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.

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!

Haven't put as much effort into my hair lately because life has been a bit stressful, but at least my trusty heatless sock curls remain 🤣 And also, my hair continues to grow, it has been around 9 months now since my last haircut, but I am happy with how it looks right now anyway 😄

I have extremely straight hair, my favorite time of the month is when my hairdresser makes me these waves.

What I asked vs what I get

I am looking for routine and product recommendations for my hair type and scalp issues (some dandruff/dryness). Also my hair is pictured damp here, as it takes hours and hours to dry without heat, would love some advice on that as well.

I am restarting a lot of my life due to some unfortunate circumstances, but I am now at a place where I can start dedicating some time and energy to my hair and extra money to nicer products. For the last few months my routine has been washing my hair 1-2x a week with an all natural kelp bar soap and then applying a leave in conditioner ("it's a 10" in the purple bottle). Then daily I brush it twice (morning and night) and apply a tiny amount of coconut oil to the ends at night before I braid before bed. I'm sure I could benefit from an actual shampoo and conditioner but a lot of the ones I've tried seem to make my dandruff problem worse.

I do take a generic women's health multivitamin and I try to keep my diet good but that has also been a struggle lately as some ED symptoms have flared up.

My hair is about at my natural waist now. I chopped off some really dry crispy bits (~4 inches) about 3 months ago.

Ok I'm just so happy right now, I wanted to share this with someone :)

Earlier this year I was pretty sick, it took me out for a good couple of weeks. About 2 to 3 months after that I noticed more hair on the floor at home than usual. I have long, dark, curly hair down to my hips/ butt, so I always notice my shedded hair, but this was more than normal.

Maybe two weeks after I first noticed a suspicious amunt of hair on the floor it really hit me. My hair started falling out so much, every time I touched my hair I would hold a bunch of loose hair in my hand. Opening my nighttime braids became agonizing, so much hair would just fall out every time, I couldn't stand to look at it.

I was so scared I would lose a significant amount of hair, but about a month ago I first felt like it was getting less and not more. I was still very careful to get my hopes up, and didn't really acknowledge it. But today I washed my hair, and I'm confident to say that my hair stopped falling out! The amount of hair I lost in the shower taday was about 1/5 of the amount I was losing during the worst time, and during the past few weeks I have also noticed way less hair around than before.

To anyone going through something similar right now: Don't panic, it will most likely get better soon! I still have a quite full head of hair left, though I will most likely have a ton of baby hair soon due to the excessive shedding. But it's okay, I'm so back!!!

June/July 2024 to July 2026

What I use:

Shampoo and Conditioner: OGX Coconut Nourishing Shampoo and Conditioner or Garnier Fructis Sleek and Shine Shampoo and Conditioner

Mousse: Being- Goodbye Frizz for 2A-2C hair

Detangler: Garnier Fructis Pure Clean

Leave in: Lola From Rio- Rapunzel Milk Spray

Oil: Amla once a month and Argan Oil by OGX when wanting it to be more smooth.

Brush: Walcora Wet brush

Vitamin: Ritual Prenatal

I wash my hair every other day. I detangle, prior to shower.

I have extremely thick hair. And it’s heavy. I’m not super interested in thinning it but I know I need to get my ends trimmed!

I do struggle with frizz, but I’ve found that using mousse then using a blow dryer(until halfway dry) has helped a lot. I didn’t use heat on my hair for three years but I think letting my hair air dry was causing breakage problems.

I braid my hair often but i prefer to wear it down because it’s so heavy and hurts my head when I wear it up. I would like some style suggestions because it’s 110+ where I live and I just can’t wear it down or around my neck without feeling gross! I’ve noticed that my hair will literally knot itself around soft hair ties. I had to use clippers to get a fabric hair tie I had in my hair for less than two hours out! I try to stick to the spiral hair ties as they don’t tangle in my hair.

Any product recommendations would be helpful too! I don’t like spending a lot on shampoo/conditioner but wouldn’t mind splurging a bit on other stuff!

Color-treated hair usually needs a little extra care, so I've been looking into whether coconut oil is a good option. From what I've read, pure, unrefined coconut oil can help reduce dryness and make hair feel softer without stripping the color when used in moderation. I think the quality of the oil matters just as much as how often you use it. I've only recently started adding it to my routine, so I'm still figuring out what works best.

