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Dark40
April 29th, 2019, 06:04 PM
Hi all,

I have a question about growing to classic length. If you've never had classic length hair before can it ever grow there?

Ylva
April 29th, 2019, 06:07 PM
If you’ve always kept cutting it off in the past but suddenly stop cutting it all off, sure, it might end up at classic one day. :D There’s no way to tell, you’ll just have to wait it out and see for yourself.

Entangled
April 29th, 2019, 06:10 PM
I’m at classic for the first time in my life:o

Dark40
April 29th, 2019, 06:16 PM
Yiva, Ok, I haven't had a haircut since I've joined LHC. I'm just keeping the ends trimmed twice a year. But you are right. If you've cut it in the past, and stop cutting it now it will get there one day. :D Yes, I'm going to keep trying and waiting it out.

Entangled, congratulations! :) I didn't know that you have reached classic length this year!

AmaryllisRed
April 29th, 2019, 06:29 PM
[in Groucho voice]
I certainly hope so!

Entangled
April 29th, 2019, 06:42 PM
Yiva, Ok, I haven't had a haircut since I've joined LHC. I'm just keeping the ends trimmed twice a year. But you are right. If you've cut it in the past, and stop cutting it now it will get there one day. :D Yes, I'm going to keep trying and waiting it out.

Entangled, congratulations! :) I didn't know that you have reached classic length this year!

Thank you! I never imagined I would get this far, but here I am! It’s been great journey.

hinabelle
April 29th, 2019, 07:06 PM
That's my question too! It's all a matter of your terminal length. I am crossing my fingers that I can make it to classic dry. (that will likely be somewhere around floor length wet/stretched, I presume!)

Dark40
April 29th, 2019, 08:17 PM
Thank you! I never imagined I would get this far, but here I am! It’s been great journey.

You're welcome! I bet you never imagined that you would get that far! I also bet that it has been a great journey. I'd never thought that I would to WL myself! But here I am too!

Haven
April 29th, 2019, 08:18 PM
Everyone who has ever grown to classic has had a first time growing that far. :)

Dark40
April 29th, 2019, 08:22 PM
That's my question too! It's all a matter of your terminal length. I am crossing my fingers that I can make it to classic dry. (that will likely be somewhere around floor length wet/stretched, I presume!)

Yeah, that's what I've said too! It's all a matter of your terminal length. I am also hoping that I can make it to classic dry too. I've also had dreams of growing my hair to the floor as well but I have set my goals back to trying it at classic. Because, I'm not sure if I can handle it at floor length.

hinabelle
April 29th, 2019, 09:34 PM
Yeah, that's what I've said too! It's all a matter of your terminal length. I am also hoping that I can make it to classic dry too. I've also had dreams of growing my hair to the floor as well but I have set my goals back to trying it at classic. Because, I'm not sure if I can handle it at floor length.

Yep! I think floor length dry is going to be too unmanageable. I just want long enough hair to achieve my personal goals -- which doesn't involve investigating
terminal if it's past that :lol:

LongHairCalif
April 29th, 2019, 11:43 PM
I never thought I could grow my hair to classic length, but I rhttps://i1.wp.com/longhairanddailyjourney.space/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/hair.png?resize=768%2C2035eached this goal a few months ago. I am going towards my knees, now.

Begemot
April 30th, 2019, 12:25 AM
Your hair is stunning, LongHairCalif :) congrats on reaching classic!

Sarahlabyrinth
April 30th, 2019, 01:03 AM
You'll never know unless you try :)

LongHairCalif
April 30th, 2019, 01:08 AM
Thanks, I like the photo of your hair as well!

AmaryllisRed
April 30th, 2019, 08:04 AM
I don't know... If you haven't had a haircut in 8 years and it still won't grow past waist... Maybe you're trimming off all your progress with those twice a year self-trims? Or maybe waist is your terminal length.

lapushka
April 30th, 2019, 08:13 AM
LongHairCalif, that's gorgeous! Happy growing to knee!

Luna Starsetta
April 30th, 2019, 09:44 AM
First time I'm at classic in my life while stretched. I am at TBL unstreached and loving it!

