LHC sins.... not so sinful. (Chemical colour and flat irons!)

[Pegasus Marsters]

Lots of people on LHC seem to think that if you chemically colour or flat iron your hair you're instantly screwed, your hair is going to break off in handfuls, will never get long, and will look dull and damaged.

Now I'd like to present the counter argument. I use chemical colour and, on rare occasions, have fun with a flat iron.

Many people here have the story "I used to chemically colour and flat iron and my hair was awful"... they never put the disclaimer that they were flat ironing and blow drying EVERY SINGLE DAY, never did a deep treatment, brushed their hair instead of combed and didn't have a clue how to properly condition the hair.

Because of this a lot of LHCers deny themselves the use of chemical dyes and flat irons.

It is entirely possible to use dyes and flat irons aslong as you're sensible. Don't dye every 2 weeks, the likelihood is your roots are only obvious to YOU. You can easily go 8 weeks between dyes and then you only have to dye the new growth, not the ends of your hair. You don't want to dye the ends over and over or they'll get over processed.

And what about flat irons? How about using a heat protection spray and only flat ironing once in a blue moon? Even once a month or once a fortnight would be OK. Never flat iron hair that's still wet, let it dry completely before you get the flat irons out or you'll fry your hair to death.

I feel now is the time to provide photographic evidence that dyed, flat ironed hair cans till look awesome and be healthy... my hair is soft and manageable with not a split end in sight and I'm committing some of the biggest "sins" an LHC could commit.

Without further ado:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v668/pegasusmarsters/flatiron1.jpg

If my hair can be awesome, soft, shiny and manageable despite straight irons and chemical colour, yours can too :thumbsup:

[spidermom]

Ha! I don't color at all (but maybe I should) and very rarely flat iron. Even so, my hair seems to be disintegrating. It's just awful! I don't even have to look for splits; they leap right up and slap me.

[Pegasus Marsters]

Ha! I don't color at all (but maybe I should) and very rarely flat iron. Even so, my hair seems to be disintegrating. It's just awful! I don't even have to look for splits; they leap right up and slap me.

See, individual aspect. :lol: I know people who flat iron every day and have no splits (*insert rude comment about said girls here*) and others who treat their hair fantastically but still have splits from hell.

[LadyMoon11]

That *IS* blinding shine.:cool: Your hair looks fabulous, Pegs.:crush:

Now that I have broken myself of the habit of using heat styling tools, I do occasionally use them. Mostly steam rollers, since my hair is already nearly stick straight so I have no need of a flat iron, really.
I agree if a person uses proper hair care, occasional heat styling and responsible coloring/chemical use really is fine. It was the habit of using it, multiple major chemical colorings, in combination with being clueless about how to really truly take care of my hair, that damaged my hair long ago.
Heck, if their hair looks like yours, then all is well :D

[Koala Kim]

This reminds me of my dear old dad who used to tell me all my hair would be gone by the time I was 25 because I "put all that gunk" (cleaned up for LHC :D ) in my hair.
At the time I was chemically coloring my hair. And trying to use a curling iron here and there.

I look at it this way. If it makes you happy; then go for it! :)

[ladystar]

I agree pegs your hair looks great! I use to flat iron all the time. I still think hair can look great doing both! Just not all the time!

[Pegasus Marsters]

Eep, I realise this post could be misconstrued.

If someone's happy with all natural hair, more power to them. But some people won't use straight irons or chemical colours no matter how much they want them for fear of OMG DAMAGE. It was more to say "Hey, it's ok to do these things in moderation." :lol:

[LadyMoon11]

See, individual aspect. :lol: I know people who flat iron every day and have no splits (*insert rude comment about said girls here*) and others who treat their hair fantastically but still have splits from hell.
that's true- it does seem to be very individual.
My hair is very fine, so chemical coloring and very much heat styling does do damage. If I am careful, then the heat styling does not do much- but it cannot be a daily thing or I soon notice dryness and splitting.

My sister has m/c hair, and I swear she can do ANYTHING to her hair and it is strong and healthy. :mad: She keeps it above BSL, so that may have something to do with it, too- but I think each person is going to have a different hair thrashability threshold :lol:

[EvaSimone]

I agree 100% with you pegs! I don't think dying or heat styling your hair (in moderation) is really bad but I don't do it anymore because I really would like to see my virgin hair (I haven't had fully virgin hair since I was 16 or so). I also am too lazy to blow dry or heat style my hair, and I am in an epic battle with moisture right now so I don't want to steal more moisture from my hair.

