new thread
Hi people. First of all, I would like to say it was nice to find this place, I was looking for a place like this. Anyways, here's my problem. I just turned 18 years old. I've decided to grow my hair long and it's now been about 3 and a half months since I got my haircut. So I guess it's about 4 inches long in the front anyway. But I don't like the texture of my hair AT ALL. When it is wet it looks fine, nice and staight and flat, but when it dries it is kinda wavy and fluffy and dry and dull and I HATE it. I've seen some people who's hair is so straight and thin and smooth and shiny and lays perfectly all the time. I want mine like that. Know what I'm talking about? When the wind blows my hair around driving in the car it dries it out and makes it look like I said before. How can I make it so my hair gets the way I want it? I want it to be thinner and real straight, and when it dries I don't want it to look all dry. I want it to look healthy. When the wind rushes through it and messes it up, I want to be able to run my fingers through it and it will be neat again. Is this just impossible? What products/techniques can I use to get my hair like this? THANKS so much for reading all this, and if you you have some advice it would REALLY help me alot.
your hair will not be perfectly straight without chemicals that will almost certainly damage your hair- considering the fact that you will need to continually use them to maintain a consistent appearance as your hair grows out.
the puffy dryness may be controllable by shampooing less and conditioning more. you may find gels & mousses useful in holding a style and subduing the '**pouffe**' shampoo strips natural oils from your hair- conditioner goes a ways toward substituting for the stripped oils (as well as detangling).
don't know how long you intend to grow yours, but assuming that you're going after a ponytailable length may i suggest looking for a hat or bandana that you like as you are going to enter into a difficult phase of growth in a very few months.
Ok guys, here's the story. Maybe I didn't explain myself right. I DON'T have curly hair, not even wavy. well, except for the very ends is slightly wavy, you know? My problem is just with the dryness. See, I want it to look more moisturized and also have a shine. Right now, I can control my hair with gel. I just load it on and it makes my hair like a helmet, lol...but it works, keeps it in place all day, even with wind. So what I think is a good idea, is to find some type of product, like a gel but not a gel, that will not get hard like gel but will keep my hair controlled. Maybe an oil-based type product? Or maybe not oily. But something non-greasy/nasty. Is there such a product out there? To the dude who might get his hair cut, I think you should stick with it. Don't give up. Once it is long, it will be much easier to control. You will never know until you try. I have been longing for long hair and I REALLY want it and I'M GOING TO GET IT THE WAY I WANT IT. Thanks for all your help guys. Any more advice is appreciated.
how often do you shampoo and do you use conditioner? the dryness could be the result of shampoo stripping the natural oils from your hair. i shower daily but only use shampoo once or twice a week. i also use a leave-in conditioner. hope this helps. good luck.
john, what type of hair do you have?....texture, etc...and does shampooing your hair twice a week make you smell kinda bad? how often do you use condtioner? i shampoo once or twice a day and i don't condition...
my hair is fairly coarse, wavy, waist length. i shower daily; including wetting my hair, i just don't use shampoo every time. no, it doesn't make me smell bad- as though i didn't shower at all. i use conditioner each time i shower primarily to help detangle my hair.
shampooing once or twice daily without conditioning strips natural oils from your hair & leaves it dry & brittle. not only will it appear frizzy but also be prone to breakage & split ends. IMHO, the best thing for your hair is to shower in lukewarm water (hot also strips oils), use conditioner each time you shower & shampoo once a week... more frequently if your hair gets too oily.
Ok I'm going to start shampooing less. I think it also helps to not dry your hair, but let it air dry. or if you do dry it, brush it first, then just wipe the surface in the direction the hair is going. would that work? I hope an iron doesn't do damage? are they expensive? thanks for everyone's help.
an iron will damage your hair. heat is bad.
I don't think iron's damage is a problem! All it'll do is make ur hair very hot but it goes away in a second! Products like KMS flat out and some other brand give u the protection of being heat up! ANd CONAIR MIST STRAIGHTING IRON cost $24 but there are some other brands that are less expensive!
is it ok to use different products like straightening balm before using the iron and a frizz controller after the iroor will mixing the products like that cancel each other out? AHHHH
Okay first off i was wondering how the hel your hair grew so fast. when u got curly hair like me it grows slooooow. Well in my in my 8 months of growing my hair (which i chopped short =]) I used something to stopp all the frizzes and made my hair very shiny smooth and healthy looking. It doesnt smell, and if your hair is as dry as mine, it will absorb it well so it wont really be greasy. Of all the things i used on my hair, this gave me the most hope in thinking i could have nice long hair, and if it wasnt for my hair being so damn curly/wavy, i would still be using this in my hair. I ultimately cut my hair because I could no longer stand the curls =[. So i bet you wanna hear the product huh?? Should i tell you....=] Of course..its a common product you find in your kitchen....its called olive oil!! You might be thinking...wtf?? but trust me it works. Get light olive oil and find one that doesnt have strong smell. The brand my parents cook wih is ..."Bertolli. Extra light, mild tasting olive oil." Now use little anounts at first, a little dab will go a long ways so make sure you run your fingers through your hair well and comb it through. Well this worked best for me as far as stopping the frizz and keeing it shiny and smooth. Well please respond and let me know how it turned out, plz trust me and try it, i hope it worked as well for u as it did for me.
