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Sorry for what you’ve been through. Happy to hear you are getting better! First of all you’re too hard on yourself. Females don’t need long hair in order to be feminine..try look at pinterest/youtube collages and videoes about girls and women with hair loss, thinning hair, etc. I understand it is difficult and can be traumatic to lose your hair...but hopefully it will get better, maybe read some inspirational articles and empowering stories from women that have dealt with temporary/permanent hairloss, it may boost your confidence, inspire you and find out there’s many ways to be feminine. Here is a youtube video from Vogue where 9 women tell their truth about life after hairloss.

Second, we don’t know your background or the medicals issues that caused this so we can’t tell you the outcome. You should ask your doctor.

I can suggest some products for shampoo and conditioner. As far as supplements/vitamins, what nourishes the hair, along with skin and nails, is plant silica. It is found naturally in some veggies, fruits, seeds, grains etc. like cucumbers, artichokes, asparagus and leafy greens like kale and spinach. Plus in teas like dandelion and nettle leaf. There are also wonderful herbs that There is siliplant and Gaia Herbs silica that are good supplements to take. Talk to your doctor about incorporating it into your diet.

You can also try playing around with different types of hats and caps, I really love headbands ! So many ways to wear it, different colours and fabrics/patterns plus it looks cute and feminine.

If these things don’t make you feel feminine maybe try the things that normally would make you feel feminine, like a nice lipstick, or pretty earrings or a cute dress, whatever is your style. Alternatively you can try a wig ofcourse.

Good luck to you, hope some of this can be of help and that you feel better soon. Take care

Here’s an example of a good curl smoothie! It’s just usually full of good things for curly hair, used like a leave-in, I just rake it into my hair directly after my shower before I squeeze out the excess moisture with a towel, super easy. Just helps with moisture and other benefits, keeping your hair from getting frizzy and keeping it nice and soft! You might also like trying out deep conditioners once a week or so, too. You just put it on in the shower, put a shower cap over your hair instead of washing out, and then do the rest of your shower stuff and wash it out last. Gives your hair protein and other good stuff, the shower cap helps the deep conditioner penetrate your hair by keeping your head heat in, it works best with “heat”, even natural heat.

Best of luck! You look super cute with your curls right now, so it can really only get better from here, haha.

Sorry for the late reply, I flit about on here a little.

Layering is a bit of a loose term honestly, you can cut layers with all sorts of techniques, but in general, they'll be throughout the cut. You'll want to explain to your stylist that you want layers so that you can gain some width and they will understand. On your part your biggest decision and important words to tell your stylist would be do you want heavy/choppy layers or something softer? heavy would be something like this: http://imgur.com/PERuGWY (square layers). Softer would be something more like this: http://imgur.com/A6E6zSz (triangular layers). Don't worry about the terminology too much, heavy/choppy, or soft would be the key words to remember.

As for bobs.. That depends how short you would be willing to go.. Forget the cut as a whole, these are just to give you examples of the overall look: http://imgur.com/a/E0NNg The first and second are not really so different, but the first is 'choppier' than then second, its mostly styling, but probably that first one has had deep point cutting most likely. The third is just an example of something shorter.

The key to all of them is giving that width. You'd gain this by layers taking the weight off the length and allowing the hair to lift up more. You can gain width in other ways too, even without cutting. I recommend you to buy a cheap curling tong or wand and having a play with that. You don't need anything fancy and tongs can be really cheap. Putting some waves into your hair will help to give it texture, but maybe waves aren't for everyone. Another way would be to blowdry it with your head upside down, that's a home favourite. The other "correct" way of doing this is to lift the roots as you dry it, which is exactly as it sounds. As you dry either use a brush or you can just use your fingertips to grip the hair and pull it up and away from your head by the roots, or just push the hair up. This will hopefully give you a little more root lift, but it won't solve the problem of the weight of the hair pulling it down naturally.

As far as products go.. you could try a root lift/volume powder, but some people don't like them: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bed-Head-Invisible-Micro-Texture-Powder/dp/B005SHUDSO/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1464201513&sr=8-10&keywords=volume+powder
These work by applying to the roots of your hair and they basically just cling to the shaft and thinken the hair allowing you to get root lift easily. Some people don't like them and it's fair enough, because they sometimes can look a bit grimey and get a bit claggy, but they are effective. It's one of those things that can work for you or not I think and there's only one way to find out.

