At what age did you start to grow your hair long?

[paper]

I started to grow my hair at 45.

[ChatoyantLocks]

I started around the point I turned 19.

[Tapioca]

I *wanted* long hair from age four or so, but I only was allowed to do so when I was 12. (Youngest of four children born within six years. Kinda rough on Mom getting us all out the door in the morning, so it was kept short until I could deal with it myself.)

[BrianaFineHair]

This year at age 39 :) It's never too late!

[darkwaves]

Which time? Teens, Twenties, Thirties, Forties...

The quest continues!

(But now I'm longer than ever before... So maybe I'm on the right path.)

[spidermom]

I've been on a quest to grow my hair long my entire life, but I kept getting lured down side paths of cute new styles. This is the longest my hair has ever been. I haven't been lured into a new hair style since 2001, although I did cut back from nearly waist to APL because of damage in 2005.

[lirael]

I've always had long hair except for one chin-length cut when I was about 9. I knew I wanted long hair again after that and I haven't cut more than a few inches a year since then.

[kowlrea]

I started to grow my hair when I was 22 - last year , im 23 now

[rhysiana]

Hmmm, I wasn't really sure what to vote. I put 0-10, because from 6-21, I had long hair. I cut to chin length at 21 just to try something different, but I've always been long-haired at heart, so I started growing it out again right away. I cut it once more to chin at 25, and have been growing it out to my original length at 21 ever since. Just about one more year, provided my growth rate remains steady!

[Paniscus]

My Mother started to let my hair grow from day one :) By the time I was five, I had hair to my waist! She kept it trimmed, but it stayed in two long braids all through-out elementary and middle school. In high school, I finally had the guts to cut it to my shoulders. That started the "grow-out" then cut to bob routine I was in for years.

[Adrienne]

I've been wanting long hair my entire life. It never worked. then I decided I not only wanted long hair, I wanted long natural hair. I cut all the chemicals out of my head and started from scratch when I was 21.

[harley mama]

Right now my hair is the longest it has ever been.
It's also the thinnest its ever been!

[susiemw]

At birth.

Here I am at 5 y.o.:


http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s313/susiemw/Hair/1963clarklake_0003-1.jpg

By my freshman year my hair was knee length.
I wish it were there now!

Susan

[Elanor]

I have always had longish hair, around APL, but I really started to grow it long when I was 19 (this spring).

Susan, that's just a lovely pic! :) My cousin, who's now 8 years old also has lovely long hair, it's blond and it was past classic when she was 5. When she started school her parents cut it to waist length though, so that it would be easier to handle.

[MadHatter]

I resolved to refrain from cutting when I was 17 or 18.

[Gumball]

I started at the latter end of high school so I had to pick the 15-20 choice. I finally got to the point that I could do what I wanted to do and deal with any flak I might get from doing it.

[shellydocker]

I acually had long hair as a child to my knees, but had it cut at age 10 to around my chin.... many times after that i grew my hair back out and it was cut once again.... This time around I thought i would just see how long it took me to get to floor length.... From just below shoulders floor length took about 5 yrs, I started around age 22-23? But has been trimed and cut in process and sense, just keeps growing back thank goodness....

[Finoriel]

It was in early spring 2001 when I decided to grow out my beloved pixie cut I had for years. Not that I expected to have my hair that long like it is now :wink: I just wanted it somewhat longer than it was back then. :lol: Which was easy made with a razor cut as starting point.

[akiss4lexie]

I was given permission to grow my hair out from my cute little bob when I was 7. I kept my hair between waist/tailbone for years, finally cutting it a little shorter to BSL when I was 14. I kept it between BSL and waist all through high school, not paying too much attention to it.

My first year of college when I was 18, a salon accidentally chopped my hair to shoulder length, where it stayed for nearly a year because it kept breaking off from damage. Finally, I got some damage cut off and started officially growing again in February 2007 at age 19.

[Isilya]

I started growing my hair out when I was 19. Before that, it was somewhere between APL and BSL.

[NurseMama]

I have had waist or longer hair multiple times in my life. I first grew it out in Jr. High and kept it long through high school. Since high school it has been waist 2x.

[camara]

At about 12 years old. I cut back to about sl when I was 25 or 26, however.

[sexyjacksparrow]

Age 24. Not that it's got much longer in five years.

[Anje]

I think when I was maybe 23 or 24, I decided I wanted to really grow it. LHC was a big influence for that, actually. Before, it had been a little past BSL, but I'd never seen what I consider "long."

[Morag]

I guess I'd have to say I started this at 56, but didn't get committed until this year - 58.

[AJoifulNoise]

I started when I was about 20.

[Nightshade]

I've never had short hair, at it's shortest and most broken it was BSL but it was long when I was little, waist/hips through middle and high school, BSL in college (where I destroyed it) and now it's tailbone and I'm tempted to go for fingertip :)

[Meli]

I was 13 or 14 when I decided I wanted long hair. I was about APL at the time. But I was only 10 when I grew my bangs out, so in one way I could say that my journey to long hair started already at the age of ten.

[Paliele]

I cut all of my hair off for my 18th birthday (it was about BSL) in a boycut. Then a few months after my 19th birthday I decided to grow it out again. My longterm goal is terminal.

[ClareDee]

At 25 (a.k.a now!) :)

I did have fairly long hair (but never much longer than APL) a few times as a teenager, but ended up with the mindset that people must visit hairdressers... and regularly. I suppose I was too chicken to stand out, too. I've always been very keen to blend in, and not draw too much attention socially.

NOW though... now I realise that I prefer having long hair. And this time I want it extra long. I think well-maintained long hair is just beautiful (and fun too - I can't wait to try all these different up-do's I've been seeing here)... I'll get there eventually...

[jivete]

I think I've been trying to grow my hair since I was a teen and it's remained between shoulder and APL forever with a brief stint at BSL after I had my son. My hair can't really handle any assault, so breakage, trimming because of breakage, too much trimming from salons, etc. have kept me from really ever have any kind of length. I only came to the conclusion that heat, dye, daily washing were keeping me from my goals back in February of this year and now I'm past APL and quickly approaching the top of BSL.

[Buddaphlyy]

I've always wanted to long hair, but I didn't start acquiring knowledge and products to put the master plan in motion until I was 21 (I'm only 22 now though). I've been on boards since 2006, but I didn't decided to actually grow out and stop cutting until 2007.

[emeraldfaery]

I pretty much had long hair my whole life, except for maybe one big cut in 2nd grade....and of course my more recent cuts.

[thankyousir74]

16! (I cut it right before my 16th birthday and have been growing it ever since)

[prosperina]

My hair has been longish most of my life. I made the decision when I was 15 or so, that I loved my waist length hair, so I chose 15-20. However, I also discovered boxed dyes at 17, and I had two short cuts which were my way of handling bad breakups, so needless to say I've had a few road blocks. :D

But even as a little kid I had long hair and loved long hair, so it was hard to pick an age range. I made a serious commitment to stop abusing my hair and grow it out about two years ago.