Ylva
April 30th, 2019, 09:47 AM
I don't know... If you haven't had a haircut in 8 years and it still won't grow past waist... Maybe you're trimming off all your progress with those twice a year self-trims? Or maybe waist is your terminal length.

Yeah, that has me wondering as well. With Dark40's reported growth rate being an inch a month, that's a lot of inches gained in 8 years, so they're either getting trimmed off or that's simply the terminal length (under the current circumstances, at least).

Dark40
April 30th, 2019, 10:36 AM
I don't know... If you haven't had a haircut in 8 years and it still won't grow past waist... Maybe you're trimming off all your progress with those twice a year self-trims? Or maybe waist is your terminal length.

Yeah, maybe I am trimming off all of my progress with those twice a year self-trims. Maybe I'll try not to trim at all for a couple of years, and see what happens there.

Dark40
April 30th, 2019, 10:37 AM
I never thought I could grow my hair to classic length, but I rhttps://i1.wp.com/longhairanddailyjourney.space/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/hair.png?resize=768%2C2035eached this goal a few months ago. I am going towards my knees, now.

Wow! Your hair is gorgeous! Congratulations on making it to classic! And, now you're on your way to knee! :D

MusicalSpoons
April 30th, 2019, 10:40 AM
Yeah, that has me wondering as well. With Dark40's reported growth rate being an inch a month, that's a lot of inches gained in 8 years, so they're either getting trimmed off or that's simply the terminal length (under the current circumstances, at least).

As far as I understand, true terminal is characterised by taper and relatively few hairs reaching that length; from what we've seen that's not the case. However a false terminal can be caused by constant wearing away of any length gained - experienced by many of us before finding LHC, characterised by the lament 'it just doesn't grow longer than this' :lol: I'm not sure that's quite the case here either, as there is length gained, but not as rapidly as would be expected with that kind of growth rate. (Man, if I had an inch per month, I'd be closing in on ankle by now! One can only wish <sigh>)

Edit: LongHairCalif gorgeous hair!

Also, whoever said anyone at classic had at one time never had it before - that's the best answer I've seen, because it's so true! Before LHC my longest was tailbone, because I was wearing away the ends. Then I hit classic not long after switching over to hair-friendly styles and sticks/forks.

Ylva
April 30th, 2019, 10:44 AM
As far as I understand, true terminal is characterised by taper and relatively few hairs reaching that length; from what we've seen that's not the case. However a false terminal can be caused by constant wearing away of any length gained - experienced by many of us before finding LHC, characterised by the lament 'it just doesn't grow longer than this' :lol: I'm not sure that's quite the case here either, as there is length gained, but not as rapidly as would be expected with that kind of growth rate. (Man, if I had an inch per month, I'd be closing in on ankle by now! One can only wish <sigh>)

I have never seen Dark40's ends so I can't speak on them, but false terminal was what I referred to with the "under the current circumstances" thing. :)

LadyCelestina
April 30th, 2019, 11:11 AM
As far as I understand, true terminal is characterised by taper and relatively few hairs reaching that length; from what we've seen that's not the case. However a false terminal can be caused by constant wearing away of any length gained - experienced by many of us before finding LHC, characterised by the lament 'it just doesn't grow longer than this' :lol: I'm not sure that's quite the case here either, as there is length gained, but not as rapidly as would be expected with that kind of growth rate. (Man, if I had an inch per month, I'd be closing in on ankle by now! One can only wish <sigh>)

Edit: LongHairCalif gorgeous hair!

Also, whoever said anyone at classic had at one time never had it before - that's the best answer I've seen, because it's so true! Before LHC my longest was tailbone, because I was wearing away the ends. Then I hit classic not long after switching over to hair-friendly styles and sticks/forks.

I remember that years ago, it was very popular on LHC to say that your hair grows "a solid inch a month". I was always skeptical because an inch a month growth rate would bring me from waist to classic in a year, which is not very realistic, and indeed very few of the "inch a month" crowd have stuck around here so we can marvel at their fast hairgrowth... :P

Not snarking at anyone who actually happens to have a quicker growth rate of course! It's definitely possible for some.

