Do you really believe you can do this?

[the_UnPrettiest_pretty]

At this point, I'm 110% positive I can reach my goal. I wasn't always tho.

Girl, I believe you can reach your goal too.....................nice work on your weight loss. Congratulations, that is amazing!!!

 

[BostonMaria]

Great post...

I do believe I can reach my hair goals...having that positive attitude is very important. You have to visualize yourself being at where you are trying to go in order to get there.

I completely agree. I do believe it takes faith to keep going. Because you're basically believing that you will have what you can't see yet. I know that I will be at the hair length my idols are at (Cichelle, Chicoro, Flowerhair) one day, maybe in the not so distant future. At 37 yrs old I know what dumb things I've done to my hair that caused setbacks so I'm not going to do those things again. I see it the same way as losing weight: you need to have a goal, will power, faith and consistency in order to get the results you want. If you try to take shortcuts it doesn't work.

 

[Blessed_Angel]

Hey, Loca, I honestly believe that if your scalp is healthy and does not have any disorders it can and will grow healthy. The main thing is retaining growth. No matter what I've done to my head/hair, it's always grown back. I've learned the tricks and stuff needed to retain growth.

I do believe that I can grow my hair because I always have. Even when my mother gave up on my hair saying that my hair was "unruly". It wasn't; it just needed love and care. And I learned to give it that when I was 11, and had no one to do my hair for school. I braided my hair myself. And my hair has only been thriving since.

You know about the ups and downs I've had with my hair. And my main thing was always about retaining length. I've always had my hair moisturized, and I only had breakage when dealing with relaxers. I am still learning about what is best for my hair, but yes, you can do whatever you believe you can do. Your hair will always grow; you just have to retain the length (if your hair didn't grow; you wouldn't have to get touch-ups).

I just cut my hair to SL, and I know I'll be back to APL probably by the end of the year. My hair grows faster when I cut it. Everyone is different. Please pay attention to what works for your hair. One of my biggest lessons on here is that what works for everyone else just doesn't work for me (like doing protein often ). And that is fine with me.

I wish you the best Loca. I know you've been on this journey for a while; and have experiences many setbacks. Please don't give up, and keep trying to find what works for you. I wish you nothing but success and happiness.

Did you order the Vatika Frosting yet?

 

[cutiebe2]

at first I believed I could grow my hair but I could not imagine it...
For a while it grew like crazy and then when it reached the longest it usually gets (collar bone length. It slowed down (or at least it appeared to). Now my hair is approaching APL and I can finally picture it as long (BSL)

 

[Solitude]

I have faith, but my problem is patience. Time is another factor. I know that if I want to reach my hair goals, it will require a lot of work, but I have so many other things going on. LHCF has made me realize that spending time on my hair is making time for MYSELF and that's okay.

 

[bbdgirl]

Before I came to this board I honestly didn't know that black women could grow their hair, just like all the other races do. I thought my hair had always been about apl and that was it. I NEVER thought that I could possibly grow my hair as long as Aaliyah, but since I been on this board I have seen women of all hues and hair types growing their hair. So for me that was a wakeup call---I can grow my hair. And as I sit here typing my hair is reaching the bottom of my brastrap and is definitely the thickest, healthiest and LONGEST that it has ever been.
I think that if it is only genes that allows one to acheive great lengths then my hair should have been MBL years ago, cuz I know that I have a nice quality type of hair that I really like and I have had white women gush over my hair type, but my hair never grew past apl on it's own. I have only been able to acheive this because I am believing in myself and my hair and I am working to acheieve these great lengths. It is happening. My hair is getting longer every day, I have no idea what my terminal length is, no I am just gonna see how long it gets.

 

[girlcherokee]

You're exactly right. Thanks for sharing that because people don't get it. IF you focus on what you don't want and give your energy to that, that's what you'll get...what you DON"T want. If you focus on what you want and keep your focus there no matter what, giving all of your energy to it, that's what you'll get...what you WANT. I know my hair will be healthy, beautiful AND long, it's getting there day by day!

