This will be a sort-of journal....all about my hair in general,
and FAQs about my hair (or about people's long hair overall).
Q: How long was your hair when you decided to grow it long?
A: I've had really long hair more of my life (a typical style from my childhood consisted of my mother parting it all the way down the middle, putting each side in a kinda-high ponytail, braiding each all the way down, looping them up and attaching the ends in with the base of each tail - so I had "door-knockers" on either side of my head! ) There were 3 times in my life (I think) where I got a drastic cut - once when I was about 5 or so, I got a Dorothy Hammil short feathered cut (which looked kinda cool), and then when I was 8 or 9, I got a shoulder-length page boy (which looked stupid), and finally, when I was a freshman in high school (1991), my mother convinced me to get it cut to mid-ear length and permed (which looked ridiculous - big blonde afro!). I haven't cut any more than an inch and a half (perhaps 2) at any time since 1991....in the past 3 or 4 years, I haven't cut off any length at all, just done S&D.
The main reason for growing it out this time was that I *hated* trying to work with it when it was short - it got in my face, and I couldn't pull it back! When it finally got long enough for a ponytail, I had this tiny "poof" at the nape of my neck - SO classy! *makes face* I made a promise to myself that I'd never cut it again, though strangely enough, I never had plans to grow it extremely long....weird, huh?
Q: How long is your hair?
A: As of 6/19/03, my hair is 42" long.
Q: What products do you use?
A: I'm something of a product junkie *grin*.....currently, I'm using J/A/S/O/N 84% Aloe Vera Shampoo & Conditioner on a normal basis (I wash my hair once a week - twice if it really needs it), and I've been using my samples of Kenra shampoos and conditioners - the Moisturizing Shampoo and Conditioner is great! I try to use shampoos that are not harsh on the hair - the Kenra has Sodium Myreth Sulfate instead of the Sodium Laurel Sulfate or Sodium Laureth Sulfate that a lot of shampoos have - the Myreth is gentler on the hair. I also try to use conditioners that don't contain silicones - any ingredient that ends with "cone" and several that end in "one" are silicones - this ingredient coats the hair shaft, and looks kind of like a goopy plastic-y substance when viewed alone. The silicones in products are one of the contributors to ultra-shiny hair, but they also keep the hair from getting the moisture it needs, ultimately drying it out.
I also use Ultra Hair Conditioning Shampoo and Ultra Hair Plus vitamins occasionally, and I have the George Michael one hour treatment done on my hair 2-4 times a year.
Speaking of the George Michael Treatment, I just had one done June 21, 2003. I went with a friend - here's her account of the trip -
Our appointment was at 2pm and we made it despite taking the wrong I-35. We gave up trying to figure it out and took the speedy tollway and arrived without more delays.
Bill was as sweet as ever, he gave us hugs and welcomed us. He knew we liked pictures and reminded us that he needed to take before shots. What a thoughtful guy!
Then he got to work on us: Rennie was first. He did the usual wash, sectioned off hair and slathered on lots of the 1hour treatment stuff and then wrapped the hair around on top of her head. Then she was in the beautiful pink heat cap for an hour. I was next. After Rennie's timer went off, he rinsed her well, applied the cream rinse and then combed her, put in the rollers and put her under the dryer (106� = ten degrees above body temp) for another hour. Then it was my turn. I think this shot is after I'd been under the dryer, but look at them rollers!
During all this we chatted and pounded Bill with questions. Rennie was very good and remembered all the questions y'all had about GM theories and opinions; I listened a lot I'll let her go through all the questions and write Bill's responses. It's really good information and I learned too.
While we were under the dryers, Bill took a break and made a few phone calls. I didn't hear anything cause I can't hear with the dryer noise and besides I had just bought the new Harry Potter book to keep me busy But at one point I did hear him say "Dr. Michael, this is Bill" and I wondered who he was talking to. Darn those loud dryers. Then after a bit he gave the phone to Rennie and she talked on his phone. Strange, I thought. Then Bill bent closer to me and said "Dr. Michael wants to talk to you next. He's 85 and has a Russian accent" I was astounded so I said "get outta here" and he told me indeed it was him on the phone! I was so excited! After Rennie talked for a bit, I got to talk to Dr. Michael!!!!! What would I say? I didn't have to worry a bit, cause he's a charmer and loves to talk. He already knew a bit about me and my hair (I guess Bill told him while we were drying) but he asked a few more questions about it and he said he was so happy I liked the system and that my hair was beautiful according to Bill. He told me that he wanted me to take pictures and send them to him. He said to do it soon cause his birthday was coming up and it would be a nice present for him! Can you believe it? Then .... this was wild..... he said to be sure to add my phone number and address, because he will call and thank me for the pictures. And he said to give him a time that is good to call, because he hates to talk to machines. I can't remember what else we chatted about, but I know I did tell him how happy I was with the GM products and Bill's work. When he closed he told me how he couldn't wait to see my hair and it's beauty. Then he said "Well it was a great treat to speak with you lovely Carol, now let me talk to Billy" I nearly laughed at the Billy remark!!!!
