PDA

View Full Version : Annibelle's 3-Year LHC Anniversary :) (pic heavy!)



Annibelle
April 26th, 2014, 08:39 AM
It’s a bit early, but I won’t have time to post in early May, so…

It’s almost my third LHC anniversary, guys! And it feels like it’s been so much longer… unlike my hair, which is shorter than when I joined. Would you like to take a stroll down memory lane with me? : )

Let’s start with May 2011, when I joined. I hadn’t yet begun “actively” growing my hair. In fact, I never would have considered my hair long… it was just sort of there. I wasn’t a crazy LHC member ; ) so I never took photos of my hair, so I had no idea that it was WL. But one day I decided to grow my hair, so I found LHC.

This is what my hair was like when I joined:

http://i1188.photobucket.com/albums/z414/4nnibelle/9b8f7801-5621-4af6-b166-b830b63fc5a0_zpsd0e4347c.jpg (http://s1188.photobucket.com/user/4nnibelle/media/9b8f7801-5621-4af6-b166-b830b63fc5a0_zpsd0e4347c.jpg.html) http://i1188.photobucket.com/albums/z414/4nnibelle/882a9d17-22b0-4762-b05c-5c3a0328996f_zps662f995f.jpg (http://s1188.photobucket.com/user/4nnibelle/media/882a9d17-22b0-4762-b05c-5c3a0328996f_zps662f995f.jpg.html)

Looked pretty good, right? In fact, when I look at these pictures, it makes me feel like an idiot for ever cutting it.

BUT it was all an illusion! My dark shirt makes everything look much nicer than it is. Here’s what it really looked like:

http://i1188.photobucket.com/albums/z414/4nnibelle/e8c71c3a-695b-4c3f-84b2-7d94090241a9_zpsbbb95ae6.jpg (http://s1188.photobucket.com/user/4nnibelle/media/e8c71c3a-695b-4c3f-84b2-7d94090241a9_zpsbbb95ae6.jpg.html)

I didn’t even know my ends were so thin until I went to post my first photos at LHC. I was so embarrassed! And many people said, “Don’t worry—it’s probably just breakage. Cut where the hemline thickens and take better care of your ends.” The problem was that there WASN’T breakage, so I just couldn’t figure out what the heck was wrong with my hemline. I would do microtrims, but they really didn’t help me. After a year of microtrimming, my hemline looked basically the same. Maybe even worse.

I decided that BSL was probably my terminal length (without super thin ends, anyway), so I decided to embrace texture instead of length. I learned through LHC that my hair was NOT stick-straight, after all. (I had been using coney Pantene before joining LHC, and beating my hair into submission because I thought my waviness was just incredibly messy frizz.)

Here is a representative photo from my first months at curly girl. It’s not flattering, but it’s honest. This is how my thin straight ends looked when naturally wavy:

http://i1188.photobucket.com/albums/z414/4nnibelle/05eab7a1-5085-4d11-9ea9-08c1809ded31_zps69995c6e.jpg (http://s1188.photobucket.com/user/4nnibelle/media/05eab7a1-5085-4d11-9ea9-08c1809ded31_zps69995c6e.jpg.html)

You would think I would’ve just chopped to APL, but I’m a coward… so instead I kept my hair in a puny bun, hoping a little benign neglect would help. It didn’t. My hair kept growing (it even got close to hip), but everything from APL down looked the same, no matter which products I tried or how many microtrims I did that month. I was so disheartened, but I kept trying to find the perfect routine. And I never, ever wore my hair down—even around the house. I was too embarrassed.

