Introduce your hair...and yourself too of course

Name: Justin

Age: 18

Hair color: ugh this ones going to be a pain to describe, but oh well...my natural hair color is dark brown w/ natural red, blonde, and auburn highlights, my current hair color is blue black w/ 1" at the roots of a flaming oarange, then about 1/8" of my natural color

Length: it looks short but its not as short as it actually is, its to the top of my ear, but its really 8" long, i keep my undercut shaved at a size 1 blade

Type: Thick, curly and coarse

Hair condition: As long as i condition it you can never tell its been dyed like 2 days in a row and one of them near straight bleach for 1.5 hours:P (only thing that took of the bleach was the roots thats why my roots are oarange i love that though hehe) other wise its just very frizzy and coarse. (btw glue your hair if you want to soften it:) it works miracles and i am NOT kidding elmers glue is made out of pure calcium its awesome.)

Routine: Okey it depends whether i am going for skater, grunge or greaser, When i go for skater i use shampoo one by john paul mitchell then use paul brown Kona Fresh leave in conditioner and part it in the middle and wear it bull cut, for grunge i use nexxus curl enhancer then take the leave in conditioner and pull it straight up and let it lay down, then i use suave gel (hey no harming agents in it and its cheap hehe.) and do the same thing and scruff it up a lil`. Then for greaser depends upon, whether i go curly grease or slicked back greaser, for slicked back i don`t wash my hair and put in either tanning oil or mineral oil in my hair and slick it back, for curly i do a combo like i do for skater, and grunge, only i replace the suave with tanning oil, and then keep it like that for about 3 days w/o washing the hair it makes it feel soooo soft:)

Hairstory: i used to have unruly hair and wouldn`t grow it past 4" and when it reached thati would cut it to 1" blech i hated it then i found a way to keep my hair looking awesome:) i did once try relaxers but it never took, and i was introduced to hair dye in march and now i`m addicted:P

Name: Karen
From: Georgia (in VA right now cuz i`m in the Army)
Age: 27
Hair Color: Light brown (ashy in winter, reddish in summer)
Length: chin-length--yesterday it was past my bra srap!
Hair type: Straight, fine strands but LOTS of it (except at hairline)
Hair condition: Good now that it is cut. Before I had lots of breakage from my Army bun hairdo and I just got back from 4 years in Germany where the minerals in the water really stripped it out.

Hair Routine: Wash and go. When it was long, I would get up in the morning, shower and wash it, comb it too fast, blow dry it on too high, and get it into a bun as quickly and as tight as I could so that I could `look like a soldier` LOL!

HAIRstory: I had wispy strawberry blonde hair as a kid. Once I was in school it had turn to more of ashy light brown. I still get red highlights in summer. Anyway, my mom would not let me get my hair cut when I was young and since my teeth were very crooked (I wore braces and they are straight now) my mom would not let me have bangs because she thought the straight line across my forehead would emphasize my crooked teeth. I looked like Cher from the `60`s until one strange day when I was 9 (in the early 80`s) my mom let me cut my hair. It was a big mistake. I got the Dorothy Hammell wedge that was so popular back then and it was cute, but hard to maintain and my parents did not want to take me to the salon for regular trims. On the twice yearly trips to the salon that I could get, I would keep getting it all cut off again because I did not know what else to do!! Around age 12 I started to let it grow and it was going pretty good until at age 14 my aunt cut all my hair off again--to my shortest ever--I had a shaved nape with a rattail (oh the horror!!) :):) Anyways, when that started growing out and my ends were curled out the wrong way and my parents would not take me to the salon, I had horrible self-esteem and did not recover until after high school. From that time until I was 17 I let my hair grow. It reach the middle of my back, but because I kept up with the BIG hairstyles of the late 80-early 90`s it was fried. At 17, I had it cut to a chin length bob. I look good with this cut---a lot of people used to say I looked like Molly Ringwald :) I kept my hair at this length until I joined the Army in 1997. Well, I kept that hairstyle my first year in the Army. In 1998, I started to let it grow again, it is kind of easy to grow hair in the Army, because you put it up everyday and do not even really see it in its in-betweens!! And this brings me to yesterday. My hair had been growing since 1998 and it was down to past my bra strap and yesterday---KaBlam I got it cut to my chin again. I will grow it out again when I get out of the Army in 2 and a half years if God will bless me to live that long :)

NAME: adrianna
AGE:16
FROM: Canada
HAIR COLOUR: brown
HAIR LENGTH: 2 inches or so below my shoulders
HAIR TYPE: staight and thick
HAIR CONDITION: ever since i started using better hair elastics and limiting the days when I blow dry my hair it has been really good!

