HI, my name is Ruby, and i am desperately trying to grow long, healthy, beautiful hair.

I hope someone will answer my questions, i have been reading posts for about 30 mins  before i decided to sign up.

first of all, how can i post pics??

now, my hair falls out alot, could that just be normal, or from breakage, or because i had a baby 3 months ago? i shed like crazy.

I am also looking for some tried and true homemade hair conditioners, i hate using chemicals.

I absolutely do not want to cut my hair, but i know i have split ends, is there anything i can do without cutting my hair? i do not trust myself with scissors (lol) and i most definitely do not trust stylists.

I am basically just looking for ANY AND ALL tips at all that anyone can offer to help me grow my hair long and healthy.

i am really glad i found this board!!

** my hair is about to my bra strap, and naturally blonde, but i made a HUGE mistake by trying to dye it a beautiful color of red, but there was not enough dye for my hair and it turned FUSCHIA, so i tryed to dye it chocolate brown, and it is VERY dark brown now, so i am just going to leave it alone and never do that again!! lol

ruby

oh, also,

I almost never wear my hair down unless i have time to actually style it and am going somewhere (RARE). any ideas for a fast updo besides a bun ontop of my head?

thanks in advance!

ruby

Welcome to the board, Ruby!

To post pictures, you can either upload them from your computer into an image hosting site (like photobucket.com) or you can upload them directly onto hair boutique.  To put a photobucket image in your post, click the "add image" button over the textbox- it's to the left of the spell check button and it's got a tree on it.  To upload a picture directly into your post, click the "image upload" button (it's diagonal to the "add image" button and looks the same but has a blue upwards arrow).  I hope that helps you.

My guess is that your hair falling out is probably normal.  Everyone sheds, some more than others. 

Organic Root Stimulator Hair Mayonnaise is a great deep conditioner with mostly natural ingredients.  You can buy it at a drugstore and it costs about $10.

If you have split ends, the only way to fix it is to cut them off.  Do you have any friends or family members who would be willing to cut off your damage?  If not, the search & destroy self-trimming method is pretty foolproof, even if you don't trust yourself with scissors.  It's also the best way (in my opinion) to remove damage while retaining all length.

Additionally: take a multivitamin, eat a balanced diet, get lots of sleep (though that may be tough with a 3-month old ), drink a lot of water, exercise regularly, and treat your hair nicely. 

Good luck with your hair, and welcome again to the board!

-Katja

thanks!!

Also, i have 2 more questions (enough already, i know!!)

how do you do clarifying with vinegar? can you use regular vinegar or what?

And has anyone ever used super gro by bb? any luck if so?

thanks again, ruby

ETA I forgot to say welcome, Ruby! What a cutie in your avatar

Disclaimer: vinegar is a "mild" clarifier, does not remove grease or oils, and may not function well as a wash by itself for some people.

http://talk.hairboutique.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=30269&KW=vinegar - vinegar thread 1

http://talk.hairboutique.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=32147&KW=vinegar - vinegar thread 2 where Katja made a great point about shampoo

http://talk.hairboutique.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=436&KW=vinegar - and an older vinegar thread

Hope this helps.

Anais

Ruby,

My hair fell out by the handful after each of my kids was born, which was especially depressing after how thick and full it felt during pregnancy.  And then of course I had a ton of baby-fine hairs growing back in to replenish what had fallen out.  All in all, post-pregnancy was not a good hair era for me.  But the good news is that your body will eventually equilibrate.  And keep taking prenatal vitamins (if you're not already) -- they really helped my system recover everything that pregnancy and nursing drained out of it.

And as long as I'm giving unsolicited advice...  Don't let anyone talk you into cutting your hair off because it will be "easier" with a baby.  It's a fallacy, and one which I bought into and regretted instantly.  I would be much further along on my hair goals by now if I'd just listened to my own feelings on the issue.

Congrats on your new baby!  Motherhood is a blast!

