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vintage88
January 6th, 2012, 03:56 PM
Before Joining the LHC??

I used to
- Shampoo and condition 4 times a week
- blowdry and straighten all the time (sometimes twice a day eeek!)
- always wear my hair down
- rip through it with a paddle brush a few times a day, and when wet
- sleep with it down so that I would wake up with a rats nest
- get trims every 6 weeks

No wonder I chopped my mid-back length hair to shoulder and started over! So glad I found this wonderful community and learnt how to look after my hair:) bring on waist length!!

NativeGirl
January 6th, 2012, 04:03 PM
I'd shampoo and condition every morning. I'd use a paddle brush instead of the buffalo bone comb that had been passed down to me (it's a wide tooth comb) when my hair was wet. I would flat iron using the hottest setting...and I used chemical dyes. I wasn't too horrible to my hair, but I wasn't very kind.

Hollyfire3
January 6th, 2012, 04:08 PM
I used to never brush my hair, thinking it did not tangle
i used to straighten my hair twice a day or more, blow dry it almost every day wash nearly every day o every other day color (which i still do, but i deep condition and do not heat style anymore) I used to use nearly 4-5 hair products just to flatten my hair into submission i would never deep condition, use acohol infested hair products, flat iron without heat protection often, straighten my hair until it broke off (AHHH!!!!) never trim...oh i was soo bad....and on top of that...i thought it looked like this:https://encrypted-tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSq9gYMOPWUB1jP5J5jAJaQ6WENXwIJs 20obyT_QIalimk5BJUyPqNCWAcV yeah, i wish! Picture that, 100 times fried from flat ironing....that pic is still my goal though, un fried anf wavier (much) of course...

snowfaery
January 6th, 2012, 04:09 PM
I used to wash wash wash condition my hair every 3 days. I would go to bed with my hair wet and loose. I will still go to bed on occasion loose but most often its in a braid. I would use a paddle brush and rip it through my hair wet or dry. I do still use a paddle brush but only after combing my hair out gently. I would straighten my hair on the highest setting probably 4 days a week, now its only once a week on a slightly lower heat setting (training my hair to like lower heat). I would use chemical dyes about every 1 1/2-3 months depending on the current color. I would always pull my hair up in a ponytail in the same place as tight as I could get it. I'm sure I did a lot more but those are the ones I can think of off the top of my head.

inkd
January 6th, 2012, 04:10 PM
I did all of those things as well! But at least I knew to occasionally oil and deep condition. Otherwise my ends would be trashed :)

ALongSummerWind
January 6th, 2012, 04:13 PM
Before Joining the LHC??

I used to
- Shampoo and condition 4 times a week
- blowdry and straighten all the time (sometimes twice a day eeek!)
- always wear my hair down
- rip through it with a paddle brush a few times a day, and when wet
- sleep with it down so that I would wake up with a rats nest
- get trims every 6 weeks

No wonder I chopped my mid-back length hair to shoulder and started over! So glad I found this wonderful community and learnt how to look after my hair:) bring on waist length!!
Well I am a newbie but I have already learned much from LHC my biggest education so far is co-washing:)

inkd
January 6th, 2012, 04:14 PM
How has CO washing worked for you? I'm still debating on trying it.

Madora
January 6th, 2012, 04:21 PM
Took good care of it, thanks to the principles of Dr. George Michael!:)

inkd
January 6th, 2012, 04:22 PM
Who is Dr. George Michael?

AspenSong
January 6th, 2012, 04:24 PM
I was already stretching washes and only washing a few times a week, tops...just because if I did anymore than that my hair seemed more crazy dry than it already was.

I conditioned heavily - the same way I do now really, but using coney stuff. And I drenched my hair in coney stuff out of the shower too. I was the uber Queen of leave in's! (nothing wrong with cones!! My hair just seems to do much better without!)

The reason I was so crazy with the conditioner - I was a dye nut. Going back from blonde to darker colors a lot.

Was also a haircut nut for several years. Constantly ending up with short hair because it seemed like everytime it got to about collarbone length or longer, something stressful or bad would happen and I would deal with a haircut. *shrug*

I wore fairly tight ponytails daily. (once it was long enough again for them)

But that's really about it. I've never been a heat styler or anything like that and I'd decided to stop the dye before I joined up here. LHC opened me up to gentler styles, the glory of Oils, CO washing and no cones. ;)

Long_hair_bear
January 6th, 2012, 04:26 PM
I had a pretty good knowledge of hair care, like no sulfates, no heat drying, and I oiled my hair with jojoba before joining. Now, however, I talked myself into using a Bbb, will soon start monistat, and know a lot of new hair styles. :D

battles
January 6th, 2012, 04:35 PM
Kept it very short, I went between a pixie to shoulder for most of my life.
For awhile I was washing with clarifying shampoo EVERY DAY. :doh:
Some days, I used to wash my hair up to 3 times a day because I just liked taking showers and having clean hair.
I bleached part of my hair once, but it held up to that pretty well.

