Hair growing

I'll try that.  Off to get the tape measure again.

I have a tendancy towards dry hair and skin so washing my hair too much just makes it get bigger and bigger and not in a good way!!

I think most people are measuring from the hairline at the front to the longest point. Mine is horribly short now lol.

yeah this ^ is where I measure from but my hair is short so if I measured from the nape it would seem much shorter! You sound like you have a good hair care routine, I'm awful for heat :

Hairline to longest point is more effort and it makes it sound longer than it really is for me 😛

oh @Wicked Pixie when I wrote my last post on this thread I somehow didnt see thatyou said you had cut it! I know its so sososososo hard to do, but it really is for the best. We do so much to our hair with treatments, dying, and do so much preparation and take so much effort to do as little damage to our hair as possible thoughout every process, its like taking care of a baby in a way. all the thought that goes behind switching colors, bases, pre treatments, after treatments, etc, we become VERY attatched to our hair, i know i do! so cutting off anything more than a half inch is gut wrenching to me, even if it seriously needs it and it looks like crap on the ends, its still hard to do. ive been procrastinating cutting mine, AGAIN. i cut off just the very very ends after my last bleach bath, then a couple inches after i dyed it pink, but it wasnt enough, and now i need to cut off more than i would have if i had just cut off what i need to in the first place 🙁

i havent washed it in 5 days, usually it starts getting greasy feeling at around 7-10 days, depending on how much i touch my roots. i havent used any heat styling except a couple spots closer to my scalp because of my cowlicks. ive been loading on the olive oil and coconut oil every night on my ends. they feel really dry and unmanageable and they are starting to get those little bulbs where a split end is beginning to form. im just going to get it over with and cut it. im going to cut between a half inch and an inch above where it starts getting tangled, so its probably going to be a few inches...EEEEK!

but i know it will feel better, because this tangleyness is drivingme crazy and it looks awful to me. i am not touching the ends with bleach at all aaanytime soon. its the bottom areas of my lengths that are stained from the black dye i used for years that are feeling crappy, the areas that look the most reddish pink now and not the cool toned neon pink thatthe rest of my hair looks like. so maybe this will be a good thing too, not only because il be getting rid of damage, but il be getting rid of more of the red pink that i dont really care for. its just not possible to get the color i want over that base and have it actually stay that color and not fade to a reddish or orangey toned color.

@Alexia, im ordering the Brazilian Blow Dry Hair Straightening Keratin Treatment that you recommended. its amazing that it doesnt have silicones in it! all the ones i looked at at sallys  do, and i havent had the chance to go up to the pro shops and check out their inventory yet, its a pain for me to get up there and have the kids in the store with me. and by the time jake gets off work and home to where i could actually go without the kids, they're closed by then. so im just going to order this one. and based on what youve said about it and what reviews ive seen, it seems really good! im excited to try it.

how long is your hair and is it fine/thick, thin/dense and how much of the 100ml tub of it do you use each time? im just wondering how long one tub will last for my hair. does it go on like a product or coconut oil, so you dont need a ton of it for each application? or does it go on like a conditioner or a dye so you need more of it?

im hoping i like it, and i hope it will help with my hair too so i can grow it out longer. my ideal length is between bra strap and waist, closer to my waist though.

i have to admit my hair grows pretty quickly. I am cousin It!  For example i started growing out my Bettie Page bangs in May 2013.  My bangs were a good inch above my eyebrows. When my bangs are straightened they are now past my chin! The rest of my hair is like this too. In 2011 i chopped all my hair off in to a pixie cut, by the time my wedding came in Aug 2012 it was just past my shoulders. Now (Dec 2013) its about 3/4inchs from my elbow!

If i had to put it down to something, i would say its due to my diet and hair regime.  i eat a lot of fruit and vegetables and take multi-vitamins.  My hair regime; i use intense conditioners regularly, leave in spray conditioners and argan oil to keep the ends from splitting.  I use all this as since 2009 my hair has taken a hell of a lot, from bleaching (with veggie dyes), box dyes and being a platinum blonde for ages!

