures with that flat iron i used to burn my hair with. . .

[sarahbrownie]

I used to straighten my hair 2-3 times a day! shudder:

How I even had hair is beyond me! Now I feel guilty for days if I even blowdry on warm heat :p

This.

I wondered why my hair wasn't growing. All those pieces being broken off at the end didn't even snap me out of my ceramic GHD induced delirium.

[aisha.christine]

I try not to :p
It was a lot shorter, and crazy frizzy. It was incredibly dry because I washed and dyed it so often. It was just an ugly mess. I'm so glad it's improving.

[javagrl]

Well my hair has been collar bone length or shorter for most of my life so I've never really had long hair but always wanted it. Whenever it did get some length on it, I would get restless and shop it all off only to hate myself within about 2 months. When longer it was frizzy and dull with no shine whatsoever because I had no idea on how to care for it or even what my texture even was for that matter.:confused:

Coloring, bleaching, flat ironing, curling ironing, blowdrying into a frizzy cotton ball and then wondering why it didn't look "right".... oh gosh. But no more! Thank you LHC!:)

[kidari]

I already had good habits for my hair before LHC but I used to be every stylist's dream come true. I would maintain a much lighter base color with a full head of highlights that had to be toned afterwards and I always came in to get regular trims every month and a half. This was at nice salons so it was like a car payment every 6 weeks or so. I always bought whatever they recommended and when they suggested I go shorter I happily obliged until I got really sick of going in every four weeks to get my hair cut again. With shorter hair I always had to dress more feminine and always have some makeup on too, which was really time consuming and annoying. I think I just grew lazy and I've had my fun experimenting. Now that I'm older I know what suits me best and how to maintain it with the least amount of effort possible. For me this has been to accept your natural texture and color and just leave it alone and let it do it's thing. I'm not really a strict LHCer when it comes to my hair though because I love more mainstream methods as well. I'm a total believer in maintaining really well cut layers and don't feel guilty about occasional styling methods. For me it's about balance as well and what's more important to you. Looking back I don't think I regret any of the experimenting I've done. How else are you going to learn, right?

[Ayasha1]

I straightened everyday. Short. Split ends. Didnt know what co washing was. I have looked at this site a long time but just resently became a member.

[ArienEllariel]

Oh yes. Down or in a ponystub. Washed every day with a harsh SLS shampoo and matching coney conditioner that did absolutely nothing to moisturize my hair. At one point I was using a clarifying shampoo every day cause I liked the smell of it. Ancient plastic fine toothed comb run through if I didn't use a ball ended nylon brush while it was wet. Rubbed dry with a towel. Trimmed very rarely (which I still do). Splits splits and more splits. Boar bristle brush? What's that? Oil??? Isn't that what you try to avoid in your hair? lol Used V05 hot oil treatments occasionally. They did absolutely nothing to help my hair. I mean, do they even contain oil? Yeah I hope to never be in that situation ever again.

[Mayflower]

My hair was just... unmaintained, let's put it that way.
It was around APL, had a ginger tinge to it thanks to some "dark brown" (read: purple) semi-permanent boxdye I used and it was loaded with split ends. I cut layers in it myself when I wanted to, had an undercut, washed it with Head & Shoulders all the time because it gave me volume:p. I also never used conditioner or hairmasks, never detangled it and had a giant matted knot at the side of my head that I would have to cut out from time to time hahaha. (if I'm not carefull I still get a big knot there, just because I have a side part so all of my hair lays to one side) Oh and sometimes I used a plastic brush, ripping through the tangles.
But, it didn't matter back then because my whole style was arty and careless. I was in art school, so it was kinda normal to have shaggy unkempt hair;).

[irishlady]

Yes I do, the dryness and split ends..and me wondering why it looked like that meh.

Well I treat it very well now and it is healthy, but still looks like crap..oh well. I'd rather have healthy crappy looking hair than unhealthy crappy looking hair :p

[ArienEllariel]

And lets not forget the crispy straw-like ends. shudder:

[MaryMarx]

Well, yes, I do. I would rather forget it though. :(

The worst thing was the flatironing, I hated my curly hair because I didn't know how to manage it, since my mother's hair is pretty straight and most of my friends hair were too.
So well, I wanted straight hair. Several years I straightened it every day. Without heat protection.

About the same time I started colouring it. Dark brown, purple, red, and then black wich is the colour I've had the latest five years or so.
I also wore it in some kind of ponytail twisted into a small bun for some years...
Imagine the damage. :D

Six months ago I decided to stop colouring. I had it dyed brown a few times first, to make the transition from the black to my dark blonde look better.
I had already stopped flatironing it.
All I can say, there is a huge improvement in the 10 cm virgin hair that has grown out. Will never go back. :D

[MasCat]

Actually it wasn't bad, but "I always trimmed it to waist, because I thought it was my terminal and that it came out in handfuls if i kept them too long.

I piled my hair on top of my head when shampooing, but I used shampoo only once and usually conditioned later. I didn't mind cones or no cones and washed my hair every three days.

Oh, I think my worst "sins" were using a BBB to detangle air before combing with a normal brush (didn't know that it tightened knots) and wearing a messy bun (not-quite-pulled-through an elastic ponytail) a lot.

