Please Allow Me To Introduce Myself...

[mckenzie]

I am new to the community as of this month & after reading through so much great advice I am excited to be part of it.
I currently have APL very fine, thin hair and my mini-goal is BSL. The overall condition of my hair is pretty bad, and for this reason I'm never really comfortable with my hair down.
It's usually up in a messy bun or a pony. I inadvertently started using a sulfate free shampoo about 8 months ago, and realized just about a month ago that my hair is looking better than usual. My hemline no longer has an inverted v, and I no longer have any split ends. I can only attribute this to the new shampoo, as all my other routines have been the same.
So I decided to see if I could finally grow my hair longer...and here I am. Since lurking around here I have started alternating between CO washing and CWC, stopped blowdrying, and am in general more aware of the abuse I have put my hair through in the past, trying to prevent further damage. I have been lightly highlighting my hair in the past, but never more than twice a year. (Hopefully I can continue this and still be successful at growing my hair out.)
I have noticed that I have tons of breakage of the upper layer of my hair, where my ponytail is usually fastened (ouchless), so I am committed to finding other ways to keep my hair up from now on.
I always used to think that my hair just genetically could not grow longer than APL, and maybe that's the case, but I'm going to give it my best to see if I can finally have longer hair. I realize that I will never have the kind of hair that people admire, or that even looks specifically good long, but I'm ok with that. There are plenty of people I know of with long, both fine and thin hair that looks good to me.
I will try to upload a pic with this post, hopefully I can figure it out...
A few questions:
1. My hair looks a lot worse air-dried (as opposed to blow-dried), is that something that can possibly improve with time?
2. Is it common to have a terminal length of around APL? (My big fear)
3. Why is my hair so dry when I'm sulfate & cone free and moisturize like crazy?
4. The last 3 inches or so of my hair is sort of see-throughish, does that mean I HAVE to cut it if I want to grow it out?

Sorry for the long post, I would really appreciate if someone took the time to give me some input!

Thanks a lot! I love long hair!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/81017092@N02/7424913042/

[mckenzie]

well, I failed at uploading picture again. I will put photo in avatar for now, until I figure it out!

[GoblinTart]

I am new to the community as of this month & after reading through so much great advice I am excited to be part of it.
I currently have APL very fine, thin hair and my mini-goal is BSL. The overall condition of my hair is pretty bad, and for this reason I'm never really comfortable with my hair down.
It's usually up in a messy bun or a pony. I inadvertently started using a sulfate free shampoo about 8 months ago, and realized just about a month ago that my hair is looking better than usual. My hemline no longer has an inverted v, and I no longer have any split ends. I can only attribute this to the new shampoo, as all my other routines have been the same.
So I decided to see if I could finally grow my hair longer...and here I am. Since lurking around here I have started alternating between CO washing and CWC, stopped blowdrying, and am in general more aware of the abuse I have put my hair through in the past, trying to prevent further damage. I have been lightly highlighting my hair in the past, but never more than twice a year. (Hopefully I can continue this and still be successful at growing my hair out.)
I have noticed that I have tons of breakage of the upper layer of my hair, where my ponytail is usually fastened (ouchless), so I am committed to finding other ways to keep my hair up from now on.
I always used to think that my hair just genetically could not grow longer than APL, and maybe that's the case, but I'm going to give it my best to see if I can finally have longer hair. I realize that I will never have the kind of hair that people admire, or that even looks specifically good long, but I'm ok with that. There are plenty of people I know of with long, both fine and thin hair that looks good to me.
I will try to upload a pic with this post, hopefully I can figure it out...
A few questions:
1. My hair looks a lot worse air-dried (as opposed to blow-dried), is that something that can possibly improve with time? possibly. If your hair is poofy or frizzy when air dried, smooth and sleek when heat dried, then maybe the longer it grows, the more it gets weighed down. When my hair is short, It's rather poofy. The longer the length, the less poofy it looks. I think It's the weight of the hair bringing it down.
2. Is it common to have a terminal length of around APL? (My big fear) common? No. Possible? Yes. But, how often did you trim? How much damage were your old habits causing? Once you start babying your hair, you should see some growth. If after a year it hasn't grown, and you don't see apparent damage, then you can start stressing over short terminal length. But for now, take a deep breath, and let go of the worrying.
3. Why is my hair so dry when I'm sulfate & cone free and moisturize like crazy? how are you moisturizing? Not everyone's hair likes the same stuff. My hair gets dry and crunchy from olive oil, yet coconut oil makes my hair feel silky smooth. Other people have the opposite effect. Right now, you'll probably be doing a lot of experimenting on your hair. Jojoba? Coconut? Olive? Vinegar rinses? Cones? No cones? Protein? No protein? Experiment! It's fun to discover what works and what doesn't!
4. The last 3 inches or so of my hair is sort of see-throughish, does that mean I HAVE to cut it if I want to grow it out? are the ends damaged that you can see? If not, leave it alone. If you feel you have to cut, do microtrims. Some hairs grow much slower than others, resulting in what LHCers call fairytail ends. Your hairs eventually catch up to eachother though. Don't despair!