ETA~ IT's a great day to be alive!

yup and i am living this out in my life in soooo many areas! this is so true. what makes hair different from anything else? one thing to point out - when you look at all of the cultures around the world that have long beautiful(not talking about grade but talking out health and shine)hair, notice that culturally for many years they put allot of effort into it. using herbs, and really making hair an important part of their life. do you think it is a coincidence that they have allot of hair? just genetics? if that was so, then why does the use of ayurvedic herbs exist for hair? why does the use of native american herbs exist for hair? why did they bother? maybe, originally for the same reason we are exploring this stuff now. because they wanted something that they did not have at the time, and perhaps, just perhaps what we see now is the result of that effort. i believe that people can accomplish anything they put their mind to. anything. i dont believe in limits. ask me a limit and i will tell you it is only a matter of time. if you could travel to the future, to see the wonders you would be shocked no doubt at what mankind is capable of. if you could go back, you'd be shocked, no, appalled at the simple stuff we just didnt know - 100yrs ago. stuff that was laughed at as impossible. remember the sound barrier? no plane could fly faster than that without disintergrating! it was impossible! it was, until one man believed it wasnt and then acted on that belief. and uuuummm who was that, who talked about faith the size of a mustard seed? hmmm? might that be a clue?

 

[Cichelle]

I think, a lot of times, that's the hard part about growth. How long have you been growing, Cichelle? Almost 5 years now? How long has FlowerHair, Irrisistable, Velvet, Sonce, etc been growing? YEARS - and those were years of steady, consistent regimes that worked for THEM.

This is an excellent point.

I did the big chop just over three years ago, but I transitioned for 14 months before that. So yeah, I've been growing my hair for 4 years and 4 months to be almost exact. It sure didn't happen overnight.

 

[Duchesse]

Sometimes I push my hair goal length back and tell myself, APL is just fine with me, even though I really want MBL. It's outta frustration or simply lack of faith that my hair will ever really grow that long. But most of the time I try to remain positive and no one knows how long I am really trying to grow my hair, or how long I'm willing to wait ,I don't need extra negative energy.

Length is going to come regardless, despite my setbacks. Keep hope alive!

 

[Lady Esquire]

Deep down, yes, I believe it. I visualize it daily. I cut off my hair down to a few inches, in the Fall of 2005. Now I am sneaking up on MBL.

Setbacks would sometimes try to steal my confidence, but I would get back on that bad boy, crack the whip, and turn things around. I had dreds knotted up in my hair, one time I had whole globs that had to come out due to tangles, etc... And then, I got serious, and started to read old threads , pay more attention to technique, and then BAM, a light bulb turned on, and its been shining since.

ETA: this hair thing, the process, is one that can be transferred over to other areas of our lives: health, finances, career, etc... the focus, the patience, and the initiative = it made me sharper over all.

 

[JustKiya]

Deep down, yes, I believe it. I visualize it daily. I cut off my hair down to a few inches, in the Fall of 2005. Now I am sneaking up on MBL.

Setbacks would sometimes try to steal my confidence, but I would get back on that bad boy, crack the whip, and turn things around. I had dreds knotted up in my hair, one time I had whole globs that had to come out due to tangles, etc... And then, I got serious, and started to read old threads , pay more attention to technique, and then BAM, a light bulb turned on, and its been shining since.

ETA: this hair thing, the process, is one that can be transferred over to other areas of our lives: health, finances, career, etc... the focus, the patience, and the initiative = it made me sharper over all.

Fabulous post and excellent point. The whole thing, but especially the bolded. Sometimes it can be more than just hair that's affected by this hair 'thing'.

 

[hairdrama:{]

Fabulous post and excellent point. The whole thing, but especially the bolded. Sometimes it can be more than just hair that's affected by this hair 'thing'.

