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Hello. I have been growing my hair so far for 5 months and have just found this forum today. I was about to cut it again, but after reading through here a bit, I am SO MOTIVATED to just keep going. Anyway, I have brown hair, and it's kind of thick (I'm 1/2 Italian). I suppose that I do not yet know how to properly care for it very well. I have just been throwing water on my hair in the mornings, pushing it down with my hands, and walking out of the house. I guess I'm on the verge of an awkward inbetween stage, because when I wake up, my hair poofs straight up and I look like a gameshow host! That's why I water it down first then leave. Do you have any tips on how to deal with this early stage, because if I don't use water, it poofs all over. After it dries though, it's back again, but not as bad as when i first wake up. I'm guessing that when my hair is long enough, it will stay down under its own weight, but since I've basically just started, it looks very big unless I wet it down.
Could you please recommend a type of product to combat this POOFie appearance? Like perhaps something that could make my hair look wet and/or "tamed," yet last all day? My eventual goal would be to have straight hair that is about shoulder length, if posible. My hair isn't curly, just big.
Thank you very much. I look forward to coming back to this forum again and again with pictures in the months to come as I wait this out. and congragulations to everyone on here whose already achieved long hair. I hope to be one of you one day :)
Hey Mark welcome to the MLHH site. Glad you found us here.
One thing you need to do is to change your user name to something else besides just "Mark" because we have another user who goes by that name and we want to avoid confusion. You can just add your last initial or do something to make it different than just "Mark". Thanks in advance :)
I am sure you will get lots of helpful replies to your questions here!
okay, I've changed it from Mark to MarkO (my last name begins with an O). Anyway thank you all very much for the kind responsed and for giving me a good idea about how to start out. I really appreciate it and am starting to become a huge fan of this board. :)
thanks again!
Hi Mark, and welcome to the board!
Hang in there...once you get thru the awkward stage you'll really enjoy your hair. It will be gone before you know it. You might find that you'll regret cutting it...as is the case with most people here!
This is what works for me. I very seldom use shampoo when I shower, opting to use conditioner only instead. I also changed the way I dry my hair, using a wrapped towel on my head and air-drying instead of using the blow dryer. It takes longer to dry, obviously, but the outcome is much better.
Hope this helps...you'll most likely get a myriad of tips from people. I hope you find the one that works for you!
Take care and keep it growin'!
Brett
My Hair Progress Pics
Hi Mark, --- and WELCOME!!
I don't have any specific product, per se, that I can recommend as your 100% guaranteed salvation in making it through the infamous awkward stages; but, there are SEVERAL ideas I'm happy to share with you that different people here have tried (myself included), --- any or all of which can help! Here are just a few, for starters...
1) What you are already doing (wetting your hair in the morning) sounds just fine;
2) Avoid looking in mirrors for several months (lol);
3) Some people use gel, hairspray, wearing a lot of hats, etc. (I did this myself, the first time I grew my hair out in the '90s; but, did NOT during my 2nd growth journey, which started in Y2K);
4) Wear bandanas (go to the Links section and read Bill Choisser's, "On Being A Longhair", --- he also has a great section on his website about Bandanas)
5) As your hair gets longer, you can try half-tails (where you tie back the bangs out of your face);
5) Brylcream;
7) Just, "grin & bear it!" (and have fun looking like a wildman game show host - lol!!)
The awkward stages can definitely test one's patience and resolve to make it to shoulder-length / ponytail-length (the major "landmark" that most of us here consider as having "arrived" as a longhair). But, with the help of having a good sense of humor whenever looking in the mirror, --- as well as letting go of some self-consciousness and worrying over what friends and family may think of us during this transformation --- I sense that you're going to do just fine!
Anyway, my best to you, --- and again, WELCOME!!!
- Ken in San Francisco
Patience is the most important part of getting through the 'awkward' stage.
Just like you, my hair is still much shorter than I want it to be. Right now my hair is about 7-8 inches so I still have messy hair days also. What worked for me when my hair was shorter was using only conditioner, and yes, towel drying. Using shampoos takes away the oil in the hair and scalp, drying it out and causing you to get more volume than you want. If you do use shampoo, it is important that you use conditioner to restore moisture to your hair. This should help keep your hair down more than just using shampoo alone.
As far as wearing the hair... When I first started growing it out my hair was about 2 inches long. I just kept it parted down the middle since there realy wasn't a lot of hair to move around anyway.
Once my hair got to about 5 inches, is when I brushed it back and used hairspray to help keep it in place.
Once my hair got to the length it is now, I am able to either part it down the middle again, and tuck the hair in front behind my ears to keep it out of my face, OR, I will tie it into a small ponytail like I have it now. I still use hairspray when I wear a ponytail since not all of my hair reaches the back of my head yet.
Take into consideration I also have very thick hair also. Best of luck to you and stay away from hungry hair-eating scissors.
hey dude im 1/4 Italian so my hair is dark and very thick like yours when growing it long i just get it thinned out every few months to make it look alot better, i think you should get that done every 6 months tops bro
I am also part Italian and my hair gets thick and poofy.....I'm growing mine out again for the second time, and this is what is working for me at the moment:
I end up taking my showers at night, and I do a conditioner-wash only. The products that work best for me are by Aussie, if that brand is available around your area. I use the Moist conditioner line that they have, and also, once my hair is starting to dry, I put in the anti-frizz cream that Aussie makes, and then wear a beanie/stocking cap to bed.
When I wake up, my hair is absolutely perfect. Just a little bit of brushing here and there, no poofiness and no hair sticking out everywhere. It is definitely helping with the awkward stage; I'm about six months in at the moment. Every now and then I'll add a little bit of that cream (like after a windy day, etc), until my next washing, which is usually every other day. The hair stays straight, there are little-to-no stray flyaway frizzy hairs, and it smells good to boot!