Progress and advice needed

**Morgaine** · October 17th, 2011, 01:47 PM

I joined in june last year trying to thicken up my hemline but I only got a camera in september so here is my progress since then :

As you can see... no progress at all.

And now I need your advice...
I've had long hair pretty much all my life and I love having long hair and I still want it long. Tailbone length is my favorite length.
But I've always been struggling with low iron and sometimes anemia. It makes my hair shed a lot.
The problem is that iron supplements makes me sick after 2 or 3 weeks so I can't get a norrmal iron level. Hence the thin hair...

I've been trimming regularly and wearing my hair in updos for a bit more than five years now, in the hopes of thickening my hemline because... well... the pictures above are what my hair looks like when I try to make it look decent.
Now I will show you how it looks like if I don't try to make it look good for pictures and how my braid tapers :

And just out of a bun :

From BSL down (maybe even APL) it just looks horrible.
I really don't like it like this, it looks stringy and see-through, so I'm almost never wearing it down.
The thing is that lately I've been really fed up with wearing my hair in a bun all the time. It doesn't suit me, it makes me look strict and it tugs a lot.
I want to be able to show off my hair a bit, wear it down more often, and I'm tired to be over cautious about damage.
If I couldn't make it look good and full in five years of regular trimming, care, updos and damage free routine, will I ever get decent long hair?
So what would you do? Keep it like this for the sake of having long hair? Cut it? Where? Waist? Mid back? BSL? APL?

Any advice is welcome :-)

**blondie9912** · October 17th, 2011, 01:52 PM

Hmm, I don't have much advice on the thinning hair aspect because the longest I've ever had my hair is just shorter than waist, but do you think you would be able to cut it? Or would you miss the length too much?

PS. I definitely see some progress since last September

It now appears to be thick until waist, whereas in Sept 2010 it looked like it was thick until BSL

**cowgirllong** · October 17th, 2011, 01:56 PM

How fast does your hair grow? Some people's hair grows so slowly that they might not have grown out the damage in 5 years. But most people grow faster than that, so unless you have super slow growth, I don't know what to tell you. If having your hair long is what really makes you happy, keep it long.

To be honest, I think your hair is beautiful and don't see a thing wrong with it.

**kyandii** · October 17th, 2011, 01:57 PM

I can see your thickness growing down!
I've edited your picture to show you the two thickest bits and their growth.

It's thickening up really nicely!

**Morgaine** · October 17th, 2011, 02:09 PM

I'll definitely miss the length, but I think I'm ready for a change if it means that my hair will look better.

My hair grows about 4.5 inches a year so I guess it's a bit slow but still quite average.
The thing is I never did anything damaging to it, no colors, no perms, no blowdrying, no heat styling,..., so there should be no damage to grow out.
Maybe my hair just can't be long. Sometimes it's only a matter of genes I think, especially when I see all the amazing long hair here on LHC!

You are right Kyandii now I can see a progress in the thickening. I just needed you to point it out for me. Thanks

**Macaroni** · October 17th, 2011, 02:34 PM

From your crown to more than halfway between waist and BSL, you hair is thick and even. I'd consider cutting it at the top line of kyandii's pic of you in the white robe.

**Vanille_** · October 17th, 2011, 02:39 PM

Originally Posted by Macaroni

From your crown to more than halfway between waist and BSL, you hair is thick and even. I'd consider cutting it at the top line of kyandii's pic of you in the white robe.

I agree with Macaroni.

**pepperpot** · October 17th, 2011, 02:39 PM

Originally Posted by kyandii

I can see your thickness growing down!
I've edited your picture to show you the two thickest bits and their growth.

It's thickening up really nicely!

I agree. If you continue trimming to maintain the length, I can see it thickening all the way to the ends eventually. I would just keep doing what you're doing to be honest. And in the pictures where you said you didn't make it look nice, I think it still looks good, just not as neatly arranged. Its not as bad as you think.

**spidermom** · October 17th, 2011, 02:41 PM

I think if you shortened it about 2 inches and had a U-hem, it would look quite a bit thicker, and you could wear it down.

Sometimes there are only a few hairs that have a long enough and fast enough growing cycle to become your longest hairs. Good care can maximize your potential, but there are some things in nature that you just can't change.

You have really pretty hair, by the way, even if not thick. It's shiny and a beautiful color.

**GlassWidow** · October 17th, 2011, 03:56 PM

I definitely see progress in thickness between 2010 and 2011. In the 2010 picture it looks like it starts to thin around BSL, and in 2011 it looks closer to waist, if maybe in a deep v hemline. (now that I went back and reviewed the other responses, it looks like that's been said already, so I guess this is just another confirmation).

Looking at your braid I'd say the the same - the taper gets more pronounced around midback. I think if you were inclined to cut it, I would say midback. Honestly, though, I think it's pretty; we can be our own worst critics, you know?