Hair Growth Solidarity Thread?

[CandlelightGlow]

Would anyone be interested in a thread on the topic of growing hair out and promoting hair health?

My hair has been on a JOURNEY. I have not had "good" hair since I was around 14 or 15; and 2 things happened at this time: I impulsively chopped off my waist length, virgin hair to above the shoulder, and I dyed it jet black for the first time, with permanent colour.

So begins the roughly 15 year saga I have had of treating my hair like crap. I basically immediately regretted cutting my hair, and wore clip in extensions very regularly from then on until my very early 20's. I also continued to constantly dye my hair different colours, ranging from dark to red to attempts at lighter colours or salon highlights. Even when "giving my hair a rest" for example during pregnancy, I still dyed it using direct (no peroxide or ammonia) dyes etc. I heat styled it frequently, and in 2020 I joined the scores of women who began bleaching their own full heads lightest blonde at home.

I probably don't need to tell you that at this point, my hair is quite literally, ruined. I'm currently sporting light blonde hair that I've had to cut to between shoulder and chin length, with HEAVY amounts of breakage on the top layer, with the vast majority of the top layer being between 1 and 4 inches long 😓

It is still very blonde, but I am making this thread to commit to not ruining my hair any longer. I have legitimately not seen my natural hair colour in 15 years. Roots have always been immediately darkened or bleached by the time they are half an inch long; I genuinely don't even quite know what colour my hair is at this point. It's some shade of brown but the constant contrast with either much darker or much lighter means I have no idea whether it's level 5 or level 2, warm, ashy, anything.

I have as said, chopped off a couple of inches of my poor non growing platinum hair, and have been researching products and routines to help it grow. I'm determined to put down the dyes and see my natural colour, and to have hair that doesn't require extensions to look nice or healthy. For now I'm also committing to putting down the straighteners and curlers.

If anyone else is embarking on a similar hair care journey, I'd be interested to hear your story and your plans 😇

At the start of the pandemic I decided to stop dyeing altogether and buzzed the whole lot off. It was down to my bra strap in the middle of my back. It's only now back to the length it was.

There are a few greys in there but my hair is so shiny and healthy now. I'm so glad I did it.

Have you considered cutting it short and starting again?

@WhisperingAutistic I have genuinely considered it, but what I've done for now is kept cutting it with hair scissors until my fingers no longer snagged the ends and in fairness it feels a lot better. The very short bits well... all the damage has basically snapped off so and doesn't feel rough and fragile like the longer hair did.

I'm desperately hoping to hold onto my locks now. It is really so silly that all this has happened. I absolutely loved my ultra long hair and don't feel comfortable unless surrounded by a veil of hair (thanks to extensions). Yet I managed to grow my hair out during my third pregnancy, and that baby was born in Jan 2020... So all of my lovely (though artificially coloured) long hair got chopped off once I decided I was dead set on bleaching it.

I am excited to see my hair colour come through, and I think I'm not going to dye the blonde back, so I can get an idea of how my hair is growing. My next step is to book some Olaplex and deep conditioning treatments in at the salon, then embark on a good hair routine.

A lot of the conventional hair care advice doesn't really work for me though. My hair is thick in terms of quantity but very fine in terms of strand thickness. I don't ever get oily hair or skin and my hair never feels naturally good. If I don't wash it for a few days, it feels even drier, not healthy/oilier. I actively need to wash in order to condition, but I don't wash more than twice a week anyway.

Your hair sounds similar to mine.
Do you know whether your hair is low or high porosity?
www.byrdie.com/hair-porosity-test-5070329

I only came across this a few months back after dealing with hair that seemed frizzy all the time. Turns out my hair is low porosity and I need to use oil to penetrate the shaft of the hair. I started using argon oil based shampoos and conditioners and its made a massive difference.

Ooh interesting thank you! I assume I have high porosity hair due to the bleaching, but it will be interesting to also do a test a few months down the line on more of my natural hair. So many things to consider, goodness.

I found a really good youtuber stylist (the one who does the Trinity hair care routine) so I'm definitely trying that. I did notice my hair felt much better with the added leave in conditioner and oiled ends.

Following 👀 My hair has been awful since the days of constantly straightening it years ago. In November I got a "Bixie" hair style (almost pixie but more short bob length!) and have not put any heat on it. So far the back is almost to my shoulders and the layers are chin length.

I'm always told my hair grows fast but its been snapping easily which is why it feels like it doesn't grow 😥

Ah I love the sound of a Bixie @PumpkinSpicedTea

Yes breakage is my problem too; I had a look at photos from holiday in late August/Early September 22, my hair had no growth at all since then, if anything it was slightly shorter 😫

When my hair was darker I genuinely thought that perhaps my hair wasn't growing or grew insanely slowly. But now it's blonde, I can clearly see the roots growing in, but the length never gets added too 😕

I pre oiled my hair for 2 solid days, washed it last night, conditioned, leave in conditioned, oiled the ends. And it does feel so much healthier to be fair.

I've been watching a few videos and am trying to take in all the things you shouldn't do, there's a lot of things!

@CandlelightGlow Google/Pinterest Bixie and have a look, there's varying lengths and takes on it.

I know what you mean, it is actually a bit soul destroying. I wanted to shave it all or at least have a pixie cut but my hairdresser convinced me not to be that extreme and cut off all the damaged bits. Like I say it has grown a wee bit. My problem is I get anxious and play with my hair when it's longer so it breaks off even more!

I'll need to have a look at these no nos for hair apart from no heat.

@PumpkinSpicedTea I'm thinking there's a reason so many peoples' hair gets stuck specifically at shoulder length. While I can't find any articles saying so, I do think because it's the length your hair starts coming into contact with your body and clothes so there is more friction and tension on already fragile ends.

I've been looking at low tension hair styles, like a low pony tail in a silk scrunchy or a claw clip.

My hair routine is starting to take shape; I need to be minimalist with it though because I don't want to use a million products and buy into too much marketing!

Basic outlines are washing twice a week, pre oiling before washing, doing something about my hard water situation, deep conditioning, using leave in conditioner and oiling the mids and ends with Argan oil.

No sleeping with damp hair, no sleeping with loose hair, no heat as much as humanly possible and definitely no heat styling for the forseeable. Am also going to take iron, Omega 3 and Biotin as my hair is so short it seems like a good time to start using supplements for healthy regrowth!

I use a satin pillow case and I wear a plait in my hair so it doesn't tangle in bed. Shorter hair can go in one of those silk bonnet things.
I only ever wear a claw clip if my hair is up in the day.

@WhisperingAutistic where did you get the pillow case from?

Dunelm I think
Helps stop those pillow creases on your face too 🤣