Is this goal unrealistic?

[ectothermicfaun]

So in my quest to have healthy-at-last hair, I shared some of what i learned here with my mother. And shes old school so I dont blame her, but she said that my goals are entirely unrealistic. And Id like to know if you longhairs out there feel that is true.

So my goals for my iii hair are to be able to run 3 fingers through it from the back of my head all the way to the end at bsl without getting caught up in the snaggles. (and eventually cut off my died ends too but thats a secondary) Im APL now so its not really so much about the bsl so much as about the health of it. Is that unrealistic?

My mom feels it cant be done because the split ends that cause the snaggles are inevitable at that length. But I see pics of you guys with what appears to be very unsnaggly hair at far longer than that.

And my current plan is to try to salvage as much of the dyed part as possible using S&D and a good routine untill it reaches BSL then start cutting off the dye as it grows untill its all natural. You think that will work? Or should I cut as much of the dye off now as I can stand, then grow and cut it out as it grows at my current length?

[BeckyAH]

Split ends aren't inevitable for everyone at that length of hair (or even longer). However, if your hair is leaning coarse and wavy, you are going to have a danged hard time keeping it completely tangle free. Detangle it, yes, but keep it that way all day if it's down? Far, far, harder to accomplish.

Re; Trimming damage at one go or a bit at a time? Totally personal. I'm a 'whack it off in one go' person. Some people aren't. Both sorts eventually get there.

[torrilin]

Seems realistic to me, since I have fine and split prone hair and it's at waist length and I can detangle it with just my fingers. I can't just run my fingers through tangled hair, and ALL long hair tangles, but I can on detangled hair. Since I loathe tangles, I usually keep my hair up so it can't make a mess.

Yes, splits are inevitable. But on my hair, they're inevitable with a pixie cut! Judicious regular trims will keep them beaten down to a level where tangles are not ridiculous to deal with.

As someone with m/c hair, you'll deal with fewer splits and tangles than I do. Your hair will be sturdier and can take more abuse. If splits and tangles are your worst nightmare, you'll want to do some regular trimming. But really the biggest thing for tangle prevention is wearing your hair up.

[spidermom]

It would be impossible for me even at BSL without a lot of coney serum.

[darklyndsea]

I don't think I've been able to run my fingers through my hair without problems since before APL, even when it's split-free. My hair is very tangle-prone, though, so depending on how your hair acts it might be a realistic goal for you; I don't know. Just be aware that it's not necessarily an indication of hair health.

[moxamoll]

I don't think I've been able to run my fingers through my hair without problems since before APL, even when it's split-free. My hair is very tangle-prone, though, so depending on how your hair acts it might be a realistic goal for you; I don't know. Just be aware that it's not necessarily an indication of hair health.

This! I don't get a lot of split ends and my hair is pretty darn healthy, but I could only run my fingers through my length like that directly after detangling. Just moving around causes the individual hairs to move past each other and start to tangle. That doesn't mean that it's unhealthy! Of course, if you have thicker individual strands, it may be more reasonable than for a fine-y like me.

[BlazingHeart]

At that length, I could run my hands through my hair. It really depends on how tangle prone your hair is.

Also, until you finish cutting out the dye, you may not be able to. Dyed hair tends to be more tangle-prone.

[Seeshami]

I haven't been able to run my fingers through the naughty mess with out making him cranky since shoulder length. But the naughty mess is evil spoiled rotten hair that hates everything.

[Madora]

Better to remove the dyed ends and be able to enjoy your hair. If you're constantly battling tangles because of the dye..and, of course, dealing with detangling all the time, your hair would benefit by cutting off the dye.

While your hair is growing, you could at least protect it at night by wearing a satin sleep cap.

Enjoying long hair boils down to treating it gently and patiently..and avoiding tangles whenever possible.

[AnqeIicDemise]

My hair tangles if you look at it cross eyed and in the right light. Especially the finer, bleached sections of the under canopy. The top parts are usually okay. I do have a hankering that after a certain length it's just a natural part of life. i can only run my fingers through my freshly detangled hair but if I were to let it air dry completely or just let it be for a few hours.. yeah, we got problems, Houston.

