What would you tell your newbie self?

[Delila]

If you could send a message back to yourself as a newbie here, what would you want yourself to know?

Me?

Be patient. Your hair really will grow to long lengths, seriously, it will, no matter what your hairstylists have always tried to tell you.

Be gentle. Putting your hair up and avoiding mechanical damage will do a lot of good to gain a thicker hemline.

Life without bangs is worth the struggle, so just hang in there.

At some point past waist, my hair gets easier to cope with. Seems I can cope with either super short or past-waist length hair, but don't much like anything in between.

What's true for you? Any words of wisdom you'd wish you'd known back when?

[Quahatundightu]

You need to trim your hair often, it's too thin for no-trim! You will only stall your growth.. for years...! If only I'd known that I think my hair would be longer and in better condition now.

[Lissandria]

Well I guess I'm still a newbie, however I definitely wish I hadn't tried so much in the beginning in such a short space of time. The two week rule is key. This is hard because of the wealth of information when you first join. I see what you mean OP about being patient, but I'm still impatient. Only when I have BSL hair with thick, healthy ends will I truly believe I can grow long, healthy hair.

[turtlelover]

STEP AWAY FROM THE SCISSORS and have your husband hide them from you!

[maborosi]

Stay away from indigo.

~maborosi~

[Miss Maisie]

It's okay to blow your hair dry. Don't give yourself a panic attack if you need to use it on low a few times a week. But DEFINITELY throw out that flat iron.

[Keller1128]

Yes, get a wide-toothed comb, but not a plastic one with seams!

[Miss Catrina]

STOP washing your hair every day.

Swallow your pride and wear more hair frendly elastics.

If you must use a straightening iron - it should not be one with on/off and no heat settings!

[CurlyCap]

DON'T PANIC. It'll grow back. Breathe. Breathe.

Kay. Where's the chocolate?

[HintOfMint]

Washing your hair as little as possible is NOT a virtue. And CO will make you shed like the dickens.

[Diamond.Eyes]

Please only wear your hair down once a week; wearing it down every single day is not good for your hair! :doh:

[Silverbrumby]

Even with the best of care you have a set of genetic tendencies which are YOU... Embrace your own unique hair. Learn how to make it the best hair and don't give up, even on the days where it's frizzy, thin and doesn't feel much like hair at all. The good days will one day outnumber the bad.

[MonaLisa]

Do not brush out tangles...
Think it made a huge difference!

[Nightshade]

65% cassia, 35% henna. 100% henna will make your hair too dark and you'll spend three years trying to lighten it :lol:

[t_ballet26]

Do not under any circumstances try henna and learn to love your natural hair color.

[Neneka]

NOO! Don't cut it! :cry: It's damaged, yes, but did you have to cut it all of? Just cut it back to APL or something. Don't use henndigo. Try deposit only dyes. The red dye I am now using would have been just great.

[owlathena]

Stop bleaching that same spot over and over. I know it looks cool, but it will eventually break off and you'll have a horrible hemline that you refuse to fix because you'd have to lose so much length.

And...no bangs. Seriously. We've been over this. Why do you keep disobeying me?

[jacqueline101]

Be patient when styling. Its going to be long journey to grow to tail bone but you will like it. You will be the best woman for taking your time. Remember the things you've learned on here.

[Shesta]

Try on thing at a time. Be patient. Don't let go.

[Littlewing13]

Yeah Im kinda still a noob. But I would say that neglect can be a good thing. Keratin will make your hair feel worse than bleach (& most keratin is derived from animal products). First things first: henna/cassia gloss.

But I wish I could try a full henna & tell myself how it turns out! Im still tempted but dont wanna undo all of my (not so) hard work!

[Rhodugune]

Hi liittle newbie, vistit longhaircommunity.com, they will have the answers you been looking for years, about brushes, washingmethods, deeptreatments, updoes and so many other things you had no idea was good for your hair and last but not least, really great people!

And stop going to your hairdresser to trim your hair, she doesn't know how to cut long hair, you don't have to be afraid that your split ends will take over your hair if you don't cut of as much as she says, you will finally gain som length when you don't lose almost all of the growth per year to trimming...

[Amber_Maiden]

Don't experiment with everything you find here.
Hair toys- they are addictive. Beware.

[pepperminttea]

CO washing does work, and rather well too. Don't knock it 'til you've tried it.
Your hair can be beautiful up, as well as down. But don't wear it up all the time; just most of it. Enjoy it a bit, too.
Think more carefully about your hairtoy purchases; you really don't need that many, and they're worringly addictive.
Conventional products aren't scary, and your hair quite likes some of them too. It'll also save you a lot of money!
Don't procrastinate over buying a couple of silk pillowcases for so long. They're awesome!
Finger-combing is amazing.
The WO thing? It's not for you.
Not all 'cones are created equal (and your hair thinks some of them are kinda wonderful).
Hairsticks don't need toppers to be beautiful. (And by the way, sticks do work!)

[mira-chan]

Don't go for any of the cheap oil mixes in the stores, just go for the coconut oil and all will be well. Oh and get checked for vitamin D deficiency asap.

[elbow chic]

Just that it really will grow! I really didn't think I could grow it much past my shoulders, as previous attempts had generally resulted in a dried-out impossible mess. (too much sun, too much salt-water, not NEARLY enough conditioner, and lots of wet-brushing on squeaky-clean, under-conditioned hair) :eek: My mom's hair is very coarse and thick and fast-growing...she could do all that stuff and still have hip-length hair in surprisingly decent shape, but fine-textured hair requires a gentler hand.

We always used to blame my inability to grow on my color-- "blondes just can't grow long hair!" but really the color does not matter, the fineness does.

