Before your HHJ.....

[irisak]

Do you think you had fairly healthy hair care practices? Did you have issues retaining length? What do you think was the main thing you were doing that prevented your hair from flourishing?

I know for me I had fairly healthy hair care practices. I was washing regularly, co-washing,stretching relaxers, protective styling, and overnight dcing before I had ever heard the technical terms lol. I kept a pretty good protein/moisture balance without even realizing that's what I was doing. But there was one eensy weensy thing I was doing wrong.......Okay one really big thing. See I had this thing where I wanted salon bling when I did my doobie and since I didn't know what technique to use, I would blow dry my hair on high, with no heat protectant, flat iron twice on 400 degree+ to straighten and then flat iron one more time at the same temp or higher to bump on bonelaxed hair. I think the only reason I had hair is because the rest of my hair care routine wasn't bad. They say when you know better you do better so what was your biggest hair faux pas?

 

[InBloom]

I wasn't washing my hair often enough
I didn't deep condition at all
I overlapped relaxers all the time
I used No-Lye relaxers
I didn't know people put oil in their hair for any reason
I treated breaking hair with heavy protein treatments that would break my hair
I never used moisturizer
I never used heat protectant

 

[Americka]

• used grease as a moisturizer

• washed, flat ironed and blow dried 3 or 4x a week
• relaxed every 4 weeks root to tip
• rarely DC'd - if I DC'd it was with cholesterol
• rarely used a heat protectant

• used inferior products
• didn't do HOTs nearly enough
• flat ironed daily
• rarely covered hair for sleep

 

[PinkSunshine77]

Do you think you had fairly healthy hair care practices? Did you have issues retaining length? What do you think was the main thing you were doing that prevented your hair from flourishing?

I know for me I had fairly healthy hair care practices. I was washing regularly, co-washing,stretching relaxers, protective styling, and overnight dcing before I had ever heard the technical terms lol. I kept a pretty good protein/moisture balance without even realizing that's what I was doing. But there was one eensy weensy thing I was doing wrong.......Okay one really big thing. See I had this thing where I wanted salon bling when I did my doobie and since I didn't know what technique to use, I would blow dry my hair on high, with no heat protectant, flat iron twice on 400 degree+ to straighten and then flat iron one more time at the same temp or higher to bump on bonelaxed hair. I think the only reason I had hair is because the rest of my hair care routine wasn't bad. They say when you know better you do better so what was your biggest hair faux pas?

I abused heat, I never m&s'd. I hardly ever did Protein treatments. I've learned a lot and am finally retaining length for the first time in over a decade.

 

[kinkycurlygurl]

I blow dried daily for years
Never did protective styles
Didn't know how to moisturize my hair
Ripped out gobs of hair every time I detangled

That's just what I did after I went natural.

When I was relaxed:

No moisturizing
Curling ironed daily without heat protectant
Overlapped relaxers

No wonder I couldn't retain any length.

 

[SuchaLady]

I often feel as if I fixed something that wasn't broken when I came here. My hair was a healthy thick, passed BSL length. I actually still have the same regimen as I did before I knew hair forums existed! I just eliminated blow drying. And it's like every year I stay on the hair forum side my hair ends up shorter

Sent from my DROID3 using LHCF

 

[IDareT'sHair]

Relied on Stylist for errthang. Went weekly for 20+ years and knew absolutely nothing about how to care for my hair. At all. Period.

Didn't know any better. I always wanted the latest cut/color/highlights etc....I was always allowing them to do something different to my Hair.

 

[LexiDior]

-I washed my hair once a week
-Sometimes i would go a week without putting any moisture in my hair
-I never covered my hair at night
-i used flat irons
-I would relax every 2 months.
-I used a clarifying shampoo every time i washed without knowing it

But some how my hair still grew pretty long :/

and to think it was just last month i was doing these things

 

[TheMenAllPause]

[*] used grease as a moisturizer

[*]washed, flat ironed and blow dried 3 or 4x a week
[*]relaxed every 4 weeks root to tip
[*]rarely DC'd - if I DC'd it was with cholesterol
[*]rarely used a heat protectant

[*]used inferior products
[*]didn't do HOTs nearly enough
[*]flat ironed daily
[*]rarely covered hair for sleep

This was the way I treated my hair too! That daily flat iron was a MUST! I don't know how I had any hair on my head...#shudders.

 

[newbeginnings2010]

Do you think you had fairly healthy hair care practices?
No

Did you have issues retaining length?
Yes

What do you think was the main thing you were doing that prevented your hair from flourishing?
I went to the salon to get a relaxer every 6 weeks, my stylist would do a wet wrap and I would sit under a dryer on high for three hours. I went to the salon every two weeks religiously for a wash and wet wrap.Then I would only put oil on my hair and wrap it every night between stylist visits. My hair stayed just below SL until my trims when my stylist would cut it back to SL or NL depending on her mood.

