As I got out of the shower this morning, and began combing my hair, it donned on me how much LL has impacted my life, especially as of late.  My hair was so easy to comb thru, and it felt so healthy and free of residues and it made me think that it's because of my new wealth of information gained from these message boards and all the wonderful people participating in them.  I then started to think of how my hair care habits have changed for the better, and not only hair care, but body and skin care as well, and wondered if anyone else feels this way, too?  How has being a member of LL changed your hair/body/skin care habits?  What have you learned from being here?  Do you feel affected by the boards and the people on them?

Since I joined this is what I feel that I have gained:

*Hairwashing before & after:
  Before:  Get in the shower, lather all the hair up like crazy, not just once -       maybe twice, get it SQUEEKY clean.  Condition like crazy all over as well.  Do this EVERYDAY.

  After:  Get in the shower (duh), very gently but vigorously wash only the scalp, let the rest of the suds rinse down the length of my hair.  Condition just the length of the hair.  Use a vinegar rinse 1-2 times a week to clarify.

*Post-shower care before & after:
  Before:  Vigorously towel dry by rubbing hair in towel (like you're starting a fire with two sticks!)  Comb knots out, not too careful about it, just want the knots out.  Add miscellaneous hair products, blow dry on med-high heat, add the hairspray, and GO!

  After:  Very carefully squeeze dry hair in towel (no more rubbing!),  carefully comb thru (knots aren't much of a problem anymore),  allow more time for my hair to air dry as much as possible, and if necessary finish drying on COOL setting.  Occasionally I use a leave in conditioner which is added before drying hair.  Only styling product now is a spritz of hairspray to keep my bangs in place.

*Hair-do's before & after:
  Before:  My usuals were to either: a) leave down, which because of my poor care habits became frequently tangled, and my hair would be combed thru SEVERAL times throughout the day.  b)  put into a low or high pony tail   c)  that was pretty much it, down or in a pony tail...exciting, huh?

  After:  I have since learned how to use hair sticks, and use them frequently, nearly every time I pull my hair up, it's secured in sticks.  I have learned a couple variations on styles with the sticks, and am always experimenting to try to come up with new styles.  I have learned that you can use accessories in your hair like snoods and bun covers (which I had never heard of before), and gained new uses for scarves in the hair.  I practice different braids and twists, and have become friends with the simple, understated bun.  I also am able to wear my hair loose now without raking through it a thousand times a day, tangles are much less of a problem for me now.  And I learned that if you are having a tangly day, it is best just to pull it up and forget about it.  Summed up, BE KIND TO YOUR HAIR AND IT WILL BE KIND TO YOU!

*Daily thoughts in general before & after:
  Before:  Well, all kinds of stuff...but not too many of those thoughts were focused on or around my hair or the care of it.

  After:  Still all kinds of stuff, but much more conscious and aware of not only my hair, but I find myself scoping out the hair of others around me.  When I see a person with great hair, or an interesting hairstyle, or learn anything new about hair in general - I find that I can't wait to share it with my fellow Long-Lockians, and I always look forward to the responses and varied feedback from all of you!  

I came across this site just looking for some new hair ideas, and I haven't looked back since!  Thanks for all the knowledge and kindness, you're all great!

This is a neat thread. I didn't do too much with my hair before and almost never used a blow dryer, so my changes since joining LL probably aren't as dramatic as some.

Hair washing
BEFORE: Wash with shampoos containing sodium lauryl sulfate or worse. Condition from the ears down with cone-filled conditioners and never did an ACV rinse.
AFTER: CWC with a sodium laureth sulfate shampoo (still a sulfate, but not as bad as before). Condition from the ears down with a cone-less conditioner mixed with honey. Periodic ACV rinses.

After a wash
BEFORE and AFTER: It's the same--wrap in a towel to get most of the water out and then air dry.

