I don't think my hair looks any better (pictures)

[plainjanegirl]

April 2008
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/album.php?albumid=1919&pictureid=32129

August 2008
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/album.php?albumid=1919&pictureid=32130

October 2008
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/album.php?albumid=1919&pictureid=23117

February 2009
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/album.php?albumid=1919&pictureid=32122

[plainjanegirl]

I just don't see much gain in length. My ends look terrible. Don't know what to do. And I thought it hasn't been as frizzy but it looks like it is. This is frustrating.

[Darkhorse1]

Don't get discouraged. Your hair looks great. Remember, sometimes you will gain length in regards to fullness (other sections growing). Hair doesn't grow all at once--meaning, it'll take awhile to see 'length' sometimes. I felt this way not too long ago, but noticed where my hair falls is much longer than before.

[lora410]

I think your hair is beautiful and very thick. If you are unahppy try a SMALL trim :)

[kam984420]

Your ends don't look bad at all. They look like they're in excellent shape. You haven't gained much in length this past year, but give it time, you will. Think positive. (Encouraging right?):cheese:

[Hairtada]

You have really pretty hair!The ends look fine to me. Frizzy??I do not see frizz.

[spidermom]

The pictures aren't detailed enough for me to see whether or not your hair is in bad shape. Try a test. Take a pinch of hair between thumb and fingers and slide them down your hair. Does it feel pretty much the same all the way to the ends? Or is there a definite change in texture? If there is a change in texture, it's probably damage. You will need to trim the damage away to see good growth. If not cut away, splits travel up the hair shaft, causing the hair to break off. That is most likely why you (and I) don't see any growth. I know there are exceptions, but if your hair were the type to grow faster than it splits and breaks off, you would see growth. I mean this very sincerely - cut all the damage away. You can do it all at once or slowly one trim at a time.

[tiny_teesha]

To me your hair appears shinier. Hey if you don't like your hair you can give it to me! I love your hair, i'd swap in a heart beat!

[manderly]

Well, I'm not going to coddle you. I'll be honest since that seems like what you want :)

Your hair has gained a little bit of length. Is the change in color and texture (about the last foot of hair) old hairdye? It does look ratty.

Your hair looks absolutely lovely down to about BSL. After that, it looks a little beat up. Perhaps you are getting breakage so you aren't seeing very much length (though I do see some!). The last foot or so of your hair seems (from the limited detail of your photos) to have a different texture and health to it.

If you are looking for length, then I would slowly start doing small trims to get rid of that damage. If you are going for quality and don't mind losing length, I would consider cutting back to bsl and letting that lovely hair grow in :)

I'm sorry that I'm not just complimenting you here, I hope you were truly looking for honesty :)

:flower:

And I hope I didn't hurt your feelings either.

[Psalm186]

Is the bottom foot darker from flash photography, henna/indigo, or chemical dyes?

If it's the latter, well, I'm a fan of not holding on to damage. It would hurt to lose that much length, but a month from now, you'd probably feel more optimistic about the general state of your hair.

If it's darker due to the lighting or henna/indigo... just ignore me ;)

ETA: Manderly is a MUCH faster typer than I :P

[plainjanegirl]

Well, I'm not going to coddle you. I'll be honest since that seems like what you want :)

Your hair has gained a little bit of length. Is the change in color and texture (about the last foot of hair) old hairdye? It does look ratty.

Your hair looks absolutely lovely down to about BSL. After that, it looks a little beat up. Perhaps you are getting breakage so you aren't seeing very much length (though I do see some!). The last foot or so of your hair seems (from the limited detail of your photos) to have a different texture and health to it.

If you are looking for length, then I would slowly start doing small trims to get rid of that damage. If you are going for quality and don't mind losing length, I would consider cutting back to bsl and letting that lovely hair grow in :)

I'm sorry that I'm not just complimenting you here, I hope you were truly looking for honesty :)

:flower:

And I hope I didn't hurt your feelings either.

No you did not hurt my feelings. Yes I asked for feedback and that means honest answers, good or bad. I never thought about how the old colored part could be the bad looking part. I colored my hair several times, but last year I had it colored twice in February and in May. According to my measurements ( and I have been measuring since March 2008) I have had ALMOST exactly 6 inches of growth this past year.
BUT I don't think I could manage as big of a cut as BSL length. I have been tossing around the idea of a trim though, so maybe an inch or so would help. Was also thinking about highlights but then that would just make things worse.


Thank you everybody for ALL feedback.

[SpecialKitty]

I think you have very pretty, shiny and thick hair. I am not coddling you - I mean that sincerely.