[cassie_g]

This time around 18. The first time was at birth.

[Robbi Dehlinger]

First time 49, second time 54 (And still growin!)

[vindo]

Too bad there werent more options. I started first at the age of 10 where I grew my hair from shoulder to past waist in 3 years.
And then with 20 I started my current journey, since I was undecided where I want to go I went back and forth when it cane to length for a while and then continued with 23.:)

[cani]

20 :) 3 years ago.

i always WANTED long hair, but my mom cut it when i was a child:(
since i was a teenager i tried several times, but ever capitulated...

[Robbi Dehlinger]

cani:

Well, you have support in your journey now? We are all in this with you:)

[Jemoiselle]

I started seriously growing my hair out when I was 22. It was BSL to about the middle of my
shoulder blades. I had been, much like so many others, going through the cut it, regret cycle for years prior. Darn those cute short layered styles! They got the best of me that's for certain! I'm so glad I am finally reaching my goals, it seems like it's been so long! I am one happy lady.

Jemoiselle

[dor3girl]

I started growing my hair out from just above the shoulders when I was 30. Ever since I was a kid--I seem to grow it to about BSL plus a bit (but not quite waist) & then cut it off--so I figured I would go for waist, now. I don't think I have ever let it grow for more than 4 years--so this time I am letting it grow for at least 5-7 years (as a scientific experiment--plus the fact that I really like the way long hair looks).

[dor3girl]

20 :) 3 years ago.

i always WANTED long hair, but my mom cut it when i was a child:(
since i was a teenager i tried several times, but ever capitulated...

Moms mean well, but sometimes just don't get it. . . Mine was always getting mine cut short & my sister won't let her 8 year old get hers cut (even though she really wants to cut it, it's super thick & tangles too easily--plus is fast growing hair!)--I told her she ought to come to a compromise that they both can live with! Why force long hair OR short hair on a child?

[Carolyn]

At the beginning of 9th grade I had a bob like cut for my school ID picture. That in itself might not have been so horrible but my mom decided my hair was too flat and forced me to let her perm it. I grudgingly agreed with the stipulation that she not perm my bangs. I shouldn't have believed her as she did what she wanted and permed it all. I had a blonde fro. Not a pretty thing. I begged and pleaded to be allowed to wash, set and style it myself. She finally relented and let me take over my own hair care. At first I was only allowed to wash and set it once a week but soon I managed to do it twice a week and then before long it was nightly. I started growing longer at this time thinking I'd be forced to have it cut. I had older girlfriends who trimmed it for me to get rid of the perm. By the time I graduated it was about arm pit length with no perm. It's never been above my shoulders since 9th grade. I'd show you guys how awful my hair was at that stage but my mom didn't save all my school pictures. I hope I never have to have short hair again. Talk about my worst nightmare :(

[Calanthe]

I started again when I was 32. The first time was as a pre-teen.

[D-eath]

As far as I remember I've been 15 or 16.

[Saranne772]

Well, mine has been grown from a young age. Just one chop back when I was 9/10, and even then it was still being grown

[Robbi Dehlinger]

I might have started in my 20's if I was 1) Not in the Army and 2) There had been an internet???

[burns_erin]

I started to regrow my hair at 25, this time.

[mira-chan]

I started to grow my hair long at 6 years old, I decided to grow it longer than before at 18.

[thunderlilies]

Looks like I'm in the majority! I started seriously letting it grow out again when I was 19.

[Little_Bird]

I started around 16 :D

[rubyann]

I was 40 or so when I started growing my hair, this go round. I'm not putting my hair on the chopping block and will reach goal this time!

[Guenever]

I started doing something about it age 18 when I joined but at the time I'd wanted long hair since I was 13-14..

[Xanthippe]

About 19 I started considering it. I joined LHC when I was 20 and I'm 22 now.

[nessthing]

I think my last "haircut" was when I was 13 or 14. It was some time in 8th grade. Now that I've graduated high school I can aaaalmost sit on it! My hair sure has a jam-packed few years of life recorded in it.

[CurlyNinja]

I never made a conscious decision to grow my hair long until recently. I had short hair most of my childhood, and would periodically grow it long and chop it off all through middle and high school. My senior year I whacked it all off to a pixie and immediately began "growing out," even though that wasn't quite "growing long." This year I just kind of realized it had gotten pretty long and decided to go for hip/tailbone.

[sapphire-o]

My last haircut was when I was 32. I had a chin lengthed haircut. Never really had long hair before. I considered longer than shoulder length as "long" back then. :)

Somehow it just never occurred to me that long hair is an option. I didn't know anybody personally with really long hair, thought hair must be cut. I was pondering about hairstyles and DH suggested about growing it out to see how long it would get. :) So I did, and unfortunately it looks like I might know the answer soon.

[Ade]

In second grade I asked me mother to stop cutting my hair. She actually listened to me!

[psycho]

I had long hair my entire life until I chopped it to about an inch shorter than chin-length at age 11 or 12. That was the last time it had a serious cut, but I still put 15-20 because I didn't put serious work into my hair until shortly after my 18th birthday when I joined LHC, at which time I started systematically cutting off small amounts to remove damaged once-permed hair. Now, this hair is never getting chopped again! I am determined to see just how long and healthy it can get.

[HeavenlyTresses]

When I was 10 I chopped off my waist-length hair and vowed to never cut it again. I had a fe-mullet (female mullet) until senior year then grew it out to one length with bangs and still haven't stopped.

[Medvssa]

I voted 0-10, because I wanted very long hair since I remember, and I have never chosen a short cut because I wanted short hair, if that makes any sense :shrug: My mother forced me to cut it very short once when I was 11 or 12, and I shaved when I was balding due to sickness. Being clueless about haircare did the rest.

[Suitsuki]

I started growing when I was 7, maybe 8.

There was a woman on tv whose brilliant red hair was down to her waist, wavy with slightly curled ends. I stared it for some minutes and then screamed to my mother, "I want hair like THAT!".

Haven't cut it shorter than bsl since then :)

[after hours]

I really started to grow it at 13 or 14 I think, once I was old enough to do what I wanted with it. I think I'd always wanted it from a really young age though.

[Vivien']

Started at 15 or 16. Before I have the traditionnal masculine short haircut. (Eh !)

[Ketisfolk]

Well, the frequency of haircuts has been going down since I came to university. Last major cut I had was when I was 18, it was about BSL and then I cut it beyond my shoulders. I guess you'd call that the starting point really, as it's been growing since then. I really made a concious decision to grow it just before my last haircut in May, which was only a trim. Anyway, growing my hair saves on hairdressing fees :D which is always important when you're a student!