Anyway, here’s what that same hair looked like with a black top:

http://i1188.photobucket.com/albums/z414/4nnibelle/6fbbdd23-0e8a-472f-aa70-9d91e4923740_zps353f67b6.jpg (http://s1188.photobucket.com/user/4nnibelle/media/6fbbdd23-0e8a-472f-aa70-9d91e4923740_zps353f67b6.jpg.html) http://i1188.photobucket.com/albums/z414/4nnibelle/6b3500b0-fc77-4ae0-9af2-80a1a2708971_zpse11c1d13.jpg (http://s1188.photobucket.com/user/4nnibelle/media/6b3500b0-fc77-4ae0-9af2-80a1a2708971_zpse11c1d13.jpg.html)

Not bad, unless I wanted to wear a color other than black. Wearing black all the time—and hating my hair—was really depressing me. So I got a cut to APL at a curly salon. (The experience was horrific, but the results weren’t actually that bad—but she gave me some crazy layers after chopping my fairy tale ends, which basically gave me those fairy tale ends I’d been trying to avoid…) And I still hated my hair, unless I wore it naturally wavy and with black. I’ve already discussed the black issue, but let me tell you about wearing it wavy. Other wavies will probably understand. Curly girl, for me, involved CO washing, scrunching with gel, drying with a diffuser—or waiting 8+ hours for my hair to air dry. And my hair isn’t thick or very wavy! Anyway, curly girl also meant, for me, never touching my hair. Never enjoying my hair. Swatting my husband away from my hair. And having good hair only on the first day, because resting my head against ANYTHING, let alone sleeping on it, meant a big dandelion fluff head until my next wash. A HUGE pain in the butt!!!

And then last summer I moved to a new city with a slightly different climate and water. And my scalp and hair rebelled. (They still have their hissy fits from time to time.) Any leave-in left my hair disgusting, and the build-up was so bad that I needed to clarify and/or chelate every wash. I went from happily CO to needing to use shampoo at every wash. My scalp developed scabs (gross!) and was so itchy. And my hair was so frizzy from all of the clarifying!

But then winter passed, or the water changed, or the heavens smiled down on me… because suddenly my hair wasn’t so bad:

http://i1188.photobucket.com/albums/z414/4nnibelle/e84ae54b-f73f-4c70-b9d8-1894e592fbc1_zps2bc29c32.jpg (http://s1188.photobucket.com/user/4nnibelle/media/e84ae54b-f73f-4c70-b9d8-1894e592fbc1_zps2bc29c32.jpg.html)

Then I chopped it—finally!—and was surprised to see that, even with a pale top… my hair looked pretty thick:

http://i1188.photobucket.com/albums/z414/4nnibelle/6269093d-3299-4430-ae44-dfe81499caf3_zpsc06d5047.jpg (http://s1188.photobucket.com/user/4nnibelle/media/6269093d-3299-4430-ae44-dfe81499caf3_zpsc06d5047.jpg.html)

I could also enjoy my Caruso steam set:

http://i1188.photobucket.com/albums/z414/4nnibelle/3c065f58-771b-4996-990a-02e26b4003b7_zps8b69920b.jpg (http://s1188.photobucket.com/user/4nnibelle/media/3c065f58-771b-4996-990a-02e26b4003b7_zps8b69920b.jpg.html)

And I got the urge to just keep cutting. I wanted a pixie! Or maybe SL. But my confidence grew so much with that cut that I wanted to keep cutting. So I just maintained around APL for a few months… until I woke up a week or so ago and decided that I wanted long hair. Lol. My current routine is easier than anything I’ve done before: I shampoo and condition (keeping it cone-free, even after quitting curly girl, because cones give me bacne—something else I learned from my time here). I comb wet. I blowdry my unruly bangs. I twirl half of my hair over each shoulder. It dries. I fling it over my shoulders, finger comb, and finger twirl/curl random spots to help the natural wave. I enjoy it. It’s consistent—something that wavies will understand is highly desirable. I sleep on my hair. It looks great the next day. I comb it whenever I want. It looks fine:

http://i1188.photobucket.com/albums/z414/4nnibelle/893c3d53-32a8-41fe-9eed-30dbd31e8bab_zps3467cfcb.jpg (http://s1188.photobucket.com/user/4nnibelle/media/893c3d53-32a8-41fe-9eed-30dbd31e8bab_zps3467cfcb.jpg.html)

