My Long Hair Journey to TBL [Archive] - The Long Hair Community Discussion Boards

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TameThisMane

April 7th, 2020, 07:27 PM

Yall ever just wanna talk about your hair but your friends are sick of you talking about it all the time? ;) Cause that's how I'm starting to feel.
I have a phone app called Notability and it's where I keep my hair journey, and I take a length check every May. Well, I'm really wanting to give my journey the light of day and show you mane lovers my hair growth!!
I posted only one time here in October, a post in the New Here forum titled "Pink haired newbie here!" (Post Link is https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=150947 (https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=150947) ) and I really wish I posted more here, I usually just lurk and find good DIY recipes for hella hair moisture! Really wanting to get to 25+ posts so hopefully I start posting more.

I've been dying my hair since 5th grade, my hair is naturally blonde so at that time my sister just put blue dye on unbleached hair and it actually worked. She didn't know she created a monster tho XD colorful hair is kinda my brand now!

ANYWAY, with that introduction outta the way, let's view my journey.

My first picture starts with rainbow hair in May 2016, pretty much a pixie cut, as a result of taking out my dreadlocks. I know you can brush dreads out, but to make my life easier I decided to cut them out and have short hair.

https://66.media.tumblr.com/44d84d151748bdf5b9b8e01dc06fd9b5/9377023920782872-b8/s540x810/38a2f63e457a99c472feb8aa80a3e48d14cc6264.jpg

My next picture is red hair in May 2017, where my hair grew a little bit past a bob cut

https://66.media.tumblr.com/03c80fbe522459e9e333eab6e1ebf251/0aafa9eea71f9ee1-10/s400x600/7efe1792aacb44ba7f1fa02ea32dbbdcdb90ec5e.jpg

Now, may 2018! This is when my pink hair journey started. I decided I wanted to grow my hair out like AlbInWonderland (YouTuber) and I didn't want to change my hair color all the time anymore, so I decided to stick with my FAVORITE color, pink!
I had also gotten a haircut around this time, as I wanted to glue in extensions (such a bad idea) and wanted them to blend with my hair. This will be the last time I cut my hair until 2020! Not a very attractive picture, but it's just to show the hair xD

https://66.media.tumblr.com/c535b1b7e819178f13a23e48df873a83/284f8d074c15b01d-e1/s400x600/b49107a269aa58ccfb921bc82c9d56665b5d275e.jpg

Now for May 2019! This is when my hair started getting REAL long. My hair hasn't ever been this long before now, I usually got stuck with short/shoulder length hair, mostly cause I'd get crazy hair ideas and want to cut it or dye it or something. This is when I was like, oh snap, my hair might actually be able to get to tail bone length someday. This is also when I started getting complimented on how long my hair is and how fast it grows!

https://66.media.tumblr.com/78ea26178c8d0f7bf5b45d6be7911e05/0aafa9eea71f9ee1-a3/s400x600/9c994be88e62c2df644fa0d07e1ab353d389cb55.jpg

Well, now it's April 2020 and we're a month away from an other hair length check. Unfortunately I got 3 inches cut off in January so my hair is about the same length as it was May 2019, however I had 3 inches of split ends and really needed them gone. Now my hair is growing waaay faster since I got rid of all the dry, split, unhappy ends and they're not traveling up my hair shaft anymore. You can slightly tell in the picture above ^ that my ends are a bit scraggly. Hot oil treatments stopped helping them out lol. My hair grew back to waist length in like, a month or two. I plan on taking a picture like the one above next month and I'll add it to my journey.
I did go a bit crazy on February 28th and asked my hair stylist to give me rainbow roots and rainbow bangs XD

https://66.media.tumblr.com/2ef5a58271e250f00262b7c308df7ca2/9377023920782872-7d/s640x960/e0b78b10a8a8cd15f13f7d016bfd06a57d1661b0.jpg

https://66.media.tumblr.com/4a13ba713514dd5014845dcd149fc8ba/9377023920782872-81/s540x810/3c25c00bc02a4c56145714b9eb87cc5370d002a0.jpg

