Help with hair type & advice

[Moonfall]

Hello there :)

Alright, so I went for a trim yesterday and I still feel really bad about it - I knew TLHC would make me feel better. I read a lot on these forums, but I'm not much of a talker myself, so I just keep quiet most of the time.

Anyway, I've been wanting to get to TBL ever since I was little - I'm eighteen now, and my wish never came true. My hair is really dry and frizzy, and the worst thing is, is that is seems to split quite easily. I S&D a lot, although I try not to, because I love having my hair all one length. Having my hair cut has always been disastrous to me; I go to the hairdresser's about twice a year. I become so stressed out over it that I really have to force myself to go there, so that I can relax again. Pretty weird, eh? :rolleyes:

So, yesterday I forced myself again, and I'm ever so sad now - I was getting close to WL, and now it's about BSL. :violin:


I need your help, fellow hair carers. First of all, I hope someone can tell me about my hair type.
I would also love to get advice on how to handle my type of hair. I try taking really good care of it - I always use conditioner, hair masks once a week, serums, oils... but I've never found the ideal products.
I hardly ever straighten or blowdry it. I don't comb it often, because that's about the worst thing I can do to my curls.

I hope you are able to answer my questions, and perhaps, help me on my path to TBL.
:flower:

[Moonfall]

Oh, and this is my photo. http://www.flickr.com/photos/69598050@N06/7761502094/in/photostream

[Moonfall]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/69598050@N06/7761502094/

[Moonfall]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/69598050@N06/7765396860/

[Tisiloves]

I would say you are probably more a 2b than a 2c/3a.

[ravenheather]

Try reading The Curly Girl Handbook if you haven't already. Or just google curly girl method. I think it's a great help with wavies and curlies.

[Moonfall]

Thanks a lot! :flower:

[torrilin]

Most of the time, splits come from your hair being dry or damaged.

I'm not really sure what you mean by "hardly ever" straighten or blow dry. I just plain don't. The last time I blow dried my hair was probably 2002 or so. And well, I'm 1c/F, so it's not like a straightener does much of anything. If I want straight hair, combing it will do the job nicely. Since your hair is coarser, you can probably get away with more heat and manipulation than I can... but more than once a decade with a blow dryer is um... still not OFTEN. Most ladies who come on here and say hardly ever seem to mean a lot more often than the once every year or two that I'd view as often.

The other really common source of damage is scissors. You need sharp scissors for cutting hair. Dull scissors will damage your hair and lead to more splits, not less.

I'd suspect that even so, your primary cause of splits is dryness. It's pretty unusual for someone to have over-moisturized hair. It can happen, but it's by no means a common complaint. You list scads of products in your routine comments and generally numbers of products don't lead to good hair care. A pretty reasonable first step is simplifying. Maybe instead of mucking about with weekly deep treatments, serums and so forth, you can try a routine that's more moisturizing on a day to day basis. Condition-wash-condition as suggested in Ursula's new member article is a good starting point. Another reasonable one is just plain trying one of your regular conditioners as a leave in conditioner.

A lot of the time, long hair that's comfortable and minimally tangle prone is less a product of what you do and more a product of what you don't do. Quite likely one of the biggest factors in my hair being waist length is the fact that I'm too lazy to muck around with a blow dryer, regular cuts, or styling much beyond buns and braids. Mostly, my hair gets slathered in conditioner and kept up. Everyone's going to work out a slightly different routine of minimum necessary care... but it's pretty odd for your hair to really need organized fussing and products every day.

[spidermom]

It looks like 2B or 2C to me. Try washing it, then let it dry without doing anything to it. That's the best way to determine natural hair type.

[Charybdis]

Are you sure your hair is coarse? I can't see individual strands in the photos, but the general impression doesn't look like coarse hair to me -- more like medium. It's pretty common for people to think their hair is coarse because it's frizzy, when the individual strands actually aren't coarse. I mention this mainly because the finer hair is, the more fragile it tends to be.

If you are doing S&D, minimizing use of heat appliances (no curling or flat irons, no high-heat blow-outs), and treating your hair gently (e.g., detangling gently, not brushing while wet), and you're still not happy with the amount of growth you're getting, I'd suggest either doing microtrims yourself every few months once you get to waist, or getting it cut professionally only once a year. If you're S&D'ing regularly, you really don't need an overall trim every 6 months unless you have fairytale ends you want to even up. It sounds like your visits to the hairdresser are pretty much eliminating the growth you get every 6 months, which would explain why you're not finding yourself any closer to TBL.

Did you feel like the the hairdresser was cutting off more than you want, or did you feel like you had a lot of damage and that everything that was cut really needed to come off? If it's the latter, then it sounds like you're getting a lot of mechanical damage -- maybe from wind, purse straps, rough detangling?

