Growing my hair from scratch!!!! Experiences?

[MoominPaige]

Hello!!!!

Sooo some hair history! I had BSL hair that was bleached until I was 18, when I turned 18 I went a bit crazy and started dying it all sorts of colours, red, brown( when I dyed it brown I cut it to shoulder length) back to blonde, orange, red again, pink! (Accident :P) then finally had it dyed a semi permanent very very dark brown, my hair was so damaged it was breaking off at the ends and just wasn't growing, so to solve my breakage I cropped in into a short pixie cut! It's was about 2 inches and the shortest part was the back and sides which was 1cm long. (I'm now 20)
Ive been growing it out since the end of June and I've made some good progress! It's already nearly a chin length bob already and it's all one length and my hair is very fine but I have a lot of it. It's about medium thickness! My hair loves no sulfate shampoo and no cones conditioner :) I use sweet almond oil on my ends and I use a boar bristle brush before I wash my hair to move oils down the strands :)

My hair is practically all natural with no dye now apart from the very ends :) I was just wondering if anyone had any tips or had anyone ever grown their hair out from scratch? Also how long did it take you to go from chin length bob to hip? That's my goal!!!

Sorry about the essay I'm just a chatter!

[Madora]

Well, if you mean bald (from scratch), no, I haven't grown from that. But I have grown from just grazing shoulder to knee. Took 11 years with 2 major trims.

As far as tips:
Hair tips (based on my own experience of more than 40 years):

Be patient.
Less is more. Don't overload your hair with products!
Not everything works for everybody!
Use gentle shampoos
Stay far away from: blow fryers/straighteners/hot curlers/bleach/backcombing/teasing/Brazilian blowouts

Eat sensibly! Exercise moderately. Drink water.

The best thing you can do for your hair:

wear it up to protect it
detangle it gently with a wide tooth comb (every day)
brush it daily with a pure boar bristle brush (no nylon or rubber!)
Air dry only!

learn new hairstyles to keep from being bored

ponytails are not hair friendly. Avoid them!

Weekly S and Ding are beneficial for keeping white dots and split ends in check. Use SHARP shears!

Don't obsess on how fast (or not) your hair is growing! That'll drive you bonkers.

Mineral oil (baby oil), used sparingly (2 drops) is great for detangling, taming frizzies, and helping with moisture. You place the drops in your palms, rub it all over the hands, then draw your hands through your hair until the oil sheen has just about vanished from your palms. It is very lightweight, leaves no after scent, washes out in the next shampoo, and is dead cheap.

Always detangle with a WIDE TOOTH COMB! Never detangle with a brush!
Detangle from the ends of the hair, then up the strands, little by little, until you reach the roots.
Daily gentle scalp massage in the bent at the waist position is a great way to stimulate your follicles for a boost in hair growth.

A silk pillowcase cover - or sleeping cap - is a great way to protect your hair while sleeping. Good luck!

[nikolette]

Madura, love your advice! Great words of wisdom, I will be keeping in mind!!!

[Madora]

Glad to help, nikolette!

[MoominPaige]

Well, if you mean bald (from scratch), no, I haven't grown from that. But I have grown from just grazing shoulder to knee. Took 11 years with 2 major trims.

As far as tips:
Hair tips (based on my own experience of more than 40 years):

Be patient.
Less is more. Don't overload your hair with products!
Not everything works for everybody!
Use gentle shampoos
Stay far away from: blow fryers/straighteners/hot curlers/bleach/backcombing/teasing/Brazilian blowouts

Eat sensibly! Exercise moderately. Drink water.

The best thing you can do for your hair:

wear it up to protect it
detangle it gently with a wide tooth comb (every day)
brush it daily with a pure boar bristle brush (no nylon or rubber!)
Air dry only!

learn new hairstyles to keep from being bored

ponytails are not hair friendly. Avoid them!

Weekly S and Ding are beneficial for keeping white dots and split ends in check. Use SHARP shears!

Don't obsess on how fast (or not) your hair is growing! That'll drive you bonkers.

Mineral oil (baby oil), used sparingly (2 drops) is great for detangling, taming frizzies, and helping with moisture. You place the drops in your palms, rub it all over the hands, then draw your hands through your hair until the oil sheen has just about vanished from your palms. It is very lightweight, leaves no after scent, washes out in the next shampoo, and is dead cheap.

Always detangle with a WIDE TOOTH COMB! Never detangle with a brush!
Detangle from the ends of the hair, then up the strands, little by little, until you reach the roots.
Daily gentle scalp massage in the bent at the waist position is a great way to stimulate your follicles for a boost in hair growth.

A silk pillowcase cover - or sleeping cap - is a great way to protect your hair while sleeping. Good luck!




I cant put my hair up because of how short it is!

i haven't used heat in 6 months and I sleep on a silk pillowcase :)

thank you!

[Madora]

I cant put my hair up because of how short it is!

i haven't used heat in 6 months and I sleep on a silk pillowcase :)

thank you!

Not using heat is a very good idea! So is the silk pillowcase. Have patience! Your hair will grow!

[browneyedsusan]

I've done that! :thumbsup:

I wore my hair in various pixies, 1" on top and shaved on the sides/back was the shortest, and colored it often. Eventually I decided I just wanted it red. Enter henna. I liked the color so much I decided to grow it out!

It took me 6 or 8 months to grow to shoulder, but I didn't trim. As soon as my bangs started poking my eyes, I pinned them back. When the rest got longer, I pinned it up too. I wore the front pinned up every day for almost a year. No one had any idea it was all mulletty and crazy, because it was cleverly disguised! Snoop through my growth album. The pics are a little goofed up, but it's the best I can do. My goal was to wear it up every day in a variety of styles, so trimming would only slow me down. If you wear your hair down often, trimming is probably better.

