Hey gang,
The day after my birthday I decided that one of my projects for the 2011 would be to grow my hair out for Locks of Love. I've always kept my hair relatively short (this summer I shaved it all completely off a couple of times), so this should be a fun adventure.
Has anyone else ever done this?
And are there any warnings, suggestions, or thoughts that you think a guy whose idea of hair care is shampoo in the shower should know about taking care of longish hair? Any things that a guy used to short hair should beware of? Just kind of looking for thoughts as to what I can expect. Any thoughts or suggestions would be much appreciated. I'm kind of expecting I'll get more girls commenting on this than guys
In Christ,
Jordan

Be prepared for people to look at you funny or think you're a punk or anime freak or something like that. XD

Hair care... it depends on your hair type. I just use shampoo and conditioner. Nothing fancy. If your hair is very thin (some blond people are like this) or very curly, that presents it's own set of difficulties.

Be prepared for it to tangle. The longer, thinner, and curlier it is, the more it will tangle. This can get very painful.

Very cool! My cousin did this. No one cared that he had long hair. But he's from Seattle. So who knows? Who really cares?
And yeah, tangles happen. It takes ages to dry. Don't go to sleep with wet hair, it'll break and get frizzy and bad and would make for a really ugly wig. When you untangle, start from the bottom and work up. Do it in small sections; depending on your hair thickness. Tie it up. Ponytails on guys are cool, anyway. Make sure you don't use regular rubber bands, though, those HURT.
And yeah, shampoo, conditioner, that's all I use. Let it air dry, that's healthier. Do what you can to keep your hair nice and unbroken, if you need to use some sort of spray to keep it healthy then do. It's all about making sure the hair is the best it can be for the person who gets it, right?
If you find your hair getting coarse or broken or unhealthy-feeling, horse conditioner is amazing. You can get it at the feed store, or sometimes they'll sell it at regular drug stores. But it's amazing, and keeps your hair really nice and healthy without making you look like you've done anything to it. That's probably important to you; making sure you don't look like you spend ages on your hair. Heck, that's important to me, too. So yeah, horse conditioner. It's awesome. And really it's fine for all hair types, my Asian buddy recomended to me the exact same kind she uses, and it's great for both of us.

That's really cool that you decided to do this! I did it a few years ago, and I will warn you that it takes a long time for hair to grow ten inches! But it took me longer than it would take you, because I wanted my hair to stay fairly long (to my shoulders) even after they cut it off.

Hmm... I can't really add anything to what Celearas and Mel already said. I can say that my hair is thick and straight, and it still tangles pretty badly. Hair detangling spray is amazing, but it usually smells kinda girly.

But as long as you don't curl or straighten your hair(that would be a little strange, anyway...), it should stay healthy!

Real boar bristles are more medievally cool.

<grin>

On the ponytail subject, do know that the more you pony your hair, the more broken strands there will be. I actually use a .5"- 1" cloth headband to pony my hair instead of a hair elastic because it breaks less of the hair. (But that might not work if your hair is not thick. Mine is very thick.) The best hair elastics, though, are made out of nylon... I buy mine at Dollar General and got about 30 of them for $1.

Also try leather lacing -- available at Hobby Lobby and Joanns to tie back your hair. I haven't had much luck doing it without a hair elastic underneath though.

I think that's really cool

Really I guess I can't say much about hair care =P I don't do much to my hair, and it hasn't been long enough to do much with in a while anyway.
Well, than again, maybe the fact I prefer to mess with my hair as little as possible will help? *shrugs* I just use shampoo and conditioner every day, let my hair air-dry, and keep it combed. Don't do like my sister and only comb it once every couple days or you'll have a mess.



I must be weird... I don't find some guys straightening their hair strange at all =P

Thanks girls!Well, mine is thick and straight so thanks for the warning.Yeah, my Dad is rather uncomfortable with the idea of his son wearing his hair like a woman, but it's for a good cause and I live at school so he's not trying to stop me. I figure it's something I'll just have to deal with. I guess since I'm in TN a mullet would reduce the number of funny looks, but I'm just not that ambitious Yeah, my hair doesn't grow that fast anyways, I suspect this project could easily see 2012 before completion, but I guess we'll find out.Well after letting my mom feel my hair, we've decided that horse conditioner it is .
I truly am grateful for and will probably be referencing this thread many times in the future. The real hair-puller *pardon the pun* will be that wonderful three plus months during which my hair is too short to tie up and too long to not look like a punk-skater-person. Oh! And I'm lining up a summer internship in AZ, my first summer with any considerable amount of hair...fun! Thanks again girls. I really appreciate it.

Here's an idea -- if you decide to wear medieval clothes all the time, then your hair will look normal. XD

Ponytails are amazing when it comes to warm weather.



lol... I guess I just don't know any guys who straighten their hair. Maybe it's not weird.