I looooooooove hairsticks thanks to LHC :D

[BlazingHeart]

*shrugs* My hair is an easy-keeper, so while my methods may not have been LHC, I still had good hair. I suppose I get slightly fewer tangles now, and I probably break a couple fewer hairs while brushing, but on the whole I've always had good hair, so becoming an LHCer didn't change that much.

My scalp, on the other hand, is MUCH happier since I mostly quit sulfates.

[battles]

It was normally short, very dull and dry from daily washing with sulfates and no conditioner. :( It was too short to tangle or keep in a ponytail all day, at least.

I'm still not at the point where I'd like to be with how I care for my hair, but I'm working on it.

[Kristin]

I actually took pretty decent care of hair because I had "long" (BSL) hair for most of my life. The most damaging things I did that I have now cut out are chemical dying and razor thinning; my hair is thicker now and less prone to breakage and dryness. I couldn't have grown it this long (without tons of splits and thinning) without dropping the dye.

[KwaveT]

I did not treat my hair very good. I brush through my hair wet with a brush as I would blow fry my hair. I would burn my hand with it so I can only imagine what I was doing to my hair. I towel dried like some maniac. With my hair being resilient and short I didn't do too much damage to my hair. It would reflect in my hair with the length I am getting to now since I am to the top of the shoulders if I kept up that rough routine.

[trolleypup]

Much as it is now, drier and with worse split ends (and thus tanglier), but in general not in horrible condition and near my current length. I already finger detangled and only brushed following that.

My scalp though, is much much happier now, not betting doused in S&C every 4-7 days.

[MissManda]

I was looking at old photos of myself before LHC and now it looks like I have a completely different head of hair. I was often recommended to use shampoos for oily hair and it stripped my hair scalp and hair to be dry before it got flooded with sebum. I would get flakes, too. My hair wasn't as soft and tangled like mad, especially after various chemical processes. Putting perms over bleached hair (I had highlights) gave me the most horrendous tangles I have ever seen. The hairstylist would thin the living daylights out of my hair, too, which made it look awful because I refused to use products on it (gross!). I had lots of breakage and split ends because of deposit-only dye, too. :( I didn't really do the rip-brushing thing, but I would sometimes brush when wet with one of those cheap plastic things.

My hair is almost the opposite of what it was before LHC. :cheese:

[piffyanne]

I just did a little retrospective about it, actually. http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=84086 It's better to add the link than re-do the whole post, right? :D I only just joined LHC in November, so all these are pre-LHC, but my hair appears to have been liking what I've tried on it since I joined, so these photos can still be called a flash from the past, right?

[Elia]

http://img851.imageshack.us/img851/5700/photoon20110325at1333.jpg http://img507.imageshack.us/img507/3796/photoon20110325at13343.jpg

(excuse me looking silly in the pics, I was derping around on photobooth and had no intention of posting them here...haha)
Hehe I molded my hair so I looked like a had devil horns then ram horns or something. This is from a year ago I think? No hairspray or teasing, nothing...it was like velcro! The moment I realized I needed to take better care of my hair was probably when I was on the computer and my boyfriend molded my hair straight up in the back, so like a foot high of hair, and took a picture all without me knowing. It was hilarious but oh so embarrassing, especially since he has gorgeous hair.

[Elia]

Also sorry for totally image bombing the thread, I didn't think the pictures would look so big. How embarrassing. :x

[MasCat]

Oh, yest I must say I had dandruff problems and sometimes my scalp was in icky condition, but now it's all happy :)

[Nannanej]

I always wore my hair down/loose, let it tangle lots and then violently brushed it out with one of those plastic ball brushes :b I also used to backcomb it, let it stay that way for maybe 4-5 days, then rip through it with a brush. I washed it with regular sulphate shampoo, and that was all I'd ever put in my hair.. Oh yeah, except for some hairspray when I backcombed it.
Needless to say (especially with my hair type), it was really damaged from at least the ears down, full of splits and white dots, really dry, thin, breaking off.
It's a lot better already = after maybe 5 months or so (though I stopped backcombing at least a year ago, the rest continued). I switched to sulphate free shampoo bars, added cold acv rinses and oiling. And then I've been s&d-ing like a crazy person (several times a week, sometimes every day) and microtrimming a lot. I remember, after I had done my second or maybe third pre-wash oiling and my hair had dried, I was like "woooow, my hair feels so weird!!". That was just me not remembering what soft hair feels like, lol :b

[Shesta]

Well, pre-LHC my hair was worse than now but nowhere near bad. I'm proud to say I never abused it with dyes or heat tools, I was washing it twice per week and was generally staying away from harsh products.
Yet, what was causing damage and preventing its growth beyond waist was the fact that I was mostly wearing it down or in a ponytail, and was not careful enough treating it nicely. Occasionally I would omit using conditioner, didn't have the habit to deep condition it.
Luckily I found TLHC before it was too late :)

[Arctic]

I actually liked my pre-LHC hair better, but that has more to do with my actual hair type changing, than anything else. My scalp also seemed to permanently suffer from my early LHC CO experimenting, it just has not been the same since. All and all, me and my hair are not stellar example of "LHC's hair magic", but I love this place never the less :D