Scared to Wear My Hair Down

[daffodil7]

My hair is just passing shoulder length when it's straightened, and I am working on growing it as long as possible. My dream length is down to my ankles.

I have two questions.

1. I do want to wear my hair down sometimes now that it has some length, but I get so scared of damage to the ends that I just wind up doing a protective style. I know I can wear it down when wearing tank tops and that some shirts are satiny, but it's winter and most of my clothes aren't satiny. I know I must protect it from fuzzy scarves and coats but, should I still be scared to wear it down with a cotton t-shirt, or just average clothes? Is there a product I can put on my hair to protect it from clothes damage?

2. I'm going from natural black hair to a golden brown, with a blonde hair dye. I am going to use coconut oil, but I was wondering if dyeing my hair is just too risky even with the coconut oil. Is there anyone on here who has very long hair, and that uses color for lightening routinely? And also, I'd like to flat iron once or twice a month. I only use the setting 1 though, so it's not super straight, but I'm not using high heat so I can't expect it. Is there anyone on here who has long hair yet has a routine similar to this.

Oh also, I am African American, hair 3c - 4c kinky, manageable

[Mesmerise]

Honestly, I think it is far worse to bleach your hair than it is to wear it loose! This is doubly true if you plan to grow your hair to super long lengths.

A lot of people seem to think that "lightening" their hair isn't bleaching it, but basically anything that lightens your hair is a bleach and it WILL damage your hair.

Obviously I don't have your hair, but personal experience has led me to believe that wearing hair loose isn't nearly as bad as harmful chemicals. Back when I had 100% virgin un-heated hair, I never got split ends. I heard people talking about them and didn't even know what they were. It was only after my hair started to take a bit of a hammering from colouring that I figured it out.

What this means is that my mostly loose hair (or just ponytailed, which isn't that protective) never got split ends, but my coloured hair definitely did!

So yeah, I think it's perfectly okay to wear your hair out on occasion, but if you want to get your curls to ankle length, then you should avoid that bleach!

[clarinette]

Mh yeah I agree. I did bleach before LHC and what will happen is: you'll see no damage at first, and think meh, it's ok after all. But your hair is weakened even though you can't see it yet. Then obviously your hair grows, you touch up the roots, even more damage. Your hair, at the tips, will have been bleached maybe two years prior when you reach waist, and weakened old hair breaks and gets very velcroey. IMO it's really not worth it, except if you plan on keeping it at bsl and maintain there. Wearing it down doen't do nearly as much damage.
ETA: the bleach is the reason I'm still around BSL. If I didn't have to trim so much to get rid of damage as it grows, I'd be at waist by now :(

[owlathena]

Ditto to whats already been said. I've used box lightening "dyes" and they definitely damaged my hair (theres pic of me with lightened hair in my hair album, and you can see its not happy).

Have you checked out the more gentle (and less effective, unfortunately) lightening methods like honey and cinnamon lightening?

As far as wearing it down, its not a huge deal. Of course keeping it up is better, but for most folks its not a game-changer. I wear my hair down 3/4 of the time.

[Rusticular]

The only time I ever wear my hair up is at work(and being a student, that's only two nights a week), and I've never had a problem. If you're prepared to spend just a little extra time detangling, there's nothing to be scared of.

I second the cinnamon/honey lightening; it may take a while, but as you go, you can see the difference without hurting your hair too much.

[jojo]

My hair is just passing shoulder length when it's straightened, and I am working on growing it as long as possible. My dream length is down to my ankles.

I have two questions.

1. I do want to wear my hair down sometimes now that it has some length, but I get so scared of damage to the ends that I just wind up doing a protective style. I know I can wear it down when wearing tank tops and that some shirts are satiny, but it's winter and most of my clothes aren't satiny. I know I must protect it from fuzzy scarves and coats but, should I still be scared to wear it down with a cotton t-shirt, or just average clothes? Is there a product I can put on my hair to protect it from clothes damage?

2. I'm going from natural black hair to a golden brown, with a blonde hair dye. I am going to use coconut oil, but I was wondering if dyeing my hair is just too risky even with the coconut oil. Is there anyone on here who has very long hair, and that uses color for lightening routinely? And also, I'd like to flat iron once or twice a month. I only use the setting 1 though, so it's not super straight, but I'm not using high heat so I can't expect it. Is there anyone on here who has long hair yet has a routine similar to this.