MH
First off I know EXACTLY how you feel, I want my hair to be the exact way you want it to. My hair is frizzy/wavy/curly and I hate it. Trust me I have been going to this board for the past 8 months or so, and I am sorry to say but there is no answer. Well you are lucky your hair grows fast, I have been growing my crap for 7 months and its only 4.5 inches so that sucks for me, but anyways..... I have done all that is possible to try to make my hair nice Chris. I have used many products, asked advice from all the girls I know, even some of them are hair stylists, and no luck. The last chance I have is to chemically straighten it, but so far I havent heard one good comment about doing that, everyone says it will damage my hair bad. Now there are things I have done to make it nice....but the minute it hits the wind or if i go to the gym and begin to sweat...kiss it good bye...it starts to frizz and curl like mad. So I have found no long term help and I am about to give up. This is my logic.....I really really want long hair...but I want nice smooth straight hair (like tom cruises in mission impossible 2) but i figure this.... I see guys with long hair who have our type of hair..and I hate the way it looks...all frizzy/curly/wavy in a ponytail that looks all ugly. So I figure if I cant have long hair the exact way I want it, I am not going to go through the trouble of growing and caring for it and settle for long hair that I will not like just for the sake of finally having long hair. So as much as I want it...I guess we have to be realistic and just get over the fact we cant have our hair the way we want it...it sucks...but I cant think of anything else to do...wig maybe?? LOL. So in the next few days I might try my last resort and try to straighten it....and if that turns out bad...then I will know I tried everything I could have, then its time to break out the scissors. So I will post another message or u can give me your email and i'll let you know if the chemicals work...
Please respond to this with any more questions you may have....my mind is put to rest now cause I know for a fact I cant do anything about it anymore, and once your mind is the same way by having all questions answered, you will not feel bad about cutting it, just like me, if I cut it in the next week, I will not care, at least I tried everything I could have =].
MH
Hi CHris..
I had the same problem but not anymore!!! Have you tried straightening iron yet??? It works well! First go get some hair conditioner that says they'll control frizz and smooth out curl and waves and get some straightening balm like Bumble & Bumble straight or a lot other brand. After wash ur hair with sampoo then conditioner, apply the strightening balm on the damp hair and blow it dry with large round brush!!! After it got all dry and not as curly then use straighting iron ! Slide the straighting iron down slowly but don't burn it then comb it with fine teeth comb and KABLAM you got the straight and flat hair you want!!! It will stay straight until you wash it but beware WATER, RAIN, MOIST AND HIGH HUMIDITY! THEY WILL MAKE UR HAIR CURL AGAIN!!!! Email me if this work on u!!!
this sounds interesting... does anybody else know about this? LONG BANGS have you tried this on yourself? Where do I get the stuff?
Straightening irons work. Sally Beauty Supply has the straightening balm...Several brands of it. I iron my pony tail now and then. I think it does some damage , but not much.
BTW..Moisture in any form does send your hair right back to curly.
I love the results in Fall and Winter, but in Summer in the Northeast you don't get much good-hair-time for the effort.
I have uesd straighting iron for like almost a year but I don't see any damage?? What kind of damage does it do?? THe only thing I think might be the damage is that it turned my hair yellowish!!
You can buy most of this stuff online from drugstore.com:
http://www.drugstore.com/products/prod.asp?pid=40428&catid=10013 (Conair Straightening Iron)
http://www.drugstore.com/search/search.asp?searchtype=1&search=straightening+balm (Straightening Balms)
Umm, frizz-controlling conditioner? I couldn't find any conditioner that is specifically "frizz-controlling", but I suppose that a moisturising conditioner or one for dry hair would do the trick.
I bought from drugstore.com and was quite satisfied: they delivered the order on time, and I didn't have any problems (and didn't have any cashiers looking at you strangely as they scan in 'Aussie Hair Gloss' :) ).
First of all, I'd like to say thanks to everyone here for all their help. I'm really learning a lot. Now, a couple questions. About the straightening balm, it says that you can dry with a blow dryer and round brush, but doesn't blow drying cause more poofiness? Also, which do I use first, straightening iron or straightening balm? Are there many other products out there made for the same thing? Or are these the best things to use? I reckon I won't fully be able to figure out exactly how to care for my hair until it's longer cause right now it's fairly short (4-5 inches maybe). Sorry for all the questions! But you guys seem to know a lot. Thanks.
Here is how it works: 1. After u sampoo ur hair use anti-frizz conditioner like Back to Basic SO Straight condition, Graham Webb Stick Straight Codition or other brand that says will smooth out curls and frizz 2.Towel dry ur hair a bit 3. Apply the straightening balm or straightening gel u like 4. Blow it straight with a large round brush(may cause some sort poofiness but it will become very flat after smooth with straighting iron) 5.Wait for an hour or until hair is fully dry then use staighting iron!!! WARNING: u CAN'T put wet or damp hair in the iron. 6. Spary something like ANTI-FRIZZ serum or KMS flat out spary so that it protect hair from humidity. Chris u can try it now it doesn't have to be very long to do this, My hair is about the same lenth as urs and i know how to take care of my hair... Tell us wheather it works for u or not coz it works for me..and don't try the olive oil, i tried it and my hair got so greasy and it doesn't come off until I wash it like twice
sorry to say there is really no changing the texture/ thickness of your hair. consider it a gift from God. I personally have thin stringy hair and always have wanted hair with texture and fullness.
my advice? i would recommend keeping your hair in a ponytail while driving in the car. if you blow dry with a moistening treatment (like the new heat styling shampoos and such that are on the market now) you should have more moisture and less frizz.
best of luck.
dale