Where were you at before you came to LHCF?

[Nerd.]

I was getting ready for a hair appointment ( to get a relaxer) and I wanted to get side swept bangs for the first time.

So I went on youtube to look for ladies with bangs and I stumbled across http://www.youtube.com/user/DPrincess28 and she turned my entire world upside down. She was doing a bang tutorial and she mentioned that her hair was natural. Once she said her hair was natural and I saw it swangin the way it was... I swear it was like someone slapped me.

 

[ceebee3]

I wasn't ever concerned with hair before I came here. I had just decided to stop wearing buns and ponytails so I went searching for hair styling tips.

That search led me here and then that's when I realized I wanted longer hair. I don't think I ever considered it could be that long even though most of my family members have long hair.

My hair has always been shoulder length since I started relaxing at 13. It was APL before then but never longer.

 

[MrJohnsonsRib]

I was miserable and extremely damaged. My hair was gorgeous til my first relaxer. Once i didi that it basically went the opposite direction and got shorter and shorter. I did just about every wrong thing you can imagine to my hair. I had a hair saving once in middle school but it was an expensive thing to keep going to this ladies salon, my daddy wouldn't pay like he said he would. I ended up back on the road to destruction and then some. After cutting it off in the military when I first jonied I figured short would be the only way for me til I saw folks rocking their natural hair and thought- hey maybe I can stop relaxing and it'll help. I went off to research and came across LHCF and after like months of lurking I joined, then a few months later I decided to never relax again. Dec 08 was my last relaxer. Yay!

 

[MrJohnsonsRib]

I haven't posted in ages; I voted for my original reason for seeking out & signing up here. I'd just suffered a huge amount of breakage and realized I had no real idea how to take care of my own hair. I felt ridiculous, but I searched an Googe pointed me here.

BTW, I'm convinced my hair damage was caused by a combination of stress, heat styling, and Pink Oil. That stuff is just plain evil.

I think we are like identical cause I thought Pink Oil was the Holy Grail of hair products even though I had no hair to show for it and I used to wash blow dry, press, then flat Iron and maybe even curl my ends all in one sitting just to achieve a decent style. Not to mention I was relaxed during ALL this heat usage. Boy was I a danger to myself. Plus life was just so like ugh!! for me. I was already kind of in the lower class and so money was tight and life was tough and trying to be cute and confiedent in a tough life is... tough.

 

[O-ren]

I was trying to recover my locks after heat damage combined with hard water damage. My hair was growing back nicely, I thought, until I noticed that the back of my hair on the left side was super thin compared to the other side, it was just strands, no fullness at all. Talk about a shot to the morale.

So I got my sister to cut it, but all the while I had been doing a stretch while considering transition. So after that big cut from little below SL to neck length, I just said what the hay and officially started transitioning.

My hair went something like this: BSL --> hard water/heat --> SL --> NL --> (LHCF) --> Natural

 

[SignatureBeauty]

I had nice healthy hair that I took care of before I came here in 2003, I done everything, cleanse, deep condition, leave in etc. BUT when I came here I learned about Natural hair and Big Chopped, then I learned about Better retention with Relaxed hair and then Relaxed, then Natural, then relaxed lol!! Coming here Made me so confused, I haven't had long hair since 2003, I have been Bald headed for 7 years!!!

If I ever Texlax again, you better believe it is gonna stay that way! I gotta stop the vicious cycle!!!

 

[phynestone]

I was growing my hair out with braids and it was working. I continued to do so and began searching for hair care tips online. The rest is history.

I no longer wear braids since my hair is kind of long now (APL) and the site has opened me up to other styles I never considered, such as sew-in weaves and baggying with phony-ponies.

 

[Hair2Here]

I was totally in the dark, and in the clueless part of my hometown. I've learn so much from these threads, it's ridiculous!

 

[Tyra]

My hair was actually just fine.
It was a short cropped cut. It was very healthy.
I had been wearing it short for years, and was just ready for something new.
My hair stylist got out of the business, and it was extra work for me to keep it up.
I thought that I'd just grow it out. Never knew that I'd go short again, and then just go natural.
The question is: Where have I been since LHCF? EVERYwhere.

 

[shasha8685]

Before LHCF I was trying to figure out why my hair was thinning and breaking off like crazy. Years of chemical abuse+heat abuse+ no real concept of moisturizing had taken a toll on my hair. I wanted to figure out how to fix it....

Since then, I have cut my hair 2x and I am currently growing it out. It is at a length that I haven't seen since 1998 and I am too excited!

 

[Carrie A]

After another failed attempt at "going natural" I cut my hair into a short bob. I was determined to grow out the relaxed hair and gradually chop my ends. I wanted my natural hair to be in great condition so I started following board advice. Initially I wasn't concerned with length, I just wanted a successful transition. After being here a while I've definitely caught the length bug.

 

[caribeandiva]

Before LHCF the longest my hair got was a little above shoulder length.

 

[a_shoe_6307]

I pretty much have always had long, healthy hair with the exception of cutting it a few times (2 times just because and 1 time because of my first and very overproessed relaxer. After cutting it two years ago I decided I was tired of maintaining a short hair cut and wanted to grow it back out and I needed to find a way to get the best results and while doing a Google search I stumbled across this site. So far I've been loving all the great advice I've been getting!!!!