Oh also, I am African American, hair 3c - 4c kinky, manageable
Id be more bothered about damage from straightening than wearing it down TBH! if you want very long hair, you will not get it if you continue to straighten and decide to bleach. At you length id not worry too much about damage from wearing down, once its APL you need to protect the ends more as it will catch on bags etc, id just enjoy it down and learn to love its natural beauty!

[jacqueline101]

If you do straighten please use a heat protector spray. I don't like heated appliances but do use it. If I wore my hair down I'd wrap a silk scarf around my hair. I'd do that to protect my ends and id give up the chemicals they're the devil.

[Shahada]

3-c/4a hair, lightening, hair straightening. Bad combo, dude. Do you want to get to ankle length? If so, give those bad habits up. Most of us with longer hair don't chemically abuse our hair, certainly not me and I have 3b hair. Condition your ends and wear it natural. If you can't deal with it, wear it up and focus on something else in your life. By the time you realize it, your hair will be long!

[Amber_Maiden]

Wearing your hair down is fine- as long as your aware that is down- so be careful around doors, etc.

[HappyHair87]

Hey hair buddy!:waving: I agree...avoid the bleach! I had my hair bleached one time in high school....ALL of my hair in the back fell out! Luckily it only took a year for it to grow back fully...i'll never do that again!

I have reached WL before i big chopped...with relaxed hair. I used to do just semi-permanent rinses with Manic Panic or sometimes i would use Jazzing when i wanted a color change. But i only dye my hair either jet black or red if i want a change from my natural brown hair.

It's cool to wear your hair down...what i used to do was only wear it down on the weekends but protect my ends 5 days a week:agree:....BUT....make sure your ends STAY moisturized and sealed!! Especially if you're wearing cotton! Bee very gentle and nice to your hair....and it will grow as long as you want it! Especially with our hair type...we have to be SUPER gentle bc ours is so delicate.

[torrilin]

For my hair, heat styling is the most damaging. Blow drying isn't good either... it's a lot better to air dry, because then I don't get added tangles.

Trying to lighten my hair isn't particularly damaging, but I have the sort of ash blonde/ash brown hair that gets big sun streaks if I'm out in the sun even a little. So a standard semi-perm dye is not going to cause more problems than sun exposure for me. And having my hair be the color I want is nice.

My hair is pretty fine, so wearing it down is damaging... but it's way less damaging than a blow dryer. I don't wear it down often because I don't particularly like my hair down, not because I'm trying to prevent damage. I hate having hair in my face rather a lot, and if my hair is down it's so fine and floaty it will get in my face.

You're the one who has to live with your hair. To me, the big thing is to have hair that's comfortable and fun. Your hair should not make you miserable! And only you can tell what makes you miserable or happy.

[Madora]

If you want to grow to very long lengths, then you're going to have to decide which is more important: your goal, or what you do to your hair.

There is nothing wrong with wearing it down BUT since your hair is curly, you'll need to be extra vigilant in keeping it tangle free, which means detangling it very gently. Curly hair needs much more gentle care than other hair types.

If you love your hair, refrain from bleaching and flat ironing. Check our the Articles section (grey menu bar, above) for hairstyles for shorter hair.

[heidi w.]

I would NOT at all recommend the bleaching or coloring of your hair. As an African-American, your hair type is highly prone to breaking off very easily, and this action could aggravate that problem. If you want your hair to grow longer, I would recommend coloring.

I believe that there are a few on here who color their hair, but a lot of women into "natural" stuff don't like the whole hair dye stuff, and instead use Henna, which I personally am not in favor of. But it does present an option.

If you want your hair to grow longer, you have to simply let it be and let nature do its thing. But you can't be doing all these chemical treatments to your hair and then hoping it'll grow yet longer. That's usually not the best outcome for longer tresses. That can turn out to be a bit of a dry, tattered mess, in time; and the person wondering why their hair is somewhat trashed, or dry.

African-American hair has the potential to be gorgeous in its more natural state. This hair type also requires a LOT of conditioner, as otherwise it can become dry easily.