Sorry for the long post, I would really appreciate if someone took the time to give me some input!
Thanks a lot! I love long hair!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/81017092@N02/7424913042/

happy growing!

[mckenzie]

Thank You!

[Alvrodul]

First, welcome to LHC!
It is good that you have found one item that clearly has a negative impact on your hair's health and removed it from your routine - even if this was accidental! ;)
From your post, it seems to me that a fair amount of your breakage comes from always having your hair up in the same style. I would recommend that you start experimenting with updos and with alternative methods of securing your updos. There are so many fun options there, and there are a ton of threads over in the "Conventional products and hair accessories" forum!
Damage accumulates, once you have damaged hair, the only way to get rid of it is to grow it out and trim it away. And highlighting (bleach!! :shocked:) is damaging, no way around it. But there are ways of minimizing the damage, and help camouflage it - coconut oil is one thing that is very popular for this, as it helps prevent protein loss, which would likely be an issue for highlighted hair. Cones helps camouflage damage, but since the shampoo that you presently use is sulfate-free, this would likely lead to buildup. Instead, I'd suggest you look into oiling your hair after washing: Spread a drop of oil over your hands and then gently smooth it over your length and ends. Finding the right oil can be an adventure - a couple of the more popular oils are coconut oil or almond oil - I use argan oil.
There are members here who do bleach or highlight their hair, and this works for them.
You do not need to trim off all the thin bits all at once - try microtrimming maybe half your growth each month - you will still gain length, but your thin ends and the damaged parts of your hair will be trimmed away.

[Alvrodul]

When you want to put a picture in your post: Upload the picture to a site like Photobucket, right-click on the picture and select "Copy image location", position your cursor where you want the picture and click on the button with the little landscape, and paste the image URL into the box that appears. Voilá! :D

[mckenzie]

Alvrodul- Thanks a bunch for your input. If damage from bleach cannot be avoided, I might have to rethink. I will go out to day and get some oil, I have heard wonderful things about Argan oil from a friend, so I might try that first! Microtrimming makes sense, thanks!

[Alvrodul]

Alvrodul- Thanks a bunch for your input. If damage from bleach cannot be avoided, I might have to rethink. I will go out to day and get some oil, I have heard wonderful things about Argan oil from a friend, so I might try that first! Microtrimming makes sense, thanks!
Start with coconut oil, since that helps prevent protein loss (which is likely to be very good for your hair) and is considerably cheaper and easier to get. And if it doesn't work on your hair you can always use it for cooking! :D

[mckenzie]

ok, coconut oil it is! :-)

[Alvrodul]

Oh, and mckenzie - if you would like to try out various oils without busting your budget on big bottles, try Nightblooming's oil samples (http://www.etsy.com/listing/98643637/natural-oil-samples-132-ounce)! ;)

[mckenzie]

SandraJo- Thank you for making me feel less stressed out! I will experiment with oils, sounds like fun actually! There's no visible damage to my ends, and no splits, just looks thin! Thanks for all your info, greatly appreciate it!

