Already broke one of my 2016 rules...

[LauraAlaina]

I put my extensions back in- which I said I would not do at all this year or next! In my defense, I was becoming obsessive with my long hair struggle. My hair grows incredibly slow as well, barely an inch in like 3 months...the process was brutal! It was all I could think about, measuring my hair every couple of days... The second I put them back in and now have (fake) WL hair as opposed to APL I feel 100XXXXX better! I don't know if it's psychological or what. So basically what I'm saying is, if you hair growing struggle is that bad..please consider getting extensions, it is worth the money if you're a long hair junkie like me! :) Just remember to take of your hair while they're in! Usually when I have extensions in I treat my hair like crap bc I don't care about the growing process that much, but NOW thanks to you guys I can focus on my own hair health and hopefully hit real waist length in a couple years. Cheers! :)

[Alastríona]

Haha please be nice to yourself, maybe amend your goal to reflect what you really want! I think 'taking good care of my hair in a way that makes me happy and not frustrated' is a good start? :-)

[luxurioushair]

Well, as long as they don't damage your hair. I would much rather make some lifestyle changes and speed up my hair growth. Because if the extensions mess my hair up, I'll be upset I wasn't patient. If you add the extensions, will you still take really good care of your real hair? If not it might grow even more slowly :(

My hair was growing at the average rate (0.5" per month) and recently I got it to 1" per 5 weeks. Waiting is not so bad if you stop measuring it so often. e.g. the next time I'm measuring mine is in November, in the meantime I don't actually know how long it is right now and I'm fine with that.

[sarahthegemini]

Do what makes you happy!

[YvetteVarie]

I think so long as you take care of your real hair, extensions don't matter. They are actually a great indicator of whether you can handle your goal length. So go for it

[meteor]

I really hope you'll enjoy them! :D In the meantime, I'd just make sure to moisturize the hair thoroughly, be very vigilant with the overall condition and also really try not to keep the extensions in for too long. If they ever pull or feel uncomfortable, it's best to take them out ASAP. :flower:

[LauraAlaina]

Oh i meant in the PAST i usually don't take good care of my hair when they're in bc with heat styling i'm constantly running flat irons and curling wands over the ends of my real hair bc i cant tell where my ends are, so by the time i take them out i have to cut like 2 in! but i've eliminated heat and bleach from my hair so that shouldn't be a problem anymore. It's funny how people really don't notice hair length. I went somewhere last night and not one person noticed my hair was like 6 inches longer! haha..

[DollyDagger]

LauraAlaina- People not noticing goes to show how long your actual hair is! :) I think if you exercise the same precautions that you have been as of late you'll be okay. Enjoy them!

[*ReiKa*]

I was in the same situation years ago and I do understand you very well.
My hair was about APL and I fancied long hair so much that I just could't resist having it long *right then* and invested in a nice set of clip-in extensions.
I wore them for a long time (maybe a year), often in a wrong way (sleeping with them, not washing them often, eugh, yeah...) but my hair grew anyway and it's been somewhat a great solution that made me forget about obsessively wanting long hair.
Once I removed them, I was already MBL or something like that, I do remember deciding to not use them anymore and being satisfied with the lenght my hair was.
So, enjoy them and keep looking after your real hair :)

[Llama]

Hair extensions were the worst thing I ever did to my hair. I took very good care of them and followed all the rules but they still ruined my hair. I would never even consider getting them again. Not to mention how terribly uncomfortable they were.
My real hair was dramatically thinner and inches shorter when I took them out for the last time.
And the clip in ones left bald spots on my scalp after repeatedly clipping them onto the same spots on my head. Luckily it was only temporary but it still freaked me out and was what prompted me to get "real" extensions- which was also a very bad decision.
Any time I hear someone talking about extensions like they are some harmless quick fix I just cringe.
For reference, I had spent 2,000 dollars up front on my "real" extensions at an upscale hair salon.
This was several years ago and the hair that is currently on my head is all "new" because all the hair that was damaged by the extensions either broke off or had to be cut off.