I was one of the people who dyed my hair tons and used flat irons on wet hair. I think it is better for your hair if you don't heat style or dye your hair but you can still have very nice, pretty hair while doing those things in moderation as you illustrated so prettily :)

[Anje]

Gorgeous shine, Pegs! Unfortunately, I'm with Spidermom on this. My hair's never seen a flat iron, the ends may have seen a blowdryer a dozen times or less, has seen deposit-only color about twice in my lifetime, is quite pampered, and has splits and white dots throughout the length that I struggle to keep up with.

Those with fragile hair know who you are. Everyone else can indulge, in moderation.

[freznow]

It's also individual aspect in how long you're going for. If someone wants knee length hair, I'd advise them absolutely to not use heat styling if at all possible. If someone's going for waist, it's probably OK.

Pegs, your hair does look nice. So red!

[RavennaNight]

Ive been dyeing my hair black 4 years now. I don't think dyeing carefully and conservatively will destroy one's hair. If you do only the roots, and condition and deep condition often its fine! The Iron I feel is worse for the hair, simply because I've looked at my individual strands and some have the look of the flatiron damage that Nightshade posted pictures of. Its not bubbled, but the thickness of the strands are uneven. But I overused the iron. I agree its also up to the individual's hair and how much it can tolerate.

[FrannyG]

You are correct, Freznow. It's all a matter of what one's goals are. As for me, I'm perfectly happy chemically colouring my hair, and I'm afraid I do not go more than four weeks beween touch-ups. While I want to grow my hair as long as possible while still having it look nice, I have no illusions that I'll ever reach extreme lengths.

I am looking forward to seeing just how long I can grow my colour-treated hair. :)

[annarose]

Ha! I don't color at all (but maybe I should) and very rarely flat iron. Even so, my hair seems to be disintegrating. It's just awful! I don't even have to look for splits; they leap right up and slap me.

Spidermom, I'm glad you said this. I too treat my hair quite nicely (except for some color) and still have nasty ends and neverending dryness, all the SMT's and oils in the world won't touch it. Some people are just blessed with stronger hair, others...not so much :(.

But excellent point Pegs, I feel almost guilty to report in my journal when I color, like I wronged myself or something :o . And holy COW, nice freakin hair Pegs!!! :thud:

FrannyG, I'm watching your lovely hair grow too, it looks so healthy I bet you'll have no problems getting super long even with coloring.

[thankyousir74]

That is nice hair Pegs, and I have never been a consistent flat-ironer myself ,also ironing only in a blue moon.

However, I am not so lucky. My hair is just naturally dry :( I've been on cones, off cones, baking soda, no poo, CWC, and CO, and my hair usually feels the same (or worse). Even now that I've stopped ironing, period (not that I did it much in the first place), my hair is having trouble recuperating, no matter what advice I take. It always feels a bit... gritty.

Point is... some people just have naturally good hair, that is resilient and awesomely shiny. Others are not so lucky. Plus, when I use a flat iron, my hair gets... dull -.- not shiny and awesome (I think it's the dryness). Yeah this may just be an isolated personal case but no matter what strategies I use, LHC sinful or not, my waves will probably not be as soft as most on these boards. I think it's just my coarse hair type.

ETA: annarose, I had not read your post, but it seems we had similar thoughts in mind :D

[kwaniesiam]

Very good point, everything in moderation no matter what you're doing and it will be okay. I wouldn't want overly conditioned mush for hair either and occasionally I blowdry my hair and lately have been contemplating bleach to get it a bit lighter. Yours looks great, btw :)

[wintersun99]

..................

[rapunzhell13]

Great post Pegs, I applaud you! I've had this on my mind for awhile now. I don't get why people insist on describing things like that as 'sins'. I mean, it's just hair, not the end of the world. :rolleyes: I think hair is more sturdy than some people realise, give it some credit! :D

[Darian Moone]

I color my hair and have since I was 15 (with a few breaks from coloring now and again). I have no intention of changing my ways now. I've grown my hair to tailbone several times over the years with hair that had been dyed, bleached, permed, and subjected to hot rollers and curling irons and blow dryers on a regular basis.

Today I do not use any heat on my hair at all with the exception of a light blow dry perhaps once or twice a year when I've got to go out in the cold and my hair still isn't dry enough to go out without having it freeze. I cover my length with conditioner before I touch up my roots. Unfortunately there is no way I can get by without doing my roots every 4 weeks. I stretch it to 5 sometimes, but it looks truly awful when I do.

This will be the first time that I'm growing my hair out with an entire head of hair that has never been heat styled. I figure that can only be a good thing, right? I don't want to go any longer than TB for practical purposes, so I don't see any problem with continuing to color my hair.

[Kirin]

I agree with you Pegs, although, my slant is more towards the sulphate, mineral oil, chemical hedonistic perspective.