[Sarahmoon]

Twice actually. The first time after it was cut in this terrible boycut, I think I was 6 or 7 then, and most recently when I was 21. (So voted 20-25)

[rockkcor]

'Life is too short - better start to grow your hair long'
It is true!
I started in my late 30's!

[Brownie]

I started to grow my hair when I was 13. It was a little bit shorter than APL, now I'm 14 and my hair reaches BSL. ;)

[may1em]

Stopped cutting at 22, started growing intentionally at 23.

[magpielaura]

I've never had a drastic haircut - I don't think I've had it shorter than bsl. Every few months my mum would trim a bit off, then my bf did it, but since he has become my husband I've discovered S&D. No more trimming for a few years to see how far it will go! I suppose until now there was no concious decision to grow it. It just is. You could say I began to grow it longer when I found out (here!) that I might coax it longer with the right care.:cheer:
I've only once let a proper hairdresser cut my hair - a tiny trim last year. I had to try it once!

[berr]

Hmm.. I honestly can't answer this because it would be a case of 'which time' instead of when. First time was around 14 yrs of age.

[NeilTheFuzz]

I started growing my hair when I was 14, the reason was because I used to permanently have a number 1 buzz I had to keep buzzing it every 2 weeks. The hair trimmers I had were a bit rubbish, so instead of cutting my hair they sort of used to chew my hair so more times than less it was painful. I got fed up and thought that I'd never had a go at long hair before so I thought I'd give a go. Seven years down the line and here I am! :cheese:

[nisolu]

I was 29, right after I had my third child. When I was pregnant with her I cut all my hair off and right away I knew I had made a mistake. Live and Learn :) Never again!

[Patrycja]

I am currently 26 and I started at the beginning of this year. About to turn 27...

[DecafJane]

Wow, this is a tough one for the fickle to fill out. :p
I grew my hair to mid-back-length at 15, 23 and started growing it again at 29. This time I am growing it intentionally as opposed to through benign neglect, and it is for keeps. I am a long-haired girl through and through. (I LOVE the toys, and am a gadget person by nature!) :D

[eternallyverdan]

Is there anybody else out there who has never cut their hair? I'm 23 and I've never even trimmed it. My hair had been stalled at waist since my junior year of high school, but it started growing again last year and is now just about classic and still going strong!

[Speckla]

32 - I decided to embrace my hair's natural curl and color.
________
F50 GT (http://www.ferrari-wiki.com/wiki/Ferrari_F50_GT)

[Nanni]

The first time I decided to grow it long, I was about 17. At the age of 21, my hair was at waist. But then I had some bad hairdresser experiences, and had to cut my hair to shoulder length. Now I am 24 and my hair is about 2 inches longer than BSL. I have to trim it often to get rid of some dammage.

[Curlsgirl]

I was 45 so about when I joined here! :D

[Laululintu]

I've had long-ish hair since I was 3, or so, and have been growing it long on purpose since I was 21. Then again, I hadn't had hair short than APL since elementary school either.

[Starr]

I put 20-25, because although I've had longish hair (BSL to waist) most of my life, I didn't make the conscience effort to grow it out until a few months after my 20th birthday.

[vampodrama]

25-ish.

before that my general thing for my hair was "let's chop it off with hedge scissors, dye it black and spike it with office glue!"

ah, my wild youth ;)

[Strangefire]

I started growing it long when I was 17, but I was completely hair care clueless at that time, so my long hair ended up a mess. But two years ago, at age 27, I made a committed choice to grow my hair long, and to take good care of it. It's been growing happily ever since. :)

[windinherhair]

When I first started to grow my hair long I was about 10-11 years old. Then I cut it all off again when I was 14 (above my shoulders). Now I am long again and there is no turning back. :)

[viking_quest]

I started growing out my hair at age 15. It was the first time I ever really wanted to try out long hair.

[RoseRedDead]

I consciously made the decision to grow in January of 2007 - I was 14 1/2 years old.

[masterofmidgets]

My mom kept it barely past my ears when I was younger, because I couldn't take care of it on my own and I was too tender-headed for her to brush/comb it. In high school I decided to start growing it out, mostly because I wanted curly hair and thought it would be curly if it were longer (I was kind of right?). I can't imagine having it short again.

[AmyJorgensen]

I was actually born with long hair. The longest bit was about 3 inches long and they put it up in a curler for my birth photo with my little hospital i.d. bracelet on. Strangely, it was a dark brown when I was born...then it went to red...and now it is in between brown, red and blonde. Go figure. We ought to do a "did your hair ever change color on its own?" thread.:cheese:

[Forever_Sophie]

I was in my early twenties, maybe...21 or so, and looking back, I can't even remember what exactly inspired that! I mean, I've always liked long hair, but what brought me to longhairlovers.com or something... not sure, but that's when I got serious about growing it!

[L1]

At my confirmation, when I was 14 :D

[GeoJ]

I started to grow mine when I was about 16, after growing out and cutting off the rest of the unflattering perm I got when I was 14. Once I was about 18 I started to intentionally grow it really long (but didn't know how to care for it, other than tossing the curling iron).

[Gutterfayrie]

when I was 28 and I broke my ankle and it was to much bother to go get my hair cut. By the time I could drive again, my hair was shoulder length, the longest it had been since i was 11, and I decided to see how long I could grow it, and get rid of the old bleached part.

[zen_oven]

I said 30-35, though I've had long hair at various times, mainly when I was in high school, parts of college, and right before I got married at 28. There were a couple of times that I thought I would try to grow my hair to my waist, but I always wound up giving up and cutting it back to shoulder length. This time, at 31, I've stuck with it for almost a year, and I'm pushing BSL. By next year at this time I may hit waist!

[Locksmith]

I had short hair until I was about three, I think, and then it just kept growing til it was long! :) It was always trimmed pretty regularly - I only recently started "seriously growing" it as opposed to maintaining length - but it's been at least APL for as long as I can really remember.

[LHGypsyRose]

I decided to never have short hair again after being forced to get a horrible pixie cut at the age of thirteen. I've had numerous cuts scince then, but never gone short again.

[Delilah]

At 26- 3.5 years ago.
In that time I have gone from pixie to waist - with trims in between.

[Laurel32]

At 15 years old. I was getting regular hair cuts before and didn't pay much attention to the length of my hair. I decided to grow my hair out when I saw that the length looked good on me. :)

[Robbi Dehlinger]

I decided to never have short hair again after being forced to get a horrible pixie cut at the age of thirteen. I've had numerous cuts scince then, but never gone short again.

Hi:)

OBVIOUSLY you have not from your piccy?? Very lovely!!:cheese:

[inertia]

The first time my hair started growing long was when I was born. I think it was waist-length by the time I was 4 or 5, and it stayed trimmed to about that length until I was 11 and got tired of it. Since then I've grown it out and cut it short a few more times.