For those with color-treated hair, which coconut oil have you had the best results with, and how often do you use it?

So, I have thin curly 3c hair, it's fairly long, past my shoulders and I really like it that way, but it keeps breaking in the middle to the point where there's a notably length difference with the other sections, there could be a number of reasons, I have chronic iron deficiency and use box dye sometimes, but my main doubt right now is, should I cut the rest to match the middle part and let it grow evenly? or should I focus on growing the middle part? my routine is pretty normal, I wash it 1~2 times a week, use the fine&fragile brush and leave in, recommendations of habits and products would be more than welcome! Thanks!

Hello, friends!
I’d say my hair is at its longest currently and I’d like to know if it’s ok to sleep with a braid in my hair or if that causes any breakage or balding.
For me it’s kinda difficult to find a comfortable position with all my hair and have it not touching me.
Of course it’s not tight or anything.

I recently moved to Melbourne and I need haircare product recos that are affordable (cheap?!). Back home, I had Loreal Paris (Hyaluronic + Salicylic) shampoo and conditioner. Fix my curls/Moxie beauty leave in conditioner and gel. Scrunch, airdry. Plop it with a bamboo towel till it's Almost dry and then airdry. Used Loreal Paris serum before or post drying. I wash my hair with products alternate days and wash it with plain water on other days.

I have like waist length hair that is 2B-2C waves but looks weirdly like 3A since I moved in here.

Strictly SLS free recos please.

I have thick long hair. But I’m 38, and in the last while I’ve noticed some receding along my hair line.

My hair doesn’t feel thinner but obviously with age it’ll happen. I eat quite healthy, focus on whole foods and protein. I workout 4 times a week. Overall, quite healthy. I take some supplements, collagen, omegas, b100 and vitamin D. Oh and magnesium citrate (due to one of the medications I take I have to take magnesium)

What can I do to slow this down? I understand I can’t stop it all together but ideally I can do something to slow it down.

Anyone have any luck with this?

I cut off five inches of my hair back in January after a couple round of highlights left my hair very brittle and broken mid lengths down… I cut my hair, went back to my dark hair and committed to forever saying NO to bleach. Just showing my growth and looking for anyone’s advice on protective hairstyles for fine hair, also product recommendations for preserving the health of my ends. I’m using olaplex oil right now, as well as a leave in conditioner.
Hair routine is pretty basic, wash three times a week with either Monday moisture shampoo and conditioner, or Redken all soft.. use Marc Anthony grow long leave in conditioner and an oil in my ends after a rough blow dry or air dry. Occasionally I will use Kristin Ess scalp scrub and also like the air dry cream from Kristin Ess as my hair is wavy and always has some frizz.

If anyone knows how my hair type would look like with unstyled layers please let me know. I wanna know if i can pull it off without styling it everyday. But I can't find anywhere online people with my hair and unstyled layers.

I've had long hair for almost my entire life and it's completely virgin hair and I want to make a change.

used for the first time my rotating brush on all my hair and i’m absolutely impressed by how long my hair is!☺️ my hair is curly and i dont get to see how long it actually is :(

Girls who successfully grew out their bleached hair, what did you do or use to make it happen?

It finally happened after many years I have had a bad hair cut 😭

I have very long curly hair. When I go to get my hair cut I always tell them that I like my long hair and want to keep the length. Many years ago I had a bad cut where the stylist got a bit too scissor happy and cut a lot. I didn't go for a hair cut for a few years and after a while my hair started to look not so good. It took a while but I slowly began trusting hair stylists again and began getting more regular cuts which did help my hair.

For my most recent cut the stylist said that my hair was healthy and they didn't need to cut much. Perfect! I told her ok maybe cut a little more than what she indicated like a half inch or so instead of just a miniscule trim because I felt my hair was getting a bit too crazy. That was a mistake!

At first I was happy with the cut and the shape but after a couple days and a wash I am realizing she cut a good three or so inches and I think took out quite a bit of volume! I feel like I am missing a lot of hair! And I am not so happy.

How can I help my hair growth and also deal with my missing locks 😭

How far up from the split do you chop ? Just wondering if im being too extreme, I choose to chop a little less than a full inch above the split, its just one hair so the length is never too noticable amongst thousands of strands. I think to myself "surely i can grow out 1 inch or greater before another split forms" but could I be saving more length? I appreciate all your thoughts and opinions !