I have never, nor will I ever purchase a bottle of shampoo that costs over four bucks. I do not buy hair products at a health food store, and joyously use cholesterol treatments, and v05 hot oil treatments. Though I now use henna due to chemical color sensitivities, if i didnt have reactions I'd likely happily be a bottle blonde currently.

for all these evil products I use........ I have ZERO splits, soft silky shiny hair that glows like a new penny. What changed was my routine, not my products, shampooing less, but with the same stuff, Doing more deep treatments and using a wide tooth (cheap arse conaire) comb.

http://www.fantasydimensions.com/hairshine1.jpg

[Chromis]

Another "some of us are not so lucky" person here. My hair gets damaged if you look at it cross-eyed and it's not even fine.

[Teacherbear]

I think your comment just reinforces that each person needs to learn what works for his/her hair best and what makes him/her happiest. There is no absolute in haircare, therefore there are no "sins". :flowers:

[Nevermore]

You have amazing hair Pegasus! Good goddess, if my hair was that shiny, I'd be blind by now from staring at it in the mirror!

Until LHC, I hadn't seen good flat ironed hair, let alone great flat ironed hair like the picture that started off this thread. While I'd still never do it, just because it doesn't work on me (and straight hair wouldn't suit me) and therefore isn't worth whatever damage may occur, if I was interested in it, I'd go ahead and do it occasionally.

When I first started looking into growing super long hair, there was a phrase and a set of instructions that bothered me quite a bit, "Treat your hair like antique lace" followed by the 3,000 commandments of hair care, including "THOU SHALT NOT CURL, STRAIGHTEN OR DYE! THOU SHALT NOT WASH THINE HAIR WITH CHEAP SHAMPOO! THOU SHALT NOT GO SWIMMING UNDER PENALTY OF SPLIT ENDS AND DISMEMBERMENT!". I love my hair and I treat it as well as I can, but this is the real world.

[AshleyP]

Oh I agree with you.
I have been dye free for 2 months and flat iron free as well - and really, my hair looked fabulous even being colored every 6 weeks and flat ironed 3 times a week. It certainly never looked damaged, and really didn't feel all that damaged (of course, since stopping 2 months ago and cutting the ends, yes there is a slight difference, but its nothing magical).

This was about 6 months ago. Granted, the shine is not all that great in this photo because of crappy bathroom lighting.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v307/tearsfallen/100_9331.jpg

I've been fighting the temptation to flat iron for a while now. LOL. I just kind of want to see what my hair would look like at this length flat ironed. I'm definitely skipping on the coloring. I'm okay with my color and see no reason for change at this moment.

But, I do agree you CAN have great hair - colored and/or flat ironed (blow dried, or any other heat appliance).

[spidermom]

Keep in mind, however, that the ends of hair around shoulder length aren't that old. My poor ends have been around for 6-7-8 years (somewhere in there). I used to flat iron and use the curling iron quite a bit when my hair was around shoulder length, and I had no problems then. I think I'm paying for it now.

[thankyousir74]

"Treat your hair like antique lace"

This saying always haunts me. I always reply with "lace would have survived that, right? No? Lace is impractical anyways."

[Pegasus Marsters]

Keep in mind, however, that the ends of hair around shoulder length aren't that old. My poor ends have been around for 6-7-8 years (somewhere in there). I used to flat iron and use the curling iron quite a bit when my hair was around shoulder length, and I had no problems then. I think I'm paying for it now.

Also depends on your growth rate... If my hair was at waist length (judging by my typical growth rate) the ends would be no more than 3 years old.

Thanks for the compliments on my hair, guys ^.^

[manderly]

My hair was always soft and silky when I used commercial products and blowdried every day. :)

[forgetmenotak]

For the longest time, I thought blowdrying was healthy for my hair because it made my ends so soft and shiny. I have modified my routine a bit, but I still enjoy my blow dryer. And since I don't want to grow my hair too much longer, and I get upset with my natural texture of my hair, I will continue to blow dry.

[Nevermore]

thankyousir74: lol. That's about it.

[Pegasus Marsters]

This saying always haunts me. I always reply with "lace would have survived that, right? No? Lace is impractical anyways."

I have an 18 year old rag doll that's gone through all those of cuddling, crying into, washes, throwing around and bumping up and down stairs... Guess what? The lace on her dress is still intact but the cotton is ripped. :rolleyes:

Maybe it should be "treat your hair like cheap cotton" :lol:

[spidermom]

Yup - that antique lace thing is kinda dumb. Who is going to drape antique lace over their head every single day? It's not like I can take my hair off, wrap it in tissue paper, and store it in a box until a special occasion comes along.

