As a newbie to the forum, this is my first "official" post. As I related in my introduction, I was surprised when I looked at the back of my hair in the mirror in an attempt to classify it. I had always thought of myself as having very straight hair. But after allowing it to naturally dry, my hair falls into waves too numerous to classify as less than 2a. This was such a surprise to me it took 3 days and a conversation with my husband in which he assured me that, no, I don't have the stick-straight hair I have always thought of myself having. (I still couldn't believe it and registered myself as a 1c, but I'll have to change that.)

My theory is that I always thought of my hair post-brushing as my best-hair state and what happened before this as pre-brush mess.

I was also suprised when I measured the circumference of my ponytail and it came out to four-and-a-quarter inches. I don't really think of myself as having a thick head of hair but apparently I do.

So, anyone else here get a big surprise when they started paying attention to their hair? A surprise that completely changed what you had always thought about your own hair? Or did your hair type or its behavior change after you began to care for it properly in a way that totally shocked you? Please share!

Welcome to TLHC :) I always thought I had thin hair and was surprised to find myself smack in the middle of the normal range (3" ponytail circumference.) Like you, I also always thought I had straight hair, but that was in part due to the fact I never used to condition my hair. The more moisture it gets, the wavier it gets. I even spied a spiral curl, but the waves pull out very easy when I comb.

Welcome Eaglesflight! With me it was just how wavy, curly that my hair is. I find that the better that I treat my hair the curlier that it gets. I know that it is the moisture that it is getting!

I was surprised that my thin hair was actually a pretty normal thickness, kind of like MariaAZ. And I used to have straight hair, but it is a bit wavy now.

I don't know if this was exactly what you were asking for, but the whole idea of seamless combs and hair-safe hair toys were a complete surprise to me. I shudder when I think about the hair pic I have used for years with rough, weathered seams :scared: I also used to use french-clasp barrettes regularly. At least I never used rubber bands, though :lol:

I guess a surprise about my hair itself is that I never thought that I could have soft hair because it was so coarse. CO washing has made me :inlove: my hair :)

Welcome to LHC!

I have to say I had the same pleasant surprise as a few others on this forum in thinking I had thin hair only to find out it was normal. :grin:

I was surprised to learn that my hair doesn't NEED to be washed squeeky clean every single day....and how much better it looks because I Condition-only.

Oh yes, the more care I take of it the wavier (and I mean less curly!) it gets :bigeyes:

That you don't need shampoo... and that my hair isn't thin. I guess I grew up comparing it to my mother's... surprise to find it's technically an iii....

Not really a surprise, no. When I was young my mother never used a blow dryer on me, so I knew I had wavy hair. I also knew I had thick hair, because my mom always complained about the thickness when she had to cut it. I always used to say, "Just cut along a straight line, mom. What's so difficult about that?". Then she'd say. "Along a line? Along a line? Do you have any idea what I have to cut through?" :lol:

I've got an interesting list-- for one, that my hair is DRY. My parents both claim to have 'greasy' hair and use heavy duty shampoos, so did I for a good portion of my life.

The first time I used conditioner was quite a revelation.

My hair turned out to be not only DRY, but CURLY.

And then when I came across these sites, I discovered my hair was actually long enough to put in a bun and hold it, which it's never done before.

Then I measured my ponytail and found it to be about 3 inches in diameter, when I'd always thought my hair was wimpy and thin.

Then I got some beard trimming scissors to S&D split ends with, thinking 80% of the hair on my head had vicious splits and I'd never make a dent in it, only to find it was more like 15% and inside a week of trimming them out I can hardly find any anymore.

Then there was finding out about the no-shampoo thing. Talk about irony. I'm never touching that stuff again, I don't care if I fall in mud or something.

Then I discovered my favorite conditioner had 'cones in it and those were bad, so I'd have to try other things to see if my hair actually copes with cones or not.

