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

[FluffyRed]

What happened to keep you from reaching your maximum length before you found LHCF?

I had it in my head that shoulder length was my "terminal length" - probably programmed by some stylist who was looking out for her money and not my hair.

At shoulder length, I tend to bun, because I have a short neck and I don't like fullness around the neck on me. Longer than SL would be fine - never got there. In the process of bunning, I would sometimes just ball up my damp or humid hair and it would be knotty and crunchy when I took it down.

The change I am going to make is to bun and detangle carefully, baggy, and maintain the protein/moisture balance. I believe I can surpass shoulder length.

YAY!!

 

[feelfree]

before LHCF, when i got to past APL/almost BSL, my ends would revolt, break off and split.

i always would wonder if i should overdose on moisture for my ends, but never did it.

when you know better, you do better.

 

[Likeyouneverseenme]

My ends would break off the minute I hit APL because I didn't know I had to moisturize or wrap my hair when going to bed

 

[foxieroxienyc]

Well my hair always grew to shoulder length and then broke off like all hell because I didn't know what I was doing. Running relaxers from root to tip... Daily HIGH HEAT! I remember there was a point when I would use a flat iron (with burnt plates) to straighten my hair and the room would be FILLED with smoke. If I had a smoke alarm in there, it surely would have gone off. LUCKILY, the hair I was frying was a weave, but the hair in the front/sides/back that I left out were being beat the hell up. But even before that, daily heat, no serum... Using rubber bands to pull my hair back. Blow drying my hair with the fine tooth comb attatchment. Thinking that seeing GOBS of hair in my brushes and combs were normal....

I did however use conditioner! So that's a plus.... But I also greased my scalp.... lol.

Oh yeah and lets not talk about the time when I thought it was cool to glue in tracks to my own hair.... I was a teenager...

 

[bellezanegra826]

I would get braids to protect my hair from myself, but when I took them down, I had a lot of breakage and would basically have less progress than when I started.

 

[JessCNU]

Two words.... BROWN GEL..... I might as well have dunked my head in a tub of alcohol. and I cringe everytime I think of burning my ends with a hot curling iron with NO serum or protection.

 

[hopeful]

Before LHCF, when I got to neck length, my hair would break off. Whenever I saw someone with hair that covered their neck I would be in awe. Now I know that stylists (and I) were leaving the relaxer on my nape area for two long, treating it like it was strong, resistant and thick, when in fact it was dry, kinky, weak and fine. Going natural and giving it tons of conditioning/moisturizing/gentle handling made a big difference. When I recently texturized I only left the relaxer on the nape area for 5 minutes, it still gets extra moisturizing too.

 

[Poohbear]

My hair reached armpit length about 10 years ago when I was a freshman in high school. My mom took care of my hair. All she did was use relaxers, shampoo, grease, blowdryer, and curling irons. Sometimes she would rollerset my hair and leave the curls in. Then a year later, my mom took me to Fantastic Sam's and got my hair layered and shoulder length. I grew my hair back out to armpit length, and then I started taking accutane in 2003. After taking accutane, my hair shedded excessively and thinned out. So I decided to cut my hair to chin length to make it thicker. Then I found LHCF in 2004 and grew my hair out passed shoulder length, and then big chopped my hair to natural in 2005. So that's my story before LHCF.

I'm pretty sure if I had never gotten my hair cut, my hair would have been much longer than armpit length.

 

[cottoncoily]

I would always get to apl and then have to cut to shoulder because of split ends. I never moisturized my hair, always used heat and always wore it down.

 

[gymfreak336]

My hair would barely pass my ears because I was up early with my gold n hot curling iron with a bottle of pink oil every single day, just burning it into submission

I am surprised I am not bald today

 

[Lavendar]

I got a little past shoulder length and wanted to see if I could grow longer, but my stylist told me I had reached my "genetic" length. I kept asking her not to cut, just trim. Her idea of a trim was a cut. Then I decided to get highlights...over and over...then lost most of my hair.

 

[JustKiya]

Heh. Dye, scissors, and Halle Berry envy.

 

[Eisani]

Pre-LHCF I was honeyblonde and scissor crazy. I never used oils of any kind and used heat almost daily if my hair did hit APL I just figured it was time to cut again. Layered SL was my bff

 

[pazyamor]

cut it, dyed it, split ends, anything anybody else said and more...oh yea, my junior year of highschool when my hair had been pretty long for the last two years (probable WSL) I got it caught in my moms car door and a huge chunk came out, pretty much bringing me back to APL, I got frustrated, cried, and chopped it all off to chin and it's never been the same...so that's my story

 

[dcprdiva]

My hair was APL then I cut it off when the short Halle Berry/Toni Braxton look was in style... Then it grew back and I just kept cutting it at bob length...