[AshleyP]

Ha, I also hate the "antique lace" thing. I dont exactly know how to even treat antique lace. Knowing me, it'd get lost somewhere on my floor in my pile of junk and I wouldnt find it for another 6 months. :o

[Aisha25]

Ha, I also hate the "antique lace" thing. I dont exactly know how to even treat antique lace. Knowing me, it'd get lost somewhere on my floor in my pile of junk and I wouldnt find it for another 6 months. :o
:rollin:that is too funny!

[Carolyn]

I dont really see dye and flat irons, curling irons, or blow dryers as "sins". I often feel guilt for continuing to dye my silvers back to their ashy blonde. I don't want to embrace the silver. I'd be miserably unhappy going gray. So I have my roots done about every 3 months give or take a couple weeks. I don't think my hair is in any worse shape than it was when it was virgin, un-heat styled hair. I've had split ends all my life. I was dusting back in the early 70s when I was in college and my hair had never been dyed or heat styled. My hair is the kind that is going to get split ends when it gets long no matter what I do to it. I do my best to minimalize the damage with less frequent washing, CO washing, oiling, and lots of deep conditioning. If I can't go past my current hip length then so be it. I'd rather keep my blondeness and use my hot air round brush now and then. I don't believe we should think of making our hair look the way we want it to as sinning. Don't we have enough guilt laid on us in life without feeling guilty for what we do to our hair?

[Nevermore]

I guess everyone's seen that blasted antique lace thing before. It's ridiculous.

[DecafJane]

Pegs, you have gorgeous hair. :D

I am another who can probably get away with a lot - I just want to encourage my natural curl, so flat-ironing is something I don't want to do every other day. As for colours, I will probably start this as soon as I start to go grey, so I am enjoying being lazy in the meantime. ;)

My brother's partner dyes her hair and flatirons it all the time, and it is below BSL and looks good. Mind you, she dyes it dark brown, so there probably isn't any peroxide or anything in her dye, which probably helps. :D

[Elenna]

Real antique lace gets put away in the closet. We can't hang our hair up on a hanger.

I think that we each can find our own hair care and how far we can mistreat our hair.

Mistreat our hair! :eek:

[Igor]

Looking good, Pegs! :rockerdud

I know what you mean :wink: for instance it annoys me like crazy that the one thing that newcomers seems to “know” about hair care is that cones are teh evulz :rolleyes:

[julya]

I know someone who flat irons and blow dries her fine hair pretty often, and her hair looks great. With that treatment, it seems like her terminal length is a bit past waist. Sometimes I am tempted to try out her flat iron because of the blinding shine it produces, but I want to grow my hair extra long.

[crystal_89]

I straighten my hair a bit more than 'moderately'... on average 2-3 times a week. Yeah, my hair has a few splits at the end, but its not like someone standing a metre behind me is going to go... "oh! she has split ends!" If I didn't straighten my hair 2-3 times a week I wouldn't enjoy my hair as much, but that's just a personal preference.

I'm sure the damage on my own hair will go away with time though, even if I do continue to straighten as much as I do as I've dyed my hair 5 times since June 2007 but am going to leave it alone now. Also, I haven't trimmed the ends of my hair since May 2007, but once I reach my goal of tailbone I'll probably have regular trims which should get rid of most of the damage. If my hair can't look good at tailbone with lots of straightening, I'd rather give up the length than the straightening iron.

And, as everyone else has said in this thread, Pegs, your.hair.looks.great.

[willowcandra]

I have to disagree:D

Heat spray is not able to stop water in the shaft boiling and popping. It can hide the damage very well though.
Also dying just the roots is ok in theory but on extra lengths the ends would be very much faded and would need refreshing even if only once a year.

Some people can get away with chemicals and heat but if you are aiming for classic or longer then you may find that your usually forgiving hair may start to split like crazy.


The danger here is that everyone has a different idea of what occasional moderate use is and nobody knows how their hair is going to react in the future.

MY personal experience was that I could use any amount of colour and heat until I reached tailbone and then my hair started to suffer for it.

If someone was aiming for waist I would say sure do what you want.

But we don't tell people to stay away from heat styling and chemicals for no reason. There is a method to our madness.:eyebrows: That advice comes from a wealth of long haired ladies' experience. Who aren't just trying to spoil peoples fun.

I know I am not the only person who would say this, just maybe the only one bringing the rain to the parade lol.
I guess I am worried that someone will see your pretty shoulder length hair and decide that they can colour and heat on their way to knee length.

[rapunzhell13]

willowcandra- You also bring up many good points and I agree with everything you've said. :)

[Hatsumomo]

I'm another hairfryer although I haven't touched straighteners since a week before I joined. My hair is enjoying the break but it really didn't look bad in the first place. There's dye in there too! There are some splits in there too but who doesn't have splits after bsl?

