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View Full Version : A wail and a wallow



TheLuckyLurker
February 22nd, 2012, 04:56 PM
I just need to wail in despair and wallow in self-pity for a bit. this'll be long, so feel free to skip if you like :o.

First: my hair won't grow. Okay, not really. Realistically I know it's always growing, but it's at one of those awesome phases where it doesn't look or feel like it's growing. It was okay, and then I did a small trim - like one inch- months ago. It doesn't look like it's grown at all since. That would be bad enough, but the kicker is my bangs. I was starting to tired of the upkeep that comes with having blunt bangs, so when the time came to either trim or let it go, I decided to grow them out. It looks like they grew just long enough to be a royal PITA to deal with, and then stopped :angry:.

Next: my hair seems dry. I oil it religiously with coconut oil. It's okay as long as I wear it up, but if I take it down even just inside my own house within a hour it feels as dry and nasty as when I was ripping a blowdrier attachment through it all the time (and I do mean rip; I broke half the teeth off a pick attachment in about a month once. Don't worry, that was a long time ago. I know better now.). I've been experimenting with mixing the coconut oil with jojoba oil, but it's really too soon to tell if it'll work.

Which rounds into my next point: I'd like to wear my hair down once in a while, since I've found it doesn't have to be pin-straight to look nice like I always thought. That's why my goal is bra-strap length. But if the only way to avoid that straw-like effect is to keep it up all the time, then what's the point? I should just keep at the length it's at now, since I can already put it up.

Another thing: (I told you this'd be long :D) I can't use some of the advice I'm sure to get, because I don't have the stuff in the house - and now don't have the money to get it. Olive oil? Honey? Apple cider vinegar? Nope, don't have any of it. We never use any of those things, so why keep them in the house. When I decided to see if ACV could help with my dandruff (and save me having to spend $7 a bottle on the only shampoo that's ever worked for it) I had to go to the grocery store specifically to but that. And I only did because if it doesn't work I'm only out a buck. I've been thinking of trying olive oil on my hair, but it's going to take a while to talk myself into spending that kind of money. And just to complicate things further, anything that requires melting things down to mix is out, because I don't have a microwave. If I can't rub it in my hands, it's a no go.

And back to the dry hair thing for a second, I thought about shea butter. A lot. Yesterday I was already out so I stopped at my natural food store to see if they had any. They did. So I tested a little out. I touched the tip or my finger to a tiny amount and EWWW! I tried rubbing it into the skin of my other arm and double EWWW! It was sticky and greasy a the same time! EWWW EWWW EWWW! I wouldn't put that in my hair if it was free, let alone the eight bucks they wanted for it. That was nasty.

Well, I guess that's it. For the "it's not growing" thing I guess all I can do is keep it up all the time so I won't think too much about it, and I'll keep oiling and conditioning for the rest. If the ACV works I'll try CO washing. At the very least, I'm ahead of the game by being used to only washing every 3-4 days, right?

Tl;dr: I'm feeling very sorry for myself over practically nothing :rolleyes:. If you actually read all that, bless you, and thanks :flower:.

RapunzelKat
February 22nd, 2012, 05:17 PM
I'm sorry your hair is driving you nuts! :grouphug: I hate it when it seems like nothing's working :(

To combat the dryness... Have you tried doing a deep treatment with just the coconut oil you have on hand? Maybe that would help. I would definitely give the CO washing a try, or CWC, if you're not already doing so. (I'm assuming here that you already have plenty conditioner on hand, since I know you don't want to buy stuff... Boy, I know how that is! :p)

Other than that, I think wearing it up and ignoring it is a good idea. The less you think about it, the less it will bother you ;) And who knows, maybe it will magically grow while it's up! :D

Hang in there! And don't worry, those bangs will grow out eventually ;)

FrozenBritannia
February 22nd, 2012, 05:18 PM
It just takes time. :)

Long_hair_bear
February 22nd, 2012, 06:01 PM
I know you said you don't want to buy anything so this may be out, but monistat made my hair grow 1 inch last month..... It's worth a shot.

Also, if you have baby oil, a few drops on your dry ends after a shower may be worth a shot. Only use 2 or 3 drops though.... Too much is too much.

spidermom
February 22nd, 2012, 06:45 PM
One thing is for sure -- if you check for length increase constantly, you will never see it. I used to check my length about 9 times per day. No wonder I never saw progress!

