what was i thinking?

[Ayeshia]

okay lets think back to like two or three years ago when most of us probably never knew what the hell we were putting on our hair. Man if only this board existed like 3 years ago...i feel sick i cant talk about it anymore

. What were you using b4 you had hair knowledge?

Me:
pert plus

blue velvet grease

pink oil

rubber bands (the thick post office kind)

 

[HotCoCoGurl130]

blue magic
cotton bandana( i had alot of breakage)
blow drying and curling each week
trimming all my new growth away

I didnt put much in my hair but I was doing some messed up stuff to it.

 

[inthepink]

I brushed my hair with a hard bristle brush once a week when it was wet.
I hardly ever deep conditioned.
I touched-up every 2 months when I could have gone every 4 months.
I didn't moisturize my ends effectively.
I didn't wear protective hairstyles.
I blowdried and curled once a week. (I did let my hair airdry so it wouldn't take as long to blowdry!)

 

[Cami]

Back in my younger days

I would:
-Wash my hair with head and shoulders and NOT condition
-Did not use leave in
-From wet hair, I would blow dry with a hand dryer until it was straight
-Use gel to get crispy curls
-Then finish off the style with spritz!

-I would use the curler every morning and repeat with gel and spritz to get those curls!

**My signature style was:
A ponytail on the top of my head slicked back with gel and spritz and I would use extra gel, spritz, AND the curling iron to go over the top part to make it smooth.

Of course this was back in middle school and I didn't know any better! I did not use moisture, I only used those gels and spritz to style. Needless to say, my hair fell out and eventually I learned how to care for it later.

 

[CaramelKiss]

I brushed my hair dry
I brushed my hair wet
Grease
Daily use of curling iron
Blow Dried on high at least 2x a week
Never deep conditioned
Sometimes didn't condition at all!

Forgot to add the bad relaxers and frequent coloring!

 

[ballet_bun]

Curling Iron Almost everyday
Blow dryer every week
putting grease on hair to straighten with curling iron
not enough protective styles
coloring and relaxing (no more coloring for me)
relaxing too frequently!

 

[sabie19]

I used to brush my hair often. I would also keep my hair dry and then I would always play with my hair taking away any moisture that it did have.

 

[dontspeakdefeat]

I was going to the stylist on a weekly basis. Using hot curlers daily to keep my "do" fresh. Get relaxers every 3 to 4 weeks. Using hair sprays and gel. Getting those plastered hairstyles. Putting weave glue in my hair. And the list goes on!

Inspite of all that abuse it still looked "good"! But it wasn't healthy it just appeared to be!

 

[joyous]

I wasn't wearing protective styles and added a couple of glued in tracks for thickness. I was also overprocessing my hair when I relaxed.

 

[Purtygurly]

I never heard of deep conditioning, I would get touch-ups and the relaxer would get put in from roots to ends, I used pantene shampoo and conditioner, I would never use the shampoo now.

Once I put in so much pink lotion that my hair had a pinkish glow to it (I swear)

I know that's ridiculous, but I don't have that many years to go back and look at what I've done

 

[northernbelle]

Well, as Maya Angelou has said: One does the best she can do at the time until she learns better.

Anyway, you did not know before. But, now you do!

northernbelle

 

[katie]

I blowdried and flat ironed once a week(both on high setting)
I thought setting lotion was leave-in conditioner
I slept in a cotton bandanna with a stocking on top my head

 

[A_Christian]

I slept on cotton pillowcases

When I think about it I start feeling sick, lol, because now I panic if my hair touches my "non silkey" clothing

 

[Allandra]

I was going to a hair stylist on a weekly basis. Goodness knows what they were putting in my hair.

Oh well. Thank goodness we have this wonderful board and wonderful ladies.

 

[brownrelaxedhair]

[ QUOTE ]
northernbelle said:
Well, as Maya Angelou has said: One does the best she can do at the time until she learns better.

Anyway, you did not know before. But, now you do!

northernbelle

[/ QUOTE ]


That's a wonderful quote. Maya has so many doesn't she?

I'd dry my hair weekly with a hot hair dryer with the comb attachment then follow with a curling iron

I used pathetic 'moisturizers' to some how 'heal' my permanently dry frizzed ends (due to the blow dryer).

No hot oil treatments.

Not knowing about conditioner washes, I exercised and slept over night in the sweat and almost cried at the shedding that then followed. I was permanently in a dilema of how to live with exercising and looking after relaxed hair...

 

[cary]

Well, I don't have to go back a couple of years, but rather a couple of months when I:

Never deep conditioned or used a leave in;
Never used a moisturizer;
Used a hood dryer on the "extra hot" setting and let my hairdresser use a super hot blow dryer to "straighten" my roots afterward; and
Brushed my hair DAILY for added volume/fullness (yes, lots of hair would come out too).