It's pretty interesting, we started this journey with rainbow hair and end with it as well :p

As for hair care, I take very good care of it, but my genetics play a factor as well. My dad had a very long mullet in the 80's and my mom once had thick hair but it's starting to thin for her as she ages. I did a lot of oil treatments to get my hair to this length, but my new hair stylist told me about how coconut oil isn't as good for our hair as we all think it is. I'm not sure I agree with her on this, I know there's tons of people who swear by oil treatments, but I am deciding to take a break from oil treatments to see if she's correct. What I have been doing is using a very mild shampoo that's for hair color, and a deep conditioner every time I wash my hair (Matrix Keep Me Vivid Shampoo and It's A 10 Miracle Hair Mask), which I only wash it about once or twice a week. I also sleep on a silk pillow case, alongside a silk scarf I wrap my hair in. Just the pillow case alone isn't enough for me. If I sleep without the scarf I get super frizzy messy hair, so I'll stick with it :p I brush my hair from the bottoms up to avoid breakage, and I leave it up most of the time to avoid furniture rubbing on my hair.

My hair care routine is basically trying to avoid as much breakage as possible while conditioning it to keep it non porous and as healthy as possible. Thankfully my hair is naturally blonde so I use a pretty weak bleach and I only bleach my roots once, about every 2-3 months, that way I don't bleach hair that's already been bleached.
I would never recommend anyone dye their hair if they want to grow it out, I've been considering going back to my natural hair color but it's really hard when you've known yourself as this person for so long! Maybe in a few years I'll go back to natural :p
Anyway, sorry for such a huge post!! I have a tendency to ramble, and since hair is one of my favorite things to talk about, I have a lot to say on the matter XD but for you guys I'll end it here. Also sorry if there's an other thread I need to post this in, I'm a total newb here

Thank you so much if you read all the way! Don't be shy to share your hair growth journey in the comments below :D I'll try to reply to everything!
I hope you're all having a good and safe day in this crazy, lock down of a world right now. Stay positive:)

cathair

April 7th, 2020, 07:51 PM

Wow your rainbow roots are incredible, I've never seen rainbow hair done that way before! You've made great growth progress too :)

AutobotsAttack

April 7th, 2020, 07:58 PM

Your hair looks so awesome!!!! I remember my vibrant color days. One day I might go for a red color. Who knows lol.

For what it’s worthI have chemically processed hair as well. I chemically straighten it, however I’ve managed to grow my hair passed Classic length, while also possessing extremely fine hair. So all in all, I think it’s perfectly attainable to grow your hair very long, while using whatever chemical of choice you wish.

My hair care routine is very similar to yours as well. I have to consistently drown my hair with moisture so that it remains as elastic and moisturized as possible.y hair doesn’t seem to mind protein treatments too much, but I put a little of one of my favorite collagen treatments on my ends and just leave it on there.

As far as breakage goes, literally anything can cause breakage for me, so aside from my regular washes, once I braid my hair up afterwards, I don’t do anything to it, and I keep a scarf over it, with my beanie on top (for style lol). I don’t comb or brush my hair except for when it’s under running water and I have a bunch of conditioner for detangling.

Other than that I’m fully on the side of growing long, while using chemicals. I always say this: If you’re gonna use/do something damaging, let that be the ONLY thing you choose.

TameThisMane

April 7th, 2020, 08:40 PM

I always say this: If you’re gonna use/do something damaging, let that be the ONLY thing you choose.

I ADORE that saying! Gotta be my new motto, as I'm the same way. I never use heat, I always air dry my hair and have a super strict regimen.