HAIR ROUTINE: every morning I wash my hair with whatever shampoo is in the shower (as long as it`s not a kind that i don`t need like dandruff fighting etc) and put it up in a towel turban after. then i either put it up wet in whatever style i feel like that day or i blow dry it and leave it down. At night I brush it then put it up in a high pony tail.

HAIR STORY: I actually had pretty curly hair as a kid until about age 6 when it turned wavy. I had wavy hair until i cut it in 5th grade. It has been straight ever since. I have always gotten regular trims my whole life (as i remember) and the length has varied from a little past the bra strap line to shoulder lenth.
luv ya
adrianna :)

Sammie Hi :)
age: 43 (okay inside still 16)
color: dark blond with some sneaky white ones
length: just below my shoulder
type: oily and fine wavy
condition: good if the dryer stays in the closet
routine: Paul Mitchel one shampoo daily, I let the detangler soak in while I wash then rinse my hair last.
No dryer or other tools. I put it up for work (nurse) and like it down when home.
story: it was to my hips until I was 30. Then I cut it to my chin, stupid stupid stupid. I swear since then it grows so slowly I bribe my hair dresser to trim only a tiny bit.
I love my longer hair, it is so easy to care for. My husband and son always say I look lovely with long hair.
The white is okay, I can`t color it, so fine I`m afraid it will fall out.

name: CarriAnne

age: 27

hair color: deep dark brown w/ red highlights (natural)

hair length: slightly below my bra strap, slightly rounded and shorter at the sides

hair type: fine, thin, wish it was thicker

hair condition: pretty good...never get split ends

hair routine: wash and condition with Pantene sheer volume shampoo and conditioner every day, towel dry gently/air dry (most of the time), sometimes blow dry when I`m in a hurry (I know it`s bad); if I`m going out somewhere, when hair is barely damp, I put it up in pin curls for an hour, then take it down, fluff up with hair spray and go. If I`m at home, I just wash, air dry, and spray on some leave-in conditioner or scrunch a little sunflower styling lotion in (can`t recall the brand name). Still wishing for long curly hair!!

hair story: and what a story this will be! I had short, naturally curly hair as a child, then kept growing it longer until 4th grade. It went from curly to straight when it got past my shoulders. Before 5th grade photos, I got it cut really short b/c my usual hairdresser was out and my sisters and I had our hair cut by a replacement. Everyone was rooting for my short hair, and when it was done, I HATED it!! My class pic is awful!! Swore I`d never listen to anyone about cutting my hair ever again. Decided to let it grow from then on. In June `89, right before the summer vacation after my freshman yr. in HS started, I consciously decided to let my hair grow really long. At the time it was shoulder length, medium-thick, and somewhat curly. Then I was diagnosed w/ bone cancer and lost all my hair to chemo for almost 2 years. In December `90, my hair started growing back (I looked like Sinead O`Connor... in fact, my sisters nicknamed me "Sinead O"). During my bald years, I wore a hot, itchy wig in the same color/length as my hair had been, since I was majorly self-conscious... imagine a 15-16 year-old girl w/out hair! My mom & I would set the wig w/ rollers for style, but it just wasn`t the same as my own real hair. My mom jokingly nicknamed my wig "Mergatroid" b/c I said I hated the thing. It helped to joke about it. When my hair first fell out, I wore the wig from the time I got up to the time I turned out the light at night, and wouldn`t let anyone see me bald. Then I started getting more comfortable w/ very close friends, but this was the late 80s/early 90s, and EVERYONE around me had long hair!! When my hair started growing back, I swore I`d never cut my hair again. And I haven`t, except for the tiniest trims of dead ends. So now my hair is just past my bra strap, and I`m letting it grow as long as it wants to. The only time scissors touch my hair is to snip off split ends. :) P.S. - Yes, the chemo worked, and I`m cancer-free for 11 years now!! And I`m determined to go from Sinead O to Rapunzel!!

