Who are our super long curlies?

[CurlyCap]

Hi all.

I know who some of our super long curlies are....but I'm hoping to build a thread where they can all check in. I suspect we have a few lurker long-haired curlies, and I'd love to hear more from them.

It's my goal to one day be a super long curly and sometimes I read the classic+ threads and scratch my head because I don't know if/how/when the advice pertains to me.

I'm certainly not going to comb my dry hair....or boar bristle brush it.
I'm certainly not going to complexly braid my hair on a daily basis.
I'm pretty sure that when my hair is knee length, it won't look anything like it.

So I'm just hoping to make a thread where people can chat about the unique joy of having long AND curly hair. And also discuss our eternal, awe-inspiring patience.

[MandyBeth]

Adorably evil minion is one. Took a big chop recently, from nearly ankle to knee (pulled more/less straight). Went from mid jeans pocket to low waist. Yes, her curls are about twice as long as they appear. They're also noticeably wider than her. Pretty dang awesome.

Washing daily is still needed for her. Skip a day and her hair gets really dry feeling and fuzzy. With the length, she needs the daily conditioner. It may be her hair type however as her hair dries very quickly. If left loose, within an hour, it's dry enough to easily finish drying while up, but just damp enough I can not explode the pattern too much. Her hair just doesn't hold moisture very well, even with trying a protein pack followed by moisture treatment.

I usually mix oil (sweet almond is her favorite) 50/50 with flaxseed gel, run a few handfuls through her hair, braid it, smooth a scant drop of cone based serum on the last 8" or so, then get the braid up some way as required for school.

If she wears her hair down, it's a pest to untangle. I have to brush her hair out then, before washing or the knots tighten up when wet.

[Quixii]

:waving:

I often feel a bit out of place, as not all curly advice works for hair as long as mine, and not all long hair advice works for hair as not-straight as mine.

[lapushka]

Oooh, great idea for a thread, CC! Mind if I start a wavy equivalent?

[Johannah]

Oooh, great idea for a thread, CC! Mind if I start a wavy equivalent?

I like this idea! :o

[Santi]

Great idea, Curlycap. I never thought i'd consider a brush but i'm going to give it a shot. Prior to LHC I was on another site that that encouraged curlies to brush w/ a BBB. I thought they were crazy. Now I think i'm crazy. I'm going to start using it before I wash my hair & take it from there.

Looking forward to hearing & learning from the super long curlies. :)

[Nightvale]

Very exciting thread CurlyCap will be lurking for tips and thuds :D

[Inching Along]

I'll be following this thread, definitely. My hair is wavy and curly, and I brush, bent at the waist, nearly daily with a BBB as advocated by Dr. George Michael. I don't think my hair will ever be super long, but I would love for it to reach waist someday. Looking forward to seeing more lovely curly long manes! :cool:

[MultiCultiCurly]

Great idea @CurlyCap! I find myself always cruising for pics of long-haired curlies for inspiration :o. I myself am BCL when my hair is soaking wet at it's longest layers (I don't straighten, so that's as straight/stretched as I see my hair), and between MBL and WL dry (depends on the day, humidity, etc.--us curlies know how moody our hair is!). I don't wanna post the same pic I've posted before, so I'll try to upload a new one....

ETA: Oh, and by no means do I think I'm a super-longhair, but if my hair keeps growing and doesn't give me too much trouble, I may like to be one :crush:

[PinkyCat]

Former super long curly here!
Perhaps I can contribute...

[chen bao jun]

Thanks so much, CurlyCap!
My grandmother used to use a BBB. She was not super long by this forum's standards, but she was tailbone length (could sit on her curly hair) which is pretty impressive, I think. I have no idea how she used a BBB, but my father's whole family got the Mason Pearson tratment. They are all dead and cannot explain this mystery to me now.
There was one wavy, but the rest were all curlies and my father and one sister were tightly curlies. I personally define tightly curly as starting at 3c (where I am).
I remember so much misery from being brushed as a child that I'm afraid to try it again. It wasn't only that my whole head was a frizz explosion but that it was a painful experience (very painful)--and the brush usually snapped in half. My mom wasn't using Mason Pearson, though.
Looking forward to tips and especially inspiration. I'm really starting to feel as if my hair will never look longer than shoulder length no matter how long it grows. While I appreciate my curly hair very much, this is a bit discouraging at times (like when I hang out on the knee length thread).
I'm probably mid-back at the moment, might straighten my hair next week to see.