Have you ever heard of the book Curly Girl? Here's a link so you can see what the cover looks like. In it they have outlined how to Conditioner Only wash for mild to wildly curly locks. LHC has a CO method as well, but I hear it's not the precise same as the book Curly Girl. I recommend you get it and come to a new appreciation of the hair you were given. The book is an absolute celebration of all things curly, and the book has a number of testimonials of folks so blessed that have finally come to appreciate their curls, once they know how to take care of them. Often such ladies never really learn well how to take care of their coils.

http://www.amazon.com/Curly-Girl-Lorraine-Massey/dp/0761123008
So you can see what the cover looks like. I am fairly certain it's not on bookstore bookshelves and the book, if you want it, has to be ordered from a vendor through the bookstore. It MIGHT be available for checkout in your library.

The author has wild curls, and they're gorgeous. She is often on the beauty show talk circuit training people how to cut curly hair (always dry, never wet) and techniques of cutting to show off the curls themselves so they coil a certain way, and the cut doesn't upset the curls/coils and how they lay. The author also invented the No Poo Shampoo line, learning and sharing how SLS (Sodium Laureth Sulfate) can be a problem for curly hair types, which you are. Her product line is Devachan.

Here's an example product from her product line.

http://store.devachansalon.com/Detail.bok?no=29

There's boatloads to learn. I suggest that if you want a different look, that instead of somewhat permanently altering your hair's color or texture (flat ironing), you acquire wigs. Some people DO have need to change their look, and a wig works well for that just fine.

If you change your hair's texture or color too frequently or too much, in your hair type case, you could easily end up realizing one day a ton of damage is present and then find a need to cut it off, and begin anew.

As for wearing your hair down, right now it's still blustering winter requiring knotty knitted and wool fabrics, which does not allow a smooth ride for hair. Plus the weather outside isn't necessarily fabulous. I have to wear a hat every day. Today it's windy. Really windy as in I need to drive slowly so as not to be blown off the road gusty winds. Spring isn't far away. At home, you can wear your hair down all you want with cotton tops and whatnot (bare naked runnin through the house!) That's fine. I have a satin bathrobe that is lined in fleece. So I have the right fabric on the right sides and if I were to wear my hair down, I can.

Also if you wear your hair down at work, or out somewhere or while driving it's good to have a quick method for securing your hair up, should you need it (such as the wind kicks up). I always have a handy hair stick, but then I wear my hair up all year round most of the time, even at home. My hair length can really get caught in stuff, so I don't wear it down overly much. But most longhaired folks realize they need handy, quick gear and methods for securing hair suddenly.

Well, I wish you the best. Having long hair isn't overly hard. But it is a game of patience, and all this need to have colored or alternatively textured hair just doesn't help you get longer tresses. It is usually anti-thetical to the cause.

heidi w.

[heidi w.]

I am likewise not a fan of flat ironing. Here's why.

Hair is like lace. Fine, organic, thinner individual strands make up the bulk of hair. And then one presses it between two heated pads, directly on that lace (hair). What this can cause is what is called white dots. White dots are burst cuticle outer layer along the length of a hair strand. It weakens the strand at that point where the white dot is, and in fact, can much more easily break off at that white dot point, leaving behind a frayed, damaged hair end that can continue to fray up the hair strand.

I have seen heads full of white dots; I have seen people rake their hair with their hands and broken off hairs fill their hands. I can tell from quite a distance if a person is flat ironing for the white dots alone, which tend to reflect in the available light.

Heat is heat. Low heat is better than high heat, but no heat is the best. I would never, ever, flat iron my hair. Just wouldn't dare. It's taken me nearly 20 years to get my hair this long, and I wouldn't do a thing to undo the very strong possibility that this hair will be here for the next 20 years.

What it means to grow hair longer is that we allow our oldest hair to remain in tact. We don't cut it off. We instead take care of it and let it "hang" around. This means that one's oldest hair is at the hemline and a bit higher up from the hemline.

I thought I'd explain the perspective from a longhair understanding. I thought that may help you make decisions about choosing to go for long hair, OR choosing to have styled hair or colored hair or alternatively textured hair.

I know people with longer hair than mine, and not one of us would ever color or apply any form of heat to our hair.

heidi w.

[HappyHair87]

I just wanted to point out....being Black...our hair in our natural state has a tendency to shrink up to 75% of our actual length....so i completely understand why you'd want to straighten it out sometimes....as long as it's not all the time.

