Why does time seem to stand still when you are waiting for hair to grow?

[LauraLongLocks]

Why does time seem to stand still when you are waiting for hair to grow? I mean, since I joined LHC at the end of October, the days seem to be going painfully slow. I want to measure my hair again, but it's only been a week and a half. It's only worth measuring and taking a length picture once a month, right? My days are plenty busy, with more than enough to do, but every time I get on LHC I feel like time has stopped. At least the wear your hair up challenge and how are you wearing your hair today threads give me a chance to wear my hair in lots of different updos. Trying out new updos helps pass the time while I'm waiting for it to grow. :whistle:

[RainbowBowser]

My hair has been the same length since August, I know how you feel.

[Crumpet]

I calmed down once I reached waist. Also, I think that the early days at the LHC are rather heady. I'm glad I'm calming down and verging more into benign neglect. You'll get there too!

[r00ski]

"a watched pot never boils" comes to mind

[Sillage]

I used to be impatient but now I focus more on enjoying the hair I have by learning new buns and buying more toys and decorations, lol.

[LauraLongLocks]

My hair has been the same length since August, I know how you feel.

Wow, have you been trimming it off at the rate it is growing?


I calmed down once I reached waist. Also, I think that the early days at the LHC are rather heady. I'm glad I'm calming down and verging more into benign neglect. You'll get there too!

I probably will, too, when I reach waist, or maybe when the holidays are upon me and I have even MORE to do outside of waiting for hair to grow, ha ha! It's like some sort of new hobby or something... waiting for my hair to grow, learning a new updo, taking pics of my hair in different updos, and purchasing new tools/toys to get my hair into the new updos that I'm learning. Ha ha!


"a watched pot never boils" comes to mind

So true.


I used to be impatient but now I focus more on enjoying the hair I have by learning new buns and buying more toys and decorations, lol.

I'm really starting to enjoy my hair at MBL for the same reason. It's finally long enough to do almost every updo that I can imagine, without modifying for super long hair yet. I think waist will be a great place to hold it while I'm growing out the last few layers. Then onto TBL and beyond... but maybe by then the rush to grow, grow, grow will not be so urgent for me. It *IS* fun to have long enough hair to do so many fun things!

[blue_eyes]

I know exactly how you feel. Usually I'm checking my roots constantly to see the results of my growth. I love being busy and forgetting about my hair, but it seems like whenever I do get around to looking at it again I can't see any difference. It's like the weeks are flying by but my hair growth is in slow motion :brickwall

[LauraLongLocks]

I know exactly how you feel. Usually I'm checking my roots constantly to see the results of my growth. I love being busy and forgetting about my hair, but it seems like whenever I do get around to looking at it again I can't see any difference. It's like the weeks are flying by but my hair growth is in slow motion :brickwall

My bangs are my indicator of growth. When they need trimmed again, I know the rest of my hair has also grown. Seems like I've gone forever without trimming the bangs, ha ha!

And since joining LHC, I am keeping a hair journal so that I can track my routine, hair styles, and measurements. So that is giving me something else hair-related to do every day. At least the next time I trim my bangs, I'll have a record of the date so that I will know how long it has been between trims. I have no idea how many weeks apart I've been trimming my bangs, but I think it's around 6 weeks. I usually do every other bang trim myself, and go to the salon every other bang trim to have them do a dusting of my ends. Not quite sure I have the confidence to do a self-trim yet.

[Madora]

Having been there myself, I can commiserate with you all. However, I learned a long time ago that the more you "check" your length, the more impatient you can become because it isn't growing as quickly as you had anticipated (for whatever reason).

So, best to try and keep it up and out of the way (if it is long enough) and learn how to work with it. If you don't know how to braid, learn how to do so using string or wool skeins tied in a knot then tied to a door knob...or held in place by a dresser drawer.

The less time you spend checking it in the mirror, the less frustrated you'll be.

[vanillabones]

Once you've been here over a year it just seems to become part of life more. Especially if you have a longgg way to grow from the start. My hair seems to just grow slow but I'm still going to try for longer lengths and hope my hair survives the journey.

[prettyinpink]

Seems like it, dosent it? lol. Stop thinking so much about the length and start focusing more on the condition. it looks very nice in your picture by the way

[freesia]

"a watched pot never boils" comes to mind

The best words to describe the situation !

I've convinced my self that the only way to notice growth is to forget about the measuring tape for at least a month.
I just put my hair out of the way and forget about it, otherwise it would take forever to grow (especially my layers :rant:)

[Tail Feathers]

so true !
I too "forgot about it" (just left it up in updos every day) for several months,
then, unexpectedly caught myself in a mirror. I had to do a double take !
Whoa ! When did that happen ?? (this happened between last year and this year)
I had gone from about BSL to almost hip, without realising !