[dontknowaname]

At about 9-10 if I remember it right :p

[Natalia]

I voted 0 - 10 because when i was around 5 years old i told my mom she wasnt allowed to make me get my hair cut anymore :p. I didnt get super seriosus about it till my early teens and then got side tracked when i started early at community college and got back into it maybe 2 years ago. Other than bangs and face framing layers i havent cut off any significant length since i was 5, not that ive made any great progress either. Ive never been shorter than BSL that i can remember.

[Nera]

I started when I was sixteen! Now I'm 18.

[Longhairpixie]

I started at after my pixie cut

[Alun]

15, but is that 10-15 or 15-20? I checked 10-15.

For years, though, it was shoulder length or not much longer. I thought that was long, but then I had an epiphany and started to grow it longer when I was 23. So perhaps I should have checked 20-25?

Even then I had it trimmed too often, until a few years ago, maybe 5, which might make me about 46 at the time. So, that would be 45-50.

Ideally, I would have liked to have checked off all the above. Even then it might imply I had short hair inbetween. I didn't, it just wasn't getting longer, or not getting longer as quickly.

[enfys]

Since I've never been shorter than BSL in my memory, I put 0-10. I'm growing deliberately now, but I had a head start on most of you! No, it wasn't a pun.

[JamieLeigh]

I chose 10-15, because I was about 10 when my mom had to chop a perm out of my hair (above shoulders), thanks to huge tangling knots. (It was supposed to be a nice wave, it ended up being French poodle - my hair has always held curl way too easily) I didn't cut my hair at all until age 17, not even a trim. And when I cut at 17, it was just below BSL and I've kept it long. :)

[papillion]

I started growing my hair in the summer between primary school and high school, so I would have been about ten years old. I was allowed to grow it on the condition that I kept it tied back in a plait when I was at school so that I didn't get in the way.

It got to about BSL, and I kept it there for years. About 2004 I decided to see how long it would get and started growing it again. I had it trimmed back to BSL in 2006 after someone commented on how messy the ends were. And now I'm growing it again, and this time I won't let anyone else's opinion influence me to trim it!

[clairenewcastle]

I chose between 40 - 45 because I had it all cut off in \March in order to start again.
However I've had it long through two stages in my life
Here's to third time lucky!

[Aer]

I voted for 15-20. Although I went on a hair growing journey from 14 to 17, that ended in a hair highlighting tragedy, and so I chopped it. I started this growing adventure when I was roughly eighteen/nineteen.

[Robbi Dehlinger]

50+ since I sarted growing it (agian) about 2 years ago and I am almost 57 now??

[ChrissieM]

My mom kept my hair short when I was a child because it tangled so easily (still have that problem) but I always wanted it longer. She finally started letting me grow longer when I was in 7th grade. And I finally got to get rid of the awful perm that she and my grandmother made me get from 4th-6th grade! I had longish (BSL) hair all through high school until my senior year when i cut it to shoulder to look more "mature" for college. I went through a cycle of growing it out to BSL then cutting it short until I was 23, then grew out to APL for several years (until age 29), then decided that it was LONG for me. I got it to waist length by Dec 08, then had a shorter-than-I-should-have trim in April 09....I wanted layers and it cut back to upper BSL. I liked it for a few weeks but I realized that I really wanted longer hair. So then I found LHC.

[Anywhere]

I grew my hair at maybe age 11 or so, since I was sick of short hair and constantly being told "You look just like your brother!".

[Hiriel]

I started to grow out from shoulder length when I was 13, but this is the first time I'm "actively" trying to grow it longer than BSL.

[Tinose]

The second my parents let me start growing it out from its bob. Admittedly, I tend to get distracted/bored/whatever and chop it off at waist length, but I figured I'd go for as long as I could stand it this time.

[claram89]

I'm 20 now, and I just started growing out my hair, but I dont know which option to put. 15-20 or 20-25.

[Laylah]

I have always wanted long hair but my mother insisted on trimming my hair every month or so, so I had BSL hair until I was 12 or 13, when I decided to grow it out. Unfortunately, I cut it off to above APL the same year. Since then I haven't cut it more than a one inch trim. I also grew out my bangs after third grade (9?). So I guess I started to grow it out somewhere between 12-13.

[LittleOrca]

I started when I was about 2, but it all off when I was in first grade, kept it shoulder length and then eventually pixie length through 4th grade, started growing it back out when I was 9 and bobbed it at 11 and started to grow from there.

[Quixii]

My Mother started to let my hair grow from day one :)
Same here. I've never had it cut. (Though have had it trimmed, especially since my mother believes the thing about trimming every so often to get it to grow more.)

[paintedmuse]

I started last summer, when I was fifteen. :)

[Hay22]

I started being more and more interested in having my hair long last year at 21, then got serious about it at the beginning of this year at 22. I don't ever want to have it above shoulder again.

[LoversLullaby]

I've always wanted really long hair, but hadn't started growing it really long until about a year ago (and I still have a ways to go)

[Debra83]

I grew my hair the longest (waist) at age 25, and for the next couple of years. Then cut it short, then grew it long again (waist), then cut it short. At 43, decided to grow hair long again...now I'm 44...still growing....and will keep it long from now on. I will not be getting it cut shorter than BSL ever again, and will try to stay around waist which is what I consider long.

[23_seconds]

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[Isa-belle]

10.
I had long hair when I was a small child, but that was not exactly a conscious choice of mine. Then when I was 10 my mum cut my hair in a very short bob, and that is when I realized for the first time that having long hair was part of who I was. I couldn't wait for my hair to be long again and was so excited when it reached waist length again 3 years later :) Since then, and apart from one exception in 2007, my hair has always hovered around waist/hip length - though it's never been as long as it is now. :D

[Fireweed]

Had the boycut at 12 and never again. I have from then on kept it at 28 to 30 inches.

[Centifolia]

I've always wanted long hair. Since I can remember I cried each time my mom cutted my hair. But I've also always treated it very badly, and when I had the urge to cut it, I did (and regreted of course). So just two or three months ago I decided to do my best to finnaly have longer hair.

[Niftytiffs]

When I was 5 years old my Mother took me to a local hairdresser and asked for him to cut my waist length hair off as it was getting hard to handle. The stylist refused as he believed long lovely hair was every woman (and girls) crowning glory. So my mother picked up a pair of scissors and threatened to do it if he didnt! :mad: Following on from that I went through childhood with one of those horrid pageboy haircuts. When I was about 9 I persuaded my Mum to let me get it cut short. I then spent about 4 years with people thinking I was a boy! I guess thats when I decided to grow it long but there was one hiccup when I had the whole lot cut off really short. I had another hiccup in 2005 when I went into a really good salon and asked for 4 inches to be taken off my waist length hair. They took 14 inches off.....I was seriously unhappy! Since then I've been growing it and its never going to be short again!