I advise keeping your mind off your hair as much as possible except for once per month. You will probably see progress if you do that.

Also remember that sometimes all your longest hairs have reached the end of their growth cycles, and you won't see progress until the newer but shorter hairs grow enough to pass the current longest hairs. If you've gotten a lot of hair cuts, the current longest length may be quite short in comparison to true potential.

TheLuckyLurker
February 23rd, 2012, 04:47 PM
Thanks, everyone. I'm feeling better today. I haven't figured out the multi-quote function, so:

I've heard about Monistat, but I decided a long time ago to leave well enough alone. Especially after the biotin I tried did nothing.

I do oil my hair regularly. Once while damp after it's been towel dried, and again the next day (it's still a little damp because I damp-braid). Sometimes I do a kind of heavy oiling before I wash, if i remember ;). I would like to try CO washing; if ACV works on my scalp I'll go for it.

I haven't had many cuts. From the date I joined LHC it was almost two years before I did a trim on the ends last November for the sake of having a blunt hemline. It's still not completely blunt, but I want to get to solid APL before I trim again (barring any damage; unlikely, since I don't use heat, tangle carefully from the bottom up, and only use a comb or Tangle Teaser).

Like I said, mostly just wallowing. I went through something like this when I first started growing, and eventually I just mostly ignored it. Although I'll admit doing a happy dance whenever I notice a milestone of some kind :D:cheese:.

jacqueline101
February 23rd, 2012, 05:09 PM
Monistat is a great product for slow or no growth.

WaterMusic
February 23rd, 2012, 07:27 PM
I don't have anything to add to the already great advice so far, but to use the multi-quote function you hit the "QUOTE +" button for each post until the very last one you want to quote, when you just hit the regular "QUOTE" button. This will take you to a new reply page with all of the posts you have quoted.

Amber_Maiden
February 23rd, 2012, 07:29 PM
Patience patience.

annamoonfairy
February 23rd, 2012, 07:34 PM
Do you keep a photo hair log?

Kathie
February 23rd, 2012, 07:43 PM
Coconut oil is good for locking in protein. Not so much for moisture. Too much protein can make your hair feel dry and brittle- so perhaps lay off the coconut oil for a while... its not for everyone. Also, like others have said, it can take some time before you're hair "heals". Hang in there!

justgreen
February 23rd, 2012, 08:52 PM
What kind of products do you USE? What shampoos and conditioners? Possibly you might have build up that needs to be removed and ACV might not be getting it all off. Your hair might be 'moisture' starved and oils will not help this. My hair craves moisture and I use lots of conditioner after washing, then I add more to the length and ends while damp and leave it in.

TheLuckyLurker
February 24th, 2012, 04:38 PM
What kind of products do you USE? What shampoos and conditioners? Possibly you might have build up that needs to be removed and ACV might not be getting it all off. Your hair might be 'moisture' starved and oils will not help this. My hair craves moisture and I use lots of conditioner after washing, then I add more to the length and ends while damp and leave it in.

Until yesterday my routine was: wash with generic Selsun Blue shampoo, followed by Suave almond/shea butter conditioner -lots of it. Then after towel drying I would oil it with coconut oil and braid. The next say I would comb it out and oil it again.

Yesterday I tried something a little different: I washed with regular shampoo (suave coconut) in case there was any gunk on my scalp. Then I applied an ACV rinse and let it sit while I washed my body. After that I rinsed and did my normal conditioner routine, and this time when I oiled I used a mixture of coconut and jojoba oil. And when I combed it out and oiled it again earlier today, I used the same mixture.

I've been thinking about trying olive oil, based on the idea that maybe my hair type would benefit from a heavier oil. Do you think that's worth a try? That would definitely be more convenient than mixing two others...

If the ACV works out I plan to try CO washing, too.

Kelikea
February 24th, 2012, 04:44 PM
You could also try oil-shampoo, which would allow the coconut oil to actually penetrate the hair shaft instead of coating it. Try washing once with either the selsun blue or the suave. Then wash again with a mixture of the suave 1:1 with water and a tsp of melted coconut oil. Follow with diluted acv rinse.