Before LHCF, when I got to X length, ___ happened.

[BeautifulRoots]

I stayed at bra strap length for a long time...my hair would always break off at that length. I wasn't taking good care of my hair, didn't moisturize my ends, didn't deep condition, didn't keep protein and moisture in check, I was flat ironing exclusively so I would flat iron the ends almost daily to have a curl on the ends...smh...Not good, but glad I learned better.

 

[CurlyMoo]

Before Cathy Howse and LHCF, my hair has always either hovered above SL or reached APL. If it wasn't for CH I would have never done the internet search of Black ladies with long hair to help confirm that there are some out there. The next 2 months will be crucial in confirming that my regimen is working. I'm a little nervous.

Here is why I had problems obtaining healthy long hair:

1. No daily moisturizing - Had no clue until my sister with the waist length hair told me that was apart of her regimen. Whenever I questioned my abilty to grow to my waist, my family usually blew this off to her having a "different grade of hair and her always having long hair." Nevermind the fact that she had her days of fried and dyed days. I tried using the same products (QP Elasta) and my hair hated it. So I stopped trying.

2. Dry broken ends - always had little broken hairs on my shoulder and on the bathroom sink. Thought it was normal.

3. Gullible hairdresser misshaps - I was always either too trusting of hairdressers or we argued over what I wanted. Frequently, I arrived APL but left above SL. I never realized that it didn't really take 3 inches to find split ends. My very last appointment left me heartbroken. I had APL natural hair that I went in to be texlaxed and that fool full on relaxed my hair and that was the 2nd time it happened (different hairdresser). I will never let another hairdresser near my hair. Unless they want to be drop-kicked.

4. No protein conditioning - Never knew anything about it till I read Cathy Howse's book. Whatever you think of Ms. Howse she is a pioneer in this new Black haircare revolution. This was the begining of hair harmony.

5. Too much direct heat - Curling iron, flat iron, pressing comb and no heat protectant. And that's all in one day. erplexed Now I am completely no direct heat except for once or twice a year WITH HEAT PROTECTANT to show length.

6. No deep conditioning - Had no concept of why my hair needed to be deep conditioned.

Ok, I think that's it. Happy Hair Growing ladies, enjoy the journey.

 

[chebaby]

before LHCF my hair was always past shoulder but never apl because the stylist i went to trimed my hair every 2 weeks so it never had a chance to grow.

 

[Hairsofab]

Full Neck length is as far as I got before it started breaking off.

 

[FluffyRed]

I just remembered another part of my pre-LHCF craziness.

My version of "relaxer stretching" would be to leave the bun in and not touch my hair for extra days. You can imagine how jacked up that would look. Then the relaxer would be raked through the hair.

Now I know how to stretch by doing protein/moisture on the demarcation line every three days! Yippee!

 

[Ganjababy]

I was scissor happy and kept cutting at shoulder length

 

[**SaSSy**]

When I was in my teens the longest my hair ever grew was APL, and that was when I use to go to the salon every 2 weeks and get my touch-ups ever 6 weeks. I thought grease was moisture, and there was no such thing as too much heat back then, and getting the stylist to tell me trimming will "help it grow" .

 

[MissMeWithThatIsh]

My hair would go a little past SL and then I would get bored and want to go natural...wanna perm.... wanna color it all types of reds/browns and blacks... and just NOT let my hair be. Then I would need to chop it and start all over.

 

[BeautifulFlower]

When I hair reached past shoulder length (maybe 1 or 2 past), I put in highlights. And color and relaxer in my opinion are never a combination for growing hair (unless its henna or indigo and maybe bigen). Other than that, my practices werent terrible actually. I would stretch relaxers with sew-ins because I preferred to wear sew ins as a protective style. When my hair was out, it stayed wrapped and I always had some serum in it. I washed my hair once every two weeks. So my hair grow and retained but never to the degree it does now. But if it grew any longer, I would have probably burnt it off with heat.

