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TheGoddess
May 5th, 2014, 10:11 PM
The last time I got my hair cut was in october it was 33 inches

Its now May and my hair is only 36 inches

Its got a ton of split ends even though I'm very careful with it

I don't know whether to get a trim or not I feel like its not growing! is this my hair's maximum length?? should I just give up and keep it healthy and relatively long?

Ive been trying to grow it for like 6 years (started at waist length...) and i get a trim once a year and it always turns out this way! Im only at hip length now. I wait until its damaged enough that it looks gross and then i get an inch cut off and the cycle repeats itself. I don't want to keep trying for something that isn't possible. what should I do?

meteor
May 5th, 2014, 10:17 PM
Could you share your routine with us? Maybe we could help improve on that.

I think for length preservation and minimizing split end formation, keeping hair contained (updos, braids), gentle detangling with quality tools, sleeping on silk satin and avoiding all chemical/mechanical/heat damage are very important.

ETA: Also, your hair growth rate is pretty normal. On average, hair grows half an inch per month, but there are spurts and slow periods.

TheGoddess
May 5th, 2014, 10:22 PM
I wash it twice a week
usually leave it up (i twist it into a giant clip)
when i wash it i deep condition it for 10 minutes and comb it with a wide tooth comb
I rarely use heat (once a month usually for special occasions)
I put argon oil in it after i wash it
I sleep with it down but i put it on top of my pillow and I don't move when I sleep (so people tell me) I usually wake up with it in the same spot and its not tangly

spidermom
May 5th, 2014, 10:26 PM
Consider a new approach. Instead of waiting until the ends get gross, have regular small trims. I used to get 1/2 inch trimmed off about every 3 months, and my hair would grow about 5-1/2 inches longer in a year.

When I would wait an entire year before having a trim, my ends would be so bad by then that I'd end up with hair about the same length as I started. I remember one year I had to have 7 inches cut off; my ends were that bad!

Aderyn
May 5th, 2014, 10:29 PM
Hair grows on average 1/2 inch a month, so your growth isn't particularly slow. You mention having a lot of split ends, so I imagine there is some breakage that is leading to less of the length being retained as well.

Just generally be careful with your hair and wearing it up in a non-tight, protective style helps tremendously with the above. You could look into catnip to help with split ends, though it may take a while to really see the results. Make sure you're eating healthy and getting all of the nutrients your body needs, as well.

meteor
May 5th, 2014, 10:30 PM
Your routine seems really good, but if you can't stand those split ends, I would:
- micro-trim/dust split ends,
- stop using any heat (even once a month can be too much!),
- sleep with hair contained (braids) on silk satin pillowcases and/or silk sleep cap,
- do pre-poo oilings a few hours before wash.

Also, don't forget to lightly oil your ends (braid tassel) every night before bed. It really helps against splits.

Ferryl
May 5th, 2014, 10:38 PM
I have a few ideas, but feel free to do whatever works for your hair and your lifestyle. I'm not of the mind that there is one true way. Just spouting out some suggestions you may or may not have tried.
1. S+D! My hair is prone to split ends no matter what I do. S+Ding once a week keeps them in check without having to wack off my length. :D
2. I'm hoping your clip doesn't have moving metal inside it. The insides of claws/clamps liked to snag on my hair when I used to use them (pre-LHC).
3. Vary your hairstyle so the hair doesn't get stressed in the same spots.
4. Try combing your hair only when your hair is dry. Wet hair is fragile and theoretically more prone to breakage.

darklyndsea
May 5th, 2014, 11:33 PM
Have you always treated your hair this way, or was the hair currently at the ends previously treated worse? Unfortunately, damage never goes away, so if you treated it worse a few years ago, the split ends might partly be because of that.

I second the recommendation to stop using any heat, or at least use it less often. Maybe learn some updos that you could wear for special occasions instead?

DancingQueen
May 6th, 2014, 12:15 AM
Consider a new approach. Instead of waiting until the ends get gross, have regular small trims. I used to get 1/2 inch trimmed off about every 3 months, and my hair would grow about 5-1/2 inches longer in a year.

When I would wait an entire year before having a trim, my ends would be so bad by then that I'd end up with hair about the same length as I started. I remember one year I had to have 7 inches cut off; my ends were that bad!

I second this; the same happens to me, if I wait more than 3 months. Not everyone is so lucky, they can go years without trimming. Other than that, your routine seem pretty good. At your length, I would probably wear it up a little bit more - maybe some half-ups or cage braids. I am only between APL and BSL, but I am starting to have to put it up a little bit more.

Good luck wit it, I hope you figure out something that works for you. :)

furnival
May 6th, 2014, 12:38 AM
I have a pet theory that most people who join LHC (me included) go through an initial period of panicking that their hair grows exceptionally slowly/ isn't growing at all, and I can't help but notice that you only joined in March, so the timing is about right... :p It's like we start paying so much attention to our hair that we expect it to be spooling out of our follicles like spaghetti, but we've never noticed before how slowly hair actually grows, because we haven't been scrutinising it the LHC way.

