Help!! Newbe

[SurferB]

Please, educate me about how to help my hair. I'm only 21 and I was vegan for 1.5 years. My hair started thinning, and I started feeling pretty bad... Now I'm vegetarian and feeling 110% better. My hair seems to be growing in thicker now. I naturally have super thick hair and I've always had very long hair, but I never knew how to grow it very healthfully. ALL adivce is welcome!! I cut it maybe 6 months ago up to my sholders, and now I'm growing it back out to my waist.

[SeaLamb]

i'm quite confident that the introduction of dairy back into your diet has nothing to do with you feeling better. in fact 50% of the world is lactose intolerant, so it is essentially poisonous to humans. what i would guess happened is that by cutting out dairy, you also had inadvertently cut out a lot of the variety in your diet and you were becoming malnourished. especially for vegans its important to remain vigilant in eating a wide variety of foods so you can supply your body with all of the necessary vitamins and nutrients you need to keep you and your hair happy and healthy .

separately, do you oil your hair at all? i used to use organic jojoba oil, but now i mostly just use organic coconut oil (i think my hair likes it better than the jojoba).

however, the best way to learn how to make your hair healthier and longer is to just read through the threads and articles here. they're a lot of help, especially when you're new.

good luck

[PixxieStix]

Welcome to the LHC.

Much of the advice will center around a few things, namely finding a hair are routine that works for you, learning how to detangle gently, wearing protective up-do's, and some people like to do a lot of pampering and some like benign neglect, and usually either way you end up with some pretty rocking LHC hair.

[Shermie Girl]

Good nutrition is definitely big in growing healthy looking hair, protein, especially is beneficial. Other nutrients help, as well. I am not going to comment on vegan as opposed to vegetarian diets, as I am a die hard omnivore with a special affinity for a good steak. But key to growing your hair is gentler treatment. Low or no heat helps, gentle brushing and combing. Using natural oils is nice, protein treatments, lots of rich. moisture infusing conditioners. A lot of members prefer more natural hair care, whole some of us are chemical and cone heads.

It will take time to research different methods, the boards are packed with thread after thread full of wonderful information. Make friends with the search function and do your reading. Experiment with different products and find what works for you and your own hair. Remember, nothing is out of bounds, "bad" or wrong. It is all about what is right for your own hair. Enjoy the journey. Have fun with the trial and error and remember, growing your hair is an odyssey. One that can be very satisfying.

Welcome to LHC!

[Madora]

Welcome to LHC, SurferB!

General hints:

Always detangle your hair with a wide tooth comb before you brush it. Start at the ends by taking a small section of hair and gently combing, then move the comb up the section and comb out again, until you reach the scalp.

Do not wash the daylights out of your hair. Frequent shampooing can remove the hair's natural oil, leaving the hair like hay.

Eat a healthy diet, drink plenty of water, exercise moderately.

Give yourself minute trims every 3 or 4 months. In between, do S and D (Search and Destroy) on any damage you find ..i.e. split ends, white dots. Be SURE and use SHARP shears.

Wear your hair up to protect the delicate ends. You might want to look into a satin pillowcase to protect the ends at night.

Avoid ponytails if at all possible. They are not hair friendly.

If you don't know how to already, learn to braid your hair.

Keep your hair tools squeaky clean.

I believe in brushing with a pure (no nylon) boar bristle brush and you can find my articles on brushing, air drying and detangling (with a wide tooth comb) up in the Articles section (the grey menu bar, above).

Avoid straighteners, hot irons, hot curlers, bleaching, blow frying.

The less stuff you put on your hair, the less chance for buildup on your strands.

Above all, you'll need a LOT of patience. Beautiful hair is a journey of years and nothing you can take or put on your hair will make it grow any faster or thicker than what nature intended.

Find the products that work for you and stick with them. I'm a firm believer in "less is more" but YMMV. Good luck and happy growing!