Name: Amy


Location: Idaho


Age: 15


Hair color: dark brown with natural reddish highlights


Hair length: About shoulder-length


Hair type: straight, really thick (sometimes makes it difficult to style) with a little wave


Hair condition: some split ends, but I frequently "dust" them between cuts

Hair routine: very simple. I brush it, then put the top half of my hair in a ponytail and leave the rest down, or I`ll put it in a regular ponytail. if I`m feeling rebellious, I`ll curl it with a curling iron. I prefer it curled, but it takes quite a bit of time that I don`t always have in the morning, so I only do it on an occasion.
Hair history: Nothing interesting. I`ve had it somewhere between my shoulders and chest forever. Due to my square-ish, triangular, oval face shape (I don`t really know which of the three it is. Something of a mix), it probably wouldn`t be a good idea to cut it much shorter than shoulder-length.

name: Marissa
from: Camas
age: 14

hair color: Dyed it blonde, but it went back to the red that I had originally dyed it, so strawberry blonde, naturally light-medium ash blonde

hair length: layered, 5 inches past the shoulder at longest point, 1 inch above shoulders at shortest

hair type: great. my hairstylist is amazed.

hair routine: I use pantene pro-v color protecting shampoo and conditioner (daily), mop leave-in conditioner, and once every one or two weeks, my own little blend, of mayonaise, oil, honey, and deep conditioner to keep it soft and strong. (that goes on for AT LEAST two hours). I never use blowdryers, other heat products, or anything along the lines of hairspray. I just use a wide comb to get it laying right when it`s wet, and a slightly smaller comb for when it`s dry. I usually wear it in a ton of little braids or just natural.

HAIRstory: I used to have oily hair, so i could dye it over and over again and it would not dry out. I love crazy colors, so i`d have like blue hair or something, and if i wanted to go for a long time, i`d have a really intense red. i then got on accutane (which works really well but dries everything out), and my hair is now normal rather than oily. I dyed it blonde before it reached this point, and i think i`m either just going to let the blonde die out or do one more dye to get it back to normal (which i don`t want to do). I want to grow my hair out to my waist, and when I get there, I`m going to splurge on a professional braid job. I`m considering getting blue, green, and orange extensions put in for safe highlighting, but my main focus is lenngth right now. I don`t want to get actualy let`s-make-your-hair-really-fake-and-long extensions because they`re really expensive and don`t last long enough... and I`d prefer to go natural as far as the normal-colored part of my hair goes.

quote:

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Brittany Paloma originally wrote:
Well there isn't an introduction thread! (I feel bad for starting two new ones in one night, oh well). Introduce yourself, describe your hair, tell us about your hair routine, etc.

name: Brittany
from: Las Vegas
age: 14
hair color: dark brown, has reddish tint in it in the sun
hair length: just past waist
hair type: straight, medium thickness
hair condition: I've had a lot of breakage and split ends, but after spending apprx 10 hours (not at the same time!) "dusting" my hair it's much better, so I guess average

hair routine: I use Artisun products (www.artisun.com), they're all natural. I use a shampoo, conditioner, and leave in conditioner (they have long fancy names that I won't bore you with). I wash my hair three or four times a week. I never blowdry or use any hairstyling products (hairspray, curling irons, etc). I brush my hair in the morning, then put it into a bun, braids, or pony, sometimes I leave it down, at night I take it out, brush it, and put it in two braids to sleep in.

HAIRstory: had long hair since I was a kiddo, chopped it off to just below my shoulders in the middle of 7th grade (about two years ago) (much to the dismay of my mother), started growing it out again. At that time and for the next year and a half I was on a dance team, which meant needing super curly hair for performances, which meant curlers that broke off a lot of hair, tons of gel and hairspray, so my hair is not in the best condition. I've gotten ONE trim since that day of chopping my hair off (about 3 wet hair inches came off, and that was six months ago).

Brittany

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WOW. I love this idea. Thank you Brittany.

Karen Shelton
Dallas, Texas (getting super hot here)
Late 40s (Ouch)
Hair is naturally blonde, very thick & dry. It is currently highlighted 3x a year to brighten using a cap method at the salon. Naturally wavy with some curls underneath, very dry. Hair is 4 inches below my waist and still growing after all these years (a little slower though). Would love to get my hair to my knees but the thighs will do just fine. :-)

I use Edwin Paul Luxury Shampoo & Deep conditioner & althernate with Aveda Shampure & Curessence. Love the EP Smoothing lotion for straight days. Also use Giovanni when I want all natural, organic products. Love the Giovanni 50/50 shampoo & conditioner. Only blow dry for special events and never use curling iron except in very rare situations involving photographers.

I sleep with my hair in a loose braid to avoid tangling problems.

I wash my hair every morning in the shower, finish with a cold rinse and then twist it into a bun, pop in a clip and let it airdry. After 2 hours I take it down for instant waves. I fingerpick my hair and never use a brush that is not boar`s bristle. I currently have a couple of different ones that I like.

I deep condition once a week (more if necessary) and alternate between EP Moisture Reconstructor, Aveda Beautifying Oil (that has lots of jojoba) and my own home concotions of various oils ranging from coconut to avocado oils.

