My hair progress

[Quinette]

Hello ladies,
I just have question. I have been on my hair journey for one year and 11 months and I'm not really sure if my growth is where it should be,it has gotten thicker but I can't really see a big change in length after the second picture. My regimen consist of washing once a week with Mane and Tail, conditioning with Suave Humecant, deep conditioning with ORS replenishing pak . My leave in's are BB Growth oil, Profectiv Growth Lotion and CHI Silk Fusion. I wear my hair in a ponytail five days a week , baggied with growth oil, growth lotion, Herbal Essence Break's Over and a little bit of IC Hair Polisher Styling Gel applied. On the weekends I either rollerset or do nothing. I rarely use heat on my hair maybe once ever couple of months for special occasions or just for a different look. The relaxer I use is ORS. I'm not very good a telling when my ends need trimming, so I just let my grandmother tell me when I should have it done. I recently purchased a couple of Aphogee products ( 2 Minute reconstructor, keratin green tea restructrizer and Provitamin leave in conditioner) in hopes of making my hair stronger as I have noticed a bit of shedding and breakage. So here are some pictures for you guys to see and let me know if you think my growth is on point or if I have reached my terminal length. The first pic is as close to the beginning as I could find Mar of 2007, the second on is from May 2007 and the last one is from this past weekend. Also what length would you call the last photo. TIA

 

[Quinette]

Bumping for replies

 

[plastic]

i dont think you have reached your terminal length, your ends may just be breaking off

you seem to be SL very close to APL, but i cant see your armpits so I cant really judge it from that pic

 

[Butterfly08]

i dont think you have reached your terminal length, your ends may just be breaking off

you seem to be SL very close to APL, but i cant see your armpits so I cant really judge it from that pic

ITA - less than 2 years is too short of a hair cycle for most people. Cycles can go up to 7 years. I would give your hair at least 5 years of healthy care before judging whether you've reached your terminal length.

You seem to be almost APL.

 

[Quinette]

Thanks for the responses ladies

 

[MizaniLocs]

I would say you're shoulder length on your way to arm-pit length. I think you're doing a very good job and I honestly do not believe you're at "terminal length."

I know you didn't ask, but I would tweak my regimen some and cut down on some of the products. Try just using one deep conditioner, and no more than 2 leave-ins. Also, daily I would not apply more than 3 products (moisturizer, sealer, styling product). It seems like you're doing a little much on the product tip.

Other than that it seems like you're doing very well.

 

[Quinette]

Mizanilocs..... Thank you for the advice. I am always open to help in tweaking my regimen.

 

[FlawedBeauty]

i would ease up on the trimming for a while and maybe instead of ponytails just make a big two strand twist and clip it up. if its in a pony all the time that may leave ur ends free to rub which may be causing you some splits/breakage

 

[Neith]

Constant trimming made my hair stay at the same length for years.

I used to trim an inch every 3 months

Last year I trimmed an inch FIVE times. Trying to keep everything blunt and perfect.

Your hair looks very healthy... it may be too much trimming. I say healthy hair only needs trimming once or twice a year!


Do you ever do protein treatments? I didn't notice that you mentioned using one.

 

[Quinette]

Neith... No I don't do protein treatments because I don't know when to do them or what to use. Any suggestions?

 

[FlawedBeauty]

the aphogee 2 min reconstructor u listed is a protein treatment i believe. be careful with the protien tho it can really jack up ur hair. my hair can't handle hardcore protien so i just use the ORS Replenish Pak. Its a milder protien treatment.

Neith... No I don't do protein treatments because I don't know when to do them or what to use. Any suggestions?

 

[Neith]

Neith... No I don't do protein treatments because I don't know when to do them or what to use. Any suggestions?

I personally use the heavy aphogee protein treatment every 6 weeks. Nexxus emergencce is another good, but hardcore one.

I've heard good things about the k-pak line.

When I used lighter protein treatments I liked Elasta QP breakage control serum.

I think that most relaxed hair requires some protein since your hair is in a weakened state. Plus you're having breakage even after keeping your hair very well taken care of and moisturized...

I'm sure other ladies will have great suggestions too!

 

[Irresistible]

Great progress!!!!!

 

[Quinette]

Thank you so much ladies, I really appericate all the help. Anymore help is certainly welcome.

 

[adrienne0914]

i agree with this. i also think you're doing too many products. if you're wearing your hair in a bun with the baggie, you don't need as many products. for the hair that's out of the baggie, i reapply something every morning to smooth it back down, but for the hair in the baggie, i don't put anything else on it. i don't even comb it. i literally leave it alone until i wash again. everyone's different. i have shedding issues that made me go to this extreme, but my hair's thicker now because of this change.

also, i recommend becoming very familiar with your own ends so that you know when a trim is needed. since i'm doing the baggie trick most of the time, i normally trim three times a year. so i don't care what my stylist or anyone else says. if it ain't time, it ain't time. lol!

I would say you're shoulder length on your way to arm-pit length. I think you're doing a very good job and I honestly do not believe you're at "terminal length."

I know you didn't ask, but I would tweak my regimen some and cut down on some of the products. Try just using one deep conditioner, and no more than 2 leave-ins. Also, daily I would not apply more than 3 products (moisturizer, sealer, styling product). It seems like you're doing a little much on the product tip.

Other than that it seems like you're doing very well.

 

[SW2011]

OP, along with the other suggestions, maybe you could start dusting your ends. I do the search and destroy method and it's one of the ways that I retain length. I invested in a good pair of hair scissors (that I only use for hair), and I'll occasionally look for split ends, and I'll snip them right off. HTH!