Taking care of your hair and growing it out.

[NC_Sarah]

Thanks for sharing, I have long hair and with maddening curls, its very fried and frizzy which annoys me immensely. I am going to see a decent stylist and take care of it more, I have learned a lot more recently on what I was doing wrong and going for healthy first over a look.

I am starting to embrace the curls and get the frizz under control, living in the south means I tend to hibernate during the summer months and only have good hair days in winter :-)

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[MissyMay2.0]

Thanks for sharing, I have long hair and with maddening curls, its very fried and frizzy which annoys me immensely. I am going to see a decent stylist and take care of it more, I have learned a lot more recently on what I was doing wrong and going for healthy first over a look.

I am starting to embrace the curls and get the frizz under control, living in the south means I tend to hibernate during the summer months and only have good hair days in winter :-)

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

I had some damage from highlights; my stylist recommended a shampoo enriched with proteins, and it helps a lot; I also go longer between highlight treatments, and that has been helping also.

[NC_Sarah]

I had some damage from highlights; my stylist recommended a shampoo enriched with proteins, and it helped a lot; I also go longer between highlight treatments, and that has been helping also.

Thanks, I am looking at colouring and switch between getting something outrageous or more natural, I was looking into coconut oil for moisture or egg whites for protein I haven't found a magical product that works for me yet and think old school may be the way to go. I haven't coloured my hair since I was a punk into Billy Idol and Bowie back in the day. Luckily no photos exist of those times (shudder)

I love a more natural look, still trying to find a feminine style which suits my hair type and the shape of my face.

Thanks for sharing! I'll definitely give it a try.

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[MissyMay2.0]

Thanks, I am looking at colouring and switch between getting something outrageous or more natural, I was looking into coconut oil for moisture or egg whites for protein I haven't found a magical product that works for me yet and think old school may be the way to go. I haven't coloured my hair since I was a punk into Billy Idol and Bowie back in the day. Luckily no photos exist of those times (shudder)

I love a more natural look, still trying to find a feminine style which suits my hair type and the shape of my face.

Thanks for sharing! I'll definitely give it a try.

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Here's a link for the shampoo I use http://www.beautycarechoices.com/alfaparf/semi-di-lino-reconstruction-reparative-shampoo
I'm not affiliated with the company in any way; I just like it! I wash my hair every other day (you only need to use a small amount) and the medium size bottle lasts a couple of months for me.

[NC_Sarah]

Thanks!

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[MissyMay2.0]

Thanks!

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You're welcome 😊

[big kim]

My natural colour, haven't coloured for 3 years. Never use hair dryers (unless I have my 2 monthly  trim). My hair stops at this length & wont  go any longer, nor will my  sisters (2 years younger). I'm 61 in October https://scontent-lht6-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/31046354_621161471568380_2876802617080545280_n.jpg?_nc_cat=0&oh=6778bec6b6b4e6dc454a18dacb2e46b3&oe=5BDA9AE8

[MaryT]

My natural colour, haven't coloured for 3 years. Never use hair dryers (unless I have my 2 monthly  trim). My hair stops at this length & wont  go any longer, nor will my  sisters (2 years younger). I'm 61 in October https://scontent-lht6-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/31046354_621161471568380_2876802617080545280_n.jpg?_nc_cat=0&oh=6778bec6b6b4e6dc454a18dacb2e46b3&oe=5BDA9AE8

You look really nice.  If I looked like that, I wouldn't have a cartoon avatar. 

This is a really useful topic.  Thanks to Julia and all contributors.

[LizK]

My natural colour, haven't coloured for 3 years. Never use hair dryers (unless I have my 2 monthly  trim). My hair stops at this length & wont  go any longer, nor will my  sisters (2 years younger). I'm 61 in October https://scontent-lht6-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/31046354_621161471568380_2876802617080545280_n.jpg?_nc_cat=0&oh=6778bec6b6b4e6dc454a18dacb2e46b3&oe=5BDA9AE8

Love your hair and the colour.!!

[big kim]

Thanks, you both need to go to specsavers! Started going gray at 18! Ican't get the hang of posting pix, tried many times.

[MaryT]

... Ican't get the hang of posting pix, tried many times.

If you are referring to the photo in the url, a preview showed that putting [*img] at the start of the url and [*/img] at the end, WITHOUT the asterisks, would display your photo on the forum.  (I used asterisks because markup language doesn't display on the forum.)

Alternatively, you could quote from a post that displays a photo and replace the url with your own.

[Zoe_Kay]

I love this thread so much!

[GingerVicki]

idk if this was mentioned or not, but conditioner for color treated hair is ultra conditioning. 