I read a little bit ago that nearly everyone has the potential to grow their hair out to at least classic length-- and that idea is amazing, because I'd always figured my hair would never get much past my shoulders.

Then there was plopping the first time, and ending up with ringlets that barely reached my chin-- from hair that's BSL.

Right now my head is a totally different animal than what I grew up with. Whew!



Oh!! And perhaps the most important surprising revelation of all-- that I actually really do WANT long hair! My whole life it just didn't sink in-- I had my mom telling me hers never gets past her shoulders, so mine probably won't either, and I was always getting told it was thin and weak, curly hair won't grow, etc etc etc... I thought I'd given up on it. But looking back I realize I've actually been avoiding doing anything damaging to it on sheer instinctive reflex, and actually going through some difficult gyrations to try to let it grow-- like letting my bangs grow out, that was MISERABLE but I'd never in a million years cut them back in.

I'm surprised that it takes very little shampoo mixed with a lot of water to come clean. I never in a million years would have guessed that cheap-o conditioner applied to the roots and then left to percolate for awhile would foam my hair clean and leave it silky smooth. I'm amazed that sometimes these curls (which I have scattered here and there all over my head) fall into very loose, smooth waves for no particular reason, while the currently wavy hairs fall straight, and as soon as I'm used to having hair like that - for no particular reason, they spring into curls again and S-waves again. I used to blow dry and flat iron it pretty regularly, so I never knew I had an irregular "hair cycle."

I was suprised to find my hair in the mid-range for thickness — I consisitently get a 3¼" circumference ponytail even not measuring my wispy bangs. No textural or curling changes though. It's fine and straight. Period.

A few surprises for me:

- I don't need to shampoo every day just to make sure my scalp doesn't itch (duh!)

- that wasn't dandruff on my scalp, just very irritated and dry skin... (duh! again)

- in fact I don't need to use any shampoo...

- CO is great

- I still have the curls I used to have when I was little :cloud9:

- it seems entirely possible for me to grow my hair long again, it doesn't have to be short just because I want to cover my grey hair...

I'm so happy I found LHC!

Surprise!

I was reading this thread and thinking, well no surprises for me. No hidden curls (worst luck). But then I thought, I haven't actually measured my ponytail *shock* I just guessed and plumped for thin. (I'm a newbie!)

Anyway I just measured it. And got DH to check it, to be quite sure...and it's 2 and a quarter inches!! And it's layered so if anything that's an underestimate.
I'm SO happy!!
Looks like my 'thin' hair has recovered more than my perception of it.

**goes off to change profile singing happily**

ETS: (2 and quarter inches rather than 2 and a half! I was getting carried away in the excitement of finding my hair thicker than I thought!)

As sad as it sounds, I learned NOT to use a hairbrush when in the shower/my hair is wet. I also learned how to measure for hair thickness. I can't measure my hair thickness yet because I can't tie a ponytail. (my hair's to short) :( But hey! It'll grow!

That's exactly what I did, Tai Shan Fan. I measured it and ... 3.5 inches? No way!

Welcome to the boards! :waving:

I too had a hair epiphany shortly after coming here. My hair was such a mass of damage at the beginning that while I knew I had curly hair, I honestly didn't know *how* curly it was. I thought I did. I thought I had 3B/3C hair. But much to my surprise, I don't. As my hair calmed down and stopped being a giant frizzball (see profile pic to see what I mean), and after I took natural hair photos for a specific thread, I realized <gasp> that I am NOT that curly! This was a real identity crisis for me for a few days. I was really down about it. I posted a big angst thread asking people to classify my hair, and then :wail: ing around about it not being 3B anymore. (Not that I ever WAS a 3B.) :lol: Then I realized that 3A hair is still curly and looks just fine. I was a reluctant 3A at first, but I have come to really love my hair all over again in its true form. There are still days as it gets longer than its not as curly as I'd like it to be, but aside from that I have no big complaints.

