Howdy--Looking to Maintain Long Hair

[TatsuOni]

Welcome! Beautiful hair!

[shelomit]

Welcome! Beautiful hair! I also love that hair color too! You know, mid-thigh length is my goal. [. . .] I always wanted mid-thigh length. Because, I always thought that it was nice and beautiful length to maintain the hair at, and it seems more manageable at that length.

Thank you! It looks much better from afar than up close, lol. I've found my hair very manageable at mid-thigh length in terms of styling, although I am trying to learn more varied styles (or train my scalp not to hate them!) since I think that's where a lot of my breakage is coming from. When tying headscarves, my experience is that it helps to have a decent-sized bun to work against, and it's much easier for me at mid-thigh than at waist length. I do think it would be interesting to take a few years at some point and grow it down to the knee, but that would be uncharted waters for me and it's certainly nothing I have in mind to do soon ( ;

I see that you're in Georgia, by the way. Presuming that's the state and not the country, I used to live in Carrollton and later Valdosta. I certainly miss my social circle there, but I'm glad to be away from the humidity! *pant, pant*

[shelomit]

Welcome! Beautiful hair!

Thank you ( :

[enting]

Hi there and welcome!

Sometimes I do well with a mixture of aloe and oil applied to dry hair, but I don't remember if it works in very low humidity. I've definitely done it during the summer. I can try it this week (super low humidity right now) and report back. That combination takes a lot of frizz (and curl/wave) out of my hair.

I also wear headscarves while out and about, but my experience is that my hair loves it, I don't think I get damage or friction from it. My nape hairs have actually grown longer, but I think that might date from when I started using a velvet headband. There are a number of headcovering threads around the forum for further reading and conversing. I don't remember if any have been merged or if it's just a bunch of separate ones.

Your hair and your scarf styles are beautiful.

[Sarahlabyrinth]

Welcome to the forum! I use Lapushka's ROO method to help my fine hair with frizz and it helps a lot, for me. I use it from ear level down, though. Maybe this will help you as well? I use about 15 drops for my hair. Your hair is so lovely, and the way you wear your scarves is beautiful! Is there a tutorial for the way you tied the scarf in your last photo?

[shelomit]

Hi there and welcome!

Sometimes I do well with a mixture of aloe and oil applied to dry hair, but I don't remember if it works in very low humidity. I've definitely done it during the summer. I can try it this week (super low humidity right now) and report back. That combination takes a lot of frizz (and curl/wave) out of my hair.

Thank you for the hello! I'm trying the rinse-out oil thing for at least one more wash, but will give the aloe mixture a go later on. Do you spritz it or pat on more like a straight oil? Here people go aloe-wild all summer--drinking it, adding it to sunblock, just cutting the leaves in half and wiping them over their skin! You can get fresh aloe in any grocery store. I would hope a desert plant would do well in the desert air ( :

I also wear headscarves while out and about, but my experience is that my hair loves it, I don't think I get damage or friction from it. My nape hairs have actually grown longer, but I think that might date from when I started using a velvet headband. There are a number of headcovering threads around the forum for further reading and conversing. I don't remember if any have been merged or if it's just a bunch of separate ones. Your hair and your scarf styles are beautiful.

I wasn't certain how well people would receive posting headscarf pictures on a hair forum, but I so rarely have my head uncovered that it wouldn't be representative to leave them out. I do sometimes find when I'm taking off my scarf at the end of the day that it has velcro-ed onto the baby hairs right on my front hairline, and if I don't notice quickly enough I'll wind up snapping a few off. I've been reading some of the headcovering threads I was able to find (they are definitely not merged, lol) and think it might be a good idea to wear a soft but tight-woven scarf as the first layer under other fabrics, or get a hijab-style cotton underbonnet. I'm definitely better at varying my scarfdos than my hairdos, though!

[TatsuOni]

I wasn't certain how well people would receive posting headscarf pictures on a hair forum, but I so rarely have my head uncovered that it wouldn't be representative to leave them out. I do sometimes find when I'm taking off my scarf at the end of the day that it has velcro-ed onto the baby hairs right on my front hairline, and if I don't notice quickly enough I'll wind up snapping a few off. I've been reading some of the headcovering threads I was able to find (they are definitely not merged, lol) and think it might be a good idea to wear a soft but tight-woven scarf as the first layer under other fabrics, or get a hijab-style cotton underbonnet. I'm definitely better at varying my scarfdos than my hairdos, though!