Amazingly, with all of the above going on, my hair had grown to its longest point (a little past shoulder-length) over the past year or so

Haven't figured out why, but am starting to believe it's because of my switch to a high protein/low carb diet last fall (not for weight loss, but weight maintenance)

. Lots of chicken, fish, vegetables. Any sugar from fruits alone. Maybe there's no connection between the diet and the hair growth, but I'm thinking that must have been it b/c apart from weekly washing/conditioning and sleeping in a satin cap, I was doing nothing special to my hair.

Anyway, the growth got me interested in learning how to take care of my hair . . . which is when I happened onto this site and had my eyes opened about all things hair!

 

[jade3]

I used to perm about every 2.75 to 3 weeks so I could keep the compliments of my bone straight hair coming. Even after perms I would NEVER condition, I would usually use the flimsy leave-in in the bottle. I used the curling iron every single day. Not even the ConAir curling iron. I used to use Gold N Hot which gets much hotter every day on the highest setting to smooth my hair into a ponytail. I used pink lotion and grease. I had to trim all the time because my ends were always broken. And I washed every two to three weeks. I am so embarrased that I used to do all of this. Every time I get discouraged about growing my hair long, I'll have to read this to remind myself that before I never even gave myself a chance!!!!!!!!

 

[Toni]

I used to:
Never wore a scarf to bed.
I used pink lotion.
Used a hot and gold curling iron everyday.
Did not pay enough attention to ends of my hair.

 

[missykeyana]

When I was relaxed, I:
Used grease
Relaxers from roots to tips
No protective styles unless it was time for a touch-up and my hair wouldn't hold a curl
Hot blow dryers and curling irons every week

 

[soulchild]

Pretty much everything you guys did

 

[sassygirl125]

I deep conditioned about once a month. I thought 2n1's were enough.

I avoided any products with water in them because they made my hair look poofy.

When I finally started moisturizing it was with greasy lotions like Pink Oil and Moisture Max. The result: greasy, stiff hair that was still dry!

I used a styler/dryer on high and followed up with a curling iron. Every day. For over ten years.

I slept in a cotton scarf!

 

[SingingStar12]

Let's see...
I used the curling iron everyday and I had a lot of breakage.

Used grease almost everyday
Relaxed from root to tip (a lot of overprocessing)
Never used a silk/satin cap when I slept
Never used moisturizers with water and oil
Didn't clean my hair on a regular basis
Used a clarifying shampoo each wash
Didn't use an effective heat protectant
Never heard of protective styling

I was just in middle school and I didn't know all the knowledge I know now. This really makes me realize how much I've learned in the short time I've been here.

 

[blkvetteblack]

For me, it was the curling iron and cutting the braids out rather than taking the time out to take them loose. I LOST a lot of hair by cutting those braids out. Oh, and when I did weave my hair, I would cut the tracks out as well, loosing a good 6" of hair...no kidding.

 

[LABETT]

Never used deep conditioners
NO pre-hot oil treatments
Used pink lotion
Blowdried with every wash

 

[babyblue]

grease
verrry hot irons
buying anything that said "gro" in the title

infrequent washing

 

[ineedmoney]

daily clarfing shampoo( to get my hair squeeky clean

)
any random conditoner i could get my hands on
hot combs EVERY DAY!!!
thank god i have seen the light!!!!!

 

[cutebajangirl]

After 12 I pretty much have taken good care of my hair. It was my hairdresser holding me back everytime I came home and got a perm she would cut off about 2-3 inches. She also caused my only breakage disaster (since 12) by switching me from lye to no lye and telling me specifically after I asked her that it would not cause breakage.

 

[Nyambura]

Wasted a lot of hard-earned $ in fruitless searches for moisturizing products.

Also handed over that hard-earned $ to stylists who I blindly trusted or who I allowed to talk me into getting something that went against my better judgment because, well, they were the "professional" so they must know what they're doing.

Failed to speak up if the stylist was about to do something I didn't like or if I felt dissatisfied with the service.

Believed trims would help my hair to grow.

So I accordingly got trims every six weeks with my touchup...and wondered why my hair never seemed to grow any longer.

Believed oil would moisturize my hair and felt constantly disappointed when it didn't.

No protective styles...which was especially damaging in combination with turtlenecks.

Dutifully wrapped my hair every night - and managed to thin my hair out.

Didn't eat enough protein.

 

[ngaa]

i never conditioned
washed my hair once in 2 weeks if that
used pink oil as a moisturiser
used either a blow dryer or curlin iron everyday
didnt tie hair up b4 bed, jus slept straight on cotton pillowcase
never ever cut hait coz i wanted it to grow

 

[silvergirl]

luckily i have a mother who knew about great hair care, i have been doing the same regime since i started takin care of my own hair , around 12 yrs old. ive have shoulder , brastrap, midback length and beyond, but now im tryint o grow my hair out natural.