[DarkSunny]

I guess I can check in here. My hair is around tailbone length, and somewhere between wavy and curly depending on the day. I have really fine hair that can lie a bit flat at the top, so I've found that not all of the advice for curly hair, especially for really curly or really thick hair always works out well for me. It's really easy for me to overdo moisturizing, protein treatments, etc. and then have to deal with limp stringy hair, velcro-like ends, or a bunch of build up.

Finger-combing on the other hand, has been wonderful for me in terms of curl definition. Using a BBB a day before wash day has also been something that my hair seems to like.

[Nordlilja]

My hair is not super long, but around hip lenght. I would love to have classic, and I do believe it is possible (not to bad tapering yet). When I joined LHC, I tried CO for more than a year, used cone-free products - neither easy to find nor cheap where I live - and tried to do everything "right" for my curls. I read about using lots of leave-in products, never go near a brush or detangle dry hair. My hair was not happy. It loves cones. If I use a comb - eaven a wide-toothed one - I have lots of breakage. The best thing for me is a wooden brush, probably because it has the flexibility my hair needs. Shampoo and conditioner, detangling and airdrying, then brush again, braid and bun. For me, that is the key to manageable hair, to never give it a chanse to tangle.

[Hootenanny]

This thread needs more (or at least some!) pics. :D

[CurlyCap]

Hi everybody.

Thanks for all the responses! I suspect this will be a quieter thread, but it will be a nice place to check in and hear about our unique sets of problems.

I'm 3b/3c at a bit past BCL, so not too long by LHC standards but quickly seeming super long in the real world. Dry it hangs at ~BSL and forms sharpie to marker sized curls. I almost always wear my hair down at home, but at work I get sick of its horizontal expansion and so wear it up. It's pretty heavy so I'm trying to learn more about forks because they help to distribute the weight without resorting to hairpins.

My biggest adventure these days is learning the best way to detangle my hair. I'm pretty convinced at this point that the compact TT breaks my hair, even if used wet. The best approach I always return to is to just detangle the ropes of hair in the shower. It wastes a ridiculous amount of water, though, and that makes me feel guilty. But trying to do the same in the sink or a bucket doesn't work as well.

If I just want to brush my hair (which I always want to do when I'm PMSing), I just section my hair and brush from the bottom up using lots of oil or heavy butters. When it's detangled (and super super fluffy), I can brush from the scalp to the root or break out the BBB if I like. It feels AMAZING, but takes forever and only brushing part of my head is enough to drive me crazy. I only brush my hair ~3 times a year now, but it was one of the best things about cutting my hair to a pixie. I could brush it whenever I wanted! Of course, now, brushing always means I then have to co-wash my hair because my hair at that point literally 3 feet wide.

Post when you like and don't feel that you have to "qualify" for this thread. There are few enough long-haired curlies as it is. Any advice is appreciated!

[CrazyGrace]

At somewhere between not quite tailbone and bottom of the ribs, I don't consider my hair super long. But it is enough that a lot of the curly advice I see around the internet makes me skeptical.

I am a bad curly though and brush my hair regularly. It takes me about three days and a lot of careful combing after a wash to work up to a full brushing, but after that it's twice a day. My hair handles that a lot better than it does being washed as frequently as I had to wash it when I tried to give up the brush.

[MandyBeth]

I think Minion has a different texture vs you Curly. Her hair compacts tight but it's easy enough to brush out while coated in conditioner. Should be interesting to see what changes as she hits teenaged fun, then adult hair.

