Have you been at this for 2+ years and are still unsatisfied/disappointed

[gymfreak336]

No. Part of me wants to say that I am unsatistified but at the same time, I have come a long way.

When I first started, I was going to a salon every week, not taking responsiblity of my hair. Even though my hair dresser wasn't totally bad, I didn't speak up when I wasn't happy. Then at home, I was ripping through my hair at home.

Despite all of the up and downs with learning how to rollerset, the back and forth between over and underprocessing while trying to learn how to self relax, too much trimming, too little trimming, Overdosing on protein and moisture, too much styling product, too much heat with gold and hot appliances with some grease and oil, no moisturizer, too much oil etc.....and the list goes on, I have still transformed my head of hair.

Now, me and my hair have a good relationship. I know what it likes and I can troubleshoot most of my problems without any hesititation. I am not afraid of anything and I understand what my hair is able to do and what it can't handle. I have learned the balance between enjoying it and protecting it and the future looks bright. Just this weekend, my mother introduced me to a friend at her school and the first thing she said was " And who is this with all that beautiful hair"....

 

[MD_Lady]

Shoot Lexi84, I WISH my hair looked like yours. I've only been here for 6 months, and am still working towards my goal, but I love the advice and support I've gotten so far! As for my hair, a dermatologist's prescription has been instrumental in stopping my breakage, but the tips I've picked up on nutrition, products, and overall maintenance have also helped to improve the appearance of my hair.

 

[Latomian]

YES!!!!! I was able to make it a little below BSL and then silly me decided to get BRAIDS which totally KILLED my hair... I had to chop it all off ...

Well, that being said here we go again...

My hair was doing fine until 1) My old stylist went out of business. She was the best!

2) The new guy I went to overlapped like there was no tomorrow.

3) The lady I went to after him pulled the relaxer through my ends. My relaxed and fully processed ends that needed *no* corrective.

4) I got BRAIDS.

5) After trimming off a good portion, I'm back at shoulder length but my hair is much MUCH thicker now and it shines on its own.

 

[katblack]

No worries only tons of experience that has me nastalgic some days.

BK^_^

 

[MissFallon]

I have been here almost 3 years and I have had every different length. I jumped on a lot of bandwagons and my hair suffered at times. When I first joined I was a little past shoulder length and managed to get to BSL in 7 months. Once I hit BSL I decided to transition and did mini chops for a couple of months. I got close to midback but ended up cutting back to APL...it grew back to BSL and then I did the BC. I thought being natural would give me thicker hair that I could flat iron as much as I wanted to. After 7 months of being natural I flatironed almost weekly and ended up having to keep cutting my hair back to right above APL. I could have been atleast BSL by now, or past waist length if I would have stayed relaxed. I am on the right track now and I hope that I don't have any more setbacks because I want to reach my goal of mid back by June 09. I am currently about 3 inches above BSL.

 

[Evolving78]

i'm mad that i had to cut my hair off again from straightening it. it was growing nicely natural and i had to fall for the trap set by family. i would have had a really nice pony puff by now! i'm cool with the health of my hair overall, just trying to keep it moisturized and happy.

 

[MJ]

Sometimes, but not right now. Since 2002, I've relaxed twice and BC'd a few years later each time. It seems that every few years I want to change my hair, drastically. For a while now, I've been thinking about applying the chemicals again, but I know that if I do I'll have to start all over. I have to keep reminding myself to be patient.

I took down my seven-week old cornrows yesterday, and my natural hair is the longest and healthiest it has ever been in my entire life! I'm still some ways to get to my BSL goal. But if I stick with what I'm doing and be patient, I'll definately get there.

 

[LadyPaniolo]

Oh my God! Thanks for this, I'll remember not to do that....and I was thinkin about getting braids too.erplexed

Please don't be afraid of braids! I've used the Crown & Glory method with great success.

I think the keys to healthy braiding are:
- finding someone who won't braid too tightly
- not pulling the braids back tightly into styles
- deep conditioning faithfully in the braids
- wearing your satin sleep bonnet at night
- moisturizing daily

I bet it looks to some folks like I'd be dancing down the street with joy over my progress. But I actually had a setback that cost me 3 inches at my 1st nappiversary, and to this day I am kicking myself over it.