I also think that the ends look frayed and damaged - maybe the last five inches or so.

Are you dying your hair? Heat styling? Using harsh products? Wearing your hair down a lot? Any and all of these things could be harming your ends in particular. Your ends, remember, have been around the longest of all, and have sustained the most damage.

[manderly]

Well looking at your most recent photo, it looks like you would see a WORLD of difference if you could trim up to where your right thumb is sitting on your waist.

I don't know if that's too much for one trim, but it's at least a starting point for you to slowly trim up to :)

I think just slowly working on getting rid of that old dye (hey, most of us have to deal with that too :D) will totally change how you feel about your hair!

The new growth is lovely, and I think a drop of coconut oil rubbed over the surface would tame the minor frizzies you have and give you crazy shine :D

[HeatherMae]

I think it looks GREAT! Love the shine and the color! I see some noticeable growth too. Some times its hard to tell a difference, when your looking at your own hair. You know? At least thats what I think.

[plainjanegirl]

I think you have very pretty, shiny and thick hair. I am not coddling you - I mean that sincerely.

I also think that the ends look frayed and damaged - maybe the last five inches or so.

Are you dying your hair? Heat styling? Using harsh products? Wearing your hair down a lot? Any and all of these things could be harming your ends in particular. Your ends, remember, have been around the longest of all, and have sustained the most damage.


I have never used henna , etc.
Used to chemical dye and the last one was in MAy 2008.
I used to heat style ( straightening iron, and hot sticks) but quit that last spring/summer.
Harsh products? What would that be ?
I do probably wear my hair down probably 50-70 percent of the time ( due to 1. I get headaches and the pressure of the bun bothers me after awhile and 2. with my hair loss at my nape I was worried that tight ponytails or buns could have caused that).


I want to thank everybody again, cause everybody throwing out ideas helps me try to rule things out so I can get my hair to look its best eventually.

As for the camera causing a difference in the color it could I have no idea...how do you try to minimize that when taking pictures?

[plainjanegirl]

So what have all of you experienced.
My last trim was about a year ago ( I was hoping to do away with trims all together but that may not be possible). SO if I got a trim of an inch or two (I don't how much that would be up to my thumb, any guesses?) then it 6months to a year am I gonna have to do the same thing again or will it get better so maybe I can not get trims anymore?

[Bene]

i agree with manderly and specialkitty. if you trim up to waist (where your thumb is), you can continue to grow from there with minor snips. the ends look like they've seen some rough weather, but above that, your hair looks good.

[SpecialKitty]

Used to chemical dye and the last one was in MAy 2008.
I used to heat style ( straightening iron, and hot sticks) but quit that last spring/summer.
Harsh products? What would that be ?


spring/summer 2008 was less than a year ago. If your hair sustained any damage from those practices, it would show up now (particularly your ends) despite even the most gentle treatment. In my experience, it takes a while (ie - longer than a year) to grow damage out (with trims).

for me, almost any shampoo is too harsh (I have fine, thin, fragile hair). If you are using certain shampoos, or shampooing too frequently, it may be causing further damage to your length.

But just to reiterate - most of your hair looks very healthy and pretty! :flowers:

[teela1978]

I think it looks longer, and based on your measurements it's growing normally (6 inches a year is pretty average, it's about what I get). The ends do look less healthy than the rest though. There are some people on this board who don't trim and prefer 'fairytale' ends, but most of us do trim once in a while (I do it at least once a year or so :)). Even those who don't usually go through their ends and snip off any splits or damage that they see somewhat regularly (Search and Destroy, or S&D).

[BritHair]

You have beautiful hair. It is shiny and I just love the color:)

[LadyEliza]

If I were you I'd trim to my waist and then keep it there until you were totally happy with the full length of it - then start letting it grow again.

I plan to grow mine to the waist, then keep it there for a year while the ends catch up and it all gets in good condition.

Wearing it up will help - but you know that. If buns bother your head, find something else. What about a lose plait, it doesn't have to be tight to the scalp. It would be better then nothing. Just make sure you use a good scrunchy or something to tye it off, so you aren't damaging the ends.

Good luck!

[Aditi]

Frizz........what frizz?....i don't see any. And i like your hair they are thick and in good health.

[plainjanegirl]

Are cone shampoos and conditioners harsh, if anything they should help protect my damaged hair right?
So can people with fairly straight hair eventually have long hair with the fairytale ends (where you don't cut them) and it still look nice? Or are fairytale ends more for curly or wavy hair. I just want my hair to look healthy.
Also if the ends of the hair are the oldest then a few years back they went through not only all of the chemical coloring but also some chemical perms and also some chemical straightening so I guess they have been through alot.

