Who knows a lot about long hair, or hair in general?

In My Humble Opinion
1

Soo, I want long hair. Like, to my butt long hair. Since this is going to take me quite a while I want to make sure I’m doing things right and I have a few questions.

My hair is naturally wavy and it is also frizzy and dry (though my scalp is pretty oily) and it has been like this since before I even started to do terrible things to it (which I don’t do anymore).

Some people believe that if you cut a bit of your hair it will grow out faster. Why is this? I’ve heard that it is both true and untrue, but there must be some reason people do believe it is true, right? And if it isn’t true, why isn’t it?

If I have damaged hair, can the damage scale all the way up to the root and be damaged forever? Will damaged hair ever grow back out healthy?

Should I trim it occasionally while I am waiting for it to grow out super long?

I have read a lot about going shampoo free and I’ve tried it and it does work (baking soda and apple cider vinegar). My hair is neither super greasy nor smelly. I have been doing this for a while but I am debating on scraping up some change to buy this fragrance free, organic shampoo and conditioner from Dessert Essence (I love their products). There is this voice in the back of my head that keeps telling me the baking soda isn’t the best thing for my hair even though it works fine.
So, to shorten things up, I don’t blow dry my hair or put anything hot on it, I’m doing my very best not to use any sort of chemicals on it whatsoever. What other steps should I take to reach my goal? And if my hair is damaged from the root down, will it grow out healthy again?

2

Since the OP is looking for advice, this is better suited to IMHO than GQ.

Colibri
General Questions Moderator

3

Thank you, sorry about that. I was unsure about the placement since I asked somewhat factual questions but also wanted advice.

4

Since you hair tends to be dry, I would recommend doing the no shampoo thing and keeping your natural oils in your hair. Also, brush it everyday to distribute the oils better. A slight trim every few months is a good idea too, but once hair is already damaged, you can’t repair it. There are no products out there that wil truly repair damaged hair.
It is a myth that if you trim your hair it will grow faster. I used to be a stylist a long time ago and when I went to school for cosmetology, the very first thing the instructors taught us, was frequent trims will not make your hair grow faster. The reason is, hair, like your nails is made of keratin which is a type of protein and once it grows out of your body it is basically dead. Just like if you trimmed your nails everyday, they wouldn’t grow faster either. Also, once you split a fingernail it cannot be put together again. Yes, it can be glued or painted on, but not truly repaired. So damaged hair cannot be repaired either. It has to be cut off.
I recommend keeping up your routine of not using any blowdryers or other styling tools or products. When you get out of the shower, gently comb with a wide tooth comb and leave it alone. Maybe get a deep conditioning treatment every so often with a trim and that’s really all you can do.
Keep in mind that some people, no matter what they do, cannot grow their hair out really long, because of the type of hair they have. I know I could not do it, because my hair is straight and fine and I have alot of hair. It would tangle easily and look very stringy the longer it got. It wouldn’t be an attractive look for me and for others with certain types of hair. Be patient and good luck.

5

When I decided I wanted really long, nice hair I started by going to a good hairstylist for a trim and color. At that time, my hair was a little longer than chin length and I had done every variety of damage to it for years and years. On the advice of my stylist, I stopped doing ANY color on myself, and put that in her hands instead. I also began taking vitamins designed for hair and nails. GNC has good ones.

Other than that, I only shampooed twice a week, and tried to keep the natural oils in my hair as much as possible. Luckily, my hair isn’t greasy, so it wasn’t a problem. After doing all of that, it was just a matter of patience. The vitamins definitely helped it grow much faster than usual, and not putting chemicals on it myself kept it healthy.

There are online forums all about how to get your hair longer. Many are designed for women of color, but I think the advice is good for anyone, especially people with curly or coarse hair (like yours). Here’s one link: http://www.longhaircareforum.com/

Some dancers I know swear by Monistat (yes, the yeast infection cream). They apply it to the scalp daily, and something about it makes their hair grow fast. I never went that route, mostly because my hair was long by the time I heard about it and I didn’t think putting cream on my straight hair would work out too well. But dancers have the best beauty secrets, so I trust them when they say something works.