So, I voting for which ever catagory the age of 13 comes into! :D

Tiffers

[meph]

17, a few months shy of 18.

[colibri]

i am starting now at 19 years

[Ina]

13-14 years the first time I started grow it out.

[hmmruka]

I started at 21!

[prittykitty]

When I was just a very young child I always had very long hair. My mother would not let me cut it. In fact even when I was a young teenager she was very reluctant to let me have the Farrah Fawcett cut. There are so many times I wish she had been far more strict and not let me cut my hair at all, even in my older teenage years. Maybe I would have appreciated it by the time I was 18 and maybe today my hair may be below knee length.

Since I have been an adult, I have always been trying to grow it out again, just that I was doing all the wrong things to it and abusing it. I am now trying all over again, starting at the length I have now.

[Elvi]

I started growing for the first time when I was eleven, but my hair was cut short a few years later, then shoulder long for many years.

[maaria]

At 40 years old! Better late than ever:p

[jasper]

my mom kept my hair short when I was little. When I started school at age 5 I wanted to grow my hair long like the other girls.

I've gone through cycles of short and long since then, so I haven't been growing my hair since age 5 and could have marked an older range for this round of growing my hair.

[drquartz1970]

First grew hair long between 15-17. Then had a collar-lenght shaggy hair style for next 20 years. Then at 37 decided to grow it real long. Now 20 months and counting.........:cheese:

[Henrietta]

If you mean serious growing- now, which is 18. The fact that I was trying to grow it since I cut it when I was 8 doesn't count, because I was hesitating too much. I am growing well-and-truly now.

[andwife]

My mother did awful things to my hair when I was a teen. Dye, perm, mullet- I didn't even know what my natural hair color was. So, I kept with the program until I was about 29 and had the Jennifer Anniston hair cut. When I got married I let it grow longer but I've always kept it cut BSL. I'm turning 40 in September and it hit me- I never let it grow all the way out just to see what it would do.

I was talking to him and I told him that I wished I had let it grow when we first met to just see what it would have done because I think it would have been pretty (especially after seeing all the pictures on here). He said, "you don't get do overs, you get to go to bed" it was midnight when had the conversation. I decided then I was growing it to at least my hip to see what would happen. That's 6 inches. Not too much to go (it grows pretty quick.) I'm glad to see some people saying they made the decision at my age to grow it out.

A lot of people give me a hard time about it being this long. I don't think it's long. According to this place it isn't ;-)

[poloandpearls]

Haha I'm with darkwave.
0-6, then cropped to my chin.
Grew again until starting highschool when I got it cut just past my shoulders
& decided to grow it again a couple of years later, until early this year when it was butt-length.. & then the hairdresser I went to stole six inches from me & I'm trying to grow it back because butt-length was my ideal & I loved it!

[Qwerty Uiop]

I cut my hair for the first time when I was 7 and for the last time (not counting trims) when I was 13. I stopped trimming sometime between 25 and 30. I'm 45 now.

I was known for my beautiful long hair as a child and always figured I could grow it back. I could sit on it before the first chop and had several false starts when I decided to grow it back, but then decided to be patient and after doing some research on how fast hair grows, came to the conclusion that I would have my hair back and be able to sit on it again when I was 19.

What i didn't factor in was that my body was also growing! It turns out that I have a very short terminal length. It is the same LENGTH as it was when I could sit on it, but I am much taller so now it only reaches the small of my back (if I cheat a bit by lifting up my chin and tilting my head back, lol).

[ArienEllariel]

20. The older ladies and gents on this forum are a constant inspiration! I think people should grow their hair out if they want to and it shouldn't matter how young or old you are. :)

[cmnt831]

My hair was let to grow down the middle of my back when I was about 5 years old, apparently. There's a picture, but I don't remember it. Mostly, my hair was too bushy and thick to care for properly and so it was usually cut short, but then allowed to grow long again. I know there's another pic of me at age 9 with hair down my back. The next time I grew it long was high school, mid-back again. Then chopped, then grew it again in college down to my hips. Then chopped after working at my first job. Then grew it out, then chopped in cyclical fashion a few times in the past decade. Now, I'm pretty much committed to growing it out as long as it will go (or until I can't care for it properly) - especially since dh has expressed an opinion that he would love to have it very long. He doesn't ask for much in the way I dress or wear my hair and since out goals seem to mesh on the growing out thing, it's just another good reason to not cut it this time. :)

So now it's been growing out for a couple of years from chin length. I'm well into my 30s by now to make this commitment.

[JenniferNoel]

My hair has only been above my shoulders twice in my life at the early onset of puberty. :p
Other than that it's never been above my shoulders, when I was a little peanut I always had waist/hip length.
The median of my hair length of life has always been probably waist.

[LunarAurora]

I always wanted my hair long but I "actively let it grow" (care, henna, S&D etc) since I am 25 I think.. :)

[Loreley]

I've been growing it since I was 4. My waist length hair was cut to a very short boyish style and I decided not to cut it again.

[Hotrox]

I had a bob for pretty much all my 20's and started to grow it again at age 30

[Robbi Dehlinger]

age 51 in 2003:)

[MandyBeth]

28 post PPD reaction. Had I not reacted and thus losing major thickness, I'd never grow it out as it was nearly impossible to handle undercut at jaw length.

[GlassEyes]

With setbacks...around 15, I suppose? I didn't join LHC until right before my...seventeenth birthday? Yeah, sounds about right. :)

[Venefica]

I have had long hair and short hair and long hair again all through my life. Basically my mother and grandparents are not the biggest fan of long hair so it was a bit of a struggle there. When I was very young I had really short hair, I looked like a boy. When I was 10 or so I started to grow my hair out and it got far down my back, then when it started getting tangly I cut it into a chin length bob, this repeated itself several times. As an adult I had long hair, or at least hair part my shoulders most of the time, but then I had a mental breakdown and cut it all off, I did such a hack job that I was back to a few cm hair once a hairdresser had cleaned up the mess. The I started saving again when I was 24 years old and now at 28 I have hair to my waist.

[Lianna]

I've had midback hair until about 12, then I cut it because I thought my head shape was weird. :p Where I live is too hot to wear down everyday and I couldn't wear pony's with a weird head. :D I started growing again at 24.

[Peregrine]

I went from BSL to MBL to buzz cut back to MBL. It wasn't until I was 23 that I consciously started to grow my hair long.

[wickedwitch]

Since I can remember. I've cut it to shoulder length twice, but I always started growing it out again immediately.

[Dragon]

I started when I was 12. Got it cut off when 16 due to damage and started again straight away after that.

[LilYaYa56]

I started to grow my hair long when I was 9.