[MultiCultiCurly]

I saw a woman on Youtube with similar 3b/3c curls as myself (and many of you I'm sure) and her curls hung at and just a bit past her hips, dry, unstretched (I think she was classic length when her hair is wet, not certain). In her latest video she was talking about how she doesn't use combs or brushes, and purely finger-detangles. She explained that she had no problems with tangling/matting because she is able to do just as well with her hands and get out all the sheds and feel out knots. I believe her Youtube name is interplanetrabbit.
I was super skeptical at first, but I've done this for about a month and a half and I've noticed great results. I had done a 3-4" trim on my longest layer about 2 and a half months ago (mentioned it in the BSL to WL thread), to help even out my hemline, and I've noticed that my hair has grown (and shown!) at least an inch, perhaps 2 even. I'm over the moon about it :happydance:, and hope to be able to resist the temptation to comb/brush for a long time. So far, it hasn't been difficult, and I find the method easier and time-saving, with just as good results, minus the breakage :shrug:

[CurlyCap]

I think Minion has a different texture vs you Curly. Her hair compacts tight but it's easy enough to brush out while coated in conditioner. Should be interesting to see what changes as she hits teenaged fun, then adult hair.

Yeah, my hair is never "easy" to brush. Conditioner coating just makes it easier. My hair doesn't have splits or such,but it does do this weird thing where each strand changes thickness as you move down the strand. I think it makes my hair extra grabby.

[MandyBeth]

DH has that fun, but he wears locs always. Thus, no maintenance ideas for loose care.

Minion had similar fun before, but it was from extremely poor care and the spirals did a sharp Z instead of the S. Everything was too stripped dry and allowed to fully mat, her hair struggled to ever recover. Her hair grows crazy fast (1 - 1.5" per month easily) so by know, all that hell is cut off. Her ends still Z out when it's time to trim.

My guess with her is since the curls now clump wonderfully, they basically stack each circle directly on top of the next circle, thus not making enough room to let clumps weave together, so easier to brush through. Possibly also because she's got a super tight diameter, straw at most, so there's less room in the center to collect neighbor curls. But that's why she has awesomely big hair. A middle finger to the pro curl sites who claim big hair is bad.

Doodles do not work at all for her. They're loose enough to not yank hair, it's a mess as they don't suppress her curls much and now it's curling curls. To suppress curls, ha. To get even to a 2C means an incredibly tight - painfully so and crazy damaging - session of 4-6 hours.

When she wears her braid down, I wrap the ends around my hand, then fold the length up in half so the ends are between the layers. Then ease hand out, hold the loop and top together, then tie on a fold over elastic. Lay under, cross over, cross back under over flat elastic, single knot (Granny knot) with two passes before tightening, back under, push ends between the flat and bottom cross over, pull up and between the cross overs. Then braid away. It keeps her braid at a reasonable, safe length, the weight distribution change keeps the braid back, and her ends are not getting rubbed by elastic.

For pinning up the braid, start with dividing the hair like a pie (learned that here, forget from who), braid and don't tie off. Pin up. That seems to pull way less and it starts the bun higher usually here, so more room to pin the braid up.

Those probably won't work for tangle prone hair.

[YvetteVarie]

Great thread idea. I will be listening to the long hairs and getting ready for when I qualify as one. Until then, I will lurk and ask questions

[LadyCelestina]

I hope this thread survives till I get past classic so I can post there :D A museum of curlies :D

[Quahatundightu]

I don't think of my hair as super long, I am between TB and Classic. My hair was 2c/3a when it was shorter but due to it being so fine the curls get pulled straight now unless I use gel or something similar. The BBB do not work for me, it's too damaging for my hair. Definitely subscribing to this thread for inspiration :)

[chen bao jun]