6

Oh yeah, speaking of vitamins, when I was pregnant I was prescribed prenatal vitamins. I don’t know what is in them that isn’t in a multi-vitamin, but my nails definitely grew alot faster and I really wasn’t paying attention, but I’m sure my hair was too. My stylist even made a comment about prenatals making your hair grow faster, so I agree on the vitamin thing.

7

Everyone’s hair has a maximum length it will grow before it falls out and begins new growth. So keep in mind that no matter how long of a duration you go without cutting your hair, it may never reach butt length. From toddler-hood until just a few years ago, I never did more than trim the split ends from my hair, and it never grew any longer than my mid-back.

8

Pregnancy in general makes your hair and nails grow; it’s not the vitamins.

9

Also, to answer your questions about damage. Everything new that grows should be healthy until you do something to damage it. And yes, I would advise getting it trimmed a couple of times a year.

10

It will not make your hair grow more quickly. Rate of growth is determined by the roots (cells dividing), not the ends. However, monthly or every other monthly trims will help prevent split ends from running a split all the way up the shaft. This will keep the frizz factor down, and your hair will look thicker and healthier. If you have a good hair person, they really can take off half an inch or less - less than your hair grows each month - to remove the split ends while still letting it grow out.

The reason people think trims make hair grow faster is because trims make (most) plants grow faster. That’s because, unlike hair, plants have living cells where you cut them, and gently damaging (if that makes sense) those cells does stimulate growth. It’s a plant’s defense against grazing herbivores. Cows munch the grass, and that makes the grass grow faster in self defense.

If the damage truly extends into the hair follicle that grows the hair, then there is a definite possibility that the hair won’t grow out healthy again. However - think about how much people pluck, wax and tweeze hair right out of the follicle. It mostly grows back, right? It takes quite a bit of trauma to damage a hair follicle to the point it won’t grow healthy hair again.

A friend just gave me a copy of Curly Girl. I was that woman who didn’t realize she had wavy hair (almost, but not quite, actually curly) until I was 36 years old. I haven’t read all of it yet, but it’s been pretty interesting so far. The author is vehemently anti-shampoo (at least the kind with detergents in it; she tolerates castille soap). Her recommendation is to “shampoo” with botanical conditioner only, using finger friction and water to clean. This is supposed to keep moisture in your hair and keep the follicle smooth to cut out the frizz, tangle and breakage. I’ve tried it twice now and I’m…still not sure. I told myself I’d give it three weeks. I have to admit, my hair *looks *better, but it doesn’t *feel *clean to me. “They” tell me it will adjust. Or I will adjust. Or something. Anyhow, she claims that this will make it stronger and less frizzy. We’ll see.

11

Check out www.longhaircommunity.com. You’ll learn everything you need to know about no-poo, low-poo, CO, ACV, henna, shampoo bars, oiling, updos, and pretty pretty hair toys.

Most people’s hair grows about half an inch a month. If an end splits, the split will tend to travel up the hair shaft unless you cut it off. I used to sit in bright sunlight with a pair of good hair shears and snip off split ends (S&D - Search and Destroy), and then I gave myself a trim of about a quarter inch every couple of months just to keep my “hemline” tidy. Until I went mad and chopped it all off into layers a couple of years ago, I had hair I could sit on.

12

I’ve grown my hair very long a few different times. I found it helped to apply jojoba oil to the ends to keep them from drying out.

13

Once your hair gets long enough to braid, that’s a good go-to style for minimizing damage (and the most common one I’ve seen on long-haired women). Then once the braid gets long, you can do braided buns. Braids are great for minimizing hair damage, because they keep your hair tucked firmly in the same place, all day. And no tangles to worry about on windy days. Whereas if you just let it fly free, it tangles sometimes in the wind (or gets stuck in things, like when my hair was longer it used to get caught in my armpits when I bent over, and stuck in my computer chair when I sat down), Then you have to comb out the knots, risking further breakage. Stick with a braid as much as you can (like at work, or chilling at home), and just let it down when you want to show it off to people. Or bring back the snood. Those are helpful for when your hair gets super long and starts giving you headaches.