 

[Evolving78]

my hair was doing pretty well when i came here. i just love sites like these. i started taking better care of my hair around 2001-2002. my hair got to apl length in 05, and then i had it cut off for the fun of change. i started growing my hair back, then i decided to go natural in 07. i learned a lot about caring for my natural hair that year and now i have learned that heat is not my friend when it comes to being natural. so i'm back to square one and just taking care of it as much as possible. i also learned that bleaching and doing a bunch of different colors on my natural hair is a no no too.

 

[vainღ♥♡jane]

At BSL, I never dc'd and my hair was underprocessed. I started to flatiron multiple times a day without heat protectant and it fell off. Oh well. Then I did a BC.

 

[ProjectWLhair]

The longest my hair has ever been is b/w sl and apl and very thin. I never had that thick hair everyone raves about. I def think i was overprocessed with my relaxers. I remeber before i found LHCF, i read Cathy Howse.. I use to relax, dye and flat iron the front of my hair (because the rest was in a weave) all in the SAME day!! smh.. My front edges were about 1 inches long, maybe less. And I ALWAYS wondered why is never grew. Like I never thoughT it was because I was frying it away.. I thought it was because I had " bad genes" LOL

 

[Janet']

As an adult, my hair would gravitate from shoulder to armpit length, but never anything longer (except when I was younger- like 14/15)...I think that scissor happy stylists hurt my hair- I know that I would get to a certain point say close to arm-pit length and then 3 inches would surprisingly need to be cut...Now, I've taken trims into my own hands and with me babying my hair, I know that I can reach my hair goals...

 

[NJoy]

Before LHCF, when I got right around APL, I'd decide I needed a new look, get it cut, colored or whatever. Didn't matter. I mostly wore a single ponytail anyway and I hated that. Cutting it would keep me from putting it easily into a ponytail. So then, I'd get lazy and do two french braids. It would grow back and then I'd start whining again. Being in Atlanta, it's hard not to see cute precision cuts and fly colors everywhere and not want to look great too. How exciting is a single busted ponytail?

 

[Whimsy]

Before LHCF when I got to BSL/MBL I would always cut my hair!

(i didnt even realize this, my SO and my mother both told me the same thing)

Now, here I am at BSL closing in on MBL and itching for the scissors. but NOT THIS TIME!!! I wanna see how long I can healthily get!

 

[LadyPaniolo]

My hair would get to anywhere from SL, CBL or one time even APL, and then the ends would get white dot breakage like crazy. They would just snap off, constantly. I remember my BF in high school saw all my broken hair on his pillow and said "All these hairs are like 2 inches long. What's up with that?" I was so embarrassed. I'm so glad I found LHCF!

 

[prospurr4]

Before LHCF, I got past SL, but not quite APL, and then I fried it off with extreme heat w/o heat protectant (what's that?) and by running the relaxer creme down to my ends...and leaving it there for 30 minutes! When I came here, my nape was tore up and my length was a bit past neck length.

I am so grateful for finding the site. I am amazed by the length that I have attained, and even more surprised by the health and thickness.

 

[BostonMaria]

before going into the hair forums, when i got close to APL my ends would split and my hair would always fall out. Or I wouldn't ever pass that length.

I realize now it was because of overlapping relaxers AND because of going to the hairdresser every week. When I used to do my own hair back in the day my hair always looked good. Don't know wtf I was thinking.

 

[EMJazzy]

My grandmother grew and maintained my hair at MBL, when I took over my own haircare it broke off and never got pass SL...I would perm my hair root to tip every 5 weeks, never used any conditioner (thought it was a waste of money) flatironed my hair almost daily, kept a bottle of pink lotion in the house....my hair was a H.A.M. Thank God for LHCF.

 

[equestrian]

I was armpit length, maybe a little farther and it broke off to uneven shoulder length due to overprocessing.