Growing my hair out again... and being a total nerd about it.

AllieMackie

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#1
So, my hair was this long about a year ago...



...and it got even longer in the past year. Then I got it cut a month ago...



.... and, well, meh.

Within a week I missed the long locks. I missed how feminine they made me feel, how well my hair behaved, and how fun it was to play around with.

Fast forward to a few days ago when I finally joined the Long Hair Community forums I've lurked on for the past year or so, and I'm hooked to growing my hair back. :D

I also want to experiment with dying my hair with henna, as I never have. I've used chemical dyes for years and I have a terrible dry scalp, I'd be curious to see if the henna helps that and helps strengthen my hair. Also, messing with alternative hair care. I've stuck with wash-condition for so long, I'd like to play around with CWC and CO. We'll see!

Anyone else hair nerds? I think Maf is on LHC too...
 

Beanie

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#3
I'm trying to grow out my bangs. They are currently in that stage where I'm always in constant danger of going "OH JUST FORGET IT," grabbing my razor, and chopping them myself.

I've been thinking about henna dying too, ever since they discontinued my fave hair dye and I haven't been able to find one that is just subtle enough to work for me. But I'm terrified it will be too intense and I won't be able to fix it... =/
 

maxfox426

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#4
Hmmm... did not know there were communities for long hair. LOL! Might have to check that out...

My hair is about waist length right now. Not the longest it's ever been, but getting close. I've donated twice and felt good about it, but this time I really want to grow it out. I wanna be Rapunzel. :p
 

Zoom

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#5
I'm also growing my hair back out. I've gone shampoo-free over the past two months and my hair has never felt better!

Instead of using shampoo, mix 1 Tbsp of baking soda per 1 cup of water. Pour over and massage into scalp. Rinse, then using the same proportions, mix apple cider vinegar in water and rinse the ends. Follow with some light conditioner on the ends if needed to tame static.

My hair is growing a lot faster and has a lot more body since I've started doing that method.
 

AllieMackie

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#6
I've been thinking about henna dying too, ever since they discontinued my fave hair dye and I haven't been able to find one that is just subtle enough to work for me. But I'm terrified it will be too intense and I won't be able to fix it... =/
That's my scare too. I'd like to do a strand test, but even that won't show exactly how the hair will turn out!
 

maxfox426

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#7
I'm also growing my hair back out. I've gone shampoo-free over the past two months and my hair has never felt better!

Instead of using shampoo, mix 1 Tbsp of baking soda per 1 cup of water. Pour over and massage into scalp. Rinse, then using the same proportions, mix apple cider vinegar in water and rinse the ends. Follow with some light conditioner on the ends if needed to tame static.

My hair is growing a lot faster and has a lot more body since I've started doing that method.
This is the kind of advice I've been looking for! Might have to give it a try. :) I've been trying to research dry shampoo, too, and have really gotten nowhere.
 

Southpaw

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#8
I'm trying to grow mine out a little bit. It's been shoulder-length for YEARS and I'm just looking for a change. If I straightened it, it would probably be the perfect length lol but nooo, I've got curls to deal with.

I don't want super long though. Armpit length, probably.
 

Bailey08

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#9
I went through a LHC obsession for a while. But, honestly, at some point felt like my hair was long just to be long, so I've been back at BSL (funny!) for a few years now.

I also went through an even longer phase of being really into skincare. :)
 
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#10
Here I am! I'm in a silly last ditch effort to grow my hair out. It hasn't been long for YEARS. I've been growing out a mohawk since about a year ago, and I haven't had a cut-cut (minus trims) since July. I can put it up in a pretty decent pony tail, but I just don't feel as fierce as I used to with the longer hair.
 

AllieMackie

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#12
I went through a LHC obsession for a while. But, honestly, at some point felt like my hair was long just to be long, so I've been back at BSL (funny!) for a few years now.
I got a kick out of the BSL thing, too.

I'll likely only grow it out to just below BSL again, but I may grow it longer, we'll see. LHC is useful in so many ways. Learning the pros and cons of henna, as well as varied hair care. CWC hair washing, for example, seems to make a lot of sense.