[melrose1985]

I think you hair looks really nice! You know what's funny is from the figure 8 bun you had on your siggy from before i assumed that you has maybe between shoulder and APL length hair!!! if you dont like the ends maybe trim them a tiny bit.

[plainjanegirl]

Ok sorry but i thought of another question.
So IF I decide to go with a small trim should I go to a salon or a barber shop? There is no way that I would trust myself to trim it. Also should it be trimmed on wet or dry hair? I will take a pic (will probably print out my sig pic) and be very specific of what I want.

[OhioLisa]

Honestly, a small trim of an inch or 2 is probably not going to do it. I agree with others that going back to about waist length will take care of most of it. But after cutting back that far, you will still have to do a few additional trims to cut off any remaining damage. Then, as previously stated, once all the damage is completely gone, you can focus on gaining length.

Coney conditioners work for a lot of people. However, cones can also lock out moisture, so IMO if your hair is in desperate need of moisture, cones might be working more against you than for you. Sulfates can also be particularly bad for damaged hair, because of drying effects, etc. Some people can use them just fine, but I am just thinking that if you have damage, you will want to use the most gentle products possible. :)

[brok3nwings]

i understand that going to BSL would be a big difference to you. But i honestly think that your hair is really wonderful and very shiny until BSL.. the last inches does seam to me a bit frizzy and damaged. But thats only the impression i have from the pictures... if you dont get bothered about it then only do a small trim. But the last inches of hair may be the reason why you dont see that much growth! besides those last inches your hair is really nice and thick

[brok3nwings]

Sorry, not BSL i think it is between BSL and waist. :) And another thing! Your colour until that point is really beautiful

[plainjanegirl]

See I don't care for the color of that pic....I think it looks really dark and I hope my hair is not that dark.
In my photo album I have a couple of pics of my hair draped over the back of a chair I was sitting in and it looks more blonde in those pics.
Getting an accurate pic is stuff.

[brok3nwings]

painjengirl i agree. It is hard to take an accurate picture but i think the best way to do it is in natural light. it really makes the whole difference! Flash is the most terrible thing to this kind of picture where you want to SEE your hair. i would ask someone to do that :)
what i see from your picture album is that sometimes your hair looks almost the same colour but others i can see as you say , a blondish colour ending in a darker colour. That means IMO that your last inches are porouse ? so the colour dont fade. im sorry to be talking about it again but it really seams to me that your lovely hair would be so much lovely without those last inches.... but again, thats me! I have a problem with that particular problem and everytime i see a friend with that i advice the same. But again, i may be seeing something that isnt there. So please, take a picture in natural light! will you? :)

[Alia]

Even with the hair loss at the nape, your total hair mass looks way thicker than mine :flower:. I do agree, a trim would help get rid of the damaged ends...maybe 3", then micro trims until you are satisfied. I used Feye's method--having never cut my or anyone else's hair before--and got a very nice result. If you do have it done, do try a barber...I think they'd be more amenable to direction and not have some 'vision' of how they think your hair should be.

[Akiko]

plainjanegirl, your hair is beautiful. If you want a trim, there is a list of hair friendly salons (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=11326) compiled by Flaxen. You might find a salon close to you.

[Debra83]

It looks darker from the ends to about bsl. That may be the damaged section of the hair. Unless it was weird lighting for the picture. But I think it goes higher than where your thumb is. Have you tried the catnip and other oils on the bottom section of your hair? That may help if you make a concentrated effort to really baby those hairs. How about cassia? or Ojon? Those may help you too, then you wouldn't even have to cut?

[Periwinkle]

Wow-ee! I never realised your hair was so long! :O

Anyway, I can see a difference in length, but not much. What I noticed mostly was that in the first picture, your hair looks drier and frizzier. The second is straighter, and the most recent two are really smooth, shiny and glossy with no frizz at all that shows up on the camera. It looks to me like the condition of your hair has improved a LOT.

[spidermom]

Once you get most of the old damage trimmed off, you can stop trimming and marvel at how fast your hair grows. That's how it happened for me. (and P.S., yes, you will probably get fairy tale ends, if that is what you want, although some people's hair grows fairly evenly and would take much longer to develop fairy tale ends, if ever)

[plainjanegirl]

It looks darker from the ends to about bsl. That may be the damaged section of the hair. Unless it was weird lighting for the picture. But I think it goes higher than where your thumb is. Have you tried the catnip and other oils on the bottom section of your hair? That may help if you make a concentrated effort to really baby those hairs. How about cassia? or Ojon? Those may help you too, then you wouldn't even have to cut?

