My hair journey... so far!

[lapis_lazuli]

Hi all. I was going through some photos of when I was younger and was fascinated by how much my hair had changed !
I thought I'd share my ongoing hair story here...

http://i1040.photobucket.com/albums/b401/kristen-elizabeth/16b31d5f-bf4b-40f4-b13b-edce9fc88427_zpsccfhfwes.png (http://s1040.photobucket.com/user/kristen-elizabeth/media/16b31d5f-bf4b-40f4-b13b-edce9fc88427_zpsccfhfwes.png.html)

When I was a child, I always let my hair grow long and wavy. I was always bothered by how thick it was (which, of course, in hindsight I hit myself for!) and it could get frizzy. I kept it natural from APL - Waist before I started flat ironing (as you can see in pic 3). I was around 11 at this time. Well, this straightening was the start of my hair conundrum. For one thing, I always used it on its MAX heat setting (400 F) without any heat protectant. I didn't have an older sister to show me wiser, ha!

Then came 2009... the year of middle school :scared:
After years of begging my mom for highlights, she finally relented to give me this change.
http://i1040.photobucket.com/albums/b401/kristen-elizabeth/498a7a3d-298a-4972-849e-b7531a6bf8cb_zpsy69uji2i.png (http://s1040.photobucket.com/user/kristen-elizabeth/media/498a7a3d-298a-4972-849e-b7531a6bf8cb_zpsy69uji2i.png.html)
WHY. :justy:
in the photos I am smiling, but looking at it now makes me cringe!!! I wish I had never touched my pretty colour... I never appreciated it until now.
In addition, my hair was cut off to APL with lots of layers. Thankfully, I was happy at the time and they grew out without much fuss ;)

http://i1040.photobucket.com/albums/b401/kristen-elizabeth/fbb8e5a2-c281-423b-befe-5ef90ceb9b97_zpsm6izjnov.png (http://s1040.photobucket.com/user/kristen-elizabeth/media/fbb8e5a2-c281-423b-befe-5ef90ceb9b97_zpsm6izjnov.png.html)

Unfortunately, this was not the end of my hair troubles. I continued to flat-iron and highlight my poor strands all the way up to 2013. My hair was at its absolute WORST condition in the second photo... split ends everywhere and fried to a crisp! Made my freshman and sophomore years real memorable!

http://i1040.photobucket.com/albums/b401/kristen-elizabeth/6a76d5e6-b767-4df3-9275-fcdc591a6eb6_zpse8i4fxts.png (http://s1040.photobucket.com/user/kristen-elizabeth/media/6a76d5e6-b767-4df3-9275-fcdc591a6eb6_zpse8i4fxts.png.html)

Finally, I smartened up in my junior year... or I should say, I just stopped caring about my hair! I stopped the heat, the colouring, and generally let it chill out in braids. I was occupied with other things and had made a commitment to stop torturing my hair and let it grow. And grow it did! The last photo is the first day of my senior year of HS.

http://i1040.photobucket.com/albums/b401/kristen-elizabeth/7553dbd5-4112-44f9-b675-988819e0e1a8_zpsnoakj4zs.png (http://s1040.photobucket.com/user/kristen-elizabeth/media/7553dbd5-4112-44f9-b675-988819e0e1a8_zpsnoakj4zs.png.html)

This is my hair now. I'm just grazing classic length and I feel great about it. I'm still S&Ding the damage from years ago and I still don't quite feel comfortable wearing my hair loose... but I definitely think I've made progress. I can only hope now my hair continues to grow so that one day it will kiss my knees :cloud9:
Thank you for reading. I wish you all the best on your hair journeys!:bow:

[parkmikii]

All I can say is wow! It looks gorgeous!
The colour looks especially pretty as it is now ^^
Enjoy the journey! :blossom:

[hennalonghair]

Oh your hair is so pretty.

[wilderwein]

I love how feminine and fairyish your hair looks! looking forward for when you'll achieve your goal for knee length. I can already imagine how great it will look at that length too :crush:

[vpatt]

Very pretty, lapis. I enjoyed your photos.

[David W]

very nice!

