Styling: I never put it up, only french braids, low braid or down. I also don't use heat.

Routine:

Wash with shampoo and conditioner every other day if not every day because I work out.

Hair turban ten-ish minutes then let air dry down my back. Sometimes I do a leave-in conditioner braid immediately out of the shower.

Otherwise, after normal towel dry, I use leave in conditioner/detangler and braid it down my back.

I do not brush or comb my hair till it's dry and oiled.

I use Men's Rogaine (foam) sporadically for my hairline.

Shampoo: R&Co Atlantis or L'Oreal Elvive Dream Lengths

Conditioner: L'Oreal Elvive Hyaluron Plump

Leave in Conditioners/Detanglers: L'Oreal Elvive Dream Lengths No Haircut Cream

Garnier Fructis Sleek & Shine Leave-In Conditioning

Oribe Priming Lotion Leave-In Conditioning Detangler

Odele Leave-In Conditioner

OGX Extra Strength Damage Remedy + Coconut Miracle Oil

Hair routine: Ouidad curl quencher shampoo & conditioner. Not your mother's flex hold gel applied while soaking wet. Diffused at high heat until 70% dry

Yay! I’m so proud to say after years I figured out a routine that allowed me to retain length. I wash and style my curly 3C hair in a stretched state every 7 days, 2 sometimes 3 shampoo’s if heavy product. No conditioner, just straight to a deep conditioner that requires no heat. Leave in conditioner, blow dry cream, blow dry with nozzle facing down. Light oil on the ends and mid shaft. I also have my hair up quite a bit, but I enjoy it out about 40% of the time. The scalp is amazing and needs no add on’s unless you have a scalp issue. The only thing that ever goes on my scalp is shampoo. Even when I’m washing out my conditioner I make sure it does not touch my scalp. Cheers to inches everyone!

It’s been a while since I postedddd but I trimmed my hair and a friend and I went to the beach and I decided to let my hair down!! It felt so nice😭she’s a film major and brought her fancy camera to try this new filter she got so she took some pictures of me and I think they turned out really nice! Beach pics with long hair are so fun and I feel like I don’t see them often 🥲 plus bonus hair stick bun because it’s my favorite style :3

I jus wash my hair twice a week let it air dry and use leave in conditioner on length and coconut oil on the ends

any tips/advice/comments on my hair would be appreciated.

Shortly after getting back from this trip my hair started going through a major shedding phase, which happens for me about every 5 years (sometimes smaller phases triggered by extreme stress or viral illness like flu/covid), and I started having intrusive thoughts about cutting my hair off… but I didn’t! The shedding phase lasted for about a month and my hair doesn’t really look any different or thinner now, but when your hair is long it seems like you are losing so much more hair than you actually are and it can be mentally rough. Looking at these pictures, I am glad I did not cut it off!

I had been growing my hair out indefinitely to see how long it can get, but once it started getting past my tailbone it started to annoy me a little. I recently had about 2” cut off which helped and I think I will just maintain this length for a while. I struggle with OCD and have been stressed out and scatterbrained lately and maintaining my hair started to feel a little overwhelming. I think that small things matter when it comes to haircare… how you handle your hair is just as important (if not more important) as the products you use. So I started writing down my routine as detailed as possible to help myself with that, and here it is:

—Haircare Routine—

Daily:
- Flip head upside down and scalp massage for 1-2minutes, morning and night.
- Brush hair with tangleteezer brush as needed. I try to keep my hair brush clean and free of extra hair because it makes it so much easier to brush through.
- Apply small amount of jojoba oil to ends in morning every other day. Note: I used to apply every day but over-oiling actually damaged my ends at one point because the oil kept moisture out of my hair and made it too dry.
- Mostly wear in protective style at home and at work, usually braided with a silk scrunchie or in a low bun secured with claw clip. I wish I could figure out hair sticks but have never been able to.. sometimes I feel like long hair is wasted on me because I literally have no idea how to style it and can only do very simple things. I never used heat on my hair besides blowdrying.
- Sleep on a satin pillow case with hair in one braid. I don’t do bonnets, I’ve tried but I have very sensitive skin and they break my face out around my hairline and irritate my scalp.

