Ella, you are breaking a lot of the "long hair" rulz!  Read this, it will tell you everything you need to know... if you're committed, you'll have long healthy hair in no time :)

http://www.longlocks.com/how-to-grow-long-hair.htm

First of all, it sounds like you need a trim! Yes I know this sounds like you really really don't want to do it, but if you cut of an inch or so, it will grow back healthier rather than keep breaking!

Why has your hair been a mess for two months? What was it like before that?

For hair that sticks up, your might use some "frizz ease" or Bikerbraid mentioned that she uses jojoba oil for flyaways. Flatness can be fixed as well; after washing your hair, scrunch a bit of mousse in. This will mkae your wavy/curly hair very beautiful curled, give it volume and no frizz.

The dieting bit could also be the source of your hair problems. If you don't mind me asking, what sort of diet are you on? I am not overweight but I do watch my foods to make sure I am eating healthy. I am vegetarian, but I eat healthy and non-fattening foods such as vegetables, fruits, bread, rice, etc. For protein I eat eggs. When I first turned vegetarian I lost a lot of hair because I wasn't "smart" about it, but now that I am, my hair is growing back healthier.

I'm sorry you aren't feeling pretty at the moment. This is sort of off the topic, but sometimes when I feel unpretty I spend a whole day relaxing. I take a long bath and wash my hair, and while I usually love to see it dry wavy, my mother loves it when I put in rollers and make it straight. (This actually makes me miss my waves! lol!) Anyhow, using big rollers may make you feel better about your hair. While you are taking your bath you can put in a deep conditioner and um... read a book  . Then you can wash this out. Tie it up in a towel and then I usually do my manicure and pedicure. I file and cut my nails and put pretty new colors on them or sometimes a french manicure. When your hair is almost almost dry, you can put in some rollers. Leave them in for at least half an hour or however long it takes for your hair to completely dry. During this time, you can pick out something pretty to wear and put on a little bit of make up. When you take your rollers out, the results are lovely, your hair will be pretty straight with a cute wave at at the bottom. And then you can go out and show the world how lovely you look! This always makes me feel better, I hope it works for you!

Please do your best to stop stressing, join a gym maybe, or go jogging with your fiance. Learn some new updos that you can do, especially on bad hair days. Your hair will thank you! And if you are patient and stop worrying your hair will grow 

Thanks so much, guys.  I was gone all weekend and last week was a nightmare so I couldn't come back to the board until today.

I know that I'm supposed to get trims, at least 1/2 of the info I've read out there says so, but it doesn't do anything but make my hair shorter.  It doesn't get healthier or grow any faster, and it usually takes me months to get the inch or so they took off back again.  But, I'm so tempted to just go and tell them to layer the darn stuff.  Thing is, I tried cutting my hair once before to make it "healthier," but all it did was leave me with the same perpetual bad hair day.... only with shorter hair (which is really scary!). 

As for dieting, yes.. I'm taking a multi-vitamin and calcium.

Oh, and the Nexxus products: Most of their products are really "heavy," but this new line of stuff is pretty light.  My fiance used it and his hair felt and looked awsome afterwards (he's got very fine, thin, straight hair).  But I've just started using Nexxus this past week.  I was using Tigi products before that.  And the short, fly away hairs are very short (broken off) hairs that don't really lay down flat no matter what.  My hair's curly (when it's healthy anyway) and so it tends to stick up and out when it's really short.

Ann-Marie... wow, so sorry to hear what those Nexxus products did to you!  Nexxus is usually pretty heavy stuff, so I can definitely see it doing that.  It got better when you started using something else, right??  I would buy more stuff, but I've bought so much in the past month that I don't dare spend anymore money on hair stuff.

Bikerbraid:  I'm on a pretty run-of-the-mill low-cal diet.  I went on Atkins a year ago, however, and began losing HANDFULS of hair!  My hair is half as thick as it was then, and it fell out at an alarming rate... it scared the living daylights out of me when it was happening!  But you know, no one else I knew on the diet had that problem!  I still don't understand it all.  And thanks for the concern.  I don't mean to whine so much, but it's just that everything seems to be falling apart all at once on me and I was hoping to age a little more graceful than this!


As for a blow dryer... I use one on the "cold" setting only, and I don't dry my hair all the way.  But up until I started having so many problems....most of it occurring about 2-3mos ago.. I used to blow dry my hair all the time (never on high/hot setting, and always diffusing).  Heck, 15yrs ago I used to bleach my hair to platinum (embarrassed about that now, though.. lol) every 6wks.  Always blow dried my hair and washed it almost every day.  Never had a problem, and my hair was always soft, shiny and manageable.  Go figure. 

If I don't use a blow dryer---my hair looks even worse, and it's even less manageable (go figure again).

Repunzel:  I'm going to read that article as soon as I'm done posting here. 

Leia:  Thank you also for all your advice and support.  I honestly hate looking and sounding so "needy."  It really helps to get all this advice.

you guys are the best. Thank you.   

Two things alarm me here... one that you used to have healthy hair even when you used chemicals on it, and two that a change in diet made you lose handfuls of hair.  PLEASE consider going to a doctor!  Your problem may not be your hair at all but a health issue.  There are several things that can affect the health of your hair, especially thyroid problems, and it would probably be a really good idea to rule that out.

I also recommend that you see a doctor.  Be sure to mention the hair loss, and your frustration with weight loss.  Unfortunately your body will go into a survival mode if you drop your food/calorie intake to extremely low levels and will slow down the metabolism, making it harder to lose weight.  Also, exercise it very important when trying to lose weight - it does not have to be major workouts, but just increasing your activity level - even if it is just walking more.  Increasing your water intake can also help alot to remove the toxins in your system.  Once checked out by the doctor, you might consider adding Biotin and Silica to your supplements.  If you are pre-menopausal, that can also be a cause of changes in your hair including hair loss. 

See your doctor and hang in there.  Let us know how you are doing.

OK, exercise is not the issue with you - I only wish I could get that much exercise in!  Walking and biking are all my broken body can handle, oh well..

I can tell you that weight gain has been a MAJOR issue with me with menopause.  I also experienced hair loss, a change in my hair texture (it went from stick straight to slightly wavy), and dried out my hair.  This of course does not even touch the mood swings, etc.   

Get checked out by your doctor.  If it seems to be the hormones, you might try Remifenin  (www.remifemin.com ) which I found to be useful in controlling a number of the symptons.  You can get a free sample from their web page (and they give you coupons as well).

I hope you start feeling better about yourself soon.

Getting the thyroid test is an excellent start.  Good luck.