[xoxophelia]

I may have somewhat similar hair and even with longer length AND old dyed/fried ends I can run my fingers from root to tip without snags (except in the front pieces which have hardly been trimmed in years due to growing out bangs). That is even after I sleep with it down. So, it might depend on your hair but I don't think it is unrealistic if your hair isn't tangle prone to begin with. For some people no matter how healthy their hair is it will tangle while others can have some damage and it still won't. I guess the answer is "it depends."

[Quixii]

I wouldn't say that it's entirely unrealistic, but.. Well, I just think that hair's "snaggly-ness" isn't determined only by split ends.
For example, I have curly hair. I wouldn't ever be able to run my fingers through my hair, just because curly hair likes to form clumps as part of it's nature. It's not because of damage.

So I think the idea of healthy hair at any length is not unrealistic. However, using tangle-free-ness as your measure of healthy hair may be unrealistic.

[Mesmerise]

I agree with others. Whether or not your hair tangles easily is entirely to do with the structure of your hair, and it's sort of impossible to predict. My daughter has SL, fine, shiny hair (but thick) and you wouldn't think it would be that tangly...but it is NIGHTMARE HAIR. I have no idea why it is so tangly! It's not the health of it (it's virgin hair only SL in length)... it's just... I dunno, super, super tangly.

So I DO believe you can have healthy BSL hair that is mostly free of splits (after the dye is cut out) but whether or not it tangles is down to the type of hair you've got.

I think it's a nice idea to grow your hair to BSL and then maintain the length by regular trimming while you watch your hair improve in health over time!

[trolleypup]

I don't think it is unrealistic, certainly not at that length, and with judicious trimming/S&d of the damaged parts. So long as your hair isn't too split prone, with good care, the number of splits at BSL shouldn't be that bad...for example, even with my neglect of s&d (more than a month) and detangling (3 days?), in hair that has been up except for sleeping, I can run my fingers through well past BSL. My splits and damage that catch lint and results in tangles are mostly at or beyond classic.

[Bagginslover]

Not at all unrealistic with your hair type (if you have correctly typed that is ;) )

[Juanita]

I can and mines between waist and hip but is thin fine and stick straight. Now it is totally dye free it doesn't tangle much. But I usually wear it braided or up in a bun most of the time. Am just getting back to more regular oiling now our weather is coming into the dry season.

[florenonite]

What do you mean by it not snagging? I have a similar hair type and am about an inch shy of BSL. I use coconut oil liberally pre-wash and I detangle when I remember (which is very rarely). I can run my fingers through my hair without them getting stuck, but they do catch on hair and I have to slow down and go gently. I think that's just a product of my hair being long enough that the strands move and don't lie flat. So, yes, I think it's certainly realistic for you to be able to run your fingers to the ends without getting stuck on splits and tangles, but I doubt it'll be completely smooth.

[Dr. Girlfriend]

My hair is BSL and in pretty good shape and it still snags a bit. I think it's more due to the fact it's wurly though.

[Deborah]

I think this differs from person to person. When I have just brushed my hair out, I can definitely run my fingers all the way to the bottom, and my hair is right at tailbone length. This is how I know the tangles are all out. But, my hair is extremely fine and straight, and it has lots of natural slip. If your hair texture is a lot different, you may have a different experience.

[Tisiloves]

I would say not unrealistic , but it depends on your hair. I can barely do it on mine and I'm not even APL, straight hair is, apparently, no guarantee of tangle free hair.

[earthnut]

So my goals for my iii hair are to be able to run 3 fingers through it from the back of my head all the way to the end at bsl without getting caught up in the snaggles. (and eventually cut off my died ends too but thats a secondary) Im APL now so its not really so much about the bsl so much as about the health of it. Is that unrealistic?
It's not at all unrealistic. I'm running all 4 fingers through my BSL hair right now. My fingers go through like butter with no snags at all. My hair is similar to yours but a lot curlier. If I can do it, you can do it.

It's not just about your hair type and length, but what you use in your hair. You'll have to experiment with different products and washing routines to find what products work best to give you the results you want.

My main goal is healthy hair as well, with also the least work and the most natural products. I've been using water and oil only recently and I'm tangle-free.

[vindo]

My siggie pic on the left - my hair was classic length and I barely even had one split and it did not tangle much at all. :)

Right now, I do have a moderate amount of splits (ever since I had to take meds), but my hair still does not tangle easily, maybe a bit more then back then.

It is very possible!