[mckenzie]

Oh, and mckenzie - if you would like to try out various oils without busting your budget on big bottles, try Nightblooming's oil samples (http://www.etsy.com/listing/98643637/natural-oil-samples-132-ounce)! ;)

Great! Thanks
You guys are sooo nice! :)

[mckenzie]

Alvrodul,

I can't access albums, too few posts I assume, but your braid in your signature is BEAUTIFUL!

[Alvrodul]

One great recommendation while you are in an experimental phase: Don't drop a ton of changes on your hair all at once - it is likely to freak out from the shock alone! Introduce ONE change, and see how your hair likes this. If your hair is still happy after about 2 weeks, introduce the next change you want to try out.
This way you can find out just which things your hair really likes and dislikes.

[mckenzie]

One great recommendation while you are in an experimental phase: Don't drop a ton of changes on your hair all at once - it is likely to freak out from the shock alone! Introduce ONE change, and see how your hair likes this. If your hair is still happy after about 2 weeks, introduce the next change you want to try out.
This way you can find out just which things your hair really likes and dislikes.

Makes sense, and i'm actually guilty of this. Been experimenting with so many different products in the past few weeks, no wonder my hair looks frizzy. Thanks for the reminder:o

[PolarCathy]

Just wanted to welcome you ;)

[mckenzie]

wow, great! will try!

[mckenzie]

Just wanted to welcome you ;)

Thank you!:)

[mckenzie]

When you want to put a picture in your post: Upload the picture to a site like Photobucket, right-click on the picture and select "Copy image location", position your cursor where you want the picture and click on the button with the little landscape, and paste the image URL into the box that appears. Voilá! :D

wow, finally! I will try! Thank you:D

[Allychan]

Hello
There was one quote inyour initial post I'd like to address: " I realize that I will never have the kind of hair that people admire, or that even looks specifically good long, but I'm ok with that " From personal experience, don't write yourself off just yet. My hair when I started out a year and a half ago was never worn down and it always looked shockingly bad. Last week I blowdried my hair for the first time in 1.5yrs and I was shocked (as were my friends) at how good my hair looks. I've made sooo many changes, one at a time, and starting to reap the benefits. I want long hair so I refuse to cut off the damage and will trim it when I get to my goal. My point is keep going forward, check your progress, make the adjustments and great hair will follow. If you follow the many suggestions on this forum you can't go wrong.
ps photo upload is not working for anyone at the moment has been down for three mths. Hopefully it will get working soon. My progress shots are in my blog address below

[GoblinTart]

SandraJo- Thank you for making me feel less stressed out! I will experiment with oils, sounds like fun actually! There's no visible damage to my ends, and no splits, just looks thin! Thanks for all your info, greatly appreciate it!

No damage? Leave it alone, or do microtrimming. Microtrimming is where you trim off just a teensy bit on the ends. *holds forefinger and thumb really really close togethet while squinting* just that much. If your hair is cooperative, you can do a month to month measuring and figure out how fast your hair grows, then just microtrim a small portion of that growth each month. My hair gains and loses inches every time I measure. Darned curls never laying the same way twice! I ended up making a growth gauge for myself. What is a growth gauge you ask? It's something I made up! Although I'm sure others have done it before. I took a small strand of hair, in a place I wouldn't mindit being in case anything went drastically wrong, and so It's not obvious, and bleached it. I can get a more accurate measurement of how much growth I have from that. I grew 5/8 inch this month! Yay! Since I have dark hair, It's easy to see the demarcation line. Makes a cool stripe in my buns when i twist them right too. :) It's a way for me to see that my hair is growing, even though it looks the same as last month. I have it right behind my ear, and it is a very small strand, so once I reach my mini goal of BSL, I'll probably cut it out. Maybe. I don't know yet.