Anything you would like me to clarify just let me know, I'm aware I'm throwing a lot at you here. Hair gets easier the more you mess about with it so you'll get to grips with it soon enough. You're lucky that you have long hair to practice on whenever you like :)

SPIN PINS. They are the miracle you've been waiting for. I have mid-length thin hair, but they were recommended to me by a former coworker with the waist length, thick beautiful hair. All you do is swirl your hair into a bun and then 'screw' the twisted bobby pin through the bun. IT took me a couple times to figure out how to get a tight hold, but once you figure that out you are gold! And the best part is that when I put my hair up when its a bit wet, I have the most beautiful wavy curls when I take it down later!

The Goody brand pins are great, but expensive for how many pins you get. I only need one with my shorter, thin hair but my friend definitely used two for a stable bun. I've also bought these off-brand pins which are exactly the same thing for way less. I bought those in a gold metallic color and I haven't noticed any chipping or other aging marks on the metallic paint.

Do yourself a favor and try them out. I promise you they are magic!

Your hair looks super thick and healthy! So kudos for that. I would suggest that you get a copy of this book and follow her recommendations. It will change your hair. I was given a copy of it five or six years ago and I've never looked back. My hair went from frizzy mess to beachy waves. I didn't know it was possible!

Some tips I've learned along the way:

• Don't use a brush. Ever. Use combs, and only when your hair is wet. I comb my hair in the shower, either while the conditioner is in or just after I rinse it out. Then I don't comb it again until the next washing, unless I'm planning on braiding it - then it won't matter if I comb the waves into fluff because it'll be tied back anyway.
  
  
• Don't blow dry it. All that does is create more frizz. Let it air dry, and before you do, scrunch some product into it that is designed for curly or wavy hair. If you must blow dry your hair, use a diffuser on a low heat setting; it's much more gentle.
  
  
• Don't tousle it dry. Squeeze it gently.
  
  
• Switch shampoo and conditioners. Find a brand that is SLS-free. I love Live Clean; it's got a full range of products for all different kinds of hair needs, and they're all SLS-free. That stuff is super hard on your hair - very drying. Curly hair is a bit on the dry side to begin with; increasing the dryness by using what amounts to dish detergent on your hair isn't going to do it any favours! Your hair may be a bit oily/flat looking for the first few weeks while your scalp adjusts; if you currently use shampoo with SLS, your scalp is accustomed to producing extra oil to replace the oils that are being stripped from it by your shampoo. It takes a few weeks for it to "catch up" and get used to not being stripped dry. Don't give up! It will get better; if it doesn't, then it could be that the shampoo is leaving a residue on your scalp and it's time to find another SLS-free brand (been there, done that - Jason Naturals left my hair looking super gross because of the residue it left on my scalp).
  
  
• Shampoo only your roots. Leave the ends. Having suds rinse over them when you rinse the shampoo out will be enough to clean them. Scrubbing them with shampoo disrupts the curl pattern.
  
  I would also suggest a trim...you look like you could use a couple inches taken off the ends. Curly hair does well with layers. Also, you should totally get on the blue dye idea!! It would look awesome. The ladies at /r/fancyfollicles could help you with that. Plenty of 'em have wild hair. Manic Panic makes awesome dyes...Atomic Turquoise is my favourite! If you leave it in for a few hours the colour lasts a good long time.

My hair is a lot shorter than yours, so YMMV! Yours sounds lovely, bet your friends are right that it looks nice natural.

I get relatively beachy waves using Not Your Mothers Beach Babe sea salt hair cream - my daily routine is to wrap my hair in a towel for 5-10mins after shower, then rub in some kind of anti-frizz/smoothing/shining oil, some kind of color protect cream, then either NYM beach babe (for tighter waves) or Matrix boho chill (for softer/looser waves).

Apply through length - maybe apply upside down if you want more body - flip back up, scrunch, and don't touch again til it's totally dry.

Then I usually brush through it and I'm good.