 

[TheMenAllPause]

Relied on Stylist for errthang. Went weekly for 20+ years and knew absolutely nothing about how to care for my hair. At all. Period.

Didn't know any better. I always wanted the latest cut/color/highlights etc....I was always allowing them to do something different to my Hair.

PREACH! My hair has been damn near every color of the rainbow...smdh.

 

[ms.blue]

My hair was fairly healthy. I use to stretch my my relaxers to 2-3x a yr, wash and condition and grease my hair, blunt shoulder length hair (the length I kept from 10/11th-to junior yr of college)....broke person reggie. Once I became employed, I was relaxing every two months, using different relaxers, buying new stuff to try. Pretty much my relaxed hair was healthier when I had no money

 

[irisak]

[*] used grease as a moisturizer

[*]washed, flat ironed and blow dried 3 or 4x a week
[*]relaxed every 4 weeks root to tip
[*]rarely DC'd - if I DC'd it was with cholesterol
[*]rarely used a heat protectant

[*]used inferior products
[*]didn't do HOTs nearly enough
[*]flat ironed daily
[*]rarely covered hair for sleep

Oh yeah root to tip relaxing!!!!! I did that every other relaxer because my hair still curled at the ends lol. I also used super strength until I hit my twenties because I was trying to relax the curl away. I didn't appreciate the joys of wash and go relaxed hair back then.

Sent from my HTC EVO using LHCF. any spelling errors should be blamed on auto-correct.

 

[virtuenow]

I often feel as if I fixed something that wasn't broken when I came here. My hair was a healthy thick, passed BSL length. I actually still have the same regimen as I did before I knew hair forums existed! I just eliminated blow drying. And it's like every year I stay on the hair forum side my hair ends up shorter

Sent from my DROID3 using LHCF

If your hair was healthy, thick and long, then why did you change anything at all even if people on a forum are doing something different? I guess we can be our hairs worse enemy in both directions. When I was relaxed I used to flat iron daily. Later on I picked up more healthy practices and grew my hair longer than I ever had. I stretched relaxers, deep conditioned, & used low heat. After all that, and long stretches w/good growth, the relaxers would still break my hair off nearly everytime I'd get one, no matter what kind or what modifications I made. Getting my hair truly healthy meant cutting the relaxers out.

 

[Americka]

This was the way I treated my hair too! That daily flat iron was a MUST! I don't know how I had any hair on my head...#shudders.

I don't know what I was thinking. I was flat ironing and hot curling every morning, but my curls would be gone before lunch. Jacked up as it was, I still had some hairs fighting to reach APL.

 

[MystiqueBabe]

Do you think you had fairly healthy hair care practices? Did you have issues retaining length? What do you think was the main thing you were doing that prevented your hair from flourishing?

If I were to grade myself pre-LHC I would give myself a C.

The good

-Mostly Protective styled 24/7 only used heat on occasion
-Natural hair was BSL, healthy, and pretty without any effort.

The bad
-Washed hair generally once a month
-Had dandruff due to infrequent washing
-Never moisturized
-Never used or knew what conditioner was lol
-Never trimmed
-Slept with a cotton scarf on and one section of my hair broke off down to SL. Then I went to get it relaxed then the back portion of my hair broke off to the NG.
I also used heat weekly on hair that was already straight. When I got my first relaxer done at the salon that was when my hair really started going downhill.

Enough is enough so I found lhcf and am now transitioning. I found out that relaxers do not help me with growing my hair they actually work aganist it.

 

[SuchaLady]

I ask myself the same thing virtuenow. I saw all these recommendations and just assumed what I was doing could have been done better. Which I see isnt the case because at the end of the day I still do the same thing I did before I don't get as angry with myself as I did. I was just trying to do what I thought was best.

If your hair was healthy, thick and long, then why did you change anything at all even if people on a forum are doing something different? I guess we can be our hairs worse enemy in both directions. When I was relaxed I used to flat iron daily. Later on I picked up more healthy practices and grew my hair longer than I ever had. I stretched relaxers, deep conditioned, & used low heat. After all that, and long stretches w/good growth, the relaxers would still break my hair off nearly everytime I'd get one, no matter what kind or what modifications I made. Getting my hair truly healthy meant cutting the relaxers out.

Sent from my DROID3 using LHCF

 

[Ogoma]

Do you think you had fairly healthy hair care practices? Yes. I never did any of this intentionally. What I know now as my regime was dictated by laziness on my part. I washed and conditioned weekly with either CD Tui or BV Shampoo & Smoothie; I air dried in a bun after each wash/condition; I relaxed every 3-4 months; I trimmed at every relaxer; I used the CD Mimosa Hair Honey to "moisturize" every day; and 1x a month I went to the salon for deep conditioning and only then did was heat used extensively - blow dry and iron. I rarely used heat on my own hair and only did so when I had bangs and I couldn't fit it into the bun. I used products recommended by the hair stylist.

