The Long Hair Community - What are your best tips for growing healthy hair????

silkandsand · April 7th, 2003, 06:57 AM

Hi, I am new here. I have long hair, though it has been colored and is not as healthy as I would like. I also have 2 daughters who are growing their hair out long. What is the best advice/tips you can give us for healthy long hair? TIA

KajiKodomo · April 7th, 2003, 07:09 AM

The best advice I have is to treat your hair gently....use a satin pillowcase and less harsh shampoos....don't brush more than is absolutely necessary.....mainly just be aware of it....that's helped me a lot....I mean, I knew it was there before, but now I am thinking before I do some of the things I used to...I used to dye a lot....and shampoo excessively....I used to tug hard on tangles and brush when it was wet and occasionally blow dry.....just stopping things like that has made the biggest difference for my hair....

snippet · April 7th, 2003, 07:11 AM

Oh I get to be the first to welcome you (if I'm not too long winded)!

My advice is to stick around, read all the posts you can, and ask your questions. But before you ask, try to type your hair (and your daughters' too) so that we may understand your hair better. What works for curlies doesn't work for straighties and so on. I'll bump up the hairtyping thread.

Have fun and welcome!

DweamGoiL · April 7th, 2003, 07:18 AM

(n/m)

silkandsand · April 7th, 2003, 08:02 AM

Thanks, Snippet! I appreciate the help and the welcome from all of you. I typed my hair as 2B/M/ii and 23" long with a goal of 30 inches, but HEALTHY

My daughters are:
Maya- 3A/F/ii Her hair is wavy on top and curly underneath?!
Lily- 2A/F/ii

I hope I did these right! My hair can be frizzy at times.

Tomb Raider · April 7th, 2003, 08:11 AM

Welcome, SilkandSand! Some of the things that have really helped me are the CWC (Condition-wash-condition) method, going easy on products (silicones, oils, protiens), and taking daily vitamins (I do a multi, biotin, and E). I also second what Komodokaji said about just being very gentle with your hair.

One other thing I do is keep a hair "journal" in a notebook -- I keep pictures of long hair I really love as inspiration, as well as articles on hair care, and my monthly measurements. I'm finally at the stage where my hair feels "long" to me, but when I was in that in-between stage, seeing the progress I'd made in black and white and where I wanted to be (my pics) really helped me from getting fed up and cutting it all off.

Good luck!

Kelli

silkandsand · April 7th, 2003, 08:20 AM

Tomb Raidere, is the CWC methos exactly what it sounds like? I get in the shower, cndition my hair, then shampoo, then condition again? Thanks for the hair journal idea. I think I will also sew us all some satin pillow cases since i am in southern Mexico and ordering here is hard.

Tomb Raider · April 7th, 2003, 08:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by silkandsand

Tomb Raidere, is the CWC methos exactly what it sounds like? I get in the shower, cndition my hair, then shampoo, then condition again? Thanks for the hair journal idea. I think I will also sew us all some satin pillow cases since i am in southern Mexico and ordering here is hard.

Yes, the basic idea is that-- condition, shampoo and condition again. But there seems to be a lot of (small) variations to the CWC method, so here is how I do it: After wetting my hair, I condition from my ears down--usually with something cheap I can use a lot of (Suave). Then I shampoo-- lathering just the scalp. I rinse both the shampoo and conditioner out of my hair thoroughly. THen I condition as usual with my heavier one (Redken Extreme), leaving that on while I shave etc. Then I rinse again. I don't rinse as thoroughly the second time-- instead I leave a bit of conditioner in the hair (too much gives me the crunchies though, so you have to figure out what works for you).

You can also do a search for "CWC" and see what comes up-- there should be lots of posts to help you decide exactly which routine works for you. Let us know how you make out!!

Kelli
***********
Chestnut brown
2aF-Mii

Mamacat · April 7th, 2003, 09:07 AM

Hi silkandsand! I won't be too much help to you since I know nothing about taking care of wavy or curly hair. I just wanted to say welcome

LongRed · April 7th, 2003, 11:24 AM

Many greetings and welcomes to this board!
I have naturally curly hair that I have
gotten straightened (see picture).

My best advice is to not shampoo every day
(I usually do it once or twice a week), condition
each time you do shampo, and be careful when
you comb or do brush (which again, I don't do
often!)

Welcome to the boards!

Karen · April 7th, 2003, 11:53 AM

I'll pitch in with my usual suggestion for wavies....
Pick up the book (at a bookstore or library) called
Curly Girl by Lorraine Massey

She gives some great ideas for curly and wavy hair.

Cowgal · April 7th, 2003, 01:53 PM

Hi!

I agree with the others that the easiest way to better long hair is by changing your washing routine to a gentler one. Also, using cool water seals the cuticle of the hair down, thus shinier hair that doesn't tangle as much.

Filing down seams on combs and hair toys is also a good idea.

I REALLY like what satin does for my hair. Cotton would leave me looking ragged in the morning and thermal pillow cases- geesh! Buncha lil fuzzies in my hair....

Umm... what else. Ah right, keeping the hair up and out of the way. Find some styles that you and your girls like. The less hair tangles, the less you have to comb, and that means your hair won't break as much.

"Treat long hair like fine lace"

smiles · April 7th, 2003, 02:36 PM

welcome silkandsand! u'll learn a lot here and grow great hair!

Axium · April 7th, 2003, 04:25 PM

Welcome! There's far too much great knowledge here to do it justice with a tips round-up. I hope you'll share that S. Mexican sunshine with us and spend some time here - there's so much to learn - and it's a wonderful crowd!