[emptyque]

I've been curious about this as well, plus if the average age has changed since this thread was last active.

[mayfaring]

I kept a pixie cut to bob length cut during my late teens and started growing it out in my twenties. I'd been stuck at around BSL for a couple years, but am making growth progress now.

[colin]

Started at 18. Wanted to grow my hair out starting in like 6th grade because of a friend who had long hair but always got talked into a haircut without too much fuss. When I left for college though I started growing and have been since.

[Sarahlabyrinth]

Well, I have often wanted long hair, but always caved in to other people's opinions that it didn't suit me, that I was too old, or what-have-you. When I finally decided once and for all to grow it long, I was 45. Two years later I found TLHC and it has been a happy process, mostly, ever since :D

[raemarthe]

I decided to grow my hair out at 14 from shoulder length, and now at 18 it is half an inch away from waist (curly). It would be longer except I had to BC it in 2014 due to bad damage.

[Ligeia Noire]

I pretty much always had long hair so I answered 15-20

[ExpectoPatronum]

I've actually been trying to grow my hair long since my teens, but I didn't seriously get into long hair care until I was like..20? I actually don't remember. I started at around shoulder in my teens. Because I colored often and flat ironed daily, it took forever to grow from shoulder to APL.

Though my hair isn't very long, I easily go from BSL to waist in a few months. Then I end up cutting it because my curls start to look sad around waist.

[The Maple Leaf]

My hair got long through my experiments with cutting it myself. Until I was 20, it was in a regular short back and sides haircut. For various reasons, I didn't like going to the barber's or how my hair looked after it was cut. One day, I decided to try cutting my hair myself. As I recall, I first cut the front, mainly bangs, and only later did I try to cut the back. It may have taken a year and a half of doing this, but eventually I settled on a one-length bob, which seemed to be the easiest way of doing this. I have consistently had a man-bob since I was 21-22, which I also find to be a distinctive look.

[Groovy Granny]

I was long in my teens in the 60's until I was 23, then again briefly in the late 80's for a few years.

The latest was at age 61 :o

Now at 65 I am keeping it at HIP for the rest of my days :cheer:

[Dark40]

I've always had long hair accepted for a chin length bob I cut in the year of 1990 when I was 18. But I've always wanted long hair.

[guywithlonghair]

at 18 years old :)

[Aredhel]

When I was about 12. :)

[TheJourney]

Last year when I was 35.

[TatsuOni]

At age 16. I started with 0,5 cm. It will be ten years this summer :)

[Kikyou]

I had it long (classic) as a kid, but didn't liked it really and went shoulder when 11. I decided to grow it when I was 19, but I could't go further than armpit, becuase it was completely fried. I actually started gaining lenght without regular chops about 20-21, so I voted 20-25

[Panedora]

I think my whole life has been a back and forth of growing to low back length only to chop it off, Maybe I can make it longer and keep it this time.

[Aunty Miki]

My hair would yo-yo between long and short during college. I cut it short for the last time in 2011 when I was 43

[Kat-Rinnè Naido]

All my life. But more seriously at 43 when I saw it really growing downwards.

[Fia]

I was a short-hair all the way up to my early 30's when I started growing it out for the first time. Hit hip with hennaed hair and then got too persuaded by a then partner that wasn't fond of my long hair to cut it. Ended up with a longish bob, colored and in need of styling every morning to look good. After that I went back to my pixie that had been my go-to style for many years. Started regrowing again in my early 40's and am now somewhere around MBL with the intention to grow it as far as it will go.

[MlleMC]

I really grew my hair for the first time as a pre-teen, but then I gave in to my mother's comments and cut back. I decided to grow it again at 17, but then I had it cut back to chin length on an impulse after a year and a half. I was 19 by that point, and I just kept growing ever since.

[elfgirl]

I had long hair consistently until I was 22, then it was around shoulder length and eventually became a pixie. But now at 26 (27 next month) I'm starting to grow it out again ^_^

[WavyWannabe]

I wanted long hair at six years old, and I kept it long since then. However, I didn't "actively" grow my hair, and just did not feel compelled to cut it short.
I started to take care of my hair and decided I wanted to grow it longer a few months ago. I was, and still am, 18.

[Lisa Long4Life]

This time I was 37. I had longer hair when I was younger but each time there was no real goal, it just happened.

[lizardspots]

I wanted long hair from my early 20s, and tried growing it long but was heavily discouraged by my mother who said my hair was too fine and thin and looked bad. I yoyo'd between mid-back to bob/pixie about three times, the last big chop was in 2015. This time I am growing no matter what! And luckily I have a partner who is happy with whatever I do to my hair.

[restless]

I was 24 when I started this journey.

[Minahs]

Just starting! (25 now)

[Kitty-Zen]

Around 20/ in 2010. I got sick of the funky black dyed razor cut I had for a while and missed my BSL - approaching mid back pink and black look. This time I wanted super long white hair. I destroyed my hair with bleach. it went totally elasticy and dry:( so my unfortunate accident resulting in a BIG chop about 2years later (from just past collarbone to punk asymetrical mullet) was a blessing in disguise, allowing me to start over a bit ...and be smarter about bleach.

[yahirwaO.o]

Since I was 15 I have had all lenght avaliable from buzz cut to classic to mbl to shoulder. Im 25 now and growing again!!!!!

[EmbracetheHippy]

I started at 53. I've had sort of grown out hair for most of my life, but caved to pressure to be "stylish". I'm loving it!

[Glitch]

20-25 range, and I started literally about 2 months ago, which makes me so sad :( I feel like it will take me forever to get where I want to be with my hair (which has years of all kinds of damage). If only I had realized all that I know now much sooner, I would have saved my hair from so many years of heavy damage. Oh well, better late than never, right?

[pandabarrier]

I voted 30-35. I had long hair in my early 20s, but briefly. I started to actively grow long hair at age 31.

[twill]

I've always had long hair (unless you're counting the time I gave myself bangs when I was 7...). My mom is from the Holiness Movement; none of the women cut their hair.

[Techmouse]

First year of college. Long hair took less work than short hair.

[Morphinea]

I was 11 years old and it was year 1999. I had really short bob and since then I haven't cut my hair shorter.

[cm006j]

I was 11 years old and it was year 1999. I had really short bob and since then I haven't cut my hair shorter.

That is amazing! I am impressed.

When I was about five I saw Crystal Gayle on TV at my grandmother's house and I said, "That's what I want."

As a teenager I went through a long period of feeling extreme guilt about things and I felt like I couldn't have my hair the way I wanted it because other people couldn't. I don't know. It was weird. But that kept me from growing my hair for a long time.

Since then my hair has been up and down in length. I've gotten to classic and I've cut back to APL. But since I was a toddler my hair has never been shorter than APL.