Did you have issues retaining length? No. I liked my hair in a blunt bob and I had to cut it regularly to keep it that way. I had no idea people thought black hair couldn't grow or anything like that. My friends and I never really discussed hair health more styles/color.

What do you think was the main thing you were doing that prevented your hair from flourishing? My hair was fine. I had moved countries and continent and was tired of the process of finding a stylist every time I was in a new country or having the "who will relax my hair?" analysis before deciding to move to a new country. I started paying attention to my hair a few months before I big-chopped, after 6 months of a disastrous transition because I had no idea I had to do things differently transitioning .

 

[ravenhairedcharm]

Do you think you had fairly healthy hair care practices?

No.

-Random relaxing schedule
-Infrequent washing
-Lack of moisture
-Combing dry hair...the list could go on forever..


Pre-LHCF, my hair maintained a little past shoulder length (not up to APL). It was a nice length and very full and healthy looking (salon trims), but I've always wanted it longer. I didn't know anything about hair care at all, I think some of you would be appalled that I did absolutely nothing to my hair. The only product I used was hair lotion. I didn't know anything about using conditioner and shampooed only when I was going to get braids put in and when I took them out.

Did you have issues retaining length?

Didn't know my hair could grow longer. lol I think the only reason that my hair was able to maintain a good length is because my hair strands are pretty coarse in size almost like wire in some places, but it didn't make my hair invincible.

What do you think was the main thing you were doing that prevented your hair from flourishing?

Not knowing much about hair care. I could have had pretty long relaxed hair had I found LHCF or some similar site earlier. My hair needs a lot of moisture, and that's something my hair didn't get much of back then. Anyway I'm glad to finally know that my hair can grow long. :reddancer:

 

[LatterGlory]

 

[getoffmylawn]

Healthy hair practices....noooooooo. I bleached, dyed and flat ironed my hair into oblivion.
I don't have any issues retaining length.
What killed my hair, I believe, was bleach.

 

[TheMenAllPause]

Oh and let me not forget the days of pink oil moisturizer and Let's Jam...I should still have no hair to this day fooling with that stuff.

 

[BadMamaJama]

Relaxed every 4 weeks!

 

[Lylddlebit]

Do you think you had fairly healthy hair care practices? Did you have issues retaining length? What do you think was the main thing you were doing that prevented your hair from flourishing?

They say when you know better you do better so what was your biggest hair faux pas?

I wore braids all but maybe a month out of the year in one week intervals. So pretty much no manipulation. I only permed for that short interval my braids were out(unless I pressed). I liked my length at the time it was apl after cuts.

The main things I did to keep my hair form being as healthy as it could have been was when I did perm/detangled or got my hair braided. I didn't let my hair breath from the braids. I redid as soon as I could. One weekend to take them out and do something to my hair the next week braids back in. I always had a root to end perm or a hard press for the time that my was out. I was really rough with detangling and washing. The woman who braided my hair was equally rough with the rat tail comb she used to part and comb my hair out with. I hated to wash my hair loose(although it washed in braids) because I would tear so much of my hair out when I detangled. Luckily my hair was pretty thick so I could rip a big chinch out straighten it and it would still look fine.

 

[BlkOnyx488]

Do you think you had fairly healthy hair care practices?
Not at all,
I never wore protective styles, every two years my hair would be so damaged I would cut it down to 1-2 inches and start the same process all over again.
I used heat daily no protection, Never wore cover ups at night. Never even thought to keep my hair moisturize. In fact I use to purposely keep it dry because I didn't like how grease weighed my hair down. I would Relax my hair and color it twice all within a three day period. I liked my hair really red so I would dye it blonde first then in the same night dye it red. In short I was a folicle having mess LOL

Did you have issues retaining length?
As I stated above every two years I would cut my hair to 1-2 inches, but my hair was never longer than neck length. I believed the the myth that black hair didn't grow, at least not my black hair.

What do you think was the main thing you were doing that prevented your hair from flourishing?
EVERYTHING!!
No Protective Styles
No Moisture
Sissor Happy
Too Much Heat
No Heat Protection
I am lucky I had any hair at all

 

[Hyacinthe]

I had terrible hair practices
I would relax every 5 weeks
I knew nothing about M&S
I would sleep without wrapping hair
Flat iron often without heat protectant
I would relax dye highlight keratin all in one session
when I found out all the bad things I was doing to my hair I actually apologized to it

 

[HairPleezeGrow]

I knew nothing at all!

I would relax every month, flat iron when ever I wanted without heat protectant, I used glue for my quick weaves without taking care when I took it out, I would always get my hair cut and never thought it could grow, I never knew about moisture or protein balance or even alone, I was a hit mess!

 

[lamaria211]

I bought products I didnt need or no how to use.
Didnt do my hair myself.
Moisture??? Whats that