My hair was so dull and sad. :(

amanda_the_tall
January 6th, 2012, 04:36 PM
i washed my hair daily, dyed it three times, and tore through any tangles, breaking off about 50 million hairs. and blowfrying almost every day. :/ even worse, VELCRO ROLLERS. gah those tore my hair out like no other! i still have to wash my hair daily, it's oily and super fine, but no more color (yay silvers!) and no more tearing through tangles. ok, maybe a few ;P

Moonlake
January 6th, 2012, 04:43 PM
**********

suzye
January 6th, 2012, 04:45 PM
Washed my hair almost everyday with harsh cleaners, blew dry every time out of the shower, brushed it really meanly, bleached it repetitively, etc. I was pretty bad.

Moonlake
January 6th, 2012, 04:48 PM
My shampoo had dimethicone which was building up on my hair.
I used a paddle brush with the beaded tips that tore the tangles out of my hair. :o

I needed to edit my typo's (blush) :rolleyes:

Amber_Maiden
January 6th, 2012, 05:04 PM
I'd shampoo with tons of shampoo. I also washed my hair twice a week. I ripped brushes through my hair. I flat ironed. I chemically dyed my hair WEEKLY.

jacqueline101
January 6th, 2012, 05:08 PM
Permed died straightened washed and condish daily blow fry.

Georgies
January 6th, 2012, 05:23 PM
I didn't dye or blow fry but I shampooed about 4x a week and EVERYTHING I used had cones - poo, condish, leave in, my hair was covered in the stuff. I kept wondering why I needed to go to the salon so often and why my hair felt so much better afterwards - I thought I needed trims every 6-8 weeks so my hair wouldn't grow. But now I know it's because they clarified and got all that stuff out of there.

Without cones I rarely need shampoo and my hair has never, ever been this frizz free.

I miss my stylist, though, she is awfully nice. Maybe I should take her out to lunch or something - I feel badly about ditching her....

spidermom
January 6th, 2012, 05:29 PM
I used shampoo and conditioner about every other day to every third day. The only difference now is that I CWC with diluted shampoo but on the same schedule, and I use coconut oil, too.

Oh! And I flat-ironed it about once every 2-6 weeks but don't do that now. Too damaging! I'd never get extra-long hair if I did that.

Diamond.Eyes
January 6th, 2012, 05:49 PM
I was brought up with good hair care. My grandma is a natural hair advocate and my mother used to be a hair stylist. But when I was about 14, I completely abandoned everything I knew about hair to have a more edgy hair style. I used to wash my hair every two days or so, use heat twice a week, use silicone serums, and dye my hair black every six weeks. My old hair routine was okay I guess :shrug:; I've heard of worse routines. My hair routine now tops anything I've ever done to my hair. :p

aisha.christine
January 6th, 2012, 05:56 PM
-It was really short.
-I used SLS/ALS and 'cones.
-I used to get my hair cut with razors.
-I dyed my hair at least twice a month (against my mother's advice :o)
-I straightened my hair almost every day on the highest setting.
-I washed it every other day.

Luckily, I have always hated the feel of product in my hair, and I had enough volume that I never had to back comb it. My hair was too short to rip a brush through, thank gods.

I wasn't very nice to it. :(

Madora
January 6th, 2012, 06:16 PM
Who is Dr. George Michael?

Dr. George Michael was known as the "Czar of Long Hair", famed for his expertise in long hair care (not only as a hairdresser but he also studied the science of hair).

His first salon opened in NYC in the mid 1950s and his salon, now known as Madora Long Hair Heaven, continues to this day.

Over the years, he formulated a plan for achieving beautiful hair through proper care with boar bristle brushes, wide tooth combs, and proper nutrition and maintenance. People came from all over the world to experience the George Michael treatment and he welcomed everyone who wanted to grow their hair long.

He was an acknowleded long hair expert, known around the world for his love of long hair. A George Michael hair treatment is the last word in pure hair nirvana!

Sushi144
January 6th, 2012, 06:19 PM
This topic sounds like a AA or born-again reunion. :p

Actually I've never been too mean to my hair. But adding S&D and shea butter to my routine is probably better. ^^

Maelyssa
January 6th, 2012, 06:26 PM
Before LHC I either used a straightening iron or curling iron daily on my somewhat wavy hair. Bleached it blonde from a natural shade of light/medium brown but then tried to darken it up again and made it too dark which I tried to lighten and turned it carrot top orange then had to darken up again to fix it (oh that was a lovely week lol), ripped through knots with a brush, blow dried it after every wash which was roughly every other day. Surprised I never went bald actually.

