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Growing out my hair: steps?

bc008

bc008

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Aug 6, 2007
1,718
0
Michigan
im a 14 year old boy, and have curly, messed up hair. i just got it cut really short, and have the next 4-5 months of summer left where i dont have to chemically straighten it to look "good" for school.

how can i make it so i have the best longer hair in the start of next school year?

i am a boy, and dont want to straighten it every day, and that isnt good for it either.

my question is: what should i do now to prepare for healthy hair..
 
yea, i got it chemically straightened, but that lasted about a good 2 weeks...

i think im just going to go all natural over the summer (just let it keep growing(no chemicals, hot irons etc)) and just see what i end up with in september
 
I would just keep letting the hair grow out naturally. To keep your hair from drying out I suggest the use of conditioner with your shampoo if you don't already use it. I too am trying to grow out my hair that is what I have been doing. :apple:
Off topic though- I don't understand why everyone is clamoring for straight these days? I have straight hair naturally myself and I find it is boring. Personal preference I guess.:cool:
 
bc008 said:
yea, i got it chemically straightened, but that lasted about a good 2 weeks...
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depends on how you get it straightened.

some chemical straighteners don't do anything at all. (for me) it takes the slightly pricier asian magicstraight stuff to get my hair straight.

and while the "traditional" chemical straightener messes up my hair majorly and makes it look like this unnaturally straight and slightly frizzing mess, the asian stuff makes it perfect. Silky, flowing, straight. Fairly permanent, only have to deal with roots. If it's not straight enough, quick touch with an iron and it's just like the day I got it done again. :)

But...my hair is half straight and half natural untouched wavy right now. Too lazy to spend a few hours and a couple hundred bucks to get my hair looking okay again :(

MonksMac said:
Off topic though- I don't understand why everyone is clamoring for straight these days? I have straight hair naturally myself and I find it is boring. Personal preference I guess.:cool:
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The thing is it is pretty boring, but it makes it really easy to manage and style nicely. My natural hair is this slightly wavy..thing, and almost looks like a botched curl job. And if I keep it natural and I ever want straighter hair, it takes like an hour with an iron and some singed hairs and still doesn't look all that great. So I either need lots of curls, or really straight hair to make anything look okay.
 
Don't do it. Forget it. Seriously. Take it from me. Growing my hair out ruined my life. It controls you. Seriously. Its not in style to have long hair now anyway.
 
I just cut mine. After being mid-back length for 15 years, I figured I needed a change. My hair is naturally very curly.
Now it's short and MUCH easier to manage.
As for "the style nowdays", don't worry about it. Do what you want. I'm a guy in his 30's so I'm aware that long hair is unpopular, but you gotta do what feels right. :cool:
I can tell you that the longer your hair is, the straighter it will lay due to the weight of itself. If your hair is OMG-curly, then you may need to straighten it or pull it back into a ponytail regularly to train it straight. Conditioner is your best friend. NEVER use a blow-dryer to dry long, curly hair, or it'll 'fro without a moment's notice. As you grow it out, it's going to be unmanageable until you can pull it back into a pony tail. I wore a hat for a couple months while it was in that really awkward stage.
 
Just recently cut my hair that I grew for a good 2 years or so. Kept it about shoulder length. There are pros and cons to the long hair.

Pro for me was no hair gel and morning "prep". Maybe I had manageable hair

Con, it gets in the way of everything. Driving, anything athletic, sleeping.

If you're going to go for it, just let it go. There will be the akward stage of you don't know what the hell kind of style to give it, but after you get some length, you can get it cut with a style.
 
mrzeve said:
Don't do it. Forget it. Seriously. Take it from me. Growing my hair out ruined my life. It controls you. Seriously. Its not in style to have long hair now anyway.
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"In style" is whatever you want it to be. You make your own style. You define yourself.

That's my philosophy.

