My Hair Is Damaged, But I Want To Grow It Long!

I don't know if this belongs here or in health & fitness or even stuck to an existing thread.

Like the title says, I want to grow my hair out long. Right now, it's at mid-boob length.

BUT MY HAIR LOOKS LIKE THIS.

AAAAHHH!!!

(for reference, that is my chest + tanktop on the left and my armpit on the right.)

It looks so damaged and frizzy, like I need to cut it all off! But I don't want to! D:

Here's what I do:

1 - I wash my hair every morning. Right now I'm using L'oreal's EverPure shampoo that is sulfate-free. I always condition after, and I rotate conditioners. Right now I use Dove for damage therapy (blue bottle). I wash it every morning because it gets oily if I wash it at night and sleep on it. I cannot go 24 hours without washing my hair because of the oil. Please do not recommend for me to wash less often. I have tried starting by washing only at night, and it is oily and flat by the very next morning. If you have tips, though, please tell me. I have thoroughly read eunbit's thread and do not think I have a few months to get used to her soap method, plus they do not sell those soaps where I am.

2 - I also blow-dry and straighten it every day. I try to towel-dry most of it before I do so. I know it's damaging, but I can't go out when my hair looks like the above picture!

3 - I dye it darker every few months with Clairol Natural Instincts. There's no ammonia and it's semi-permanent.

4 - I have had magic straight done twice. Once in summer 2006 on my entire head, and once in fall 2008 on just my bangs. I don't know if this matters, because it was pretty long ago.

5 - I do not have Asian hair. My hair is pretty thin and sparse at the top, thicker at the bottom. It is naturally curly/wavy and frizzy.

What should I do? I need all the help & tips I can get.

Thanks a lot.

use protective spray when you are using heat. also, try to straighten it less often by putting ur hair up in a bun. that way you can't notice the frizziness! (=

1. It's fine if you want to wash it every morning. I would advise, however, if you want to really start taking care of your hair to switch shampoo brands. Over the counter products are cheap, yes, but if you want to maintain healthier hair since you're aiming to grow it out I would advise you invest in better shampoo products. Go to a salon and get recommendations from the professional. Paying a couple of extra bucks make a difference. I personally like Joico and Biolage but it's really on preference. My favorite, actually...was this peppermint one which focuses on replenishing your scalp. It. Is. AMAZING. Unfortunately I can't remember what brand it was. =( But really, go to a hair salon or cosmetology school and ask around. You may want to get some stay in conditioner too. It's like...heavy conditioner you put in your hair after you shower. Leave it in for like 10 minutes then wash it off. I believe you can get them at your nearest Sallys. (it's not an every day thing tho. Maybe like once a week or once every couple of days.)

2. Use serum before straightening to protect your hair from the heat. You can also use mouse before blow drying your hair to reduce the damage as well.

3. Don't dye your hair until it grows out. If you do, then you REALLY need to switch your shampoos and start taking care of your hair correctly.

In any case hair is already 'dead' in a sense so there's no way you can magically make it all healthy again. You can, however, prevent your new hair from reaching that state as you let your hair grow. Get your hair trimmed often. I know you want to grow your hair out long but you also need to get rid of your current dead hair.

First off. I feel your pain- I do have Asian hair but I have the same type of oily hair that you have~ and my hair looked like yours before except for the frizziness when I first dyed my hair.

Firstly, you shouldn't feel the need to cut off all your hair! You'll eventually have your hair restored/ or have it get back to it's healthier state. What I have done is that, I've ditched shampoo, & any sort of excess stuff that I don't need in my hair.. I found that it just made my hair more oilier and less shiny.

What I did was to just simply use conditioner on my hair every 2 days or so. ONLY conditioner for me works pretty well.

1. I know you cannot go 24 hours without washing your hair, believe me- I know how you feel. Since it IS summer, you can try this at home- try not to use any excess products except for conditioner because your hair just looks like it's damaged because of all the straightening/perm/coloring you've done over the last while. Also, TRY to wash your hair every 1-2 days or so. I know its hard because you might feel your head get oiler the first couple of times you do it, but BELIEVE ME- coming from a person that has the worse oily head of hair EVER, after a week or two- you'll start to feel like you don't need to wash your hair as much anymore and your hair won't be as oily. Have you ever tried a hair mask or such? It can help alot and I've heard of this brand that works for alot of people..it's a drugstore brand but I dont' remember- search it up on MUA! It'll be helpful!

2. This is the added tip to number 1. If you don't wash your hair as much, you don't have to nearly blow dry or straighten your hair every day which could be a hassle/ and causes more damage to your hair. If you wash your hair every few days, you should only probably blow dry/straighten 2-3 days which is WAY better than 6-7. HOWEVER, if you feel you HAVE to blowdry/straighten your hair everyday, may I advise a HEAT protectant? I've heard some good things about Dove's heat protectant, Biosilk.. etc.