I'd love to see a photo of your hair! Sadly I can't view profiles yet, would you mind replying with a photo? If I can get to tailbone length my next goal will be classic length for sure :D

AutobotsAttack

April 7th, 2020, 10:24 PM

TameThisMane

April 8th, 2020, 12:30 AM

Your hair is beautiful darling! Such a unique texture. Any reason you don't leave your hair curly?
I can't wait until my hair is as long as yours :D you must have killer patience

TameThisMane

April 8th, 2020, 12:31 AM

Wow your rainbow roots are incredible, I've never seen rainbow hair done that way before! You've made great growth progress too :)

Thank you so much! I usually dye my hair myself but this time my hair stylist Sam dyed it for me and she did a wonderful job :D next time, I might get even more rainbow XD

AutobotsAttack

April 8th, 2020, 12:57 AM

Your hair is beautiful darling! Such a unique texture. Any reason you don't leave your hair curly?
I can't wait until my hair is as long as yours :D you must have killer patience

Thanks!
It’s just personal preference. I haven’t always straightened my hair. My entire life I had my natural curls up until I graduated high school in 2014. I struggled a bit to retain any length passed MBL while natural. So I also figured having my curl pattern loosened could help me manage my hair a bit better. Which it has, but I still have many of the same challenges I had previously, but I can at least retain the majority of length over the years.

As far as patience goes, most times I have enough to spare, other times not so much. As of mid last year I’ve been wearing my hair in medium sized single braids, because as my hair gets longer, I have less and less room for slip ups. A few tangles can easily turn into a matted mess within the span of 24 hours lol. Braids or twists help keep my strands separated, and for longer periods of time, so I figured if it ain’t broke...well you know how it goes lol. Sometimes I’ll let my hair out for a day or two, but then it’s right back up into braids.

You’ll be at Classic before you know it! :)

Bat

April 8th, 2020, 03:27 AM

I ADORE that saying! Gotta be my new motto, as I'm the same way. I never use heat, I always air dry my hair and have a super strict regimen.

I'd love to see a photo of your hair! Sadly I can't view profiles yet, would you mind replying with a photo? If I can get to tailbone length my next goal will be classic length for sure :D

you make me want to dye my hair many colors again!, goes to show you can have nice long hair dyed hair, and I am the same as you, I'd think up crazy colors an short styles and i'd always chop my hair off and do silly things, my last stunt was half black half blond but I killed the blonde side so had to chop it off, now I have uneven black hair, I'm going to grow it all virgin then probably dye it again. no one likes it when I talk about hair too, this forum is like coming home, it is also nice a lot of members here are around my age group and older, I;ve been living on the chat site IMVU where you can create items to sell in the game catalog, and I always did hair, ever since joining here I'm not sure I'll go back.

YvetteVarie

April 8th, 2020, 04:56 AM

Your hair colour is so vibrant. And I'm sure you'll get to TBL. Like AutobotsAttack said, if you care for your hair, it will grow despite the dyeing.

SleepyTangles

April 8th, 2020, 05:12 AM

Lucy McLucyFace

April 8th, 2020, 05:20 AM

Dark40

April 8th, 2020, 08:05 AM

Yall ever just wanna talk about your hair but your friends are sick of you talking about it all the time? ;) Cause that's how I'm starting to feel.
I have a phone app called Notability and it's where I keep my hair journey, and I take a length check every May. Well, I'm really wanting to give my journey the light of day and show you mane lovers my hair growth!!
I posted only one time here in October, a post in the New Here forum titled "Pink haired newbie here!" (Post Link is https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=150947 (https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=150947) ) and I really wish I posted more here, I usually just lurk and find good DIY recipes for hella hair moisture! Really wanting to get to 25+ posts so hopefully I start posting more.

I've been dying my hair since 5th grade, my hair is naturally blonde so at that time my sister just put blue dye on bleached hair and it actually worked. She didn't know she created a monster tho XD colorful hair is kinda my brand now!

ANYWAY, with that introduction outta the way, let's view my journey.

