Hi again everyone. I had a question about growing your hair. First I use conditionar and shampoo and don't have any split ends. But I really want my hair to grow longer faster. I know I'm supposed to cut it pretty regularly, but the places I go always seem to cut too much. Granted I do go to supercuts. I'm not living as a girl so all they seem to know how to do is buzz a guys hair.

At the moment my bangs are getting pretty long, about to my nose and the hair on my sides can just about cover my ears. However the hair in back isn't even half way down my neck. I think I need to trim up the sides and front to keep it in line with the top and back, but I'm afraid to go get it cut again because of how much they chopped off last time.

I guess my question is about any foods or shampoo or something that will help stimulate the hair growth. I'm looking for a new place to get my hair cut that will ACTUALLY listen to me when I tell them not to chop it all off. Has anyone found anything that will help?

I wish.  I would love to have my hair down to my butt.  Barbie upset me when she cut hers.

Janet

Cutting it will not make it grow any faster, hair grows at a pretty consistent rate.
Let it grow, if you see split ends, get it them trimmed off (or let it go).

Couple things that help.
Don't scrub the heck out of your scalp. This breaks and pulls out hair.
Only use shampoo on your scalp, enough runs off to clean your hair.
Find a shampoo that doesn't have sodium laureth sulfate, this strips the oil from it. It's too aggressive, especially for longer/older hair.
Don't shampoo more than twice a week. I usually shampoo twice, and condition as needed.
Find a conditioner that works for your hair type. Some is good for thin, some is good for thick. Some is just junk.
Olive oil makes for a great conditioner once in a while. Put it in and let it sit as long as you can. Then shampoo and condition.
Beware silicone additives. If an additive says "cone" it's a silicone to make your hair feel better than it is. Great if you want it to look healthy and shiny, just beware that this is a false sense of healthy hair.
Depending on how long you go, also can change things. Below the shoulder blade, expect to shed more hair as you tend to lean against it when sitting and laying. Expect to have to sit and lay down differently a bit. Also, it becomes an issue in other ways too. You always have to be aware of it is when you are working on things.

I love long hair (down to my waist when combed out), but I am considering cutting it just above my shoulder blades or to my shoulders. It's a lot of maintenance and I go through a lot of conditioner.

I believe folic acid is supposed to help the growth of healthy skin and nails, so just make sure you're eating enough foods that contain a good amount of folic acid. Leafy greens, citrus fruits, and breakfast cereal are all good! It's good for your health in general, and is probably in your daily multivitamin (I looked at the label on mine and it says it has 100% of the recommended daily value).

As long as your hair is free of split ends, you're fine and don't need to get it cut. When the ends start looking scraggly, then it's time for a trim. If you're not happy with supercuts, then find another place to go, there's plenty of cheap walk in places, and they're not all bad! When they ask how much to take off, tell them that you just want a trim and that you're trying to grow your hair out long. Also you might want to look for pictures of styles that will work well with the length of hair you have now to help get you through that awkward stage of in between without having to cut too much off of the longer areas. There are lots of cute choppy/layered styles out there that might work for you! I find that taking in a picture of the hair cut I want works a LOT easier then trying to explain what you want done! LOL

HTH!

~Amy

folic acid, vitamin E and B, and "silica"..
there's a silica + vitamin B supplement you can get at any store that stocks vitamins and supplements (I go to the local pharmacy and they have it there) and it will make your hair and nails grow faster and stronger.

And buy a second shampoo to your regular one and use that every month or so to make sure you clean out any built up trace elements of your regular shampoo.

Find a proper (women's) salon and tell them what you want and you will get it (most of the time). It will cost you more but isn't it worth it?

I love long hair and wore mine quite long (belt level) for years but shoulder length is easier to maintain.

I've been growing mine out for about two years.  Only occassionally getting a trim.  Never let the back be shortened.  But for some reason it won't grow longer.  I have my ears almost covered and the back is about 5 inches long for the past year.  It just stopped growing long.  Still grows thicker though.  I would love to have a ponytail.  DyLen

Quote from: Nicole Michelle on August 10, 2009, 12:11:47 AM
I know I'm supposed to cut it pretty regularly, but the places I go always seem to cut too much. Granted I do go to supercuts. I'm not living as a girl so all they seem to know how to do is buzz a guys hair.

Long before transition I used to go to Supercuts and the girls always did exactely what I wanted with my hair.  I liked the Supercuts salon I used to go to and going there enabled me to grow my hair to a good lenth.

Ditto on the junk shampoo. I had been using various kinds of discount shampoo for years and finally decided to try a shampoo/conditioner marketed for females. Made a heck of a difference. The junk shampoos are engineered for a specific price point and that's about it. And, the good stuff is only a few bucks more.

