LittleHealthy’s Year of Growth with The LHC Website!

[LittleHealthy]

Hello to those who take the time to read this, I’m just posting because it’s been a year now since I stumbled upon your lovely forum when I was in the depths of desperation to fix my crumbling hair.
I thought perhaps I could revisit this thread each year to post my comparison photos.
I’ve come much further in a year than I thought I would. My initial goal was just to grow *some* length (my hairhad been breaking off slowly over time, thus not getting any longer).

My ‘before’ photos are a little inaccurate because I wore a neck scarf under my hair to push it out more.... to hide how thin my hair had become. I wish I hadn’t, it would’ve been more accurate without. But I was very self conscious about my hair and embarrassed to show a bunch of well-seasoned hair growers how thin and fragile my hair truly was! My hair was growing but snapping off at the ends. It was very dry, every single tip had a split or a white dot on it.

•These photos were taken in mid-July, 2018.
• My hair was a smidge last arm pit length & measured around 23” at the beginning of July 2018 (I’m 182cm tall by the way).
•My dyed/lighter section was sitting between ear and eye level at the sides of my face.
•I washed daily.
•I wore my hair down most of the time or in a tangly ‘messy bun’ with a hair elastic.
https://i.postimg.cc/N0cpFBs8/9-F10-D84-E-222-F-4402-AA55-B22625-EDE238.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/P5ZSdPjr/A8864C98-9465-47DE-BEAF-02321EFD1262.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/L6GydjGb/20FB6B90-F293-4220-8D61-F5BEB1E44E8A.jpg

My ‘after’ photos were taken a few days ago, on wash day. My hair has a bit of oil in it. You can easily see how much my lightened section of hair has grown out. I’m enjoying the ombré look but am also looking forward to gradually trimming that dyed part out.
•My hair is just starting to brush waist length, it’s around 29” long at the moment.
•I now wash every 3 days (or more/less depending on circumstance).
•I oil my ends after each wash while hair is still damp (my favourite oil I’ve found is jojoba).
•I wear my hair in protective styles about 70% of the time.
•I do an oil & conditioner mask whenever I can, though lately I’ve been a little slack with masks.
•I still use sls & cones most of the time.
•I’ve trimmed twice in the past year (1.5” in December 2018, 1” in June 2019).
https://i.postimg.cc/DwGzxcPy/69-D5-B5-F3-06-DB-47-FE-9319-DEA8-D888-F512.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/s2RgqZTP/47601-C2-E-5139-46-B6-AA82-A4-B57744253-E.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/LsB8p6Wc/9649D392-4619-4B3C-9267-9D7A769AD64F.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/G2LhhnwH/A035DFCA-99DF-47C6-93A0-5B352C4E0A50.jpg

For a long time I struggled to decide on a goal. My goal is for my hair to feel ‘long’. Aesthetically I think I’d suit hip-tailbone length hair and have set a goal of tailbone by February 2021. Tailbone length should be somewhere between 35-38” on me, I haven’t measured accurately to check. If I continue to care for my hair in the way I am now, I may be able to reach this goal. Once I reach my goal I may grow on, or start trimming every couple of months until my hemline is thicker.

The main thing I have learned here is not to spend lots of money on hair care. Your hair will grow. The most simple tricks will work and ultimately you just need to be gentle with your hair, maybe wash a little less and introduce some moisturising techniques. Simplicity wins. No amount of money will make hair grow any faster.

I am extremely grateful to have come across this forum. It is full to the brim with kindness, thousands of collective years of knowledge, encouragement and inspiration. I’m always humbled when I visit the forum and come away with new knowledge every single time.
Thankyou for reading, if you made it this far. :blossom:

[Begemot]

Amazing progress! Congrats for the 1 year anniversary :toast: :blossom:

[AmberWillow]

Wow! I can't believe the difference after a year. Your hair looks so good :o Congratulations!

[LittleHealthy]

Thankyou, Begemot & AmberWillow :blossom: I am also surprised by how much healthier my hair feels only a year later. The length is a bonus!

[Sarahlabyrinth]

Such great progress, well done :D

[embee]

That's a lot of growth for a year! You must be doing something right. :)

[Simpscone]

Wow, your hair looks amazing! Congrats on one year of growing :D

[spitfire511]

Lovely growth and progress! Congrats!! :flower:

[lapushka]

You know what I see? Some very nice progress! And nothing to be ashamed over. My mom has i hair. I know what thin, fine hair life is like. And you have beautiful hair.

Congratulations on the growth!

