For several months I have been reading this message board, and I really wanted to talk with others who are just as obssessed with long hair as I am.  

My hair is finally down to my hips.  I am working on growing it longer still.  I have two friends who also have long hair, one to her waist and the other is past her knees.  She is my hair idol! Someday...

For many years now, I have lightened my naturally dark blonde hair to a light golden/platinum shade.  That all ended a couple months ago with a bad experience from a box of Garnier hair dye.  It turned all my lightest hair this horrific purplish-grey.  Fortunately, my friend saved the day by knowing what to dye over it with.  My hair was an ugly, non-shiny beige color, but at least it wasnt purple.  

Since my husband has been trying to convince me to stop chemically dyeing my hair for a long time, he finally got his wish.  I did some studying on henna and natural dyes.  Two applications later my hair is super shiny, soft, and a dark gold/strawberry blonde color that I really love.  The henna process is messy and time consuming (although I am getting better at it) but completely worth the effort for the conditioning effects alone.  

My hair is wavy if I let it dry naturally, which I do.  If I comb it wet it pulls the waves right out.  Also, my hair is easier to comb if I let it dry naturally because as it dries the tangles mostly fall out.

I really love the way Herbal Essences products smell.  I use the spray leave in conditioner sometimes just to make my hair smell nice.  Lately though I have been using ShiKai's organic Henna shampoo and conditioner.  Since using the henna I find I need much less conditioner.  My hair also seems to be drying faster, but I need to time it and see if that is really the case.

The hair accessories I use the most are the hardwood hairsticks my husband turns on his lathe for me.  They are beautiful, with finial ends, and sometimes he puts a hole in the end so I can add beads or crystals to them.  We often design them together.  He is amazed that all my current hairpins are getting too short to hold my hair. ;)  

I am really looking forward to discussing my favorite obssession with others who share in it!

~Sasha

Welcome, Sasha!  Your hair sounds amazing, I hope you'll be posting some pictures soon.
The dye incident sounds really terrible, thank goodness your friend saved the day (and your color).
Look forward to your future contributions to the board.

[glb]WELCOME SASHA!  :D[/glb]

Your hair sounds lovely!

I agree henna is really worth the time.
But i was just wondering where do you get the organic shampoo you are using?- henna shampoos have always worked really good for my hair but i can't find them here

Hope to see you around often :)

Welcome, Sasha!  I'm glad you found a color solution that works for you.  

Your hubby's sticks sound lovely - do you have any pics?  Do you guys sell them on eBay?  I'm thinking that I might know you from another board.

Cynde

Welcom Sasha.  Funny how things turn out -- your hubby gets his wish, and you get even more gorgeous hair! ;)
Really  8) to have a hubby making hairsticks for you, better yet doing them together. Very, very 8)

Welcome to the boards, Sasha!

It's so nice that you and your husband can design hairsticks together!  :)

I would love to see pictures of your hair sticks and your hair!!  [glb]WELCOME!![/glb]

Thank you everyone!

I am going to try to get some pictures today to post, for everyone who asked.    

Beesan, I buy my shampoo at Whole Foods market.  They have a huge selection of natural shampoos.   They have told me they can order anything I want that they don't already have, so if you have one near you they should be able to order if they do not already carry the shampoo you want.  The one I am using is called 'Henna Gold' by ShiKai.  It is non-coloring and not tested on small fluffy animals!

Khrome, it is not me you have met on another board, this is the only one I have posted on. :)  I am going to try to get some pictures today though to post to show everyone who is curious.  We are not really selling anything yet, but my friend (the same one who saved my hair!) is working on a website for a group of us to sell our artwork.  Eventually they will wind up on that site.  

Now to find batteries for the camera and figure out that whole picture posting mystery! ;)

I am not sure how well the color came out in these.  It is really red right now since I just hennaed yesterday.  It is so shiny in the sunlight that it sometimes looks almost metallic.  I don't think it translated into photos well though.  

http://tinypic.com/ega9ty


Here are some of the hairsticks my husband has made.  I think he is really talented!

http://tinypic.com/ega69g

The three on the left are turned on the lathe.  The snake he carved by hand.  The hairstick with the amber is half of a pair which we made after I did some research for my celtic SCA persona.  I learned that they used lathes to turn amber beads, so they are my SCA hairsticks.

WOW! your hair is SOOO pretty! :D

The hair sticks are very pretty! and yes your husband is VERY talented


p.s. thanks for the info about the shampoo, we have a Whole Foods store about 30 min away, so we go there once a month.

Welcome!

Your hair is gorgeous!  Thanks for posting the pics.  I agree, hubby's got talent!  Huzzah!!

Welcome!

Your hair looks great and the hairsticks are fantastic.  Your husband it quite talented.