I use hair scarves pretty much daily too, but not for religious reasons. At work, mostly with my bun visible and while "working" at home, like gardening, I cover all of my hair I prefer silk/satin scarves but also have a few in cotton. They're fine too, as long as I make sure that they keep "still" and don't cause any friction.

And with braids.

[shelomit]

Welcome to the forum! I use Lapushka's ROO method to help my fine hair with frizz and it helps a lot, for me. I use it from ear level down, though. Maybe this will help you as well? I use about 15 drops for my hair. Your hair is so lovely, and the way you wear your scarves is beautiful! Is there a tutorial for the way you tied the scarf in your last photo?

I'm giving the rinse-out oil a go! My luck with oil seems not to have changed so far, as my tips are feeling and looking a little heavy. I use very little shampoo and am thinking I maybe ought to have upped it a squidge so that more of the runoff gets all the way down to my tips. I definitely do see a reduction in frizz, though. I plan to do the same next week and then see how everything feels at the end of that "wash cycle."

Your hair is so lovely, and the way you wear your scarves is beautiful! Is there a tutorial for the way you tied the scarf in your last photo?

Thank you! In that pic it's a small scarf on top of a large one. The large one is just a regular cotton shawl or neck scarf type thing like the department stores start carrying in wintertime (maybe 18"x5'), while the other one is a long and thin (maybe 4" wide?) scarf that I suppose was probably meant to be a belt or perhaps jabot of some kind. I just tie the bigger scarf in any style that will keeps the ends tucked out of my way at the back of the head. Once scarf no. 1 is secure, I wrap the little scarf over my head like a headband, cross the ends at the nape of my neck, and tie it in the front with just one loose knot. Then I shimmy the little one over over so that the knot falls at the side of my head instead of right in front. I check that the ends are even, and then tie it a second time to secure it. That leaves some leftover ends from the little scarf that are just hanging around and falling into my eyes ( ; To get them out of the way and polish up the scarfdo, I tuck the very tip of each loose end back under the knot tied in the same scarf. It takes a little fiddling to get a nice bow/flower shape out of the resultant loops, and if I'm really invested in looking polished and/or expecting to be in a lot of wind, I'll secure each of the ends of the short scarf under the knot with a straight pin.

Hope that makes sense! I actually think it looks better if the thin scarf is tied only once, but this one was too slick to get away with that. I loved the combination of colors on that scarf! It came to me used and was very delicate, so I finally had to retire it when it got too ragged last year.

[shelomit]

I use hair scarves pretty much daily too, but not for religious reasons. At work, mostly with my bun visible and while "working" at home, like gardening, I cover all of my hair I prefer silk/satin scarves but also have a few in cotton. They're fine too, as long as I make sure that they keep "still" and don't cause any friction.

And with braids.

Nice photos! I've never worn a scarf with the bun out like that--will have to give it a shot sometime. I do think that friction is my main problem. I'm guessing I do a bit more running around than you, because I can't imagine using a silk or satin scarf for everyday wear, at least not without a "tackier" fabric underneath to keep it in place. If I go out in one of my handful of silk scarves, it's usually collapsed by the wind within seconds of stepping out the door ; P

[TatsuOni]

Nice photos! I've never worn a scarf with the bun out like that--will have to give it a shot sometime. I do think that friction is my main problem. I'm guessing I do a bit more running around than you, because I can't imagine using a silk or satin scarf for everyday wear, at least not without a "tackier" fabric underneath to keep it in place. If I go out in one of my handful of silk scarves, it's usually collapsed by the wind within seconds of stepping out the door ; P

I clean for a living, so it's a lot of "crawling" and walking around. I find that silk and satin scarves works, as long as I tie them tightly around my bun I also place it low on the forehead when I tie it, so that it can "slide back" into the "right" position. Otherwise I would have to keep pull it forward during the day.