Whew! Back to the treatments.... he unrolled Rennie and did a split end trim on her hair. He didn't do that at the last visit I had so this was new for me.
He took little sections (about 8 or so total) and twisted the hair. Then he spotted and clipped selected hairs that stuck out. It didn't take long, Rennie must be doing a good job by not using rubberband and ponytail holders. Then he combed her out fully and trimmed her ends.
Then it was my turn. He unrolled me, combed it out then dusted the ends! I got a dusting! He also said I was tailbone length! I thought I was but wasn't too sure if I knew where tailbone was exactly (yes I do know my anatomy, but you know how terminology gets sometimes). He took longer than usual on the dusting - Rennie said my hair flipped weird and Bill was trying to sort it out. I think he did a great job.
We loved our 'new' hair! It was past 6pm by then and we were starved. Rennie knew a great little rolled sandwich shop there that was delicious (Rolly Polly I think it's called) We didn't have time to shop so we skipped that part, but that's okay, cause we'll do that at the Austin meet next month! It was a looooooong day, but very worthwile.
Here's what I learned from Bill - this is all part of the George Michael philosophy -
On the bangs theory - George Michael says that the longer hair is, the stonger the root - it's the same as weight lifting; if you don't work the muscle, it won't get stronger. Longer hair works the muscle/root more, and shorter hair doesn't. Also, the shorter the hair, the shorter the growth cycle. All hair grows for a period of time, falls out, and starts over again. The shorter the hair, the shorter the time period in between the growing and falling out. Someone with 3" of hair will have the hairs fall out often and grow back in - someone with 40" of hair will have a much longer time of growth before the hairs fall out. When someone has bangs/layers/etc., the roots of the shorter hairs are not as strong as the roots of the longer hairs, and the shorter haired areas tend to thin out (I can attest to this, as when I had bangs, my front hairline was extremely thin and I could clearly see my scalp from the front - I'm growing my bangs out, and now the hairline is much thicker!). George Michael says that if you let the bangs grow out, the roots will get stronger, and the hair surrounding the area will fill in (i.e. new growth). People with thin hair and bangs/layers can try growing to al the same length and see if it makes a difference.
On parting on the right - Bill agreed that not all people's hair grows from left to right - a large percentage does, but not all. Parting one's hair on the right side (if it grows from left to right), or the left side (if it grows from right to left) gives the hair a slight natural lift, and looks nicer overall. Also, parting one's hair in the middle can attribute to thinning of the hair along the part, especially if the hair is parted and pulled back tightly, as several ballerinas like to do.
On silicones - this product literally coats the hair like shellac - it's simillar to plastic. People that use products with silicones may like the effects simply because the coated hair feels very smooth and looks shiny - however, the coating on the hair doesn't let moisture in (hence the need to use clarifying shampoos - to remove the coating and attempt to let moisture into the hair shaft). Bill says that henna is the same way - people that henna their hair can't have the 1 hour treatment done, since the treatment won't penetrate the hair shaft.
On the treatment itself - Bill says that the difference between the treatment and your basic conditioner is that the molecules in conditioner simply coat the hair, and the molecules in the treatment actually penetrate the hair shaft. He's not sure what other GM salons are talking about when they say "15 minute treatments" or "12 minute treatments", since the only treatment done takes a full hour to actually work - 20 minutes to open the hair shaft, 20 minutes to penetrate the hair shaft, and 20 minutes to close the hair shaft. Over time, the treatment actually helps "rebuild" hair and restore it to its best condition (a note - it doesn't "heal" split ends - nothing will actually "heal" split ends - the ends must be removed to prevent further breakage).
On split ends - when a strand of hair splits, you're getting 1/2 (or 1/4 or 1/6 or some fraction) of the hair shaft breaking off from the shaft itself. A hair shaft sort of has scales (think fish), and splits are part of the hair coming off. Splits should be trimmed with good scissors (just the tips) right above the split, perpendicular to the shaft. Left alone, a split will continue up the shaft, and break off at some point, leaving you with a length of hair that's not complete.
The treatment itself was great - my hair felt wonderful afterwards, and looked great! Bill decided to take 3 inches off the bottom of the middle back of my hair, to even it up some - the side of my hair aren't in the best condition, and the ends are really thin - after the trim, the ends look much better, and they're noticeably thicker. I made a braid afterwards, and the "tassle" looked much better than before! The pics are on my pics page!
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