[SimplySmile]

Congrats, your hair is looking good! I also like the hombre look you have going on - It makes growing your color out not such a painful process when it looks that good!

[Joyful Mystery]

Your hair is beautiful, great job! Congratulations on such wonderful progress!

[AmaryllisRed]

Wow, it's looking great! Congratulations on a year and here's to many more!

[czech it out]

I thought I recognized those before pictures! (This is Britt from coffee&makeup) And so excited to see the afters! It’s so much longer now than I remember from insta and looks even more full and healthy. You’ve done such a great job and I’m amazed at the progress!
I absolutely relate to the simplicity point. Sometimes I almost wish I could add more expensive or various products to my routine, but the hair says no! Mine won’t even accept a leave in conditioner.
Anyway, so happy to see you and hope the family is healthy and happy!

[Joyful Mystery]

I thought I recognized those before pictures! (This is Britt from coffee&makeup) And so excited to see the afters! It’s so much longer now than I remember from insta and looks even more full and healthy. You’ve done such a great job and I’m amazed at the progress!
I absolutely relate to the simplicity point. Sometimes I almost wish I could add more expensive or various products to my routine, but the hair says no! Mine won’t even accept a leave in conditioner.
Anyway, so happy to see you and hope the family is healthy and happy!

Yes! Me too!

[LittleHealthy]

I thought I recognized those before pictures! (This is Britt from coffee&makeup) And so excited to see the afters! It’s so much longer now than I remember from insta and looks even more full and healthy. You’ve done such a great job and I’m amazed at the progress!
I absolutely relate to the simplicity point. Sometimes I almost wish I could add more expensive or various products to my routine, but the hair says no! Mine won’t even accept a leave in conditioner.
Anyway, so happy to see you and hope the family is healthy and happy!

Thankyou for the kind words, I always felt like my hair wasn’t growing, but low and behold it (thankfully) was! I wonder if that’s a fine-haired thing? I seem only to be able to run a few drops of oil through my hair, leave in conditioners don’t work well for me, either. Likewise to you, well wishes to you and your partner! Hope you’re enjoying some good summer weather for home improvements!

[LittleHealthy]

You know what I see? Some very nice progress! And nothing to be ashamed over. My mom has i hair. I know what thin, fine hair life is like. And you have beautiful hair.

Congratulations on the growth!

Thankyou very much, Lapushka. You sprung to mind when I made the post, you’ve given me lots of help here when I’ve needed it, so thankyou:heartbeat:

[LittleHealthy]

That's a lot of growth for a year! You must be doing something right. :)

Thankyou! I was pregnant during part of this time but I don’t think that made my hair grow any faster. I did get the thicker hair with pregnancy but the extra has since fallen out and I’ve returned to normal. Funny, I never know if I’m doing the right thing, I just hope :laugh:

[LittleHealthy]

Thankyou Sarahlabyrinth, Simpscone, Spitfire511 and SimplySmile, it means a lot for you beautiful-haired women to have given such lovely compliments!

[LittleHealthy]

Thankyou AmaryllisRed and Joyful Mystery, happy growing to you both! :heartbeat

[czech it out]

Thankyou for the kind words, I always felt like my hair wasn’t growing, but low and behold it (thankfully) was! I wonder if that’s a fine-haired thing? I seem only to be able to run a few drops of oil through my hair, leave in conditioners don’t work well for me, either. Likewise to you, well wishes to you and your partner! Hope you’re enjoying some good summer weather for home improvements!

I think you’re spot on that it’s a fine haired thing! Fine hair forces you to be a minimalist with product. Not to mention it saves me money because my hair simply doesn’t like expensive shampoo/conditioner (more costly tends to mean silicone/sulfate free, I’ve noticed).
I’m amazed at your half-up photo especially! The bottom half looks like a whole head of hair on its own.
Yes, we are working away! I still think about and appreciate your encouragement in those first months of home ownership. It was so overwhelming at first!

[MoonRabbit]

Wonderful progress! Congrats.

[shaluwm_agape]

Your growth looks amazing!

[Ylva]

Congratulations on your anniversary, LittleHealthy! :) You've made great progress!

[TatsuOni]

Congrats! Great progress! :blossom:

[Ellethwyn]

Beautiful! Your hair looks so happy! Ombre looks really cool and great on you, but your natural color is very, very pretty! Congrats!

