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View Full Version : Let the recovery begin...



Rebelkat
March 22nd, 2009, 10:56 PM
Just some post fall-out pics I took tonight. As you can see, I have lost a significant amount of hair. I'm debating whether just to maintain for a year or so to let things sort themselves out or whether I should cut back to hip or waist *where the line is* so it just looks thicker to start with (my BF thinks I should just maintain it and let it recover on its own). I have, however, developed stunningly more defined waves that I really like, so perhaps there is an up side to this. Eventually I will have to take a picture of it with only finger combing so you guys can tell how wavy it ACTUALLY is.
:cheese:
Here's a pic of it before (fresh) combing:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=2776&pictureid=34785

And here's a pic of it after combing:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=2776&pictureid=34786

LET THE RECOVERY BEGIN!

RancheroTheBee
March 22nd, 2009, 11:14 PM
I think your hair looks fabulous, and I agree with your DBF: maintain, maintain, maintain. You've got a very romantic hemline. :)

Rebelkat
March 22nd, 2009, 11:42 PM
Aww! Thank you, RancheroTheBee! I've never thought of my hemline as being romantic, but DBF says it reminds him of women in Renaissance art.:D

OhioLisa
March 23rd, 2009, 12:00 AM
I agree. I would let it just do its thing. I think it's lovely. :flower:

SimplyLonghair
March 23rd, 2009, 12:06 AM
Okay here is my take on things. I recently had a MAJOR shed and lost 2 inches of circumference. :shocked:

I had some health issues that I had to get under control and major stress due to other things.

SO, having said that I understand sheds.

And I will say that I did a little of both. I had some hair on the ends that was damaged for a variety of reasons and that damage I cut, after determining that it would not recover, I did deep treatments and other things that my hair normally loved but it was too far gone so I cut, but as you can see from my sig pic I still have fairytale ends, just not all of the fairytale ends that I had before.
Now I am working on maintaining the growth and thickness and will keep it trimmed to keep it about where it is.
I am very happy with my hair now and look forward to my thicker hair!:cheese:

ReddishRocks
March 23rd, 2009, 12:07 AM
Aww! Thank you, RancheroTheBee! I've never thought of my hemline as being romantic, but DBF says it reminds him of women in Renaissance art.:D
Ditto! And with wavy hair, I don't think we ever quite get the same sort of opaque hemlines of our straighter siblings. :) If you like the waves, embrace those fairytale ends! You rock them!

trollkjerring
March 23rd, 2009, 12:29 AM
I also think your fairytale ends look very romantic and I would not cut so much, just maintain if you wish to:)

Rebelkat
March 23rd, 2009, 12:38 AM
Thanks for the kind words, OhioLisa, SimplyLongHair, ReddishRocks, and trollkjerring. I appreciate the encouragement! :)


I had some hair on the ends that was damaged for a variety of reasons and that damage I cut, after determining that it would not recover, I did deep treatments and other things that my hair normally loved but it was too far gone so I cut, but as you can see from my sig pic I still have fairytale ends, just not all of the fairytale ends that I had before.

Luckily, my hair isn't actually damaged. What's left is just as healthy and soft as ever, there's just less of it. Thank goodness for small miracles. :happydance:

lora410
March 23rd, 2009, 06:39 AM
I think it looks fine, and I would let it recover on its own.

BeatlesFanGirl
March 23rd, 2009, 08:20 AM
I'd vote for the trim... But you have to do what feels the best for YOU :) If you are happier with keeping your hair at this length, go for it, your hair is shiny and healthy, or you can trim a certain amount each month if you don't want too big change.

JamieLeigh
March 23rd, 2009, 09:50 AM
I'm all about health over length myself, and I don't really want to have fairytale ends above classic length. So if it was me, personally, I'd cut! However...if you like your fairytale ends, then I would suggest to maintain where you are now. But if you like a thicker over-all appearance, I'd suggest to trim to the line you indicated. You would look nice with the U-shaped trim so many others on this forum have, and still be unusually long-haired in real life. But then again, your ends are very nice the way they are now too.

I fear I'm not much help. LOL. :p

Loviatar
March 23rd, 2009, 10:19 AM
Oooh, I would maintain! Your fairytale ends remind me of OhioLisa's, whom I consider the highest standard on such things :)

KajiKodomo
March 23rd, 2009, 11:20 AM
I say leave it as is and let it fill back in on it's own. The hemline looks lovely, and I especially love fairytale ends on wavy hair! :D

Rebelkat
March 23rd, 2009, 11:50 AM
JamieLeigh, sounds like you're where I'm at. I'm like... well it would look better if I cut, but it would take almost a year and a half to get back where it is. BUT it would take that same amount *guesstimating of course* of time maintaining for it to recover. BUT it would be easier to deal with maintaining for that long than waiting for it to grow back. :justy:

