Reasons Why Your Hair Has Only Gotten To Apl And You've Been Here 3,4,5,6+ Years?

[DarkJoy]

Any little sign of breaking and I chop. Its insane. I did 2 bc to about 2" since lhcf and one deep trim. Always happens at that no man's land between SL and cbl.

I have vowed to only use the scissors for seek and destroy and dusting this year .

Its very difficult.

 

[CaraWalker]

im bsl now, but i had a setback in 2011 that took me from apl back to sl again so i kinda had to start over.

 

[cynd]

I wish I knew.

 

[BrickbyBrick]

Here for all the forums. But I am also pretty lazy with my hair.

 

[CaraWalker]

also i think we can let go of that 6 inches a year thing. its clear most of us don't grow hair that quickly.

 

[Brwnbeauti]

3 haircuts including a BC. I don't think I grow 1/2 inch a month- maybe 1/3inch

 

[InBloom]

- had no clue about moisture vs. protein conditioners and I was giving myself protein overload all the time.
- finally learned about proper protein use, but was using the wrong kind of protein for my hair. continued protein overload at that point.
-got really serious about taking better care of my hair, jumped on waaaay too many bandwagons. that led to setbacks
-cut off my hair and gave up on growth altogether.

renewed interest in hair care and growth at the beginning of this year. doing a lot less experimenting. keeping with products that give me consistent results.

 

[movingforward]

The longest I ALLOWED my hair to grow was BSL; but I was relaxed.

Then I decided to become natural and BC. Don't remember the length, before I cut again.

But I cut my hair at least every 1.5 years. IDK, but it's only hair.

I may allow my hair to grow to BSL again. But who knows.

 

[Realhairdontcare]

Was bsl in 2013 but when I started transitioning to natural I wasn't taking care of my hair like I should and got severe breakage which took me to sl. Now I'm almost back to apl with just a lil bit of relaxed ends left.

 

[isawstars]

I keep switching between my natural hair, texlaxed and relaxed hair. I've made it to armpit twice but I would like to get to waist but I kind of want to transition again.

This is me. Everytime I get to APL, I get bored with waiting for it to get longer so I cut. OR I decide that I "miss being texlaxed" then I "miss being natural."

 

[tuffCOOKiE]

I keep breaking up with my boyfriends and think I need a "fresh start"

 

[krissyhair]

My hair is still apl after all these years for cutting too much.

High school I wanted to look like Rihanna.

College I wanted to have a scissors in the mirror moment

Grad school I thought moderate trims 3x per year would be helpful, but if the stylist trims a modest 2 inches every time, there goes my whole 6 inches for the year.

I'm going to take the advice of Terri LaFlesh and not trim anymore. She never cuts her hair.

 

[NICOLETHENUMBERONE]

also i think we can let go of that 6 inches a year thing. its clear most of us don't grow hair that quickly.

@CaraWalker
I've measured my growth and it is about six inches per year. I think a lot of people do get six inches but did you actually measure your hair over a certain time frame or guestimate that your hair doesn't grow six inches a year.

 

[CaraWalker]

@CaraWalker
I've measured my growth and it is about six inches per year. I think a lot of people do get six inches but did you actually measure your hair over a certain time frame or guestimate that your hair doesn't grow six inches a year.

MOST OF US

 

[levette]

My top 11 excuses
1. I'm lazy and stopped doing protective styling consistently or moisture/oiling combo, or pre-pre-poo, co-wash, wigging it.. - I need feminine styles to feel womanly as part of of my mid life crisis and a granny bun ain't cutting it.
2. I love my blow dryer/ flatiron and use it about 2x a month all over my head
3. My various hairdressers cut off my raggedy ends back to shoulder blade length every year.(sometimes 2x a year)
4. I kinda have given up and just want to maintain my hair health and hair thickness
5. Waist length is a dream goal...I have more pressing issues than waist length hair,,, like my family and my life
6, Shedding is too frequent in my life
7. Braidouts used to be my go to style but now I'm just too lazy to do that too.
8. My hair growth rate has slowed down as I age.. But I have reached bra strap back in 2010 when I had a male hairdresser.
9.In real life, I still have more hair than 95% of the women my age that I work with , run into, are friends with ,etc., I don't want them to feel bald. j/k
10. I stay on the entertainment board, off topic board, and have neglected to read the hair care forum like I used to.
11.. The thrill is gone , maybe I have reached my hair terminal length, but I still love long hair and will get there slowly or just daydream about it and come and looked at the bra strap, waist length people and tailbone length for motivation and hair porn.

 

[Subscribe]

So, is it it that you think 4's don't get 6 inches a year ? I think the majority of 4's do. I believe retention is a factor for 4's. Challenge anyone?

 

[MomofThreeBoys]

I have bad hair. Yeah, I said it. Some people have bad skin, others a weak stomach, I have bad hair. For the first two years on the board, I followed everything religiously, moisture, protein, protective styling, the whole nine. I never got past shoulder length and never got over breakage issues. I've come to accept my hair requires extreme TLC and lots of attention and time, time that I refuse to give. I have three kids, a husband, and I travel for work weekly. At this point in my life, I refuse to give my hair my precious time. It's just not worth it to me. I still love the board and refer people to it. I think I am unusual in that I have extremely coarse and extremely fine hair that is very delicate/weak.

 

[locabouthair]

Lots of setbacks with relaxers (hair broken down to the scalp), slow grower (only 3 inches a year which I'm very sure about), then decided to BC and wore a boy cut for 3 years straight because I was tired of dealing with my hair. Now I'm growing it out again and I'm hoping to stay natural. I don't see myself straightening it much (because I'm fearful of stylists) therefore I'm not pressed about length like I was before. When I first got to this board I wanted APL soooooo bad. Now I just want my hair to look cute, be healthy and low maintenance. Like someone else said I have other pressing issues and I don't want to spend a lot of time on my hair. I will still moisturize and limit heat.