Three inches since October is absolutely normal, especially if you're struggling with damage. I'd agree with everyone who's suggested stopping the heat (once a month isn't infrequent, and once your hair is as long as yours the ends are around six years old, so if you've been blow drying all this time that's a lot of heat damage), trim off the damage or start some serious S&Ding, and learn to put it up every day and forget about measuring and scrutinising its growth for another six months. Hair growth slows down and speeds up all the time, influenced by just about anything- diet, hormones, stress, environment, season, health, medication etc- and the frequent measuring that we subject ourselves to in the initial 'my hair isn't growing!' phase just serves to frustrate us.

Wishing you luck :)

jacqueline101
May 6th, 2014, 03:10 AM
I'm with everyone else here. I'd wear updos and wear a silk sleeping cap. I'd get rid of the heat. If micro trim or s&d your ends. I'd do weekly s&d sessions. When you do your s&d sessions make sure your scissors are sharp hair scissors.

Marika
May 6th, 2014, 03:37 AM
I agree with others, your hair growth sounds completely normal. And hair might grow a little bit slower in the winter and then faster in the summer when there's more vitamin D etc. I'm also with furnival. A watched pot never boils! :D

lapushka
May 6th, 2014, 05:59 AM
Three inches since October is absolutely normal, especially if you're struggling with damage. I'd agree with everyone who's suggested stopping the heat (once a month isn't infrequent, and once your hair is as long as yours the ends are around six years old, so if you've been blow drying all this time that's a lot of heat damage), trim off the damage or start some serious S&Ding, and learn to put it up every day and forget about measuring and scrutinising its growth for another six months. Hair growth slows down and speeds up all the time, influenced by just about anything- diet, hormones, stress, environment, season, health, medication etc- and the frequent measuring that we subject ourselves to in the initial 'my hair isn't growing!' phase just serves to frustrate us.

Agree with this. There may be damage remaining in the hair that still needs to come out. Small S&D missions should help with that. And if you can't stand heat, then processing it with heat (like heat from a flat iron or curling iron - that kinda HOT) even once is too much.

TheGoddess
May 6th, 2014, 06:55 AM
Consider a new approach. Instead of waiting until the ends get gross, have regular small trims. I used to get 1/2 inch trimmed off about every 3 months, and my hair would grow about 5-1/2 inches longer in a year.

When I would wait an entire year before having a trim, my ends would be so bad by then that I'd end up with hair about the same length as I started. I remember one year I had to have 7 inches cut off; my ends were that bad!


Im going to try this, probably will take twice as long to get to where I want but at least my hair will be healthy

Thanks everyone! I guess I have been paying a bit too close attention to my growth, I do a lot of snding but it doesn't help.

I think I'll also try sleeping in braids and doing oil sessions before I shampoo...does anyone know how to tie the ends of the braids without causing damage?...I find that ponytails can be damaging

höpönasu
May 6th, 2014, 07:33 AM
I recommend taking growth pictures instead of measuring hair with tape. To me it's hard and I really don't trust it since I can't do it myself and my hubby isn't that dedicated to my hair growing enthusiasm so he's probably measuring with wrong. I've only had him measure my hair once.

Also, S&D a lot and if your hair is prone to split or break consider trimming it regularly. Oil your hair and braid it/put it up. To me this is sometimes pretty hard because I'm mainly growing my hair so I can have it down. I don't like learning new hairstyles so I wear either a regular braid or a messy bun with Invisibobble. I also blow my hair mainly with cool air. I think I'm doing a lot of things wrong but what can you do... Growy thoughts!

meteor
May 6th, 2014, 08:23 AM
Im going to try this, probably will take twice as long to get to where I want but at least my hair will be healthy

Thanks everyone! I guess I have been paying a bit too close attention to my growth, I do a lot of snding but it doesn't help.

I think I'll also try sleeping in braids and doing oil sessions before I shampoo...does anyone know how to tie the ends of the braids without causing damage?...I find that ponytails can be damaging

I like your game plan. You should start seeing reduction in split ends formation, especially if you also reduce heat and keep hair in protective styles as much as possible.

Non-damaging ways to tie off braids: silk scrunchies or weaving in a silk ribbon or silk paranda into braid. Silk won't hold as well in slippery hair (and yours may be slippery judging by your 1b hair typing), but it doesn't matter if it comes off at night, the braid will probably still mostly hold.
Also, I can't recommend sleeping on silk enough. No need to get a pillowcase/sleep cap right away. But if you have a silk scarf or shirt, you can wrap it around your pillow and experiment with sleeping on it.

Good luck! And happy growing! :D