 

[neonbright]

Before LHCF I got to a little below BSL. Because I wasn't sure how to style my hair I would get it cut to a length I could manage then, which was SL. How I got to right below BSL was years of corn rows, braids and a good stylist, I was in Hawaii, just found out I was pregnant with my first child and braids were my answer and I wore them for about 3 to 3 1/2 years. Now I am BSL and do not want to get any longer.

 

[skipper]

consistent breakage, before lhcf my hair had been sl since i was 12 PATHETIC. i remember when i first found the boards i stayed up all night just reading and reading i was mesmerized.

 

[Kneechay]

I remember in undergrad I would wash every friday unfailingly and flat iron without protectant, but with grease and pink oil and a cheapie flat iron. I'd self relax with the cheapest relaxer at the time from root to tip. My hair became discolored to some weird brownish/red and my natural hair is black. I'd get to shoulder length and magically, without cutting, it would retreat back to neck length until I saw a picture of my hair (the first in my siggy) and had to make a change.

 

[discodumpling]

Before LHCF my hair would brush my shoulders just a bit before I started with the brown gel and TIGHT pony tail. Constant self and stylist abuse kept my hair below SL for YEARS.

With all my hairboard knowledge I am confident that my hair will get to great lengths.

 

[FluffyRed]

great stories! Any more?

 

[TexturedTresses]

before lhcf my hair would grow between shoulder and apl... then it break off or be "trimmed" off

 

[sexyeyes3616]

Honestly, before I found LHCF when I got to SL their was always some scissor happy stylist who I let talk me into allowing them to "trim" my hair and always ended up with an 1" or 2" cut off. So therefore I remained at neck length or SL, pre-LHCF. So I do my own trims and dustings now and because of that my hair is the longest it has ever been.

 

[Candycane044]

Before LHCF, when I got to shoulder length my hair would break off. I was allowing my stylist to put the relaxer on from root to tip..not knowing any better. In addition, I wasn't moisturizing with the right products. My hair was a mess!

 

[HoneyA]

It would get to Sl or just a bit past but never any longer than that because the stylist kept cutting off progress and I had serious breakage. I moisturised but still always had breakage (probably because I never knew it needed protein!). I never wrapped my hair in a satin cap either before LHCF.

 

[mahogany_horizons]

My hair would always go from bsl to apl or sl b/c I would have split and dead ends and have to trim for damage. I heave now gone from SL in around Feb 08 to almost bsl (probably will be when I relax) in two weeks. For me, growth, and length have never been a problem...BUT RETENTION and health have. I am so glad I have learned the secrets, air drying, minimizing direct heat, regular trims (for me I need micro trims/dustings, otherwise I have split ends) protein and moisture balance, washing twice a week, and DC with or without heat.

THANK YOU LHCF

 

[SlantedEyezMiss2003]

Before LHCF, I had apl, but my hair was so dry, and I NEVER thought that black women in generally could grow their hair pass the shoulders(I was young and so close-minded, forgive me ladies), my hair seem so thin though......and I damaged my hair so bad, that I needed to trim(which is a cut), so trimming, wrong products, being uneducated on our hair, and not researching enough kept me from growing long hair, but I just started wanting long hair.....my hair just never grew pass my armpits, because I never let it grow, also I think brushing was slowing me down.....but I'm happy I found LHCF.....my hair is in the best shape ever......

 

[prospurr4]

When I got past SL, my hair would rub along my collars or shoulders and break off. Wearing protective styles...what's that? Anyway, I was not only not moisturizing daily but also using that "firm" wrap foam on my hair weekly. I used to love how that stuff would make my hair hard, because then I knew my curls would last the whole week. Thank God for LHCF.

 

[Determined22]

I would get to SL and then that was it. I was a faithful blowdryer/flatiron user, and would flatiron everyday. I also wore my hair down everyday, so my ends were constantly rubbing up against my clothes.

 

[gissellr78]

Trims trims and more trims...My hair has always had a healthy length.

 

[ebonimama]

Before LHCF, I was a very unhealthy sl. I touched up every 6-8 weeks. Flat ironed and blow dried my hair into unhealthy submission. I regularly combed and brushed my hair and got regular trims (read cuts) from my hair stylist.