So yes, it is shocking when you get your hair to what it really is, or you see it as it really is for the first time. Accepting it afterward is a true, major key to being happy with your hair and ultimately yourself.

Speedy

Speedy, your profile picture really shows an amazing difference. And, as yours was one of the first journals I ever read, I have a particular fondness for your spirals. *smile

Finding the waves is definitely a big surprise to me. My hair HAD been stick straight for years, but with the graying process the waves have kicked in.

I want to try plopping, but am not sure how to go about it - I really don't have anything to put over my hair to sleep in and plop it correctly. Whatever that might be...

Also want to try the CO technique. Just got a new bottle of my favorite shampoo, though, so am not anxious to give it up! Maybe they have a conditioner, though, will check it out.

My hair in a pony tail is actually 5"+, but I can't, in good conscience, list it as "thick." I am rapidly developing what appears to be a "male-pattern baldness" beginning at the back/crown of my head and becoming frighteningly noticeable regardless the style I'm wearing.

Getting scary. I take a lot of meds, though, and the ones for Crohn's are particularly suspect. Nothing I can do about it, but try and get my hair in the absolute best condition as is possible (and invest in hats?!)

Finding waves for me was a big one too. But only part of my hair is wavy- the outer inch of thickness is still stick straight, but the rest has waves. Hoping the outside will catch up with the inside.
Given that I foun some waves, I'll try plopping soon. Just to test it out.

I'm still being surprised with my hair after joining this site about five weeks ago. Like you, I discovered that this hair isn't stick straight and is definitely thicker than once thought. Also, the color has begun to deepen. There will be a time when this hair is healed instead of looking like a mass of dried weeds....sigh.

Speedy, your profile picture really shows an amazing difference. And, as yours was one of the first journals I ever read, I have a particular fondness for your spirals. *smile

Aw. :blushing: Thanks Hue! :flower:

Speedy

Finding waves for me was a big one too. But only part of my hair is wavy- the outer inch of thickness is still stick straight, but the rest has waves. Hoping the outside will catch up with the inside.
Given that I foun some waves, I'll try plopping soon. Just to test it out.

I always thought that only the underside (3/4) of my hair was wavy. Now I know that properly treated the top can be wavy too, and the underside is getting curly! I am even getting very soft spirals at the tips, which I hope will get more defined. Who knew. So Rivka, maybe your outside will catch up too!

Hi eaglesflight!

Yes, I think there are a lot of surprises when you first start paying good attention to your hair. I was surprised as well that my hair was more wavy than I thought. Funny how that works. :)

Welcome and I hope you enjoy it here!

Welcome Eaglesflight! With me it was just how wavy, curly that my hair is. I find that the better that I treat my hair the curlier that it gets. I know that it is the moisture that it is getting!

wow you have really worked hard and it shows - keep up the good work!!

When I measured the thickness of my ponytail a couple of weeks ago, I was surprised to see how thick it is because it seems thinner to me now than it used to be. But, I think the reason it seems thinner to me is because of the V shape.

Also, I am usually pleasantly surprised when I see photographs of myself because my hair looks longer than I think of it as being.

When I let my hair dry "naturally" for the visual hair typing project I was extremely suprised and had to re-classify my hair type. I always thought I had stick straight hair but really it is 2a with long S-waves.

About 5 years ago my always PIN straight hair turned wavy/curly..
I mean it poodled right up!

I had not permed it or anything..
I had however moved near the beach.. So my biggest surprise was to find others here who experienced a similair change. As my family full of beauticians was shocked by this with my hair.

I was shocked to learn that CO can clean your hair and since being here I have done it only and it works! ( ok its a week! but still!)

I too have had suprises since finding this forum

My hair does have a natural wave-it's not stick straight like I thought

I really think it looks thicker now

I really can live without washing it every day

I really can live without blowdrying with a round brush everyday and inflicting major damage to my hair

I can't believe the things I have learned here about hair in such a short time