As for hair care, I take very good care of it, but my genetics play a factor as well. My dad had a very long mullet in the 80's and my mom once had thick hair but it's starting to thin for her as she ages. I did a lot of oil treatments to get my hair to this length, but my new hair stylist told me about how coconut oil isn't as good for our hair as we all think it is. I'm not sure I agree with her on this, I know there's tons of people who swear by oil treatments, but I am deciding to take a break from oil treatments to see if she's correct. What I have been doing is using a very mild shampoo that's for hair color, and a deep conditioner every time I wash my hair (Matrix Keep Me Vivid Shampoo and It's A 10 Miracle Hair Mask), which I only wash it about once or twice a week. I also sleep on a silk pillow case, alongside a silk scarf I wrap my hair in. Just the pillow case alone isn't enough for me. If I sleep without the scarf I get super frizzy messy hair, so I'll stick with it :p I brush my hair from the bottoms up to avoid breakage, and I leave it up most of the time to avoid furniture rubbing on my hair.

My hair care routine is basically trying to avoid as much breakage as possible while conditioning it to keep it non porous and as healthy as possible. Thankfully my hair is naturally blonde so I use a pretty weak bleach and I only bleach my roots once, about every 2-3 months, that way I don't bleach hair that's already been bleached.
I would never recommend anyone dye their hair if they want to grow it out, I've been considering going back to my natural hair color but it's really hard when you've known yourself as this person for so long! Maybe in a few years I'll go back to natural :p
Anyway, sorry for such a huge post!! I have a tendency to ramble, and since hair is one of my favorite things to talk about, I have a lot to say on the matter XD but for you guys I'll end it here. Also sorry if there's an other thread I need to post this in, I'm a total newb here

Thank you so much if you read all the way! Don't be shy to share your hair growth journey in the comments below :D I'll try to reply to everything!
I hope you're all having a good and safe day in this crazy, lock down of a world right now. Stay positive:)[/COLOR]

Wow! Your rainbow roots and different hair colors look so cool! I think by the kind of hair care regimen you have you will be able to reach TBL in no time! Yeah, I'm like you too...Hair is my favorite topic to talk about too! :D I used to be like you with he oil treatments when I was in high school in the mid-1980's up until the mid-1990's. If I were you I wouldn't believe that hair stylist that said that coconut oil and hot oil treatments aren't the best thing for our hair. I have an aunt that's a licensed beautician, and she told me something very different. Especially, when I used to go crazy with dyeing my hair often. She saw one day how dry my hair looked, and she told me that I had 2 choices. I can either do a good hot oil treatment with vasoline. Or, I would have to go through the, "Big chop." So, I did the hot oil treatment with the vasoline, and worked my hair lots of wonders!!! It really left it looking and feeling well-moisturized!!! She told me now, "Don't do it too often." "Because, you will clog up your pores."
"But, it's always good to do hot oil treatments." I haven't done a good hot oil treatments since 2017. I remember when I used to do them in high school I started out with a chin length bob, and my hair grew to BSL within a year! I had a chin length bob in high school in 1987, and during the year of 1988 I reached BSL!!! So, I know exactly what you're going through. I had a good girlfriend of mine that had TBL hair in high school, and when we first met she had naturally curly thick TBL hair, and we met in 1986....and we both went through the whole school year with her hair being thick, long, and curly. Then, the next year in 1987 at the beginning of the school year she came to school with her TBL hair chemically relaxed or straightened!!! It was the most gorgeous TBL brown hair I had ever seen!!! I mean, it was beautiful with it being curly, thick, and wild anyways. :D But with her hair being pin-straight was gorgeous too! And, it was still thick as well!!!

TameThisMane

April 18th, 2020, 01:57 AM

*sees rainbow hair, dies happy*
:thud:

Joking aside... You give me SO MUCH HOPE! You inspire me even more to reach past waist with purple hair... :cheer:
I'm sure your natural color is lovely, and I'm a big fan of natural roots with colorful hair (obviously ;) ).

awe I'm glad to inspire you!! it's definitely possible :D My hair's currently at the longest it's ever beet at waist length xD I'm praying I can get to tailbone and maybe even classic someday <3_<3

and maybe I'll just grow my roots out someday and keep the ends crazy colors XD

TameThisMane

April 18th, 2020, 02:00 AM

You remind me of a scene queen from back when that was a huge thing. Were you one by any chance? :o
And consider me impressed, I didn't know people could grow out their hair while bleaching and dying it vibrant colours! The people I've known who did that couldn't grow it past shoulder length

ahahaha I was definitely a scene queen XD I had a myspace when I was 14 and everything :p
and thank you! I try really hard to take good care of my hair. There's actually 2 YouTubers with super long (longer than mine) bleached hair. Their names are LivKristina and AlbInWonderland, they inspire me so much and make me realize it's possible!