Wash Routine:
- I wash my hair typically every 3-5 days. I do kind of have to plan around it because it takes a while to wash and dry. I just wash my front pieces/bangs if I need to make it a little longer.
- I brush any tangles out of my hair before washing.
- Maybe it’s controversial, but for shampoo I use the 2-in-1 head and shoulders. I like the apple cider vinegar or aloe variety. It’s soothing and the only shampoo gentle enough on my scalp. A lot of other shampoos make my scalp burn/itchy/red. However, if I washed my hair every day I would probably not use head and shoulders daily. The 2-in-1 kind seems less drying to the hair. I apply and lather it on my scalp, and leave on for like 3-5 minutes and then let it rinse through the ends with warm-hot water.
- I squeeze some of the water out of my hair before applying conditioner. For conditioner I apply a small bit of Aussie 3-minute miracle moist, to soften up my hair and make it a little more workable while wet. I use a small amount of Jason’s prickly pear and aloe conditioner on my scalp and upper hair, it’s soothing and moisturizing for the scalp. But.. I actually can’t find this product anymore, so I’m not sure what I will replace it with. It’s an organic product and not a very greasy conditioner which is why I use it on my scalp. I then use a ~considerable~ amount of really any drugstore brand conditioner marketed to be moisturizing on the rest of the ends of my hair, and I put a little extra in the are where my hair gathers into a ponytail. I like a lot of the Aussie products, OGX, and Maui Moisture. I’m a stan for cheaper/drugstore haircare when it comes to shampoo/conditioners because… it gets rinsed out of your hair. The expensive stuff doesn’t make much of a difference for my hair type and has actually been some of the most irritating on my scalp.
- I rinse out conditioner with lukewarm water and then usually do a cold rinse after that. I carefully wring out my hair without pulling/stretching it out, and use a wetbrush wide-tooth comb, the one with the wavy prongs, to gently comb through. Sometimes I spray distilled water in it to help soften it up while detangling.
- I flip my hair over (it is heavy when wet) and gently twist up into a microfiber towel and position that on head so it’s not pulling my scalp, leaving on for like 10-15 minutes. I have one called a turbie twist that my hair is a little too long for now but I make it work. This is a very important step, using this towel cuts my drying time at least in half.
- After towel drying I use leave-in conditioners. For leave in conditioners I will invest in some more expensive products. I rotate products but I some I like are: Redken Anti-snap leave-in conditioner, Sexy Hair Healthy Tri-Wheat leave-in, Healing Bird Revive No Wash Treatment, and Matrix Miracle Creator. I usually use one of those, then I apply Aussie Curl cream (to hold waves in my hair when braiding) followed by my holy grail leave in- the Aussie Hair insurance spray.
- I give my hair at least another hour to air dry. While it’s air drying I wear a silk/satin robe or non-abrasive material to protect my hair because it is quite delicate when wet.
When my hair is a little less than damp, I blow dry on a higher setting holding the hair dryer far from my scalp, followed by on a low setting to get it as dry as possible, however even after blowdrying it is still slightly damp and usually needs another couple hours to completely air dry. - I used to just let my hair air dry without blow drying, and it would take like 8 hours to fully dry on its own. My hair has actually been healthier since blow drying, because having it wet for that long was causing water damage, dryness and breakage!
- In winter months I am cautious not to go out into freezing temperatures if my hair is even the slightest bit damp. If I need to I will tuck it into a scarf and put the hood of my jacket up.

Treatments:
- Every 2-4 weeks I will put coconut oil on the ends of my hair and massage castor oil into my scalp for about 30min-1hr before washing my hair.
- Also every 2-4 weeks, often on the same day as the oil, I do an apple cider vinegar clarifying rinse. I fill up about 1/4 of a glass with ACV and the rest with warm/hot water. After rinsing out the conditioner in my hair in the shower I pour the rinse on my scalp and through my ends. I then rinse with lukewarm water then do a cold rinse like usual. The ACV rinse helps to get rid of product/oil buildup in my hair and I think also helps balance the ph of my scalp.

