A Newbie's Goal Thread

[Rora]

Well, obviously I'm new here. :D I've wanted long hair ever since I was a child and kept a strictly chin-length 'do. I've been able to grow it down to mid-chest, but as its very fine and wavy, it both breaks and tangles easily. I've been using the water-only method for several years now, which was a huge boost to my hair's health. Recently, I've moved to a colder climate and it seems more breakable. Maybe that's just the water here though?

My desire is to grow it waist length. That's a lofty goal for someone with my hair and height, but I'm willing to experiment until I find something that works.

I've used henna before and it was fantastic on my hair. I was only disappointed it seemed to fade so quickly: I'd probably want to use it at least once a month to get the results I want.

Any tips on strength or length are welcome, and in the meantime, I'll be trawling (not trolling!) the forum for ideas and reporting on my experiments.

[caadam]

Water alone sometimes causes dryness, but it could also have a lot to do with the hardness of your water.

If this be the case, you might want to try chelating some of those minerals off your hair. You can do this with a chelating shampoo, but since you're WO (water only), you can try a citric acid rinse. You can do this with lemon juice mixed with water, or citric acid powder mixed with water.

What this will do is help to remove any mineral deposits off the hair shaft and rinse it away with the water. I suggest not letting the rinse sit in your hair or else it'll cause lightening.

Also, mineral oil helps to seal moisture to the hair shaft. I know some people are wary of mineral oil, but if it's used in small quantities, it's very beneficial. I've been using it only for two days, and I'm WO, and my hair is soft, shiny, and is like silk when I brush it with my boar bristle brush! I really like mineral oil, especially when I also have hard water that dries out my hair.

You can find mineral oil usually where the laxatives can be found in a drug store.

If you don't want to use it, there are other options. Honey moisturizes nicely, as does apple cider vinegar. You can also try other oils like extra virgin olive oil, jojoba, argan, etc. There's plenty to consider and explore. :) But if you are in a colder climate, I personally would suggest you try out mineral oil first.

Here's an article about mineral oil and its benefits with hair: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=225

[lunalocks]

Don't think getting to waist is impossible! I thought, for years, midback was my terminal. Then I began trimming only 1/4 inch every 3 months, stopped all the things that damaged my hair (elastics, even covered bands, no more ponys, no more wet bunning or wet braiding, no more hot water, no more hairdryer, etc.) and change my hair routine. I am tall, too, but made it to waist, and beyond, with healthy hair. You can too.

[Rora]

Water alone sometimes causes dryness, but it could also have a lot to do with the hardness of your water.

If this be the case, you might want to try chelating some of those minerals off your hair. You can do this with a chelating shampoo, but since you're WO (water only), you can try a citric acid rinse. You can do this with lemon juice mixed with water, or citric acid powder mixed with water.

What this will do is help to remove any mineral deposits off the hair shaft and rinse it away with the water. I suggest not letting the rinse sit in your hair or else it'll cause lightening.

Also, mineral oil helps to seal moisture to the hair shaft. I know some people are wary of mineral oil, but if it's used in small quantities, it's very beneficial. I've been using it only for two days, and I'm WO, and my hair is soft, shiny, and is like silk when I brush it with my boar bristle brush! I really like mineral oil, especially when I also have hard water that dries out my hair.

You can find mineral oil usually where the laxatives can be found in a drug store.

If you don't want to use it, there are other options. Honey moisturizes nicely, as does apple cider vinegar. You can also try other oils like extra virgin olive oil, jojoba, argan, etc. There's plenty to consider and explore. :) But if you are in a colder climate, I personally would suggest you try out mineral oil first.

Here's an article about mineral oil and its benefits with hair: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=225
The lemon juice rinse is working great so far-- I felt a difference *immediately* when I poured it on. I don't know the exact composition of the water here, but the hot water does use a water softener, and I wonder if that's what's been doing it. (I previously lived some where with well water and no water softener.)

I'm tight on cash at the moment so I've been using olive oil I already have instead of mineral oil. It's nice as long as I take a shower afterwards and it doesn't get too greasy, though I put a little on my roots afterwards.

Even though I've been doing water only for years and know a good deal about that side of things, I'm definitely new to in depth hair care in general.

Don't think getting to waist is impossible! I thought, for years, midback was my terminal. Then I began trimming only 1/4 inch every 3 months, stopped all the things that damaged my hair (elastics, even covered bands, no more ponys, no more wet bunning or wet braiding, no more hot water, no more hairdryer, etc.) and change my hair routine. I am tall, too, but made it to waist, and beyond, with healthy hair. You can too.

That is fantastic! I very occasionally flat iron my bangs, nothing else though, I know my hair can't afford it. Sometimes I can't resist the urge to pat my hair with a towel after a shower so that it doesn't drip, but hey, I'm not sure what the alternative is. I don't keep track of how often I trim, but beside some search and destroy for split ends, it must be three months minimum (I cut my own hair and time gets away from me.)

Hmmm. Hot water, you say? I do use quite a bit of that. Maybe it's time to lukewarm the showers.

[Rora]

Woohoo!! Wow, I'm a complete believer in the citric acid rinse now. Again, wow, my hair is right back to normal after months getting thinner, more brittle, shorter and greasier. This place is awesome.

Also, after months of putting it off, I finally got a container to mix henna is and am going to be doing that when I get around to it. I've done it before and had nothing but good experiences with it. I'm hopeful and curious about its effects when used more consistently. I'm looking for it to be stronger and thicker, as, if I'm correct in my research, the lawsone molecule coats and bind to the hair shaft. I'm really hoping that will help me grow it out and help halt the breakage and tangling. Any insights into henna's effect in that way would be greatly appreciated.

[Honeyfall]

Good luck, Rora! Your hair is going to be so beautiful when it's at your waist and healthy!

[Rora]

Thank you, Honeyfall!

[spookyghost]

Oooh can I join?:p I am definately a newbie and I love this site! My goal length right now is waist, maybe hip. Im currently almost at bsl. I hope that means bra strap length because I need to study the lingo!:lol: I never even realized that there is a terminal length. I just thought a persons hair would get as long as they wanted it too! So hopefully I can get mine to waist and hip.

Can I ask a question? Is henna used for more than just color? Like a conditioner or something? Im kinda lost right now with my hair care. I have this glorius site that I cant stop reading and Im getting overwhelmed. I would like to do a vinagar rinse but dont know with my hair type if I should. Instead of using its a 10 for a leave in conditioner, I would like to use Pandoras growth formula instead. I have ash blond hair with bleach highlights that I want to grow out. I have a hair appointment in a week to get my hair colored back to my normal color to help it look nicer while growing out the bleach. My hair dresser wants to know if I want to go one shade darker or lighter than ash blond. I have no idea! Is one less damaging? Would one color look more natural than the other? Or should I henna? I have heard wonderful things about henna and then a few not so wonderful things. I hear that its there to stay and it can be damaging and hard to get rid of. Im on hair overload and I just dont know what to do.

I also want to get a picture taken of my hair and put them on here for more experienced people to help me with my hair type. I have fine hair but alot of it(what I have been told). To me its just thin. Its straight and not curly. So if anyone has any knowledge to share-please do!:D

Hopefully we can all learn together and reach our goals together;)

[Dragon Faery]

Welcome, welcome! :)

To *spookyghost* and *rora*, there is a thread on Henna. I haven't learned to post links from my phone yet, but check out the Recipes, Henna, and Herbal Hair Care section of the forum. That should hopefully narrow down your searches a bit. Asking your henna questions there will probably get you tons of information without having to dig as hard for it. ;)

Again, welcome to LHC! :)