I also love all the hairstyle suggestions. :D I'm becoming such a girl.
 

RD

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#13
I'm growing my hair out a bit as well, but it's soooooo challenging to do shampoo-free cleansing. My ends are dry but my freaking scalp seems so oily because my hair is thin on top. If I don't cleanse daily, it looks super limp and the roots seem oily.

I condition the mids/ends heavily and try to only use my gentle, sulfate/paraben free shampoo on my scalp, but still I wish I had the right head to use conditioner only treatments.
 

Dekka

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#14
I have thought about joining, I read them when Maf is over :)

My hair isn't super long, but its the longest its been in ages. I was doing SLS free but since doing low carb I need more 'bite' in my shampoo once a week. My hair and skin are MUCH more moisturized now that I am eating a good number of my calories in fat.
 

Zoom

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#15
I'm growing my hair out a bit as well, but it's soooooo challenging to do shampoo-free cleansing. My ends are dry but my freaking scalp seems so oily because my hair is thin on top. If I don't cleanse daily, it looks super limp and the roots seem oily.

I condition the mids/ends heavily and try to only use my gentle, sulfate/paraben free shampoo on my scalp, but still I wish I had the right head to use conditioner only treatments.
There is a "switch-over" period where your scalp is going to look disgusting, because it's so used to compensating for the oils that get stripped out by the shampoo, even the gentle stuffs. Give it about 2 weeks, keep your hair up or under a bandana or something, in braids and wash about every 4 days with the baking soda/vinegar. By the end of that, the roughest part will be over and you can figure out how often you need to clean your hair from there.
 

maxfox426

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#16
There is a "switch-over" period where your scalp is going to look disgusting, because it's so used to compensating for the oils that get stripped out by the shampoo, even the gentle stuffs. Give it about 2 weeks, keep your hair up or under a bandana or something, in braids and wash about every 4 days with the baking soda/vinegar. By the end of that, the roughest part will be over and you can figure out how often you need to clean your hair from there.
That is good to know.

Do you just mix up a bunch of it in advance and keep it in the shower? Or do you make it to order every time? :)
 

~Jessie~

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#17
I'm on LHC. I mostly lurk occasionally.

Back in college, my hair was 1/2 way down my back. I cut it to my chin. I was so upset about it, and vowed to never cut it short again!

Six years later, my hair is about an inch or two away from classic length. I LOVE long hair. I wear it down every day (it's curly) and couldn't imagine having short hair now that it's so long! I'm not sure how long I'm going to grow it. Classic was my goal but it should be longer than that by summertime.

ETA: I mostly do CO every 2-3 days(conditioner only- Burt's Bees) but I use SLS free (Burt's Bees as well) about once a week.

I use coconut oil and Mixed Chicks in my hair. Makes it so soft and easy to deal with!
 

JacksonsMom

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#18
I like shorter hair better for me, it makes me look younger, IMO. As a kid, my hair was always super long - like, often to my butt. It just irritates me now. Too much work, LOL. And I'm trying sooo hard to grow my bangs out. Well, they're not even really "bangs" (at least they're not supposed to be?) but I have so much damaged/broken hair from straightening and coloring, that it ended up making a lot of front pieces shorter than I want, haha.

Anyways most of the time I just prefer shorter-ish hair. I think it looks neater or something.
 
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#19
Go to www.mehandi.com They have really good pics and recipes for getting the color you want on your base hair color :) The henna and several other organic dyes and treatments (like amla) do make a big difference in the strength of your hair. Last time I had mine trimmed it had been well over a year and I had NO split ends at all.

Mine's down below my shoulder blades now. I'm being encouraged to go at least waist length -- not that I really need any encouragement, lol.
 

CaliTerp07

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#20
I can't stand long hair. It gets stuck to things, sheds all over stuff, and is much harder to style than shorter hair. I try to keep mine just below my shoulders. Any longer than that and I look way too young and it's just a limp mess.
 

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