Combing and styling
BEFORE: Detangle with a brush. I would either wear my hair down or in a ponytail that was secured with a *gasp* nonhair-friendly hairtie.
AFTER: Detangle with a comb and only use a brush to smooth out hair when making a bun or ponytail. These days I usually wear my hair in a bun and if I make a ponytail I don't use the elastics with metal bands.

Misc.
BEFORE and AFTER: There aren't too many changes. I never used to use products in my hair because I was "too lazy" and since joining LL, the only product I use on a regular basis is shea butter.

This is a very good idea for thread, I like!  Okay here's mine. 

Hair Washing
Before:
Everyday with a handfull of shampoo (scrub, scrub) followed by two handfulls of condish.  Used the best shampoo I could afford, but not the best for my hair. Too much cones!

After:
Using natural shampoo's and condish wash twice a week, No need to use tons of shampoo and condish anymore! First time: wash, acv, condish.  Second wash is CO.  Use cold water rinse after each one.  Oil hair before first wash.

Combing and Styling
Before:

Combed wet hair to get out tangles with a tail comb (rip, rip!)  Blowdryed, then curled fried, stainghtened, hot rollers!  Then tons of hairspray, mouse, gel, wax. Use plastic brushes that would get caught in my hair.

After:
Wrap uncombed hair in towel twister to dry.  Then gentaly comb with a wide tooth comb.  Let air dry while plopping the curls. Put a dab of jojoba oil on the ends. Brush at night with BBB.

Misc
Before:  Hot oil treatments once a month, dye hair every two weeks. Left hair unbound in bed.
After:  Oil before wash once a week, deep treatment with heat cap once a month. Put hair in a braid for sleeping and sleep on a satine pillow.

Before LL:  simple wooden hairsticks

After LL: BEAUTIFUL, artistic hairsticks that regularly receive compliments. 

Goodness me...

The long-locked ladies and lords here have certainly inspired new habits in my daily toilette! Let me see...

1. I now use a shower cap to protect my hair and keep it out of the way while showering, doing a treatment, etc. whereas before I used a plastic pterodactyl clip.

2. I have started taking both vitamin E and Biotin...we'll see if that helps any.

3. I've started doing vinegar rinses more regularly.

4. I've bought 2 seamless Rachael Stephens combs, which I love, and use them daily.

5. I've started reading and posting on these boards every day!  

And there you have it.

LL has changed pretty much everything in my haircare habits and taught me how to be nice to my hair. 
So these are just some examples:

Washing before: SC with Body shop shampoo& conditioner. Rubbing hair with towel.
Washing now: SBV with Chagrin Valley shampoo bars, very careful and gentle handling of wet hair

Amount of split ends before: thousands?
Amount of split ends now: dozens

Hairsticks before: too long plastic cheap and ugly sticks that were really good for nothing
Hairsticks now: Collection of beautiful quality hairsticks. Especially LL hairsticks draw compliments regularly 

Attitude towards stylists before: Can't live without them
Attitude towards stylists now: The longer I stay away from them, the better my hair does

Hairstyles before: Three or so...
Hairstyles now: Counted a while ago that I can do 28 different styles, and I didn't count  toy variations!

Yay for Longlocks!

What a great topic, maggie.
Before LL:
shampoo scrubbing hair every which-way, condition, towel dry rubbing every which-way, comb with fine-tooth comb (I did figure out to start at the bottom and work up), blow dry after washing, often a curling iron on non-shampoo days (even with short hair I didn't wash it every day, it's too dry). used "french barrettes" a!nd non-hair-safe bands to keep my hair under control, and hairspray

Since LL:
CWC, no piling my hair on my head to wash it!; blot dry in towel, then microfiber towel, finger comb to detangle, wide-tooth comb when damp; jojoba oil on the ends, aloe gel to tame the wispies, hair-friendly hair toys as much as possible, learning to put my hair up in different styles and actually feeling like they look somewhat decent , trimmed my own hair once already 8) --- wow, I've actually made a lot of changes.

My hair thanks you, LongLocks!!!!