Not trying to be nosy, just want to help diagnose. ;)

[chou]

Have you assessed your hair's protein/moisture requiments? I have 2b/2c hair that can get very dry and frizzy. I went through a phase where I was putting every kind of conditioning treatment I could on it and it was just getting drier. I found out that this was due to the fact that most conditioners and deep treatments contain proteins ("hydrolzyed" is the key word indicating a protein in an ingredients list) which my hair HATES because they build up very quickly on my already coarse hair and make it feel like broom straw. Lots of hair products will make it sound like proteins are nothing but good for your hair (any products that use "keratin" or "silk" "hair repair" in the branding) but for some hairtypes they can be really bad. I might be making a false assumption, but it seems to me like people with thick, wavy hairtypes are more prone to this.
You might want to check your hair products for proteins and try clarifying and going protein-free for a couple of weeks. I'm totally protein free all the time and my hair much silkier and softer now, but my hair might be kind of an extreme example of protein hating.
It's also possible that your hair just needs more moisture, but since you said that you do frequent conditioning treatments, it seems more likely that there's something else going on.

[Dandelion6]

I would say you are a 2b/c. In the first pic (full face view) it looks 2b. In the second pic I see some spirals.

First off, I am sorry that you are back to BSL after a trip to the hair salon:( A lot of us know how that feels. You might want to learn self trimming so that you feel more in control of this aspect of your long hair care. That said, there is no reason in the world why you can't reach your goal of tailbone:p

You said you've been trimming at the salon twice a year. Your hair might actually prefer being trimmed or dusted more often, another good reason to self trim. You could take off just the tiniest amount necessary using very sharp scissors.

One thing you didn't mention is how often you are washing. If you are using lots of conditioners and oils, etc. this is great but if you are shampooing too often your hair is still going to get too dry. Also, damp bunning and braiding are great ways to control frizz, retain moisture and in general, protect your hair. You can still wear your hair down, but maybe just not as often.

[Moonfall]

Again, thanks to everyone who tries to help me out here. =)

@ Charybdis: I strictly asked her to only cut off the really necessary bit, and she promised me to not cut off any more than that. However, my hair ended up 5 cm shorter than when I had gone for my last trim. I don't know if it's possible for it to split that badly, but I do feel like she cut off too much.
The only thing that could really damage my hair, is wind, I guess. I don't brush my hair often because of my curls, especially not when it's wet.

@ Chou: That might just solve the problem! Could you please tell me which products you use? Can I find them in regular stores or will I have to order them from the internet?

@ Dandelion6: I hope you're right. Someone once told me my hair might 'just not be able to reach tailbone'. Could that be possible?
I have been wanting to self trim for a long time now, but I'm so afraid to take the step. I'm worried I might become nervous and mess it up. Another thing is, that I really want to keep my hair straight-across. I've heard people saying they ended up with a U-shape after Feye's Self Trim Method, even when trying for straight-across.


I wish I could speed up the process of growth - I feel like it's "short" now, especially when curly. It does look healthy - which is why I thought of this as a fresh start with the help of TLHC, so that I can finally get to my goal!

[jeanniet]

I think you might be a 2c/3a--this hair type can lose the curl pretty easily, but will benefit from using CG methods. I would work on getting more moisture into your hair first. Check out the CG method (you can get a lot of information on naturallycurly.com). Just starting with COing may make a big difference. I use Tresseme Naturals Moisturizing conditioner to CO, and love it. It's a little heavy to CO for many people, but I haven't had success with lighter conditioners like Suave or VO5. My hair is happier with lots and lots of moisture (very dry in the summer here). It may take your scalp a little while to adjust, but I think it will be a big benefit to your hair.

[Dandelion6]

Again, thanks to everyone who tries to help me out here. =)

@ Charybdis: I strictly asked her to only cut off the really necessary bit, and she promised me to not cut off any more than that. However, my hair ended up 5 cm shorter than when I had gone for my last trim. I don't know if it's possible for it to split that badly, but I do feel like she cut off too much.
The only thing that could really damage my hair, is wind, I guess. I don't brush my hair often because of my curls, especially not when it's wet.

@ Chou: That might just solve the problem! Could you please tell me which products you use? Can I find them in regular stores or will I have to order them from the internet?

@ Dandelion6: I hope you're right. Someone once told me my hair might 'just not be able to reach tailbone'. Could that be possible?
I have been wanting to self trim for a long time now, but I'm so afraid to take the step. I'm worried I might become nervous and mess it up. Another thing is, that I really want to keep my hair straight-across. I've heard people saying they ended up with a U-shape after Feye's Self Trim Method, even when trying for straight-across.


I wish I could speed up the process of growth - I feel like it's "short" now, especially when curly. It does look healthy - which is why I thought of this as a fresh start with the help of TLHC, so that I can finally get to my goal!


I am just checking back in on this thread. If what you want is to trim straight across I would recommend watching this video by Emi, who is a member on this forum. See how little she actually takes off. And her hemline is very straight. http://youtu.be/hWRJ57j1AyI

If you have not been making steady progress to your goal length I am willing to bet it has a lot to do with your bi-yearly trims at the salon. If they take 3 inches off twice a year that would negate any growth progress. That is, if you are an average grower at 1/2 inch per month.

[Moonfall]

@ Dandelion6: I'll try doing that, if I have the guts by the time it's necessary... or I can always let someone else do it, right?

@ Jeanniet: I don't know if this counts as CO, but I only apply shampoo to the roots (there is the moisture I want for my ends!). For the rest of my hair, I always use a conditioner. I will check out the conditioner you use. Do you also have 2b/c hair?