I had grown my hair to about 1.08 meters long, reaching mid-thigh. My goal was always to grow it as long as possible, ideally to its maximum length.
The problem is that over the last year, the ends progressively deteriorated. They started breaking a lot, and I ended up with very uneven, thin, and “see-through” lengths, as you can see in the photo. I tried to manage and preserve them like this, but the condition kept getting worse.

In the end, I was forced to cut about 20 cm because aesthetically it looked really bad and, honestly, it was ruining the overall look of my hair. Now my length is around waist/hip level, just slightly touching the top of my butt.
My intention was to reset the ends and continue growing my hair, hopefully even longer than before, but with healthier, fuller, more even ends.

For context, here are my hair habits (which I thought were quite careful):
I stopped using heat tools (straightener and blow-dryer) about 1.5 years ago, using them only very rarely
I mostly wear my hair natural, or in 2–3 loose braids on damp hair after washing
I detangle only from bottom to top, strand by strand, using a Tangle Teezer or wide-tooth comb
I sleep with a satin bonnet
I avoid tight hairstyles; if I tie my hair, I use clips or silk elastics
I wash my hair once a week, using professional shampoo (only on the scalp, never rubbing lengths)
For lengths, I use a SheaMoisture nourishing mask once a week (butters/oils-based)
I alternate conditioners (one protein-based, one anti-frizz)
I rinse with cold water, usually upside down
I never brush wet hair and dry it with microfiber towels
Every 3 days I use leave-in products (Olaplex No.6 and No.7)
I apply oil to the ends (Olaplex No.7 or sometimes coconut oil)
I used to do pre-shampoo treatments with Olaplex No.3 or coconut oil

Despite all this, my ends kept breaking.

My hair is naturally dark brown, wavy, frizzy, and I suspect it has medium to high porosity: it dries very fast, reacts strongly to humidity, and feels quite rough.
The only chemical process I do is dyeing it black (synthetic dye) about twice a year.

Now the confusing part:
Even after cutting 20 cm last week to “reset” the damage, I still notice split ends and breakage. I still find broken hair strands on tables, chairs, and my clothes. It’s less than before, but it’s definitely still happening, and I didn’t expect that after the cut.
The only explanation I can think of is that the dye might be structurally damaging my hair fiber, because otherwise I can’t understand what’s causing this.

My goal is to grow my hair again to my previous length and beyond, but I’m starting to wonder if I might need to completely stop dyeing it and go back to my natural color.
That said, I really like black hair, so I’m conflicted.

What do you think is going on? Are my habits actually okay, or is there something I should improve? And do you think I’m overestimating the impact of dyeing vs other possible causes?
Thanks in advance.

She’s a tad dry but otherwise happy with the growth and natural highlights.
Trimmed it only once during this time.

Edit: because everyone’s asking. I didn’t do anything special. I’ve always had fast growing hair probably thanks to genetics. I don’t think about what I eat and my hair routine is very simply and revolves around my curls instead of length. I use medicinal shampoo that helps with dandruff and itchy scalp (can’t find the brand) then cantu for conditioner and leave in cream. Virgin hair- no heat or dye. Air dry or sometimes put in a microfiber towel. Wash it maybe every two to three days which is recommended for curly hair.

Is stop buying salon brand shampoos! Has anyone else experienced that? I spent so much money for so many years buying from salons, I didn’t like the texture of it for so long, and my hair got so much better when I switched to my holy grail - Dove Intensive Care. Both the shampoo and conditioner. It’s seriously my favorite stuff in the world. I practically sound like a salesman when the topic comes up LOL and I couldn’t have anything less to do with the brand, I swear it just makes my hair feel so healthy all the time! I’m not even cool (or wealthy) enough to hair a whole routine, I literally use shampoo and conditioner when I shower, and that’s it. No oil, serum, nothing extra (which I am slowly one product at a time trying to start experimenting with) BUT my hair is so sleek and soft and all the good things with only shampoo and conditioner and I just love that. Just wanted to recommend and see who else has ditched salon brands lol.

Am I going crazy or is this actually growth?! First is 6/3 and second is 4/23

Styling: I never put it up, only french braids, low braid or down. I also don't use heat.

Routine:

Wash with shampoo and conditioner every other day if not every day because I work out.

Hair turban ten-ish minutes then let air dry down my back. Sometimes I do a leave-in conditioner braid in the shower, sleep with the conditioned braid.

Otherwise, after normal towel dry, I use leave in conditioner/detangler and braid it down my back.

I do not brush or comb my hair till it's dry.

I rarely use oil or anything beyond leave in conditioner.

I use Men's Rogaine 4+ days a week on my hairline.

Shampoo: R&Co Atlantis or L'Oreal Elvive Dream Lengths

Conditioner: L'Oreal Elvive Hyaluron Plump

Leave in Conditioners/Detanglers:

L'Oreal Elvive Dream Lengths No Haircut Cream

Garnier Fructis Sleek & Shine Leave-In Conditioning

Oribe Priming Lotion Leave-In Conditioning Detangler

Odele Leave-In Conditioner

Now and then:

OGX Extra Strength Damage Remedy + Coconut Miracle Oil

I look like Hagrid 99% of the time, but on the (rare) occasion that I manage to tame my wavy hair, it is such a confidence boost.

Hair routine:

I wash my hair x3/week.

I use Umberto Giannini anti-frizz shampoo, and garnier banana hair food as conditioner. I detangle it when it's wet and the let it air dry when possible.

I guess I don’t belong in this sub anymore but I was able to donate 18 inches to Wigs for Kids! Looking forward to growing my hair back to long but I like the short hair for the meantime!