After a few months of fantasizing about cutting, I’ve returned to my goal of HL… but it’s conditional. Before, I held onto length for the sake of having length. But I was miserable. Now, I’m happy with this length. I’ll be ecstatic if I make it to hip with a thick hemline, but I will not sacrifice hemline or hair health to get there. So if I stay at this length, or shorter, forever—fine. As long as I have a hemline of which I can be proud. : )

I still don’t know what’s going on with my hemline. Will it refuse to be thick beyond this length, like it did before? Was it a health issue that has passed? I was pretty unhealthy for a few years before I joined LHC, and my health improved significantly a bit over a year ago. So I don’t know. I’ll just keep being as healthy as I can and appreciate my hair. Sending positive vibes its way certainly can’t hurt. : )

I want to be WL by my 4th LHC anniversary, and HL—my ultimate goal—by my 5th. Along the way, I want to maintain a fairly care-free routine. I can’t go crazy with my hair anymore. It was not mentally healthy for me. I got too obsessed and self-conscious. I love hair—otherwise I wouldn’t be here—but it IS just hair.

Happy growing—or maintaining—or cutting, everyone. I know I’m certainly no LHC pro, but out of all of the things I’ve learned here, this is the most important that I think about every day: Just make sure you’re happy with your hair. Sometimes that means cutting, or growing, or styling in a new way… but if you find yourself bunning not because you like buns (they are so beautiful on everyone but me—lol!) but because you hate your hair, it might be time to change something. I know this is the LONG hair community… but I think it would do everyone some good to think of it more as the “happy hair community.” If you sacrifice for length and enjoy the sacrifice, great! Woo hoo! But I’m sure I wasn’t alone in hating the process and feeling dejected, so if that’s you… learn from my mistakes. If you hate your long hair, cutting isn’t the worst thing you could do. For me, it was the best. No regrets here—except for that I didn’t cut sooner. xoxo

ARG
April 26th, 2014, 08:46 AM
Congratulations! Your hair looks wonderful!

Annibelle
April 26th, 2014, 08:51 AM
Thank you, ARG! :flower: I finally feel as if I can feel good about having my hair down, so that's how I've been wearing it most of the time. :)

patienceneeded
April 26th, 2014, 08:59 AM
Congrats on 3 years! Your hair is beautiful at every length.

Crumpet
April 26th, 2014, 09:21 AM
Wonderful post and gorgeous hair! I also discovered my waves when I joined the LHC -- its incredible to suddenly figure these things out.

You're right about how we can over-focus on hair and your suggestions for moving forward are right on. Congratulations!

jacqueline101
April 26th, 2014, 09:28 AM
Wonderful post and pictures. Thank you for sharing your journey.

blue_eyes
April 26th, 2014, 09:48 AM
Your story is so inspirational! My hair currently looks almost exactly like your 3rd picture; my ends are very thin thanks to dye/bleach damage. I definitely obsess and feel miserable about it. I think you're so right about needing to just be happy, regardless of length. I'm very happy for you, your hair looks beautiful! :)

restless
April 26th, 2014, 09:56 AM
Your hair looks amazing now, well done! :) Though I have to admit I think you´ve been a little too harsh on yourself throughout the years because to me, your hair looked lovely in all the pictures above, even when you had some fairy tale-ing going on. However Im very glad to read youre starting to feel better about your hair, that you enjoy it and that you too finally can see how pretty it is.

Congratulations to the anniversary! :blossom:

divinedobbie
April 26th, 2014, 10:45 AM
Very inspirational story and your hair looks lovely! Thank you for posting :flower:

Flor
April 26th, 2014, 11:25 AM
Here is a representative photo from my first months at curly girl. It’s not flattering, but it’s honest. This is how my thin straight ends looked when naturally wavy:

http://i1188.photobucket.com/albums/z414/4nnibelle/05eab7a1-5085-4d11-9ea9-08c1809ded31_zps69995c6e.jpg (http://s1188.photobucket.com/user/4nnibelle/media/05eab7a1-5085-4d11-9ea9-08c1809ded31_zps69995c6e.jpg.html)

My dream hair!! *sniff* I actually posted a thread a few days ago, basically asking how I can "fake" fairy tale ends like that at midback length :D I'm hoping mine will look close to yours on that photo when I'm at waist. Fascinating, isn't it? How we find different things most beautiful :) I'm glad you now have hair you're happy with!

