Feeling stuck & not making progress

[divinedobbie]

I just need to rant a little so bear with me please.

I stopped all chemicals (bleach, dye) 2 years 9 months ago and heat even longer than that, so accordingly I should have 16 inches of new healthy babied growth. I did have my hair layered (razor) 17 months ago.

It seems like I can never ever reach BSL. When I first joined, I thought BSL was 24" on me, so I was already there. Then I decided to count BSL as bottom of strap so it was 25". In the meantime, I kept trimming my damage. Then, I found a properly fitting bra and BSL went to 27" but I was so excited because I was only an inch away and would be there by Christmas. Yesterday I checked, and double checked, and guess what? Yup, now it's coming up as 28", because apparently I wasn't holding my head quite straight when I had been doing my previous measurements. With my hair at 26", I should only have another 4 months though. Yet I've decided I really need to microtrim because my ends are so thin. It doesn't make sense because I've been past BSL before with really nice thick ends when I was treating my hair much wore.

...Basically, I'm looking at being stuck at BSL for another year. All I want is to pass BSL!! And I'm so mad that I've been trying so hard for three years and my hair looks worse than I started with.

Thanks for listening. Patience is not my virtue!!

[alishaxmarie]

The quality of your ends was compromised when you allowed a hairdresser to cut your hair with a razor. Hair shears/scissors cut the tip of your strand bluntly but razors do it at more of an angle so more of your strand's cortex is exposed to potential damage. I couldn't find an image to demonstrate what I'm trying to explain but think of commercials for men's razors, they usually show what I'm trying to refer to. It's like part of the cuticle is missing since it's uneven/angled and therefore it isn't protecting your hair as well as it would if the tip of the hair strand was blunt (this has nothing to do with the shape of your hemline though). I wanted a really choppy look once and my friend said to ask for a razor cut but a styling told me that this would weaken/damage my hair, making it difficult to grow out.

Also, your hair is still growing in inches even if it hasn't quite passed the BSL body marker, so rest assured that you're cutting away damage and making length progress even if it's hard for you to see that progress now. :flowers:

[Aurum]

alishaxmarie is completely right, so I won't bother to echo everything she just said.

I will, however, add that it is important to have a properly fitting bra. I'd rather wait longer for BSL with a good bra than pass it with an ill-fitting one. That being said, you're still making great progress for having previously damaged hair. Whether you're growing downwards or working to get it healthier, it's all improvement at the moment. Stick with it and you'll be so happy you did. In the meantime, why not have some fun and learn new styles to take your focus off of wishing it would grow faster?

By the way, 28 inches seems pretty low for a bra. That's getting close to waist (~30 inches, give or take a few) for a lot of people here. I think it would help to take that into consideration when stressing over length.

[Hotrox]

I read to take a piece of string (or similar) around just under your bust and count this as BSL, this marker won't change depending on your choice of bra for the day!!

I'm sure you're making good progress, I think your plan to trim as you grow to get rid of damaged ends is the right thing to do and when you do hit the marker it'll be even more satisfying. Maybe stop measuring for a while and do a daily updo challenge until Christmas, might just get you past this frustrating patch.

[Tini'sNewHair]

I never used my bras to determine Bsl because my bras all fit different so instead I went by the SBL (shoulder blade length), this body marker is guaranteed to always be the same and so it worked great for me :) Please consider this as well.

[Wosie]

I never used my bras to determine Bsl because my bras all fit different so instead I went by the SBL (shoulder blade length), this body marker is guaranteed to always be the same and so it worked great for me :) Please consider this as well.

It's really hard for me to properly find the lower end of my shoulder blades, they don't jut out at all. I still don't know how I should measure the elusive BSL marker, all I know is that I'm not yet there. :p

divinedobbie, My BSL marker has also fallen downwards and if I was to go by the 'string under bust' method I'd have to go by 28,3". What is waist on you? Have you thought about counting midway 'tween APL and waist as BSL? ...Or just skip BSL altogether and do MBL instead (between shoulder and BCL)?

[Kherome]

Razoring the hair is nearly as bad as using heat or dye. You are likely fighting the damaging effects of the razor. Keep at it and it'll be over eventually!

[Dragonfly]

At least you are patient. I am so frustrated right now... I am feeling stuck on a plateau and don't know what to do to boost my progress. :( I am sorry you're experiencing such frustration!

[JustPam]

My BSL is also very low, 26" at the top of the band, 27.5" at the bottom, so I'm only just past it at 28", but still about an inch away from my underbust level! I would have started this year at about 25" going by my growth rate, I got a big trim at the end of August from 29" back to 27" so I too feel like I've been stuck in the neverending BSL range for a year, but it is growing. I'm trying out mixing crushed caffeine tablets in my shampoo once a week to see if it helps growth and thickness.

The razored ends wont help and will need cut out properly if they haven't been already, I think this is the kind of picture that alishaxmarie was looking for, and it is pretty terrible looking.
http://pgbeautyscience.com/assets/images/twoh/Chapter%202/Damage%2012.jpg

[Marbid]

Also echoing the bad choice for ends if raizored..

Going to add my opinion that if you dont want thin ends... Consider not layering and going for a thick hemline. After all, when you layer, by its very nature, you are going to have less hair on your ends than at your highest layer. Its just the way it works. Andnthe less hair on your head to begging with, the less hair at the ends after all those layers. (Plus, i also think its a lie when they tell you it will make your hair look thick)

Well waist length was 27" on me. So really, i dont think you need to worry all that much about bra strap length. It can be pretty far down for some people so dont consider your hair all that short when you say you are jus going for BSL.. At that rate, by the time you get to your bra strap, others might be past waist with the same length. And that is by no means shor, or considered short even by lhc standards..

Cheer up gal. And be a little bit more informed about what is really causing those disliked thined ends of yours and what is working against you and what it is you aspire to with your ends... Perhaps you are getting side tracked by what stylists and the media tell you vs what lhc recomends. Its hard for any one to know it all after all. Those ends of yours are still damaged in the end. And spliting faster than normal with those angled tips... So you might whant to undo what you just did.... Again.... By waiting it out and trimming..... Again.....