*fingers hair* Maybe I should straighten it...

I just dropped in to say that I think it's neat what you're doing, Jordan. A while back my cousins cut their hair for Locks of Love, but they were girls and already had long hair. It's much more of a sacrifice in my opinion for a guy to grow his hair out and then cut it than what it is for a girl. (I also dropped by to be the first guy to post in here, other than you of course. )

Well, just what I thought when I saw this.

--Caleb

First of all, I think it's awesome and very bold that you're doing this. I can't give any insights into the process, but I can do hair tips.


-The longer it gets, the more conditioner you need to use. You can use it as a moisturizer for your scalp, too. Wash it every other day, or so, once it's really long.

-You may have to use a blow dryer some, if you live in a cold climate, but try not to use it too often, otherwise it will damage your hair. In a bind, public restroom/locker room hand dryers will work on hair, too.

-I don't suggest gelling your hair very often, no matter how cool it looks.

-Using a shampoo designed specifically for your hair type will really help keep it nice. Suave shampoo is really good about making shampoo for different hair types, and cheaply.

-Get either a special wide-toothed comb or a rubber brush with plastic tines that have the little rubber ball caps to brush your hair, especially when wet. Don't use anything but this when your hair is wet.

-Don't over-wash your hair. I know it's tempting to wash the oil out every night/morning, but this strips the hair of its natural oils (very unhealthy), causing it to go into over-time-oil-production-mode. This is bad.

-Don't use a rubber band as a hairband. It never works. Hairbands do enough damage to your hair by getting wrapped in it, and rubber bands are ten times worse. I've known people who had to cut rubber bands out of their hair.

-Be careful with bubble gum. It goes in much easier than it comes out. Peanut butter is a common solution, but my mom uses ice to freeze the gum and then break it out.


I hope this is a good experience for you, and that these suggestions help.

-

I think I'm going to do this. I recently had my hair cut to shoulder length. I want to let it grow really long, so when I get it cut, it won't be in a boy-cut.

Any other tips?

Stuffing your hair in a baseball cap works marvelously, except for the resulting hat hair.

On that note... sock hats and ponytail holders are your best friend. =P



My hair is about shoulder length now. My hair hasn't been much longer than this in a long time (actually, I've been keeping it shorter than that), so I'm letting it grow out for a change. I may end up cutting it all back off after it gets that long, though.
So I'm pretty much joining you guys in this =P

Great! We can encourage each other. I'm getting mine "baby-trimmed" soon.

Wow! You all seem like hair experts! I am growing my hair out, just for fun. These suggestions are great.

You go, Seer!

I did Locks of Love back when I was 12 in November 2006. I had my mom cut my 12 in pony-tail off (my hair was mid-back at the time), and I had chin length hair after that. (Embarrassingly enough, I still haven't sent it to Locks of Love...it's always slipping my mind.) It's only taken the five years for my hair to grow back to it's original length and longer. (Now it's about four inches from my tailbone.)

I just use Dollar Store shampoo/conditioner or Suave Professionals shampoo/conditioner. Both work well and are considerably cheap.

My hair is quite thick, and it usually takes 3-4 hours to dry completely. Not too bad, in my opinion.

--Seer

Umm, well....you could always use bobby pins to keep your bangs out of your face while it's growing? (Sorry, I couldn't resist!) I'm pretty sure you don't want to do that. I think Shawn's idea of wearing a hat is going to be the most masculine and natural looking thing to do. When my bangs get too long and I don't have time to cut them, I've pushed them back with bobby pins or under a hat. Works splendidly. *thumb up*

I had a friend who went completely raw and organic, and she stopped washing her tailbone length hair altogether for over two weeks. Please, don't do that. The end result is not attractive at all (and neither was the smell.) I'm not downing Lady Eruwaedhiel's suggestion, I just suggest not neglecting it altogether. ^^

On a side note: When we rendezvous, sometimes we don't have access to showers for the week. Most of my hair still looks okay at the end of the 'vous, but my bangs are pretty, uh, icky. (Very, very oily!)

I think you should get a Fedora. Those things are so cool.

*chuckles at E's post* I make my own shampoo for similar reasons, E. It is so much healthier for your hair.

This is true. Leather or cloth, they never go wrong.

I use the Jason shampoo/conditioner too, the Biotin kind.

Baking soda is great on oily scalps! (I did that several months ago, and it really helps.)

Ooo! I am going to try the baking soda next shower!

Sure, Mama Raven, as soon as I have a computer to do so. I take classes from an herbalist in St. Louis, so she's helped me concoct one. Actually... You and E might have heard of her. She owns Sherryl's Herbs? I know you guys are familiar with St. Louis, I just don't know how familiar.

I'm trying it tonight. Make sure to post your results!