Dark40
April 30th, 2019, 11:24 AM
Yep! I think floor length dry is going to be too unmanageable. I just want long enough hair to achieve my personal goals -- which doesn't involve investigating
terminal if it's past that :lol:

Yep! I know whatcha mean. At first I had said I wanted to see where my terminal length is but I think it might be at classic. Because, I don't have or know anyone in my family that has ever had hair longer than TBL or classic.

maborosi
May 1st, 2019, 12:36 AM
When I hit classic for the first time, I'd never grown there before, and really had no idea I would be able to!

Dark40
May 1st, 2019, 10:17 AM
When I hit classic for the first time, I'd never grown there before, and really had no idea I would be able to!

Wow, that's awesome! Ever since childhood my mom has told me that my hair will never grow that long. But nowadays she's confused and she's not sure that it will grow that long. Or, she'll say that it might be able to grow that long since now it's at it's longest it has ever been in my whole entire life. During my childhood it was MBL, and she would often tell me, "The longest your hair will ever grow is MBL." One day my mom told my aunt on my dad's side of the family, "She's always had dreams of having butt length hair!" "But her hair will never grow that long." and my aunt replied back saying, "Oh, yes she can!" "But she will always have to trim off her split ends," and this was back during the year of 1990. But now, as of these days after joining LHC I haven't had any problems with split ends.

CampFireTiger
May 1st, 2019, 11:44 AM
Average terminal length (the point at which your hair follicle stops growing and falls out) seems to be around 20-30 inch average (which is actual hair length not LHC measurements which are a little different) so that would fall between bra-strap length and around tail-bone for a lot of people. But obviously there are plenty here who can grow it much longer so it just depends :shrug:

blackgothicdoll
May 1st, 2019, 11:45 AM
Average terminal length (the point at which your hair follicle stops growing and falls out) seems to be around 20-30 inch average (which is actual hair length not LHC measurements which are a little different) so that would fall between bra-strap length and around tail-bone for a lot of people. But obviously there are plenty here who can grow it much longer so it just depends :shrug:

Where is this statistic from?

Groovy Granny
May 1st, 2019, 11:52 AM
Wow, that's awesome! Ever since childhood my mom has told me that my hair will never grow that long. But nowadays she's confused and she's not sure that it will grow that long. Or, she'll say that it might be able to grow that long since now it's at it's longest it has ever been in my whole entire life. During my childhood it was MBL, and she would often tell me, "The longest your hair will ever grow is MBL." One day my mom told my aunt on my dad's side of the family, "She's always had dreams of having butt length hair!" "But her hair will never grow that long." and my aunt replied back saying, "Oh, yes she can!" "But she will always have to trim off her split ends," and this was back during the year of 1990. But now, as of these days after joining LHC I haven't had any problems with split ends.

I would expect that unless there is some major issue affecting growth any length is possible; not sure what determines terminal length in individual heads :hmm:

Of course those with tighter curl patterns and major shrinkage will take longer to actually LOOK their true length unless they straighten/relax it.

And it goes without saying that the less you trim the faster it will grow ;)

I never expected to hit TBL (yay) and even considered Classic after, but it is too much for my arthritis so I will happily hover between Hip and TBL with my quarterly hemline maintenance snips and live vicariously through YOU :flower:

So you keep your dream girl, and I bet you will reach it :cheer:


I never thought I could grow my hair to classic length, but I reached this goal a few months ago. I am going towards my knees, now.

Your hair is beautiful :crush:

spidermom
May 1st, 2019, 12:17 PM
I grew my hair out to classic length for the first time in my 50s. Every head of hair has its own terminal length, though. Some will grow to about APL or BSL and shed out, others can grow to floor and beyond.

CampFireTiger
May 1st, 2019, 12:22 PM
Where is this statistic from?