[Long_hair_bear]

STOP bleaching your hair, goose!

[Tabitha]

It's just hair ... x length hair will not magically make me become beautiful. It will just take longer to deal with.

[RapunzelKat]

Well, technically I'm probably still a bit if a newbie :p But my advice to myself would be: join LHC earlier!! Like, years ago, before your hair got completely unmanageable and you started losing growth to those awful tangles.

Also, don't be afraid to self-trim! It's easier than you think and you will not accidentally give yourself a wildly uneven hemline :D

[lapushka]

Be patient. No wanting to try out new stuff *now* *at once* *all at once*.

[krissykins]

Make sure you're getting enough iron and if you're prescribed a medication that your doctor says *may* cause hair loss, DO YOUR RESEARCH!

Oh yes, and I would also give my newbie self a hug, because she probably needs it. :grouphug:

[rowie]

Dear Myself,

Hi! It's me from the future writing to tell you that I'm happy that you decided to partake in the path of growing long hair. Here are tips for what works for our hair type that you might find helpful.

Hair Typing:
When you reach shoulder length, your in for a big surprise. You have multi-textured hair and I have created a thread on here that you can look for because hair care for this hair is different from the usual numbering system. (probably a combination of the best tips from each of the major LHC threads from Straight- to the kinky curly wurly thread)

Early phases of growing hair from a buzz cut:
Start using coconut oil to moisturize your entire head.
Bandanas will come handy when your hair gets uncontrollable to the sides of your head, and when you are starting to realize that your head looks like a mullet.

When you reach chin:
You can finally tie your hair in the back, make cute pigtails when you are at home, and the little black metal bendable barrets will come in handy when you don't want your bangs scratching your face. Now would be a good time to go to the Body shop and invest in a wooden comb. Throw away all your plastic fine toothed combs that men usually keep in their pockets. Start getting into the habit of finger combing your hair before you do anything to it.

When you reach Shoulder:
You have many more options, you can finally do full ponytails. High pony tails, and half-up ponytail, small simple buns, french twist the back and use a hair claw, and you can experiment with more hair accessories when you are at home. But you really can't fully braid all of your hairs in the back because you are still waiting for your bangs to catch up. However, you can do smaller braids and do Coolio (the rapper) hair style. Last thing is to invest in a Tangle Teezer, this will come handy for de-tangling sensitive coarse hairs you have underneath the sides of your head.

That's it, I'm writing to you now that I've reached a little passed shoulder length. Remember, in the beginning try not to think about your hair, be really patient, moisturize using coconut oil everyday (the best leave in for our hair). Our scalp does not like water only , and Conditioner only gives you a lot of build up so your left to use the occasional clarifying shampoos once a month, ACV every two weeks, coney conditioners, and to wash your hair every other day.

Bye bye, and good luck!

[Tia2010]

Be patient. No wanting to try out new stuff *now* *at once* *all at once*.


This^ Just be patient, newbie self! :) Try one thing at a time so you can actually see what works and what doesn't.

[rena]

Stop using sulphates regularly, you'll only need them once in a while.
Stop using towls.
Do CO, heres which conditioners to use...
Comb a leave-in through the hair while its wet, you don't have to restrain it like an asylum patient for it to dry nicely.
For Pete's sake don't cut it just yet!
Take one more look at that flat iron and cheap BBB and DIE.

I love threads like this <3.

[haibane]

Lazy wrap bun. Most everything else just took its time to figure out, but the lazy wrap I do wish I had got around to sooner.

[Vanille_]

-Stop putting your hair in a pony tail everyday. Switch between buns with hair sticks and braids.
-Do NOT go to the nearest store and buy a bunch of stuff. Buy something and try it for a week before moving on.
-Whatever your hair type, accept it and own it. You have waves, don't expect 1a.
-Buy a sleep cap. Your hair will get less damage at night.
-If you dye your hair, don't just wash the scalp. You will get a very uneven fade.

ETA: I love this thread. I'm getting so many good ideas in just one place.

[HylianGirl]

Your hair is not straight, and it will look nice if you stop treating it as if it were, don't brush it, specially when it's dry, that's the reason why your curls don't appear and you end up with "rebellious hair".

Stop straightening you hair with the blowfrier and iron everyday! When you learn to accept your texture your hair will look better than ever! And why the hell do you use more shampoo than conditioner? Also, go buy coconut oil!

[spidermom]

Look at the dates on threads. Pulling up and responding to threads started in 2008 isn't really helpful, especially when they were started by someone having a temporary crisis.

[Oksana]

1. Listen to LHC members and don't have a brazilian keratin treatment.
2. Don't go back to Brunette again! Remember the hassle last time? it will be worse.
3. Don't go to the hairdresser and instead start self trimming.
4. Check out the CO thread :)

[gretchen_hair]

*Don't try everything at once*!

*Give new routines a chance to work*

*Look out for good advice and know when some advice is bogus*

[Libbylou]

Think back 40 years ago when you had TB length hair and how healthy it was. What did you do differently? Well you shampooed every other day, shampoo's were much simpler, you didn't own any heat appliances, conditioner was called cream rinse and was to be diluted. Don't forget what you ate then either. Mostly home grown food, rarely, very rarely fast food. Go back to basics Lib!

[auroraclio]

Stop cutting your bangs, you will only hate them and grow them out again for 6 months before missing them. Seriously....stop cutting them, you look better without!

[chai-blue]

hair can always grow back...
don't get scissor happy...:eyebrows:
and moisturize, moisturize, moisturize! haha

[Mairéad]

Buy a clarifying shampoo.