I'm for cutting it, Bella. But if you do, make sure to show us pictures!!

Aslanisthebest, if you're a bit nervous about cutting your hair, just don't do anything that you feel is extremely drastic at first. (For example, don't go from three feet of hair to only shoulder length. ) If I were you and I wanted shorter, I would just cut off a couple of inches at a time. As a matter of fact, I did that this summer and went from almost waist length to five inches shorter. I don't mind it.

I don't know if you've tried using many hair products, but maybe something would help keep the tangles down too.

Hope you find something that works for you!

Thank-you so, so much everyone for the tips!

ILF, that's a good idea - I didn't consider washing it out a little more regularly now to thin it. Personally, I don't wash my hair more than once a week (I used to wash it twice a while ago because it got oily fast) and because it takes so much effort, I hate the process of washing it, plus I don't want it *too* thin, but now it's very thick. Thanks!

That's so neat, Tarkheena! My hair is not perfectly straight, but it does gravitate much toward straight and wavy than curly, except when I wash it and don't comb it, it dries the *littlest* curly. *would /love/ curly hair*
The length is not very important to me style-wise, but more (ugh, I know this sounds lame. ) emoptionally. But I am debating whether it would be more stylish, if you will, if I kept it long, so thanks for your advice!

Ela, I think almost everyone (including almost most of myself. ) is for cutting it! Thank-you for your input! I shall definitely come post pictures if and when I do cut it.

That's a good idea, Lady Galadriel. Like I said above to Tarkheena, I'm more nervous about me having an emotional breakdown than it being a change of style. I feel like with short hair, I can do so much more (how did you know I wanted it shoulder length? xD) but it's getting myself to actually do it that's the problem. That is a great idea, though. Thank-you very much.
I currently don't use any hair products except for shampoo and conditioner. We recently got a moisturizing-treatment conditioner, so I wonder if that might do anything. Thanks!!

Wow, its been a while since I've been in this thread!!

I need help. I'm looking to temporarily dye my hair--like, my hair will be back to normal within a few washes. I only remember fuzzily hearing about such a product, so I don't know if it really exists when an average person can get her hands on it, but I figured here would be the right place to ask.

Anyone have any ideas?

Aslanisthebest, you have to really really think about cutting your hair before you actually do. Over the summer, I had really long, black, straight hair, that I know most girls would kill for. It was about to my waist and I loved it, but it started to get hot and annoying and I had really bad dandruff (under control now thanks to good old olive oil) so on a whim without thinking about it, I basically got my hair chopped off to barely touching my shoulders. The first couple weeks I was okay with it, but after awhile I regretted cutting my hair. It's so short I can't really do anything with it. It's been a month and a half now and I can finally put it up into a small ponytail. Homecoming's this weekend and I'm super jealous of all the girls who have longer hair and can do all those cool hairstyles. So now I'm just waiting for my hair to grow back, and this time if I can keep my skin under control, I don't plan to cut it for a long time.

BUT, if you do decide to cut it really short (change is always good) I recommend you donate it to locks of love. It makes me feel sooo much better about cutting my hair to know that I'm giving my hair away for a girl who deserves it.

I had a similar experience, sillygoose! I had about elbow-length hair, and I never did anything with it anyway, and it made my face look long (I have an oblong face so shorter cuts can look better). So I cut it. And now I can pretty much put it in a pony, but a bit of front hair falls out. And now I'm looking at mermaids (a new PotC On Stranger Tides-induced obsession XD) and I wish I had my long hair back, just for that. In reality, I think I'll just grow it a bit longer, cause I don't look good in super-long hair. [/ramble] Anyway, don't be surprised if, after you get it cut (if you decide to, of course) you go between elation and dregret then finally just get pretty used to it.

Lady A:

A few years ago for some sort of "drama" or something I died my hair black to be an Egyptian. It came out after just a few washes- maybe 5-7. My hair turned more purplish-gray then black... but I think that was because it was meant for darker hair then mine. (I should've gotten a stronger kind, or two bottles.)
I don't remember the price... My sister and some of her friends did it once as well, and it turned out pretty good, though the red hair was a drastic change for one of them-- so it was a little weird. But two days later it was practically gone.
(Pretty sure we got this dye at WalMart too... I'd assume they'd still carry something like it.)

There are dyes that you can buy to last for about a month, or 40 washes. My brother got one at Wal Mart I think? (also for a drama, but he had to be Chinese, not Egyptian.) It was very different at first, but everybody said it looked very natural. He had brown hair to begin with.
He tried dying it brown again, but that didn't really work...
He did it all on his own, using gloves. He dyed his eyebrows, which most people thought was a bad idea... He had to be careful not to get the dye too much on his skin, and to wipe it off his skin afterwards so his skin wouldn't turn a weird color. 😉

He said it was uncomfortable being in the dye section where all you see are glamor shots of girls on boxes, so he said he saw "Black Dye. Fairly cheap." and he was out of there without much heed to ingredients or comparing boxes. Anyways, it worked for him.

