marvel-lover
December 26th, 2017, 05:49 PM
Hello everyone!
It's been almost an entire year since I've joined this forum! I'm so grateful for all of the wonderful tips and tricks and knowledge that I've found here, as well as the support and friendships that I've gained. I had been lurking in the forums since last Thanksgiving (late November) and finally decided to join in time for the New Year as a way to encourage me to keep my New Year's Resolution, which was to have the long hair that I've always wanted! Thanks to everyone here, I am coming in close to my original goal, which was hip. Now, my goal ranges somewhere in between BCL and Classic. Maybe longer, who knows ;)
When I first came here, my hair was damaged and just barely reaching the top of my bra strap.
https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/640x480q90/924/eADovH.png
I was a daily washer, and always had been. I washed my hair with normal shampoo and put some conditioner in it, which I immediately rinsed out after applying. I would rip through my hair, wet or dry, with a drugstore brush (nothing wrong with that, but my hair did not personally like them) several times a day. I always kept my hair in a tight ponytail and slept with it loose.
One of the first things I learned here at LHC was to extend my washes as much as my hair tolerated. This was a slow process, but I am now a weekly washer! My hair loves that it has a week in between washes, and it is not as brittle and dry as it was last year. I started experimenting with oils, and used to coat my entire head in olive and coconut oils, then have to wash my hair 3 times with clarifying shampoo to get rid of all the oils, which dried my hair out tremendously. Soon after, I began using castor oils, and then I realized that my hair did not like oil on the scalp. Since then, I've been oiling my ends only with jojoba oil and rosemary EO.
I soon learned how to bun my hair. My first bun was a really tight LWB, which I held with a chopstick and pencils until I got my hair toys. My first hair toy was a wooden flower fork.
https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/640x480q90/921/FTej3z.png
Slowly, throughout the past year, I have managed to accumulate a collection of sticks and forks, which I use daily. I always have my hair in a LWB, nautilus, or disc bun with a stick in it. In the picture below, I put the toys in the order that I got them, from left to right. The last four toys were given to me yesterday for Christmas!
https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/320x240q90/922/hDi8BV.jpg
Now for the growth pictures! This next one was taken in March
https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/640x480q90/924/lk5Rxk.png
This next one was taken in May and was my first time getting away from the mirror photo shots, as my hair no longer really fit in the photos!
https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/640x480q90/922/OZMDl3.png
This next photo is from October, when I called waist length
https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/640x480q90/924/UIrDIb.jpg
This last photo is from today! My hair is newly washed and combed out so it is a straight as it will ever be. I will be calling hip when my hair reaches where my left thumb is.
https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/640x480q90/922/83s0BU.jpg
My last pictures (I promise) is a side by side of one year's growth!
https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/640x480q90/924/eADovH.png https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/640x480q90/924/pHsBbI.png
I now wash my hair weekly with H&S and HE Herb and Rosemary conditioner, and use a white vinegar and rosemary rinse. I use a leave-in conditioner from Shea Moisture and a silicone blend from L'Oreal. I oil my hair after the fourth day with jojoba and rosemary EO, and use a VO5 spray bottle with conditioner and water in it each night, or when my ends feel dry. My hair is always up with a stick, and I wear it in a claw clip or in a braid at night.
Happy New Year!
It's been almost an entire year since I've joined this forum! I'm so grateful for all of the wonderful tips and tricks and knowledge that I've found here, as well as the support and friendships that I've gained. I had been lurking in the forums since last Thanksgiving (late November) and finally decided to join in time for the New Year as a way to encourage me to keep my New Year's Resolution, which was to have the long hair that I've always wanted! Thanks to everyone here, I am coming in close to my original goal, which was hip. Now, my goal ranges somewhere in between BCL and Classic. Maybe longer, who knows ;)
When I first came here, my hair was damaged and just barely reaching the top of my bra strap.
https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/640x480q90/924/eADovH.png
I was a daily washer, and always had been. I washed my hair with normal shampoo and put some conditioner in it, which I immediately rinsed out after applying. I would rip through my hair, wet or dry, with a drugstore brush (nothing wrong with that, but my hair did not personally like them) several times a day. I always kept my hair in a tight ponytail and slept with it loose.
One of the first things I learned here at LHC was to extend my washes as much as my hair tolerated. This was a slow process, but I am now a weekly washer! My hair loves that it has a week in between washes, and it is not as brittle and dry as it was last year. I started experimenting with oils, and used to coat my entire head in olive and coconut oils, then have to wash my hair 3 times with clarifying shampoo to get rid of all the oils, which dried my hair out tremendously. Soon after, I began using castor oils, and then I realized that my hair did not like oil on the scalp. Since then, I've been oiling my ends only with jojoba oil and rosemary EO.
I soon learned how to bun my hair. My first bun was a really tight LWB, which I held with a chopstick and pencils until I got my hair toys. My first hair toy was a wooden flower fork.
https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/640x480q90/921/FTej3z.png
Slowly, throughout the past year, I have managed to accumulate a collection of sticks and forks, which I use daily. I always have my hair in a LWB, nautilus, or disc bun with a stick in it. In the picture below, I put the toys in the order that I got them, from left to right. The last four toys were given to me yesterday for Christmas!
https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/320x240q90/922/hDi8BV.jpg
Now for the growth pictures! This next one was taken in March
https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/640x480q90/924/lk5Rxk.png
This next one was taken in May and was my first time getting away from the mirror photo shots, as my hair no longer really fit in the photos!
https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/640x480q90/922/OZMDl3.png
This next photo is from October, when I called waist length
https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/640x480q90/924/UIrDIb.jpg
This last photo is from today! My hair is newly washed and combed out so it is a straight as it will ever be. I will be calling hip when my hair reaches where my left thumb is.
https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/640x480q90/922/83s0BU.jpg
My last pictures (I promise) is a side by side of one year's growth!
https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/640x480q90/924/eADovH.png https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/640x480q90/924/pHsBbI.png
I now wash my hair weekly with H&S and HE Herb and Rosemary conditioner, and use a white vinegar and rosemary rinse. I use a leave-in conditioner from Shea Moisture and a silicone blend from L'Oreal. I oil my hair after the fourth day with jojoba and rosemary EO, and use a VO5 spray bottle with conditioner and water in it each night, or when my ends feel dry. My hair is always up with a stick, and I wear it in a claw clip or in a braid at night.
Happy New Year!