Just some quick googling and looking at a few articles, but I'm no expert and everything I looked at was slightly different, thus why I said "seems", since that was about the average I saw.
Now that you ask though I'm not sure if I believe it myself since pretty much anyone I've known that's complained about not being able to grow their hair it was because they were damaging it quite a lot through styling and such.

neko_kawaii
May 1st, 2019, 12:28 PM
The statistics aren't great because of low participation and there is no way of knowing if the LHC community is accurately sampled, but the annual length polls have some interesting data about how long the hair on LHC is. Hip/Tailbone is the most common length in 6 out of 7 years.

https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=148238

MusicalSpoons
May 1st, 2019, 02:20 PM
The statistics aren't great because of low participation and there is no way of knowing if the LHC community is accurately sampled, but the annual length polls have some interesting data about how long the hair on LHC is. Hip/Tailbone is the most common length in 6 out of 7 years.

https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=148238

Out of curiosity I calculated the mean length from last year's (assigning each length option a value from 1-10) and it came out at ~6.25, or between the options for hip/tbl and classic. I don't know what that means in terms of actual strand length, though; as we know everyone's milestone measurements can be wildly different - however I'd be inclined to think that it would be around the upper end of the 20-30 inch estimate (measuring from either crown or nape, not from forehead). That's only a relatively small sample of the LHC membership though, I know - 115.

Edit: the commonly quoted average growth rate of half an inch per month seems to be more or less right, from what I read here on LHC - there are some with double that, some with below that, but very many seem to be there or thereabouts. A lot of the manes we see here between waist to tailbone don't look to be anywhere near their terminal lengths, or if they have a taper it's usually intentional due to layers or cutting a V hemline. While we don't know how representative LHC is of the growth potential in the general population, I also can't see that it's wildly different because we're not all about lengths beyond, for instance, knee! The majority of responses in the 2018 poll were tailbone and shorter.

Dark40
May 1st, 2019, 04:58 PM
I would expect that unless there is some major issue affecting growth any length is possible; not sure what determines terminal length in individual heads :hmm:

Of course those with tighter curl patterns and major shrinkage will take longer to actually LOOK their true length unless they straighten/relax it.

And it goes without saying that the less you trim the faster it will grow ;)

I never expected to hit TBL (yay) and even considered Classic after, but it is too much for my arthritis so I will happily hover between Hip and TBL with my quarterly hemline maintenance snips and live vicariously through YOU :flower:

So you keep your dream girl, and I bet you will reach it :cheer:



Your hair is beautiful :crush:

Yes, I bet you would expect that unless there is some major issue affecting it's growth. I agree, any length is possible. You won't know unless you try. :)

That is very true about tighter curl patterns having trouble showing their true lengths unless they straighten/relax it. I relax mine 2 or 3 times a year.

That is very true about the less you trim the faster your hair grows. :D I definitely agree with that. I bet you did't expect to hit TBL but you did (yay).

Yes, thank you! :) I am going to continue to follow my dream girl, and I also bet that I will reach it too :cheer:

Spikey
May 1st, 2019, 06:25 PM
According to WebMD and most articles baout hair follicles, the average scalp hair growth rate is, in fact, 1/2 an inch per month. And since the hairs on your scalp have an anagen (growing) phase of 2-7 years, when we multiply 84 months (7 years) by 1/2, we get 42 inches, should be the average person's terminal length. 42 inches from the nape of your neck is around knee if you're average height, past it if you're short. So the very longest hairs on your head, if you have average genes, should be able to make knee. The rest of your hair would taper off before then though.

BUT not everyone's hair has a 7 year growing phase. Every hair on your head grows based on your genetically predetermined growth cycle. Before you're even born, the genetics of your hair dictate how long your hair can be because your DNA codes for your anagen phase's length. If you're lucky, and you have a long anagen (growing) phase, or a fast growth rate, you can go past knee. If you aren't, and your anagen phase is short, you might only get 5 years of growth, which would still see you to classic (30 inches from nape of neck).

So no, you can't grow your hair to any length you want. Your genetics limit you, you literally can't grow longer than your genes will allow. But even people with unlucky genetics can grow to classic as long as they don't damage their hair or cut it. And average people can get their very longest strands to knee.

Hope this helped;)

*Wednesday*
May 2nd, 2019, 12:47 PM
Dark40, Just my opinion, most people really striving for long lengths which have never had *that* length before will forgo chemicals and curling/flat irons as much as possible, if at all to keep the hair resilient. You may have random people say they do this and that to their hair and it still grows. I think the less chemicals the better and microtrimming when needed to answer your question. Especially with textured hair (you being in the 3’s) and you relax is more fragile to being with.