 

[discodumpling]

I was just about to BC when I discovered LHCF in March of 2007. I had decided to take charge of my haircare so that any failures or gains would be all on me! I haven't regreted paying for my subscription & unless the cost gets outrageous i'm a lifer! The ladies here are so knowledgeable & innovative WE truly are on the verge of a whole 'nother level of haircare!

 

[SimJam]

I always kept my relaxed hair @ abt APL and it was pretty healthy up until abt 2008 when I started to have tons of shedding and brakage so I cut into an earlength bob. I lurked on LHCF and used other hair boards and nursed my hair back to APL then decided to BC in nov 2009.

Now want to grow my natural hair back to my childhood lengths --- abt BSL streched (if I wore a bra @ the time lol)

 

[Nix08]

I barely gave my hair a thought....all I knew what I didn't like a lot of product in my hair and that was it. How it grew or didn't, never was a concern of mine - it usually was just below shoulder length. Now on this journey - my hair is constantly on my mind and I'm very excited about it

 

[gadgetdiva]

I know I was trying to grow my hair out and the longer it grew the more I realized I couldn't wear the curly style I had been wearing so I searched for answers on how to care for my new tresses. I'm happy I found LHCF!

 

[silenttullip]

Before I came to LHCF I had a white scalp (it's a bad thing)
Hair shedding and dryness and almost shoulder length.
I wanted the thick hair I had as a child without all the dryness and pain while styling with a healthier scalp.

 

[BrandNew]

Before LHCF I was relaxed at just above shoulder length. I kept my hair in a blunt cut and never tried to grow it past there. I didn't do my hair myself, I trusted the dominican salons.

 

[topnotch1010]

My hair never grew beyond an inch past SL because of excessive hair dying, curling everyday, and blowfrying bone straight every wash day. My hair was never long as a child either because my mother is also clueless about hair care. Hopefully my dd won't grow up with frizzy brittle ponytails like me.

 

[Jewell]

Before LHCF, I maintained BSL-MBL bone straight relaxed hair, that I colored periodically with a permanent natural hair dye. It was healthy (I dc'd, trimmed, and protective styled before knowing it was the thing to do), but I always wanted my hair to be natural...was sick of chemicals. When I came to LHCF, I really began to believe I could successfully transition out of a relaxer to natural hair.

After a few failed attempts, I transitioned in 2008 and bc'd. Then, for convenience (had a newborn at home with lil time to focus on hair), I texlaxed late 08. Mid-2009 I decided I wanted my natural hair back, chemical-free. So now I'm 14 mos into what is looking like a 3-4 year transition before all processed ends will be gone and I have the WL-beyond natural hair I want.

 

[sunnieb]

This is where I was before LHCF:

Everyone I knew loved my hair. They always told me that my hair was so thick and pretty. However, I knew something was wrong. My hair never got longer. It literally broke whenever I touched it. Looking at this pic makes me wonder how I had any hair left on my head since I used to see so much of it in my sink, comb, bathroom floor, etc.

I would goop on glob after glob of "Moisture Max" daily thinking I was doing something good for my hair. I started searching the internet for black hair growth and found a few hair blogs. One of those blogs mentioned this site and I've been here ever since.

 

[starfish79]

None of the selections really matched me exactly but I picked up the third option.

I previously had WL relaxed hair then I transitioned to natural. My hair was in good condition but I was looking for product and styling ideas.

 

[SlantedEyezMiss2003]

I was shoulder length, never grew past shoulder length, apl which is the longest i have ever been, and I want waist, never had waist.

 

[DaDragonPrincess]

I was lost and a hot mess


I picked option: "You were trying to get your hair back to a condition it was previously. Either as a child or before a setback "

God sent me to LHCF, because I came across it by mistake searching for something related to hair.
​

 

[Truth]

before I came here.. I was just growing my hair out from a cut..(had a bob)....when I came to LHCF it was NL...the rest is history...

 

[Carisa]

Before lhcf i was lookin a ham at EL because i had to cut my hair off due to overprocessing. i am currently around apl now

 

[AlliCat]

My hair was NL and breaking. it wasnt terrible, but a classmate with SL/APL hair sparked my interest on black hair care and the rest is history

 

[Mad Scientist]

Before I came to LHCF, my hair was breaking off a lot. I thought it was because I hadn't had a relaxer in a few months. I found LHCF and decided to transition. I was APL relaxed. Now I'm APL natural

ETA: I picked option "You were trying to maintain the length or thickness that you currently had with new styles, methods, etc." I think I found LHCF looking up how to grow out a relaxer but I really just wanted my hair to stop breaking off from not having relaxers, which is what I thought was happening.

 

[MissHoney26]

my hair was a HAM! I constanly had glue in weaves, relaxed bone straight with super strength no lye the same day a glue in was took out and it got put right back in. I didn't own a moisturizer, oil, deep conditioner, or anything. I just shampooed it with hair glue removal shampoo and the only time my hair saw conditioner was when I was getting a relaxer and that was only kept on for 5 mins. I don't have any clue how I stumbled upon the hair care boards, but I believe that God led me to it and I'm so thankful he did. My poor hair was a mess lmao & in high school I dyed it honey blonde and burnt it with the flat iron every day :/ I had the hair that everyone wanted to "fix" LOL. Sad!