Growing Hair/Treatment/Look

[Paulina]

Well I always wanted to grow my hair, but because of family reasons I cut it short.

Well what are the best ways to take care of hair as it is growing do you know of? It's going to go through a strange stage, but I want long hair when I start transitioning which will be in 2 and 3/4 years (surgeries and all). I want to be down to the middle of my back. I'm not planning to do anything with it, until it reaches that length. I just want it as healthy as it possibly can be.

Any advice?

[Sephirah]

I keep mine in a ponytail a lot because, frankly, if it's at that strange length inbetween then I tend to look like Medusa. As for taking care of it, I'm not sure you have to do too much differently, just wash, condition, and maybe get the ends trimmed so it grows evenly.

How quickly does your hair grow?

[Linda]

My hair was almost to the middle of my back for years, it's almost to my shoulders at this point. Currently, I keep cutting it back to appear more "clean cut" for job interviews.

My hair is fine and there are lots of them. I found hot oil treatments and trimming about every six months to prevent split ends beneficial. Also, I didn't brush it when it was wet, split ends again.

[Paulina]

I believe it grows the average length, an inch every two months. Maybe a little less, since it seems to me to take forever whenever I cut it short, and grow it a bit. So maybe sometimes an inch every two months and a half. Then it's slightly wavy, so it may take even longer to get down my back than straight hair would.

Linda are you blonde, that sounds like blonde hair

[Linda]

Yes, Paulina, but a rather dirty blonde with them ol' gray & whites taking over.

Back when I was working outdoors when I was younger, it would sun bleach to a nice straw blonde. I would often be asked, or more so told, that I was streaking my hair, for the darker shades underneath would show.

I got a funky shag cut for a wedding years ago, when I was the person who stood to the right of the groom, and the two-tone was really obvious, it looked great.

[Lyric]

I'm a total lover of long hair and worn mine in every length and style.
The trick to growing it out where it looks good is to be gentle with it. Wash it less often, avoid hot appliances, keep brushing to a minimum (causes split ends), and deep condition every couple of weeks or so. Use a shampoo and conditioner combo with panthenol in it. A leave-in after-shampoo conditioner is a good idea if you have dryness, too.

--Lyric

[Miniar]

A good conditioner also helps keep the need for brushing/combing down, and once you have it to a long enough length, braid it for sleep and it won't tangle during the night, further reducing the need for combing brushing and it gives your hair nice gentle and pretty waves too.

[Mr. Fox]

Natural shampoo is better for your hair; you might consider switching over.  Be warned: your hair will look like crap when you first switch over, but that's temporary.  Also, do get your hair trimmed occasionally, just to get rid of split ends.

[barbie]

During this weekend, I had my hair cut short. It used to take about an hour to dry my long hair completely every morning, and a lot of shampoo and rinse. Probably I was tired of taking care of my long hair every day during the past 5 years. So, I decided to make my hair short, but still look like women's.

Now I realize the weight of my hairs. My neck is now a little bit unburdened. It is surprisingly comfortable, but I may grow again my hairs depending on my mood.

Barbie~~

[Miniar]

Also, this is not just for you ppls who are growing your hair long, but for everyone.
Don't always use the same shampoo.
Shampoo and conditioner can sometimes leave a slight residue in your hair that can build up if you keep using the same product, it can cause some damage.
Clearing out the residue once a month with something else than your regular shampoo keeps your scalp healthier which translates to healthier hair.

[barbie]

That right.

In addition, it is recommended to rinse by water at least for 3 miniutes in order to remove all residuals of artificial shampoo accumulated in scalp. Natural shampoo can minimize the problem of residual, but its cleansing effect is not so powerful compared with artificial shampoo.

Barbie~~

[Paulina]

Thanks for the tips

I really like your hair Barbie in that avatar