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Although Limbo is not an official doctrine of the Catholic Church or any other Christian denomination, theologians from medieval times loosely defined Limbo as a temporary state a soul might enter before being green lighted into heaven or hell.

Believe it or not, many people experience their own form of Limbo when it comes to their hair challenges. 

There are 9 types of hair limbo many people may experience at some time in their life.

Although there is not a historic or official term for hair limbo, in general it means a time when your hair is on the edge of heaven and hell.

Hair Fringe - A Type Of Hair Limbo

A good example of a type of hair limbo is the forehead fringe.

When a fringe is first snipped into place, cut correctly it can snuggle perfectly against the forehead and fall in beautiful harmony with the eyebrows.

When a fringe grows past a certain point it is on the edge right before it extends to the point where it becomes a type of bang hell. The fringe may take on a life all its own and become increasingly difficult to control.

During the time the fringe is in hair limbo, hard decisions must be made regarding whether to have them trimmed or suffer the hair hell of growing them out.

Growing out a long fringe to the point where it merges with the rest of the hair can literally take many months.

List Of Hair Limbo Situations

Although I'm sure there are many hair limbo situations besides the fringe limbo, listed below are some of the most common:

1.  Hair color limbo - When gorgeous custom created hair color grows out to the point where the roots are just days away from sliding into the bad root re-growth zone.

There's always that limbo time when the roots progress from borderline to over-the-top bad.

The key is to figure out when the roots have passed out of limbo into hard core hair color hell.

2.  Chemical straightening and/or relaxing limbo - Bone straight chemically treated strands offer many with natural textures a temporary vacation from constant hair challenges. 

Hair limbo may begin when the chemicals begin to wear off and hair starts to bend, pouf or spasm out of control.

The limbo progresses to hair hell when mostly straight strands are encroached upon by a halo of frizzy, curly, coily or kinked roots.

3. Growing out a horrible hair cut - From the moment anyone sees a horrible hair cut in the mirror they've most likely entered into their own hair limbo.

Whether someone is trying to grow out a bad haircut, grow out an awkward length or just grow their hair longer, it can be a frustrating time.

While it's always possible to exit from bad haircut hair limbo by shaving all the hair off or investing in fusion or clip-in extensions, there are limited options. 

Usually the best option is patience and a box full of hair accessories which can help with the awkward growth stages.

4.When fusion extensions are getting stranded - Even when fusion style hair extensions are meticulously maintained, there's always the hair limbo moment when the bonds start to fail.

Even the biggest celebrities such as Britney Spears and Jessica Simpson haves suffered through the embarrassment of leaving behind a trail of falling strands. 

The key with hair extensions is to figure out the best way to maintain them so they last as long as possible without slipping into a type of hair hell.

5. Transitioning to natural texture - This happens for some people who decide to embrace their natural hair texture.

Whether this means learning to embrace natural curls, coils or kinks, the transition time can be an ongoing hair limbo.

For some, hair limbo may even feel like a type of hair hell, until the transition period settles in and a new care system is established.

6. Going gray - Some people decide to embrace their gray, silver or white strands and stopcoloring their hair as a result. They may go through hair limbo as their natural color grows in gradually from the roots.

The gray hair limbo can be challenging for some people since the gray growing in at the roots may be a long and tedious process.

For most people, their hair grows 1/2 inch per month. Gray hair may also grow in with a rainbow of colors rather than just one primary hue.

Some people decide to speed up the gray hair transition by asking their hairdresser to color their hair a shade which blend with the incoming gray. 

Others decide to hang in there and just patiently wait it out.

7. End of hair product life cycle - If you've ever found yourself hoarding bottles of shampoo, conditioner, hairspray or hair dye you know what I'm talking about. I went through this myself when my beloved ARTec products started to disappear after the company was purchased by L'Oreal.

The actual period of hair limbo may begin when every last drop of the hoarded hair product is gone.  At that point the long and challenging process of finding a substitute product begins..

Sadly, due to the long economic downturn which has been occurring for the past few years, many hair care products are no longer manufactured with the same quality or mix of ingredients.

As a result, some people may find themselves in an extended hair limbo while searching for replacement lines.

8. Hair loss - Whether hair loss begins gradually over time or happens overnight, there is a period of limbo when the causes and solutions are being sought. 

Hair loss can occur due to a wide number of reasons ranging from aging or hormones to chemotherapy, thyroid disease or drug side effects. 

There may or may not be an instant or easy cure. During the time a solution is being sought, the hair is definitely in limbo.

9.  Recovering from hair damage - There are many reasons why hair becomes damaged. 

Once it happens, there are limited options ranging from having all of the damage removed to undergoing intensive conditioning treatments.

Damaged hair may be in a limbo state for months or even longer as the strands slowly heal and recover.

Summary

Limbo can also be defined as a status where something is held up or and nothing can be done until another action happens. 

Hair limbo is a temporary state many people may experience during different times when their hair is transitioning from one situation to another. 

 Images Courtesy Schwarzkopf and CBS, all rights reserved