I haven't read much about cassia, but I will start reading on it....but does it discolor your hair, cause I really don't wanna mess with the color.
What is Ojon? I have never heard of that.
No I have not tried catnip, but if it smells like cat food then I don't know about that ( I can't get past the vinegar smell to do vinegar rinses).
I have tried coconut oil but it does not get along well with my hair. I did recently get some evoo and was gonna use it for some pre shampoo treatments and see if it helps any.

[plainjanegirl]

What bothers me ( and some of you may not get it) but I feel guilty for getting my hair trimmed cause most girls that are my same type of religion don't cut or color hair. My hair was to my ankles and never cut until I was 20 and got out of church, then that is when I started all the chemical stuff and really fried my hair . But maybe if I get one more trim and take really good care of it then I can not trim and still have healthy growing pretty hair. Even though I feel bad I would hate to not trim and then have my hair stop growing because of all the damage.

[wintersun99]

Well looking at your most recent photo, it looks like you would see a WORLD of difference if you could trim up to where your right thumb is sitting on your waist. I don't know if that's too much for one trim, but it's at least a starting point for you to slowly trim up to :)


Yes, this... :)

[manderly]

Your hair hasn't stopped growing. It's just breaking at the ends so you aren't gaining length. It's self-sustaining at that general length until it's healthy enough to surpass it. Which will probably be when all the old chemical damage breaks off and you are left with your virgin hair again.

Like I've said, to see any kind of instant difference in the appearance of your ends, I would recommend cutting NO LESS than where your right thumb is sitting. Keep in mind that is still leaving several inches of damage above it which will too need to be slowly trimmed. The reasoning for the thumb level is I can see where you have either old layers that have grown out, a pronounced U shape, or just damage has left you with shorter spots. A trim to your thumb (basically waist) would get rid of the majority of damage and leave you with a thick, blunt hemline. You can then slowly trim off at 1/2 inch intervals until one day you trim and you no longer have any old chemcial damage left!

You can also go balls-to-the-wall and just jump right in and hack off all the abused hair which will bring up to around BSL. Then you have nothing to worry about and have happy growing and TLC in front of you. That's drastic, but some people prefer it.

I would cut it myself, personally, as I have had good results with Feye's method. It really isn't difficult once you get past how scary it is to cut your own hair for the first time. If you REALLY don't want to do your own hair, you can try a barber shop. They have cut my hair dry (which was really weird at the time!) and will cut exactly what I say.

You say coconut oil doesn't get along with your hair? EVOO is much heavier. How have you used your oils? Many people start off misusing them, disliking them, then writing them off as "not working".

I don't think your virgin hair needs any special attention, it's quite lovely. Really the only issue you're having is your old chemical damage, which is more pronounced on you because your straight hair shows it quite clearly (it hides much better in my waves).

[mellie]

I would cut it myself, personally, as I have had good results with Feye's method. It really isn't difficult once you get past how scary it is to cut your own hair for the first time.

I agree! It isn't hard, and I prefer it vastly to having to go to a salon.

[salamander]

It looks longer to me. It also looks like your hair was in pretty good shape to begin with, so you don't have a ton of scope for change. Lucky, there!

[Demetrue]

Your hair looks very nice and thick - I think it's just those last few uneven inches that are making it difficult to appreciate your hair growth and improvement. I would also trim up to around waist, which would remove almost all the uneven ends and make your hair feel really thick and healthy.

[Deborah]

What bothers me ( and some of you may not get it) but I feel guilty for getting my hair trimmed cause most girls that are my same type of religion don't cut or color hair. My hair was to my ankles and never cut until I was 20 and got out of church, then that is when I started all the chemical stuff and really fried my hair . But maybe if I get one more trim and take really good care of it then I can not trim and still have healthy growing pretty hair. Even though I feel bad I would hate to not trim and then have my hair stop growing because of all the damage.

PJGirl,

Most groups who object to short hair or cut hair or dyed hair will have more trouble with the dye than the length, since your hair is not actually 'short'. No matter how long it grows, the dyed part will offend some of them quite a lot.

For that reason and to end up with better hair, if it were me I'd cut to bsl, then leave it alone for a good while, until the rest of the dyed but not so damaged hair grew to about waist, then I'd cut again, and repeat until all damage and coloring is gone. Then you can grow to your heart's content, or to the floor, whichever comes first.

This is all assuming that you want to be a part of your original or a similar church. If you don't, then you have more options. You continue to talk about a 'trim'. Honestly you need much more if you want to see a good change in your hair. You really do need to cut at least to waist in order to prevent damage from the bottom eventually causing damage higher up. :scissors: I know it seems like a lot, but the change in quality will be well worth it, and I bet your perceived growth speed will increase once much of the damage is gone. :flower:

Now, don't anyone beat me up. :couch: I really am trying to help. I know how groups like this think, and I understand a little of what our friend is going through.

