Veterans- 4+ Years HHJ: Where Are You Now?

[manter26]

According to the average rate of hair growth shown in this chart:

The average grower should reach waist length from bald in 4 years. I know that chart is a best case scenario. I'm curious about actual experiences. If you've been here 4 years or more, please share with us where you are now.

What year did you start and what was your starting length?
What's your current length?
What major changes you went through during your journey (relaxed-> natural or natural -> bkt or relaxed, etc...)
Any major haircuts?
Setbacks?
Have you reached your goal?

Thanks in advance!

 

[manter26]

I added "other" to the poll so 2008+ can see the results. Feel free to answer the questions as well.

 

[ms-gg]

What's your current length?
I shaved my head down to a caesar in November 2009. Right now I am right around shoulder length in the nape area and pretty much a little over 4 inches all around. I had a setback due to protein in September 2010 (some people never learn huh?) so I had to cut off about 2 inches.

What major changes you went through during your journey
None really. I have been natural since September 2006.

Any major haircuts?

***Note, I didn't cut all this off at one time. It was a gradual process over the year of 2009. But to make it less confusing I just say I did one big chop in September 2009*****

Setbacks?

2006-2007 setback
Yep.The first setback was thanks to color and not properly taking care of my hair during my transition (natural hair care online was not as widespread as it is now). I had to cut off all of my heat and color damaged hair in June 2007.

2007-2009 setback
Then I abused protein but didn't know any better. I didn't realize my coarse natural hair does not like any protein at all. That protein overload led to massive tangling, brittle hair, and to me chopping of a few inches of my hair in February 2009. I went from beyond APL to a little below collar bone length at that time.

Have you reached your goal?
Nope, but I know how to retain length so I know I will get there in the near future

 

[manter26]

Summation: Started actively growing out my hair in 2006 with a few setbacks along the way as I learned what my hair liked and disliked. I learned that coarse and fine hair have different needs and since then I hope I got my hair figured out....


What's your current length? I shaved my head down to a caesar in November 2009. Right now I am right around shoulder length in the nape area and pretty much a little over 4 inches all around. I had a setback due to protein in September 2010 so I had to cut off about 2 inches. I was ticked off lol! I had my whole length expectations mapped out and everything....
What major changes you went through during your journey (relaxed-> natural or natural -> bkt or relaxed) None really. I have been natural during the whole time I decided to grow my hair out, which began in 2006.
Any major haircuts? Yep, I did one major haircut in September 2009. It was a mix between wanting a cute short cut and getting tired of my hair.
Setbacks? Yep. Thanks to color at first. Then I abused protein but didn't know it. I didn't realize my coarse natural hair does not like any protein at all. So it led to massive tangling which led to me chopping a few inches of my hair off in February 2009. I went from beyond APL to a little below collar bone length (after a while I stopped measuring my hair).
Have you reached your goal? Nope, but I know how to retain length so I know I will get there in the near future

Thanks for your input! I guess the beginning of the HHJ is a lot of trial and error. I've been in it for over 2 years and I'm realizing now that I need to stay away from color.

 

[manter26]

Who voted < 2000? I'm really interested in hearing about your experiences!

 

[Shadiyah]

want to know this myself

 

[4bslbound]

great thread, OP
Bumping for you!

 

[Napp]

What year did you start and what was your starting length?
I started in Nov 2006 and i was roughly SL.(some parts shorter some parts longer) it was VERY uneven. i dunno what length exactly because i never streched my hair to check length and i never wore it straight then.
What's your current length?
slightly past bsb
What major changes you went through during your journey (relaxed-> natural or natural -> bkt or relaxed)
i went from natural>texturized>natural>texturized>natural. ive bkt and heat train but i still consider myself natural because my hair reverts
Any major haircuts?
2 BC and one little chop due to severe matting from triple processed hair.
Setbacks?
dying my hair twice with permanent color on top of a texturizer, texturizers in general,my big chops
Have you reached your goal?
no but i am finally closing in. i currently have the longest hair ive ever had in my life.one more year ought to get me to full TBL

PICS
starting photo nov 2006

1st bc jan 2008 after 10 month transition

2nd bc dec 2008 after 8 month transition

most current dec 2010

 

[GeauXavi]

I lurked on LHCF for about 2 years before subscribing.

I bc'd to less than an inch in '06...relaxed the same year, and grew my hair out to APL by the end of '07. Got bored with my hair, then kept a various bobs (ALL fierce btw) from 08-10. I transitioned/bc'd again in '10, and I'm expecting to hit APL (or close) by the end of the year. I've got some old pics in my profile album I think

ETA: Sorry! I didn't follow directions...lol I just noticed the questions. But to answer the last question... Yes, I have hit my goal... I didn't like my hair beyond APL when it was relaxed...for maintenance purposes... My natural goal is around BSL though b/c of shrinkage. So no, I haven't hit my natural goal yet...my current length is between NL and SL (Not quite sure b/c i'm weaved up)

 

[manter26]

Interesting stories! Keep them coming!