Benign neglect is the best.....

[Tail Feathers]

Also, Madora is right... I think learning new braids and no-heat styles
and just flat being very busy helped a lot to keep the hands off the
measuring tape... (which I have a hard time using accurately anyway,
for whatever reason ! I am actually several inches longer than my avatar
length indications.....I already was, even when I put them up !)

Plus, of course.... keeping the hair in braids and updos, and just not trimming
(I used to trim (without even needing to) more than the monthly growth amount !)
...well, now I have no split ends, no damage and almost 24 inches longer hair !
and my only technique has been: put it up and forget about it.... it has never
been healthier, longer, thicker or happier !)

[Lyv]

I felt like this for a while too! I do still check the length fairly often but I've found that focusing on learning new hair styles or improving the health and overall look of my hair has helped.

[Flor]

I've calculated how long it would take to get to my goal length (based on average speed my hair grows) and now I just chill ;) Before that it was - "Is it getting any longer?? Is it?? It looks longer to me today, but maybe it's the angle???"

[askan]

I know what you mean! Having far to much sparetime doesn't help either. I'm a new member but I'm not new to impatiently watching my hair. For the last two years, I should have concentrating on babying my hair and caring for it's condition instead of whining about the damage I had done to it, I might have learned something while growing out damage that prevented me from growing it longer. Pff. But if I wanted a quick-fix, I'd get extensions. This is at least a two-year project!

Anyway, I got a new hobby - making hairsticks - so I guess that's something! :D

[askan]

By two-year project I mean getting even close to somewhere around BSL, for me (I think). Not like I'm gonna stop caring for my hair after that..

[katelinn]

I can really relate to this. I joined in October too, and I have never had longer hair than this (waist) but to reach my goal of classic I will have to wait until summer 2015 I think. Time to be patient, keeping my hair in buns and braids and just forget about it for a few months. But yes, it grows slooooowly!!

[jacqueline101]

Having been there myself, I can commiserate with you all. However, I learned a long time ago that the more you "check" your length, the more impatient you can become because it isn't growing as quickly as you had anticipated (for whatever reason).

So, best to try and keep it up and out of the way (if it is long enough) and learn how to work with it. If you don't know how to braid, learn how to do so using string or wool skeins tied in a knot then tied to a door knob...or held in place by a dresser drawer.

The less time you spend checking it in the mirror, the less frustrated you'll be.

When I first joined I was checking and measuring my hair I was wanting miricle growth from a few weeks here. It takes time to grow out your hair. I found if you ignore it it will grow.

[kaydana]

Spend a few weeks figuring out what it does and doesn't like, then give it a toy to play with and ignore it unless it tells you it wants something. Eventually it'll get bored of being ignored and start throwing toys around and shouting "LOOK AT ME I'VE GROWWWWWWWWWWWWN!"

[Aingeal]

Spend a few weeks figuring out what it does and doesn't like, then give it a toy to play with and ignore it unless it tells you it wants something. Eventually it'll get bored of being ignored and start throwing toys around and shouting "LOOK AT ME I'VE GROWWWWWWWWWWWWN!"

Where's the like button? Lol

[chen bao jun]

Haha, you should have curls. I can't measure my hair constantly because from one day to the other, it often measures SHORTER, depending on how curly the curls have decided to be.
I used to measure once a month when I joined LHC, but then guesstimated when I would reach a certain goal, put it up till then and found out I had surpassed. AFter I did this two or three times, I realized my hair actually grows consistently at 3/4 inch per month, rather than the 1/2 inch I was estimating --pleasant surprise. So I reached all my mini goals early. Also, even though I don't always measure, I take length photos. It's nice to see that not only does it grow but that the condition improves and improves. I thought I was so damaged when I joiner here that I would have to cut a significant amount eventually. But it also turned out that I never had to do that, and that I only really had damage on the very ends, which is being slowly cut off.
Do try to trim yourself. A hairdresser will cut months or years off with a single snip, because their goal is not that your hair is longer, but that the ends are even, or that it's cut in a style, things that probably don't matter to you....