On the up side, if I decide to maintain, it would give me an excuse to buy more hairtoys! Any votes for new hairtoys? :D


Oooh, I would maintain! Your fairytale ends remind me of OhioLisa's, whom I consider the highest standard on such things
WOW! Thank you very much, Loviatar! I consider that a very high compliment! :blushing:

Thank you too, KajiKodomo. I greatly appreciate all this encouragement I'm getting. I think I'm going to maintain for now and see how things are in a few of months and then decide whether I need to: (A) Maintain some more; (B) Cut back; or (C) Let it start growing again. It just seems like a shame to cut all the way back to waist and lose 6-8 inches when I'm only about 6-8 inches *another guesstimate* away from classic.

jera
March 23rd, 2009, 03:02 PM
Ditto! And with wavy hair, I don't think we ever quite get the same sort of opaque hemlines of our straighter siblings. :) If you like the waves, embrace those fairytale ends! You rock them!

I agree. Those fairy tale ends look awesome on you. :) I vote for maintenance.

Unicorn
March 23rd, 2009, 03:59 PM
The fairytail ends look good on your hair, another 'maintain' vote :)

Unicorn

amaiaisabella
March 23rd, 2009, 04:24 PM
I really don't think the thinning is that bad and I love your new waves :) I have to be honest, I'm not usually fond of fairytale ends, but yours are very gradual and don't look thin or wispy at all. Keep growing!

Demetrue
March 23rd, 2009, 04:50 PM
Continue to Classic and then maintain - and I wouldn't do a straight across cut - I would trim individual curls to keep the V-shaped fairy tale look.

Isilme
March 23rd, 2009, 05:27 PM
I like fairytale ends on wavy or curly hair. Just let them be and continue to grow, unless there is damage. If you do decide that you don't like them further down the road, just cut them off.

spidermom
March 23rd, 2009, 05:30 PM
Hooray for recovery. I'm sure you will soon be growing lots of little baby hairs that make you look frazzled-haired. But be nice to them; they're your future long hairs.

Rebelkat
March 23rd, 2009, 06:02 PM
Thanks bunches jera, Unicorn, amaiaisabella, Demetrue, Isilme, and spidermom!


Hooray for recovery. I'm sure you will soon be growing lots of little baby hairs that make you look frazzled-haired. But be nice to them; they're your future long hairs.
That's true. It's frustrating sometimes being frazzle-haired, but not being nice to them will only make things worse.


Continue to Classic and then maintain - and I wouldn't do a straight across cut - I would trim individual curls to keep the V-shaped fairy tale look.
I didn't even think about that. I might consider that once I start on my spironolactone and see what happens.

Silverlox
March 23rd, 2009, 06:06 PM
Congratulations for being on the road to recovery! :flower:

If your ends are not in any way damaged, why cut them? Unless you really hate the fairytails look, which is of course a matter of personal preference, there's no reason to chop of perfectly healthy ends!

On the other hand, if having blunter ends and a thicker hemline would make you happier, dig out the scissors and trim until you find a look you like.

Generally when people say they choose health over length, I always presume they are talking about badly damaged ends. Then, to my surprise, it turns out they see "thinness" or thin ends as synonymous to damage.. :confused:

Fairytailing is not the same as damage! :soapbox::rant:

Fairytailing is simply the natural way hair grows. Just look at anybody here who is at terminal, or who has a no-cut routine.

If you love your length, I'd recommend you to try and embrace your fairytails. As previously said, they can be just as beautiful as a thick/blunt hemline, it's just another brand of beauty.
They also come with their own set of unique advantages. For one thing, it's very easy to make them "disappear" into any bun/updo as they are thin and pliable. :thumbsup:

Yep, I know exactly what I'm talking about. I'm the Queen of Fairytails and have willingly chosen to keep my healthy fairytails instead of having shorter, blunter hair.

Having said that, I'll gladly admit that I do look longingly at other people's blunt hemlines and overall thickness - heck, I'll even freely admit to casting long admiring looks at any hair that's different from my own, be it straighter, more curly, another colour, thicker, longer, more blunt, whatever. Anything different from my own looks more "special" in my eyes, simply because it's unlike the hair on my own head.
I still love my own hair, though, tails and all. :o

Disclaimer: Just because I have chosen to embrace and love my fairytails by no means entails(!) that everybody else is not equally entitled to their opinion. Of course you are!

jojo
March 23rd, 2009, 06:11 PM
I think your hair looks so pretty with fairytale endings, personally if there's no splits id allow those ends to develop their own personality.

