Yes. Some wouldn't consider my hair long, but I do because its the longest its ever been in my whole life.
As a child I had very short, brittle hair. Sometimes it would fall out in patches. My mother tried all kinds of things, baby it and so on but I just never retained hair. I don't blame my mother for it at all. She had a heck of a time trying to do soemthing with my hair. I stayed natural until highschool and got my first geri curl (ooo man I feel OLD!)
Not really sure WHY that was but my hair never got past my ears.
Even after adulthood I couldn't get my hair longer than ear length until now.
After I shaved my head (I was in chemo for 8 months) I didn't relax for a complete year and still, couldn't get past ear length. That was in my mid/late 20's.
I seriously thought my hair would just never get any longer no matter what i did or tried. I was somewhat resigned to that fact in many ways but still felt there had to be something I was missing.
I felt kinda doomed until I found this place to be honest with you. Once I started reading here, things started to really click. Before I even joined I was using quite a bit of the techniques I saw on these boards.
Once I applied the things I learned here, stayed on a consistent and simple schedule (and made some small oopsies along the way) I started to really retain the length.
I started seeing that wow, my hair WAS growing, and I could actually keep it on my head instead of in the sink on the floor.
And wow it looked pretty! I didn't realize I had so much hair!!! I didn't realize how THICK it was or even that it was actually strong and didn't break off in my hand!
I've had lots of wow moments since I've been here..this place and the people here are a blessing.
I also had to temper the wow moments with some serious common sense. Unlike some ladies here, I can't wear my hair out daily, though I wish I could. I do give myself a break from buns but buns have really helped me a lot.
For me, Lye is a no no cause it eats my scalp alive. Sure, no-lye can be drying but you have to know how to deal with that. I learned what moisterizer was the best on my head for my situation. Phyto isn't for everyone, but its sure for me! Its the relaxer I'll continue to use as long as I can find it and they don't screw with the formula.
Oils..well... I do have to take care that I don't use the wrong types of oils. Some oils make my hair hard as a darn rock!
And of course, I tried to jump on the Aveda band wagon and my hair totally started to rebel. I listened and went back to what worked.
So many of the ladies here are very inspirational to me, and though they don't know it, they've encouraged and helped me along the way.
Even though we all have unique situations, we do have a common bond. Plus, the amount of hair knowledge here is phenominal!
This place is just wonderful like that. its one of the reasons I keep coming back
-A