Anyone had long hair for the FIRST time after LHCF?

[FluffyRed]

I'm interested in your hairstory.

My hair is so fine that ordinary things like covered rubber bands, relaxer stretching, cotton pillowcases and relaxers would routinely break it off severely, and in big chunks.

The only way my hair would ever grow is being braided, with no rubberbands. It's always been babysoft, fine and super nappy, which made hair stylists attack me with harsh chemicals, making my hair just dissolve.

My hair has never been below shoulder length. But right now, the hairs on top of my choppy bob are 8 inches long, so if the lower hairs reach that length, I will be at least at APL. I believe I can reach my APL goal! YAY!

 

[FluffyRed]

AND what has been the MOST import advice you have learned here?

 

[Evolving78]

my hair was shoulder length when i came here and was apl like a year after until i cut it all off into a pixie cut. i have had major hair cuts since being on here. not because i needed them, but i needed a change. i don't plan on doing any major cuts anymore.

i gained knowledge about natural products and cowashing. before i joined lchf, i was getting rollersets, rods, and wraps to keep my hair healthy and i started using high quality products. i was going to the salon every week and i always slept with something on my head.

 

[melodies815]

I have never gotten below shoulder length. I am between lower neck and full shoulder right now. Breakage always happens at this length. I am curious to see if the strategies I learn here will help me.

I can already tell a difference in how my hair feels, though.

cj

 

[*KP*]

I've never been past APL, I am just about there (again) now. Last year when I first joined I hit APL then had a set back and was back at SL. This time around I have learned from my mistakes and my hair is a lot thicker at this length. If I can hit BSL then I know that it's all down to LHCF, I was hoping that would be by December this year but after that setback, I am thinking by next June.

 

[discodumpling]

The only time my hair has passed SL in the past is when I (or Granny as a child) have been taking care of it. Constant trimming, general mismanagement by "stylists" left me with broken & severely damaged hairAND scalp.
I'm on my way to APL for the 1st time in 14 yrs!
The most valuable thing I have learned on LHCF is (THANK YOU JUSTKIYA!!) to add a pinch of salt to my conditioner. This technique has made me even more confident that I will be able to complete my year long no-trimming challenge.

OP your hair sounds like MINE!! Fine, fragile and super nappy...everything except the "baby soft" I can't claim that! I love it so much! Braiding/plaiting gives me the longest lasting protective styles. Anywhere from 10 days to an entire month in braids means NO to LOW manipulation. It's what keeps my hair growing.

 

[FluffyRed]

The only time my hair has passed SL in the past is when I (or Granny as a child) have been taking care of it. Constant trimming, general mismanagement by "stylists" left me with broken & severely damaged hairAND scalp.
I'm on my way to APL for the 1st time in 14 yrs!
The most valuable thing I have learned on LHCF is (THANK YOU JUSTKIYA!!) to add a pinch of salt to my conditioner. This technique has made me even more confident that I will be able to complete my year long no-trimming challenge.

OP your hair sounds like MINE!! Fine, fragile and super nappy...everything except the "baby soft" I can't claim that! I love it so much! Braiding/plaiting gives me the longest lasting protective styles. Anywhere from 10 days to an entire month in braids means NO to LOW manipulation. It's what keeps my hair growing.

Yeah, fine hair is crazy! I always check my hairs that are shed for the little bulb on the end, but some of the hairs are so fine that I can barely see the hair or the bulb! Scary! If I don't see a bulb, I start doing a light protein treatment.

Congratulations on being on the way to reaching your goals!!

 

[FluffyRed]

I've never been past APL, I am just about there (again) now. Last year when I first joined I hit APL then had a set back and was back at SL. This time around I have learned from my mistakes and my hair is a lot thicker at this length. If I can hit BSL then I know that it's all down to LHCF, I was hoping that would be by December this year but after that setback, I am thinking by next June.

Do you mind telling about the mistake? I'm probably on the way to some mistake...

 

[FluffyRed]

I have never gotten below shoulder length. I am between lower neck and full shoulder right now. Breakage always happens at this length. I am curious to see if the strategies I learn here will help me.

I can already tell a difference in how my hair feels, though.

cj

Yeah, I'm interested, too. Keep me posted!!

This is crazy, but I think I always cut mine at SL. The ends get crunchy and I don't know how to style it. Now I know what to do with crunchy ends!! AND how to style longer hair - rollersets and saran wrapping!

 

[*KP*]

Do you mind telling about the mistake? I'm probably on the way to some mistake...

I was just trying to do everything I learned on LHCF at once. I had stretched for 6 months then decided transitioning wasn't for me. The 6 month stretch wasn't actually bad, I had been doing weekly Aphogee 2min treatments but the time I skipped a week by hair was soooooo difficult to maintain. I decided to relax, my mother has always relaxed my hair but I decided to sit there with strict timer this time (as it says on LHCF ) my hair was soooooooooooo severely underprocessed it was breaking like crazy. I'd touch it and it would break, I'd lie down and there would b hairs everywhere.