I recommend a boar bristle brush, and many downward strokes at night to disseminate your scalp oil to the roots. However, once your hair gets around bra length or so, your scalp physically cannot produce enough oil to reach the ends. At that point you’ll need to supplement with oil. I like coconut oil.

14

I’ve had my hair halfway down my back a couple of times and when I was in elementary school it was down past my butt, so I’m sure if I can’t get it to my butt it will still be pretty long.

Thanks for all of the information and the links! It was very helpful.

15

I can attest that taking biotin supplements seems to really have revved up the growth of my hair and nails. (All hair, by the way - I used to skip a day shaving here and there with impunity. Not so much anymore!) They seem to grow faster, and certainly are stronger and thicker.

16

My hair is long- not down to my butt long (not a fan of the look)- but below my bra strap long. About a year and a half ago, I made a horrible mistake and cut my hair off to just below my chin :eek:, I’ve spent the interim doing everything possible to make my hair grow as long and healthy as possible. That said, I’m still miss priss, so I definitely style my hair every day (flat ironing/curling/teasing)-- as far as I’m concerned, it’d be silly to have long hair just to wear it up or tucked away in a braid all day.

A few things:

I definitely do trim my hair every 6 weeks. Does it make my hair grow faster? No, of course not. But it does minimize damage-- split ends start at the end and split way up the hair shaft if not nipped. Then, when you do get a trim, they’ll have to trim off more to get rid of the damage.

I only shampoo my hair like, twice a week. More if I get crazy gross for some reason, but usually just twice a week. I invest in good shampoo, too (but this has more to do with maintaining my dyed color than anything else- you could use cheap shampoo and be fine if you don’t color). I always use a good conditioner, though— it has to be something thick, otherwise it doesn’t do the trick on my hair. In addition to that, I deep condition my hair every other time I wash it. My favorite deep conditioner is actually really cheap, but the idea of it grosses most people out. Hask Henna and Placenta (usually 50 cents to $1.25 a pack at the drugstore-- you can get two uses out of one sleeve, but I have a lot of hair so I use the whole thing) does definitely have placenta in it (bunny, to be exact), but it looks like regular, white conditioner and smells like flowers (I promise!). Honestly though: that shit is magic. Your hair will NEVER look and feel as healthy with something else as it does after just one treatment of that stuff.

I always use some sort of oil when my hair is wet, before I blow it out. I can’t for the life of me remember what I use right now-- it’s some salon brand of Argan oil (great stuff but don’t Google how they make it- trust me :p:D). Anyway, just a pea sized drop to hydrate. I also spray on heat protectant before I do anything with heat- flat ironing, etc.

I also take a multivitamin (just Target’s house brand women’s multivitamin-- like $6 or something) + an additional Biotin supplement ($1.39 at Target).

My hair grows a lot now. Even my hair dresser comments on it. Like I said, I go about 6 weeks between cut and color, sometimes 8 weeks-- I’ll usually have about an inch and a half to two inches of regrowth at my roots. Regular trims keep my hair healthy and at the length I like. Anyway, hope that helps!

17

You could ask Crystal Gayle

18

Everything Diosa said is spot on (well, I’ve never tried the bunny conditioner, but everything else I do :p).

I’ll add on this: eat well. Eating tons of fruits and vegetables (they don’t have to be fresh - rinsed off canned fruit and frozen vegetables do the same thing) and more lean protein and less empty carbs will make your hair and nails grow like mad. I radically changed my diet a few years ago and I saw the unintended side effect within a month.

And now, when I’m traveling/eat out often I notice it’s not as substantial. Even my SO has noticed it - he normally has to pluck 5-10 hairs to avoid a “unibrow” every week and has gone 12 days without doing so so far, only 3 have popped up because we were traveling a lot/eating out a lot lately.