3. Lay off the dying for now. If you want to have your hair become more healthier, it's better not to dye it as much. Maybe try to dye it again with Henna or something- something that has less harsher chemicals after you feel your hair is in a healthier state.

4. 2006 & 2008 is a pretty long time ago, but at least you haven't done it since. However, I can see the damage it's caused to your hair~ but its fine if you dont' do it anymore. =)

I hope this post has helped you!

-PrincessBoa

HI, you should use Extra virgin COCONUT OIL!!! i read about it on this thread

http://www.makeupalley.com/product/showrev...sted_Brand/Hair

its AMAZING! my hair is super dried and dead on the bottom because i blowdry and straighten it alot, and after using coconut oil my hair feels soft and healthy. It should also help your hair grow faster to because it helps keep your hair moisturized.

I also read somewhere that the molecular structure of coconut oil is perfect for penetrating inside the hair shaft!

you helped me too, so now i'm going to help you >=P

my hair looks like that too.

since you blowdry + straighten it everyday.. do you use a heat protecting spray?

do you really have to blowdry? that and straigthening is really damaging =/

you can also.. not straighten all the hair, but the necessary parts. and if it still looks frizzy, use a product that helps making it less frizzy and it'll look less dry and more flat.

what I do sometimes is straighten bangs->necessary parts-> tie hair up.

Only thing that comes to mind is every week (1/week) do a deep conditioner treatment.. that sits in your hair for 15minutes to an hour. ^^;

I use to have hair like yours', it's a pain to even grow it pass my shoulders. Here's part of what I did to make it a lot better:

-switched to organic shampoo and conditioner.

-focus on the scalp when shampooing, I try not to leave the shampoo on my hair tips for too long.

-wrap my hair up for half and hour after I wash it.

-avoid heat or chemical as much as possible. I'll rather tie my hair up if it looks bad then straightening it.

-home remedies!

Hope I've help a bit =)

my hair was like that once

heres what i do:

- before i wash my hair i put baby oil or olive oil on the bottom part of my hair and leave it for 30 minutes and then just wash it off with shampoo.

remember to put it only on the bottom part of your hair not on your scalp, or else your hair will become oilier.

- get the damaged ends trimmed. just trimmed a bittt

- if u need to blow dry your hair use the cold air instead of the hot air. it'll be less damaging that way.

- heres how i shampoo my hair "Take note that you should put the shampoo on your scalp and not at the ends of your hair, as the shampoo would dry your hair's ends and cause it to weaken and split. Also, do not mix your hair all over your head as you shampoo because it will get all tangled up. After this, rinse the shampoo off.

More often than not, we need to shampoo our hair for a second time. The purpose of the first shampoo is to clean the oil and dirt off; the second shampoo is supposed to let the shampoo treat our hair. So, repeat the process, but let the shampoo sit on for around a couple of minutes. Rinse the hair completely after this. " as for the conditioner you apply it at the length of your hair not on your roots [ it could make the hair oilier and heavier] after that rinse it off with cold water.

hope that helps :P

my hair is pretty much like yours (I'm caucasian though). I don't wash my hair every day, more like every other day, but I always straighten it since it's sooo frizzy and curly if I don't do it.

Anyways, you said you try to towel-dry most of your hair before you straighten it; what you could do though is to let it air-dry completely before straightening it (that way you wont have to use a hairdryer, and your hair wont get damaged that fast). Also, as others have mentioned, use a heat-protective serum or balm before straightening.

Its not good for your hair to be washed every day since it takes away the natural moisture of the hair, making it produce more oil or something.. of course its your choice if you wanna wash it every morning but in that case maybe you should buy a more professional shampoo/conditioner meant for your hairtype :)

You should try a straightener that also dries your hair and straightens at the same time. Chi has one: http://www.chiretail.com/tools/irons/wet-to-dry.html

mine was very dry like yours, i colour and style alot too, but i had to cut done styling~ i only do it if im going out, i use heat protect sprays and i put in leave in conditioner after styling with the irons and hairdressers.

i shampoo and condition, then i use a Tresemme Thermal Recovery Replenishing Conditioning masque (its really gd conditioner for people who use styling tools!) i use this to boost my hair once a week~ my hair feels much healthier!

since my hair was up to my bust and ive grown it to near my belly button, its working great keeping it healthy~

i too colour my hair loads too.

If your hair is damaged, it is damaged.

Despite what others say, there is no possible way to magically revive them to a healthy state.

Sure, they will look healthy for a day, but it won't last long. Its superficial whereas real healthy hair looks and IS healthy.

If you do decide to grow your damaged hair long, then it will be just that: damaged long hair.

Your hair is the product of how you treat it... and by straightening it every day and washing it every day, you are treating it poorly.

If you ever want healthy hair, then you will just have to cut off the damaged hair,

and let your hair grow without dying, straightening, etc.

