alyanna
November 13th, 2013, 06:19 AM
Hello all you beautiful LHCers!
I've been meaning to post this update for a couple of months now and finally, I managed to upload some pictures. I started lurking on LHC in September 2010, at which point my hair was in a short, layered bob with lots of highlights.
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=7472&d=1384346989
My hair was in good condition but did seem very thin to me. I really had no idea what my ponytail circumference was or what my natural texture had become after having children and years of hairloss issues and highlighting. A few months later though, it had gotten longer and seemed fuller. And I was happy to find that I was a ii.
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=7457&d=1384343815
By summer 2011, I thought I need to cut off the worst of the highlights and try to even out my hemline. I had started off with a shag and had tons of layers. Here is what my hair looked like straightened:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=7470&d=1384346787
I was happy doing a few trims in order to get a thicker hemline. By January 2012, my hair was in its best condition ever. It was shiny, I had plump curls and my circumference was about 2.7" if not a bit more. On good days, I seemed to be very close to a coveted 3" mark:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=7471&d=1384346833
Here is my hair a few months later, in May of 2012, when I FINALLY reached APL. It is oiled and with braid waves:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=7465&d=1384346081
My ends were looking see-through at APL, but I was confident that the thickness would travel down, which it did. This is what my hair looked like by August 2012:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=7463&d=1384345030
The summer of 2012 we moved to a new country on a new continent. My hair was doing great and growing really fast. It was shiny and full. I had not trimmed since the summer of 2011. So in December 2012 I thought it was time for one, it had been a year and a half of no trims! This is my blunt hemline in January 2013:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=7461&d=1384344531
At this point, things started going downhill. Already, you can see from the above picture that although my hemline is blunt and the highlights are almost gone, my hair is somehow duller and drier. I also started shedding A LOT. I would say the shedding started becoming noticeable in February 2013. In April, I went to the doctor and found out that my iron levels and my vitamin D levels were very low. I started taking supplements. My hair was still growing quite fast, but it was shedding a ton. It was get drier, tanglier and frizzier every day. My ponytail was down to just over 2". This is my hair in June of 2013:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=7458&d=1384344126
In August 2013, I decided to henna. I thought my thin strands could use plumping. I took a bunch of pictures but then lost them. This is my latest shot taken a few days ago, November 2013:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=7460&d=1384344143
I'm just about BSL. In this shot, my hair is hennaed and I had used a silicone shampoo and oiled. So my hair does look shinier and less full. I've come to realize that during my year of heavy shedding, I had been using a protein shampoo regularly that is sulfate and silicone free and a cone free conditioner too. I think that all the shedding may have been breakage due to protein overload. I am remedying that now. I can also add that the supplements seem to be working as my ponytail circumference is back up to about 2.7+ inches.
Overall, I am really happy with my progress. I've made length gains and thanks to LHC, I have the knowledge needed to face the hair problems that I do encounter. Thank you all so much!
I've been meaning to post this update for a couple of months now and finally, I managed to upload some pictures. I started lurking on LHC in September 2010, at which point my hair was in a short, layered bob with lots of highlights.
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=7472&d=1384346989
My hair was in good condition but did seem very thin to me. I really had no idea what my ponytail circumference was or what my natural texture had become after having children and years of hairloss issues and highlighting. A few months later though, it had gotten longer and seemed fuller. And I was happy to find that I was a ii.
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=7457&d=1384343815
By summer 2011, I thought I need to cut off the worst of the highlights and try to even out my hemline. I had started off with a shag and had tons of layers. Here is what my hair looked like straightened:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=7470&d=1384346787
I was happy doing a few trims in order to get a thicker hemline. By January 2012, my hair was in its best condition ever. It was shiny, I had plump curls and my circumference was about 2.7" if not a bit more. On good days, I seemed to be very close to a coveted 3" mark:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=7471&d=1384346833
Here is my hair a few months later, in May of 2012, when I FINALLY reached APL. It is oiled and with braid waves:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=7465&d=1384346081
My ends were looking see-through at APL, but I was confident that the thickness would travel down, which it did. This is what my hair looked like by August 2012:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=7463&d=1384345030
The summer of 2012 we moved to a new country on a new continent. My hair was doing great and growing really fast. It was shiny and full. I had not trimmed since the summer of 2011. So in December 2012 I thought it was time for one, it had been a year and a half of no trims! This is my blunt hemline in January 2013:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=7461&d=1384344531
At this point, things started going downhill. Already, you can see from the above picture that although my hemline is blunt and the highlights are almost gone, my hair is somehow duller and drier. I also started shedding A LOT. I would say the shedding started becoming noticeable in February 2013. In April, I went to the doctor and found out that my iron levels and my vitamin D levels were very low. I started taking supplements. My hair was still growing quite fast, but it was shedding a ton. It was get drier, tanglier and frizzier every day. My ponytail was down to just over 2". This is my hair in June of 2013:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=7458&d=1384344126
In August 2013, I decided to henna. I thought my thin strands could use plumping. I took a bunch of pictures but then lost them. This is my latest shot taken a few days ago, November 2013:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=7460&d=1384344143
I'm just about BSL. In this shot, my hair is hennaed and I had used a silicone shampoo and oiled. So my hair does look shinier and less full. I've come to realize that during my year of heavy shedding, I had been using a protein shampoo regularly that is sulfate and silicone free and a cone free conditioner too. I think that all the shedding may have been breakage due to protein overload. I am remedying that now. I can also add that the supplements seem to be working as my ponytail circumference is back up to about 2.7+ inches.
Overall, I am really happy with my progress. I've made length gains and thanks to LHC, I have the knowledge needed to face the hair problems that I do encounter. Thank you all so much!