BlackfootHair
March 23rd, 2009, 06:14 PM
If your ends are healthy and you like them, don't cut them off and throw them away! :)

Tressie
March 23rd, 2009, 07:20 PM
Not surprisingly (o: I like your fairy tale ends too! I say keep the length, and trim only when, and if, that's what you are sure you want to do!! (o:

Spike
March 23rd, 2009, 07:46 PM
On the up side, if I decide to maintain, it would give me an excuse to buy more hairtoys! Any votes for new hairtoys? :D


ME ME ME ME ME!!!!:cheese: Anything for new hairtoys.

Seriously, if this was my head of hair (le sighhhhhh, wistful face) then I would trim about half the growth every quarter or so while I waited for the follicles to get back into their funky thang. A slightly thicker hemline, and growth--best of both worlds.

Rebelkat
March 24th, 2009, 12:28 AM
Thank you all very much Silverlox, jojo, BlackfootHair, Tressie, and Spike! It's such a relief to get compliments and encouragement like I've been getting.

I know exactly what you mean, Silverlox, about people assuming fairytale ends are the same as damage. My ends have always had slight fairytaling no matter what the length, so I've been getting comments from various people in real life that I needed to cut since somewhere in between BSL and waist. :rolleyes:

Oh well. I'm okay with the fairytaling *even if I do miss the former thickness* and so is my DBF, so I guess everyone in real life that matters will be happy! :D

JamieLeigh
March 24th, 2009, 09:36 AM
Generally when people say they choose health over length, I always presume they are talking about badly damaged ends. Then, to my surprise, it turns out they see "thinness" or thin ends as synonymous to damage.. :confused:

Fairytailing is not the same as damage! :soapbox::rant:

Fairytailing is simply the natural way hair grows. Just look at anybody here who is at terminal, or who has a no-cut routine.

I'm glad you put the "generally" and "presume" in there, because I didn't mean that fairytail = damage. She lamented about her thickness, which was due to a health issue, if I'm understanding correctly. (If I'm not, then I apologize to the OP) Therefore, she would either have to maintain where she is to get back the thickness she wants, or to cut. In no way did I mean to insinuate that fairytale ends aren't healthy-looking.

Fairytale ends are not MY personal preference at my present length, but I've never stated anywhere in these forums that it does not look good on other people. I've even stated in my goals before that I'm going to let my OWN ends fairytale after I maintain blunt at classic for awhile to gain thickness. So I am NO enemy of the fairytail!! Just thought I ought to clarify, since I'm pretty sure the "explanation" was aimed at me! I guess I'm still fairly new here, and a lot of people don't know a lot about me or my hair goals.

If I offended anyone else with fairytale ends, I apologize profusely, and am extending the olive branch to Silverlox and everyone else. I will be right there at fairytale ends with you guys in a year or so.:flower:

Silverlox
March 24th, 2009, 11:03 AM
I'm glad you put the "generally" and "presume" in there, because I didn't mean that fairytail = damage. She lamented about her thickness, which was due to a health issue, if I'm understanding correctly. (If I'm not, then I apologize to the OP) Therefore, she would either have to maintain where she is to get back the thickness she wants, or to cut. In no way did I mean to insinuate that fairytale ends aren't healthy-looking.

Fairytale ends are not MY personal preference at my present length, but I've never stated anywhere in these forums that it does not look good on other people. I've even stated in my goals before that I'm going to let my OWN ends fairytale after I maintain blunt at classic for awhile to gain thickness. So I am NO enemy of the fairytail!! Just thought I ought to clarify, since I'm pretty sure the "explanation" was aimed at me! I guess I'm still fairly new here, and a lot of people don't know a lot about me or my hair goals.

If I offended anyone else with fairytale ends, I apologize profusely, and am extending the olive branch to Silverlox and everyone else. I will be right there at fairytale ends with you guys in a year or so.:flower:

Oh, shoot!! :doh:

Nonononono!! I'm so sorry, sweetie!! I really didn't aim my outburst at you, nor at anybody else here. I'm truly very sorry if my fairytail rant made you or anybody else feel bad. :couch:

What can I say? It was Monday and on top of that, I frequently suffer from flare-ups of a bad case of foot-in-mouth disease.

Thank you for showing me the impact of my thoughtless words in such a kind and gentle way! :flowers:

Now that I've once again been reminded what my foot tastes like, I'd better go out and see if I can find an entire olive tree to uproot.:o

JamieLeigh
March 24th, 2009, 02:51 PM
Awww, you don't have to do that, Silverlox!! I was just afraid that I'd offended you with what I said. I just wanted to make sure that no one else thought I was saying I didn't like fairytale ends, and to remind everyone who has not known me very long that fairytale ends are a DEFINITE part of my hair goals...just at a longer length. :)

Silverlox
March 24th, 2009, 03:21 PM
Okay, JamieLeigh, the tree gets to live! I'm sure it will be very grateful to you. So am I, as finding an olive tree in Sweden could be a daunting task, especially considering the ample snowing today. :D

:cheese: Cheese to everybody!