Quezie
January 6th, 2012, 06:27 PM
I washed every day probably. Brushed it when it was wet, didn't think about breakage...
I used to dye it a lot of crazy colours, knowing it wasn't good for my hair, but it was what I wanted at the time.
I've always really cared about taking care of my hair, now I just know how to better.

Mina17
January 6th, 2012, 06:27 PM
I shampooed daily, sometimes with those combination shampoo/conditioners. I also blowdried and flatironed pretty much every day and used hairspray.

KwaveT
January 6th, 2012, 06:30 PM
I shampoo my hair twice a week.
I use regular comb rather than a wide tooth comb.
I blowdried my hair in such a way that was burning my hand so I can't imagine what I was doing to my wet hair.
I simply would rip a brush through my hair with little regard to what I was doing to my hair. That is about. I was ripping out a lot of hair in that brush so it was a wonder that I was not making myself bald.

dwell_in_safety
January 6th, 2012, 09:53 PM
Well, I stopped doing these things before joining LHC, but after learning a lot about hair via the internet. :)

-I washed my hair every other night, with shampoo and conditioner 2-in-1. Loreal. Now I CO wash with a cone-free conditioner once every eight nights, with a WO wash inbetween.
-Used plastic brushes with rounded tips, regularly ripping through both dry and wet hair. Now I only use a wooden comb and a BBB, and I always finger detangle before either touch my hair.
-Wore hair down all the time. Since joining LHC specifically, it's the opposite.
-I chemically dyed my hair three times during the March-October period of 2011. Ick.
-Never oiled my hair

pepperminttea
January 6th, 2012, 10:36 PM
Before LHC I lurked somewhere else and was messing about with sulphate and 'cone-free routines, stretching washes, and WO, but never found anything I really liked.

Before that though, I washed every other day with Pantene. I dragged a plastic brush (with seams a plenty, and bobbles on the end of the tines) through it very roughly. Our shower had terrible water pressure, so I'd brush my hair in the shower - several times - to get the water to penetrate through to my scalp. I'd wring it with a rough towel to dry it. The only updos I knew were the ponytail and the half-up, both with snaggy metal-linked hairties, or the classic ponytail clipped up with a giant snaggy jaw clip that my hair would eat until they had no teeth left. (But I did love how my ponytail came out of the top like a fountain spilling back down to my nape, it made me feel like my hair was so long.) I got short-shoulder length cuts, full of feathered layers, and would periodically let it grow out to BSL/MBL-ish, always hoping I'd be able to grow it long, then I'd realise the length was full of splits, and get it all lopped off to short-shoulder length again. That went on for years.

And then there was the perm and dyes phase. Under much the same routine as above, you can imagine the utter mess I ended up with by the time it got down to MBL. After that I went up to chin length to get rid of it all.

missdelarocha
January 7th, 2012, 12:52 AM
Wash twice then condition, blowfry, straighten on high heat usually five days a week when working.
Bleached my fringe and shaved side, used permanent black on the rest of my hair.
That was better than what I used to do colour wise to my hair though, I was in a pattern of permanent dye, streaks, permanent dye, bleach etc etc before that.
Lots of gross products and teasing too!
Ah yes and razor haircutting.

Now I'm not doing any of that, phew.

I'm glad we've all learnt from being here! :)

Tota
January 7th, 2012, 02:12 AM
Washed my hair every other day with a shampoo and conditioner and airdry (just because I was to lazy to blowfry, not because I would think this is better for my hair). Used enormous amounts of mousse and hair spray to get some life and volume out of my hair. Combed the hell out of it then get frustrated with its frizz and gresiness and thinnes. So I put in it a tight ponytail and resentfully ignore it until the next wash day. And if that isn't enough - seriously considering getting extensions :S Then came along TLHC and gave my hair LIFE :D

Aredhel77
January 7th, 2012, 02:58 AM
I used to wash every day with shampoo and conditioner. Actually, I STILL wash most days, but now I use diluted sulfate-free shampoo followed by conditioner, or just do a conditioner wash. I'm getting better at stretching washes every so often - but it's not a habit. My hair doesn't look that good on non-wash days, so generally I do wash or condition nearly every day.

I used to use heat-protection sprays and experimented with serums but couldn't get them to work for me. I blow-dried daily, and sometimes straightened my unpredictable wavy hair. I stopped straightening when my hair dramatically changed texture almost overnight (went from wavy to wurly - no idea how that happened! I just scrunch-dried it one day and all these ringlets appeared!!) I now only blowdry occasionally, often just at the roots.