It takes us FOREVER to see our length in it's curly state(which is why i stretch my hair for length checks)....my hair is on its way to BSL and still shrinks up to my chin.....but i have decided to only straighten my hair once or twice a year to enjoy my real length.

When you do straighten...make sure you use a heat protectant. And don't use high heat. try to go no higher than say....330 degrees F. Try not to use heat so frequently as this can really damage your curls.

Focus on keeping your hair moisturized. The Curly Girl method is an excellent start for any natural...it helped me retain my moisture after big chopping. I learned the method online tho...never bought the book.

What is your regimen?

[NymphSpirit]

I don't think lightening just a bit would damage much, but may be instead of doing it with peroxide, you could do it with honey... no? And also, why would you want to use heat on your hair? I say, if it isn't really, truly, brutally necessary, stay away from it, since heat damage is permanent. Of course, if you do, make sure you use A LOT of heat protectors, to minimize the damage, and then a clarifying shampoo to get rid of the gigantic amount of residue those sprays leave...

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3-c/4a hair, lightening, hair straightening. Bad combo, dude. Do you want to get to ankle length? If so, give those bad habits up. Most of us with longer hair don't chemically abuse our hair, certainly not me and I have 3b hair. Condition your ends and wear it natural. If you can't deal with it, wear it up and focus on something else in your life. By the time you realize it, your hair will be long!

That sounded a bit rude, don't you think...? Mhm...

[longlonglocks]

I do think that coconut oil is a fantastic conditioner for long hair, so I think you're doing a great job with that. Lightening your hair, however, can cause breakage and make the hair unlikely to get to your desired length. If you really want that long hair now, you could always highlight some extensions and use those for your pop of color. But I do understand that would be cheating.

[patienceneeded]

You can get the Curly Girl book from your local library system, if you are interested. If you like it/learn from it then you can buy it off Amazon or whatever. All the PP's above have good advice. Ankle-length is probably not going to be achieved if you continue to straighten your hair and plan on bleaching it though. BSL, probably, maybe even Waist...depending on how well your hair handles the heat and chemical treatments. Some hair is just "tougher" than others. Generally the curlier the hair is naturally, the less abuse it can take. Be happy with your hair, whatever you choose.

[daffodil7]

Hi, Guys:

Thank you so much for your input! Wow, you guys have really beautiful hair! My main reason for planning to lighten was that I feel darker hair makes me look older, but my hair is healthy right now, no chemicals because I had my baby a year ago. I have been hesitant about the chemicals and heat since it is virgin right now.

Color Response:

With bleach, I said never again because when I had highlights in the past, and all of them eventually broke off.

I was going to do a box Colorsilk blonde dye to take my black hair to a light brown, but I think I'll just skip it now thanks to all of your good advice.

Heat Response:

As far as the flat ironing goes, I straightened it on the lowest setting just a few days ago to cut the split ends, and just liked the look. That's why I was thinking I could do it like once or twice a month with heat protectant and be okay, but if you guys got damage even from minimal heat use like that, then I'll just use it 3 or 4 times a year to cut the splits. Please chime in if you use heat once or twice a month with heat protectant and have healthy hair, or if even that has caused you damage.

New Questions:

1. I was wondering if semi permanents are really safe like people say. I was thinking maybe I could give my black hair a slightly red tint, or use a blonde semi permanent for a brownish tint like in this youtube video. You can see how it gave her hair a brown tint on the sides of her hair at around the 1:20 mark.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97s-mdbRyO8

Also, should I use coconut oil before a semi permanent too, or are those completely safe like people say, since they only coat the hair, and I do not need to use coconut oil?

2. Also, if you have experience or advice on minimal heat use, I'd love to read more of your experiences.

[ravenreed]

I use demi-permanent in my hair and it really only shows up on my greys or in the sun. I use coconut oil before coloring, even with such low peroxide. It has made a big difference, as has using a catnip rinse every time I cleanse my hair. ETA: Demi- and Semi- will not lift color so they are much, much less damaging. Hardly impacts my hair at all.

I don't heat style much at all, maybe a few times a year. I haven't ever flat ironed my hair so I can't answer to damage. However, I do get a lot of white dots without using heat.