[tameriska]

Personally. I would reccomend only getting a 1 - 2" trim and then see how you like that.
When my hair got about that length, my ends wern't bad, they got 'fluffy', they didnt want to lay together and that made mine look worse than they were.
If I were you, I would try a 1 to 2" trim in the U shape that you have, at the very worst, if you are not happy with that, at least you have the option to cut more off then

[teela1978]

What bothers me ( and some of you may not get it) but I feel guilty for getting my hair trimmed cause most girls that are my same type of religion don't cut or color hair. My hair was to my ankles and never cut until I was 20 and got out of church, then that is when I started all the chemical stuff and really fried my hair . But maybe if I get one more trim and take really good care of it then I can not trim and still have healthy growing pretty hair. Even though I feel bad I would hate to not trim and then have my hair stop growing because of all the damage.

In my opinion, if you don't want to cut your hair for religious reasons, then don't. You'll have less than perfect hair for a while. Your hair is damaged. There is no getting around that. It will take a very long time before you get to having hair similar to women who have never dyed/cut their hair, but it will happen. I guess I'd vote for putting it up and forgetting about it. It's growing. I can see new length. You've measured new length. Eventually the dyed hairs will go away and be replaced by new ones. You might have slower growth than otherwise due to damaged ends breaking off, but eventually they'll stop.

That's just me though, and I'm sure it depends on the church/culture you'll be dealing with.

[Beloved]

You have a natural U-shape hemline going on. If you gradually trim a couple inches all along the U shape, I think you would see a big improvement. If you were to cut it in a blunt cut, you would need to take a lot more off to get rid of all the damage and I really don't think that's necessary.

[plainjanegirl]

In my opinion, if you don't want to cut your hair for religious reasons, then don't. You'll have less than perfect hair for a while. Your hair is damaged. There is no getting around that. It will take a very long time before you get to having hair similar to women who have never dyed/cut their hair, but it will happen. I guess I'd vote for putting it up and forgetting about it. It's growing. I can see new length. You've measured new length. Eventually the dyed hairs will go away and be replaced by new ones. You might have slower growth than otherwise due to damaged ends breaking off, but eventually they'll stop.

That's just me though, and I'm sure it depends on the church/culture you'll be dealing with.



You know as much as people will probably think I am making the wrong choice I may do just that. Keep the hair and really really start finding ways to baby it and tlc it . I mean surely there is hair that looks worse than mine out there. So no it will probably not ever be one of the best looking heads of hair on here, but oh well.

[teela1978]

You know as much as people will probably think I am making the wrong choice I may do just that. Keep the hair and really really start finding ways to baby it and tlc it . I mean surely there is hair that looks worse than mine out there. So no it will probably not ever be one of the best looking heads of hair on here, but oh well.

Your hair really doesn't look bad. I think that on this site we tend to be a bit nitpicky about damage, and we are probably the harshest critics you can find. Eventually, as your dyed bits grow out your hair will get healthier and longer, and if you keep with it will probably turn into 'one of the best looking heads of hair'... it'll just take a lot of time. I cut all my damage off myself, but I had no reason not to cut. I'm sure I'd have much longer hair now if I hadn't, and probably not as noticible as I think it would be :)

[spidermom]

Since there's religious conviction involved, don't cut. Your current situation is temporary. All the old, damaged hair will eventually shed out. I believe that the average length of time for a hair to stay on your head before shedding is about 6 years. So really, you will have all virgin hair before a decade passes more than likely.

[manderly]

Plainjanegirl, no one will be upset with you if you decide not to cut. :confused: It was only an opinion and no one will think anything of it if you choose not to cut.

Your hair is fine. There is nothing abhorrently wrong with it that would require you to cut it. It will be perfectly fine if you do not. You just posted complaining about the looks and growth and I gave you reasons why :) It will continue to grow out and the damage will continue to break off (not entirely, it's really not that bad). If you prefer to put it up and forget about it and give it some extra tlc, well then that's your perrogitive and more power to you :)

[plainjanegirl]

Thanks everybody for all replies. I guess I am also struggling trying to discover my true self ( hard to explain). Yeah I wish I was brave enough to cut , but every time I have in the past even when I was not in church I regretted it and hated it. So yes I am just gonna put it up more and try to not obsess about it and give it tlc. Thanks you guys for supporting me though. What would I do without the LHC?

[spidermom]

What would LHC do without you?