I used to dye my hair medium-blonde (I was a light blonde as a child who darkened dramatically). I tried Lush henna on joining LHC which did a great job of strengthening my hair. I've stopped henna-ing now and will eventually grow out my natural haircolour. I did cave a week ago and used a Daniel Field permanent hair colourant on my hair (different formulation to conventional haircolourant, a bit more gentle I think). I will grow this out though.

I still wear hair down most days, and to sleep. I have just bought myself some proper silk pillowcases, it's hard to see if they're making a difference to frizz etc. I do wear my hair up occasionally but I don't feel it suits me.

I oil quite regularly and use a variety of natural leave-ins.

I now trim my own hair - I'm a bit scissor happy though, and although ultimately I'm aiming for length I'm not afraid to trim a good inch or so off if it looks like I need it.

Qadupae
January 7th, 2012, 03:14 AM
Poo and condi every night, hair dried to a crisp, hairspray to keep the flyaways down. I actually don't remember ever making appointments myself to get my hair trimmed, my mum did it, so I am assuming she did it every 6 weeks since she was kind of a salon junkie. It hovered around APL most of the time, but I didn't do anything fancy with it because I didn't know how.

Mommyof4
January 7th, 2012, 03:35 AM
I washed every day with Biolage Shampoo and Conditioner. Weekly protein treatments. I flatironed almost every time I washed... I never did blowdry though.

Foxy_Booker
January 7th, 2012, 09:09 PM
Ugh, I remember when I was really young, maybe 13-14, I used to crimp my hair with

a crimper but I liked the waves very close to my scalp to get maximum volume so I

would clamp it so close to my scalp that it would be burning and painful but I

endured it anyways...

marena
January 7th, 2012, 09:17 PM
I used to:
- shampoo and condition 7 times a week (!!)
- blowdry and straighten every day
- always wear my hair down too

No wonder I could never have long hair!

PixxieStix
January 7th, 2012, 10:04 PM
Oh dear me, lets see...

-Ripped through my hair with a plastic tipped paddle brush, wet and dry.
-Super tight ponytails, always in the same place
-Highlights (not so bad, didn't have a lot done and usually only twice a year if that)
-Occasional curling iron use
-Only washed every other or every few days, shampoo twice then condition.
-Slept with wet hair down
-Not sure I knew what oiling or deep conditioning was
- With my hair short, had it cut with a razor repeatedly

Yeah, ick. Not horrible, but ick. when my hair was long, the ends were probably always horrible, except for several months after a haircut (which I got once every 1 to 1.5 years)

Lostsoule77
January 7th, 2012, 10:30 PM
I was taught by my mom to not brush wet hair and to not use rubber bands for hair ties. This meant that when the metal free ones came out I switched asap. I was pretty good to my hair before LHC, partly because I'm lazy and partly because I didn't want my long hair looking like crap. It still felt kinda like straw though.

I used a Pantene 2-in-1 about 2 times a week, flat ironed about once a year, dyed my hair with demi-permanent dyes about once a year, brushed my wavy hair, and slept with it loose most of the time. Didn't use oils or DT's or S&D.

Mayflower
January 8th, 2012, 09:49 AM
I washed every other day with Head&Shoulders Lemon, never EVERRR conditioned. I dried my hair very rough with a towel, literally never combed/brushed it out and slept with it loose.
I didn't care if it got caught under the strap of my purse, or that it had a mahusive matted knot the size of two palms underneath the right side of my head. I actually backcombed the lenght of my hair to give it volume.
I also never went to the hairdressers and let it be an unhappy, knotted, splitty mess. Though I still got compliments on it (from people who must've been blind!).

But, like a year before I found LHC, I already did change my whole hair care routine. I used organic shampoos, did S&D until all the damage was gone, and started taking care of the tangles:p. I also did henndigo, so my hair was pretty healthy when I got here.

Alvrodul
January 8th, 2012, 10:02 AM
I usually washed daily with a slsy shampoo, but I usually used conditioner. I rarely used my blowdryer, and never any heat other than that.
I had been moving away from chemical colorings for a while, and had not actually dyed my hair for a couple of years when I joined.
I would brush my hair while wet with a brush that was not kind to my hair - I really liked that brush because it was so nice and stiff, and let me really get at those tangles... :tmi:

faellen
January 8th, 2012, 11:08 AM
- Shampoo and condition 4 times a week
- blowdry and straighten all the time (sometimes twice a day eeek!)
- rip through it with a paddle brush a few times a day, and when wet
- sleep with it down so that I would wake up with a rats nest


^ I still do these things. Except maybe shampoo 3 times a week instead of 4. LOL, oh dear, I don't deserve to have hair :cheese:

thecandiedmango
January 8th, 2012, 11:34 AM
The bad (or less good) things I used to do...
-wear a ponytail ALL the time
-tease my hair and NOT comb it out at the end of the day
-wear my hair down to sleep

The things I did then and continue to do:
-wash and condition every other day (sometimes every four days)
-avoid heat styling
-finger-comb when wet

I've never been into heat styling, bleaching or dying, so I haven't had to worry about much. The only things that I've changed since joining the LHC have been switching hairstyles more often, stopping the teasing (reducing it, anyway) and I've started oiling my hair. I'm all about benign neglect!