I went to my long time hairdresser and asked her to fix it, she did a corrective relaxer and cut off several inches. The next time I relaxed my hair after that, I just let my mum do her thing

I've learned to not jump on every bandwagon out there or do something just because it worked for someone else. I have learned what works for me (but still experiment every now and again) and just try to keep it simple. I also learned that my hair can't take stretching for more than 4 months at a time.

Right now I am deep conditioning weekly, airdrying 90% of the time and have recently started to cowash. My hair is a lot thicker and has not been trimmed since that time back in April. It needs a little dusting but nothing major.

 

[TLC1020]

Before becoming a member of LHCF I didn't have a problem get past SL, however I was unable to reach APL or beyond . When I came to the board I was about chin length b/c I used to where a short style. I always wanted healthy long hair but was never able to get more than an inch or two past shoulder length, it was just shed so much that I was never able to retain my growth.

What has helped me the most is wearing protective styles like bunning, stretching my relaxers and daily moisturizing. Now I discovered that I also must use protein to strengthen my hair as well . I was so focused on moisturizing and didn't really notice I was shedding more than I should and also breaking . I just recently started adding protein to my regimen to balance the daily moisturizing and weekly deep conditioning .

So far so good

 

[Christina Dior]

Before becoming a member of LHCF I didn't have a problem get past SL, however I was unable to reach APL or beyond . When I came to the board I was about chin length b/c I used to where a short style. I always wanted healthy long hair but was never able to get more than an inch or two past shoulder length, it was just shed so much that I was never able to retain my growth.

What has helped me the most is wearing protective styles like bunning, stretching my relaxers and daily moisturizing. Now I discovered that I also must use protein to strengthen my hair as well . I was so focused on moisturizing and didn't really notice I was shedding more than I should and also breaking . I just recently started adding protein to my regimen to balance the daily moisturizing and weekly deep conditioning .

So far so good

you have beautiful thick hair what type of protein products do you use?

 

[MoniintheMiddle]

Prior to joining LHCF my hair would never get past my shoulders....and although it was shoulder length, my ends were SEE THRU!!! When I was a child and had virgin hair my hair was midback. Now, I'm at shoulder length WITHOUT see thru ends. I would be longer but I had a bad relaxer experience and had to cut.

The best things I've learned from this forum is as follows:
1-how to properly stretch my relaxers (my hair thanks me for this and it is a lot thicker)
2-understanding the protein/moisture balance
3-the importance of sealing my ends

 

[Napp]

well ive grown my hair from shoulder length to 3 inches from bsl. i bced to be natural and now my hair is short. its growing out now and im going to leave it that way trimming my texturized ends off. i cant be bothered again with another BC. i want long hair dangit

 

[Ivy_Butter]

The only time my hair has passed SL in the past is when I (or Granny as a child) have been taking care of it. Constant trimming, general mismanagement by "stylists" left me with broken & severely damaged hairAND scalp.
I'm on my way to APL for the 1st time in 14 yrs!
The most valuable thing I have learned on LHCF is (THANK YOU JUSTKIYA!!) to add a pinch of salt to my conditioner. This technique has made me even more confident that I will be able to complete my year long no-trimming challenge.

OP your hair sounds like MINE!! Fine, fragile and super nappy...everything except the "baby soft" I can't claim that! I love it so much! Braiding/plaiting gives me the longest lasting protective styles. Anywhere from 10 days to an entire month in braids means NO to LOW manipulation. It's what keeps my hair growing.

What does adding salt do? This is my first time hearing about this.

 

[prospurr4]

Congrats on your hair growth!

I didn't vote because my hair has been past shoulder length before, but it was a little past neck length when I joined LHCF. My love affair with heat and running the relaxer cream down my ends caused a major setback.

The best advice that I've received here has to do with length retention, like moisturizing/protecting my ends and coating my ends with oil during the relaxing process. These practices have contributed greatly to my current length of full MBL. Before LHCF, my hair was never longer than a couple inches past shoulder.

 

[DaDragonPrincess]

I have always had good length, but hopefully I will have more while i'm here at LHCF.

 

[naturalgurl]

I was grazing APL stretched when I got here, I'm now 1cm from BSL stretched(sounds like I'm scurred to claim it!). That's saying something! My hair would always shed out when I'd get 1/2 inch from APL and then get shorter. Relaxers literally ate my hair.

The most important thing I learned here was CO washing and then reading about the water only method. I know I scream about water only all of the time, but it's so true...at least for my hair.

 

[HeChangedMyName]

I don't consider my hair long, but other people do. When I came to LHCF I was between collar bone and full shoulder length, now i'm between collar bone and APL. I use to do whatever to my hair, but it would get long. I have since learned to protect my ends to retain them. I never had a problem with my hair growing, it was retention that got me in trouble. I still don't bun my hair as much as I need to because I am finally happy with my length, because my hair is healthy. But I still hope to make full ALP- - - - -eventually

 

[RZILYNT]

I always sported a short bob.

But wanted to grow my hair to see if it would grow long. So before LHCF, I was not quite APL and that was the longest it had ever grown before being damaged or cut by a scissor happy stylist.

