Holy mare!!! I could't believe it when I found this site!!! What a great resource for longhairs and maybe even a few new friends!!!
My name's Tiggen, (Tigg for short) and I live in DC, and haven't had anything but an ends trim in about a year.
My hair, (reddish-blonde, past shoulder length in back, down to the chin in front), is my favorite asset. It's straight, full, fine, silky, and shiny.
Once every few weeks, I go into a salon and get a deep conditioning treatment to keep it soft, which is great, but it only lasts for a short time. I've been using Biolage Nourishing Shampoo and their conditioner as well. (Any suggestions?)
But I have a couple of questions for you more experienced growers.
How do I get it all the same length all over? Do I let it reach a certain point, and then start trimming the back till the front catches up?
I quit blow drying it because it would get so dried out and lifeless, (thus the conditioning treatments), but it's pretty flat without some styling, and just doesn't look as good.
If any of you saw the July (I think) cover of Madamoiselle, or Julia Roberts before she cut, that's what I'd like my hair to look like eventually. Looooong, full, wavy, sexy as . . . well you know what I mean.
So at the risk of offending anyone, I'd like to put this out there too. My only real disappointment with my hair is that as a gay man, I'm finding alot of non-acceptance by the gay community at large, and also trying to find a guy whose got long hair and is single is pretty much out of the question, it would seem. I checked out the Gay/bi long-haired men's site, (that's how I eventually ended up here.), but any of the guys I was interested in either live 17 gazillion states away, or are already involved. Whenever I meet a shorthair, it eventually comes out that they wanted to go out with me because I'm a novelty. Having long hair with a beard and moustache and a decent bod may look sexy as heck, (I've even gotten a couple of modeling jobs after my hair got longer and if I may say so, I'm just a really nice "pagan leather longhair next door type" with a great "energy"), but it seems sometimes like people aren't interested in getting past the outside.
As for comments about my hair, referring to a previous post, the best one was from a girl I work with at the office, (yeah, I can't believe I have hair this long and work in an international corporate setting),
"It's just not natural that the guys hair looks better than the girls around here!"
Outside the office, I've heard everything from the musician to artist thing, including someone asking if I was a Renaissance Fest regular.
On the negative side, I actually had another gay guy ask me if I was a drag queen, one told me in a bar one night that I should get my hair cut so I wouldn't look like such a freak, and join the rest of the community.
Uhhh . . . whatever, buddy.
So, any input, comments, whatever? Sorry this is so long, but hey, it's my first time here, and I'm kinda' psyched to have found some "maners".
Hope you all are havin' a great day!!!
Tigg
PS - Oh, yeah - in a movie with Julia Roberts, in one scene, she was covering her hair with mayonnaise as a conditioner. Is that a good idea?
Also, anything anyone know of to promote growth, other than scalp massage and father time?
Many people do this. Mayonnaise has several ingredients that are good for hair: moisture, oil, vinegar, eggs. Not only that, it's already mixed for you in an emulsion that keeps the oil and water-based ingredients homogenous.
I would just point you to regrowth.com, which keeps up with the latest research.
Sorry, I should have been more clear - what I meant was anything to make the hair I have grow faster? Don't need hair replacement, (thank Goddess!)
That is a frequent response to my suggestion to check out this site. My suggestion was not meant to imply you were follicly challenged. The research there is good for hairy and hairless people alike. In fact, minoxidil, the first drug approved by the FDA to treat baldness works better on people with hair than people without hair.
Follicly challenged? Cute! Huh! I never knew that about minoxidil -
being a vegan and earth friendly, etcetera, is there a natural herb/oil/whatever that works for hair?
Karen (from Dallas) has been posting messages recently on ETLHS (an email list of people interested in long hair on ladies) alluding to such a thing but has so far not given any details. She has done many years of research on this subject and is working on a book. As soon as I learn about its publication, I will post a message here.
Hi I;m joe Ive been using mayonnaise for my hair to condition my hair when I use it I smear the mayonnaise all in my hair then I use a comb to slick my hair back thats the look I like on me.Then I leave the mayo in my hair for a half hour to set in to soften my hair.I then shampoo my hair to rince out the mayo and then I dry my hair later and next I put the gel in my hair to slick my hair back in a d-a look in the back of my hair wich I like the best on me also my aunt loves the d-a on me to. When my aunt does my hair she likes my home remedeeies for my hair we use mayonnaise,eggs,icing olive oil to for my hair. My aunt likes doing my hair because shes my hair dresser I;m glad she can do my hair with remedeeies and plus she styles my hair with gel and she slicks my hair all back in a d-a look in the back of my hair and she loves that style on me the best. from joe
Hey Tigg, its good to hear from you, and good also to find out that I'm not here alone in DC. In general, people here are very conservative and have limited or very supressed imaginations. Unfortunately, the gay community (especially hair-wise) reflects the straight people surrounding them. So don't blame your hair for their lack of imagination or individuality. Yea, I was told by a guy in a bar last Winter that "people in DC don't do long hair." Because they're afraid to, in my opinion. Hang in there and keep on growin'.
Rather than make suggestions about hair care, I'd rather just tell you how I've treated my long hair. It's very fine and wavy. As far as conditioning, I rely on Mother Nature to some extent, allowing natural conditioners to do their work. When I don't wash my hair, I rinse it at least once a day. I was applauded by one hair stylist for this approach and he recommended that I not wash it more than twice a week. This may or may not suit your taste or needs. In addition, I use tons of conditioner and leave-in conditioner (Pantene and Citre.)
When I started growing my hair out again (after the job interview) about 4 years ago, I bit the bullet and had it all cut the same length when it had gotten to about shoulder length. I never thought of your idea to even it up gradually in steps. Perhaps getting it all even should coincide with when you can get it all into a pony tail, if that's important to you.
Just yesterday, I got my hair trimmed for the first time since last October. What a difference! The stylist took off about 2 inches and it looks much better. Evened it up, got rid of some of the "unhealthy" stuff, and the little knots at the ends.
i;VE been using mayonnaise for my hair for a good while to condition
my hair. I realy like the idea.When I use it I smear it in all over my hair then I slick my hair back to comb it through my hair for the look i like for styling and I leave it in a half hour to set in for softness then I shampoo my hair later and style it with gel to slick my hair back in a d-a look wich I like on me the best. from joe