Loved your story! Thank you for sharing!

Beatnik Guy
April 26th, 2014, 11:56 AM
3 years already! Glad that you're here -- and your hair looks pretty good too. :wink:

stachelbeere
April 26th, 2014, 12:13 PM
I love love love the curl pattern in your last picture! If my hair could do that *sigh*

Jennah
April 26th, 2014, 12:43 PM
Annibelle,

Your hair is looking great! :toast: Seems like you figured your hair out with experimentations and different styles, and now it´ll probably grow thick all the way down!

Happy growing!

jeanniet
April 26th, 2014, 01:23 PM
Congratulations on your anniversary, Annibelle! I'm glad that you've figured out how to be happy with your hair--I think that's what all of us hope to achieve. And it looks great!

Hedera
April 26th, 2014, 01:46 PM
Happy Anniversary!

I'm another one of those people who would kill (or at least maim) for you 'before' hair.... ;)
It looks terrific in your current pictures too though! And I do understand the desire for a thicker hemline.

Enjoy & have fun with your further growing!

two_wheels
April 26th, 2014, 02:03 PM
Your hair is so pretty and shiny, I love the natural waves. It will be beautiful wherever you decide to stop :)

lapushka
April 26th, 2014, 03:13 PM
Nice message. Doesn't matter what length you're at, as long as you're taking great care of it. :thumbsup:
Great journey, Annibelle!

MsBubbles
April 26th, 2014, 03:23 PM
So funny how we don't want what we have...or rather...we yearn dearly after something else, other than what we have. I would *love* to have hair with natural waves and body like yours. Honestly I think it looks SO pretty in those pics where it's wavy but you're saying the ends are too thin. It's beautiful. My hair will never do that! And believe me, I've tried. Happy 3 year anniversary!

MeowScat
April 26th, 2014, 03:29 PM
What a great read that was and with the pictures throughout it, it felt like an article in a magazine. Well done!

Happy Hairiversary and your waves are just gorgeous. What I would give to have soft, romantic waves like that. Sigh...a girl can dream...

Remi
April 26th, 2014, 03:48 PM
You must be so proud. It looks great.

Annibelle
April 26th, 2014, 04:06 PM
Thank you for all of the wonderful, sweet comments. :flowers: You all really are the best.

I do want to say that I don't think FTE look bad on other people-- I just don't like them on myself. I think it's because I'm self-conscious about my hair's thinness-- thin hair runs in my family on both sides, and there's nothing wrong with thin hair, but it's something I just am not crazy about on myself... and people I don't know well IRL have brought attention to my thin ends in the past (wow, your hair is SO thin! :( ) so I'm really self-conscious about it.

Anyway, I do think it's a case of none of us liking what we have at some point or another. :)

Tini'sNewHair
April 26th, 2014, 04:42 PM
Thank you for sharing your incredible journey - im glad you found what works for you. Thats always been my philosophy as well :)

Annibelle
April 26th, 2014, 11:11 PM
Thanks, Tini! :) At this point, you're one of my hair idols, since you've grown to WL so quickly and beautifully! You give me hope that I can do it, too. :)

Flor
April 27th, 2014, 02:15 AM
I do want to say that I don't think FTE look bad on other people-- I just don't like them on myself. I think it's because I'm self-conscious about my hair's thinness-- thin hair runs in my family on both sides, and there's nothing wrong with thin hair, but it's something I just am not crazy about on myself... and people I don't know well IRL have brought attention to my thin ends in the past (wow, your hair is SO thin! :( ) so I'm really self-conscious about it.

