Taking care of your hair and growing it out.

[Julia1996]

Hi everyone. I decided to make this thread because a lot of you are growing your hair out and aren't sure how to care for longer hair and because it's summer. I'm not sure why but I see a lot of fried and frizzed out hair during the summer. Maybe because people are in such a hurry to get out and do things they rush through drying and styling it. So here we go:


Shampoos. You totally don't need to buy expensive shampoo. Suave shampoo is dirt cheap and works just fine. Weather it's suave or an expensive salon brand all shampoo is just soap with a low PH. I have client's who swear by the salon brands we sell. They don't believe me that suave will do just as well. But that's ok. If you want to buy expensive shampoo that's cool.  But you don't have to. But don't use baby shampoo. I know it smells good and doesn't sting your eyes but it has a high ph that's not good for adult hair.  Conditioner helps make your hair easier to comb out but if you have dry or damaged hair use a intensive conditioner once a week. The heat and steam of the shower help it work a lot better.

NEVER use a brush on wet hair! I've seen people,  including my mom just rip a hairbrush through her wet hair. That will totally cause your hair to break and split. Use a WIDE tooth comb and do it gently. If you have tangles try getting them out with your fingers first. If your hair is long and you have a tangle ,hold the hair right above the tangle and then gently work it out. If you try to comb it out without holding onto the strand of hair you put stress on the entire strand. Hair will stretch a little but if you stretch it too hard it'll split all the way up.

The healthiest way to dry hair is to let it dry naturally.  But I know that's not always possible. You need to blow dry it in sections. Get a clip and gather it up like you're going to put it in a pony tail but leave a section of it right above your ears free. Once that section is dry make another one leaving the hair across the upper middle half of your head free. Finally let the rest of it down and dry it last. If you just dry it all at once by the time the under layers of your hair get dry the upper layers get heat damage. Always dry from the bottom of your head to the top and dry each section from the roots first.  You want to keep as much heat off the ends as possible to keep them from splitting. And despite the commercials those very expensive ionic hairdryers are no better than a $15 dollar dryer from Walmart. We don't use ionic dryers at work.

Be careful when you use a curling iron or flat iron. Dont hold your hair around the bareel of a curling iron or the plates of a flat iron and then just leave it there. That really damages hair. Count to 7 and release it.

If you color your hair at home apply it to your roots only and then apply it to the rest of your hair during the last 10 minutes of processing.  Hair that's already been colored just needs a little processing time to refresh. If you put the color on all your hair for the entire processing time it's going to damage it.

Home perms. BAD IDEA!!  If you really want a perm wait until you can afford to have it done at a salon. I've had many people come in with their hair fried and frizzed down the roots from home perms. I've also seen someone's hair break off at the roots from a home perm. Instant buzz cut, no clippers needed.

Don't ever use products for African American hair unless you are African American. Their hair is very different from Caucasian hair. Chemical relaxers are NOT for straightening caucasion hair. Many chemical relaxers have lye in them which will DISSOLVE caucasian hair and cause series chemical burns to the scalp if it's not protected before the relaxer is applied. Before using a relaxer you have to go through and put vaseline all over the scalp tiny section by section. Women of color also use a hot press comb to straighten their hair. This is also not for caucasian hair. It gets incredibly hot and will instantly singe off Caucasian hair.

To grow your hair out you sometimes have to lose some length. The only way to fix split ends is to cut them off. If you don't cut off the entire split end then it will just keep splitting. While you might gain some length if you don't cut them, you will just have long but totally frizzed out hair.

And for transguys, tell your stylist you want a male haircut. The same haircut can be different for a guy or a girl. Especially the outlining. If you get a short cut tell your stylist to make sure the outline is square. Female outlining is softer and rounded.

I hope this is helpful to you all.

Julia

[jules968]

Thanks for this post. 


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[Lyric]

Good idea for a thread, Julia. I've grown my hair out several times (from a couple of inches to a couple of feet). Ideally, you want to leave alone as much as possible. The less you do to your hair during a grow out, the better. Avoid excessive washing, heat, brushing and combing. Avoid hats, elastics and metal clips. Also, there's really no magic way to substantially increase your hair's growth rate. The best thing to do is to occupy your mind with other concerns for a few months. Soon enough you'll realize your hair is much longer.

[Crazy_Emma]

Thanks for making this post. I've been searching for these tips for a very long time... my hair always looks kinda crazy and all over the place... I'll try it out, this is pretty much any info i needed ^^

[Bari Jo]

I just found this post too.  Thanks Julia.  I'm going to try and achieve the look from my avatar.  I do have a high forehead, but with a combover, maybe passable?  I'd love it if it was.

[Lady Sarah]

This is an interesting topic.

There was a time I dyed my hair black, and it grew half way down my back. I looked like a cross between Marilyn Manson, and Cher, because of my facial features and light skin. When I decided to start looking for a boyfriend, I let it go back to my original blond. That's when it would break off, and barely pass my shoulders anymore. I do miss it being long, but don't miss it getting caught in doors and stuff.