My hair grows ¼ to min ½ monthly. I did the no-trims when joining but this year started doing micro-trimming when needed. I started at Mid-Back in Oct 2015 and am now touching BCL 2019 and I am 3 ½ years in. No heat but I am touching up some grays by my temples by dabbing hair dye. If I continue my regimen and I have no progress 4 years later (still at BCL), I would need to revisit what I’m doing. I’m not using heat and not trimming off more than what is growing, I would probably assume I’m terminal. I actually think I may go terminal at TBL but that’s the longest I want to go (aesthetic reasons) and what is truthfully foreseeable for me at this point in time.

Dark40
May 2nd, 2019, 05:00 PM
*Wednesday*, I understand your opinion. I totally agree with you that the less chemicals the better. I don't relax or use that many chemicals on my hair at all. I only relax my hair 2 or 3 times out of the year. Oh yeah, I also do micro-trimming when needed too. Thanks for answering my question. No, I can tell you my hair is never fragile. It is always very healthy. Especially, with all of the moisturizing and deep treatments I do, and co-washing. I co-wash 3 times a week, and deep condition twice a week. As for adding protein to my hair I do a light protein treatment once a month.

Your hair growth rate sounds normal for everyone. That's what mine would be if I wasn't taking any hair vitamin supplements. Now, since I've been taking the hair vitamin supplements my hair growth rate has increased to an inch per month surprisingly! Wow, you've went from Mid-Back in Oct 2015 and now touching BCL 2019? That is 3 1/2 years now. Congratulations on reaching BCL! You see, I knew that you could do it! I was able to tell in your profile photo during this year that you were getting near BCL then. Yeah, I also have to cover my grays with dye too. Because, at my age I have a lot, and I'm not ready to show all of my grays just yet. It makes me look entirely too old...lol. Yes, I'm also assuming that you're at terminal length at TBL as well. That's a nice length for you. If you feel that it's foreseeable at this point in time then for it!

Dark40
May 3rd, 2019, 04:42 PM
Dark40, Just my opinion, most people really striving for long lengths which have never had *that* length before will forgo chemicals and curling/flat irons as much as possible, if at all to keep the hair resilient. You may have random people say they do this and that to their hair and it still grows. I think the less chemicals the better and microtrimming when needed to answer your question. Especially with textured hair (you being in the 3’s) and you relax is more fragile to being with.

My hair grows ¼ to min ½ monthly. I did the no-trims when joining but this year started doing micro-trimming when needed. I started at Mid-Back in Oct 2015 and am now touching BCL 2019 and I am 3 ½ years in. No heat but I am touching up some grays by my temples by dabbing hair dye. If I continue my regimen and I have no progress 4 years later (still at BCL), I would need to revisit what I’m doing. I’m not using heat and not trimming off more than what is growing, I would probably assume I’m terminal. I actually think I may go terminal at TBL but that’s the longest I want to go (aesthetic reasons) and what is truthfully foreseeable for me at this point in time.

*Wednesday*, I understand your opinion. I totally agree with you that the less chemicals the better. I don't relax or use that many chemicals on my hair at all. I only relax my hair 2 or 3 times out of the year. Oh yeah, I also do micro-trimming when needed too. Thanks for answering my question. No, I can tell you my hair is never fragile. It is always very healthy. Especially, with all of the moisturizing and deep treatments I do, and co-washing. I co-wash 3 times a week, and deep condition twice a week. As for adding protein to my hair I do a light protein treatment once a month.

Your hair growth rate sounds normal for everyone. That's what mine would be if I wasn't taking any hair vitamin supplements. Now, since I've been taking the hair vitamin supplements my hair growth rate has increased to an inch per month surprisingly! Wow, you've went from Mid-Back in Oct 2015 and now touching BCL 2019? That is 3 1/2 years now. Congratulations on reaching BCL! You see, I knew that you could do it! I was able to tell in your profile photo during this year that you were getting near BCL then. Yeah, I also have to cover my grays with dye too. Because, at my age I have a lot, and I'm not ready to show all of my grays just yet. It makes me look entirely too old...lol. Yes, I'm also assuming that you're at terminal length at TBL as well. That's a nice length for you. If you feel that it's foreseeable at this point in time then for it!