To the OP: If you want long hair, let it grow, my friend.
 
mrzeve said:
Don't do it. Forget it. Seriously. Take it from me. Growing my hair out ruined my life. It controls you. Seriously. Its not in style to have long hair now anyway.
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Ha, actually it really does control you. But i do agree that style is whatever you make it. Do what you want.

I just let my hair grow, no straighteners and stuff. My hair isnt curly, more wavy so i never had to.
 
If you want it to grow faster and be stronger, eat a healthy amount of protein. As for straightening, I got no tips- my hair's straight naturally. :D
 
The only way to get it longer,is to let it grow out naturally..Give it a rest from the chemical straighteners..Fourteen is young to get started on chemically relaxing your hair. I have ten year old girls coming into my salon looking for foil highlights :eek: I won't color at that age..No matter what kind of straightener somebody uses (Japanese,Brazilian,regular relaxer),there will be some degree of dryness and damage to the hair. You're using a chemical process to restructure the sulphide bonds of the hairshaft..Major chemical change for the hair..
As far as flat ironing hair daily and being damaging,it all depends on what kind of flat iron and products you use..I have clients with double processed colored hair that flat iron daily and their hair is like silk....
 
To the OP - I have the following steps:

1. grow hair. Use hair product as it gets longer.
2. When it gets to an unmanageable stage - wear a hat or just say "what the hell". Resist the urge to cut...
3. when it is long enough, pull it back - then you are pretty much home free. Do not rush this step, or risk looking like a douchebag.

My hair is very thick, coarse and wavy. I have never had any experience with irons or straightening. Once my hair was long enough to pull back - just the act of pulling it back would straighten it out - as did the weight of my hair when it got really long. Long hair is not a lot of work if you just tie it back. I have short hair now, and it's a bit more work...

Good luck
 
metalmaniac said:
Dreads!
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Yes, I was thinking the OP meant kinky hair too.

For me, zip it down to nothing. Electric clippers are cheap, and last forever.

Close cropped is also a good look for the well groomed Black man. Same clippers, but with the proper attachment, given the height you wish to achieve.
 
SamIchi said:
There will be the akward stage of you don't know what the hell kind of style to give it, but after you get some length, you can get it cut with a style.
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this is always the stage i cant seem to make it through, since about 6th grade!
 
bc008 said:
this is always the stage i cant seem to make it through, since about 6th grade!
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Once you get into high school you can be a more liberal without being confined to the populace, which is "cool". But right now is a good time with summer, you won't have to see your peers everyday. If by the end of the summer you don't think you can keep it, you can cut it.

I think everyone (the men) should grow out their hair once. You'll never know when you're going to lose the stuff.
 
bc008 said:
my brother is 21, im 14, and he is going bald :O

so i really do want to do it lol :)
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Yea, it can happen, I'm 24 and see some loss. Although my older brother doesn't seem to be losing any. Depends on the genes.
 
I have naturally curly hair too, and decided to embrace it my junior year of high school. That was three years ago and it took about a year and a half to grow to its current length (6 1/2") from about 1/2". I think it took so long because every time I would go in for a trim, the hairdresser would practically cut it all off! So the first thing you need to do is find someone who can cut curly hair as not many people can. As for care, it's relatively simple, all I do is use Suave shampoo and conditioner every night. If you find the conditioner is weighing your hair down and making it look too oily, you're leaving it on too long. To style in the morning I wet my hair (do not shampoo!) then scrunch it a little with a towel and let it air dry for about an hour to an hour and a half. After it's dry I brush it out with my hands and I'm done. The wait for it to dry sucks but the ladies love the curls :)
 
I would never recommend getting your hair chemically straightened. A few months ago I purchased a flat iron and it has been working very well for me. Just make sure you condition every day and at least once a week you may want to put in some sort of leave in condition to keep it healthy.
 
cut it about a quarter inch every full moon.
learned that from a guy who said he learned it from crystal gayle the singer.
 
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