I grew all the way to waist doing a lot of non-LHC approved things, like washing with shampoo and conditioner every day, dyeing my hair with regular dye every month, and wearing my hair down 24-7. I did have a lot of split ends and was trimming as much hair as I was growing. That is what brought me to LHC. I have learned some new techniques that allowed me to lessen the impact I was having on my hair but that has not stopped me from occasionally wearing it down, or in a high pony, or dyeing it frequently, albeit with lower peroxide dyes...

At your length, I don't think that wearing it down is very damaging. What really does it to my hair is getting caught in things or the friction of my rubbing it against the back of furniture as I sit. :cool:

[BlazingHeart]

If you want to use a hair dye without damaging your hair, there is one simple test to know if the dye will harm your hair: if it comes in ONE bottle and you don't have to mix anything, it's just a color-depositing dye (aka deposit only dye), which is safe. If it comes in two or more bottles and you have to mix them, it contains something that lifts color (even if it eventually makes your hair darker) and is NOT safe, though the damage will vary depending on how fragile your hair is and how much lift is happening. Now, obviously, all dyes will fade in time, but you can always re-color with deposit only dyes. In fact, some people find deposit only dyes to be conditioning and make their hair silkier. YMMV on that, obviously.

~Blaze

[ravenreed]

This is not entirely true. Demi-permanent is pretty low damage and doesn't lift color at all, yet it has two things that must be mixed. It uses very low volume peroxide.


If you want to use a hair dye without damaging your hair, there is one simple test to know if the dye will harm your hair: if it comes in ONE bottle and you don't have to mix anything, it's just a color-depositing dye (aka deposit only dye), which is safe. If it comes in two or more bottles and you have to mix them, it contains something that lifts color (even if it eventually makes your hair darker) and is NOT safe, though the damage will vary depending on how fragile your hair is and how much lift is happening. Now, obviously, all dyes will fade in time, but you can always re-color with deposit only dyes. In fact, some people find deposit only dyes to be conditioning and make their hair silkier. YMMV on that, obviously.

~Blaze

[uptosomeone]

Just thought I'd throw in my experiences with heat. when I registered at LHC I was using heat five days a week without heat protection. I thought it was doing much to my hair, but it was--the very ends seriously would not get longer. They had so many white dots they were breaking off just as fast as they grew. After trimming off the majority of the damage and cutting down heat to blow drying a couple time a month and straightening once a month my hair as grown 1-1.5 inches in two months! And this is on fine, thin, very fragile hair. I do everything else to keep my hair healthy including wearing it up, sleeping on a silk pillowcase, detangling with a non-seamed wide tooth comb, and not shampooing every day.

In conclusion, I still can't tell you whether or not heat will ruin your hair. :p I do think if you want to try adding it in every once in a while my guess would be that it's not going to be too terrible for it though!

[BlazingHeart]

This is not entirely true. Demi-permanent is pretty low damage and doesn't lift color at all, yet it has two things that must be mixed. It uses very low volume peroxide.

It's still doing damage, though. Yeah, it's less damage, but it's still damage. Peroxide is one of the chemicals that lift, so your demi- is still lifting slightly. If you want to avoid coloring damage entirely, you want dyes that only deposit color and those come in a single bottle.

~Blaze

[pepperminttea]

Since someone mentioned the Curly Girl method, I thought I'd throw in the Tightly Curly method (http://tightlycurly.com/welcome/) too, to give you something else to think about. :)

[coneyisland]

Welcome, daffodil7. Yes, take a look at the Curly Girl and Tightly Curly methods.

Hair ends at or just below shoulder length are especially prone to wear from clothing when the hair is worn down. So be especially careful (in yout clothing choices and otherwise) for your ends if you wear your hair down, especially stretched or straightened, before it is grown to hanging several inches beyond shoulder length.

Some of us find that consistent use of "cone"-content products gives us long times following trims before we find split ends again. In the Herbal Essences and Aussie lines are some "cone"-content leave-in protectant products specifically made to help prevent splitting of hair ends.

[ravenreed]

This (http://www.sallybeauty.com/hair-color/Ion-Demi-Permanent-Color,default,pg.html) states that because demi-permanent dyes lack ammonia, they cannot lift color. Additionally, the amount of peroxide used is minimal. I got far more damage from using something with glycerin or aloe vera gel than I EVER did from a demi-permanent dye. When I use coconut oil before I dye, there is no damage at all.