ITA with what she said, and take it one day at a time, keep a hair album so you can go back and check for yourself how far you've come. Visualize your goal, focous and be patient, no one ever lost 50 pounds in 2 weeks so you can't expect you hair to do what you want overnight. Set realistic goals and you'll be able to show the world you can do it .

 

[Miss*Tress]

Oh no!

Please be patient. Just keep taking good basic care of your hair. We ALL feel discouraged or doubtful sometimes.

Thanks, Cichelle. I'm trying, but it's taking so long!

 

[MJ]

Yes. I can, and I'm getting there .

My biggest challenge is being patient and being consistent with healthy and effective hair care practices. I'm mastering both .

 

[Kurly K]

I believe that I can do it most of time. Sometimes I do get a bit discouraged because I have so far to go. But when I look at other people's fotkis (Cichelle!) I know that it can be done.

couldnt have sed it betta twin!

 

[Irresistible]

I think, a lot of times, that's the hard part about growth. How long have you been growing, Cichelle? Almost 5 years now? How long has FlowerHair, Irrisistable, Velvet, Sonce, etc been growing? YEARS - and those were years of steady, consistent regimes that worked for THEM.

I KNOW my hair can grow - but it's going to be a slow process. I've been growing for two years, and I'm just shoulder length. I've set the expectation in my mind that it's going to take at least TEN YEARS (of consistent, correct hair handling) to see the amazing length that I want - and with that in mind, it makes it easier, honestly, to stay inspiried and focus and secure.

This isn't a quick process - that what weaves are. This is a long term thang, and the longer you are shooting for, the longer it'll take - and the more dedicated you have to be.

This is very true! and I had some major set backs in there too, always gotta account for possible mishaps, hopefully the less of those one has the better

you have a good expectation because if it doesnt happen fast enough for some they meet with major discouragment and give up and NEVER know where they could have ended up. I am 'still' growing 'i THINK' lol ...we shall see

 

[Irresistible]

I don't think I agree that if you don't believe your hair will grow, it won't. If you take care of your hair then, barring some health or scalp issue, it's going to grow regardless of what you think. I'm pretty sure about that. But I do agree, as someone has already said, that if you believe your hair will grow, your more likely to do the things you should for it. Plus, being positive makes the journey so much better.

I'm writing this because I know there have been times when I didn't feel positive about my hair or that I was doubtful and that was difficult enough. But then I got worried that these feelings and thoughts would negatively affect my hair and that made everything ten times worse. (Btw, I'm pretty sure my hair kept growing throughout all of that.) It's normal to have doubts and negative thoughts. I think its important to make a commitment to just continue to take care of your hair and try to be patient, even when you feel like you can't reach your goals.

Now that I've said that, I've always done a lot of visualization. I imagine myself with my hair at my goal length. I think that's really helped make me more patient and motivated about reaching my goals.

I fully agree with this whole post

 

[~*Tigget*~]

Now that I am equipped w/ powerful knowledge I believe I can do it. Even though i have never had it, doesn't mean its not possible. Alone I had no clue. I understand though w/ everything, there will be challenges, but then I know if I keep faith and proper practices I will benefit in the end.

 

[SelfStyled]

I do believe that I can do this- But I just started to believe it was possible within the last 2-3 months. Setback after setback left me so discouraged. You can do this Loca. Be true to thine own self - what I mean by that, is take those pictures even if it just for your own personal viweing. The reason I say that is because sometimes we need to see the proof that our hair is growing. I consider you a hair twin in many ways. If I can do it you can too. My progress is slow, but hey slow and steady wins the race sometimes. Take a close look at you regimen, and see if there are any changes you can make to see some improvements.

 

[RockCreak]

I truly believe that I can grow my hair. I always could as long as I set my mind to do so. I never really let it grow past shoulder before, now I'm almost APL- Just about a good inch away. I just wanted you ladies to know that you are part of my inspiration and support as well as my mother. She's not even trying to grow her's but she's almost BSL. All she does is wash, cond, and were a single cornrow down the middle of her hair and tuck it under. Old school, yet it works for her.