[rhosyn_du]

Wow. That's some serious shine you've got going on, Pegs. :rockerdud

I have to agree with people saying it's an individual thing. Last time I grew out my hair, I treated it fairly well by LHC standards. I only washed every 2-3 days, I never used heat, I wore it up most of the time due to my job, and I stopped using sulfates at about APL. But, I did use chemical color, and even though it was only every six to eight weeks and was a semi-permanent dye, my hair looked pretty ratty past BSL.

Really, I think the most important thing anyone can do for their hair is pay attention to how different things affect their hair and base their routines and stuff to avoid off of that.

[jel]

Your hair looks lovely, Pegs! :flowers:

I'd never tell anyone to keep away from the evilz chemicalz, but in my own experience they did damage my hair. However, that was over 10-15 years that I was colouring/highlighting/bleaching (and cutting), without being careful about overprocessing. I also agree with Willowcandra that chemical colour can wash out (especially red - again, this is my experience) requiring repeated length applications in the future.

Personally, I'm very happy to have found henna which strengthens my hair and gives it a colour I like - and if I need more dye excitement I use temporary colourings on top. I'm not planning to go back to chemical dyes, but I'd never say never, and I'd never criticise others that do (use dyes, not say never!)

Regarding the flat iron - never had one, and the one time I tried to use a friend's, I was really bad at it! Too lazy to start learning how to do it now... :silly:

[Juliet's Silk]

Thanks willwocandra I was about to post the same.

Apart from the individual hair thing, it's a matter of length. "Super long" is not waist, and not TBL either, I guess it starts at classic. I doubt that someone could pull off the same hair care at classic that they did at BSL. :shrug:
That's okay, at LHC we have people with all hair lengths and all different length goals - but when people say "don't dye, don't heat style" it means that those things WILL damage your hair - it's only that hair that is treated with good care and is not extremely long will be able to withstand that without problems. However, the longer your hair gets, that damage will accumulate and show. I'm not surprised that many of you say that they can get away with a lot, as the hair still is relatively "young". I myself could do anything to my hair when it was shorter, that I wouldn't dare to do now.

So - to each their own but I don't think that it's bad to tell newbies that heatstyling and dying damages hair - because it's how it is. Everyone is free to chose what they do to their hair and lovely examples like Caroyln or Sian show that it's perfectly possible to bleach the hair and look great! But if you want to grow your hair to longer lengths than TBL... I guess it's really something one should consider. If you don't want to grow your hair that long, then the damage the dye and the heatstyling does shouldn't be a big problem.

[sexyjacksparrow]

Great post Pegs - and your hair is beautiful :heart:

My hair is weak, dry and easily damaged. However, I don't think it was really in any worse conditioner when I dyed it (granted I only did that one time) and flat ironed it more often. so I don't say never ever - though I only flat irton very occasionally now because I prefer my curls.

also, as you said, growth rate is probably a factor. Mine grows very slowly so although my hair is not very long, my ends are perhaps longer than someone else's might be at the same length.

It's all about finding a routine that works for each of us individually taking into account factors of a) keeping hair looking healthy, b) achieving a length we want and c) acheving a look we want (in terms of texture, coulour, cut).

[Eireann]

This post came at a good time for me! I was just feeling sheepish this morning because I conditioned with a mega-coney deep conditioner and then put in a leave in with cones and blow dried, and, gasp, I love how my hair looks today! It's so shiny and soft! I don't blow dry every day (maybe once every week or two. . .except my bangs which I have to dry every day or they look funny.) I guess, as with any advice, it's good to get to know your own individual hair and how it reacts to different treatment.

[NorthernDancer]

Pegs you have AWESOME shine! Can I steel some of your hair? :P

[Niphredil]

Pegs!! I :heartbeat your hair! It is gorgeous!

Anyway, there are a lot of different tastes when it comes to haircare and hairneeds.
What is good for one, doesn't work for the other.
I know ladies with Classiclength beautiful healthy hair who use silicone products each and every wash.
I also know ladies with above BSL hair who are extremely careful with their, completely virgin, hair and still have dozens of splits everywhere they look.

I think you can generally say that the longer your ultimate goal, the more careful you have to be about not damaging your hair (whether chemical/heat/mechanical). The balance point where accumulated damage will eventually show is different for everyone.

:twocents:

[Miriela]

Pegs, you pwn and you don't need me to tell you that. :D

[bex487]

Pegs, gorgeous hair (and color!). My hair is VERY strong and resilient, so I'm able to get highlights and blowdry my hair. However, I only get my roots touched up and do not dye over already-dyed hair. I blow dry, but I let my hair air-dry at least 50% first. On the other hand, I have no plans to grow my hair all that long, so I'm able to get away with these things.