[SurferB]

i'm quite confident that the introduction of dairy back into your diet has nothing to do with you feeling better. in fact 50% of the world is lactose intolerant, so it is essentially poisonous to humans. what i would guess happened is that by cutting out dairy, you also had inadvertently cut out a lot of the variety in your diet and you were becoming malnourished. especially for vegans its important to remain vigilant in eating a wide variety of foods so you can supply your body with all of the necessary vitamins and nutrients you need to keep you and your hair happy and healthy .

separately, do you oil your hair at all? i used to use organic jojoba oil, but now i mostly just use organic coconut oil (i think my hair likes it better than the jojoba).

however, the best way to learn how to make your hair healthier and longer is to just read through the threads and articles here. they're a lot of help, especially when you're new.

good luck

I didn't add dairy back into my diet at all. I've only added raw goats cheese, raw goats kefir, along with salmon once per week, organic pasture fed eggs, raw goat yogurt. I'm a nutritionist, and I aim for 5 servings of organic veggies per day, at least 3 servings of fruit per day and no grains. I also eat plenty of other things like raw organic nuts. Thank you for your help!!

[SurferB]

Welcome to LHC, SurferB!

General hints:

Always detangle your hair with a wide tooth comb before you brush it. Start at the ends by taking a small section of hair and gently combing, then move the comb up the section and comb out again, until you reach the scalp.

Do not wash the daylights out of your hair. Frequent shampooing can remove the hair's natural oil, leaving the hair like hay.

Eat a healthy diet, drink plenty of water, exercise moderately.

Give yourself minute trims every 3 or 4 months. In between, do S and D (Search and Destroy) on any damage you find ..i.e. split ends, white dots. Be SURE and use SHARP shears.

Wear your hair up to protect the delicate ends. You might want to look into a satin pillowcase to protect the ends at night.

Avoid ponytails if at all possible. They are not hair friendly.

If you don't know how to already, learn to braid your hair.

Keep your hair tools squeaky clean.

I believe in brushing with a pure (no nylon) boar bristle brush and you can find my articles on brushing, air drying and detangling (with a wide tooth comb) up in the Articles section (the grey menu bar, above).

Avoid straighteners, hot irons, hot curlers, bleaching, blow frying.

The less stuff you put on your hair, the less chance for buildup on your strands.

Above all, you'll need a LOT of patience. Beautiful hair is a journey of years and nothing you can take or put on your hair will make it grow any faster or thicker than what nature intended.

Find the products that work for you and stick with them. I'm a firm believer in "less is more" but YMMV. Good luck and happy growing!

Thank you so much! I'm actually doing every single thing you listed already!! Awesome! It's great to know that my care routine is helping.

[SurferB]

i'm quite confident that the introduction of dairy back into your diet has nothing to do with you feeling better. in fact 50% of the world is lactose intolerant, so it is essentially poisonous to humans. what i would guess happened is that by cutting out dairy, you also had inadvertently cut out a lot of the variety in your diet and you were becoming malnourished. especially for vegans its important to remain vigilant in eating a wide variety of foods so you can supply your body with all of the necessary vitamins and nutrients you need to keep you and your hair happy and healthy .

separately, do you oil your hair at all? i used to use organic jojoba oil, but now i mostly just use organic coconut oil (i think my hair likes it better than the jojoba).

however, the best way to learn how to make your hair healthier and longer is to just read through the threads and articles here. they're a lot of help, especially when you're new.

good luck

Also, I do use organic unrefined, extra virigin coconut oil once per week as a deep conditioner and sealent. Is this good? I also have jojoba oil, peppermint oil from a high quality source, and ylang ylang oil.

[battle_angel]

Hi SurferB and welcome to the forum! There is lots of information here and I hope it will help you get the thick long hair you're after. And BTW, you look really beautiful in your avatar pic! ^_^

I have one question tough: aren't dairy products generally defined as food produced from the milk of mammals? Don't mean to be rude or anything, just sayin'!

Best of luck with your hair,
-Laetitia

[SurferB]

Hi SurferB and welcome to the forum! There is lots of information here and I hope it will help you get the thick long hair you're after. And BTW, you look really beautiful in your avatar pic! ^_^

I have one question tough: aren't dairy products generally defined as food produced from the milk of mammals? Don't mean to be rude or anything, just sayin'!

Best of luck with your hair,
-Laetitia

Thank you! (: Yes, dairy from cows. I meant I don't drink dairy from cows ;P