It's still doing damage, though. Yeah, it's less damage, but it's still damage. Peroxide is one of the chemicals that lift, so your demi- is still lifting slightly. If you want to avoid coloring damage entirely, you want dyes that only deposit color and those come in a single bottle.

~Blaze

[daffodil7]

Thank you again, Raven Reed. You answered my first posting about catnip. Your experiences here are again very helpful. I think I will give semi permanent color a try, with coconut oil under. The ones I was thinking of using were one bottle ones from Clairol Beautiful or Jazzing.

Everyone else, thank you for your heat experiences as well. I think I will just avoid it from now on, and get my hair to semi straight with magnetic curlers every few months in order to find and cut any split ends that I might have.

Thank you for that Tightly Curly link. I stumbled on the tightly curly site 2 years ago and forgot about it. But, now I know of products that I can use for it, and I think it is something that would work well for me, but maybe later. I'm not sure what my new length will be after I wash it, shrinkage etc. I had to cut about 1 - 2.5 inches in splits all over. I was always afraid to cut them, but actually got a message from God that if I wanted my hair to grow longer, I had to cut them because they were just going to keep traveling up my hair. I've read it a zillion times before, but couldn't bring myself to do it. But when God made it clear to me, I realized He was allowing me to enter into a new phase in my life and realize one of my dreams of longer hair.

Since I had to cut it, it could be a little too short when it's wet. I'm not sure. If it is, I think I will stick with twist outs and air dry roller sets for now until I get some more length to wear the tightly curly look. But thank you so much. I think that's a good long term solution for me.

Thank you for the information about cones, Coney Island, I still like cones myself. When I decided that I just wasn't going to give up my Infusium 23, I realized that I was just going to be one of those people that uses them. My hair reacts well to them. I will check out those products you mentioned for added protection. I am going to be doing the catnip conditioner as well.

[Mesmerise]

It's still doing damage, though. Yeah, it's less damage, but it's still damage. Peroxide is one of the chemicals that lift, so your demi- is still lifting slightly. If you want to avoid coloring damage entirely, you want dyes that only deposit color and those come in a single bottle.

~Blaze

Yes, this. Although the damage IS minimal, and in most people you probably wouldn't see damage at all, the OP wants to grow her hair to ankle length, which is a LOT of years of growing, and very old hair, so my thought is that ANY damage at all... even a tiny, weenie bit, is more damage than she needs!

I would go with something like Manic Panic for colour, or henna which may give some reddish highlights in the sun!

And yeah, I agree that you should heat straighten only when you're going to trim. It kind of makes sense that you need straight hair to see the ends properly! Also definitely use the lowest setting and tons of heat protectant.

Heat straightening has permanently damaged my hair. It's taken me a lot of months to reach this conclusion, but it's been almost 1 year since I last straightened, and my poor hair is still weird from the straightening I used to do. AND I didn't even do it all that often!! That, plus bad box dye, has meant that I'll really need to cut out all the damage before I can have nice long hair :(.

[coneyisland]

What about gradual lightening over time with periodic use of honey or apple cider vinegar? Perhaps someone familiar with the use of these possible alternatives for lightening hair will give inputs as to whether these would do damage?

[daffodil7]

Oh, ConeyIsland, I forgot to mention that I did try honey on some harvested, leftover hair from my comb and unfortunately got no results. Thank you for your story, Mesmerise. That helps me alot.

[ravenreed]

I don't think ACV lightens hair??? Lemon juice may, but not ACV to my knowledge.

I have tried honey lightening on several occasions and the only hairs that got any lighter were the ones right on my neck. It looked very odd when I wore my hair up. IIRC, I used honey, coconut oil and cinnamon to try to amp up the lift. Honey is a humectant. As such, I am cautious with it because it could cause me the same amount of damage that I got from AVG and glycerin. For those who don't get any damage from humectants, I think it would be fine to use.

When I was a kid, 13 or 14, I used lemon juice in my hair to 'encourage' highlights from the sun. I remember it dried out my hair but I didn't know anything about how to care for hair at that time, and I used quite a lot. As in, I took a lemon and rubbed it on the spots that I wanted highlights. :p It also left my hair very brassy. I occasionally use lemon juice in my hair now, but very dilute, and it hasn't lightened my hair as yet. However, I haven't applied it and sat in the sun, which is how I used it back then. I currently just use it to minimize mineral buildup from my extraordinarily hard water. There are reports that lemon juice can dry hair out.