AutobotsAttack
May 3rd, 2019, 11:04 PM
I’m 2 inches from classic, and I relax about every 3-4 months. Manipulation and technique trumps everything else in my opinion. Yeah I relax, but the other days out of the month I Deep Condition, shampoo, do protein treatments , and protective style regularly, and built a solid routine. If you understand your hair, and hair in general on some basic level, and take care of it regularly and mitigate breakage, I see no reason why you can’t grow to classic even while relaxing.

Everyone has this notion in their head that if you use chemicals you’ve just doomed yourself from ever growing your hair to longer lengths. It boils down to technique and what you do or don’t do.

The main culprit that keeps relaxed heads of hair from reaching longer lengths is excess manipulation. This is my opinion, but I’m willing to bet that that trumps the actual relaxing process we do to our hair.

Why? Think about it. Yes if you don’t manage to remove all the deposits from the relaxer, and then restore the integrity/elasticity of your hair of course you’ll experience breakage. But say you’ve got all the bases covered. 9/10 you do everything else right. You Deep Condition, you keep on top of protein treatments, you seal your ends, and protective style. But if you’re manipulating already fragile hair passed its threshold, it will inevitably break off.

all of the YouTube videos you see of people separating, parting, brushing, combing, shampooing, rolling, curling, or drying hair in the 3’s and 4’s are just adding more stress to hair that is naturally already compromised. In my opinion, I look it as a piggy bank of sorts.

You wish to keep the piggy bank with a enough funds (aka your hair and it’s length). If you’re metaphorically buying this and buying that you’re going to deplete your funds (if you’re manipulating your hair a bunch, you’re increasing the amount of tension your hair goes through).

On that same note, if you’re spending more than you’re putting into that piggy bank, you’re still slowly depleting your funds (aka breaking off all of your length). The less you do to your hair, (the less you take from your piggy bank), the more you preserve it. Since I like to relax my hair I realize I can’t also comb or brush my hair frequently, handle it too much, or some other third thing that would also further hinder me from retaining my length.

I understand in a perfect world using no chemicals would be optimal, but at the same time I like to wear my hair how I want.

i rarely comb my hair. I might comb it once or twice out of an entire month, but I realize my hair is naturally fine and already fragile, coupled with being relaxed, a comb is going to shred through my hair no matter how gentle I’m being. I keep the shampoo to my roots only, and constantly put butters and oils in my hair to provide a protective coating.

What’s more, most women with hair in the 3’s and 4’s still never see the likes of Classic length hair or longer because our hair by nature, is already fragile, regardless of if we relax or not. Dryness, is another thing too. Couple that with trying to detangle, on dry hair of all things, you can see why getting passed even BSL is a challange for kinkier/curlier hair.

Obviously using heat, is something you also shouldn’t do frequently, that’s more or less a given.

If you stay patient enough, and observant enough you’ll get to Classic. I’m 2 inches from Classic myself. If your hair is still retaining its length, and you’re using products to help maintain its integrity, and staying consistent, then keep doing that. Much like how other women here have bleached/color treated hair, and are still growing their well passed Classic length, so can you. You just have to know the necessary steps to take to ensure you retain your length. Either by adding in a few things to supplement or taking away some things to ensure preservation.

Sorry for this abnormally long post.

LadyCelestina
May 4th, 2019, 04:29 AM
^ I definitely agree.

Haircare is a system, doing one bad thing won't necessarily destroy your hair, just like doing one good thing won't salvage your hair.

The more damage you do, the more you have to compensate for it. It's up to you if you want to take up that kind of maintenance - I didn't and that's why I cut my hair, AutobotsAttack did and her hair is approaching classic :)

That being said, I do think that if you choose to do something significantly damaging to your hair, there will be a point at which the damage from your thing + natural wear and tear will be too much for you to compensate for with good haircare techniques, and you can never tell when you'll arrive at that point.

Dark40
May 6th, 2019, 09:40 AM
I agree with AutobotsAttack. There are many processed longhaired people out there. Especially, if they have type 3 hair. There isn't anything wrong with having long processed hair, and if the hair is processed it to still grow to extreme lengths without getting damage. I've had a friend that had HL processed hair, and her hair was absolutely beautiful. I did not see one ounce of damage on her hair. So, it's possible.