HAIRstory: Growing hair from burnt out, bleached blonde Brillo pad in 1988 (horrid looking). Have long held the dream of hair to my waist (since childhood) but until 1988 did not have the knowledge to make it happen. I get my ends trimmed every 8-12 weeks and trim them in the interim myself with a professional quality trimming scissors.

I believe in moisturizing from the inside out and take daily Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs) like flaxseed oil religiously along with H37 (yes I do take it, it does work for me and after 2 years I still don`t have hair anywhere its not supposed to be. :-)

I have had some close calls with my hair over the years because I personally test all the products first before we sell them here at HB.com. I almost ruined my hair a few times with products that striped the oils. I have tried everything from grocery store products to high class salon lines and some were very expensive and terrible for my hair.

Thank you again for this idea. I love it. Keep the stories coming.

Best wishes,
Karen Shelton

Name: Neb
Age: 21 Toronto, Canada.
Hair: ash blond, straight.

I dislike having real short hair. This may be due to a conditioning I had as a wee little lad. Before I was about four, my mother cut my hairin a style reminiscent of the early 70s: a sort of soft Dutch Boy or Prince Valliant style, which she thought appropriate for my age. I looked at my baby pictures, which showed me with sparse hair (maybe I even thought they were bald, and some may have been), and to me, my over-the-ears hair was a distinction between baby and boy. Then I was taken to the barbers, and given, i suppose, a typical "clean-cut" tapered haircut. I saw myself in the mirror, and was stunned: I thought I looked like a baby again. That was quite a blow. In subsequent haircuts, I may not have found myself to look like a baby, but I certainly felt uglified, though my folks couldn`t stop telling me how good I looked. And so it went on for the better part of my life. At times, I protested, but my parents insisted I get regular haircuts. At 8, we found a barber who seemed to please me (and I never needed long hair, I just didn`t like the loss of volume that came with a tapered haircut) but quickly I found that I got the same old haircut. I tolerated this for years. Finally, I was sick of it at 19. I did not trust my barber to try and have him cut my hair less short, I didn`t want to have to explain to him (there is a finer line than you would think between a tapered cut and a 1970s over the ears cut, at least to do it for my face, and that hair in the middle is what I wanted) what I wanted, but also I was sick of the whole barbershop/beauty parlor experience - that cape tied around your neck, those scary clippers that can give you a buzz cut if not handled properly, the smelly lotions in the air, the apparent fact that the barber doesn`t sterilize his tools after every use, his stupid jokes about me, which he doesn`t seem to let me counter, the little hairs that get stuck on my neck and even in my hair, and the irksome mirror that he never failed to pull out to show me how nicely he had tapered the hair on the back. So I jumped ship, and started trimming my own hair. It`s not easy, but you save money and avoid the stuff I am allergic to that I listed above. Conclusion: if my mother wanted me to like a tapered cut, maybe she should first have taken me to the barber`s before my hair grew over my ears.

This is a little off topic, but a strikingly similar thing happened to Elvis Pressley. When he was wee, his hair grew down to his shoulders. Then his mama gave him his first haircut, which made him cry. What do you expect - he had long hair as long as he could remember. Well, he had short hair until well into his teens. Then, he grew what was considered "long" hair in those rigid conformist days. He thought it would take the "baby" look out of his face (indeed, I like longer hair because short hair does no advantage to my face). Then after his hair became famous, he was drafted into the army, and on induction, given the stoopid clipper-sided GI haircut. He took it rather well on camera - you ain`t nuthing but a sheepdog. He jokingly said to the barber (JUST KIDDIN! He said "Hair today gone tomorrow" to someone) but felt sorry. Imagine his surprise one day, when he got a package in the mail. It was from mama - who knew he missed his hair - containing a bunch of blond locks - the hair from his first haircut! Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.
(For the record, Elvis dyed his hair black, but it was apparently dark blond naturally, and may have been lighter when he was a boy - that`s sort of like my hair too.

Hi Katherine, it`s good to be back.
I`m not exactly an expert on jojoba oil, but here`s how I use it. Sometimes I heat it, but most of the time I don`t; I put it on my hair from about the ears down, braid my hair, and leave the oil on overnight. The next morning I shower it out. I think it works at least as well as other hot oil treatments, and it seems to cost less.
Growing my bangs out was very annoying. They had been very wavy, until they got to a certain length, then when splat. Surprisingly enough, the front of my hair even now is the straightest section. While growing my bangs out, I experimented with varying the part, using headbands, and french braids to keep them out of my eyes. It was at least a year and a half before I could put them in a ponytail with the rest of my hair.
Hope that helps!
Kim