Heck, I will post my hair even though it is by no means super-long, or even long yet. It is somewhere just below bra-strap/at midback when I stretch a curl with my fingers. Unstretched, it is as you see. Although if I wash it and just let it airdry, it gets much shorter than this and the curls are smaller. this is a braid out of sorts--When I wash my hair, I let it dry in 3 or 4 large braids. This stretches the size of the curls. When I don't do this, the curls are gorgeous but its tangle hell. I usually just leave my bangs in the size curls I mostly have, about pencil sized. Some on the crown of my head are larger--marker sized but not the giant markers and some in the back are smaller, crayon sized. But they all behave the same. When water touches my hair, it turns into spirals, a la Shirley Temple, all over. Just not the size hers were. Even if entirely unmoisturized, that's what it does. It naturally spirals and it naturally clumps and for me finding out about leave in conditioner has been heaven not because it 'creates' curls but because with it, I can detangle my hair without pain and without breaking large objects. finger detangling with conditioner in the shower is the greatest thing since sliced bread, in my humble opinion and I haven't combed or brushed in more than a year, and my hair is very much the better for it.
I don't think I could reach great lengths if I combed.
http://i1280.photobucket.com/albums/a481/uloma1/hairaug2014cropped_zpsfdb7799b.jpg (http://s1280.photobucket.com/user/uloma1/media/hairaug2014cropped_zpsfdb7799b.jpg.html)
http://i1280.photobucket.com/albums/a481/uloma1/hairaug2014cropped2_zpsa529d5f2.jpg (http://s1280.photobucket.com/user/uloma1/media/hairaug2014cropped2_zpsa529d5f2.jpg.html)
http://i1280.photobucket.com/albums/a481/uloma1/hairtyping3c1_zpseb80789c.jpg (http://s1280.photobucket.com/user/uloma1/media/hairtyping3c1_zpseb80789c.jpg.html)

[chen bao jun]

Stretched as best I can do it. this is about a year ago, my hair is longer than this now. I'd been bunning all week when I took this pic, so the curls were goooone....Bunning, like braiding, stretches them out and after a few days, nada, its at its longest (and also, its least attractive).
http://i1280.photobucket.com/albums/a481/uloma1/hairtyping3c3_zpsa735b187.jpg (http://s1280.photobucket.com/user/uloma1/media/hairtyping3c3_zpsa735b187.jpg.html)

[lapushka]

Heck, I will post my hair even though it is by no means super-long, or even long yet. It is somewhere just below bra-strap/at midback when I stretch a curl with my fingers. Unstretched, it is as you see. Although if I wash it and just let it airdry, it gets much shorter than this and the curls are smaller. this is a braid out of sorts--When I wash my hair, I let it dry in 3 or 4 large braids. This stretches the size of the curls. When I don't do this, the curls are gorgeous but its tangle hell. I usually just leave my bangs in the size curls I mostly have, about pencil sized. Some on the crown of my head are larger--marker sized but not the giant markers and some in the back are smaller, crayon sized. But they all behave the same. When water touches my hair, it turns into spirals, a la Shirley Temple, all over. Just not the size hers were. Even if entirely unmoisturized, that's what it does. It naturally spirals and it naturally clumps and for me finding out about leave in conditioner has been heaven not because it 'creates' curls but because with it, I can detangle my hair without pain and without breaking large objects. finger detangling with conditioner in the shower is the greatest thing since sliced bread, in my humble opinion and I haven't combed or brushed in more than a year, and my hair is very much the better for it.
I don't think I could reach great lengths if I combed.
http://i1280.photobucket.com/albums/a481/uloma1/hairaug2014cropped_zpsfdb7799b.jpg (http://s1280.photobucket.com/user/uloma1/media/hairaug2014cropped_zpsfdb7799b.jpg.html)
http://i1280.photobucket.com/albums/a481/uloma1/hairaug2014cropped2_zpsa529d5f2.jpg (http://s1280.photobucket.com/user/uloma1/media/hairaug2014cropped2_zpsa529d5f2.jpg.html)
http://i1280.photobucket.com/albums/a481/uloma1/hairtyping3c1_zpseb80789c.jpg (http://s1280.photobucket.com/user/uloma1/media/hairtyping3c1_zpseb80789c.jpg.html)

Pretty curls! :D

[chen bao jun]

Thanks, Lapushka! I really appreciate the encouragement!
I hoped my short hair pics would encourage others to post pics of actual LONG curly hair, but not yet..?
Come on guys! think how disappointed someone would be to read the thread title and see only my pics and then think--is that it? Is that all curlies can do? come on, Quixii, CurlyCap--those of you who have impressive long curls! Or those who are like me--we can always look back at our shortie photos in a year or two when we can post pictures of longer hair (even if not long yet then, which I'm sure I still won't be).