I'm not complaining, because I have come very far from that 1 inch long TWA. But I still have a long, long, long way to go till I reach my goal of classic length. Sometimes it feels like I'll never get there.

 

[CurliDiva]

I started my hair journey with severely dry hair and a broken off (nearly bald) back (kitchen) area.My hair is now thick and healthy, but I have to admit that I've been disappointed that I have not reached APL yet. It is taking me over a YEAR. It seems like relaxed heads shows the length so much better. Although I'm below collarbone - my hair shinks to ear length. I'm afraid to use heat (to show length because of potential damage) yet I know that my natural hair will never look long without it.Plus I'm tall (5'11") so I literally need more inches to reach APL and then BSL then a shorter girl.

 

[firecracker]

I didn't join the board for hair goals. After being here for a year or so and seeing all the lovely naturally curly haired AA's and my fondness for the wild curly afro look. I decided to do the b/c and go natural March 05. I reached my goal after a year and a half. My goal was the wild curly afro look. I am disappointed I didn't transition from that bad home dye job back to natural or simply relax it in May. Oh well it will grow back either way.

 

[crazydaze911]

I am unsatisfied, but its really no ones fault. im an extremely slow grower. I finally got my hair alittle bit longer, and then realized when i looked at old pics, that its just about the same length it was last year before i got my last trim - so i'm back at the beginning (yes, my hair grows THAT slow). so maybe its my moms fault for giving me her genes
But one thing i am very very happy about is my MENTAL progress that led me to finally go natural. Best decision ever and i thank this board for that. I was in that 'i have bad hair' mode for so long and thanks to this board, i really like my natural hair. i feel like i can condition the crap out it and FORGET relaxers - lol. Cant wait till its LONG and NATURAL.

 

[tocktick]

I definately love love love your hair!!! That was mine before the relaxer!!!!

Thanks so much

 

[tocktick]

Girl everytime I see your natural 4b hair, I'm amazed. Its so thick and pretty and it really makes me want to go natural. My hair would probably look just like yours.

Firstly, your hair looks so pretty in your siggy. And thank you for your compliments!!

 

[fluffylocks]

Sometimes...

I started Jan 2006, the end of December will be the end of my 3rd year, january will be the start of my fourth.

I started with lots of bald spots and like eye/top of ear length hair....

Now im about 3" from BSL with about 70% of my hair. Other part is layers to frame my face. rolleyes:-why?)

All of my setbacks have been from me trying to learn whats right for my hair and experience things.

So If I knew everything I know now back then I probally could have shaved my entire head and been at almost the same place with healthier hair all one length due to no mistakes--maybe even natural, but I know that couldnt happen so I guess its all just a learning experience.

I am truely happy to be this far though. But after I'm at BSL it will probally be another 3 years because I want to transition or grow a new head of healthier hair. This time it will be relaxed though LOL (Eta-meaning I'll be happy with my hair, wear it how i want, trim/cut whenever i want and just get whatever growth/inches i get for the year)

 

[Chrissmiss]

My hair should be 50% longer and 3x as healthy by now. I have been growing my hair since 2004. I used way to much heat, didn't wash & DC often enough, and combed and manipulated too much. It's all my fault so yea I am disappointed.

 

[Lynnerie]

Well, my set backs included being indecisive about what I wanted to do with my hair. I wanted long hair and although my hair grew I constantly flipped between being natural, relaxing, and texlaxing which resulted in a lot of different textures. I would self-texlax and then go to the salon a few months later and they would relax me bone straight. So I would have to trim.

So now that I am transitioning AGAIN, I have learned to set specific goals for yourself and stick to it. Cause you can't be natural and relaxed I had to make up my mind.

 

[claudia05]

I am unsatisfied, but its really no ones fault. im an extremely slow grower. I finally got my hair alittle bit longer, and then realized when i looked at old pics, that its just about the same length it was last year before i got my last trim - so i'm back at the beginning (yes, my hair grows THAT slow). so maybe its my moms fault for giving me her genes
But one thing i am very very happy about is my MENTAL progress that led me to finally go natural. Best decision ever and i thank this board for that. I was in that 'i have bad hair' mode for so long and thanks to this board, i really like my natural hair. i feel like i can condition the crap out it and FORGET relaxers - lol. Cant wait till its LONG and NATURAL.