It's not beachy waves like what you see on magazine covers and when you google "beachy waves" as that style really can't be done without heat, but it's the best I can do for my wavy hair. I got sick of spending forever blow drying and straightening my hair, so I went cold turkey on using heat and started trying to embrace my natural hair.

I also only shampoo once a week - when I was shampooing daily I HAD to straighten my hair because it was a frizzy disaster otherwise. I gave up daily shampooing about a year or so ago, and only started wearing my hair wavy about 3 months ago. I don't think I could have stuck with it if I hadn't done in that order, so if you can't find any non-straightening easy styles that work for you, maybe you could try that. I just scrub my scalp with water every day and usually shampoo with a mild conditioning shampoo on the weekends.

Absolute best of luck to you, hope you find a look what makes you happy but I'm 100% sure you look amazing any way your hair is done! :)

Hey! I’m a fellow natural redhead. I’ve colored my hair more times than I can count so I thought I might be of some help to you. I’ve never been good at pinpointing what shade of red my hair is, maybe more coppery than auburn, so hopeful this will still be helpful.

I find that natural red hair is pretty accommodating to pink and red shades, but purples and blues tend to wash out quickly. When I used to color my hair, it was always 10x more vibrant when I bleached it beforehand. Without bleaching your hair, you won’t probably won’t have a super vibrant color, unless you’re doing a dark purple, which would still look really nice.

The only color brand I’ve ever used for “unnatural colors” has been Special Effects . It’s always worked really well, the color is super vibrant, lasts forever and is made using vegetable dye so it won’t harm your hair.

I can add some pictures of my natural color, as well as pictures of it bleached with pink/purple over it and red/pink over my natural color, if that will help to give you an idea of what to expect. Unfortunately I never did a full head of purple hair, almost always went for pink.

I got my hair cut a few weeks ago and I love how my stylist curled it (see photos). With the new cut, my hair is longer in the front and has layers in the back. My stylist used two curling irons (1 inch and a smaller one, maybe 3/4 inch). I have a 1 inch curling wand but I just can't get my hair to look like it did when she curled it! I can't seem to get the curl close to the roots like she did and I'm so frustrated. I've watched many youtube videos but I can't get it to look right. Does anyone have any tips for getting this look? I've been curling away from my face, but should I alternate? Is my curling wand the issue -- should I buy a curling iron? I'm considering this Conair one and maybe the 3/4 inch one as well because they're cheap and have good reviews.

I would also love product recommendations (especially heat protectant)! I currently use the Kristin Ess Weightless Shine Working Serum (it's good but not amazing) and the Loreal elnett strong hold hairspray (I hear flexible hold is better for curling?). My hair is naturally wavy and frizzy, and I typically blow dry my hair before curling. I'd prefer drugstore or Sephora recommendations. Thanks!

You have a super pretty face! I think you'd look great with short hair. Generally, I think that girls that like how their hair looks pulled back will like how it looks short. If you don't like your hair in a ponytail or pulled away from your face, even if it looks good, you'll probably feel self-conscious.

But in my opinion, it'd be adorable!

I, personally, like longer sideburns like this. I think it frames the face better.

Make sure to get a hairdresser that is good at cutting pixies though! If he messes up then you'll probably have to wait to grow it out, since it's so short and drastic. Mine was nervous about cutting my hair too short, which was a total mistake at first- it was kind of fluffy and frizzy. He cut it down to 2-4 inches next time because he knew I was serious.

I'd say get some cute hats, bandanas, and headbands. It can take a little while to adjust to styling it, and I found that mine got frizzy sooo much easier once it was short. If it's wet and it's windy out, it'll definitely get messed up. Either carry a small brush with you to fix it up once you arrive someplace or throw on a hat. I bought this one for growing my pixie out and love it. I wish I'd had it before.

I've got a few suggestions for you, some of them for products and some for hair-related changes:

1. How long is long? If your hair is down to your mid-back, for example, it may be hard to get products like those I'm going to recommend to do a lot for you, simply because the weight of your hair is pulling it flat. Taking the length up a few inches could do wonders for you.
   