Also if i am going to straighten my hair i do it once a week and i leave my hair to dry naturally.  I try and stay away from heat as much as possible!!!

Good luck to all you in your quest for long luxurious locks! <3

I think some people just have faster/slower growing hair than average. My daughters hair grows about twice as fast as mine (which grows an average 1/2 inch per month) she gets a good inch of growth every month, summer and winter. Very annoying as I am the one who does her roots lol.
I also have a friend who moans that her hair doesn't grow. I honestly thought i  was just breaking off at the ends (very fine, fragile hair) but after colouring it for her, it really doesn't grow! She had maybe an inch of regrowth in about 6 months.

Yay Katie,  you are going to give the keratin a try! I truly hope you like it as much as it's liked my hair.

I'd say if you do an all-over treatment, with your length (even if you do your trimming), one tub should last a good four or five full,  light applications. Sometimes I think I use more than I need because my hair will look greasier by day 2, but when I apply a thin coat throughout, that's about all that I need to do the trick.

Sometimes in between full treatments, I'll just apply to the ends to give them an extra boost.

Of course you'll know the golden rule that I was stupid and learnt from the hard way at the beginning,  to make sure your hair is 100 percent dry before straightening. Also, keep your hair away from your eyes too because the stuff seems to make mine burn a bit, especially with the steam generated by the straightening process. And you must also know you are supposed to run the straightener over the hair several times, but I usually do quick strokes and never make it to the 10-12 times they recommend!

Can't wait to hear how it works for you...  keep me updated. 😀

i started growing out my Bettie Page bangs in May 2013.  My bangs were a good inch above my eyebrows. When my bangs are straightened they are now past my chin! The rest of my hair is like this too. In 2011 i chopped all my hair off in to a pixie cut, by the time my wedding came in Aug 2012 it was just past my shoulders. Now (Dec 2013) its about 3/4inchs from my elbow!

Holy cow, your hair does grow really fast! I am so jealous!  😀

I also have a friend who moans that her hair doesn't grow. I honestly thought i  was just breaking off at the ends (very fine, fragile hair) but after colouring it for her, it really doesn't grow! She had maybe an inch of regrowth in about 6 months.

I swear, that is how my hair always was lol. I am very happy that it grows faster than that now!  Also, @Wicked Pixie, how are you feeling about your hair and everything, now that about a week has passed? I hope you're feeling better about it and happier with it <3 Don't feel like I am trying to pressure you or anything and I completely understand and respect if you don't want to, but I have been wanting to see a picture of your hair ever since I became familiar with you on here lol. You don't have to, but from the colors you've said you have used and the length, it really does sound lovely 🙂

@Alexia Thank you, I have high hopes for it and I am really excited about trying it! Thanks for sharing how it has worked for you and for giving me a good idea of how long a tub should last me, too.

Oh yes, I will definitely make sure my hair is 100% dry, and thanks for the tip about the eyes. That is very good to keep in mind asmy eyes are really sensitive. I have went with some friends that are Lebonese to their salons to watch them get their Keratin treatments done, and from what I have seen, they usually do quicker strokes in small lengths as they go down the hair shaft as the hair gets closer to laying at its natural state, thus, making sure the tension is even. So I think quick strokes are good! I will definitely keep you updated, I should be able to order it this weekend 🙂

My eyes have been extremely sensitive to a lot of things, especially last summer, perhaps a bit of hayfever.  One afternoon, I was using just a normal nail varnish that I'd use all the time, and the fumes made my eyes sting for about two hours afterwards!

Anyway, returning to this thread to mention another silly thing I do that seems to have helped my hair growth a little bit.  I tried it a couple years ago when my fringe was too short and I just hated it, and it seemed to help the growth.  So now I do it every day.  I suppose it might be considered similar to a scalp massage.

Before going to bed at night, as long as my hair is dry, I take sections and very gently lift and pull upwards (very gently!) at the roots, all around the scalp.  I also try to take my hair above my head on the pillow to change the direction.  It may sound silly, and I have no proof it works, but scalp massages are known to help stimulate hair growth, and it seemed to work for my horribly short fringe in the past!