Maybe I need to go back to that as well...

Thanks for the support ladies! I truly appreciate it.

 

[Etherealsmile]

great thread! bumping for more responses

 

[Imani]

Yes. I actually have a rather...Idk...relentless belief that my hair can be long. I guess because of all of the proof I've see on here and the science/mechanics of it just makes sense. It grows out of my head, its always growing, no matter what, I can see that. So all I have to do is figure out how to retain it, simple. And thats the big issue tho, some people are going to have to do ALOT more than others to get good retention and thats really the lesson I had to learn.

I've had like 100 setbacks over the years. I've been in like 4 or 5 different SL challenges, only making it once. Never had hair past SL my entire life, and no one in my family has long hair (and no our hair practices really were never all that bad, relaxers were actually forbidden growing up; we just have very fragile dry fine 4b hair). Yet, I'm still unfazed bc I know its possible.

Something doesn't work, I come back, reasses, start over and try something else. I really think this year will be big for me bc I finally gave up relaxers and heat. And have been protective styling ALOT. Back when I first started trying to grow my hair, I wasn't willing to to do these things, and it showed in my lack of results.

 

[aquajoyice]

In the beginning of my journey I struggled with knowing that my hair could retain length. Deep down I had a hard time believing it because my hair always broke off once it hit a few inches past neck length. What helped me was the phrase "fake it til you make it". I pushed those feelings aside and continued to care for my hair with the determination that I knew it was going to be long. And slowly but surely I noticed growth. Once I hit my neck length threshold I ignored the length and continued caring for my hair. Once I passed the breaking point and moved on to unchartered territory couldn't nobody tell me nuthin. Now, I know it's growing for sure but want to eventually be 100% natural. This is an entirely new and exciting journey i'm on. Falling in love with my God given texture and having fun while caring for it.

 

[Janet']

As mentioned before, I try to be positive in all aspects of my life, so this hobby of hair growing is no different...I'm positive about it growing, I'm positive about retaining...it's happening...

 

[Maracujá]

I haven't read the entire thread so I'm just gonna answer the OP's question: yes I do, I would've never gotten into this journey if I didn't believe so. It is very important for you to believe you can grow long hair imo. Just the other day I was sitting here thinking about the fact that I've wanted long hair ever since I was a little girl, and lo and behold today I have what I consider long hair.

 

[mischka]

My hair has already grown much longer than it's been in my adult life. Maybe even longer thn my childhood length now. I'm itching to length check but there's no point since 1. I'm not going anywhere this weekend and 2. gonna sweat it out in the gym anyway

 

[Oasis]

nope. i was very optimistic in the beginning but that's gone to ****. i don't believe in that good hair/bad hair crap but i do think MY hair is bad.*shrugs* no matter what i do it breaks, it's brittle, it's dry, it's dull. i honestly don't see it getting any longer or healthier than it is now. i've almost come to grips with it.

 

[jwhitley6]

nope. i was very optimistic in the beginning but that's gone to ****. i don't believe in that good hair/bad hair crap but i do think MY hair is bad.*shrugs* no matter what i do it breaks, it's brittle, it's dry, it's dull. i honestly don't see it getting any longer or healthier than it is now. i've almost come to grips with it.

This makes me sad.

 

[Etherealsmile]

nope. i was very optimistic in the beginning but that's gone to ****. i don't believe in that good hair/bad hair crap but i do think MY hair is bad.*shrugs* no matter what i do it breaks, it's brittle, it's dry, it's dull. i honestly don't see it getting any longer or healthier than it is now. i've almost come to grips with it.

awww i'm really sorry to hear this

 

[prettypithy]

I believe it but it does require faith. My hair has never been longer than APL so getting to MBL is going to take some time and effort. But last time I was APL, my hair was relaxed, I had terrible hair practices and chewed up ends. Now I'm natural with moisture and not a split in sight--so I believe with healthy hair and good practices, it will happen.