TameThisMane

April 18th, 2020, 02:07 AM

Wow! Your rainbow roots and different hair colors look so cool! I think by the kind of hair care regimen you have you will be able to reach TBL in no time! Yeah, I'm like you too...Hair is my favorite topic to talk about too! :D I used to be like you with he oil treatments when I was in high school in the mid-1980's up until the mid-1990's. If I were you I wouldn't believe that hair stylist that said that coconut oil and hot oil treatments aren't the best thing for our hair. I have an aunt that's a licensed beautician, and she told me something very different. Especially, when I used to go crazy with dyeing my hair often. She saw one day how dry my hair looked, and she told me that I had 2 choices. I can either do a good hot oil treatment with vasoline. Or, I would have to go through the, "Big chop." So, I did the hot oil treatment with the vasoline, and worked my hair lots of wonders!!! It really left it looking and feeling well-moisturized!!! She told me now, "Don't do it too often." "Because, you will clog up your pores."
"But, it's always good to do hot oil treatments." I haven't done a good hot oil treatments since 2017. I remember when I used to do them in high school I started out with a chin length bob, and my hair grew to BSL within a year! I had a chin length bob in high school in 1987, and during the year of 1988 I reached BSL!!! So, I know exactly what you're going through. I had a good girlfriend of mine that had TBL hair in high school, and when we first met she had naturally curly thick TBL hair, and we met in 1986....and we both went through the whole school year with her hair being thick, long, and curly. Then, the next year in 1987 at the beginning of the school year she came to school with her TBL hair chemically relaxed or straightened!!! It was the most gorgeous TBL brown hair I had ever seen!!! I mean, it was beautiful with it being curly, thick, and wild anyways. :D But with her hair being pin-straight was gorgeous too! And, it was still thick as well!!!

That's soo true, I don't think I could have gotten my hair to grow this fast if it wasn't for my monthly castor oil mixtures I'd make for my scalp and coconut oil mixtures for my hair! Basically what she says is coconut oil clogs our scalps pores and can make our hair fall out! Which definitely scared me the first time I heard her say that, enough to make me reconsider! I am missing how quickly scalp treatments make my hair grow tho XD feels like its growing so slowly right now!

However my birthday is tomorrow and I already bought my self a little birthday gift :P I got olaplex no 3, as well as olaplex shampoo & conditioner. I'm super stoked to try it out :D I've had no 3 before but not the shampoo and conditioner so I'm excited XD just gotta wait for it in the mail.

Birthday in quarantine? might as well do a nice hair treatment :p

ynne

April 18th, 2020, 04:03 AM

TameThisMane, I love all of your haircolors! And it looks like you can easily pull all of them off, they are very flattering. :) I wish I had your dedication to keeping the ends secure, it's great you take such good care of it. I have very dark brown hair so when I went through lighter colors, it was too complicated process to maintain long-term, but I really liked muted pink, and pink-purple-blue combinations. :)

Bri-Chan

April 18th, 2020, 06:14 AM

Oh, happy growth! Beautiful hair (that light pink is my favorite).

Dark40

April 18th, 2020, 10:57 AM

That's soo true, I don't think I could have gotten my hair to grow this fast if it wasn't for my monthly castor oil mixtures I'd make for my scalp and coconut oil mixtures for my hair! Basically what she says is coconut oil clogs our scalps pores and can make our hair fall out! Which definitely scared me the first time I heard her say that, enough to make me reconsider! I am missing how quickly scalp treatments make my hair grow tho XD feels like its growing so slowly right now!