[Jin]

If you go to a professional shop for a haircut, as opposed to at home, be sure to tell them if you want to look like a girl or like a boy. Do NOT assume they will know by your clothes.

[antia212]

How long should I let it grow before I start going to a hairdresser to cut off split ends? I'm like a month into my last buzz cut (got it for a couple of interviews for school).

And what do you think about the castor/coconut oil treatment (twice a week)?

Thanks, Julia!


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[Julia1996]

How long should I let it grow before I start going to a hairdresser to cut off split ends? I'm like a month into my last buzz cut (got it for a couple of interviews for school).

And what do you think about the castor/coconut oil treatment (twice a week)?

Thanks, Julia!


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If you had a buzz cut a month ago then it will be a while before you need to start worrying about split ends. You don't need to worry about split ends until it's at least chin length. And then only if you notice split ends. Usually hair is almost shoulder length before you need to trim split ends. Coconut oil is a very good conditioner for hair.

[LizK]

One of the big things I see many girls doing when they are trying to grow their hair out is over washing it. Once a week is plenty and maybe twice if you are really unhappy with how it feels. My understanding is that shampoo is to clean the scalp and conditioner is for the hair...Massaging your scalp promotes blood flow to the scalp which stimulates growth. As has already been said....you need to cut it to make it grow

Anyone with Thyroid issues should keep an eye on their medication levels and ensure they are taking the correct does to keep thyroxine levels at a therapeutic level....

[barbie]

One widely-held belief is that air drying your hair keeps your locks healthy, but Dr Moore says it is actually more damaging than blow drying it.

http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/cambridge-news/cambridge-university-hair-blow-dryer-13847971

barbie~~

[antia212]

One of the big things I see many girls doing when they are trying to grow their hair out is over washing it. Once a week is plenty and maybe twice if you are really unhappy with how it feels. My understanding is that shampoo is to clean the scalp and conditioner is for the hair...Massaging your scalp promotes blood flow to the scalp which stimulates growth. As has already been said....you need to cut it to make it grow

Anyone with Thyroid issues should keep an eye on their medication levels and ensure they are taking the correct does to keep thyroxine levels at a therapeutic level....

What do you mean by "you need to cut it to make it grow"?


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[big kim]

I had a grown out DA slicked back with lots of gel while growing my hair out til it was long enough to tie back

[Julia1996]

What do you mean by "you need to cut it to make it grow"?


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It's actually more like you have to cut your hair when the ends split to have long healthy hair.
You have to cut off split ends. If you don't the ends will just keep splitting up the length of the hair. If that happens then you end up with frizzy hair that won't smooth down. If you keep the ends trimmed then you will have healthy hair.

[Lady Lisandra]

Good idea. It's hard to grow your hair when you don't even know how to take care of it.

I used to staighten my hair every day and now half of my hair length is severly damaged. I'd add that unless you want to waste tons of money in repairing your hair, keep it away from amoniac and heat as much as possible.

Also, use oil. A lot of oil. Olive,  coconut and aragan oil do wonders to your hair.

[Chloe2017]

I once grew my hair out way before my self discovery it was the full length of my back. Long, straight, natural. I expect it will be that way again in time. As for management. Hair gets dirty but doesn't need a shampoo every day. Condition after every shampoo. Avoid permanent dyes, bleach, harsh chemicals, etc... trim every few months to clear out the split ends. Simple but effective. That's my hair at least.


Chloe

[Cenna]

This is the advice I wish I had 5 years ago when I started growing my hair out...... Dangit.

[EvaMarie]

I would also add for girls with naturally curly hair that you need to read the bottles a big more than those with straight hair. Sulfate and silicone will destroy your hair. A lot of times conditioner has silicone in it, which builds up in your hair and needs to be washed out with sulfate, which are found in shampoo. Its a vicious cycle that destroys curly hair. If you want to fix the problem was one last time with a sulfate shampoo then throw it away. This ensures the buildup is dealt with then switch to a conditioner that says "no silicone, sulfate, minerals, dyes, or parabans" I've had good luck with Maui Moisture. From there always go with a detangler and fingers. I use Cowboy Magic. Its meant for horses but does a great job on my hair. I also use a leave in conditioner from shea moisture, again, finding the one without sulafates. I went from "scarecrow hair" as my girlfriend called it to a relatively normal look. Waiting for the color damaged hair to grow out. I suffer from an abundance of hairdressers who have no clue how to cut curly hair though. If you have curly hair, either guys or girls, look up the "curly girl method."

[Prada]

Thanks for your informative thread. It's really helpful for me.

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[SarahMarie1987]

I am in the process of letting my hair grow out. It is wavy, thick, and curly hair.

Right now it is about to my neck in the back, but almost covering my ears on the sides. I shampoo with Argon oil (it is a blue bottle) I would say about 3 times a week. Also been conditioning it. I like that.

Still trying to figure out how to style it. Normally, I just comb it back and let it air dry for work (not out as Sarah with them yet). So it looks kind of crazy. But I was thinking of trying to put it up a bit. Or at least playing around with that when I have free time.