 

[Leeda.the.Paladin]

Great thread! Even if folks aren't waist length, it will still be nice reading the learning experiences.

 

[LovelyNaps26]

nothing to add w/ respect to the OP since i just joined in 2009. saw this thread and headed to google.i did want to say that i rebuke the below chart. i will not reach my terminal length a centimeter before 20 inches.

 

[manter26]

^ can you share the source for that chart?

 

[constance]

I voted "other." I lurked for a few months before joining in Oct 2008.

What's your current length?
Longest part is WL (avatar pic taken 12/10)
What major changes?
I've been covering my grey w. permanent dye since 2009
Any major haircuts?
No
Setbacks?
No, once I resolved the ssks everything was fine.
Have you reached your goal?
Kinda. I want thick hair (not gonna happen, naturally thin) & I want full WL (I can do this by Dec)

 

[Shadiyah]

I voted "other." I lurked for a few months before joining in Oct 2008.

What's your current length?
Longest part is WL (avatar pic taken 12/10)
What major changes?
I've been covering my grey w. permanent dye since 2009
Any major haircuts?
No
Setbacks?
No, once I resolved the ssks everything was fine.
Have you reached your goal?
Kinda. I want thick hair (not gonna happen, naturally thin) & I want full WL (I can do this by Dec)

did it take you 4 yrs to get to the length you are at now? by the way your hair is lovely.

 

[Shadiyah]

is there anyone here grew there hair out to waist length in 4 yrs?

 

[naijamerican]

I voted "other." I lurked for a few months before joining in Oct 2008.

What's your current length?
Longest part is WL (avatar pic taken 12/10)
What major changes?
I've been covering my grey w. permanent dye since 2009
Any major haircuts?
No
Setbacks?
No, once I resolved the ssks everything was fine.
Have you reached your goal?
Kinda. I want thick hair (not gonna happen, naturally thin) & I want full WL (I can do this by Dec)

How have you resolved your ssks? I struggle with these all the time.

What's your current length?
I honestly don't know because I haven't straightened my hair in a long time. I have 4B hair and it shrinks even when I pull it. I think it's collarbone/ shoulder length.

What major changes you went through during your journey (relaxed-> natural or natural -> bkt or relaxed)
None because I've been natural for the past 11 years. The biggest change, actually, was learning how to deal with my hair outside of braids.

Any major haircuts?
Yes. I was curious about the big chop experience and I felt that I would look good with a short hair cut, so I chopped off my hair to 1/4 of an inch on April 30th, 2009. It was very liberating and fun. Actually, it's about as long now as it was when I chopped it all off, maybe a tiny bit longer? I think it's about 6 inches all around but looks like 1 inch because it shrinks up so much.

Setbacks?
Yes, and they've all been of my own doing:
1. Not protective styling
2. Only conditioning once a week
3. Not really taking care of my hair at all.
As a result, I have SSKs and weak ends. I plan on getting whatever I need to get - a trim or an outright cut - and engaging in heavy-duty protective styling to retain length. I know most of what I need to do; I just don't do it most of the time, especially for the past 9 months or so.

Have you reached your goal?
No. I don't even know what my goal is anymore when it comes to my hair.

I hope it's okay to share some of the best things I've purchased for my hair as a result of this site. These are my absolute staples:

1. Seamless combs - I bought mine from this site: hotCombs: Magic Star Combs by Hercules Sagemann
2. Elucence Shampoo, both the regular and clarifying shampoos: Curly hair products | Curly hair care. These are, hands down, the best shampoos I've ever used in my entire life.
3. Aubrey Organics Conditioners - namely, GBP Protein Balancing, Island Naturals, and White Camelia Camelia
4. Qhemet Biologics - Cocoa Detangling Ghee, Burdock Root Cream, and Amla and Olive Heavy Cream
5. Joico K-Pak Reconstructor and Conditioner

Lately, I've also been loving Giovanni conditioners. And Charz got me hooked on Jessicurl conditioners, which I like, too.

 

[keepithealthy]

I'm no veteran yet but I will share.

I started my healthy hair journal in Feb 2009. I bc'd in June 2009. I didn't think I would be able to handle a long transition. I'm still learning my hair and trying out different products. I want a simple reggie
Thanks ladies for sharing.

As of 12/2010 I was apl when straightened with around 9 inches of hair. I don't really have a goal, I just want to see how long my hair can grow. I am hoping to be mbl this year and wl by 2012.