[Quixii]

Come on guys! think how disappointed someone would be to read the thread title and see only my pics and then think--is that it? Is that all curlies can do? come on, Quixii, CurlyCap--those of you who have impressive long curls!
Okay, I can pass on some pictures. :)
Here are my most recent length shots.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v317/young_artist/P8191882_zps0983ecf8.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v317/young_artist/P8191879_zpsc2e1e99c.jpg

Here's from a while ago when the ends curled particularly nicely.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v317/young_artist/Hair/P8210106_zps524b706b.jpg

And one of my common styles, which I love because it lets the curls play but keeps my length up.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v317/young_artist/Hair/P7120663_zps3538ccdc.jpg

[lapushka]

Very pretty & impressive, Quixii! :)

[Beborani]

I am one of those in between truly wavy and truly curly so am looking into both threads to see where I belong, not to mention not truly long yet. Mine was very long once and after seeing my current length and estimating from there possibly well past classic stretched but it was always in braids. lapushka, I saw your hair in the other thread--gorgeous--I dont believe I have seen your hair despite seeing your posts in several threads. Chen, quixil, and everyone very pretty curls.

[Kina]

I am one of those in between truly wavy and truly curly so am looking into both threads to see where I belong, not to mention not truly long yet. Mine was very long once and after seeing my current length and estimating from there possibly well past classic stretched but it was always in braids. lapushka, I saw your hair in the other thread--gorgeous--I dont believe I have seen your hair despite seeing your posts in several threads. Chen, quixil, and everyone very pretty curls.

Yes, I'm in that zone as well. I get about 4 inches of shrinkage, but the longer my hair grows the less curly it is, sigh.

Chen, GORGEOUS hair! thank you for posting the pic!

Quixi, lovely curls!

[CousinItt]

So pretty chen and quixii!

I'm one of those on the edge - mostly wavy but some curly. I'll definitely be watching this thread for hairspiration.

[Hootenanny]

Gorgeous gorgeous GORGEOUS, Chen and Quixii. You two are among my top hair idols here! So happy to see your pics in this thread. :D

[ponyguy]

this is my first post! (I've lurked on LHC awhile, but I've always been a little intimidated by all the incredible heads of hair).

I'm not sure if I'm quite at the super long stage yet....about bcl when soaking wet, from there it quickly shrinks up to about waist-hip ish. It has gotten so thin with a drastic taper in the past few years (middle age guy...so yeah...I'm actually grateful I still have some, but I'm pretty sure my rattail in the 80's was as thick as my braid is now) I'm trying to figure out how to take a fairly decent pic to post. I almost always have it up in a bun or braided bun. One of the good things about getting a little older, I don't care if my hair is masculine or in style, lol.... it works for me.

[chen bao jun]

Gorgeous, Quixii! thanks for posting. You are especially inspiring because at your extreme length, you still have curls. I was kind of afraid there might be a lack of photos here because as people get longer hair, it weighs it down and curls are lost. this even happens to tightly curlies--One of my aunts who was definitely a 3c at my length looked like a 3a when she grew her hair so that it was apparently waist (don't know how long it really was. I mean, stretched).
Do you do anything that helps you to keep the curls? I loved your protective hair style. I am experimenting with updoes that don't kill curls. Curlycap had some posted in another thread that inspired me.
And thanks for the kind words, everyone.
More pictures please now. With just me and Quixii, we are still 50% short!


Okay, I can pass on some pictures. :)
Here are my most recent length shots.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v317/young_artist/P8191882_zps0983ecf8.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v317/young_artist/P8191879_zpsc2e1e99c.jpg

Here's from a while ago when the ends curled particularly nicely.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v317/young_artist/Hair/P8210106_zps524b706b.jpg

And one of my common styles, which I love because it lets the curls play but keeps my length up.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v317/young_artist/Hair/P7120663_zps3538ccdc.jpg

[Quixii]

Thanks everyone!

chen bao jun, I don't do anything special to keep the curls. Some days it barely curls, and some days it nicely curls, and the only thing I do it try to accept whatever it throws at me. :) Besides, I do wear it up >90% of the time these days, so often I don't even find out if it's a good curl or bad curl day.