EtherealDoll
January 8th, 2012, 01:31 PM
I washed and conditioned 3 times a week and then combed my hair when it was still wet. Now I wash it once or twice a week and use a little leave-in conditioner on the ends, and I comb or brush it only when it's almost dry.
I never liked to use a blowdryer, and only used heat to style my fringe. I still do it sometimes.
Also I still wear my hair down to sleep.

vintage88
January 8th, 2012, 02:39 PM
Thanks for the replies everyone:) it's interesting to look back and see the changes and progress we've made!

PurusNox
January 8th, 2012, 02:55 PM
I would use any shampoo and conditioner that was available and also have boiling(!) hot showers that I'm sure must have damaged my hair to some extent :(

TammyT
January 8th, 2012, 06:32 PM
Bleach highlights, wash with harsh shampoo, blow dry on high and curling brush.
On baby fine hair this spells disaster.
Now - quit highlights, use mild shampoos or CO (still figuring this one out), low hair dryer and seeking styling options that don't require heat.

Renate
January 8th, 2012, 06:48 PM
- Use a semi-permanent dye, and highlights before that
- Shampoo the entire lenght, piling my hair on the top of my head
- Blowdry it often
- Brush it vigorously with those cushion brushes
- Headbang at gigs
- Wear it down all the time. Now I wear it down only when I'm indoors :D

Miss Maisie
January 8th, 2012, 11:07 PM
Wow! I used to:

* Shampoo/condition daily, sometimes twice a day (I still s/c almost daily, but use much less shampoo and much MORE conditioner!)

* Used tons, TONS of products

* blowdried and flat ironed daily

* box dyes every 6 weeks

* Ran my brush through wet hair

But the worst thing I'd do was pull it out in huge amounts. I have trichotillomania, but now that I'm focused on growing it out, I find that I'm much more aware of pulling. I've almost completely stopped :D

sfgirl
January 9th, 2012, 01:16 AM
I washed every other day with Head&Shoulders Lemon, never EVERRR conditioned. I dried my hair very rough with a towel, literally never combed/brushed it out and slept with it loose.
I didn't care if it got caught under the strap of my purse, or that it had a mahusive matted knot the size of two palms underneath the right side of my head. I actually backcombed the lenght of my hair to give it volume.
I also never went to the hairdressers and let it be an unhappy, knotted, splitty mess. Though I still got compliments on it (from people who must've been blind!).

But, like a year before I found LHC, I already did change my whole hair care routine. I used organic shampoos, did S&D until all the damage was gone, and started taking care of the tangles:p. I also did henndigo, so my hair was pretty healthy when I got here.

OMG this made me CRACK up, because this is exactly what I did! I never really straightened, or heat styled it, but I always had those huge knots, and just shrugged and left them

PorkChop
January 9th, 2012, 02:25 AM
I used to shampoo/condition only
Brush wet hair
Sometimes blowdry
Sometimes backcomb a little

kitten1986
January 9th, 2012, 04:19 AM
I used to blowdry till I smelt burnt hair :S eep
and flat iron every day with no "protective" spray/serum
I would brush when wet
Use copious amounts of permanent black dye at least every couple of weeks
I would use HEAPS of styling products and wash with harsh shampoo to get them out

The one saving grace for me was that my hair was about chin length, so the damage was fairly contained until I decided to start growing it at which stage it was so damaged and frizzy and feral that I kept flat ironing it to make it submit into any reasonable style. So essentially I was growing long damaged hair hahaha but now I have to say with all the wonderful guidance on here I have BSL hair that is healthy save for about an inch on the end that still has damage from the old days. I am maintaining here till I can snip the inch then onwards and ?downwards? to waist which is my goal!

Neneka
January 9th, 2012, 04:33 AM
I found poo bars and WO before LHC but before those I was treating my hair kind of badly. I used to:
-Dye my hair with harsh chemical dyes and bleach it. It was very thin back then
-Wash my hair every morning with shampoo. Sometimes I skipped the conditioner. They used to be very coney so they made my hair really flat and stringly
-Rip the brush through my hair. Sometimes it actually hurt but I didn't care
-Blow fry my hair every morning
-Didn't care if my hair froze at the winter

Ishje
January 9th, 2012, 04:36 AM
- shampoo the length
- rub my hair dry with a towel
- worn a ponytail on the same place everyday
- had a bad brush and did not take the time to brush, just ragged trough
- play with the end (like twisting them around my finger)
- sit against my hair all the time.

