Hello! New here!

Welcome!

I'm Stef! *waves*. You are blessed/cursed with the same type of hair I have. Try the Stick Straight product line (salon)- it's not too pricey, and really works for me...also invest in a round brush and salon quality blow-dryer. using those (with the blow-dryer on a lower setting) is an easy way to get smooth, non-frizzy hair- and the round brush will work with your wave, giving your hair shape and movement, keep it straighter, and you won't have to fry it all the time!

Hope this helps :)

Hi again, Lavender Fleur,

What is your hair's natural beautiful color?

I think your hair would look lovely with its natural wave/curl texture. At BSL it will be positively dreamy.

Hi again,

Back to Basics, which you mentioned in the other thread is one of the more used brands. As with anything some like it and some don't. I haven't tried it but I think it's well liked.

My opinion is that only you can decide which products are right because you have to test them on your hair. Hair is as unique as DNA or Fingerprints so what works for one won't work for others and what works for 1 million people may not work for you.

That's why journals come in handy because you can go back and look at what you used and how you used it and what you used it with. Even if you just use a paper notebook.

Here's an Amazon link to the iron I have
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00005A440

Hi LavenderFleur

Wow...a velvet covered flat iron, which I've never heard of until now (Sounds cool, and if I ever get one and love it, I might have to change my name to Anais Velvet, lol) I also agree with PurpleBubba that your hair goal isn't 'extreme' per se and that people reach BSL all the time. It just takes longer with heat use. You sound like a patient gal.

Your routine sounds great, keep hunting for splits the way you have. There's a lot of hair care info on the web (start with Hairboutique's main page; there's some great stuff on hair growing) and then a search for 'long hair care' on Google turns up many useful results. Plus, now that it's summer, and assuming you're on the Northern hemisphere, your hair should be growing a tad bit faster.

Happy Growing ========(: )
Anais

Hi Lavenderfleur,

Welcome To HB Long Hair Support

Here's a nice comfy chair if you need one.

Glad you found us.

I'm Robert / PurpleBubba from Michigan. I've been visitng & participating at hair care boards for about 4 years.

I'm going to say something a bit different.

Let's start with what we do know about you.

You have fine hair.
You blow dry or flat iron once or twice a week.
Your goal is bra strap length.
Your hair has been previously dyed. You plan to not dye it anymore.

So let's see, you like having straighter hair. If your hair wasn't frizzy when it was wavy would you leave it wavy?

How much of your hair still is dyed? Have you started growing it out and if so how long has it been time wise?

If you want to use the blow dryer or flat iron I'm not going to tell you to stop. While it isn't good for your hair if you like your hair that way then I'm not going to tell you to stop.

However you might want to get a better quality flat iron such as a ceramic. Or you could get the cheap one I have by Conair called Shiny Straight, if they still make it. It gives you a choice between using a metal plate or using the velvet covered plate. Perhaps the velvet covered plate would be a bit more friendly?

I agree with Dave that we need to know a bit more about your routines, tools, products etc.

I'll summerize:
Your goal is not an unreachable goal. I've seen people who do similar things to their hair as you do and they had nice looking hair at bra strap length. Their hair might not have been as fine as yours. I don't remember for sure.

If you want to use the hot tools that's fine, just be sure to keep an eye out for split ends. You might need to trim a bit more often. But bra strap is not unreachable so even if it takes you a bit longer you can reach it. Do you trim your own splits? How often do you get trims of any sort?

I think you can reach your goal as long as you pay attention to your hair's condition. Starting a journal to keep track of your progress will help.

Good Luck and I hope that helps.

Welcome LavenderFleur!

That's great that you're minimizing your heat use... but the fact that you use heat at all will slow down your growth (by causing splits and breaks, calling for unwanted trims); Your fine hair will break easier than other types.

Avoid heat, thin rubber band or metal hair accessories, molded plastic combs, and anything you think might damage your hair.

Hope this helps,
Anais Satin