My biggest problem recently was ssk but I'm mostly getting them under control via consistently dc'ing, detangling, trimming and keeping my hair stretched.

 

[French Rouge]

What's your current length? BSL

What major changes you went through during your journey: relaxed, then texlaxed, now transitioning

Any major haircuts? No

Setbacks? I gotta really lazy when I reached BSL the first time, this caused breakage in the crown of my head.

Have you reached your goal? I've changed my goal from BSL to WL, so no.

 

[kittikat24]

My current length is: (almost) BSL stretched
I began my journey in late 2006...I went from damaged neck length relaxed to healthy APL relaxed in 2 yrs. Then for the past 2 yrs I've transitioned to natural.
~I haven't had any major cuts...but during one summer I was lazy w/ my hair so quite a bit broke off..
My goal is full BSL stretched naturaL. Hopefully I'll reach that goal by Dec. 2011~!

 

[constance]

did it take you 4 yrs to get to the length you are at now? by the way your hair is lovely.

Yes, I started at collar bone length in 2006. I floundered until 10/2008 when I found this site. By that time I was about 2 inches past shoulder. My hair grows slowly--.25 per month. Lately I've been getting almost .33 per month. Thank you for the compliment!

 

[luckiestdestiny]

nothing to add w/ respect to the OP since i just joined in 2009. saw this thread and headed to google.i did want to say that i rebuke the below chart. i will not reach my terminal length a centimeter before 20 inches.

Yeah and the ladies on lhcf rebuke you chart....as evidenced by all the lovely heads of hair (that are super long)

 

[constance]

[QUOTE=naijamerican;12760987]How have you resolved your ssks? I struggle with these all the time.

I used to twist my hair into 7-8 sections like cornrows going from my forehead to my nape & then pin the ends under. I kept everything hidden under a lf. Even though I would take them down each week, I would have ssks. I now keep my hair in a beehive twist so that there is only 1 end rather than several.

The 2nd part of the solution is coconut oil. After dc'ing, I saturate with coconut oil. I just part my hair one circle at a time (since I'm prepping it to twist in the beehive) & apply coconut oil. About 6 mos ago I started to use a modified version of Kimmy's leave in (LTR leave in instead of Knot Today, no castor oil, extra Aloe Vera, & Jojoba). I apply this after the coconut oil so my hair is really sloppy wet & then twist.

Those 2-3 steps have solved my ssks problem.

 

[anon123]

This is so much a better question than asking where people are 4 years after being natural. Just like you can be relaxed and not on a HHJ, you can be natural and not on a HHJ.

I've been natural for many years, fluctuating between SL and near BSL (I guess, I didn't straighten or stretch my hair before hair boards). I didn't start trying to grow my hair out, though, until mid to late 2007. I did my first hair stretch picture at the beginning of 2008, and it was maybe an inch from APL. I think when I first started trying to grow my hair out, it was probably a couple inches below shoulder length. I will have been trying to grow my hair out for 4 years once we get to the second half of 2011.

This was 3 1/2 years ago, August 2007


This was a bit under 3 years ago, March 7, 2008. A smidgen past apl:


This is me the other day, at MBL:

Hopefully by August of this year, I will be WL, which is my goal. That will be 4 years going from a little past SL to WL. Nothing phenomenal, plenty of setbacks (including a substantial cut of 4+ inches and another of at least 2 inches), trims, breakage, knots, the whole 9 yards.

 

[BostonMaria]

I've been on this HHJ since Feb 2007 but on this board since 2008.

What's your current length?
Waist length

What major changes you went through during your journey?
I had SL relaxed hair in the beginning of 07 and transitioned to natural. I did the BC in Sept 2007 and my hair was NL. Couldn't do a ponytail or anything.

Any major haircuts?
Only the BC. I did also cut close to 3 inches last year. I do search and destroys all the time.

Setbacks?
None. Well cutting 3 inches was a waste because my hair continued to grow in a V anyway. I would be closer to tailbone had I left it alone.

Have you reached your goal?
I keep changing my goal due to hair anorexia! LOL my original goal was BSL. Then I changed it to MBL. Then WL. My final goal is Hip Length.... I think LOL

Hope this helps!!




Sent from my iPhone using LHCF

 

[Lady Esquire]

What's your current length? Not sure due to crazy amount of shrinkage but last I checked a few months ago, I was full collar bone.

What major changes you went through during your journey (relaxed-> natural or natural -> bkt or relaxed) Started in '05 transitioning, gradually cutting off relaxed ends, first w/braids and then w/wigs. The learning curve was awesome because for the first time in my adult life, I was appreciating my natural texture. I was embracing NG and actually paying attention to patterns, moisture, etc. Simple techniques like airdrying with a scarf, switching to wide-tooth combs, and combing from ends to root made a tremendous change for my retention. My hair grew like crazy from jump.

