I am new & frustrated with my hair can anyone help?

[Kirin]

Here's some tips. I'll be fourty this month, so yes you can grow, but some things that will help, but they are just my opinion.

Don't cut. Your stylist says you should cut. Why? Likely because you are paying for it. If you are getting that amount cut off every two months your cutting off likely all of your growth.

STOP the INFUSIUM! Enough said. I used to use that stuff and it caused more damage than anything else. I used it faithfully and amazingly when i stopped and switched to V05, miracle of miracles, my hair is growing past my ears (now to arm pit length now).

I don't bother with hair vitimins, I take a regular multi vitamin with biotin. In all honesty I've never seen anyone's hair grow monstrously faster by vitimins.

Avoid heat styling products. Once in a while is okay, 3-5 times a week is too much.

Oil and condition the ends.

Thats about it, just these minor changes plus changing to a mostly conditoner only wash and giving up silicones, using shampoo once or twice a week has drastically improved my ability to grow.

[Jamie Lynn 40]

Justgreen-
What is a smt treatment?

[mira-chan]

Justgreen-
What is a smt treatment?

SMT stands for Snowymoon's Moisture Treatment. It is a mix of a silicone free conditioner, aloe and honey.

SMT Recipe
4 parts conditioner
1 part honey
1 part clear aloe gel

Easiest to find silicone free conditioners are V05, White rain or Suave (original, some professional ones may contain silicones).

The reason Justgreen recommended against Infusium is because it is high in silicones. Silicone ingredients usually end in -cone, so they are usually called cones here. They coat the hair shaft and don't let moisture in or out. Hair that needs more or different moisture than the silicone conditioner provides can be damaged by this and break.

This " To cone or not to cone" article should explain things better. Some of the other articles there would help you in introducing the terms of the forum and some of the basic routines that are common here.

[nucleardelusion]

I'm in the cheering section with the others when I say not to give up. I learned so much just from the short time I've been here.

[easternsunrise]

I'll say what many others here have already said... Welcome to LHC and you have already taken a HUGE step by finding this site...there's tons of awesome advice for hairgrowing and care on here...you WILL be able to grow your hair longer!

[LaurelSpring]

I was in the same boat for years. Its the trims. I was doing the same thing you did. I went to the salon every 3 months and she would cut off 1/2- 1 inch and I couldnt understand why it wasnt getting longer. If your hair is only growing 1/2 inch a month then on that third month you are only left with 1/2 inch growth after you get it trimmed and that would be if the stylist were precise which usually doesnt happen. So you end up always staying the same. That is happening to me now again when I thought I knew better. My new stylist knows I am growing my hair and I told her only dustings but the last two times I went she took more than I wanted each time and set me back a good bit. I just decided I have to stay away from the salon if I want any growth. They mean well but cant seem to take a very small amount. So from now on its self dusting for me. We'll see if the plan changes when I get to whatever is my goal but for growth its best to do self dustings for me anyway. I am also over 40 and shooting for waist.

[manderly]

Welcome Jamie Lynn.

First, start with Ursula's newbie advice: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/...e&articleid=39

Then browse through the different articles to learn just about all the things you'll see us talk about here:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/...e&articleid=39


Stop going to your stylist. I haven't seen a stylist since May 07, and I know it's been longer for many others.

What do you do to your hair on a daily basis? Heat style? Products?

I second the silicone comments. My hair does not like them, and I had no idea until I stopped using them.

[frizzinator]

Welcome!

Your hair may be breaking due to brushing and wind damage.

Some folks here have quit brushing. If you must brush, start at the bottom, and work out any snags and tangles before moving up a little and working out the tangles before moving up, again and again until you reach your scalp. Hairs break when you drag a brush or a comb from the scalp to the ends of your hair, without taking the time to completely untangle before taking full length strokes.

If your hair flys in the breeze when you are in a car with the windows down or on a motorcycle, then your hair is surely getting tangled. For growth, containing your hair is important. Some of us wear our hair up every day. It makes a huge difference in protecting your hair.

I noticed scalp massage makes my hair grow faster. There is also a massage method on this website. I think it is also called SMT, which is short for Snowy's Massage Technique.

I'm over 50 years old with waist length hair.

[sipnsun]

I don't think you are ever to old to have long hair. My hair was stuck at shoulder length and I finally realized I had to give up the chemical processes so my hair would grow. A lot of people here still color/perm their hair (and I wish I could too) but my hair was just breaking off at the ends so no growth! It's finally growing now and it's been kind of nice seeing my natural color for the first time since middle school! What's up with all of these gray hairs though?

[Tabitha]

Hi Jamie Lynn. Another one chiming in to say you are NOT too old. I was a few years older than you when I decided to grow from a pixie. I joined here 2½ years ago when my hair was chin length and now I'm 46, it reaches very nearly down to my waist.

What did I change? not that much - I certainly don't have a complicated routine or spend much money on products or supplements.

My wise hairdresser said "If you want it to grow, stop cutting it" so once I'd dealt with the worst of the uneven layers from the pixie and had it about chin length, I reduced trims to twice yearly. I continued to have it lowlighted but again, only twice yearly and at a good salon. I gave up blowdrying except on very odd occasions, and I rarely brush now, using my fingers to detangle followed by a wide-toothed horn comb (but this is because my hair's wavy - straight haired people get better results from brushing than wavy/curly).

The only vitamin I take is a multivitamin because I am pretty lax about my diet. I still use drugstore (Herbal Essences) shampoo but have stopped using silicone conditioners, because they make my hair look lank and too slippery to put up or braid. I often wash with conditioner only, but not all the time - I alternate conditioner-only washes with shampoo & conditioner. Sometimes I put a tiny smidgen of oil on the ends of my hair when it's damp (currently using coconut oil).