Any heat will damage your hair, even if a heat protecting product is used; there is no way that it can "protect" all parts of your hair from heat

it seems to help when i get my dead ends trimmed every 5-6 weeks. damage is less noticeable.

my hair actually grew faster ^___^

also, deep condition.

i deep condition twice a week, and i deep condition with jojoba oil and a seaweed hair mask for an hour.

my hair is so shiny/soft/healthy looking after that :D

you should use heat protective spray, it helped me a lot! I use Treseme Heat tamer spray about $3-$4?

I'm not going to recommend you to wash less often, (though it will help in the long run). I suggest instead to wash with a cleansing conditioner and shampooing every other day or every other couple of days. In reality, shampoos are really tough on the hair. A cleansing conditioner will do the same job with less damage. In addition, I also suggest not straightening/blow drying your hair so often, and instead finding cute hair styles that are either updos, or work with your natural texture. My third suggestion is to look up some websites specializing in curly hair in order for you to learn how to work with your natural texture. I also have really curly hair but I have learned how to work with it instead of straightening it all the time. Also, since your hair is already damaged, you will benefit from a hair cut (not a drastic one) cutting some of the more severe ends off. If you get a hair cut, ask the stylist for a haircut that will fit your features, and can be worn straight or curly, thus you not having to straighten your hair so often. Trust me, if you want to grow your hair long, it's better if its already healthy than trying to grow out damaged hair that will not give you the long beautiful hair look you want.

Whoa, sorry for such a block of text haha. ;]

really the best thing to grow long hair to cut it all off and start afresh, haha. i know EXACTLY how you feel, my hair was past boob-length a few weeks ago and it was only slightly damaged - but to the point i couldn't walk out of the house without straightening it to look nice! i really wanted to grow it atleast hip-length too, but it wasn't working out with all the extra work i had to put into my hair if i'm going to have long hair, i'd rather it to all be HEALTHY long hair, you know?

so i chopped several inches off, and now it's shoulder length again, but frizz-free! you don't know how much happier it makes me, even though it's so short! i've started taking intense care of it though (haha intense care of my hair... sounds funny) to grow it longer again few things i recommend though that actually seemed to do something for me other than make my hair smell nice:

neutrogena triple hair moisture masque - it's fab. only use a little and i can actually feel the ends of my hair smoothing out in the shower, it's that good. cheap too!

herbal essenses long term relationship... it's basically made for long hair. i'm using it now actually, even with short hair to promote healthier longer hair. i really like it, and again, cheap and ds. i do think it has sulfates though, so if you're looking for sulfate-free shampoo i think your current one is fine too

&

aussie products! hair insurance leave-in conditioner and deep three minute miracle. life savers! plus they smell fab, haha

goodluck!

I'm not gonna add much because the above have mentioned the important points but i wanted to tell you that i used to wash everyday in the morning because at night it would become so oily and one time i had frizzy dry hair like your because of a perm gone wrong. Well my scalp suffered and it was very dry... Anyway, my hairdresser told me to wash my hair EVERYDAY but with schampoo 2-3 days a week, the other days only with water to get oil out and if it's very oily and unclean i should wash it with conditioner. For the frizzy hair put EVOO on the hair and try to leave it on for 30 min, it helps the hair to look more shiny and much less frizzy for the day. Other days you can use serum on the tips, i bought one from my hairdresser and it works too.

I had shoulder length hair that time and i looked like a triangle cause the tips was all damaged and frizzy. Never again!!

oh man i totallly feel ur pain. but to be honest, just be brave and cut it off... because if not the damage just keeps moving up further and further up ur hair. short healthy hair looks better than long damaged hair anyday so do keep that in mind. and hun, hair grows reali fast wen ur not paying attention so before u kno it that length will be back. i also agree with everyone that u shouldn't dye ur hair anymore. if u want better hair u should def. start asking hair stylists, read online, look around, blah blah blah do ur research on what shampoo and conditioner is best for ur hair. u should also lay off on any heat styling, try to air dry ur hair. and if u must use them always use a heat protectant. try to deep condition ur hair like once a week, and u can always look online for home remedies and hair mask recipes; they work wonders from what i hear =) since its summer, try to not expose ur hair to the sun too much because that causes damage. chlorine in the pool also causes damage. hair accessories can also be damaging so be careful (dont use rubberbands or metal hair ties). hmmm brush ur hair before u take a shower and wen ur washing ur hair dont ball it up on ur head, and wen u dry dont rub the towel on ur hair. and DONT TEASE UR HAIR, it breaks ur hair. wen u sleep u should pull ur hair up or sleep on a satin pillow- it is beneficial for ur hair. outter beauty comes from within, what u eat/ur diet affect the condition of ur hair so try to eat healthy and be healthy. u kno eat ur greens, sleep 8 hours, excercise, drink water. lol and if u can help it try to wash ur hair every other day because washing it everyday may be too harsh since ur stripping away natural oils that keeps the hair healthy/glossy/beautiful. OKAY, thats all i can think of lol

Well since everyone has covered almost everything the only thing I can suggest is to never rub the towel against your hair because this will cause breakage especially when it's wet and most vulnerable, so just pat it against your head or just shake your hair about gently with your fingers.