I tried the baking soda this morning, but it didn't work. I got the solution to a paste and wet my hair before rubbing it in. It clumped up where I had started rubbing it and the more that I rubbed and scratched, the more baking soda got into my finger nails. One thing that I like about shampoo is that it gets foamly and is easy to scrub into your scalp... baking soda doesn't do that.

Did I do something incorrectly?

Erm, I've heard that the shampoo that lathers is stripping your hair of its natural oils. I just get a little baking soda in my palm, get my hair wet, and just put a little bit on my scalp- where my hair is veryyy oily. If your hair's drier, it might not perform (hehe) as well.

Well, my hair doesn't tend to be very oily. It is usually dry and then 3 days after a shower, it starts to get a little oily.

I used the baking soda again just a few minutes ago during my shower. I also used it as body wash. I put some water in the bottom of a cup and added baking soda until it filled the water and made a small mound at the top. Then I mixed it with my fingers. When I took a hand-full in my palms, it felt very foamy which is how I like it.

After the baking soda, my hair didn't smell like anything after. Is there something that I could add to it to give the baking soda shampoo a scent?

ylang ylang is a great conditioning essential oil.

If you want a very light scent, you can add a drop of body/shower gel. Or you could go to a health store. They have some essential oils that are very nice.

My hair is oily a day after I wash it. It's the type of my hair, I guess.

Anyway, I totally forgot about the baking soda in my shower. I'll do it tonight.

Lady Eruwaedhiel made a comment about not putting anything in our hair or on our skin that we wouldn't eat. Based on that, I wanted to mention a hair-conditioning technique I came across recently that adheres perfectly to this concept: Mayonnaise!
My hair was pretty dried out a while back and my former dorm mom told me to put mayonnaise in my hair and let it sit for thirty minutes and then wash it out. I did it and it worked amazingly. I would caution any interested in this technique from my own experience to use a moderate amount of dish soap to wash out the mayonnaise, using just water or water and shampoo alone can leave your hair feeling overly oily. If you use a little dish soap, it helps cut through some of the extra oils from the mayo without drying it out completely. And for you northerners in the mix: no, miracle whip and other mayonnaise substitutes won't work in this case

*faints* Seer, I hate to say this but I've never heard of anything more disgusting. However:



I wouldn't eat mayo at all so I couldn't put it on my hair. Lol!!!

*quivers* I have long hair and I would never dream of putting mayonnaise in it...though, I have a new idea for the next chapter of my book. =P

Ehem...Anyways, I saw this thread and I was overly-giddy about replying! Duly note though...most of this probably won't be anymore than me being my extremely random self, due to my inability to keep from rambling. I'll try to keep this short, sweet, and straight to the point, though. Don't expect anything less than a three paragraph rant 'bout long hair.

So...I have really long hair and I don't really do anything special...which probably is good news to a guy, (since all guys I know don't enjoy spending hours everyday on their hair...hence the short hair cuts ) but there's still some things that I have to do to my hair that my sister (whom has short hair) finds is unnecessary. For starters...I have trouble with tangles (this really has to do with your kind of hair though...) so I have to be careful not to brush it too hard or it will result in split-ends...which, trust me, is a WHOLE other problem.

The basics though are, brush your hair twice a day and it will grow faster. (no joke, it does grow faster...but still don't brush it too much.) Don't just use shampoo (at least with my kind of hair I can't...not sure about yours) at least use shampoo/conditioner.... That's really it...nothing all too special. I don't do half the hair-care most girls do, too much work for too little progress.

I'm unsure if I just repeated already stated points...if so, sorry, and carry on, "I was never here", if not, then great...I said something original. I hope this helps, if you didn't already know this.

Bethany Faith

Hmm... Is it okay for oily hair?

I used peanut butter once to get gum out of my hair... Wasn't sure how the gum got there, but it worked okay... *shrugs* But it was a little oily after that. After a few washings it was okay, though.

I brush my hair about 3 times a day. It's thick and can get matted really easy, or have tangles.

My hair seems to be the kind that dries out really quickly if over-shampooed and conditioned. I'm finally figuring out that once a week of each might be enough. Mayonnaise is high-protein so that's a plus, and the oils helped repair my over-treating/conditioning, but if your hair is naturally oily, I would think you might not need the Mayo conditioning. If you do wind up trying it with naturally oily hair, I would say definitely wash it out with dish soap at least once to cut through the extra oil of the Mayonnaise, otherwise I can't imagine you getting anything close to good results

Mayonnaise in your hair reminds me of this video, but they used vegemite (which is most infective but still hilarious)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zw2cFO9p7SQ

Yeah, probably not for me. Thanks for sharing your good results though! I've finally found a shampoo that I like, Herbal Essences Long Time Relationship for long hair.