[LaurelSpring]

I guess it really comes down to a personal thing if your hair can take it or not. I still have alot of old damage on the ends but my good new growth could probably take a liitle more abuse. I know that 2 weeks ago I blow dried and curled my hair like old times and my ends felt terrible and I regreted it terribly.

[JessTheMess]

OOOOOOHHHHh shiney!!! ::reaches hand out to touch the shiney:: Pegs, your hair is blinding me!! I wish my hair shined like that!

I agree with you here. I haven't touched the flat iron or my blow dryer since learning of LHC and I wanted to feel guilty about using mine over the weekend, but I just couldn't. My hair felt soft and I loved that it was so straight! Maybe it was because I have been pampering it for so long. I look at it like this. It is okay to indulge as long as you don't over do it. Kinda like that brick of cheese in my fridge, if I eat a few pieces I'll be in heaven. If I eat that whole block, my tummy is in knots :):cheese:

[Katze]

Keep in mind, however, that the ends of hair around shoulder length aren't that old. My poor ends have been around for 6-7-8 years (somewhere in there). I used to flat iron and use the curling iron quite a bit when my hair was around shoulder length, and I had no problems then. I think I'm paying for it now.

This, I think, is the point.

As an ex-bleach head ('but my eyebrows are pale blonde, so I really DESERVE platinum blonde hair') I did go back and forth between short and long(er) and between lots of blowdrying/heat and lots of color...

And at Pegs' length, my hair looked that shiny and good, too. Even bleached, even with streaks, even curled/ironed flat. Especially blowdried and ironed, because then it looked straight and thus shinier. But looks, in my case, were deceiving...

The problem - for my fine hair anyway - is that it would never, ever grow past around APL. Hairdressers told me my hair was 'too fine' to grow long - I am now proving them wrong.

The knowledge on LHC is here for a reason, and it is so varied for a reason. We each need to find what works best for us and our hair, and what helps us achieve our goals. For many of us, this means the healthiest hair possible; if that goal also includes bleach, dye, or heat, then we need to know that those things might affect how long our hair can get or the condition it will be in when it gets longer than BSL.

[Nightshade]

Hey, whatever floats people's boats, I'm cool with.

I just love posting the electron microscope pics to scare the newbies :twisted: :eyebrows:

[FrannyG]

Hey, whatever floats people's boats, I'm cool with.

I just love posting the electron microscope pics to scare the newbies :twisted: :eyebrows:

Exactly, Nightshade. I think it's really important to make informed decisions about what we're doing. At least we know what risks we're taking, and what we may have to sacrifice by treating our hair in certain ways.

After that, it's all cool. :cool:

[QueenBea]

Before LHC, I would say my natural hair was mousy ugly brown, frizzy, with too many messy waves. So to "fix" all of that took heat blowdrying, flat ironing, curling iron, bleach, and color. Which, I'm sorry, anyone who does that every day is killing their hair like i was. You CAN'T completely alter every aspect of your hair every day and maintain good health.

Now if I had had hair similar to my "ideal" and it just needed a little tweaking, a little blowdrying or a little ironing or a touch of color could have been a relatively safe option.

But with the great discrepancy between my natural hair and my "ideal" hair--isn't possible to be gentle. So I've been going back to natural and trying to learn to love my God-given hair :) He must have thought it was beautiful or He wouldn't have given it to me; I'm seeing it as quite a job to figure out how to take care of it so it looks beautiful.

Anyway---this is one of those weird topics that has been bugging me to work out within myself ever since I read it yesterday; my bad self said, See? You can do the sleek lighter hair again; some of your LHC cohorts say it's okay! But the good self said, Girl, you have a hair problem. It's better for you to quit cold turkey :)

So there are my thoughts :)

Bea

[Gladtobemom]

I wish I had hair that could take some punishment, but I don't. It does seem to vary person to person.

Blowdrying and heat-smoothing make my hair get fragile. I get so much breakage. It does make my hair shiny and smooth, but then I start noticing my ends getting thinner and thinner. After a while, the whited dots are just everywhere.

Heat styling just doesn't work for me in the long run.

I can have smooth shiny hair, I just use magnetic curlers and a hard bonnet dryer that only puts out 60C (140f) air to help dry it faster. This isn't hot enoug to damage.

[RavennaNight]

Hey, whatever floats people's boats, I'm cool with.

I just love posting the electron microscope pics to scare the newbies :twisted: :eyebrows:

It works! :)

[AerisDawn]

:cloud9: I love this thread. When I first joined the forum I saw a lot of anti-hair dryer posts and I decided to give up the blow dryer. I bought a micro fiber towel and frizz ease but it didn't work. Without the hair dryer I just have a ball of steel wool on my head. So I went back to the dryer. I mean there's no point in having long hair if it isn't pretty and smooth.

[Nightshade]

It works! :)
:lol: Good to know.