However my birthday is tomorrow and I already bought my self a little birthday gift :P I got olaplex no 3, as well as olaplex shampoo & conditioner. I'm super stoked to try it out :D I've had no 3 before but not the shampoo and conditioner so I'm excited XD just gotta wait for it in the mail.

Birthday in quarantine? might as well do a nice hair treatment :p

Well, me and my mom use coconut oil on our hair and scalp all of the time, and we've never suffered any hair fall or loss. Well, everything doesn't work for everybody. You gotta do what works best for you. I bet you could have gotten your hair to grow that fast it is wasn't for your monthly castor oil mixtures and coconut oil mixture for your hair! I bet you do miss the scalp treatments that made your hair grow faster. Especially, when it feels like it's growing slowly right now! I remember last year back from September up until November my hair growth rate also slowed down as well! I thought that my hair was going through a stall. I've realized when it does that our hair is just going through a resting phase. Don't worry. It will start to pick back up again soon! You never know....you might go through a growth spurt.

That's what I went through during December. All of a sudden my hair growth rate started picking back up again! Yeah, I've been also wanting to try the olaplex products too but they are soooooooo expensive! Yeah, me too also during the quarantine I do nice things to take good care of my hair too :p

Happy belated birthday! The olaplex products would be a very nice gift that you can buy and try for yourself!

Sarahlabyrinth

April 18th, 2020, 12:13 PM

Your hair colours look so lovely on you! :)

DropStitches

April 19th, 2020, 07:16 AM

However my birthday is tomorrow and I already bought my self a little birthday gift :P I got olaplex no 3, as well as olaplex shampoo & conditioner. I'm super stoked to try it out :D I've had no 3 before but not the shampoo and conditioner so I'm excited XD just gotta wait for it in the mail.

Birthday in quarantine? might as well do a nice hair treatment :p

Hey, happy birthday, TameThisMane! I had APL rainbow hair for two years, and loved it - and Olaplex is the best! It's such a game-changer - without it, I don't think I would have been able to get my dark brown hair light enough without it turning to frazzled straw. Which pink do you use?

TameThisMane

April 22nd, 2020, 04:26 AM

Hey, happy birthday, TameThisMane! I had APL rainbow hair for two years, and loved it - and Olaplex is the best! It's such a game-changer - without it, I don't think I would have been able to get my dark brown hair light enough without it turning to frazzled straw. Which pink do you use?

I can't wait for it to arrive in the mail! I got their limited edition "big" size of no 3 and the shampoo & conditioner! I've gone thru a small bottle of no 3 before so I'm excited to have a bigger one now xD
When I dye my hair I usually do a mix, but my usual dyes are always arctic fox and manic panic. Manic Panic's Amplified formula in hot pink is my all time favorite!! I usually dye my hair super bright and vibrant, and as it fades it turns into a beautiful pastel pink :)

DropStitches

April 22nd, 2020, 05:07 AM

I can't wait for it to arrive in the mail! I got their limited edition "big" size of no 3 and the shampoo & conditioner! I've gone thru a small bottle of no 3 before so I'm excited to have a bigger one now xD
When I dye my hair I usually do a mix, but my usual dyes are always arctic fox and manic panic. Manic Panic's Amplified formula in hot pink is my all time favorite!! I usually dye my hair super bright and vibrant, and as it fades it turns into a beautiful pastel pink :)

Ooh, I didn't know they did a larger size! That small one is so very small. And I love me a mix of tone-on-tone colours - it looks more dimensional, and I can pretend to be an artist! Oh, you're making me miss my rainbow hair!

TameThisMane

April 22nd, 2020, 06:53 PM

Ooh, I didn't know they did a larger size! That small one is so very small. And I love me a mix of tone-on-tone colours - it looks more dimensional, and I can pretend to be an artist! Oh, you're making me miss my rainbow hair!

it's a limited edition size! So they won't be having it for very long! Order some now if you want to :p I got lucky they released the larger version around my birthday :D
And I hear you some of my favorite parts about dying my hair is seeing all the colors and creamy conditioners mix together its the best <3 _ <3