That's about all I can think of that might be helpful. Hopefully it's sorta helpful.

That's funny about your brother, Queen Su!

Do you know what the brand you used was? I am looking for a short term one, like the one you used. The main reason why I can't do a longer-term dye (like for a month or more) is because I'm dual enrolled in two colleges, and one actually has a prohibition about dying your hair...soooo, I need to be able to clean it off fairly quickly. If you don't remember the brand, I'm sure I can wander around Wally World and find it.

Sorry, no, it was 5 or 6 years ago. I remember the dye being purple though, which was slightly... non-comforting. *laugh*
I guess the labels on the bottles should tell you-- sorry I can't be more specific!

wow, reviving this thread from the depths of the forum

For the past several years I've been dying my hair every 4-6 months, some sort of reddish shade (At home). I think it's finally rebelling. I did it end of March, and then feeling bored I picked up some more dye (the brand Ice Cream, which I think is a lot kinder on the hair then other more popular brands of hair color) and re-did it the other day. Well, it's red alright, but it's also orange. And kind of blondish-red. The back is a totaly different color then the front, a sort of gentle gradiant of color. My roommate told me that if she saw me on the street she'd assume it was intentional, but as it was she was like "hmm maybe laura's just trying out a new look?"...but yeah.

In other "makeup/hair" news...I'm currently studying electroylsis, which is interesting. It's a form of permament hair removal that involves inserting a tiny needle into the hair follicle and zapping it with electricity. Bringing friends to class to practise on is encouraged, so I'm slowly working my way through my friend group. Not surprisingly, it's not a super popular pasttime so I think I'm gonna run outta friends soon...

i thought i had escaped chemistry for the day but i say not. On that topic i remember using shampoos to see if more acidic or basic ones work better on hair.

wow, reviving this thread from the depths of the forum

For the past several years I've been dying my hair every 4-6 months, some sort of reddish shade (At home). I think it's finally rebelling. I did it end of March, and then feeling bored I picked up some more dye (the brand Ice Cream, which I think is a lot kinder on the hair then other more popular brands of hair color) and re-did it the other day. Well, it's red alright, but it's also orange. And kind of blondish-red. The back is a totaly different color then the front, a sort of gentle gradiant of color. My roommate told me that if she saw me on the street she'd assume it was intentional, but as it was she was like "hmm maybe laura's just trying out a new look?"...but yeah.

Sounds like you need to give your hair a rest. Maybe go cold turkey for a little bit, and then try something like henna for while? Damaged hair will never "heal"; the only thing you can do is control it as best you can until undamaged hair grows in. My hair gets so frizzy as is and I don't put a thing on it except shampoo, conditioner and shine serum; I don't even use heat on it more than a few times a year. I can't imagine what my hair would do if I decided to dye it, lol. I'd have straw in a heartbeat.

ETA: I realize that my "advice" is probably not all that helpful since you're in beauty school after all and probably know all of this already. Anyway, here's wishing you happy, healthy hair days in the future!

Okay, time for my summer hair wildness. Last year, I feathered my hair, and I have been casting about a bit to see what I'm going to do this year. Val's color adventure reminded me. Besides considering dying the tips blue or silver, the only other idea that really stood out to me and sounded fun and easy to manage (and could be undone before I needed to look professional again!) is doing my hair in cornrows. So, that is what this little girl shall be doing in about six or seven weeks (I have some friends getting married, so I want to wait until all their weddings are done).

Unless someone else has an amazingly awesome idea that strikes my fancy.

In other "makeup/hair" news...I'm currently studying electroylsis, which is interesting. It's a form of permament hair removal that involves inserting a tiny needle into the hair follicle and zapping it with electricity. Bringing friends to class to practise on is encouraged, so I'm slowly working my way through my friend group. Not surprisingly, it's not a super popular pasttime so I think I'm gonna run outta friends soon...

Ooo, pick me! Pick me! I've been wanting to get that or something similar done (shaving highly irritates my skin), but haven't been able to because of the prices.

Is there good eye makeup for people like me who can never remember not to rub their eyes and touch their face when they're wearing it?

~Riella

The best kind to get is one that smears easily. Then wear it all the time and you'll start remembering not to rub your eyes.

Other than that, you'd have to go with a high-quality, expensive waterproof brand, like MAC.