[Groovy Granny]

Very pretty and great progress ~ congrats :applause:

[milosmomma]

Congratulations you have had a great year for growing hair. You look so shiny and healthy! Heres to another productive year :)

[Orionis]

Wow, you've done so well and thanks for sharing your tips and your honest concerns from when you started out on your hair journey. It's inspiring! Congrats and thank you! :toast:

Here is a toast to your continued progress! :D

[Nox_Inber]

Congratulations! You've made so much progress in a year, your hair looks great :) I think tail bone length would suit you very well, I bet you'll get there in no time :D

[LittleHealthy]

Beautiful! Your hair looks so happy! Ombre looks really cool and great on you, but your natural color is very, very pretty! Congrats!

Thankyou! Your hair is very similar to mine, my natural part of the hair anyway. I hope mine can grow to be as long as yours one day!

[LittleHealthy]

Wow, you've done so well and thanks for sharing your tips and your honest concerns from when you started out on your hair journey. It's inspiring! Congrats and thank you! :toast:

Here is a toast to your continued progress! :D


No problem! And yeah I was relieved but also maybe a bit disheartened when I first got here, I was in awe of everyone’s hair and just thought “wow, I’ve destroyed mine while all these years everyone here has been treating theirs with so much respect!” The time does pass, though. Whether we oil our hair or not. So we might as well do it! ::laugh:

[lapushka]

Thankyou very much, Lapushka. You sprung to mind when I made the post, you’ve given me lots of help here when I’ve needed it, so thankyou:heartbeat:

You are absolutely welcome! :) And what happens now? On to even longer lengths? :D

[MusicalSpoons]

Fantastic progress, congratulations! (I'm very impressed by the half-up pic too, like someone else commented.)

[YvetteVarie]

That is amazing progress. Great job LittleHealthy

[Kalamazoo]

Simply beautiful, LittleHealthy!

[Stray_mind]

Yeeey! Congratulations! Your hair looks great. :blossom:

[LittleHealthy]

You are absolutely welcome! :) And what happens now? On to even longer lengths? :D

I would like to try for tailbone length by February 2021... I should be able to get there if I continue with protective styles. It’s when my partner and I are getting married, I would enjoy having long hair for the wedding! Then, maybe growing even longer... who knows!

[LittleHealthy]

Simply beautiful, LittleHealthy!


Thankyou, might I say your hair must’ve grown a lot in the past year!! Almost 10”?! Amazing!!

[LittleHealthy]

Fantastic progress, congratulations! (I'm very impressed by the half-up pic too, like someone else commented.)


Thanks, there’s a bit of scalp showing because it’s wash day... haha! But oh well, I figured all you longhairs would understand! :laugh:

[Tinyponies]

Great job and beautiful hair :heart: looking forward to journeying onwards with you :) congrats!

[lapushka]

I would like to try for tailbone length by February 2021... I should be able to get there if I continue with protective styles. It’s when my partner and I are getting married, I would enjoy having long hair for the wedding! Then, maybe growing even longer... who knows!

That's an amazing goal to have! I hope you get there! :D And congratulations on your wedding.

My mom & dad have their 50th wedding anniversary next month. They are not celebrating (not wanting to tempt fate), but since my birthday is around the same time, we are having something of a cake among us for the celebration! :coolblue:

[LittleHealthy]

Great job and beautiful hair :heart: looking forward to journeying onwards with you :) congrats!


That's an amazing goal to have! I hope you get there! :D And congratulations on your wedding.

My mom & dad have their 50th wedding anniversary next month. They are not celebrating (not wanting to tempt fate), but since my birthday is around the same time, we are having something of a cake among us for the celebration! :coolblue:

50 years, amazing!! I think my parents have been married 27 years, so far. 50 is a long time! They’ve spent more of their lives married to each other than being apart!

[lapushka]

50 years, amazing!! I think my parents have been married 27 years, so far. 50 is a long time! They’ve spent more of their lives married to each other than being apart!

Yes it is amazing all right! :D I'm going to be giving them a big hug & kiss the day of. And of course some flowers, because... just because. :D

[elfynity]

Little healthy, you and I have progressed on a bit of a similar time line. It is so impressive to see how far you have come. Your hair is so long now and is looking so healthy. It's really exciting and amazing to see. And you had a whole baby in between all of it!

[cestlavie]

Congratulations! What a progress, something to be proud of because it looks beautiful! :o

[EssleyBlue]

I love seeing a year's difference. As a member of the fine hair club, I appreciate what you said about simplicity and benign neglect being key.

[Corvana]

Happy hairniversary!! I'm loving your new avatar, btw!! It's very artsy :o

[LittleHealthy]

Little healthy, you and I have progressed on a bit of a similar time line. It is so impressive to see how far you have come. Your hair is so long now and is looking so healthy. It's really exciting and amazing to see. And you had a whole baby in between all of it!