[Donica]

Thanks so much for this thread Julia!!! I started one year ago to grow my hair out. My current avatar is the most recent picture of my hair. It seems to be growing as slow as HRT does it's thing lol. I had very long hair (down to my lower back) back in my day but that was guy hair. Now I want it to be as feminine as possible. I had no idea I was washing my hair too much (every other day). I'm also not sure about using the 2 in 1 Head and Shoulders shampoo/conditioner. I think I need to start using separate shampoo and conditioners. One thing I did know was to use a wide-tooth comb.  It just makes it easer to work out the tangles.

I was wondering if we could also talk about hair styles. Maybe like bangs verses long hair in front, or? My first avatar I was wearing a wig with bangs. I liked how it helped hide my less than feminine facial features. I'm hoping HRT will help with that in the future. But for now, any thoughts?

Hugs,
Donica.

[ChrissyRyan]

My stylist said that it is not good to wash hair too often, just keep it clean.
It is hard to over condition hair though.

Chrissy

[GingerVicki]

My stylist said that it is not good to wash hair too often, just keep it clean.
It is hard to over condition hair though.

Chrissy

Conditioner is a mild cleanser and if someone does not use a lot of products it is possible to skip the shampoo day and replace it with conditioning instead. I also condition my hair at the start of my shower and rinse it at the very end. I heard that letting the conditioner absorb really helps. I know that it helped me. I don't know if it helps hair to grow, but it certainly helps with split ends.

[I_Am_Hazel]

Adding my thank-you to this post, that was very informative!

[Allison S]

Hi, I know you're not asking me specifically and I'm probably not very good at giving advice.. But I think bangs can be nice, especially to feminize someone's face.
I can't have bangs because my nose is on the "larger" and definitely more crooked side. Bangs don't work for me at all but I can do a part with shorter layers on the side (I prefer the shortest layer to be well past my jaw line if possible...)
So no bangs for me, but it can work very well for others!




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[Donica]

Conditioner is a mild cleanser and if someone does not use a lot of products it is possible to skip the shampoo day and replace it with conditioning instead. I also condition my hair at the start of my shower and rinse it at the very end. I heard that letting the conditioner absorb really helps. I know that it helped me. I don't know if it helps hair to grow, but it certainly helps with split ends.

Thank you Ginger! I didn't know that conditioner was a mild cleanser. I'm going to switch over to Suave shampoo and conditioner as Julia suggested, and follow your suggestion.

Thanks for your input Allison. I think I'm going let it grow out first. Then if I don't like it, I will cut the bangs. Hopefully I'll like that? If not, well, It will grow back  .

Hugs,
Donica.

[Julia1996]

Thanks so much for this thread Julia!!! I started one year ago to grow my hair out. My current avatar is the most recent picture of my hair. It seems to be growing as slow as HRT does it's thing lol. I had very long hair (down to my lower back) back in my day but that was guy hair. Now I want it to be as feminine as possible. I had no idea I was washing my hair too much (every other day). I'm also not sure about using the 2 in 1 Head and Shoulders shampoo/conditioner. I think I need to start using separate shampoo and conditioners. One thing I did know was to use a wide-tooth comb.  It just makes it easer to work out the tangles.

I was wondering if we could also talk about hair styles. Maybe like bangs verses long hair in front, or? My first avatar I was wearing a wig with bangs. I liked how it helped hide my less than feminine facial features. I'm hoping HRT will help with that in the future. But for now, any thoughts?

Hugs,
Donica.

I'm not a fan of the 2 in 1 shampoos with conditioners. In my opinion a separate conditioner will give you better results. If your hair is healthy and not damaged a once a month intensive conditioner is fine. If your hair is damaged I suggest a once a week intensive conditioner. Steam allows the conditioner to penetrate better. At work we have steamers. They look like hair dryers but they produce steam instead of air. The steam in your shower is a good alternative. I leave people under the steamer for 20 minutes but I doubt you want to stand in your shower that long. Just leave your intensive conditioner on while you shave your legs, etc and that will work.

Bangs can definitely soften your features. I'm not a fan of straight bangs. That is bangs cut in a straight line. In my opinion bangs that frame your face are much softer. That's how I wear my bangs. The shortest point starts in the middle of your forehead and the length increases on each side and the end result is bangs that frame your face. I don't recommend cutting your own bangs. It seems easy enough but it can go quite wrong. For those who insist on trying to cut their own bangs I will tell you that where people usually make a huge mistake is holding their bangs taught when they cut them. Bangs will naturally snap back and you will find them shorter than you intended. Make sure your bangs are relaxed when you cut them and you will get the length you wanted instead of looking like moe from the three stooges.