What about gradual lightening over time with periodic use of honey or apple cider vinegar? Perhaps someone familiar with the use of these possible alternatives for lightening hair will give inputs as to whether these would do damage?

[coneyisland]

This year I got myself a bottle of the Infusium 23 (repair)ologie leave-in treatment and a spray nozzle for that bottle.
Just recently I looked at some posts by justgreen, who has gorgeous long lightened hair, relating to Infusium 23 having caused damage impeding her length retention.

I have since been using my remaining Infusium 23 only for wet detangling, then rinsing it out, then following with Pantene conditioner and rinsing it out. Using the coney ends protectant products, even in dilution, makes so much difference (not good) in the feel of my hair that I am using them only when my hair is to be braided.

I wanted to make you aware of justgreen's experience with the Infusium 23 because you had indicated interest in lightening your hair also.

[CurlyCap]

Heya. Curly girl here. Not as curly as you, but enough that I understand the desire to straighten. And occassionally have hair that isn't dark. Dark hair is a pain because we can't even use temporary dyes without some lightening.

My honest response is to avoid both the heat and the dyes. Healthy hair is the best looking, and those two are much more damaging than wearing your hair down.

Like HappyHair87, I used straighten my hair 1-2 times a year, for a change, but it always caused the worst damage of the year, and I'm pretty good at protecting/moisturizing/sealing my hair. Twice a month seems like a recipe for long-term damage that will eventually have to be cut off anyway.

My advice is to baby your hair in terms of moisture and sealing....and then enjoy it. My personal approach is to baby it if I ever touch it and it feels like it needs more moisture. That usually means a night in an oiled bun or a deep treatment. But other than that, I just let it grow.

In it's natural state, curly hair is really resilient and moisturized hair can tolerate shirts and sweaters. It's dry, brittle hair that breaks suddenly, and the best way to avoid that is asking your hair to be something it isn't.

[annamoonfairy]

ProMend by Nexxus shampoo & conditioner are a great detangler if you find yourself with your hair down with tangles.

[allmixedup88]

I straighten my hair using big rollers. Yt "straighten hair no heat" tons of tutorials

[Charybdis]

I think this woman is really inspirational for Type 4's and 3c's who want to grow their hair long: http://www.tightlycurly.com/ (http://www.tightlycurly.com/welcome). Her hair is beautiful and natural, and I love the contrast between her before and after pics.

[Tisiloves]

If you really want to lighten hair without damage why don't you try those clip in highlights, as long as you don't wear them in the same place every day you should be fine. Just detangle before putting them in and be careful taking them out, my hair likes to eat mine.

[heidi w.]

I would argue that straightening your hair is worse than wearing it down. As a Black American, that is kind of the fashion, to straighten the hair. I have no idea of precisely the hair type you have and what parameters you are working with.

The main thing regarding wearing your hair down is have a Plan B, should the weather or the situation change. Carry a hairstick or some kind of updo device in your car or in your purse.

I watch the weather. Where I currently reside, wind is my biggest problem. Some days are more than breezy, and the day may begin well enough but you wait 2 hours and the weather can drastically change.

IF you're hanging with friends, and then you all decide to go dance at a club, this can be tangle (and sweat) city, so having a Plan B available can help you a lot.

Don't be afraid. If you wear it up most of the time, and occasionally down, I wouldn't spend a whole lot of time fretting over the damage. It's going to be fairly minimal, and likely you won't even notice any damage, per se.

OH, and be careful of getting your long hair caught in stuff. I have long enough that I could be a foot away and my hair can get caught in something. I have to be a bit more aware of safety concerns than more average lengths.

heidi w.

[heidi w.]

Straightening and coloring hair, especially around the same 2 week window of time, is a very bad idea. Most hairdressers know this. But some don't watch it. And if you do each procedure with a different dresser, they may not know what was done before, and then they have to rely on your information, and sometimes we remember the timing of things incorrectly. (I certainly do, at least.) And then you could be in for a world of hurt.

Good Luck.
heidi w.

[dulce]

My hair is waist and I wear it down quite a bit ,but I don't colour at all or use any chemicals or heated appliances.So far no damage.

[dulce]

I agree with those that are saying straightening and colouring do the major damage.I also never wear it loose in high winds..