But, anyways, back to you...don't stress. A lot of ladies here go with the ignore it philosophy. Take care of it, baby it, throw it up in a bun and forget about it. Which is actually a good idea. When i was required by the military to keep my hair up, I started at about....shoulder length I think? We went to Iraq, and I honestly had no time to obsess over my hair. Wash, condition, bun, and go. When we got back a year later, I got to wear my hair down off duty and realized I was past BSL! Where did that come from? Not obsessing really helps. Just make hair care a routine thing. Like brushing your teeth. eventually, you'll just look up and be like, wow! My hair got really long! I don't even look at my hair anymore. I measure once a month, but refuse to look at how long it actually is. I'm waiting for the day I look up and get that wow feeling.

[mckenzie]

When you want to put a picture in your post: Upload the picture to a site like Photobucket, right-click on the picture and select "Copy image location", position your cursor where you want the picture and click on the button with the little landscape, and paste the image URL into the box that appears. Voilá! :D


Hello
There was one quote inyour initial post I'd like to address: " I realize that I will never have the kind of hair that people admire, or that even looks specifically good long, but I'm ok with that " From personal experience, don't write yourself off just yet. My hair when I started out a year and a half ago was never worn down and it always looked shockingly bad. Last week I blowdried my hair for the first time in 1.5yrs and I was shocked (as were my friends) at how good my hair looks. I've made sooo many changes, one at a time, and starting to reap the benefits. I want long hair so I refuse to cut off the damage and will trim it when I get to my goal. My point is keep going forward, check your progress, make the adjustments and great hair will follow. If you follow the many suggestions on this forum you can't go wrong.
ps photo upload is not working for anyone at the moment has been down for three mths. Hopefully it will get working soon. My progress shots are in my blog address below
Yay for hope! Thank you for sharing this with me, I really appreciate it!

[mckenzie]

No damage? Leave it alone, or do microtrimming. Microtrimming is where you trim off just a teensy bit on the ends. *holds forefinger and thumb really really close togethet while squinting* just that much. If your hair is cooperative, you can do a month to month measuring and figure out how fast your hair grows, then just microtrim a small portion of that growth each month. My hair gains and loses inches every time I measure. Darned curls never laying the same way twice! I ended up making a growth gauge for myself. What is a growth gauge you ask? It's something I made up! Although I'm sure others have done it before. I took a small strand of hair, in a place I wouldn't mindit being in case anything went drastically wrong, and so It's not obvious, and bleached it. I can get a more accurate measurement of how much growth I have from that. I grew 5/8 inch this month! Yay! Since I have dark hair, It's easy to see the demarcation line. Makes a cool stripe in my buns when i twist them right too. :) It's a way for me to see that my hair is growing, even though it looks the same as last month. I have it right behind my ear, and it is a very small strand, so once I reach my mini goal of BSL, I'll probably cut it out. Maybe. I don't know yet.

But, anyways, back to you...don't stress. A lot of ladies here go with the ignore it philosophy. Take care of it, baby it, throw it up in a bun and forget about it. Which is actually a good idea. When i was required by the military to keep my hair up, I started at about....shoulder length I think? We went to Iraq, and I honestly had no time to obsess over my hair. Wash, condition, bun, and go. When we got back a year later, I got to wear my hair down off duty and realized I was past BSL! Where did that come from? Not obsessing really helps. Just make hair care a routine thing. Like brushing your teeth. eventually, you'll just look up and be like, wow! My hair got really long! I don't even look at my hair anymore. I measure once a month, but refuse to look at how long it actually is. I'm waiting for the day I look up and get that wow feeling.
This was all very helpful to read.. especially the part of not obsessing- I will keep it in mind. I think its a great idea to bleach a little section off, at least a few strands! i find it hard to measure, and know if I'm being accurate.
Thanks for your service in Iraq:Star:

[GoblinTart]

This was all very helpful to read.. especially the part of not obsessing- I will keep it in mind. I think its a great idea to bleach a little section off, at least a few strands! i find it hard to measure, and know if I'm being accurate.
Thanks for your service in Iraq:Star:

This is my strand. Don't worry, It's not Orange from bleach. It's henna. It was originally blonde.

http:////i123.photobucket.com/albums/o310/ophaelea/IMAG0481.jpg

[mckenzie]

This is my strand. Don't worry, It's not Orange from bleach. It's henna. It was originally blonde.

http:////i123.photobucket.com/albums/o310/ophaelea/IMAG0481.jpg

Cool, it actually looks good too! :cool:

[poppy81]

Hello there,
when I was reading your post it sounded like I had written it! It seems you have the same hair as mine but after looking at your avatar photo yours is much thicker than mine, more of it and longer. The changes you have made to your hair with sulfate free shampoo etc..Ive done the same. I have felt the same with you regarding hair not growing below a certain length. I've always felt that my hair doesn't grow past a certain length and I gave up in thinking I could have long hair. But now when I look back at photos of myself from two years ago, my hair was past APL. (It is now just past shoulders after I chopped it late last year which I still did love mind you).
But now I want to give it a go in growing long hair again to see how long it can get with looking after it better and treatments etc..I do highlight my hair but I think I can reduce the amount of damage with what I am learning on here. Anyway, I just wanted to say hello from another thin, fine haired girl and it's nice to have you join us!

[mckenzie]

Hello there,
when I was reading your post it sounded like I had written it! It seems you have the same hair as mine but after looking at your avatar photo yours is much thicker than mine, more of it and longer. The changes you have made to your hair with sulfate free shampoo etc..Ive done the same. I have felt the same with you regarding hair not growing below a certain length. I've always felt that my hair doesn't grow past a certain length and I gave up in thinking I could have long hair. But now when I look back at photos of myself from two years ago, my hair was past APL. (It is now just past shoulders after I chopped it late last year which I still did love mind you).
But now I want to give it a go in growing long hair again to see how long it can get with looking after it better and treatments etc..I do highlight my hair but I think I can reduce the amount of damage with what I am learning on here. Anyway, I just wanted to say hello from another thin, fine haired girl and it's nice to have you join us!

Thanks! I'm so happy to have a fine-haired friend here! Do you have a picture? Hopefully we can both reach our goals of growing a little longer this time! Do you use any oils? About what you said about my hair being much thicker... it really is very thin, when my hair is wet it looks like I have 4 strands of hair;)

[bunzfan]

Just wanted to say welcome and your learn so much here just read the articles at first and take it from there, my hair was your length when i joined and had stopped growing.

[Teazel]

Welcome to LHC! Don't worry, there are plenty of people here with your hair type and drop-dead gorgeous hair. And from what I can see of your avatar, you don't look anywhere near terminal. :)

[mckenzie]

Just wanted to say welcome and your learn so much here just read the articles at first and take it from there, my hair was your length when i joined and had stopped growing.

Hi & thanks! I looked at your growth progress, very inspiring! :)

[mckenzie]

Welcome to LHC! Don't worry, there are plenty of people here with your hair type and drop-dead gorgeous hair. And from what I can see of your avatar, you don't look anywhere near terminal. :)

Thank you for making me feel more reassured and hopeful!
Your hair is beautiful!

[poppy81]

Thanks! I'm so happy to have a fine-haired friend here! Do you have a picture? Hopefully we can both reach our goals of growing a little longer this time! Do you use any oils? About what you said about my hair being much thicker... it really is very thin, when my hair is wet it looks like I have 4 strands of hair;)

I do have a picture, I will try and upload it. Be patient with me as I am new to this too and figuring out how to use the forum still. :-) I am currently using argan oil on my hair which seems to be taking out my fluffy frizzies, and I do a heavy oiling overnight with a product called 'mira oil' which I do 3 times a week. You look like you have thin hair but alot of it? I could be wrong but it looks heaps thicker than mine. When I post a pic you can see what I mean. When my hair is wet it looks the same, 4 strands! I hope we can reach our hair goals together, and follow each others progress that would be great.

