BellaOnline Forums Beauty and Self Hair Hi, I'm new. I have some problems with my hair

Hi. This is an interesting forum! I was wondering if someone could help me with my hair? I am an 18 year old girl. I'm not sure why, but for the past 5 years I've worn my hair in a ponytail/bun almost every day. Its just what I do. Needless to say, its pretty unhealthy/damaged now. I want to fix it. My hair used to be dark brown/black, somewhat wavy, pretty fine, and average thickness. It made about a 3/4 or 1 inch thick ponytail. Now, it is (still) dark brown/black, a little bit wavy on the top half layer, curly on the bottom layer, frizzy, and very fine and thin. A lot of it fell out at once 2 or 3 years ago, and I still lose quite a bit. I've lost maybe a little more than half of it in the past 3 years. It was long, about down to my elbows, but I chopped it to my shoulders last year in an effort to make it healthier. Of course, it didnt work because I didnt stop wearing it in a ponytail. I know that if I could wear it down more often if might be healthier and grow in a little thicker, but I'm having a hard time. For one, I dont like how it feels, and for another, it looks terrible. I cant scrunch it with mousse anymore, because of the different textures on the top "half" and bottom "half". Straightening it probably only damages it more, plus makes it look even thinner and it gets greasy faster. Leaving it natural looks awful, again because of the combination of curls and frizzy waves. This all sounds really shallow, and I guess it is, but I'm not pretty to begin with and having bad hair just makes it worse. Maybe some people here can understand? I'd love to cut it all off, but I really dont think a short haircut would look good on me at all. I dont want to look like a boy. Again, my shallowness shows! :( I'm sorry for the length of this and the complaining tone, but I really dont know what to do. Is there anything to do? Advice? Thanks.

Hello,
I'm sorry to hear about all your hair trouble. What you are going to have to do, apart from wearing it loose is give it time. There is basically no wonder cure. It took me 2 years before I started seeing my hair becoming much more beautiful then it was when I damaged it with a perm. I never worn my hair in a ponytail but the perm gave me a similar kind of damage.

Changing shampoo's and conditioning your hair at least once or twice a week is a good start. You can also consider using leave-in conditioners or a hair mask once a week. Sometimes, a new shampoo or conditioner can do wonders. Avoid shampoo's with silicone, they give you the illusion that your hair looks so much better, but in fact it doesn't help a lot in dealing with the damage.

Have some patience and restore your self confidence as well. I'm giving you this advice so you don't go to a scissor happy hairdresser that will say that the only way of dealing with the damage is cutting it off. You already tried that, it didn't work. Cutting it even more won't help. But avoid wearing it in a ponytail. Have you ever considered using a clip instead?

Apart from that, maybe there is more then just putting your hair up in a ponytail that caused the damage? Did you alter your diet or the things you eat? Have you been under stress and pressure a lot lately? Have you been ill lately? All these (and other things) can have an effect on your hair.

But what you will need the most is patience. Repairing hair damage can take a long time. Take your time, because any wonder methods usually sound too good to be true and that's because they basically are unreal. (if it sounds to good to be true, it usually is)

Also, Lynne is not only our mod for this hair section but she's an excellent hairdresser which always gives sound advice. She will offer her advice as well as soon as she comes online and find the time to respond. I hope my experience and tips will help you on your way at least a bit.

Take care!

Hello Winter Rose,
It will be hard, but the best thing you can do for your hair is to stop wearing ponytails. As Isa said, you could try different clips. You might also try a wide headband in the form or a wrap.

Regular conditioning treatments will help

You might try different serums and smoothing balms to help control the frizz and even out the texture.
With hair like yours, it will take some experimenting to find the right combination of styling products.

You can try anti-frizz shampoos and conditioners. Loreal has great conditioning products, maybe you want to check it out.

I will try this shampoo and put my view after getting result, hope it will be incredible for my hair.

Hey. Thanks for the replies. :) I'm not fussy about my shampoos or conditioners. Basically whatevers around. I guess I'll change that... I have tried clips and headbands a little... but the fuzz around my face really bugs. I live on a farm (when I'm not at my college) and work outside a lot, so hair in my face gets sweaty pretty quick on an average day. Ponytails take care of the fuzz, because they strap it back and I use bobby pins for the rest. But I've been trying a butterfly clip lately at school and pinning my fuzz bangs back with bobby pins. I dont like it, but hopefully I can get used to it. As for my diet, I guess its been pretty much the same for most of my life. I'm not saying its a perfect diet, but its ok. Like most Americans, I probably eat too many sweets. I love fruit and I eat more of it than most people I know. I eat a lot of Italian dishes, because my family is Italian. I'm not crazy about salt or butter, so I dont add it to my meals or else reduce the quantity when I cook for myself. But the rest of my family adds normal amounts when they cook. I also eat alot of fish, probably too much, but I try to get the farm-raised stuff to reduce (eliminate?) my intake of the chemicals that all the diet-people are concerned about. (and we dont want to decimate the wild fish populations, do we? :) ) I eat lots of eggs (homegrown, not that it makes a difference), but my cholesterols fine. I got it checked! :) I suppose I could go on about my diet, but I dont want to bore anybody. :) I'm not overweight, either, btw. I'm not sure if that has an effect on hair health. I guess I'm under the usual amount of stress. I wouldt say I'm completely happy, but I'm not miserable, usually. I worry about some things, I suppose. I dont really get sick (knock on wood!). I have maybe one mild cold per year, and every couple of years I get a bad cold. I've never had any bad illnesses, like the flu (swine or otherwise...), or anything serious like cancer. I guess thats about it. Thanks for the help!

WinterRose,
It sounds like you have a great diet. We all should eat as well.

I think the change in your hair is probably from natural hormonal changes (unfortunately). Using smoothing shampoo, conditioner and other smoothing products will help to control the frizz.