AmaryllisRed
May 6th, 2019, 10:49 AM
I wouldn't call hip length "extreme," myself. And I think people who perm or relax or dye their hair and are still able to grow to Classic and beyond are the exception rather than the rule. Most people I've seen around here with classic length hair do not chemically process it in any way.
Of course there could be lots of people with very long processed hair and I just haven't seen them.

MusicalSpoons
May 6th, 2019, 11:15 AM
I wouldn't call hip length "extreme," myself. And I think people who perm or relax or dye their hair and are still able to grow to Classic and beyond are the exception rather than the rule. Most people I've seen around here with classic length hair do not chemically process it in any way.
Of course there could be lots of people with very long processed hair and I just haven't seen them.

Most of those tend to be a bit similar to AutobotsAttack and only process it once (relax/perm OR colour) don't use heat tools, and wear it in low-manipulation protective styles. If lots of people have very long processed hair (*if*), I'd be willing to bet the reason we don't see them is because their hair is always up and protected :)

Dark40
May 6th, 2019, 04:53 PM
I wouldn't call hip length "extreme," myself. And I think people who perm or relax or dye their hair and are still able to grow to Classic and beyond are the exception rather than the rule. Most people I've seen around here with classic length hair do not chemically process it in any way.
Of course there could be lots of people with very long processed hair and I just haven't seen them.

Yes, I agree that hip length isn't "extreme" but it is considered long. I would say that my friend's hair was like BCL and it was processed. I also agree that people who perm or relax or dye their hair and are still able to grow to Classic and beyond are the exception rather than the rule is very true. They are good examples of being able to grow to Classic and beyond and it is still healthy. Yes, it is hard to find a lot of extremely longhaired people in this country.

Dark40
May 6th, 2019, 04:57 PM
Most of those tend to be a bit similar to AutobotsAttack and only process it once (relax/perm OR colour) don't use heat tools, and wear it in low-manipulation protective styles. If lots of people have very long processed hair (*if*), I'd be willing to bet the reason we don't see them is because their hair is always up and protected :)

I agree that most of those tend to be a bit similar to AutobotsAttack and only process once (relax/perm OR colour) and don't use heat tools, and wear it in a low-manipulation protective styles. Yes, I also agree that if lots of people have very long processed hair, I'd also be willing to bet the reason we don't see them is because their hair is always up and protected :)

Dee94
May 6th, 2019, 07:48 PM
That's a good question!! I'd like to know too! I always wonder if I'll ever get there... My hair is everything to me, even though it annoys me so much.

The longest I had my hair was BSL,when I was about 14 or 15? Then I got introduced to a hair straightener and loved it because of course, I wanted straight hair instead of curly. So I straightened my hair every day since I discovered the straightener. Sad part is I never protected it from the heat and any time my hair would wave or curl a bit, I'd go over it with the straightener not knowing what the heck I was doing to my hair. Eventually, my hair chemically cut itself. After that I started wearing clip in hair extensions because I wanted the longer hair back, still not knowing that I'm destroying the crap out of my hair with the clip ins AND continuing to straighten it. After a while I figured out that I lost my hair and ruined it. Could never figure out how to get it back. I was mad at myself. I should of embraced my beautiful naturally long curly hair. Nope, had to be greedy and have long straight hair. Couldn't just learn to love my own the way it was. Anyways, just recently maybe about 2 to 4 years ago my hair had thinned and has been thinner than it ever use to be. Before someone says, oh you should go get your blood checked, thyroid checked, etc.. I have, trust me, all is normal. So now, (more like almost a year ago) ever since I've heard about LHC through YT from a girl named Britt, (coffee&makeup) I've been learning to take care of my hair properly. I haven't quite knocked down a good routine yet, but, I'm learning more and more each day thanks to LHC. My hair has finally grown past shoulder length which is nice because it was stuck at shoulders for a few years, but since it's thin, it's not really looking that good nor is it enjoyable because of how thin it is. I'm hoping that one day I will reach Classic length, it would be a dream come true. For now, I'll be wearing my real human hair wig while I take very good care of my own natural hair. I'm hoping by the time my wig has been well used and is done, my natural hair will have come along way. I paid big bucks for my wig and supposedly it'll be good for the next 3 years or more if I'm extra gentle with it. :)

LadyCelestina
May 7th, 2019, 12:56 AM
I wouldn't call hip length "extreme," myself. And I think people who perm or relax or dye their hair and are still able to grow to Classic and beyond are the exception rather than the rule. Most people I've seen around here with classic length hair do not chemically process it in any way.
Of course there could be lots of people with very long processed hair and I just haven't seen them.

