new thread
Hey all, I'm new here. I'm sixteen years old and I've been growing out my hair. I'm the guitarist of a local metal/rock cover band. I'm into old school metal (Metallica, Death, Megadeth, Testament, Exodus, Morbid Angel, Celtic Frost, etc.) so it's pretty much mandatory I grow out my hair lol. It's about shoulder length right now.
Anyways, I hate it. I like the length but I hate the way it curls (wavy) and feels. I've been reading some stuff and I'll have to change some things but still. I shampoo it every time, I use conditioner every once in a while, I blowdry it, and straighten it. I realize I shouldn't ALWAYS shampoo it, I SHOULD always condition it, and that blowdryers and straightners are bad, but I have some problems with that.
My mom freaks out if I don't blowdry it. She says I'll get sick from it being wet even though LOTS of people (my dad included) don't blowdry their hair. So I can't avoid blowdrying it, believe me, I've tried a bunch lol. Another thing is when I blowdry it, it gets wavy. I wouldn't mind my wavy hair if it waved normal, but instead, it waves outward and makes me look like an airplane, forcing me to straighten it. And finally, after all the blowdrying and straightening, my hair feelse dry and coarse sometimes.
Thanks for any help you can offer. Also, there is no way around blow drying it, at least not for me. I know I won't get sick but my mom refuses to listen. I know it's stupid but I can't help it.
Hello Zach,
First of all, do not panic, we all have freaked out when growing our hair. Now, if you haven't found a way to feel comfortable with your hair, I'm almost sure that there are things you have not done yet. I have hated my hair too, pretty much, but I came here and people gave me an advice or a tip that boosted my confidence in my hair and solved the problem.
You need to find a way around the blow drying, you cannot blow dry it too often, it really damages the hair, it dries it and makes it feel like straw and raises the chance for it to curl like airplane wings. There are several things you might try:
- Less shampooing, more conditioning.
- Trying a leave-in conditioning
- Combing it (softly) when wet to shape it, with some leave-in conditioning
- Trying a deep conditioner like coconut balm (Thx Earthgirl), olive oil (Thanks WWT)
- Letting your hair air dry after finger combing it.
- Cutting 1 or 2 centimeters of the ends to make look healthy (I know!, stay away from scissors, but a small trim might help!)
You know, posting pictures would be a great help for us to help you.
Just hang around and I'm sure you'll find a way to make it look cool and feel ok with it.
Sounds like you're in an awkward stage- once it gets longer the waves will probably look better.
Like the other guy said, get a leave-in conditioner. You might also want to experiment with a gel to maybe keep it more under control.
good luck with it.
-sectari
i have wavy hair that needs to be straightened too,and i found a way to calm down my hair without damaging.I hope it works for you too :)
when you blowdry, dry the scalp area only and do not touch the ends.after your scalp is dry, use a kind of leave-in conditioner on the ends (while hair is damp) and tie your hair tight (not like a regular ponytail,use two or more hairties to keep all the hair in place- i hope i made myself clear :S )
What time of day are you washing your hair? If it's in the morning, try washing it in the evening before bed, and let it air dry. A lot of people have that misconception about going out with a wet head.
Try not shampooing as frequently. I used to shampoo once or twice a week, and would only condition after a shampoo; that worked pretty well. Lately though, I've not used it at all, and am using baking soda and apple cider vinegar as a substitute (which works marvelously, by the way). You should definitely avoid blow drying though-- what I do is lean forward when I'm done in the shower so my hair hangs down, and use a towel to gently squeeze the water out of it, and kind of press it downward and rub my hair between the towel. It helps it air dry more quickly. Also, I've found that since I've stopped shampooing my hair dries over twice as quickly!