MusicalSpoons
July 15th, 2020, 11:25 AM
I've not done an anniversary post before but as I've pretty much reached my length goal, and 60", it's a bit of a milestone so now seemed a good year to do one.
This is how my hair used to go, before I discovered LHC and that hairties destroyed my ends, and after an annual chop. (I was in this kind of hip-TBL cycle for the majority of my life, after having grown my hair from a bob around age 6.) The pic is from 2015, I think, and my last haircut just like this before growing was in early 2016.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50116343102_f05d9b8384_w.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2jmBmM5)
Haircut (https://flic.kr/p/2jmBmM5)
I never realised just how dried-out it looked!
The reason I originally found LHC was that my previous shampoo was discontinued and I was struggling to find a replacement, and started looking for more natural ways to wash my hair - yes I did give baking soda a few goes, including mixed with baby shampoo but thankfully not for many washes and only on the scalp hair. It's hard to tell if it did much damage or not, nothing *super* obvious at least. I then started lurking and swore off ponytails and hairtie cinnabuns and started to learn how to use sticks in late 2016, and eventually joined in summer 2017 to comment on the Lilla Rose thread. My shampoo/cleansing quest has been varied and frustrating but for now things are okay with specific shampoo, so here's hoping it stays that way ...
Here's my first length shot from August 2017, around classic or maybe slightly past - hard to tell because the camera was at eye level, not hem level.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50116339927_ab4f1ed8ab_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2jmBkQk)
Aug 2017 (https://flic.kr/p/2jmBkQk)
Like a lot of new members I thought I had unruly, stringy, straight hair, but thanks to hairtyping pictures plus a more moisturising routine over time I now know it's not unruly but kinda-wavy hair (still frizzy though ;)) What I thought was unruliness was actually clandestine waves (hat-tip to Lady Stardust for coining that term).
https://live.staticflickr.com/900/39608386350_94ae14e01a_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/23m4kjW)
First hairtyping, 1b (https://flic.kr/p/23m4kjW)
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/47085960574_e9bb4b1e93_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2eJPRCs)
May 2019 1c/2a (https://flic.kr/p/2eJPRCs)
Length-wise my main objective in growing was to see if I could get it past my bum (so, classic length) because it had never been long enough to sit on. I'd never encountered anyone with that long hair IRL, so what I saw on LHC was amazing but didn't quite seem real, I couldn't honestly believe that ordinary people could grow their hair so long. Knee was a mere wish, a fantasy ... until I hit FTL and actually believed that my hair was growing. Then knee began to look like an actual possibility.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50115550823_711e49edbc_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2jmxig6)
Oct 2018 (https://flic.kr/p/2jmxig6) mid-thigh ish
After mid-thigh I started to notice the feeling of my coat and the top of my boots against my calf, a couple of inches below knee ... and shifted my 'ideal' goal to just-about-calf. Now I'm technically at mid-calf, though to look it unstretched I have a couple of inches to go.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50075962506_78bbe0a460_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2ji3p2U)
Full length (https://flic.kr/p/2ji3p2U)
Strangely enough the full length shots I like the most are usually bedhead after airdrying overnight
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50116339882_e8692020f3_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2jmBkPy)
Full lengths (https://flic.kr/p/2jmBkPy)
The plan now is just to see where things go - I am curious whether I could get to ankle or even floor, but that would be another couple of years away if my terminal length isn't before that. I am happy enough with my hemline at this length because I still have hope that some thickness will travel down; I'm not growing out any particular damage but pre-LHC neglect means I've had more breakage than necessary over the years. Ultimately I predict that I'll probably settle for somewhere around calf length whether I reach ankle or beyond or not, but we'll see. The journey is half the fun :grin:
And finally, a gratuitous ponytail pic, because why not?
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50115547438_ab957653b4_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2jmxhfJ)
Ponytail (https://flic.kr/p/2jmxhfJ)
This is how my hair used to go, before I discovered LHC and that hairties destroyed my ends, and after an annual chop. (I was in this kind of hip-TBL cycle for the majority of my life, after having grown my hair from a bob around age 6.) The pic is from 2015, I think, and my last haircut just like this before growing was in early 2016.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50116343102_f05d9b8384_w.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2jmBmM5)
Haircut (https://flic.kr/p/2jmBmM5)
I never realised just how dried-out it looked!
The reason I originally found LHC was that my previous shampoo was discontinued and I was struggling to find a replacement, and started looking for more natural ways to wash my hair - yes I did give baking soda a few goes, including mixed with baby shampoo but thankfully not for many washes and only on the scalp hair. It's hard to tell if it did much damage or not, nothing *super* obvious at least. I then started lurking and swore off ponytails and hairtie cinnabuns and started to learn how to use sticks in late 2016, and eventually joined in summer 2017 to comment on the Lilla Rose thread. My shampoo/cleansing quest has been varied and frustrating but for now things are okay with specific shampoo, so here's hoping it stays that way ...
Here's my first length shot from August 2017, around classic or maybe slightly past - hard to tell because the camera was at eye level, not hem level.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50116339927_ab4f1ed8ab_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2jmBkQk)
Aug 2017 (https://flic.kr/p/2jmBkQk)
Like a lot of new members I thought I had unruly, stringy, straight hair, but thanks to hairtyping pictures plus a more moisturising routine over time I now know it's not unruly but kinda-wavy hair (still frizzy though ;)) What I thought was unruliness was actually clandestine waves (hat-tip to Lady Stardust for coining that term).
https://live.staticflickr.com/900/39608386350_94ae14e01a_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/23m4kjW)
First hairtyping, 1b (https://flic.kr/p/23m4kjW)
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/47085960574_e9bb4b1e93_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2eJPRCs)
May 2019 1c/2a (https://flic.kr/p/2eJPRCs)
Length-wise my main objective in growing was to see if I could get it past my bum (so, classic length) because it had never been long enough to sit on. I'd never encountered anyone with that long hair IRL, so what I saw on LHC was amazing but didn't quite seem real, I couldn't honestly believe that ordinary people could grow their hair so long. Knee was a mere wish, a fantasy ... until I hit FTL and actually believed that my hair was growing. Then knee began to look like an actual possibility.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50115550823_711e49edbc_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2jmxig6)
Oct 2018 (https://flic.kr/p/2jmxig6) mid-thigh ish
After mid-thigh I started to notice the feeling of my coat and the top of my boots against my calf, a couple of inches below knee ... and shifted my 'ideal' goal to just-about-calf. Now I'm technically at mid-calf, though to look it unstretched I have a couple of inches to go.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50075962506_78bbe0a460_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2ji3p2U)
Full length (https://flic.kr/p/2ji3p2U)
Strangely enough the full length shots I like the most are usually bedhead after airdrying overnight
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50116339882_e8692020f3_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2jmBkPy)
Full lengths (https://flic.kr/p/2jmBkPy)
The plan now is just to see where things go - I am curious whether I could get to ankle or even floor, but that would be another couple of years away if my terminal length isn't before that. I am happy enough with my hemline at this length because I still have hope that some thickness will travel down; I'm not growing out any particular damage but pre-LHC neglect means I've had more breakage than necessary over the years. Ultimately I predict that I'll probably settle for somewhere around calf length whether I reach ankle or beyond or not, but we'll see. The journey is half the fun :grin:
And finally, a gratuitous ponytail pic, because why not?
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50115547438_ab957653b4_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2jmxhfJ)
Ponytail (https://flic.kr/p/2jmxhfJ)