My hair is at its longest and the longest strand(s) is "can I call this Hip length?" I am happy to have achieved this. Not sure how long I will sport it as I am not as young as many of you gals and I don't pull this off as well as some of you would. I am starting to feel like I want a sassier look as a begin age. So I give myself a couple of more years before I make the decision to cut it.

Will post one pic soon in the Mega Tek thread update for September.

RZ~

 

[chebaby]

my hair has always been grazing apl but i wouldnt say it was healthy. i fell inlove with bleach and rinse so that was damage. along with my hair being relaxed. and i was getting a press and curl and trim every two weeks.
now my hair is almost at bsl and i havent had my hair relaxed or bleached in almost a full year. my hair is healthy now. i am going to get a relaxer this weekend but i have amazing products and methods now so i feel really confident. now i wash my hair once a week but i only get trims with every relaxer.

 

[Simply_Kelz]

The longest my hair has ever been prior to LHCF. Was NL, even as a child. What helped me the most was not being afraid of water [I love cowashing], regular DC's, and protective or lo-mani styling.

 

[hairdrama:{]

my hair has always been grazing apl but i wouldnt say it was healthy. i fell inlove with bleach and rinse so that was damage. along with my hair being relaxed. and i was getting a press and curl and trim every two weeks.
now my hair is almost at bsl and i havent had my hair relaxed or bleached in almost a full year. my hair is healthy now. i am going to get a relaxer this weekend but i have amazing products and methods now so i feel really confident. now i wash my hair once a week but i only get trims with every relaxer.

Wow! how do deal with your new grow and the double texture when you're a year post?

 

[vkb247]

I have always been able to grow my hair to just below my shoulders before it would start to break off like crazy. I know now that wearing it out and having it brush against my shoulders was a big part of that. I have always been the type of person to take care of their hair for awhile then get tired of it. So the best thing I have learned from LHCF is protecting your ends with protective styling, baggying, and extra attention to the ends. I was also really glad to learn that it was ok to stop shampooing because I was always afraid of water because it took like two days to restore my moisture balance after shampooing. Even hairdressers were amazed by the way they would put half a bottle of moisturizer in my head and it seemed like almost nothing. I was always fighting for proper moisturization before LHCF and my wonderful natural products.

 

[RegaLady]

I always sported a short bob.

But wanted to grow my hair to see if it would grow long. So before LHCF, I was not quite APL and that was the longest it had ever grown before being damaged or cut by a scissor happy stylist.

My hair is at its longest and the longest strand(s) is "can I call this Hip length?" I am happy to have achieved this. Not sure how long I will sport it as I am not as young as many of you gals and I don't pull this off as well as some of you would. I am starting to feel like I want a sassier look as a begin age. So I give myself a couple of more years before I make the decision to cut it.

Will post one pic soon in the Mega Tek thread update for September.

RZ~

Hmmmm, very interesting! How long have you been growing your hair?

 

[dany06]

When I got on this board I was a little past shoulder length but indeed my hair did grow after joining. My only problem is that once I get a decent length I do something drastic and basically kill all of my progress. All I can say is that I wish I could have found this site a year or two before I actually did.

 

[hairdrama:{]

My hair would always grow one or two inches past SL and then I would get thin ends so I had to end up cutting it back to SL again.

The most valuable information I found here it’s gotta be the continuous deep conditioning, limited heat, stretching my relaxer and using protective styles.

 

[Divine_Order]

I always sported a short bob.

But wanted to grow my hair to see if it would grow long. So before LHCF, I was not quite APL and that was the longest it had ever grown before being damaged or cut by a scissor happy stylist.

My hair is at its longest and the longest strand(s) is "can I call this Hip length?" I am happy to have achieved this. Not sure how long I will sport it as I am not as young as many of you gals and I don't pull this off as well as some of you would. I am starting to feel like I want a sassier look as a begin age. So I give myself a couple of more years before I make the decision to cut it.

Will post one pic soon in the Mega Tek thread update for September.

RZ~

Don't touch those scissors!!! If you are looking for a change , more sass...try some long layers.

 

[ParvaniVida]

The longest my hair has ever been prior to LHCF. Was NL, even as a child. What helped me the most was not being afraid of water [I love cowashing], regular DC's, and protective or lo-mani styling.

Thanks for posting this! This gives me inspiration. My hair has never really grown below neck length and when I joined this forum I started to believe that my hair could indeed be longer. I've realized that a lot of my length issues were attributable to things that I was or was not doing (e.g., not moisturizing, not protecting my hair at night, not using the right conditioners...neglecting my hair). It's crazy because I get negative feedback from some of my friends...why are you washing your hair so much? why are you sitting under the dryer so much? why don't you flat iron your hair? But...I figure six months from now when I have some good results everybody will be on the bandwagon!

 

[NigerianGirl]

I must say that LHCF has helped me alot. Before LHCF MY hair would not go past my neck. It was like I was stuck there in that length for 2+ years. LHCF helped me correct the problem and do what was needed to get my hair on track. As of date, I am grazing BSL Then again, I have MASSIVE new growth so the length of my hair may change. Anyway thanks ladies...you have been an inspiration