MegaMystery
January 9th, 2012, 04:37 AM
For me this isn't really pre-LHC but more a pre-hairforum thing, because I've been active on another hair forum for a year before joining LHC.
Before joining that forum, i would:
- CO-wash with coney conditioner because i was too impatient to read up on cones etc. (not that my hair minded because i had bleached it within an inch of its life, so any silicone coating i could get was just fine :rolleyes:)
- Shampoo & coney conditioner every other day
- Leave-in/ serum with cones
- Hairmask with cones
- No tolerance for greasy hair whatsoever, I always wanted to wear it loose, I guess if i had put it up more often and stretched washes a bit more the shampoo, conditioner/hair mask routine would have been fine.
- Brushed it with my plastic beaded hairbrush
- No oil ever came near my hair (I tried using babyoil at some point and my mom yelled at me 'your hair will be so greasy!' so i never tried it again, little did i know xD)
- Bleach, dye black, bleach, dye brown, bleach, dye brown... lovely.
- Blow dry & flat iron my hair, i had bangs which i blowdried & straightened daily, the rest of my hair i did sometimes (about once a week i guess, sometimes more, i didn't really have the patience for it)

MonaMayfair
January 9th, 2012, 06:15 AM
Exactly what I do now, I've always treated my hair pretty gently (it's been long most of my life)

The only time I ever bought and used hair straighteners was AFTER I joined LHC because I got my hair cut into a classic 1920s bob (something I'd always craved and had to get out of my system!) and it had to be straightened after every wash.

Sushi144
January 9th, 2012, 06:53 AM
I have trichotillomania, but now that I'm focused on growing it out, I find that I'm much more aware of pulling. I've almost completely stopped :D

Congrats ! :flower:

Syrena
January 9th, 2012, 07:15 AM
I used to:
ü Wash my hair every day
ü Shampoo the lengths and rub them with shampoo (I thought I need to clean them really well! :bigeyes:!)
ü Wear my hair down every day
ü Comb my hair 20 times per day
ü Ripping my hair while combing
ü Washing my hair without using conditioner – I thought that conditioner is good to use only when you want your hair to detangle easier by combing after the hair wash)

Schrei777
January 9th, 2012, 08:17 AM
Oh man, what didn't I do? Lets see I:

-Washed and conditioned with whatever my mom bought everyday.
-Straightened my hair almost daily in highschool on the highest setting.
-I've been dying my hair since 9th grade, black to platinum blonde to every color of the rainbow in between. I am no stranger to bleach (even bleached my hair 3 times in one day! :crazyq:). For the last few years I have been dying it red monthly with harsh chemicals!
-Tore through my hair with paddle brushes with wet and dry hair.
-Always wore hair down or with tight ponytails.
-Always wore it down and wet when I went to sleep.
-Whenever I went to get it cut I would say whatever cut 3 or 4 inches off without really thinking of how much hair that really is.
-Ive been getting my hair very layered (some of my layers are only a few inches long on my BSL hair), and I always got it thinned to death with thinning shears to get rid of my thickness. :doh:

Wow ill stop now, I'm sure there's more but I'd be here all day. :D
Needless to say I treated my hair horribly, and I'm so glad to have found the LHC. I have completely stopped putting any chemicals on my head, and am growing out all my layers and red hair dye. I can't wait to see my natural hair color for the first time in 7 years, and regain the thickness I had back before I decided that thinning shears were a good idea.

vintage88
January 9th, 2012, 03:38 PM
I also remember sometimes after blowdrying, my hair wouldn't be completely dry yet I would still go ahead and straighten it!!:justy:

jeanniet
January 9th, 2012, 03:44 PM
I'd sleep with it loose so it was a complete mess in the morning, then rip a brush through it while driving my kids to school. At least I never used much heat on it, but I sure abused it with that brush!