[Kandy]

...I didn't know whether to choose 10-15 or 15-20...

[lapushka]

I was 5/6 and head strong. I reached classic at 10/11 (in that school year). Then at age 11 for the new school year, I had it cut into a page boy cut. I didn't reach classic again until I was 43 years old, September 2015. :D :o

[snowstorm]

My mom cut my hair for most of my childhood. I went between above ear length and shoulder length more times than I could ever recall. But I finally decided to start growing out my hair in high school, but still kept it just past shoulder length. I eventually grew it out to a little past armpit length but I got bored and bleached and had to cut it. This happened twice through the last couple of years.

[macguffin]

Depends on how you define "long". I grew it out to awkward stage length when I got to college and then kept it there for years before deciding to actually grow it long. So my actually going for long hair would be 22.

[leayellena]

23. Still learning about my hair.

[lisamt]

I had shoulder length hair until I was around 7 or 8 when I all of a sudden decided I just didn't want to cut it anymore for about a year. After that I grew it out to bsl mainly because I just didn't care about it. I think I was around 12 when I decided to actively start growing it out and I was really into growing it and my goal was tailbone until I was around 15 and I decided to maintain between waist and hip. Now, I've decided to grow it out again with the goal of tailbone (again) :laugh:

[Garnetgem]

From the age of 10 i decided i wanted long hair it was around chin length then and since then its been many lengths...

[iforgotmylogin]

Results centered around later adolescence :D

[Siri]

I always wanted long hair but when I was about 10 my hair was really damaged from a home permanent my mother gave me. Because of the damage my hair was cut to somewhere between chin and shoulder length in kind of a medium bob. After that I grew my hair to around mid back and I kept it at that length through my teens. Since then I've been pretty serious about wanting it super long and haven't had it shorter then waist length.

[peachyleshy]

I voted 25-30. This time when I started growing I was 25...( so young :( ) Now I'm 28 and still growing, perhaps for the last time, the longest time, for my longest length ever! I tried to grow it long when I was about 14-16, then I cut it short when I was 16 1/2. It started with small trims and I just really liked cutting my own hair so I kept doing it. Then I chopped it to chin length and had to go get it cut into a shaggy bob. It was pretty cute! Then I grew my hair from about age 17-21 and was very serious about it. That was when I first joined here! But then when I was 21 1/2 I cut it into a bob and dyed it black - I had actually gotten to BSL and had grown out all of the dye just before I cut it! I just needed to cut it though.... So no use regretting it. Once I did it I felt more my age and like I looked my age (people still always think I am younger). And around that time I just started feeling more confident in myself and the haircut just went hand in hand with that! Plus there was a lot of family issues going on and that just seemed to help shed that stuff off...
But now I am growing it long again and I'm sticking with it. Because I have always wanted long hair. It is time I have it! Surely I can have "long" hair by the time I'm 30!

[PrincessAralin]

I was so young I don't even remember making the decision, it's like it was always there my whole life. So I was probably a toddler?

[animetor7]

My answer is a bit complicated. I put 0-10 because I first grew my hair long as a young child for dance (classical or lyrical ballet mostly so that meant really long hair) but then cut it short in middle school when I took a break from dancing for a year, only to grow it back out again at 14. I've kept it long since then.

[Shadowmew]

10-15 years old. Before that my hair was about chin/lower part of my year length.

[Waveurly]

Well, I used to have almost waist length hair. I've cut it a few times in life. Even one time 3 milimeters (such a bad mistake, never again!!). So, now, after another mistake of bleaching it, I'm growing it out. I'm 29 now and am very serious and dedicated to keep it long this time.

[Alibran]

The first time, I was very young, but it was more of a thing that just happened rather than a decision. My hair was classic length by the time I was 12.

I had it cut short at 14, started growing again at 28 and reached TBL.

Had it cut progressively shorter and shorter from age 33, until it was back to a pixie at 38.

Then started growing again at 42, and here I am now with shoulder length hair.

I must get bored easily!

[pili]

I've cut to pixie many times in my life, but the most recent grow out started at 37 in Jan or 2012. This has been the slowest one because I keep making stupid decisions about my hair (bleach). Usually five years gets me to hip. I'm sitting at BSL. The bleach is gone now, though, so I'm hoping for smooth sailing from here on out.

[Dark40]

I started growing my hair long when I 14 years old. I have BSL hair up until I 18 years old. Then, I went through the big chop and had a chin length bob up until I was in my early 20's, and I had wore it that length for 25 years, and the age of 39 is when I decided to grow my hair back out again, and now I'm WL!

[Seija]

I've always wanted long hair, just not enough to put the flat iron down. Started taking it more seriously last year when I was 27.

[mamastawb]

About a year ago I decided I was done with the whole super-short-and-gay-undercut and wanted to "grow it out" but I only decided I'd like to grow it super long in May. So age 22!

[Veganmayhem]

2011, after 10 years of rocking a short angled bob, ( and needing a haircut every 6 weeks to maintain the look) I now love my long hair.

[Halaminiku]

I was always trying to grow it longer from I was very young. When I was about 15, I had a major cut and started growing (almost) from scratch again.

[Dark40]

I've always had long hair until I got a chin length bob at age 18. Then, after joining the LHC in 2010 I've been trying to grow my hair out long again ever since, and I have reached WL! And, hope to grow much longer soon!

[wannabe-rusalka]

I just stopped cutting my hair when I was 17 almost but I didn't really start a concerted effort until a few months ago (now I am 18 turning 19 now)

[carlimeow]

My first hair growth journey commenced when I was about thirteen years old, in 2009. Speaking generally I had already started to grow my hair out much earlier, but age thirteen was when I started really "getting into it" (measuring, using henna and other natural products, forgoing damaging practices, researching and collecting knowledge about hair and hair growth, etc.), so that's the age I consider myself to have truly become immersed into the world of very long hair. :blossom:

[Rustam]

Started officially at 22. Never really thought about growing it long before that.

[MusicalSpoons]

I started to grow from a bob around the age of 6, and got to a cycle of ~TBL / cut each year to hip+ / regrow before LHC. I started to take better care of my hair to grow longer at age 27 so it's now constantly longer than it's ever been :D

[Robi-Bird]

I officially started growing it out four-five years ago, in my mid to late twenties. My hair had been in a bob for a while, but my best friend was getting married and I knew she'd always loved my hair longer, though it only had been for about two years when we were in high school. So I decided to grow it however long it would get in time for her wedding. It was just passed my shoulders for the wedding. I just never stopped growing it.

[WillOTree]

I decided when I shaved my head and was determined to grow out long healthy hair, so I was 24 I think.

[caissafrass]

I started to grow it out at like 15 after I realized i look like a loon with a bob.