I have tried to grow my hair longer for years.   I get it to three or four inches long and it just seems to stop growing   I read that a regular trim speeds growth but I think it is just you notice your hair length more.  I needed a tidy up for work recently.  I asked the girl in the salon for a trim as I was growing my hair out.   She took off almost half an inch.   I was distinctly not happy.

Hair grows faster in summer, and slower in winter. Nothing can change your hair growth rate, but depending on the condition, hair thickness can change.

A hair dresser recommended me to shampoo twice a day, but I usually do just once, mostly after exercising outdoors.

I made my long hair shorter to my neck, but people say my hair grows so fast, and etc. I am not quite sure. It is still on my neck.

Barbie~~

Quote from: riven_one on August 10, 2009, 09:28:22 AM
Ditto on the junk shampoo. I had been using various kinds of discount shampoo for years and finally decided to try a shampoo/conditioner marketed for females. Made a heck of a difference. The junk shampoos are engineered for a specific price point and that's about it. And, the good stuff is only a few bucks more.

I found the complete opposite. I used to buy all the very expensive shampoo's and conditioners which used to play havock with my hair. They would effectively put so much gunk, chemicals and moisture into your hair that it never felt easy to manage and I would have a hell of a job to manage it. It's cleaver marketing.

I find with simple cheaper shampoo's and conditioners they have less gunk in them and make my hair look and feel much better. It also looks far more healthy than it did before when I used the expensive stuff.

Quote from: Naturally Blonde on August 10, 2009, 01:54:05 PM
I found the complete opposite. I used to buy all the very expensive shampoo's and conditioners which used to play havock with my hair. They would effectively put so much gunk, chemicals and moisture into your hair that it never felt easy to manage and I would have a hell of a job to manage it. It's cleaver marketing.

I find with simple cheaper shampoo's and conditioners they have less gunk in them and make my hair look and feel much better. It also looks far more healthy than it did before when I used the expensive stuff.

That's interesting. I switched from suave to garnier fructis and the difference is amazing. A lot more body and more manageable, whereas with the sauve it was flat and lifeless.

Ever since I started using conditioner, my hair has grown a lot faster. I use Garnier Fructis Length and Strength. I also use Nexxus shampoo once a day. I couldn't imagine not shampooing my hair, it feels (and looks) disgusting without being washed.

I've got my student ID from January and I had short hair then. Now my hair is encroaching upon my shoulders. After another year, I might have it grown to the middle of my back.

It would be nice if I snap my fingers and have my hair grow to whatever length, but that's just not how it is. If you wait long enough, you'll eventually get what you want. That's been my experience. 

Guys have a lot more oil in their body and hair - I used to have greasy skin and my hair got greasy again overnight so it looked like it hadn't been washed in a month!
The last thing I ever needed was to put a conditioner on - it just made my hair seem instantly greasy again.
- HRT sorts all that out. My face is now dry and ideally needs a moisturiser on whilst my hair could be left unwashed for a fortnight and still wouldn't be greasy.
NOW a conditioner makes sense and makes a nice difference   

Quote from: Northern Jane on August 10, 2009, 06:14:17 AM
Find a proper (women's) salon and tell them what you want and you will get it (most of the time). It will cost you more but isn't it worth it?

I agree with Nicole this is good advice. I'm using a salon shampoo/conditioner now called Nioxin (nioxin.com) which actually removes excess DHT from hair and supposedly makes it appear fuller and thicker. For non-salon stuff I like Garnier hair products. Also a lot of girls with long hair use a flat iron for straightening which my stylist says really burns your hair. It's true longer hair is a lot of work but you do get used to it after a while. It's that in-between growing it out stage that's such a pain.

Thanks for all the advice. Right now I'm using Herbal Essence shampoo and conditioner. I like it, but it's hard to manage sometimes. Guess I'll just wait it out and see how it grows for a little while longer.

HRT made my hair grow faster.

Quote from: gothique11 on August 11, 2009, 04:11:58 AM
HRT made my hair grow faster.

That is the one thing that actually will.

This is a little bit off topic, but as someone who had hip-length hair for years, I thought I'd pass on a couple tips for managing really long hair.  (I'm thinking positively for you, here.  )  Once your hair gets past a certain length it has a tendency to tangle much more easily than it did just a few inches shorter.  (At least if you have fine hair, like I do.)  Probably the most useful thing you can do to prevent it tangling is to braid it at night before you go to sleep.  Also, if you do get really bad tangles, say for instance, after a day of swimming in the ocean (salt water + wind = instant dreads) there's a product in the baby shampoo section of the store called "no more tangles".  It's a spray-on lubricant that doesn't have to be washed out, and it's a godsend when dealing with badly tangled hair.