   
2. Wash every day. Or, wash without conditioning. I know, I know. This goes against every rule anyone has ever given you about washing hair. And it might not work, but try it. My logic here is that your hairs natural oils are probably weighing your hair down. You might get a little more volume and body to your hair by changing how you wash. Either a) washing every day, which will decrease oiliness day to day, or b) only condition every other wash, which will decrease moisture and smoothness to your hair.
   
   
3. Use a mousse before letting your hair dry. This can help you build some volume from roots to ends. I like R+Co Rodeo Star and Living Proof Full.
   
   How to use it: after washing and towling your hair dry until its just a bit damp, spray a dollop into your hand and work through the hair from roots to ends. Then, give a quick blow dry or let it air dry. Ruffle it with your hands, brush, basically do whatever you have to do so that it gets to the point that you like it. Then:
   
   
4. Hairspray. There are tons of youtube videos on how to use hairspray. For you, I'd recommend Living Proof Perfect Hair Day and Kristin Ess Beach Wave Spray, if you want a beachy or just different look.
   
   Hope this helps!

I swear by these no-heat curlers. My hair isn't nearly as long as yours, but there are some people in the reviews who look like theirs is. I put them in 30 minutes or so after I shower when my hair's a little damp, and it dries in perfect curls that keep all day. Hope it helps!

Blue shampoo (overtone makes one) would be better to get rid of the orange than purple shampoo which is for yellowness. I use this shampoo in platinum for bi-weekly brightening but I think the blue shade on the ends would bust the orange right out. Don’t leave it on for longer than 5 mins though or you’ll risk your hair actually being blue. I also really, really recommend the platinum one if you want a more cool, ash toned platinum — my hair is naturally a bit red so it gets brassy so easily!

Per my stylist’s advice to me in the past, you can also try blue/purple dye on the hair for like 30 seconds and wash it off right away

PS they sell this shampoo at ultra so if you use the blue just once to get the orange out you could return it for a refund lol 🤷🏼‍♀️ gotta be resourceful!

My hair is similar to yours, and about 7 months ago I got really tiered if my go to dos "down and natural," messy bun," and "sleek sock bun." I also got really tired of every morning trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my hair, so I decided to have a hair "uniform." Every work day my hair is the exact same.

I part to the left (always have), twist the right side (bangs) into kind of of a Dutch twist and bring that back to a low ponytail behind/below my right ear. For the left side I just smooth it back and join it in to the low pony.

From here I'll braid the pony tail and roll it up into a bun and secure with a spin pin

This works for me as a simple, quick, everyday, professional look. I felt like my hair was too long for the look I wanted to present professionally and made me look much younger than I am so an updo was my best option.

I do also love a sleek sock bun

Good luck!

My favorite products so far for maintaining very light hair are Pravana's purple conditioning mask and Keracolor's clear shampoo.

https://www.amazon.com/Keracolor-Color-Clenditioner-Platinum-Fluid/dp/B07CBB9MB4/ref=sr_1_fkmrnull_3?hvadid=77721794730283&hvbmt=bp&hvdev=c&hvqmt=p&keywords=keracolor%2Bplatinum&qid=1555971998&s=gateway&sr=8-3-fkmrnull&th=1

https://www.amazon.com/Pravana-Perfect-Blonde-Purple-Toning/dp/B01DFKEVBA/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=pravana+perfect+blonde+mask&qid=1555972139&s=gateway&sr=8-2

YES you absolutely can. Try this:
https://www.amazon.ca/Schwarzkopf-Igora-Royal-Colorists-Copper/dp/B003YKB9U8

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Schwarzokpf Igora Royal Copper

It has no lifting ability, only deposits color and lasts about a week. https://www.amazon.com/Keracolor-Clenditioner-Depositing-Conditioner-Colorwash/dp/B072HX5ZZS/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=233WYYEV1CU91&keywords=keracolor%2Bclenditioner&qid=1566316607&s=gateway&sprefix=Kerac%2Caps%2C190&sr=8-1-spons&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEySENIUzRIVUpGRFFLJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwMzUwMjc5TzNBMVk2TjQ1RzJEJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTA4Njg4NjgzNzROTUtGVDhWQkdHJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ&th=1