[MandyBeth]

I don't post my daughter's pictures online. Sorry! But she's in the long hair range and there are way, way, way too many f/e/t/ creepers out there and I don't trust anyone online, never mind here.

[slynr]

I don't post my daughter's pictures online. Sorry! But she's in the long hair range and there are way, way, way too many f/e/t/ creepers out there and I don't trust anyone online, never mind here.

Conscientious parenting. That's refreshing:)

[ravenheather]

Quixotic I have a curly hair crush on you. My wimpy waves wish they could grow up to be like your curls.

[DarthCynthia]

Beautiful curls, everyone! This will be a fun thread to follow, since my husband has tight spiral curls and has been growing his hair out again. Not sure how long he will grow, or even how long it is, since those curls are trying their best to shrink that length up. Hehehe!

[MultiCultiCurly]

Such amazing lengths @Quixxi, love it :)

Photobucket doesn't work on my computer for some reason, so I apologize for the huge pic (I send them from the app on my phone). This is my most recent length shot, my curls fresh out of a lazy wrap bun so my hair is on the crinkly/piecey side

http://i1117.photobucket.com/albums/k596/TMSantiago25/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-08/7BCEA7F8-7A85-4CF9-8D6A-7760B9CBF217.jpg (http://s1117.photobucket.com/user/TMSantiago25/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-08/7BCEA7F8-7A85-4CF9-8D6A-7760B9CBF217.jpg.html)

[CurlyCap]

Gah. My issue is that I don't have anyone to take a decent picture of my hair for me. So most of my hair check photos are slightly blurry, camera-phone, mirror reflection things.

So most of my "good hair day" photos are actually selfies because they are much easier to take while avoiding blurriness!

That being said, I feel like most of my LHC posted pictures are of my hair on days where it has been freshly washed or producted into complete submission. Below is my hair, day after washing, looking a little more "typical". This hair HAS been freshly wet down and about 1/2 cup of conditioner added, but that usually isn't enough to fight the volume that happens when it's completely dry. BCL+ stretched, ~BSL curly, ie about a a foot of shrinkage.

http://i.imgur.com/aOIb2r6.jpg?1

ETA:

I frequently get PMs because people don't understand how my hair can shrink as much as I say it does. Or they don't understand when I say my hair acts like a combination of type 3 and type 4 hair. So I wanted to include a few more photos in cause growing curlies get a little frustrated.

This is the exact same day as the hair imaged above, after a 12 hour workday. I have a tendency to pick random curls at my nape and yank at them while I think, explaining the randomly longer curls underneath. But it's pretty easy to see that by the end of the day, the majority of my hair shrank to above APL. And this is pretty typical, even though I'm a "loose" 3b/3c curl.

http://i.imgur.com/OydlfGD.jpg?1

However, in this pic taken February 2014, my his actually a good 6 inches SHORTER than it is now, but appears WAY longer because of styling and product choices. The longest curls were just above waist.

http://i.imgur.com/eEKWs3g.jpg?1

Finally, the top two pictures illustrate that while my hair is insanely healthy, it doesn't really shine at all unless product makes it do so. Individual strands can be quite shiny, but the over all effect with my curl pattern is dull curls. And I'm cool with that. :D

[MultiCultiCurly]

Aw man, for some reason I can't see your pic @CurlyCap, I wish I could, my computer is being wack

[CurlyCap]

Aw man, for some reason I can't see your pic @CurlyCap, I wish I could, my computer is being wack

If your computer is blocking photobucket, then it's also probably blocking imgur.com...which I what I use to post. But it should show up on a phone, maybe?

[CousinItt]

Multiculti and curlycap - very beautiful. I have such curl envy on this thread :)

[LadyCelestina]

I'm like :thud: over there,beautiful hair everyone !