This is very interesting. What do you think would happen if you stopped being self-conscious about it and recognized it as a something truly unique and beautiful, instead of a flaw? I don't mean to question your choices, this is just an exciting subject for me, since I've been self-conscious of so many things for years and I'm now learning that other people are proud of their qualities that I used to perceive as "flaws" in myself. And surprisingly enough, those people don't get criticized (or are able to dismiss the critique) of their "flaws", while I do (and I sure dwell on it plenty). Perhaps, it's the "I'm gorgeous, don't mess with me" attitude, perhaps they are actually capable of projecting enough confidence to get others to see all their qualities in positive light, without prejudice.

I'm determined to grow FTE or at least fake them if I can't get them otherwise. And I'm aware that A LOT of people (and certainly some of my family members) won't be able to see beauty in it and will insist that I need to trim it. It's no longer something I'm willing to let affect my choice, but I do wonder if I let it show how happy and proud I am about my hair, maybe it'll make them see it differently?

Colourful
April 27th, 2014, 02:40 AM
Your hair looks REALLY good! Congrats! :)

shazzshazshz
April 27th, 2014, 02:59 AM
Lovely story. Your hair looks thick and gorgeous :) Good luck with your goal of HL and I hope you reach it with an awesome hemline.

hellucy
April 27th, 2014, 03:06 AM
After all the ups and downs your hair I'm glad you are now loving and enjoying your hair, It looks lovely! :D

fiðrildi
April 27th, 2014, 03:31 AM
Your hair is looking so healthy and beautiful! And I love your hair colour :) I also had a similar problem when I moved to live in another country (different weather, and ****ty tap water!), my hair got more horrible than ever :p Your hair is an inspiration, congratulations :)

Tota
April 27th, 2014, 04:30 AM
Congrats on your three years anniversary! I think your hair looks very delicate and silky, especially on the wavy pics! I understand you don't appreciate the curly girl method though - I too don't like the "no touching" rule and the second day hair. And Co-ing can definitely be challenging at times. My hair is now long and heavy enough to mess up my wavy pattern and I miss my waves ... Anyway, I'm happy for you and hope you reach your goals. And I agree with you that hair should make you happy no matter the length!

embee
April 27th, 2014, 04:51 AM
Nice recap! Happy LHC anniversary. :) Here's hoping you continue to be happy with your hair.

bunzfan
April 27th, 2014, 04:54 AM
Wow your hair looked lovely wavy but how thick is it now you can probably just micro trim every 3 months or so.

eva888
April 27th, 2014, 04:58 AM
Beautiful story and hair! I appreciated what you said about the CG method because we have the same hair type, and I definitely know what you mean. CG method is really exhausting and my best hair days actually came from just putting in some gel, leaving it in a braid for an hour when it was damp and then taking it out and letting it do its thing. When my hair gets long like yours I'll have to try what you said about twisting it in two parts. Anyway, happy growing!

Annibelle
April 27th, 2014, 07:38 AM
Thank you again, everyone. Your comments mean so much to me. :blossom:

silverthread
April 27th, 2014, 08:01 AM
Annibelle, thanks for your post. I am in the spot right now you were in before you cut your hair. My hair is about BSL and if I wear it down, it just looks gray and straggly, so I wear it in a braid or a bun. Basically, I hate my hair. The first 2/3 of my hair length is nice and thick, but the last third is thin and unattractive. It's a pride thing, I think. I see other women who have long, beautiful gray hair, and I think to myself, "If they can do it, I can too." But maybe I can't. Maybe I should cut it back to APL just so that I can have nice thick hair to the ends again. I want to enjoy my hair, not fight with it.

By the way, your hair looks lovely now, and I love the nice simple routine you've developed.

xoChesleyy
April 27th, 2014, 08:10 AM
I loved your story. Your hair is looking beautiful and it is great that you have learned to accept your hair and embrace it's 'natural-ness'. :p Very inspiring.. Thanks for sharing!

Annibelle
April 27th, 2014, 08:11 AM
Annibelle, thanks for your post. I am in the spot right now you were in before you cut your hair. My hair is about BSL and if I wear it down, it just looks gray and straggly, so I wear it in a braid or a bun. Basically, I hate my hair. The first 2/3 of my hair length is nice and thick, but the last third is thin and unattractive. It's a pride thing, I think. I see other women who have long, beautiful gray hair, and I think to myself, "If they can do it, I can too." But maybe I can't. Maybe I should cut it back to APL just so that I can have nice thick hair to the ends again. I want to enjoy my hair, not fight with it.