I suppose many don't process their hair because of the maintenance (both process and aftercare).

Don't know about perms and relaxers, but I know many longhairs with hair that is regularly dyed or heatstyled, outside of LHC. With LHC care, I'd say for most M and C hairtypes it's possible to grow to butt length (encompassing BCL, TBL and even classic), even if you dye it.

I cut my hair from BCL not because it was disintegrating, it was that the damaged hair just required too much care and conditioning in order to prevent it from tangling, splitting and breaking. I could have definitely made it to classic, if I put in the effort. But I was going through bottles of conditioner in one go, so that was not going to happen.

Dark40
May 7th, 2019, 07:54 PM
That's a good question!! I'd like to know too! I always wonder if I'll ever get there... My hair is everything to me, even though it annoys me so much.

The longest I had my hair was BSL,when I was about 14 or 15? Then I got introduced to a hair straightener and loved it because of course, I wanted straight hair instead of curly. So I straightened my hair every day since I discovered the straightener. Sad part is I never protected it from the heat and any time my hair would wave or curl a bit, I'd go over it with the straightener not knowing what the heck I was doing to my hair. Eventually, my hair chemically cut itself. After that I started wearing clip in hair extensions because I wanted the longer hair back, still not knowing that I'm destroying the crap out of my hair with the clip ins AND continuing to straighten it. After a while I figured out that I lost my hair and ruined it. Could never figure out how to get it back. I was mad at myself. I should of embraced my beautiful naturally long curly hair. Nope, had to be greedy and have long straight hair. Couldn't just learn to love my own the way it was. Anyways, just recently maybe about 2 to 4 years ago my hair had thinned and has been thinner than it ever use to be. Before someone says, oh you should go get your blood checked, thyroid checked, etc.. I have, trust me, all is normal. So now, (more like almost a year ago) ever since I've heard about LHC through YT from a girl named Britt, (coffee&makeup) I've been learning to take care of my hair properly. I haven't quite knocked down a good routine yet, but, I'm learning more and more each day thanks to LHC. My hair has finally grown past shoulder length which is nice because it was stuck at shoulders for a few years, but since it's thin, it's not really looking that good nor is it enjoyable because of how thin it is. I'm hoping that one day I will reach Classic length, it would be a dream come true. For now, I'll be wearing my real human hair wig while I take very good care of my own natural hair. I'm hoping by the time my wig has been well used and is done, my natural hair will have come along way. I paid big bucks for my wig and supposedly it'll be good for the next 3 years or more if I'm extra gentle with it. :)

Yes, it is a good question! Ever since childhood I often wondered if I would ever be able to grow my hair to that length too! I had an aunt and a cousin on my dad's side of the family that had hair that long, and my hair texture or type is the same as my aunt's. My mom told her once when I was a 17 years old that I've always had dreams of having extremely long hair like hers, and my mom said, "But her hair will never grow that long," and my aunt replied, "Oh, yes it can!" "But she would have to keep on trimming off her split ends." Well, as these days thankful to the LHC I haven't been having any issues with split ends. Ha ha. Yeah, I know whatcha mean about falling in love with those straighteners. I fell in love with them when I first heard and seen them when I was in my mid 30's. But as you know if you use those straighteners with all of that heat from them too often it can cause a lot of breakage or damage. I very rarely use my straightener these days. I only use it on special occasions. Like, if I'm going to church or something. If I want straight hair I just blow-dry it straight. It's good that you've been to the doctor to have your thyroids check, and everything came back normal. Yeah, I also used to wear wigs as I was letting my hair grow out too but I had to stop wearing them. Because, they would often feel entirely too hot on my head and uncomfortable. I also used to wear sew-in extensions as well for length and thickness. I'm seriously thinking about getting back into getting some more put in soon sometime this year. The reason why I stopped was because I couldn't afford it. I know whatcha mean about you wanting to wear your human hair wigs. Because, they cost a lot of money. :)