[jacqueline101]

Welcome monistat oils are a girls friend.

[poppy81]

Thanks! I'm so happy to have a fine-haired friend here! Do you have a picture? Hopefully we can both reach our goals of growing a little longer this time! Do you use any oils? About what you said about my hair being much thicker... it really is very thin, when my hair is wet it looks like I have 4 strands of hair;)

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u61/matildaandi/hair/IMG_27381.jpg

Hope this works..

[mckenzie]

I do have a picture, I will try and upload it. Be patient with me as I am new to this too and figuring out how to use the forum still. :-) I am currently using argan oil on my hair which seems to be taking out my fluffy frizzies, and I do a heavy oiling overnight with a product called 'mira oil' which I do 3 times a week. You look like you have thin hair but alot of it? I could be wrong but it looks heaps thicker than mine. When I post a pic you can see what I mean. When my hair is wet it looks the same, 4 strands! I hope we can reach our hair goals together, and follow each others progress that would be great.

I was complaining to a hairdresser once about having thin hair, and he said "your hair is not thin but fine and you have a lot of it.. "Maybe there's some truth to that, although It feels really thin to me. I don't think your hair looks that thin. You seem to have thicker hair down to shouder and a little past, I think it can look really good if you take care of it while you grow it out :) I will track my growth and overall condition with monthly pics. The avatar pic is my starting point.


Welcome monistat oils are a girls friend.

Thanks! :D

[poppy81]

I was complaining to a hairdresser once about having thin hair, and he said "your hair is not thin but fine and you have a lot of it.. "Maybe there's some truth to that, although It feels really thin to me. I don't think your hair looks that thin. You seem to have thicker hair down to shouder and a little past, I think it can look really good if you take care of it while you grow it out :) I will track my growth and overall condition with monthly pics. The avatar pic is my starting point.

That's exactly what I was saying, although I haven't felt your hair. I look forward to seeing your monthly growth pictures. I think I am going to do 3 monthly update photos. Lets grow our hair together. I guess you are right about my hair, it's mostly just thin at the ends.

[anachronic]

Good growing!

[ladylowtide]

I agree with other posters about not writing yourself off yet. I've only been on LHC since late last year and my hair exploded in length and thickness since then. I have tons of new tapered point (never been cut) hairs sprouting up everywhere. So don't resign yourself until you wait a bit and experiment methodically!

IMO APL would be a very uncommon terminal length. I imagine it would start to look very tapered at about chin, which your hair does not. I think plenty of people can have waist to classic terminals while still abusing and mistreating there hair, so if you treat it right, you've got the odds in your favor.

[gracenotes]

This might have already been addressed, but you mentioned your hair looks worse when it's airdried-- do you mean that it is frizzy and won't lay right? If so, you might secretly have wavy hair! Some wave patterns only start to show up as the hair gets longer, and can look like frizz and weird bumps when the hair is shorter, especially if it is dry or damaged.. CO also helps to coax waves into hair that seems straight but isn't :) If the problem is with frizz, you might try putting your hair in a bun or a braid (not too tight!) as it dries. I have some problems with frizz and this has helped to get my hair to lay right :)

I second the suggestion of oiling!

Oh, and welcome! :D

[mckenzie]

That's exactly what I was saying, although I haven't felt your hair. I look forward to seeing your monthly growth pictures. I think I am going to do 3 monthly update photos. Lets grow our hair together. I guess you are right about my hair, it's mostly just thin at the ends.


Yes, let's grow together! :D


I agree with other posters about not writing yourself off yet. I've only been on LHC since late last year and my hair exploded in length and thickness since then. I have tons of new tapered point (never been cut) hairs sprouting up everywhere. So don't resign yourself until you wait a bit and experiment methodically!

IMO APL would be a very uncommon terminal length. I imagine it would start to look very tapered at about chin, which your hair does not. I think plenty of people can have waist to classic terminals while still abusing and mistreating there hair, so if you treat it right, you've got the odds in your favor.