Yes!! I haven’t been on much to keep track lately but we’ve gone from ‘short’ into the realm of somewhat ‘long’ in the past 12 months!

[LittleHealthy]

Congratulations! What a progress, something to be proud of because it looks beautiful! :o
Thankyou, cestlavie! I hope to trim away the dyed part eventually...


I love seeing a year's difference. As a member of the fine hair club, I appreciate what you said about simplicity and benign neglect being key.
Thankyou, yes I agree, it’s tough with fine hair at times but sometimes less is more! Especially when our hair is a little more fragile!


Happy hairniversary!! I'm loving your new avatar, btw!! It's very artsy :o
Hahaha thankyou:heartbeat I enjoy it too, I think it makes the hair look somewhat *long*. Happy growing!

[LittleHealthy]

I also only just figured out how to quote multiple replies in one comment. So here’s celebrating that it took me 12 whole months to work that out too :laugh: :D

[LittleHealthy]

I Was going to post this in the 1yr of growth thread, but it's 2yrs of growth so I didn't really suit!

So I missed my second year growth anniversary. I'm just going to post this photo here to mark 2yrs of actively trying to grow out my hair.
The picture on the right, I have half wet, half dry hair from swimming in the pool, it's 3rd day hair, and very scraggly. Dunno why I always choose those kinds of days for a length shot, but anyway!

https://i.postimg.cc/tTxSGcpk/IMG_20201028_210521_589.jpg

[ioanaxena]

I Was going to post this in the 1yr of growth thread, but it's 2yrs of growth so I didn't really suit!

So I missed my second year growth anniversary. I'm just going to post this photo here to mark 2yrs of actively trying to grow out my hair.
The picture on the right, I have half wet, half dry hair from swimming in the pool, it's 3rd day hair, and very scraggly. Dunno why I always choose those kinds of days for a length shot, but anyway!

https://i.postimg.cc/tTxSGcpk/IMG_20201028_210521_589.jpg

It grew a lot in two years! Congratulations, it looks lovely :).

[Stray_mind]

Congratulations! Lovely progress. :flower:

[Dark40]

Congrats on your anniversary, LittleHealthy! You have made a lot of good progress in one year! :)

[lapis_lazuli]

Congrats on 2 years! :happydance: Your hair is very pretty and the dye on the ends has a cool effect :)

[Carrie's hair]

Lovely progress. Congratulations!

[wishy]

Your hair looks amazing! You've been an inspiration to me many times on my long hair journey. As an i, it's really easy to wonder if growing beautiful long hair is impossible for me. Your photos prove that it is absolutely possible!

[DropStitches]

Wow! What a difference two years make! Congratulations - it looks so much thicker as well as longer. Can I ask what the main things you changed in your routine? Or is it just the growing out bleach?

[LittleHealthy]

Your hair looks amazing! You've been an inspiration to me many times on my long hair journey. As an i, it's really easy to wonder if growing beautiful long hair is impossible for me. Your photos prove that it is absolutely possible!

Hi, wishy! That's so nice of you to tell me, it's tough as not many people with the 'i' hair seem to be around here. It's absolutely possible and looks beautiful!
My favourite thing is that buns are easier to do in thin hair, I was able to do a Lazy Wrap Bun with my shoulder length hair!

[LittleHealthy]

Wow! What a difference two years make! Congratulations - it looks so much thicker as well as longer. Can I ask what the main things you changed in your routine? Or is it just the growing out bleach?

Hi DropStitches,
Mainly just growing out the bleached section and washing less often. I was every 2nd or 3rd day now. I will say, I've suffered post partum hairloss during the past 2yrs so definitely hasn't thickened up much! But I have new hairs springing up and they'll soon add some thickness.
I noticed your name alludes to a knitting or crochet hobby... I love crochet!

[LittleHealthy]

Thankyou everyone else for such kind words of encouragement and for the compliments :heartbeat

[DropStitches]

Hi DropStitches,
Mainly just growing out the bleached section and washing less often. I was every 2nd or 3rd day now. I will say, I've suffered post partum hairloss during the past 2yrs so definitely hasn't thickened up much! But I have new hairs springing up and they'll soon add some thickness.
I noticed your name alludes to a knitting or crochet hobby... I love crochet!

That's actually really inspiring to hear you didn't do anything mystical, but still ended up with beautiful hair!

(Also yes, I love my needlecrafts! I'm much more of a knitter, but I've been meaning to upgrade my rudimentary crochet skills for a while. My Italian great-grandmothers both crocheted beautiful lacy creations, so it would be nice to carry on that tradition).