Hello, newbie here!

[coyoteanne]

I've been lurking LHC for quite a while, and I've learned so much useful information! I've recently become very serious about my hair care journey, and decided it was time to join.

I'm a twenty four year old lady boucing around the west coast on a quest for long hair. As a child I had lustrous, thick red hair. Unfortunately, the older I get, the less red my hair. At least there's always henna if I choose. Throughout my teen years I abused my hair with excessive heat and constant dyeing—funny thing though, I hated washing my hair. (Still do.) I'd stretch washes two to three weeks. If only I had known about scritching and preening, I could have happily been NW or SO.

In the past I've battled disordered eating, and my hair reflected that. With hard work, determination, self love, the books Women who Run With the Wolves and The Primal Blueprint, I'm now walking a path of overall health and happiness. Aside from the benefits of being a functional human being who thoroughly enjoys life, great nutrition = great hair. Two months ago I chopped off my damaged hair to just above the shoulder for the fresh start that reflects my new healing me, and I'd say now it's just below the shoulders. I shed some tears, but it looks much, much better! (We've all needed to cut off damage at some point, riiiiight?)

For the past two years I've been WO with an occasional ACV rinse. Coconut oil is a darling in my hair, skin, and cooking routines. Towards the end of June I washed my hair with some Aveda scalp health shampoo while visiting my mom who has very hard water, and WO was not cutting it. (Cutting grease, get it?) My hair looked great at first, but my scalp became infuriated after three days. I decided that if my options are shampoo and hard water, why not try no water at all? I already have a cat like aversion to water. On July second I rinsed my hair with filtered water and haven't wet it since. So yet again, I've embarked on a journey of NW. I miss my 2c/3a curls, but I do love the new sebum-y manageability.

Thanks to LHC, I was already armed with a horn comb, a BBB, and a wooden bristle brush from my WO days. I've been slowly working through the SO thread. I am now dreaming of a Mason Pearson and hair as long as I can get it.

To anyone who took the time, thanks for reading I feel that I have so much to learn from this community! I'm looking forward to sharing my hair journey with others and making some friends!

[Aderyn]

Welcome to LHC! Hopefully we can help you in your journey!

If you want some curl back, you could always try some heat free curling method overnight. I don't know how it will hold up with NW/SO, but it's certainly worth a shot.

[coyoteanne]

Thanks Aderyn!
That's a brilliant idea, I'll look into that. Admittedly I'm pretty lazy when it comes to putting effort into how I look, but I have a fondness for experimentation. I'lll try it, and if it holds, I imagine it'd be my go-to for special occasions.

I can't believe how much I wrote last night. I'm on mobile, so it was hard to tell how long my introduction is.