Ruby,

Hi and welcome, and congratulations on your new little one.

Just wanted to say, I also lost tons of hair after each childbirth.  For a while I thought I was going bald, but got so busy with the baby and other stuff, don't recall how long it took, but my hair eventually became even thicker than before kids.

Also, I STILL take prenatal vitamins and my "baby" is 7! 

If you google hair recipes or some variation of that, you will probably come up with lots of links.  I have seen many, but only have this one handy at the moment:

http://www.longlocks.com/hair-care-recipes-cookbook.htm - http://www.longlocks.com/hair-care-recipes-cookbook.htm

Looks like it has many good ideas, I haven't tried any, if you do, write back and let us know!

Welcome again, and I hope some of this is helpful!

ETA - would love to see a pic of your hair -- you can post a pic in your replies if you open an account at http://www.photobucket.com - www.photobucket.com , it is free, then upload the pic you want to use to that site.  After it transfers, your pic will appear with the name you gave it, then three lines of text.  Click on the last line (it starts [IMG]), copy the text, and just insert that text at the bottom of your reply.  There are other ways, but this works for me.  Click on "preview post" to check that it worked.

photo June 2005

Hello Ruby,

Welcome, welcome, welcome to the boards! You will surely find many friends, much advice and a lot of humor on these boards.

The link Elyce provided:

http://www.longlocks.com/hair-care-recipes-cookbook.htm - http://www.longlocks.com/hair-care-recipes-cookbook.htm

is a great one, a 'bookmark' or 'save in favorites' indeed! Thanks, Elyce!

For your hair shedding, it is quite normal following childbirth. The following paragraphs are from the American Pregnancy Association. As your baby is three months old, you may find it rather interesting they seem to be referring to you, Mom.

Why do people talk about hair loss and pregnancy?

The most common period of hair loss related to pregnancy occurs approximately three months after delivery.

The rise in hormones during pregnancy, keeps hair that would have normally fallen out. After delivery, the hormones return to normal levels, which allows the hair to fall out and return to the normal cycle. Unfortunately, the normal hair loss that had been delayed because of pregnancy tends to all fall out at the same time.

Up to 60% of your hair that is in the growth state may enter into the telogen resting state. The hair loss you may experience could worsen over the next four months and persist for several more as your hair follicles rejuvenate themselves. As noted before, this hair loss is temporary. Hair loss is usually replaced within six to twelve months.

...end of quote from American Pregnancy Association. I haven't been pregnant in many years, but I found the following link to be a wealth of information:

http://www.americanpregnancy.org/pregnancyhealth/hairloss.html - http://www.americanpregnancy.org/pregnancyhealth/hairloss.ht ml

They even have discussion forums, though I'm certainly not trying to send you away from this one.

So glad you joined us. Love the photo of the baby and hope you have many more to share!

 Karen Marie

P.S...(courtesy of A.P.A.) Supplement your diet with the following nutrients:

• Vitamin B complex
• Biotin
• Inositol
• Vitamin C with bioflavonoids
• Coenzyme Q10
• Vitamin E
• Zinc
• Horsetail
• Pygeum and Saw Palmetto

Hi Karen Marie,

Glad you like that recipe link, thanks for saying so.  The APA link you shared was very interesting, and lots about hair, not just pregnancy.

Have learned so much from your website, your thoughts are wise and interesting, and your hair is SO AWESOME (yes, shouting!!)  Appreciate all your posts here as well.

Thanks for sharing!

photo June 2005

Accolady's Stressless Tresses site was the very FIRST one I stumbled upon when first discovering long hair care. I followed her advice religiously.

 ((((((KarenMarie))))))))

Anais

Anais, your Medusa's Lair is the very first site I found when I got interested in hair care, your advice has meant so much to me!  Look at the change in my hair!

(((((Anais)))))

thanks elyce it was my fault tho noone forced me to dye it but im trying to make the best of it  realy only four inches a year mine does grow fast .  happy anniversary   k