Reminds me of those hairdressing dolls they used to make years ago, where you play with cutting their hair, then pull it out again to do a new style.  If only our real hair worked like that.

😀

Scalp massage is the best thing I know of to actually help stimulate blood circulation to the hair follicles to help promote hair growth, but like you, it needs to be done on a daily basis over a peroid of time to be able to notice anything. My great grandmother swore by it and she would use some rosemary oil while massaging her scalp. She would put some into a spray bottle with water, shake it up, and spray it by her roots and massage, or she would mix a bit in with some olive oil. I don't think pregnant women should use rosemary oil, especially when massaging though.

I am absolutely SHOCKED at how much my hair has grown in just one month! Stunned! My hair has grown a full inch! I don't understand how, but I am definitely not complaining! The fastest it's ever grown is about 3/4 in a  month and that was when I was pregnant with Violet. Normally, I've always grown only 1/8 - 1/4 in a month. I've been massaging oils into my scalp every couple/few days because it's been really dry. My scalp is dry, eyes, hands, elbows, knees, the house, the air, everything is so so dry. It can't be just the massaging that has made it grow so fast for a simgle month, there has to be something else going on I would assume...I just don't know what. My diet is the same, vitamins, etc...Maybe it's something with hormones?

Has anyone else ever has a period of time where their hair just randomly grows faster?

Whoa, so cool!  What type of oils are you using?  Maybe I'll try some rosemary oil - ha ha.  If you find out what's making your hair grow so quickly, do let us know. 🙂

My hands are so dry this time of year, can't use hand cream often enough.  And when I'm using coconut oil, it's such a treat to rub all over my hands too.

Off topic, of course, but what is the lowest temperature in Michigan in winter?  I grew up in Southern California, so the 'low' was not as low as I experience here.  I think my dry skin is due to the UK temps and low humidity.

I am usually avging around 1" a month, but some periods are slower than the others and I've grown to accept that 😛
Probably hormones though.

About the whole putting monistat on your head thing...it works because it's an anti fungal. People have found that when you kill off some of the fungus and yeast that resides on your scalp it makes your hair grow faster. If you have a normal amount, you may not see much growth from using it. But if you have an abundance of yeast or fungus on your scalp, which is quite common, it will make your hair grow faster since your scalp is not bogged down by all those extra passengers. While I would never advise using a medicated anti-fungal on your scalp (unless you see a doctor blah blah blah) I would advise using natural anti-fungals such as vinegar, tea tree oil, coconut oil, etc. which are all safe and beneficial for the scalp. If you notice a difference, then  *1* hooray, you're treating your scalp and your hair is growing faster. If you notice no difference, then  *1* hooray, you have a healthy scalp.  
Even with my seb derm (scalp issues) my hair grows at a normal rate. When I treat it, it grows even faster and I get relief from the PITA that is seb drm.

That's why some people report their hair growing faster after dying or bleaching it, it's killing off the extra passengers aboard their scalp. I used to use henna (the best and longest lasting anti-fungal scalp treatment I have ever tried) but now I bleach, which also really helps my scalp but not as well as henna unfortunately.

@IceBear wow, I was not aware of any of that! I may have had an abundace of yeast or something on my scalp my whole life. I've never done so much to my hair as I have within the past few months, so maybe the bleach baths/coconut oiling removed it and that's why my hair has been growing so fast....Thanks for the information! That is really good to know! Well, I'll be continuing my root touch ups with bleach baths, continuing my coconut oil use and vinegar rinses, so hopefully my hair keeps growing fast like this then!

I use a treatment that has "Lawsonia, Inermis (Henna) Extract" in it, it's about halfway down the list of ingredients. I wonder if it is able to still act as an antifungal with the other ingredients in with it...

Really, thank you so much for sharing this info, it makes so much sense and toally explains why my hair has been growing so fast. My mom's has been growing fast too, and she has been using coconut oil, argan oil, and has been avoiding silicones. Her hair feels healthier than it's ever been in my entire life! It makes so much sense! Thank you a hundred times!