:cloud9: I love this thread. When I first joined the forum I saw a lot of anti-hair dryer posts and I decided to give up the blow dryer. I bought a micro fiber towel and frizz ease but it didn't work. Without the hair dryer I just have a ball of steel wool on my head. So I went back to the dryer. I mean there's no point in having long hair if it isn't pretty and smooth.

Thing is, your hair is 19 inches. By the time you get anywhere near your goal, gravity takes over in your favor and keeps your hair hanging right most the time :) The question is if your hand can stand both the blowdrying and being 4-6 years old at 36 inches as you're adding the wear and tear of the former heat and the general wear and tear on hair that long. Some people don't want to risk that unknown factor at 34 inches, and suffer through the shorter phases without heat to ensure the healthiest possible hair when it's several years old :)

I'm not criticizing you or your decision, just pointing out why even at short lengths some choose to avoid it, despite it not looking as styled. :flowers:

[AerisDawn]

:( I feel like an idiot because I didn't even think about the long term effects of blow drying. I don't know,I might just start wearing the scarves again.

[DavidN]

Look at that lovely shine, Pegs, it is blinding my eyes!

You have raised some very valid points in your post, but I was not that lucky, when I did more straightening than I should have a couple of years ago, and became hooked on the irons. In fact, it was those electron microscope photos of damaged hair (that Nightshade posted), that caused me to stop straightening in the fall of 2006, when I saw those same photos on another site. I knew that my hair was damaged, and hardly grew at all. Admittedly, I did straighten FAR too often, and did not use protective products while doing so, since my knowledge of growing long hair was minimal back then. Then, there is the additional fact that everyone's hair is different, and since mine is quite fine, it is probably more easily damaged.

[morgwn]

I do know that I personally can't touch the flat iron because it makes my hair feel awful and fried that very day and my hair is VERY sensitive to any heat along with being very fine. I don't even like to imagine the damage that I would do to my hair if I was to use heat on my hair often.

However, I do concur about the colour, Pegs... hair that is coloured in moderation can definitely still be kept in good condition. A good deep condition every once in a while also keeps it that way. :)

[Nightshade]

:( I feel like an idiot because I didn't even think about the long term effects of blow drying. I don't know,I might just start wearing the scarves again.

Hey, no worries, everyone overlooks things! Hell, I did my first ACV rinse with *undiluted* ACV. If you ever want to make your hair stink for two weeks, that's the way to do it :rolleyes: :lol:

[AerisDawn]

lol that makes me feel a little better but you're probably right. I'd rather suffer through this mop now than cause anymore damage. I'm just not the most patient person in the world.

[Nightshade]

lol that makes me feel a little better but you're probably right. I'd rather suffer through this mop now than cause anymore damage. I'm just not the most patient person in the world.

Guess what? Most of us aren't patient, I PROMISE. If I wasn't up to my elbows in henna experiments and messing with updos half the time I'd have probably done something really, really stupid to my hair by now. It's the fine art of distracting yourself with other things so you look like a Zen Master when it comes to hair :meditate: ;)

[thankyousir74]

Hey, no worries, everyone overlooks things! Hell, I did my first ACV rinse with *undiluted* ACV. If you ever want to make your hair stink for two weeks, that's the way to do it :rolleyes: :lol:

HAHA You mean it's supposed to be diluted? shoooooooooot!! When I went through my BS/ACV challenge I always use it straight. I didn't mind the stink much, but it was there. I just kept saying to myself, at least its not SLS.

[Buddaphlyy]

I was just trying to argue this same point on another site. I rarely use heat and I'm planning to dye my hair soon, but everyone's convinced my hair won't be "healthy". I say hogwash. I've done a lot of different things to my hair and have yet to go completely bald from it, so I feel it's okay. As long as one is doing what works for their hair, I say don't rain on anyone else's parade.

[RustedAngel]

This is kind of good to hear - My hair looks really awesome when I straighten it, but I never do for fear of crazygonuts damage. Since I don't really want to go much longer than waiste, maybe I can get myself a straightener!

[Niphredil]

As long as one is doing what works for their hair, I say don't rain on anyone else's parade.

I couldn't agree more.
But then, the advice given about avoiding heat and chemicals in the quest for long hair (mostly asked for by those who weren't able to grow their hair long before) is only with the best interest at heart and usually it is based on personal experience, rather than blatantly mocking some general opinion.

At least one can't say they haven't been warned when they start complaining about stalling growth, thinning ends, breakage, shedding, split-ends and the like.

But then again, YMMV, as with a lot of things in life.