Thanks for the encouraging words! Very inspiring :)


This might have already been addressed, but you mentioned your hair looks worse when it's airdried-- do you mean that it is frizzy and won't lay right? If so, you might secretly have wavy hair! Some wave patterns only start to show up as the hair gets longer, and can look like frizz and weird bumps when the hair is shorter, especially if it is dry or damaged.. CO also helps to coax waves into hair that seems straight but isn't :) If the problem is with frizz, you might try putting your hair in a bun or a braid (not too tight!) as it dries. I have some problems with frizz and this has helped to get my hair to lay right :)

I second the suggestion of oiling!

Oh, and welcome! :D
:) I've actually had a sneaking suspicion that waves are trying to form, but never equated that with frizziness. I will try to bun it next time I wash, will be interesting to see what happens. I am really frustrated with the crazy frizziness since dropping the blowdryer!
Thanks ;)

[Alexblue]

I've been quickly reading and there's already a lot of great advice, especially oiling. Coconut oil is a great one to start with, just make sure it is 100% unrefined (not hydrogenated). First time I purchased jojoba oil I just grabbed a small bottle without reading the ingredient list. It actually contained more than a dozen other ingredients!
However, if coconut oil does not work then do not be discouraged and try another, perhaps shea or jojoba. The Night Blooming hair salves (http://www.etsy.com/shop/NightBlooming) are also to die for!

The frizziness may also be caused by hidden waves, not damage. As a fun experiment, do not towel dry your hair next time you wash, just wrap it soaking wet in a t-shirt for 10min. Then add a little oil and scrunch the ends. After that resist the urge to touch your hair and let it air dry, not even finger combing. That will encourage any waves if you have them and reduce frizz at the same time. If there is frizz, you can always add a touch more oil when it's 85-95% dry (that's what I do).

Lastly, just some words of encouragement. The last 4 inches of my hair are thin and I thought beyond repair. I too was ready to just chop them off but if you do not see split ends, I encourage you to keep them and just do 1/4 inch dustings a month. The light oilings I've been using (coupled with occasional AVR) have help smoothed the hair and return much of its softness. Now, slowly but surely, I am seeing improvement though it's not an overnight success and I still envy so many of the lovely tresses on LHC. Keep with it! You do not look anywhere near terminal. And see this thread (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=75468) for some inspiration with thin ends.

[Arden]

SandraJo- Thank you for making me feel less stressed out! I will experiment with oils, sounds like fun actually! There's no visible damage to my ends, and no splits, just looks thin! Thanks for all your info, greatly appreciate it!

I dont know if anyone has said this yet cause I've not read threw the whole thread yet but .....the "thin" look might be too heavy a product?

Have you done your hair typing offically?


I've been quickly reading and there's already a lot of great advice, especially oiling. Coconut oil is a great one to start with, just make sure it is 100% unrefined (not hydrogenated). First time I purchased jojoba oil I just grabbed a small bottle without reading the ingredient list. It actually contained more than a dozen other ingredients!
However, if coconut oil does not work then do not be discouraged and try another, perhaps shea or jojoba. The Night Blooming hair salves (http://www.etsy.com/shop/NightBlooming) are also to die for!

The frizziness may also be caused by hidden waves, not damage. As a fun experiment, do not towel dry your hair next time you wash, just wrap it soaking wet in a t-shirt for 10min. Then add a little oil and scrunch the ends. After that resist the urge to touch your hair and let it air dry, not even finger combing. That will encourage any waves if you have them and reduce frizz at the same time. If there is frizz, you can always add a touch more oil when it's 85-95% dry (that's what I do).

Lastly, just some words of encouragement. The last 4 inches of my hair are thin and I thought beyond repair. I too was ready to just chop them off but if you do not see split ends, I encourage you to keep them and just do 1/4 inch dustings a month. The light oilings I've been using (coupled with occasional AVR) have help smoothed the hair and return much of its softness. Now, slowly but surely, I am seeing improvement though it's not an overnight success and I still envy so many of the lovely tresses on LHC. Keep with it! You do not look anywhere near terminal. And see this thread (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=75468) for some inspiration with thin ends.