ETA: Makes me re-think my hair type. Quixii ' s beautiful hair is much curlier than mine and if she's a 3a,then I am more 2c than I thought I am.

[YvetteVarie]

Well, I'm not a long hair by any shot but here's my last length check picture
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-apqyb6K2PnA/U6lGvpoCCqI/AAAAAAAAApQ/KeBvBamhHTA/s1600/2014-06-05%2B14.26.17.jpg

I was just past APL when this photo was taken (in June). Right now my hair is past the bottom of my shoulder blades and about an inch above my brastrap. I have very, very tight curls, and if I don't stretch out my hair its about neck length with all the shrinkage. And I get to neck length thanks to the straightened hair I am trying to grow out.

This is a close up shot of one of my textures
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_OUVh2B6lig/U5VZV1_wj7I/AAAAAAAAAnk/dYk1ZLzZidM/s1600/2014-06-06+21.01.47.jpg

Its elongated with conditioner in that picture. Usually, the curl is way tighter, and the shrinkage is insane (from below my shoulder blade to about an inch)

I can't wait for when I will move into the long hair territory, then the super long hair :)

[Sierrarazz]

I can't wait till i can be considered "super long". I'm only about BSL now when its straight/wet. otherwise it kinds up a little past my shoulders. Hope I can get to this one day (I had extensions in this pic!)

http://www.sierrarasberry.com/uploads/1/8/8/2/1882624/401209_orig.jpg?181

[Sierrarazz]

whoops. wrong pic!

http://www.sierrarasberry.com/uploads/1/8/8/2/1882624/3336255_orig.jpg

[queenovnight]

Oo! Thanks for creating this thread. I've noticed the serious lack of extremely long curlies, and it's saddening. I want CL (or as long as it'll grow) length hair, but I often wonder what it would take with curly hair. - Straight/wavy hair advice is really useless for me. - I now keep my hair tucked away almost always, but when my hair hits tbl (unstretched) I would love to show it off.

I hope some more super long curlies check in, and with advice!

[Charybdis]

Where's Gumball? He definitely qualifies for this thread. :)

[MultiCultiCurly]

Thanks :) @CousinItt

CurlyCap: I got to see your pics, lovely! :o That shrinkage is pretty intense. Mine is about 6-8", but as an avid-crocheter and mom, I have some serious patience, so I trot (err, grow) along. It is the frustrating part of growing out curls though.

[RapunzelKat]

I am loving all these pictures of curly hair!! :inlove: There's too many to quote, so I'm just gonna leave a general :thudpile: for everyone.

I think it's awesome how really curly hair can look so different from day to day. My hair is allllways straight unless I take fairly drastic measures. :bluebiggr

[Syren_Curls]

I'll echo that this is a wonderful thread idea. I often feel like the curly hair advice isn't necessarily relevant to longer than maybe MBL hair or that longer hair advice is better or easier for straight or close to straight hair. Add to that, I have fine hair which doesn't always have the same issues that advice is given about with many curlies and gets weighed down or stringy very easily. I wouldn't say I'm in the extreme length range but I am at TBL I am growing out layers so I have some lovely spirals and then some elongated curls. I would love to see some advice and tips and maybe even offer some of what I have discovered. My hope is to make it pretty after a wash today and post a picture. Friday, I had mermaid hair for a few hours and couldn't wait to take a picture when I got home... but the thunderstorm ruined that idea, lol.

[Beborani]

http://i1298.photobucket.com/albums/ag50/Beborani/imagejpg1_zps8bd1c5ff.jpg (http://s1298.photobucket.com/user/Beborani/media/imagejpg1_zps8bd1c5ff.jpg.html)

I had posted this on another thread a month or so ago. These were taken after a round of henna. The hair reaches tailbone, stretched but by no means is superlong. The shrinkage can be between 4-8 inches, I think.

[chen bao jun]

Beautiful hair, Beborani.

[Beborani]

Thank you chen!