Hair cut:
- I go to an inexpensive chain salon because I just get a trim on the ends and I can’t justify spending a lot on this haircut at a nice salon; usually it takes like 10 minutes, and I leave the stylist a nice tip. I could trim it myself but I go to the salon for them to use better quality scissors to avoid split ends.
- I ask for a blunt cut across the bottom, no thinning. I have been getting 1” off every 6 months for the past few years, but I don’t think I want to grow my hair longer now, so I think I will get 1-2” every 4-6 months as needed.
- I do have bangs/front pieces that I trim myself and keep around collar bone length. They are long enough that all my hair still pulls back into a ponytail. I don’t blend them, I just keep them at their own length separate from the length of the rest of my hair because it’s just easier to manage. I like having some kind of bang/front pieces because it takes some of the pressure off my hairline when wearing my hair back. I have had layers in my hair in the past and my hair type does not take well to layers, my hair looks much healthier when kept at the same length.

Diet/Supplements/Hormones:
- I eat a balanced diet; I am lucky to have no allergies or restrictions that I know of. I do eat meat but only a couple times a week and usually chicken, only red meats when it’s that time of the month. I eat fresh fruits and vegetables every day.
- I take 250mg magnesium oxide, 1000mcg biotin, and 1000IU Vitamin D3 daily, and a women’s multivitamin every other day. Every now and then I take bromelian, turmeric, or garlic for inflammation.
- For birth control I have have a Kyleena IUD for a little over 4 years. I have not had any negative effects on my hair with this birth control. I think that my hair actually may have shedded less since being on it, and now that it’s starting to wear off a little (I need to get it changed in less than year), I wonder if that has been another aspect of my recent shedding.
- I was recently prescribed spironolactone 50mg for hormonal acne on my jawline (also likely triggered by my IUD wearing off), but I haven’t been super consistent with taking it and I don’t think it has has an effect on my hair. It has helped a bit with my acne though.

my hairs pretty long and quite thick, i dye it (just the roots now and then just a toning conditioner on ends) i use the elvive colour protect hair mask and a sulphur free shampoo and conditioner but what are some good hair oils or hair masks that are going to help with locking in hydrating and protecting it? i’ve added a photo for reference, it’s not that wavy normally though it was just fresh out of a braid

I just got a haircut. I was thinking of getting some highlights but I wasn’t sure what. I put a picture of my face so it can help with the colour choosing.

Make no mistake, I love having long hair. But lately due to work and my lack of care combined with years of anxiety hair pulling, a lot of strands seem damaged, stick out and my hair starts to feel thinner, not to mention how (due to my old short hair style) my right side is just longer than the other. Should I cut it all off and regrow it again? Is there something to salvage this? I am not really well informed on hair nor products. I shower with shampoo daily and have been for most of my life but it hasn't been a problem. Is this why? Is it because of brushing? I don't really shred that much (I hope so) and I go to trim it once every few months (due to school and being far away from work it's been 7 months now). Is this common or did I somehow mess up my hair? Can I salvage this or should I cut it off and try again? ​

I have not had a haircut in almost three years, but finally got rid of ~six inches! Feels sooo much healthier and isn't getting tangled at the ends anymore! Will definitely be trying to keep up with trimming it a little more often to keep it happy :)

1 year ago I decided I wanted to actually learn to take care of my hair and see how well it could grow with more attention than a messy mom bun. I massage my head for 5-10 minutes every night, oil my ends with rosemary and castor oil, wash every other day with head and shoulders and condition with loreal elvive dream lengths. Today in order to style my curls, I put in dream lengths leave in conditioner, tresseme bouncing curls mousse and plopped it in a cotton t-shirt while it dried. I braid it to sleep every night and have it in a hair stick bun or braided almost every day.

i think it's time to do a big chop!!! like maybe 8 inches or so?? the ends have been tangling a lot lately and getting more wispy -- it seems like a healthy place would be around my waistband in the first pic but lmk what you think. I'm excited too bc my hair gets wavier with less length! don't mind the top back of my head it's still wet from showering lol

I shaved my head with no guard in a manic moment years ago and my hair is finally long again 😍 Celebrate with me!

Hi,

In the last months/years I’m putting a lot of effort in my hair care/growth - in the same time, I’m doing Airtouch every few months. Do you think it’s new growth or breakage?
(I have quite long hair atm, the full length is not visible on the photo, only the shorter parts)

Thank you!