[lapis_lazuli]

Thank you all, it means a lot :grouphug:
The only downside in this is I get to see how my hair has thinned out... probably attributed to the damage I did to it in my teens. Alas, I wish I could get a better HD photo of my current hair, but all I have is my phone :p
On a sort of heavier note, going through all these photos from my birth up til' now has reminded me that I've survived and I've been living life for 17+ years... The past just seems incredibly distant to me... it just hits me, seeing everything tangible and documented. I don't know... weird vibes. :magic:

[DreamSheep]

Wow, that's beautiful! And really fast growth too :)
I thought your hair looked lovely in all pictures - but the last is definitely the loveliest, what an elegant braid! :)

[Arctic]

Younger years are great for experimenting with ones hair, and finding your own style that speaks to you, so don't feel bad about the highlights and such. :) Happy growing forwards, your hair is very pretty, especially the waves!

[meteor]

Gorgeous hair!!! :applause: What an awesome hair growth journey, lapis! :joy:

[kidso]

Your hair looks so soft with the braid waves in your last pic group. You also have gorgeous hair for braiding, with little to no taper! Slightly jealous! :o

[quirkybookworm]

You have such pretty hair. Your hair still looks very thick, and you don't have hardly any taper. Bit envious, I am. :) Wishing you good luck on the road to knee length!

[yogagirl]

Beautiful hair! I love your natural color and waves <3 very pretty!

Thank you for sharing and please, don't beat yourself up about experimenting with your hair. There is nothing wrong with that if it's what made you happy then :thumbsup: There is plenty of time to let it grow now and cut off the old damage if you choose to.

[missrandie]

I love your hair! And your side braid in the last photo is absolutely stunning! I dig it :)

No worries about the hair experimentation.. I did mine a little later, in grad school. It's now out of my system. And it will all grow! That's what hair does :)

[ShadowBritt]

So beautiful! I am so jealous of the waves, and I'm glad you "smartened up" haha!
Your journey sounds a lot like mine: growing and care when younger then a couple years where things went downhill!
But we're both back to growing and care yet again.
It was great seeing your journey thanks for sharing lapis!

[turtlelover]

The length of your hair now is my dream hair length. Very pretty! Love it!

[WannabeViking]

Your hair is gorgeous!

[TwilightShadow]

Your hair looks lovely. It's similar in texture to mine, but thicker. Don't regret the experimenting you did. At least you know now what not to do to your hair.

[lapushka]

Quite the journey. :) I've had my share of coloring bouts as well, but I was *way* wilder with shorter cuts and color than you. So don't feel so bad. It can all turn around and be better in the end!

[paulam89]

let me tell you. your hair is in great condition, and you have't seen torture to hair until , like me, you would decide to bleach your hair all over every 4 weeks with a 30vol developer and powder bleach... then would would see true torture lol

You are looking fab

[OleanderTime]

Absolutely gorgeous! :)

[M.McDonough]

That's amazing !! years of hair growth. You haven't cut your hair since 2008?

[restless]

It looks lovely :)

(damaged or not, I really liked the highlights too)

[lapis_lazuli]

Aha, thanks everyone. I try not to be hard on myself- the damage's been done and I got it out of my system. Now, I know and can strive for what I really want! ;)
M.McDonough: If only! I wish I could say that :D No, rather, I just wanted to show how my hair has changed and grown over the years. But now that's got me thinking... I wonder how long my hair could be now if I hadn't cut it in 7 years! :hmm:
My last cut was in 2014. We'll see how long it is in 2021! :guns:

[M.McDonough]

Aha, thanks everyone. I try not to be hard on myself- the damage's been done and I got it out of my system. Now, I know and can strive for what I really want! ;)
M.McDonough: If only! I wish I could say that :D No, rather, I just wanted to show how my hair has changed and grown over the years. But now that's got me thinking... I wonder how long my hair could be now if I hadn't cut it in 7 years! :hmm:
My last cut was in 2014. We'll see how long it is in 2021! :guns:

It would have been long enough to touch your knees :)
Please check out my thread ''2 years of hair growth''. It's kinda similar to yours

[Rapunzel_to_be]

Omg I love your hair!!! Its so beautiful!!!!! <3