See what I bolded... Yep yep yep!

From your picture and things you've said I would dare say you might be a wavy in disguise

[Arden]

:) I've actually had a sneaking suspicion that waves are trying to form, but never equated that with frizziness. I will try to bun it next time I wash, will be interesting to see what happens. I am really frustrated with the crazy frizziness since dropping the blowdryer!
Thanks ;)

"Wherever there's a wave, there's a curl."- lorraine massy

[mckenzie]

I followed your advice and air-dried my hair without combing/touching, did the t-shirt thing also. The result was quite a lot of waves, but with tons of frizz in a halo around them. Part of me is quite excited to find that I have that many waves, but it's a little depressing that I actually have even more frizz when I don't brush or handle while drying.
After it dried I left it in a loose bun for awhile. Some of the frizz went away, but theres still this section on the the back of my head that now looks like a frizzy rats nest. (even after oiling and combing)

To the question if I had my hair officially typed: no, I just guessed. I would welcome any input. The pic in my avatar is air-dried but brushed through a few times. The only reason I put down ii for thickness instead of i, is because when I measure the circumference of my pony it gives me results in the 2.5-2.75 range. (i know my hair doesn't look like it)

Again, Thanks for all your help!

[Alvrodul]

From your description, I suspect that your hair is curlier than you think, mckenzie. The reason for the clarifying-and-air-dry-without-touching is so that you can get an accurate determination of just what your hair type is - because this determines what kind of care your hair needs.
You will still need to figure out by experimenting just what works for you, but by correctly hairtyping yourself you will be able to eliminate certain things quite quickly.
Hair typing guide is here (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=227)- how curly is your air-dryed and unbrushed hair, compared to these pics?

[mckenzie]

Alvrodul - Thanks, I'll take a look at this and try to figure it out!

[Alexblue]

I followed your advice and air-dried my hair without combing/touching, did the t-shirt thing also. The result was quite a lot of waves, but with tons of frizz in a halo around them. Part of me is quite excited to find that I have that many waves, but it's a little depressing that I actually have even more frizz when I don't brush or handle while drying.
After it dried I left it in a loose bun for awhile. Some of the frizz went away, but theres still this section on the the back of my head that now looks like a frizzy rats nest. (even after oiling and combing)


It may depend on the type of oil you used. I am not a curly hair expert (I have 2a hair which I can encourage into wild curls with scrunching and a t-shirt), but I must also add oil or leave-in conditioner to tame my halo. Many wavy-hair girls spend a lot of time experimenting with different recipes or brands. Depending on the dew point on the day some are better than others. For example, aloe vera is great with a high dew point but can actually dry out the hair and cause frizz under drier conditions. Here is a great article (http://pittsburghcurly.wordpress.com/tag/dew-point/) if you want to read more. Of course, use this advice on days you want to encourage waves and curls. It sounds like you are closer to 1c/2a (it's hard to judge without seeing a hair typing photo). But you have the best of both worlds and can go straight or wavy depending on what you add and how to air dry. Yeah! :disco:

Regardless, I would play with different updos (like buns, braids, scarfs) and heat-free curling (even if it's just a headband bun) to prevent more damage from ponytails. And definitely keep trying oils (and even AVR). They protect the hair and can reduce frizz at the same time. Kimberlily's Defrizz Spray Recipe (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=277).


My hair after drying in a boring hair band bun:
http://i1077.photobucket.com/albums/w476/alexblue3/Photoon30-06-2012at14.jpg


My hair with jojoba oil and lots of scrunching:
http://i1077.photobucket.com/albums/w476/alexblue3/Photoon27-06-2012at18.jpg

[Alvrodul]

Alvrodul - Thanks, I'll take a look at this and try to figure it out!
If you have trouble figuring it out, we'll be delighted to help out! Post a picture of your messy, tangled airdried hair and the suggestions will come in fast and furious!:D