Hi everyone!  I just joined the boards, and joined in the craze of growing out your hair.

My hair is pretty short in the back, but long in the front, and is driving me nuts.  Thank goodness my hair grows pretty fast, and I have a wonderful hairstylist.  He told me that I should wait for my next cut for another 2-3 months...does that sound right? 

I do have to say that I color my hair (it makes it look healthier than my normal red). 

Any advice at this point in the game...ways to style, etc?  Also, i'll see if I can get some pictures on here of my hair right now this weekend.

Hope to get great advice from everyone!  With curly hair, I hope it isn't much harder than straight hair!

Keri

Hey Keri...

Welcome!

I think you'll find that natural curly hair (left to its own curl) is a lot LESS work than straight hair. When you're curly, you have a higher chance of success with the gentle hairwashing routines.

Anais

Hi Anais!  Thanks for the reply.  I use Pantene for color treated hair...is there another shampoo that you recommend I use while I grow it out?  Also how often do you wash your hair?  I usually wash my hair every other day (my body everyday though lol).  Thanks also for replying so fast!

~Keri~

Hey there Keri,

A gentler substitute for your Pantene shampoo can be Tresemme for color treated hair, Suave Professionals for color treated hair, or even L'Oreal Kids (all of these are gentler than that variety of Pantene)

I do a Conditioner-Only wash every 5-6 days. This is detailed at the bottom of "Cleansing Methods" in Medusa. The longest I've gone is 9 days in between washes. The following are things you can do to stretch that time in between washes. There are many possibilities:

 - dilute your "dose" of shampoo in 4-6 ounces of water before you apply it.

 - C-COW-C method (in the Hair Journals board)

 - quitting shampoo cold turkey and doing CO (this takes adjustment time)

 - mixing your shampoo with conditioner

 - mixing your shampoo with some jojoba oil or honey (I haven't tried this personally)

Using gentler cleansing techniques will decrease your need for hairwashing.

HTH

Anais

Hi Susan and Anais...

Thanks for all the great advice...I plan on looking at the Medusa section whenever I can find the time...i'm graduating college tomorrow and have family coming in today so have to clean my house pretty good lol.  At least i'll burn some calories! 

I dunno if I can do the CO method just yet, maybe when my hair gets longer I will do it.  I do plan on going to Walgreens this weekend though and getting some Tresemme for color treated hair, and I was also reading on another thread about Potion #9 by Sebastian and thought I would try that out as well and see which one I like better.

Again, thanks for the great advice, and Susan, yep, I have a wonderful hairstylist!  I always give him a big tip...he even takes the time before each cut to discuss styles that you want and never rushes through them.  My first one with him lasted about 20 minutes.

Well, gotta get to cleaning ...talk to you all soon!!

~~Keri~~

Hi Starfighter!  Thanks for the compliment.  Right now my curly hair is more of a bush that won't cooperate , but i'm hoping once it gets longer it will look much better. 

I'll let you know how the Potion #9 is...plan on going tomorrow after my coloring appt (getting my hair re-colored and highlighted for my cruise in 2 weeks).

~~Keri~~    PS-i'll post pictures hopefully next week from my graduation so you can see how long my hair is now (or rather, how short lol)

Hi cmesweet! 

My hairstylist actually recommended that book to me and said I could get it at Barnes and Noble.  I plan on stopping there right before my trip to pick up reading material for the plane rides, so i'll be sure to pick up that book!    Thanks for reminding me!

~Keri~

I have my pictures, just need to scan them which I will do this weekend.  They were before I got my hair re-colored, but hopefully you'll be able to get an idea.  Thanks for the great welcome everyone!

Keri...9 days until my 1st trip to Europe!

Hi all, i'm first going to London for 2 days, then boarding the cruise ship Golden Princess and going to Norway, Holland, Germany, France, Netherlands, and i'm sure i'm forgetting something else lol...we're visiting 6 different countries.  I'm so ready, already packed, now just have to wait!  Also doing last minute tour reservations for Stonehenge/Bath/Windsor castle for our first day in London. :)  Going to hire a private car/guide if he has the day available (we are using him for the next day as well for a London tour) so cross your fingers that he is!

~Keri~  7 days to go!!  WOOHOO!