Any major haircuts? Mid '05 I cut it to a TWA and was natural for a year. Relaxed in '06. Used Caruso steam rollers when I wanted a nice coifed look but bunned religiously. Then graduated to magnetic rollersets, my all-time fave hairstyle. By '10, the hair grew close MBL.

Setbacks? For almost 2 years, I had nonstop shedding, due to postpartum hormones, excessive anemia and other vitamin defencies. Hair kept breaking in the nape and back middle. I got tired of slowly trimming and cut off about 8 inches in '10.

I rocked an inverted bob. If the breakage was in the front, I wouldn't have cut it. But breakage in the back is hard to hide.

Have you reached your goal? Now I'm back to bunning and taking vitamins consistently. I also made some dietary changes. Girl, the growth and thickness is like its never been.

Major lessons: I learned my hair is even more porous that I thought it was. It needs products to seal and fortify the cuticle more often. Without that, it can't hold moisture, which then leads to tangles and so on.

I have yet to see the FULL potential of my post-baby hair, so the jury is still out. But I'm optimistic and always reading/taking notes.

 

[Evolving78]

What's your current length?
layered SL
What major changes you went through during your journey (relaxed-> natural or natural -> bkt or relaxed)
relaxed, natural, texlaxed, natural
Any major haircuts?
6 major haircuts
Setbacks?
straighten my hair(heat damage) big chops, texlaxed, relaxed
Have you reached your goal?
no, but i will this time around, because i am sticking to not cutting my hair!

 

[hothair]

What's your current length? An inch from APL
What major changes you went through during your journey (relaxed-> natural or natural -> bkt or relaxed) natural>texlaxed>natural>bkt (always coloured light brown/blonde)
Any major haircuts? yup several. I've BC-ed at least thrice my problem was mostly not knowing how to trim so every "trim" became a BC.
Setbacks? Chemical relaxer doesn't do it for my hair so texlaxing was a big no-no.

Also I had to learn how to deal with my hair out of protective styles. I've been past APL and lost inches, though I was good with caring for my hair in weaves, braids I hadn't learned how to deal with it when it was out- problem solved

SSKs -BKT saved my hair I barely have splits and my hair isn't thinning from the colour

Scissor happiness was also not good this is the longest I've gone without a cut (15months) and I can see the results!

Have you reached your goal? No, my goal is WL I'm still a long way but confident getting there and enjoying my hair in the process

 

[FlowerHair]

I've been here since 2003, but I was into growing my hair as early as 1997-1998 or so... It took a while for me to figure out how to do it properly for my hair type, but the longest my hair has been is to the middle of my butt.

It's shorter now (a bit below waist length), but I'm growing it down again.

The chart is good, but I don't think they calculate with the amount of time it takes to find the best regimen for your hair. That can take years!

 

[lana]

What's your current length? I made BSL!!!! For the first time in my life.

What major changes? I was Relaxed in 2001, went natural around 2003 and finally found my joy in life by Texlaxing starting 2007/08. Texlaxing my hair with Mizani Lye relaxer has been what has allowed me to retain length. I have 4a/b hair and it breaks easily, it damaages easily from heat, basically it's fragile, so I needed a "texture softner" if I planned to wear it straightened, which I do 90% of the time. I am so happy with the results. ONLY while Texlaxing have I seen amazing length retention.

The biggest change for me was in the last 12 months - I stopped used No-Lye relaxers and switched to LYE relaxers only. That has helped me combat dryness and some other issues related to the Texlaxer process.

Any major haircuts? Yes, I slowly cut off all of my Relaxed hair the first time, growing it out Natural, then I Texlaxed virgin hair (at home) with No-Lye and since then I have been trimming away the No-Lye hair and letting the LYE hair take over. I love that texture so much more. So I guess I would have been waste length if not for all the trimming. But I love my current length and this was always my goal! Bra-strap length hair.

Setbacks? Using No-Lye to texlax was a setback. The way a hairdresser friend explained it to me No-Lye is okay for my hair type if I'm to wear it very short, but if I want to have length, I needed to use Lye relaxers.

Have you reached your goal? I have SURPASSED my goals and expectations. I now want to hit Mid-Back Length just to say I did it. AND I want my Bra-strap Length hair to hang below bra-strap when worn curled or spiraled. LHCF has been my saving grace for haircare. I have learned so much by being on this hair board.

My staples are: Mane & Tail Conditioner!!!!! Keracare Shampoo and Conditioner and Redken Smooth Down Shampoo and Conditioner.

I stretch my Texlaxing anywhere from 3 months to 5 months. Depending on the season and how well my hair is doing detangling.