Good luck and happy growing! :)

[YvetteVarie]

I grew from very short up to below shoulder blade length but I recently trimmed back up to APL because of split ends. It took me 5 months to grow from almost bald to neck length mainly because I had my hair in braids all the time (and I didn't use any chemicals). I had a growth stall at NL because I was using chemical relaxers, and the stylist used to overprocess my hair. When I started doing DIY last January, I grew from NL to APL in about 8 or 9 months. Now I am growing out the relaxer, so I am not growing as much as I did last year since I have trimmed off close to 4 inches this year.

[butter52]

Im in the process, growing my pixie since april.

Ive trimmed my mullet twice, I just cant stand it, I know it will take longer but I want to wear my hair down usually (cant really do much more...). I trimmed it myself to make the back the same lenght.

Also I have curly hair so its waaaay slower to grow. Im still not even close shoulders after 5 months.

Buy pretty stuff to not get bored: clips, pins, flexy8s, mini combs...

[jacqueline101]

I started with shoulder length hair. My hair yesterday before the trim was brushing waist and it took me two plus years to get that far plus I grew out layers and damage. A lot of what I learned was trial and error. My tips would be give up chemicals, heat, and be patient. Being patient is the hard one for me. My next advice is a silk sleep cap, wearing up dos, and no metal pony tail holders. I found scrunchi to be great. Don't twist your up dos too tight you'll end up with damage I found out the hard way.

[ExpectoPatronum]

I never cut my hair shorter than shoulder length, but I've been growing it for so long, I have a better idea of what works and what doesn't.

Basically, I grew my hair from SL to BSL with no problem. In my teens, I had dyed my hair and used a flat iron on it. Even so, I had no problem getting to BSL. For some reason, that's the magic fake terminal length for me, and without "special" care, my hair doesn't grow past it. I know. Because I didn't cut for four years and it never grew longer than that. Keep in mind, I wore my hair down every. single. day. And slept with it loose. I was also using products that were too harsh for my hair.

Enter LHC, and my hair is finally past BSL and on it's way to waist!

I did cut my hair from BSL to APL. It took me about four months to grow back to BSL...and I've been stuck at MBL for a better part of 6 months now (keep having to trim :( ).

[Lyv]

I cut mine from BSL to pixie in January and I'm now about at the bottom of my neck. So far I've trimmed almost 3 inches off the back to even it out a little, trimmed the front about a quarter of an inch and cut in some bangs last meek. Braids have been my go-to for the front to keep it out of my face but I do put it in a ponytail sometimes since it's so hot here. I'm not gonna lie I defy the rules of LHC fairly often and still straighten occasionally and I use sulfates now. I was sulfate free for almost 2 years but my scalp hated it so I'm back for now. Once it's past the annoying flippy stage that makes my head look like a bell I'll probably go back to heat free though.

My advice would be:

Find what works for your hair type (SLS, SLS free, co-wash, silicone, no silicone, etc)
Comb gently (or not at all like me haha)
Don't use heat
Invest in a silk pillow case, it has really been great for my hair (wash frequently if you're stretching washes)


I have no idea how long it will take to get to that length but I went from an inverted bob to MBL in 2 years (with trims to even it out and probably a lot of breakage from bleach and heat) and it has taken a little over 9 months to get probably 1 1/2 inch from shoulder.

[Lady Mary]

I've done that! :thumbsup:

I wore my hair in various pixies, 1" on top and shaved on the sides/back was the shortest, and colored it often. Eventually I decided I just wanted it red. Enter henna. I liked the color so much I decided to grow it out!

It took me 6 or 8 months to grow to shoulder, but I didn't trim. As soon as my bangs started poking my eyes, I pinned them back. When the rest got longer, I pinned it up too. I wore the front pinned up every day for almost a year. No one had any idea it was all mulletty and crazy, because it was cleverly disguised! Snoop through my growth album. The pics are a little goofed up, but it's the best I can do. My goal was to wear it up every day in a variety of styles, so trimming would only slow me down. If you wear your hair down often, trimming is probably better.

Good luck and happy growing! :)

Clips have saved me though my most awkward growth periods. That and headbands!

[MoominPaige]

Clips have saved me though my most awkward growth periods. That and headbands!


Ugh clips are my saviour! I clip my fringe back because I'm growing it with the rest of my hair and it's a small nightmare otherwise! As it's only nearly chin length I can't put it up but if I was neck length by my birthday in December if be happy! Atleast when it's growing down my face I can see the growth!

[molljo]

I've had several pixies over the last decade, and in addition to the great haircare advice you've already received I'm going to give you some emotional advice. Pixie to shoulder is very very hard on your self esteem. If someone hasn't gone through it, they won't be able to relate (luckily several people here have gone through it). You will have days when you feel ugly and there's nothing you can do with your hair. It'll go through phases where it looks great and suddenly looks terrible, back to great again. Be prepared for this; know that it'll pass. Trimming the mullet is a choice you're going to have to make for yourself. Invest in clips, barrettes, bobby pins, headbands, a bandana, and hats. You should also take a look at the Shorties Thread (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=18405). It has several years worth of people talking about their journeys, and it's great for tips and commiseration.

ETA: I completely missed where you said you're in a bob already! You've already been through the hardest part, so ignore me :)

[dellad]

I've grown out my hair from scratch. Shaved my hair in Aug 2004 and it was hip length by Aug 2009, so 5 years.

My advice: benign neglect. So many times, I was tempted to do a major cut or get extensions, but thankfully, laziness got the better of me.