BrightEyes
January 9th, 2012, 04:35 PM
Before LHC I would:
*Shampoo and condition every other day
*Shampoo twice, sometimes three times, then condition
*Put a leave in, a heat protectant serum, a root lifter and then mousse in my hair (in that order)
*Blow dry my damp hair while stretching it with a round brush
*Flat iron it (to give it the perfect shape)
*Backcomb almost my whole head of hair
*Paster it with hairspray so it wouldn't move at all!!!
*The next day I woud flat iron it, backcomb and plaster it with hairspray again.
*I didn't care about the type of comb or brush I used and I always detangled starting at the top
*If I did wear a pony tail I would put it in tight then separate the hair and pull to tighten it even more. It's no wonder my fine and thin hair kept feeling finer and thinner:rolleyes:

*I also highlighted and colored my hair every other month. I am still highlighting, although I'm trying not to do it as often and I'm growing out the bottom color.

sun-kissed
January 9th, 2012, 05:02 PM
Ahaha, I look back on my self and... just wow. I thought my hair was super-long, healthy and pretty at the time, but in reality it was a very scraggly and damaged BSL that couldn't go a day without becoming greasy and flat.

-Shampoo every day with no conditioner.

-Rub vigorously with a towel, then comb it out with a plastic comb.

-Comb it all out in 4 minutes on the way to school, ripping through tangles.

-Wear it down 24/7/365.

-Use any kind of hairbrush.

-Comb it all. the. time.

-Sleep on it.

-I would comb between periods at school, and in the evenings.

-I started putting mousse on the roots, which caused a lot of breakage.

-Did I mention obsessive combing?

-I didn't get a good trim for two years. :rolleyes:

-I used heat when I felt like it, which was never more than once or twice a year. Didn't know it was damaging, though.

-I always had my hands in it. It also fell over my face at school because I was shy, which resulted in a greasy front.

-Sometimes I would wash my hair several times a day because I would swim in the morning, at lunch, and at night. All summer. Other times I wouldn't even wash the chlorine out at all.

-I combed it a LOT.

LaurelSpring
January 9th, 2012, 05:30 PM
Shampoo, blow dry, curling iron evey day. Dye with chemical hair color once a month. Never be satisfied with the cut and never got any length because they always cut it off. Throw a perm in it now and then and be devastated because it fried my hair and then have to cut it all off again.

Rosethorn
January 9th, 2012, 05:53 PM
Neglect..... not the benign kind.

Riselda
January 9th, 2012, 06:17 PM
Before lhc, I showered every day and washed my hair with clarifying shampoo each time. No conditioner. I kept it short because it looked so crappy. Now I use borax to wash and citric acid to rinse every 2-3 days and massage in oil or conditioner when my hair is damp. It's so pretty now.

HintOfMint
January 9th, 2012, 06:20 PM
I was in a general LHC state of mind about a year or so prior to joining, but before that... whooo, the things I did to my hair.

Shampooed and conditioned every day, violently brushed with a plastic bristle brush, blowdried on HOT, bought whatever product had nice packaging without regard to ingredients, rubbed it dry with a towel, fell hard for a volumizing hairspray that really tore my hair apart... etc.

Now I'm very careful with my hair, but I'll admit, when LHC was newer to me, I was hyper-obsessive careful with my hair. Now I've relaxed a bit but I still don't make the mistakes I used to make.

CherrySilver
January 9th, 2012, 08:27 PM
Dr. George Michael was known as the "Czar of Long Hair", famed for his expertise in long hair care (not only as a hairdresser but he also studied the science of hair).

His first salon opened in NYC in the mid 1950s and his salon, now known as Madora Long Hair Heaven, continues to this day.

Over the years, he formulated a plan for achieving beautiful hair through proper care with boar bristle brushes, wide tooth combs, and proper nutrition and maintenance. People came from all over the world to experience the George Michael treatment and he welcomed everyone who wanted to grow their hair long.

He was an acknowleded long hair expert, known around the world for his love of long hair. A George Michael hair treatment is the last word in pure hair nirvana!
I couldn't have said it better myself, Madora. Before LHC, I was a GM devotee, too, so I already knew about long hair care. But, before that, I was a teenager with a curling iron, blow dryer, etc., etc. Thank God I was saved!

akilina
January 9th, 2012, 09:34 PM
straighten every day
bleach TOOOO much trying to get blond being a dumb 16 year old with no legitimate knowledge on how bleach works/ what developer to use/didnt even know about toning/using 40 vol bleach over and over again.
grow it a little then cut it short with really really short layers so it would stick up.
color it black again
go blond again
wear it down for bed.
ugh!!!