 

[bebezazueta]

Joined in 2010 with layered relaxed SL hair. I got to waistlength in 2013 but it was thin. Decided to transition to natural and now I'm almost to APL stretched and will grow forward from here.

 

[DarkJoy]

3 haircuts including a BC. I don't think I grow 1/2 inch a month- maybe 1/3inch

Yep. I get 1/4" a month unless im taking vitamins and supplements by the fistful.

 

[B_Phlyy]

@CaraWalker
I've measured my growth and it is about six inches per year. I think a lot of people do get six inches but did you actually measure your hair over a certain time frame or guestimate that your hair doesn't grow six inches a year.

I did once. I bleached my nape blond to dye it purple. The purple faded, but the blond stayed until I cut it off. I let a whole year go by before measuring and I had 3 3/4 inches of new growth attached to the blond before snipping.

 

[ItsMeLilLucky]

I just barely made it to shoulder length. I'm too lazy to do my hair, now it's in Braidlocs. Maybe in 5 years I'll renegotiate.

 

[locabouthair]

Yep. I get 1/4" a month unless im taking vitamins and supplements by the fistful.

This is what I usually get as well. The only time I get more than that is when I go to Miami. I think the humidity there makes my hair grow much faster. Even my old hairdresser noticed it one time.

 

[k_enitan]

I have bad hair. Yeah, I said it. Some people have bad skin, others a weak stomach, I have bad hair. For the first two years on the board, I followed everything religiously, moisture, protein, protective styling, the whole nine. I never got past shoulder length and never got over breakage issues. I've come to accept my hair requires extreme TLC and lots of attention and time, time that I refuse to give. I have three kids, a husband, and I travel for work weekly. At this point in my life, I refuse to give my hair my precious time. It's just not worth it to me. I still love the board and refer people to it. I think I am unusual in that I have extremely coarse and extremely fine hair that is very delicate/weak.

THIS!!!

I don't know why it is taboo to say it, but the fact is some people do have bad hair. ..and no its not the texture. It is usually a combination of factors e.g having a combination of very low density, thin/fine/brittle strands, troublesome scalp and super slow growth.

I have Sebopsoriasis combined with low density...or I should say the condition reduced my density, also very fine/strands in places and I barely grow 3-4 inches a year. Please note I said GROW not RETAIN.

But what I find the most interesting is that you can literally section my hair into good n bad...I think the follicles in those secrions are damaged or I just genetically grow bad hair in those sections.

Anyways, life goes on.

 

[discodumpling]

Made it below APL several yrs ago and then LIFE happened. I had a baby girl and decided that her hair was far more important than mine. I let someone other than my Mama or my Auntie put their hands in my head and suffered a serious set back to my hair line! Two + years ago I chopped down to a TWA and loved it so much I stayed in that lane for awhile with bi weekly trims Now i'm on the grow out again and am a little past SL. but it's work and i've been day dreaming about chopping it all off again!
Throughout all of this I am still taking care of my DD's hair. We're currently hovering right above WL. But it's work!! Thick and nappilicious...her shrinkage is INSANE!

 

[CaraWalker]

So, is it it that you think 4's don't get 6 inches a year ? I think the majority of 4's do. I believe retention is a factor for 4's. Challenge anyone?

i think that the 6 inches a year theory is based on white women's hair. and basically literally almost nothing else about white women's hair applies to the average black woman's hair so why would we believe that as gospel? people act like they are afraid to question whether something really is true even when it never plays out in real life for them. people on this forum follow hair advice consistently and long term that obviously does not work for their hair, but never stop to question whether it's actually "true" or not.

 

[CaraWalker]

also fyi to answer the question more directly, i grew my hair out with sew ins. back to back for two years my hair was never exposed to manipulation or heat damage so i retained every inch of it. if my hair grew 6 inches a year, it would have went from SL to BSL in those two years. it grew back to apl, then took another 2 years to get to where it is now. people are saying they're stuck at SL because their hair grows slowly and they have setbacks/cuts that lead to retention issues, well this is how i manage my retention, and my hair isn't crazy longer than theirs. just by watching my hair as it grows it's obvious it isn't growing six inches a year.

 

[nothidden]

@CaraWalker
I've measured my growth and it is about six inches per year. I think a lot of people do get six inches but did you actually measure your hair over a certain time frame or guestimate that your hair doesn't grow six inches a year.

My growth varies depending on which area I measure. For ex. my crown isn't keeping up w/the rest, but I know I get 6" or more between my ears and directly above my ears.

 

[DarkJoy]

It depends on the 4.

since mine is colored (indigo) black to cover grey i can clearly watch my growth rate. I didn't take my vitamins much last month while it was in crochet. Just barely a quarter inch if that.

I cant speculate about all 4s worldwide but what I know going on on my head is a fact.

So, is it it that you think 4's don't get 6 inches a year ? I think the majority of 4's do. I believe retention is a factor for 4's. Challenge anyone?

 

[Subscribe]

i think that the 6 inches a year theory is based on white women's hair. and basically literally almost nothing else about white women's hair applies to the average black woman's hair so why would we believe that as gospel? people act like they are afraid to question whether something really is true even when it never plays out in real life for them. people on this forum follow hair advice consistently and long term that obviously does not work for their hair, but never stop to question whether it's actually "true" or not.

Are you saying its not based on textured? What about the black women on this board who get 6 inches tho? What about the 23andme results that says most AA have European in them? I'm not saying your wrong or right, just looking for clarity.