[Ohio Sky]

Ha, I also hate the "antique lace" thing. I dont exactly know how to even treat antique lace. Knowing me, it'd get lost somewhere on my floor in my pile of junk and I wouldnt find it for another 6 months. :o

Is that similar to the "put it up and forget about it" technique? :lol: You're hair would be gorgeous by the time you found it!


Looking good, Pegs! :rockerdud

I know what you mean :wink: for instance it annoys me like crazy that the one thing that newcomers seems to “know” about hair care is that cones are teh evulz :rolleyes:

I :heartbeat: cones. One thing I have noticed is that many people that are very anti-heat styling and dyes are also trying to avoid cones. I think these things have the potential to be more damaging on hair that does not have that protective coating.



Also dying just the roots is ok in theory but on extra lengths the ends would be very much faded and would need refreshing even if only once a year.


A lot of times, the color does not need refreshing, ever, depending on The original color and the dye.


I'm not surprised that many of you say that they can get away with a lot, as the hair still is relatively "young". I myself could do anything to my hair when it was shorter, that I wouldn't dare to do now.


We had a thread similar to this not too long ago (or maybe it was on Celebrian's hallo PPD thread?) and had a lot of super long members check in who still dye.

The fact is, once you pass a certain length, your hair is just going to require more special treatment, no matter what you do. I don't think there is a member here who has knee length hair who has never complained of tangles and dry ends, no matter how well they've treated it. There are lots of ways to minimize the damage. It all depends on your hair and what you do to care for it.

[Pegasus Marsters]

Don't forget growth rate comes into play guys. People here are saying that it would take them 6 years to go from bald to waist... I can tell you from personal experince that I can go from pixie to past shoulders in a year, and past shoulders to waist in 2 years. That makes my ends aroud 3 years old... The speedier your growth rate the more you can get away with "hair abuse" even if you want super long.

[Future CCC-SLP]

I have naturally coarse hair and used to dye, highlight, flatiron, blowdry, curl my hair ALL THE TIME! now I have to recover from all of this. Most of the damage is the bottom few inches. When my hair was shorter the damage was less noticeable but now that it is getting longer (reaching to 30 inch mark in the next few months) I notice that I can no longer do that stuff regularly and have nice hair. However, I still do it occasionally no more than once a month. Moderation is key!

[intothemist1999]

Eep, I realise this post could be misconstrued.

If someone's happy with all natural hair, more power to them. But some people won't use straight irons or chemical colours no matter how much they want them for fear of OMG DAMAGE. It was more to say "Hey, it's ok to do these things in moderation." :lol:


I spent a good 30+ years not thinking about my hair at all, except to wash it and get it cut & styled occasionally. Oh, and permed for a few years. But I never thought AT ALL about the condition.

Now, I'd like it to be in "better" condition, so probably dying and using tools wouldn't be best for me, HOWEVER....the main reason I don't bother with much besides washing and the occasional oiling is because I'm trying to go as low maintenance as possible. Once in a while I think, "I really should try curling that bit 'o hair," but then I know I'll spend the day fussing over "that bit". That's why I go for simple 'do's, too...I can't be worrying that things are falling down or need to be fixed while at work or on the road.

[intothemist1999]

A lot of times, the color does not need refreshing, ever, depending on The original color and the dye.

.


Can you elaborate? I'm sometimes tempted to colour, but as I mentioned in my previous post, I'm going low- (as close to "no-" as possible! :) ) maintenance.

Are there colours or brand that are better than others? If it helps, I'm very dark haired (almost black) and wouldn't mind something with more red, something like auburn, say.

TIA!

[Ohio Sky]

Can you elaborate? I'm sometimes tempted to colour, but as I mentioned in my previous post, I'm going low- (as close to "no-" as possible! :) ) maintenance.

Are there colours or brand that are better than others? If it helps, I'm very dark haired (almost black) and wouldn't mind something with more red, something like auburn, say.

TIA!

Well then don't henna! :silly:

I'm a natural dirty blonde/light brown and I dye to dark brown/black. The only time I ever have to mess with color on the length is when I'm switching colors. Normally, the color does not budge on my hair, so the length does not need touching. Red, however, fades more quickly than black. In fact, red fades more than any other color, while back is the most difficult to get rid of. I find cinnamon-brown colors to last longer than just straight red.

For you, being exceptionally dark-haired would be a bonus as going to an auburn shade would not affect your color enough to worry about getting your roots done every 4 weeks on the dot. I've used Feria dyes and Garnier with good results, but the best red I ever used was by Clairol. I think it was called Ruby Red. It faded the least. I would suggest going with a red or reddish brown as opposed to a burgundy black or other dark color because with those dyes the red hue dissapears after a few washes and you're left with just black, especially on darker hair. But you find your hair acts differently.

You could also go with a semi or demi permanent. That would give a you a bit of a change for a while without long term commitment to fussing over roots or anything.