Your hair is so pretty, and those hairsticks are really neat!  :D

I love those hairsticks.  They remind me of really elaborate spindles from staircases.

Welcome Sasha!  Your hair is gorgeous and so are your hairsticks.   :D

Looks like we might have the same wave classifier on the Fia scale

Welcome, Sasha :)!

Anais

Gorgeous hair and hair sticks!!

[glb]Hello and Welcome![/glb]

Lovely hair and those sticks are great.

Nice new avatar Natural Rogue!

Greetings, Sasha!

Your hair is soooo long and wavy and thick!! You're so lucky!

Your husband sounds awfully sweet by making custom hairsticks for you. Sounds like he shares your enthusiasm for long hair!  :D

I myself LOVE the smell of Herbal Essences, but the formulas wreak havoc on my hair and skin, so I can't use them.  :'( *sniff!*

Look forward to hearing more about your hair experiences!

Your hubby certainly is talented!  You'll have to keep us updated on the website you and your friends will be putting up.

Cynde

hey sasha :)


welcome! you have wonderful hair. how long did it take you to grow it?  hopefully one day my hair will  be that long and all one length.  how many inches is it? happy hair growing!

First thank you to everyone for the warm welcome! :)  It is so nice here with others who love long hair!  My husband tells me I am obsessed, but that's ok because he is willing to support my obsession.  

He caught me struggling with measuring my hair the other day, and took pity on me.  He said, 'give me that tape measure, I take measurements for a living.' LOL (He is a woodworker.)

I was trying to figure out my hair on the Fia scale that Anais kindly posted.  (I had been looking for how to decipher that funky code some of you use ;))

From the top of my head to the longest point my hair is 31", which is only 6" from my first goal!  I had no idea I was only about a year away from it.  My next goal is to my knees, which will be 48".  I wonder if it will grow that long?  

I had a difficult time deciding on the first number, but I *think* it is 2b since my hair looks much the same freshly washed and dried as it does after I sleep on my braids.  The rest is Fii, my hair is fine so it makes a smallish bun.  If I take my hair down around people who usually see it up, their jaws drop because they had no idea it was 'so long'.  Since one of my girlfriends has knee length hair, I think it is still short! ;)

What a sweet hubby - to come to your aid in measuring your hair.   :D  And yes, you are among friends being hair obsessed.  ::)  Welcome to the club!

lol @ Sasha's hubby with the measuring tape! That totally sounds like something my boyfriend might do (he's a plumber).  ;)

I definitely have hair envy! Hopefully mine will reach 31" someday. That's not my goal, but it sounds like a good start.  ;D

I forgot to answer one question.  I started growing my hair in 1990, after having had my head shaved for a couple years.  (Boyfriend at the time irritated me, I already had short hair, so I shaved it off.)  It was about 1/4 to 1/2" long all over my head.  

Once it reached my shoulders I bleached it a couple times and really damaged it.  I basically let that grow out and kept cutting off the bleached part til it was gone.  After that, I just had my husband trim the ends every couple months.

If I had been nicer to it, it would be a lot longer by now!

wrote on Oct 12^th, 2005 at 1:05pm:

What a sweet hubby - to come to your aid in measuring your hair.   :D  And yes, you are among friends being hair obsessed.  ::)  Welcome to the club!

Oh, yes, I realized this weekend how hair obsessed I've become. The ren fests always have many lasses which I enjoy just "people watching". This year... I was also hair watching! I think I drove KDH crazy at times because I'd go, "Oh WOW!" and she'd turn her head to see what I had seen only to encounter long, gorgeous hair! LOL!

So, yes, Sasha, I (dare I say we?) are most definitely hair inclined.  :) It's so great your hubby takes the time to help you out, with measuring and wonderful sticks. If he grew long hair, he'd understand so much better.

Hey?! If ya gotta have an addiction, at least healthy flowing hair is a positive one!  ;D

I completely agree!  Long hair is my addiction.  I am always looking at other people's hair!  Ren faires are the best places for long hair watching.  I like to see all the different ways other ladies have braided their hair so I can try to copy it later.  

My husband's hair was mid-back length up until a few years ago.  He was doing a lot of cabinet finishing (which involves laquer and a spray gun) and his hair got really damaged by all the paint getting into it.  He cut it off because it was looking so ragged and abused.  :(

Welcome aboard Sasha!
Your husband's sticks are wonderful!  :D

I may be a little late, but Welcome. Your hair looks wonderful and it's amazing that you have a hubby with such a nice and beautiful talent. :D
I have a question for you: Your name is Sasha. Is that short for something? Where did your parents find it? I have a friend who goes by Sashia, but her whole name is Sashiasoleil (and that's just her first name. Her middle one is similar) Just wondering.
Welcome again.
Meg