[Marbid]

Hmmm... I'm in! Shall post pictures tomorrow. But might be old pictures.. I don't let my hair curl often... But will try to get a decent picture.

[CoveredByLove]

I'm definitely keeping an eye on this thread for inspiration! Wow...just wow! I'm BSL when dry/shrunk. quixii and beborani, your hair is so inspiring to me! Beautiful! :crush:

[chen bao jun]

When I get to BSL when shrunk, I'm having a party!!!:disco::disco::disco:

[dulce]

WOW! What has happened to photobucket?!! I hadn't been on for awhile,clicked on one of my photobucket pics to put here..A moving ad appeared where the pic should have been,then it says be ad free for 99 cents.I tried to click on the IMG square but it wouldn't click.I waited for the moving ads to finish but they kept going on and on.Does that mean you can only share your pic by removing the ad for 99 cents?I have shared pics for years but this new stuff has me completely confused!I used to click on the IMG saquare,it would turn yellow and ''copied'' would show on it.Now it's not clickeable.HELP!!

[Neecola]

dulce, I've been using photobucket for my piccys with no problems. I will say that it seems to get bogged down sometimes and I have to log in again later. Have you tried again since?

[dulce]

I have,still not working[share links are not clickeable]There is tons of ads all over my face bucket that was not there a month ago,and at that time everything was working fine..There seems to be a connection?MULTICULTYCURLY,is this your experience with photobucket?

[Quixii]

I have ad-block installed, so some websites that wouldn't really be useable because of the obscene amounts of ads, are perfectly useable by me.

[dulce]

My computer says add ons are disabled.On my photobucket page it now says '' Share links?'' instead of'' Links to share''.That's the heading on the right above the share link codes[IMG etc.] I never changed anything,Was off for a while,came back to photobucket to see these changes.NONE of the share link codes are clickable.Can't find an address to contact them for help,all their trouble shooting pages were useless for me.How can I contact them?

[Beborani]

Dulce, you need to copy the entire code in img box by highlighting it and paste here.

[dulce]

I can't highlight it as it's all light gray and non clickeable.I found a way to submit a request,hope they can fix it .

[Atira]

Quixii, you are one of the folks on here who I want my hair to MOST be like. I just love it.

Mine is hip length so not super long either.

[dulce]

Well,was told to reset my password and photobucket seems to be working now..http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/l545/chicaaa1/long%20hair/DSC01391.jpg (http://s1123.photobucket.com/user/chicaaa1/media/long%20hair/DSC01391.jpg.html)

[dulce]

Sorry it's so big! All my photobucket pics are.

[Santi]

Thank you Chen Bao Jun, Quixii, MultiCultiCurly, CurlyCap, YvetteVarie, Sierrazz, Beborani & Dulce for sharing your pics. It's so inspiring to see progress pics & beautiful long curly hair. :toast:

[oxymora]

I've also been lurking on LHC awhile and am a little intimidated by people posting "mine isn't that long, nearly TBL" or something! I think at waist-hip, you've nothing to be concerned about! Mine is only about BSL when dry, though is curly/wavy so is longer when wet.

[oxymora]

this is my first post! (I've lurked on LHC awhile, but I've always been a little intimidated by all the incredible heads of hair).

Oops you can tell I'm a newbie, this went to the end of the thread! I'll repost here:

I've also been lurking on LHC awhile and am a little intimidated by people posting "mine isn't that long, nearly TBL" or something! I think at waist-hip, you've nothing to be concerned about! Mine is only about BSL when dry, though is curly/wavy so is longer when wet.

[oxymora]

Apologies for the double post, I thought I could delete the first post but I can't see an edit/delete post button. Such a lot of impressive curly hair in this thread, definite inspiration. It's good to see pictures of lots of curls, even though my hair is not nearly so amazing as everyone's here. Someone did once tell me that they were chatting to a friend who thought he'd seen me that day and she said "It couldn't have been her, she's not supposed to be back yet" and he replied "it was, nobody else around has hair like that!"

At about BLS-ish when dry, would love to learn how to take good care of it to grow it longer so will keep an eye on this thread. Thanks for the advice all! :-)