terylenerose
January 10th, 2012, 08:43 AM
Let's see...
I was never that bad to my hair, and I had already started taking good care of it before I joined LHC, but here are some things I would do before I knew what I know now.
I didn't use to use conditioner. I forget the reason. Because my hair gets greasy easily, this often resulted in my washing it every day. Not my choice, but my mother's. We also have hard water here, so my hair was getting full of calcium and other minerals that don't belong in hair. I was also combing it wet from top to bottom. That was a very bad combination. It also resulted in numerous attempts to stretch washes, which were always met with "you have to wash your hair, it's so greasy!" I think I only really started to use conditioner after I dyed my hair and the dyed part would take an hour to comb through if I shampooed it without conditioner. And this was after I replaced the showerhead with a filtered one. I think the baking soda (I was experimenting with BS/ACV except with white vinegar) dried my hair out.
I only stopped combing from bottom to top recently after I decided I should be gentle to my hair. It was also getting too long for what I was doing. I stopped combing my hair wet at all except for in the shower recently after reading a thread, and I like the results.
I have blowdried it a few times, but I don't think that did anything. I also tried to blowdry it straight once, but that didn't work. I haven't used blowdryers regularly because they don't dry my hair any faster that I can tell.
Anyway, blah blah blah... I went on for a while there.


Now I use borax to wash and citric acid to rinse every 2-3 days and massage in oil or conditioner when my hair is damp. It's so pretty now.
That's almost exactly what I do!

emeraldfaery
January 10th, 2012, 08:52 AM
I only used shampoo, brushed it roughly all the time, didn't use oils or conditioners, wore it down constantly which probably damaged it a lot. I CUT IT. That was the worst thing I did.

UP Lisa
January 10th, 2012, 09:57 AM
I always thought my hair was straight, so I would get perms to try to get some sort of volume into it. I kept it so short that I never saw the waves.

theresajensen
January 10th, 2012, 01:28 PM
I used harsh shampoo, flat ironed it at least 3 times a week, dryed with blowdryer from soaking wet, never deep con etc..

Now I almost never flat iron(Once a month maybe), and I NEVER blowdry, i wear hair up og protect my hair when I sleep...

holothuroidea
January 10th, 2012, 01:35 PM
I never really cared for it. I shampooed and conditioned it daily with whatever brand's packaging struck my fancy, roughly towel dried it, brushed through it while it was wet, and otherwise pretended like it didn't exist.

ETA: I also used to dye it, because I was addicted to that initial texture boost. I dyed it a new color every 3 months or so.

I found LHC when I started looking for shampoo alternatives and I started to get fed up with commercial products. This happened to be after I had the worst hair cut of my life and I was feeling like I never wanted to get my hair cut again. It was all so serendipitous.

Now my goal is terminal! I'm hair obsessed now. :D

inkd
January 10th, 2012, 10:47 PM
Dr. George Michael was known as the "Czar of Long Hair", famed for his expertise in long hair care (not only as a hairdresser but he also studied the science of hair).

His first salon opened in NYC in the mid 1950s and his salon, now known as Madora Long Hair Heaven, continues to this day.

Over the years, he formulated a plan for achieving beautiful hair through proper care with boar bristle brushes, wide tooth combs, and proper nutrition and maintenance. People came from all over the world to experience the George Michael treatment and he welcomed everyone who wanted to grow their hair long.

He was an acknowleded long hair expert, known around the world for his love of long hair. A George Michael hair treatment is the last word in pure hair nirvana!

Thanks so much for answering my question. I feel like such a newb for not knowing that! :p

morrigan*
January 11th, 2012, 02:05 AM
I shampoo it twice, use pretty harsh shampoos or lush shampoo bars, but i did use lots of conditioner, and wear it up a lot. I flat ironed it ocasinally, i was pretty rough with it. I bleach it twice in few years and dye it a lot.

Alex Lou
January 11th, 2012, 02:15 AM
I'm having trouble thinking of anything I've learned here that I've actually been able to use. :confused:

I tried CO but have recently gone back to shampoo to stretch washes like I used to be able to. I tried a BBB and it made my hair greasy. I tried vinegar and coconut oil, both of which ended up smelling bad without much results. I tried plobbing, which looked bad. Oh, but sock bun curls are fantastic!

Oh, and I do brush my hair less now than before I tried curly girl.

Basically I've gone back to the basics that my mom taught me: shampoo and condition, wash infrequently, no heat, no dyes/bleach, no styling products.

But thanks to LHC, I did teach my mom to CO and it has solved her breakage problem.

Shesta
January 11th, 2012, 04:11 AM
In pre-LHC times I used to:

- shampoo only and hardly ever condition it
- wear it down tangled and unkept most of the time
- I was living with a constant build up from mousse
- I would sometimes tease it and use hairspray to keep the volume
- use a hair drier with diffuser once or twice per week to make it more curly

Littlewing13
January 11th, 2012, 05:09 AM
I was once platinum, as well as almost every colour under the sun at one point, I would straighten it with a ghd daily. wash & condition every second day. change colour every 6 months, which usually involved bleach. However i did use treatments & leave in conditioners & heat protectors (which i now think are complete bs). I also only use a mason pearson wide tooth comb which cost $20AUD but was worth every cent.