[jansmith]

i never cut it

[Begemot]

I let it grow as a kid because I didn't care how my hair looked. I would let it grow long and then hack it short. As a tween I went from a bob to TBL until I cut it when I was about 12. My first decision to actively grow longer happened when I was 17-18.

[Lysette]

I was a bald baby and my hair was incredibly thin and wispy until I was about 3 or 4. So when it finally started to grow my mother was so excited she just let it grow. By the time I was old enough to decide what I wanted to do with my own hair, long hair had just become a part of how I saw myself. I've always had it at least waist length. Maybe 10 or so years ago I grew it out to classic, but those few

[FaerieToast]

My hair's been long... for as long as I can remember! I readily accepted long hair as a kid to be something that's just part of me (if I hadn't, it would have been a problem because my mum had strong opinions about it staying that way, lol). Lysette's post above is wonderfully similar to how I felt, too!

I never took very good care of my hair or checked its length before my highschool chop (or for 6 more years after that) though, so I can only assume it was somewhere between waist and tailbone length. That length is somehow my gut feeling for 'when I see my hair as finally being long again'.

[Maya Louise]

I was 21 when I started growing from a pixie. I wanted it long in middle school/high school but I always thought you had to cut it every 8 weeks to prevent split ends so it never got anywhere further than APL. I’m going about it a little smarter this time around!

[dyna]

I'm male, so the metrics and expectations are different. When I was 21, it got to shoulder length, and started getting tangled/snagged when I slept, so I cut it back. It hasn't been "short" by male standards since. Now I'm 71, somewhere around BSL (how would I know without a BS?) and haven't had it cut for several years (when I was getting ready to drive to the US deep South, a region not known for its acceptance of difference... turned out that at least in urban areas people don't care, but I did see the movie Deliverance).

[Ellethwyn]

I was 21. Right after my daughter was born. I grew my bangs out then, too. I had bangs always until then. I was shocked at how fast my bangs grew out, compared to the rest of my hair.

[BeverlyHills]

I had been trying to grow it long pretty much since I was 6 years old but every year or so I would get a random impulse to chop it all off and I regretted it every time.

[0xalis]

Well I grew from age 5 to 10, then chopped my waist length hair and didn't actively try to grow my hair again until I was 16- when I came to TLHC for the first time. I answered 20-25 because I'm 23 now and I'm starting from scratch.

[shelomit]

Haven't had a "proper haircut" since I was somewhere in the six or seven age range.

[Laurab]

I voted 20-24 because that's the most recent time.
Really my answer is like
Age 7- Decided to grow out my bangs (that didn't last long lol)
Age 11- Decided to grow out my bangs and hair (Kept it about APL)
Age 19: Decided to grow out a pixie cut
Age 24: Decided to grow it out from chin length for a wedding (My current age)

I've always been much more interested in getting dramatic haircuts than growing to dramatic lengths. I'm all about that instant gratification lol. But this time I'm trying to have more fun with the length. I've got more accessories and I'm trying to learn more hairstyles, so it should be more fun.

[lapis_lazuli]

14 years old.
My hair was fried after my middle school years and I wanted the healthy long hair of my childhood back. Since then I just..never stopped letting it grow. I still haven't cut out all the damage of those days as I fell in love with each new length. So it's become more about that :p

[Ylva]

It's hard to say.

I was a long-haired child (https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=36678&d=1556577637) but then had a bob (https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=36685&d=1556577702) for many years.

In my teens (https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=39158&d=1574662655), I mostly had APL-BSL hair and I abused it a lot with chemical treatments.

Around age 20 (https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=38735&d=1570105242), I still didn't treat my hair very nicely but longer hair had become a part of my identity so my hair started to hang out around BSL-hip.

At 24 years of age, in late 2017, I finally became serious about taking good care of my hair and that's where my current haircare and growth mentality began.

[Beymine]

I initially started growing my hair at age 13 and eventually reached MBL only to cut it to a bob at age 16. I then grew it back out until age 18 when I started experimenting with different haircuts and colors until age 23. from ages 23-25 I grew it back to MBL and maintained it until I started bleaching my hair which led to damage and ultimately an undercut, then a buzz cut to get rid of all of the damage. From ages 26-27 I let it grow again until earlier this year I decided to shave the side of my head and, thank goodness I didn't dye it ash blond for my birthday like I wanted!

Now, at age 28 I am over all the cuts and colors and I am much more interested in seeing how long I can grow it.

[The-Young-Maid]

I really can't remember. It was probably anywhere from 13-16. I think I started by growing my bangs out and then kept going lol

[Autunno]

I voted 20-25. I started at 21 yo but never made it. I hope i’ll do this time

[Bri-Chan]

I always had medium/long hair. In my teenage years I cut it quite short (collarbone) 3 times, and then always have from armpit to waist length

[Bat]

Been trying and failing since my 20s, but getting more focused at 35

[JasminxCat]

I was a short haired/bob with bangs kind of kid. In my early teens I was always rocking APL length with a fringe and lots of short layers. Always wanted long hair growing up though but never had the patience. At age 19 I started to focus on the quality of my hair and finally letting it grow. Still tempted to cut it on some days but I know I would regret it

[beha]

I was about 22, 23.

[BuddhaBelle]

I was 20! :D

[Xlena]

I think 24 ;)

[Laurel Rose]

Started about a year ago at 25 and still growing, so I'll vote 25-30

[fallenrevenge]

As a dude, I tried and tried as a teen but would eventually be forced to the hairdressers

Was 17 when I finally was left to my own devices so to speak

[Hexen]

Hmm...I guess I would have to say officially around the age of 16. But back then it was a different time, and styles were certainly not like they are today.

Yeah it was kinda mullet'ish and swept over like a freakin tidal wave all Duran Duran meets Flock of Seagulls like....

[Hexen]

Hmm...I guess I would have to say officially around the age of 16. But back then it was a different time, and styles were certainly not like they are today.

Yeah it was kinda mullet'ish and swept over like a freakin tidal wave all Duran Duran meets Flock of Seagulls like....

I actually found a pic from around that time. :p
(Warning: This post will self destruct)

https://i.ibb.co/dc5f306/mull.jpg

[Dung Beetle]

I...am not hating that look, Hexen. :cool:

[Hexen]

I...am not hating that look, Hexen. :cool:

lol... Well thank you for that. :p :o

[Kwolf248Mane]

I always had BSL hair since I was a child but started to grow it longer during quarantine's last year at 28 years old.

[floridaorchid]

My mom has had SL hair her whole life. When she had me she kept it shoulder length too. When I went to school, highschoolers and elementary kids all rode together and a highschool girl with HL hair was on my bus.
I told her how pretty her hair was and that I wish my hair was like that. She told me "just let your hair grow then"
And that's the moment I realized people can actually grow their hair if they don't cut it once a month :^).
Ever since then I go on spans of growing it long and then chopping it shoulder length for some reason.