By the way, your hair looks lovely now, and I love the nice simple routine you've developed.

It's possible that you just need to cut and then grow from there! I'm hoping that's what's going on for me. :) When I joined, a lot of people told me that for some reason, when you do a major chop to rid yourself of thin ends, your hemline will grow back thicker... I couldn't figure out a logical explanation to that, so I just microtrimmed, hoping for the same results, but it never happened.

I don't know what you should do, but I wish I had cut to APL sooner. :) Yes, sometimes it's hard seeing people with hair that's so much longer, but if you're unhappy with your hair, you have to change SOMETHING. For me, that meant chopping... after two years of failed experimentation. :lol:

bunzfan
April 27th, 2014, 08:18 AM
It's possible that you just need to cut and then grow from there! I'm hoping that's what's going on for me. :) When I joined, a lot of people told me that for some reason, when you do a major chop to rid yourself of thin ends, your hemline will grow back thicker... I couldn't figure out a logical explanation to that, so I just microtrimmed, hoping for the same results, but it never happened.

I don't know what you should do, but I wish I had cut to APL sooner. :) Yes, sometimes it's hard seeing people with hair that's so much longer, but if you're unhappy with your hair, you have to change SOMETHING. For me, that meant chopping... after two years of failed experimentation. :lol:

This is so true i have cut back countless times from hip to waist for that exact reason because even though it looked really long it was so thin because it grows fast but this time that's not happening i didn't think i would ever get to hip but it is possible its down to a routine that suits your hair (co washer) and for me making sure i had a good balance of protein and moisture.

spidermom
April 27th, 2014, 08:30 AM
Your hair really looks lovely now, Annibelle.

Funny - I cut back for the opposite problem - my hair felt so heavy and hot. I hated how it was wide across the bottom, rather cape-like. I finally cut back to a V-shape with layers, longest at waist, and now I'm letting it grow like this, occasional trims to maintain the shape. I'm so much happier with how it's not so thick and wide at the bottom.

Indigo Girl
April 27th, 2014, 08:49 AM
Happy three years! :cheer:

I've always thought you have beautiful hair. It's really lovely. :flower:

Heavy Raindrops
April 27th, 2014, 09:00 AM
:o I think your curled hair looks absolutely gorgeous, even with the thin ends. :D

browneyedsusan
April 27th, 2014, 11:46 AM
I've always loved your hair--and adored you.
I've been through the hair-hating phase--see siggy. (I enjoyed the pixie, but the notion that I had "bad hair" kept me from growing it for a lot of years.) My "bad hair" wasn't a thickness or texture issue, rather a color shift.

I was born strawberry blonde, and it stayed red until my 20's then shifted to ash brown. In the summers, it would redden up a little, but it all ashed out eventually. I thought that I would cut it all off, grow it out natural, and see if it would grow in red or gold. Nope. No red. None. Not even in summer. I felt strange and uncomfortable in my own skin, and tried everything to embrace my new natural color, but it never felt right. Red dyes faded in a week, even from the salon. I ended up cutting and coloring the bejabbers out of it, changing my look every month or 2; but I always felt best when it was red. Enter henna.

The heavens opened, the birds sang, and I had red hair again!
Finding out what works for your hair is life changing. It's amazing how great we feel when our hair is nice, and we enjoy it.
Rock on, Annibelle! :rockerdud Enjoy that pretty, black hair! Whether it's short or long. Have a ball!

silver curls
June 6th, 2014, 10:21 AM
Awesome Annibelle!!!!
Congrats and thanks for sharing!!!

Feathered
June 8th, 2014, 10:39 AM
Interesting hair story. Thanks for sharing. I really like the "Happy Hair Community" comment. It makes a lot of sense. Your hair is really pretty in the wavy pics. I'm glad everything worked out for you. :) Wishing you continual "Happy Hair". :)