We're in the same boat...fine hair + slow growth rate= . I just decided not to relax anymore...but its gonna take forever and a day for me to be 100% natural...I'm calling it the long good bye, lol...I'm not transitioning... just growing it out is all . I'm not bcing either (hopefully), just little trims to keep it neat till my real hair is maybe cbl or apl stretched ...giving myself five years ...

 

[Kurlee]

My hair was a little past APL in January 08, and I needed a trim. My mom was too busy, so I went to a highly rated salon dedicated to natural and curly hair. Told her to blow me out and give me a trim of no more than half an inch. Let's just say that when she turned me around in the chair I was a little past neck length in a layered bob. I almost cried, was fighting tears. Needless to say I snapped. My hair has NEVER been that short in my life except for when i did the BC. Well ten months later, I'm back to APL, but i have stupid layers which i HATE. My hair is not fine, but medium, not thin but not dense except for the crown. Translation=layers make my hair look thinner than it really is when straight and it pisses me off! So now, I'm trying to get to BSL and once I get there (the back is slowly creeping there) I will maintain it at this length until it is blunt. After that, on to MBL and then I will be done my journey and will just maintain.

Lesson: Don't let anyone trim your hair, ever! Period. Learn to do it yourself, the end!

Mandatory positive: I have learned so much about hair, products, ingredients that I can diagose my hair, correct problems, etc. LOVE IT!

 

[lexi84]

My hair was a little past APL in January 08, and I needed a trim. My mom was too busy, so I went to a highly rated salon dedicated to natural and curly hair. Told her to blow me out and give me a trim of no more than half an inch. Let's just say that when she turned me around in the chair I was a little past neck length in a layered bob. I almost cried, was fighting tears. Needless to say I snapped. My hair has NEVER been that short in my life except for when i did the BC. Well ten months later, I'm back to APL, but i have stupid layers which i HATE. My hair is not fine, but medium, not thin but not dense except for the crown. Translation=layers make my hair look thinner than it really is when straight and it pisses me off! So now, I'm trying to get to BSL and once I get there (the back is slowly creeping there) I will maintain it at this length until it is blunt. After that, on to MBL and then I will be done my journey and will just maintain.

Lesson: Don't let anyone trim your hair, ever! Period. Learn to do it yourself, the end!

Mandatory positive: I have learned so much about hair, products, ingredients that I can diagose my hair, correct problems, etc. LOVE IT!

Oh my GOD!!!! She woulda heard it from me right then and there. This has happened to me toooo many times in my life, but I was too young and timid to stand up for myself. Thats why I trim my own hair.

 

[Kurlee]

Oh my GOD!!!! She woulda heard it from me right then and there. This has happened to me toooo many times in my life, but I was too young and timid to stand up for myself. Thats why I trim my own hair.

yup, I was downnnnnnnnnnn, because i am natural and a 4a so you could imagine the shrinkage. And I never wear my hair straight or down really, so it was totally impractical for my lifestyle, which I told her before she snipped. I could barely make a ponytail. It was foreign and hard to deal with. Now all I have to do is grow out these layers and I will never let anyone near me with scissors besides my mom ever again.

 

[amara11]

Problem is that I am bullheaded about getting trims- but not as bull headed about REALLY taking care of my ends.

Its okay to trim very little- but people who do it successfully are the ones who keep their ends moisturized, baggy, never sleep without protection on their ends and dust splits before they get out of hand.

I'm really slack on these! Soooo my punishment is a nice little 1/2- 1 inch trim this week. It'll keep me stagnant at APL (which I've been at since May of this year, and my hair grows pretty fast, so I should be much further along). Heck the trim may put me a little above APL . I went from SL to APL in 6 months, there's no reason I should still be at APL. I've gotten toooooooo lazy. KISS is great, just don't let is slip to sheer slackness! lol

I also let my hair dry out too much. My hair is pretty thirsty and I've found a good conditioner, but once I really get into my school/study groove modes, it's so hard to fin the hours during the week to really pamper my hair.

I'm about to really step up my game though for the remainder of the year.....

 

[justsimply]

I voted that I'm exactly where I expected to be only because it's closest to how I feel. I didn't know that I would go natural again and loc again so soon, so it's not what I expected. But I'm very happy with my hair, and pretty much have been since I joined the site.