[chen bao jun]

When my hair seems growing especially slowly, I keep reminding myself that 3/4 inch is faster than 'average', and that I need to be patient. Do try the mini goal thing. I want to grow to waist eventually, but that will take 3 years total, so I never think about that goal. (and now 18 months have passed, not thinking about it, only 18 months more)

[MaryMarx]

Spend a few weeks figuring out what it does and doesn't like, then give it a toy to play with and ignore it unless it tells you it wants something. Eventually it'll get bored of being ignored and start throwing toys around and shouting "LOOK AT ME I'VE GROWWWWWWWWWWWWN!"
Haha! Oh may that day come soon. :cool:

[RainbowBowser]

Wow, have you been trimming it off at the rate it is growing?


No, I've S&D'd here and there though. Arguably it can be because of the mechanical stress I put on my hair from constantly leaving it down.
Stress and climate can easily be factors to consider as well.

[LauraLongLocks]

Wow, thanks for all the great comments, everyone! I am really enjoying putting it up in all the styles I'm trying to learn. It's just barely long enough for so many fun styles now. I have almost 3" until I reach waist, so probably 6 months of growth. Except, my first two measure-ins showed a .75" growth in one month. So, I might be one of those fortunate people who grows at 3/4ths of an inch a month. Wouldn't that be cool? ;)

Anyway, it's nice to know I'm not alone. And with my hair up in a different updo every day, and learning to care for it in the way it likes, it is giving me plenty to think about and do while I wait for it to grow. :)

About that self-trim thing... I don't know... can I manage to only take off 1/4th of an inch at a time, or will I "correct" my imperfections over and over until I've lost inches of hair?

[Squiggy]

About that self-trim thing... I don't know... can I manage to only take off 1/4th of an inch at a time, or will I "correct" my imperfections over and over until I've lost inches of hair?

Give it a try, but start by cutting even less than you want to take off. If it's uneven and you're afraid you'll wind up chopping off inches to get it fixed, put down the scissors! Ask a friend or SO to even it out for you.

I trimmed almost an inch off a few weeks ago (that was the amount I wanted off). Took 2 passes to get them hemline even. That's the second time I've self trimmed, the first time I cut less than 1/4 inch.

[LauraLongLocks]

Give it a try, but start by cutting even less than you want to take off.

So, since I usually want to take off 1/4th of an inch, I should try 1/8th of an inch, and leave some for evening out the hemline? That sounds less scary. Maybe I should wait until I'm ready to trim 1/2 an inch, because working with eigths of an inch is itty bitty.

[alexis917]

This is clearly the work of the Doctor.

[LauraLongLocks]

This is clearly the work of the Doctor.

We need a "like" button, as on Facebook.

[Squiggy]

So, since I usually want to take off 1/4th of an inch, I should try 1/8th of an inch, and leave some for evening out the hemline? That sounds less scary. Maybe I should wait until I'm ready to trim 1/2 an inch, because working with eigths of an inch is itty bitty.

That sounds like a good plan! A little wiggle room is always a good thing.

[LauraLongLocks]

Sorry I misspelled eighths. I do know how to spell, usually.

[AmyBeth]

I've been thinking maybe I've really reached terminal. I also have not grown at all since August. It seems in really good condition and I S&D regularly and self trim 1/4 inch 4 times a year. I'm actually thinking that if this is it, 34 inches is all I get, I'm going to give it 6 months to see if it picks back up and if not, I'm going back to APL!! I feel like a blasphemer even thinking it. I promised myself I would never cut again, but then I had faith that I would be able to keep growing and get at least to TBL, but I don't think it's in the cards for me. :(I want at least BCL, or I want the versatility of shorter hair. I can bleach highlights and use heat without completely frying it if it is shorter.

[LauraLongLocks]

[QUOTE=AmyBeth;2562467]I've been thinking maybe I've really reached terminal. I also have not grown at all since August. It seems in really good condition and I S&D regularly and self trim 1/4 inch 4 times a year. I'm actually thinking that if this is it, 34 inches is all I get, I'm going to give it 6 months to see if it picks back up and if not, I'm going back to APL!! I feel like a blasphemer even thinking it. I promised myself I would never cut again, but then I had faith that I would be able to keep growing and get at least to TBL, but I don't think it's in the cards for me. :(I want at least BCL, or I want the versatility of shorter hair. I can bleach highlights and use heat without completely frying it if it is shorter.[/QUOTE

Wow, AmyBeth, sorry you aren't growing! How is your diet? Are you getting enough protein? What is your shedding rate? I just counted yesterday for the first time and I lost 25 hairs, a fairly low rate, if that's my average. So my potential to grow is fairly high. If you are shedding a lot of hairs every day, you may, indeed, have reached your terminal length. I don't know. I'm new enough here and new enough to long hair that I don't claim to be any sort of expert. I wonder if some more experienced, educated long-hairs will chime in?