ur baby is so sweetRight back at you!Ever since Delta called me back to work, I've been really busy. I've been doing a lot of international trips since summer and it's proven hard to stay on top of the hairboards.... Sigh.... I've noticed so much has changed.
Alright, Ladies! By request, here's an update... I know people have been like, "Whatever happened to AJD?"
I am a type 4a/4b... possibly even 4z!!! LOL!
This was taken in 1994... one of at least 2 big chops so you an see my hair in its natural state.
A Relaxer snapshot from over the years...
On the wagon, off the wagon... I'm pushing myself again.... this is the last relaxer shot from December 2007... need a new one now as I'm 4 months post relaxer....
I sure miss the good ole' days... shout out to all the people who were around when I started my journey back in 2003... Allandra, Vev, LondonDiva, Adrienne0914, Faith, Dontspeakdefeat, SweetNicJA, FoxyBronx and TONS of others too numerous to name... hopefully we can all catch up. Maybe a LHCF meet and greet like we used to have back in the day? Why did I not stay on the bandwagon? Surely I would have been waistlength by now!!!
Will do!
Awwww... thanks!
Hey there... when I wrote this thread waaaaay back when, it was because a lot of people with my type hair 4a/4b were going through periods of discouragement with the rate of which their hair was growing or even the length. Growing up as a child, I never really saw people of my race with my hair type have long hair... it was usually the type 3's. I love my hair! Once I've come to realize the proper way to treat it, I realized that growing it longer wasn't as hard as I thought. It's still presents it's challenges, don't get me wrong, just because it is more fragile. It snaps easily and needs to be handled with kid gloves. We would believe at first glance that it's really strong and "tough", but our strands really need the TLC. I've been going back and forth between lengths. I would have thought I'd have been at waistlength by now... however, setbacks occur. Why? My hair is "fragile" and sometimes rebels against certain things I may do. This results in me having to get a trim to rid myself of my thin ends. That was the purpose of this thread... encouraging people that though it may seem difficult for us to get the longer length, we can... not as a European standard, but simply because we are capable and aspire to achieve longer lengths.
As for the chart, the number actually indicates the amount of curl or wave one has in the hair. I believe the letters deal with the degree of coarseness or even diameter.
Here's a pic of my last relaxer... The way I see it, I should have been longer by now. It would be easy to be discouraged in that I set a certain goal and have not reached it, but I am reminded by this thread that patience, perserverance and protection will get me where I need to go....
Do you see why it would be easy to be discouraged? My avatar pic was taken November 2004 and I've had to use that as my motivational pic... after I reached that length, I slacked off and took everything for granted... it would get longer, than shorter, then longer, then shorter. Here this pic was taken last week and I look basically almost the same length... all due to negligence. I'm back on the wagon now though.
When I started realizing that I would be better off if I worked with instead of against my hair, things started to improve.
Great!
Thanks for the update, it is good to see the "lil papa" siggy again
I think you and Kinikakes take update photos with the same background
I'm a 4a and I thank you for sharing your experiences. I also thought that women with my hair texture would have a next to impossible time trying to grow "long" hair. You are so right, even though we might have to take special care to promote hair growth/health, it can be done! My hair journey has just begun, so I don't have any dramatic pictures or stories to share. Even though length isn't my ultimate goal, I've been having lots of fun learning how to take better care of my hair make the most of what I have.
By the way, I'm tickled by the idea of having rebellious :210: hair.
This is such an inspirational post from you, on many levels.
I don't type my hair, but from what I've seen/learned from this board, it's 4a/b/3c mixture. I looked at some of my recent hair pics and felt really down as there wasn't a drastic difference from what it looked like a year ago. But like you, I got too comfortable, stopped doing the routine which grew my hair long fast, and paid the consequence- having to cut off about 6 inches in total. Now I'm back on it like whoa! I've gone back to no heat, moisture everyday, vits every day and lo-no manipulation. I am convinced that it is possible to reach my MBL goal by the end of the year. It's threads like these which serve as reminder that very long hair is achievable if we apply ourselves.
Thank you for your encouragement.
lets be real.. i been spreading the word.. 4a/b hair is extremely difficult to deal with, knots, combing creating damage, etc we ALL know how our 4a/b hair works.. i was so dead serious about no chemical relaxers and being natural, and that making me feel so strong and proud.. like seriously but after 6yrs of ups and downs, i fail into a down febuary of 08.. lol 
the point is i went texlaxed and i have been extremely happy, i still got the natural characteristics but my curls are looser and when my hair is wet OMG!!!! beautiful waves and u can see every curl.. i just love it.. 
do you have any pic of the texturized hair?
i actually decided to rock my hair to give it a break from braids and sew in and take care of it, let me tell you i cried plenty of nights, i started to hate my own hair.. it was a constant battle. so i started thinking about relaxing it but i just couldnt allow my hair to be bone striaght.. lets face it the thick, bushy afro and seeing how long your hair is after a press out was inspiring, but it was a short term feeling AS SOON AS SOME DAM WATER HIT IT, OR A SWEAT BEAD, OR HUMIDITY.. ahhhh!