When I first joined this site in Dec 2006 I was struggling with the idea of relaxing or staying "loose" natural. I had recently (about 7 mths prior) cut my locs. I decided to relax and thanks to advice/tips from this site my hair thrived. And I saw a lot of growth in 2007. But in Oct 2007 I decided that I really missed being natural and I knew I wanted to loc again eventually. I thought I would transition for a couple of years, because I didn't want to go short again. But it seemed people were bc'ing left and right and more loved it than regretted it.

I was still happy with the rate at which my hair was growing, so in May after almost 7 mths I bc'ed then 4 mths later I was locing.

I love the length I've gotten/retained in 11 mths and way my hair feels. Some of my happiness has to do with the fact that I had really missed my natural hair, but most has to do with the tips I've gotten from this site. The best tips? Clean hair and scalp often and less manipulation is best. This so fits my life style. It also makes it easy to look good on those special occasions. I mean to go from a bun (when I was relaxed) or a siggy style (now that I'm loc'ing) to something different is easy. And people think I look better just because I did SOMETHING/ANYTHING

 

[bravenewgirl87]

I've had sooooo many setbacks that its not even funny.... and I'm the guru. I know so much about hair and I still don't know how to appreciate the growth I get. My problem is extreme breakage from tangles and matting.

 

[CurlyMoo]

You know something after reading most of these posts I realized that instead of thinking that I will love my hair when it gets where I want it, I should love it for what it is now. My hair is showing great promise at reaching my goal. It's not perfect but it's damn near perfect. So no I am not dissappointed because where it is now is a result of what I put into it. If I knew now what I knew a few years ago my hair MAY look more like my goal but IT AIN'T THERE YET! And that's just fine with me because it's heathy, natural and I'm Free!

 

[loveable37]

You not the only one!!!!!
i stop BUNNIN long time ago thinkin in my mind its was waste of time,and i got tired of tha GRANDMA hair style as my husband says to me.
I start wearin my hair down ,using too much heat now i need a BIG TRIMN it gonna take me to a MAJOR SETBACK

 

[Radianthealth]

I joined this board because of your wonderful progress. Your starting photo was where I was two years ago...I am not sure what is up, but I am not even at a decent shoulder length yet. I protective style, I moisturize and DC at least once per week. I don't brush and take my vitamins but my hair must grow at a different pace.

I am truly a 4B too so that may have something to do with it. I don't have any curl definition my hair grows in the z formation

My focus is on having healthy hair and having a positive attitude toward my hair.

 

[ladybug71]

I am definitely disappointed and thought I would be at APL by now. I have had setbacks also, got lazy with routine (especially after my workouts), one of my fave products was discountinued, and the main one of all, since I've had SL hair, I loove wearing it down, which has been my greatest downfall. I hate bunning! I think I'm pretty much at the same spot I was 2 years ago, but not as far as I woudl have liked. Getting past the SL hurdle is a major PITA!

 

[matuncks]

I am very disappointed with my results. I started 3.5 years ago at neck length and I am not full APL. My hair is fine and used to shed alot until I started using the jojoba oil, horsetail and aloe water mixture every day for the last 2 months. I have also started DCing everynight for about 1 hour. My hair used to feel like straw. I just relaxed 2 weeks ago after a 12 week stretch. Hopefully I am pleased with the progress 3 months from now. am also keeping my hair up everyday, used to rollerset/flexi-rod set it and airdry.

 

[GinnyP]

Lexi, girl I know what you mean. I've been on the hairboards longer than you and I'm nowhere near my goal. I think my setbacks are overprocessing and airdrying. I also got slack im my hair regimen. Hopefully one day soon I'll get it right......being a PJ does not help.

same here I started on here 2004 my hair was growing at one point but my dang crown area broke off again after growing it again for the 5th time this time with a protective weave style only in the crown area it grew 8 inches in one year I was so happy then like an idiot I took out the weave and like an idiot I let her relax that area when will I ever learn I also started with that mega tek stuff in that area one thing led to another it broke off completely bald again I pray it grows again real soon. I am having problems with protein and moisture balance trying to find the right shampoo and conditioner and stick with them
I should be at mid back level now instead at APL and bald in the crown area I am so disappointed! My husband looked at it tonight and said What happen? I was so embarrased and hurt. I wanted to cry again but for what?

 

[Wildchild453]

Yes, but only because I'm impatient and want to reach my goal length NOW