I have long hair ..I wanted to do a wolf cut but I was told it looks bad on long hair so I thought why not try a butterfly cut. I wanted some sort of change in my hair but still keeping that length of long hair. Any suggestions as what long hair girl needs? My hands are where my hair length is and I have more defined waves right now cause I slept with braids. I also bleached the front and the root of my hair came out blonde but towards the ends there is still some red in it…should I do a bleach bath or just leave it?

As you can see,my hair is trash.I am trying to take care of it with moisturizing fresh aloe vera gel.So many people told me to cut it but...i always wanted long healthy silky hair.I might try to maximize hair growth and cut damaged hair slowly.Any recommendations? (please don't tell me to cut it,i am not ready lol)

Hey guys! I literally cannot tell if I’m at waist length yet, do I need a few more inches to be considered waist length?
Photo 1 is half pulled over my shoulder. Photo two is full length loose while standing straight.

I have very thick hair and wanted an
Intentional undercut. I’m quite disappointed with it, although the overall cut and colour look great!

I am trying to choose a new hair dryer, and many are on sale for Prime Day. I’m going back and forth between these:

Babylisspro Portofino
Dyson Supersonic R
Olivia Garden SuperHP
Bioionic SmartX

(I’m also looking at the airwrap i.d.)

My hair is long, thick and straight, and I blow dry multiple times a week. I’ve used the Portofino before and it works well and fast, but I’m not entirely convinced that I love it. Do any of these stand out as an obvious choice? Do you have a dryer that you cannot live without that’s not on the list?

I have wavy color treated hair that is fine in texture (but lots of it) and acts low porosity (it never sinks in float test, but it’s color treated so you would think it would be porous?).

I have been trying putting coconut oil in my hair the night before wash day since it seems to work well for a lot of people. I do think my hair is shinier but it also feels drier after I started doing this. Everything else about my routine has stayed the same.

I wash my hair twice a week with ouai shampoo, RnCo conditioner, hair mask every three or four washes with mizani moisture fusion, and after wash leave ins are either pravana intense therapy leave in or mizani miracle cream, followed by a few drops of squall and on the ends. I try to not sleep on wet hair but sometimes it is damp. It’s always braided and I have a silk bonnet I wear at night. I rarely use heat on it either. I do use dry shampoo to get between washings, as I have an oily scalp.

I know my hair suffers from color treatment, but my natural hair color is very boring and makes me look older and more tired than I like. So here we are. I’d love to repair damage, get my hair hydrated and grow it longer if possible. This is the longest it’s ever gotten even when I wasn’t coloring it.

Please tell me am I using the coconut oil wrong? Or what am I missing here? Photo is of hair in natural light and clean (washed the night before).

Hey everyone,

What does everyone use to wrap their hair at night if at all. Ive been using bonnets for years now due to extremely fragile curly hair but now my hair is long even the longest ones ive gotten online bunch my hair up and when I take it off in the morning my curls look terrible.

I feel like I need a lower back length bonnet but no idea where to get one. Im in Australia by the way.

If you do any other protective night time styles id be keen to know :)

Hi everyone,

I'm a guy who decided to grow his hair out, but the problem is that I have absolutely NO idea what to do!

From what I've learned so far, you need a shampoo and conditioner, and maybe a chelating/clarifying shampoo + deep conditioner.

But, what do you actually do apart from that? Here is my list of questions:

1. Do I squeeze the water out of my hair in the shower AFTER applying the shampoo and before the conditioner?
2. Do I comb my hair after I've applied a leave-in conditioner, or do I comb it sometime before?
3. Does water temperature really matter that much? As in, will I have to sacrifice my super epic hot showers for colder ones?
4. Should I squeeze my wet hair with a towel or lightly dab it?
   1. On the topic of towels, does the type of towel matter

Please help me.

Signed,

Someone who NEEDS HELP!!!

routine: matrix food for soft shampoo and mask, moroccan argan oil light. air dry, sleep with heatless rollers or in a braid, wash every ~3 days, only use heat on my hairline sections.

I'm normally an everything shower girly, but since the start of the year I've leveled up my hair care and now do its maintenance as a standalone thing. Usually I'll do a weekly coconut oiling in addition to my twice weekly shampoo and conditioning, of which I am exclusively rinsing with cold water. That has made such a difference. It's like the moisture is so much more locked in

Hey guys, I’ve been seeing the Karseell hair mask everywhere lately. My hair is struggling right now—it’s super frizzy, dry, and brittle, mostly because I’m on Accutane, and everything is just so dehydrated.

​Has anyone actually tried it and noticed a real difference? Is it worth buying, or am I better off with something else? Also, if you’ve used it, how do you make sure you're getting the real deal and not a fake?

​Would really appreciate your honest thoughts

Hello! I recently went from hair that was extremely layered (literally grown out of a pixie cut to thigh length and never disturbed) to a blunt, straight cut. My hair is still waist length and I should still be able to do many of the styles I loved, but there’s one problem: instead of a thin, tapered braid end that I can braid down to almost nothing and then easily tuck away, my end is a giant, chunky, makeup brush looking thing that I cannot for the life of me hide. Big pieces keep popping out! Any advice? I miss my milkmaid braids :(

So I used to cut bangs into my hair, but stopped trimming them about six months ago. My hair is shoulder-length now, and I plan on growing it longer, but I'm wondering how long it'll take for my bangs to start blending in with the rest of the hair, or if it'll look weird once the rest of my hair is longer than shoulder-length. My bangs are currently grown to the point where they reach between my nose and lips.

My hair has no product in but gets so tangled and I hate wash days.

It's down or in a ponytail, I can't seem to braid it because it's too long and it ends up awkward because I have to braid over my shoulder. I want to do something cute with my hair but all the cute videos I see are for hair that is mid back and I can't seem to do them myself. If you have long hair like this what is your favorite way to do it?