4 (and a bit) year Anniversary with pics!

[Rini]

I did promise a new update pic on my birthday (which is also my 4 year anniversary), but having your birthday right near Christmas is not good for "getting around" to things!! So now that Christmas celebrations are past, here it is:
http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s144/missrini8/hair/dec09.jpg

I guess I should write a brief history of my hair since joining this lovely community (and you can see it in pictures on my profile!). I came here as a henna head, growing out from a shoulder-length bob. I grew it out to BSL before I decided that henna was just too difficult to maintain and made the very hard decision to chemically remove it and cut my hair back to a chin-length bob. My hair has grown very fast and now it's longer than it has ever been (past BSL when stretched). I'm VERY happy with my natural blonde and as I get older I have some seriously chunky natural "platinum streaks" creeping in :o

The pic above is my hair washed and combed as straight as I can make it. My hair now is actually curlier/wavier than it was with henna and I quite like that. I am having some other issues though as it grows. I know that I will have to cut off a couple of inches soon to get rid of the old damage that the bleach did when I "de-hennaed". I've been self trimming, but only small amounts every couple of months. I'm finding that it's not enough and I need a bigger chop, but I haven't visited a hairdresser in around 3 years and I'm quite scared. Also, my ends are very transparent and this is due to the uneven rate that my hair grows. It's healthy and quite thick, but the ends make it look the opposite. Finally, I'm battling the dreaded "pyramid head" that wurly/curly girls get. I know that this will improve as my hair grows, but it's just so "big" now that it makes me self conscious sometimes.

For those who might be interested, my current routine has not changed much (from what you see in my sig pic) except that I have started using Nioxin shampoo as part of a weekly CWC. I'm finding this has significantly reduced my shedding and also keeps my scalp happy. The other change has been to stop using oils as leave-in and I've been using Karen's Body Beautiful Super Silky which I like very much :D The appearance of my hair from the front looks pretty much the same as it does in my sig pic too, only longer.

I'm looking forward to continuing the journey. I know I'm not around much these days due to a successful business and crazy life (I'm moving to Italy this year!!) but I do pop in from time to time to see how "the gang" is going and to occasionally answer posts and get advice. I don't feel as if I have much to offer right now as I am really in the waiting period of growth and am not experimenting too much, but I'm always happy to help if I can ;)

Thanks guys! Happy growing!! :flowers:

[Dachsdragon]

Congratulations on your four year anniversary and a belated happy birthday.
I love your beautiful blonde waves.
Im really interested in the shampoo you're using, where do you purchase it from?

[In2JC724]

Wow... your hair is beautiful. And so are you :D I know what you mean though.. my hair does the same thing.. it grows irregularly, and in a taper, plus I have layers growing out.. People are always surprised when they actually touch my hair, they're like "Oh wow.. your hair is really thick!" I'm hoping that once I reach my goal length and maintain that my ends will thicken up considerably... and my hair will finally LOOK like it feels. I love the look of a nice thick, blunt hemline.. :::sigh::: Good luck with your hair growing, and Have fun in Italy! So exciting! :D

[Aer]

Congrats! Your hair has a lovely gold tone to it!

[kimki]

Happy birthday and anniversary :flower:

Your hair is beautiful, the colour is absolutely gorgeous. :agree:

[jojo]

Beautiful hair and wow your hair grows really quick!

[Xandergrammy]

Congratulations, Rini! Your hair looks fantastic and your natural color is amazing. You were beautiful as a henna head, but with your natural color you look like an angel! Good luck with your move to Italy (how exciting!!!)

[skay]

Congrats! The color is pretty. :)

Great job in fully recovering from the henna - that's quite a feat from BSL Henna coloring (I looked in your album to see the henna pics).

[Speckla]

Happy Anniversay and Happy Birthday!

[spidermom]

I love the blonde on you. And you're moving to Italy; how exciting! I was privileged to spend almost two weeks there a few years ago, and I'd give anything to be able to go back for at least a month or two. There was a line in a book that I read recently, that if you please God in this life, he will allow you to come back as an Italian.

[SchnauzerMom]

Congratulations on four years here and happy birthday! Your hair looks very pretty and healthy.

[Calista]

Hehe, I think we were all a bit sad at the time to let the old "Rini-red" go - but you gave us a stunning head of golden waves to look at as a substitute! Angel hair! :crush:

Happy anniversary, Rini, and happy growing If your ends permit, I wouldn´t chop just now. The mushroom head would return full force. ;)

[Tryst]

Congratulations on your wonderful growth and your upcomming move.

Your hair colour is very nice and the waves look great.

[Isilme]

that's some growth in such a short time! It's always nice to see you around:) And good luck on the Italy adventure!

[Rini]

Thanks so much everyone!! :flowers:

Just some random responses:

Dachsdragon, Nioxin can be purchased from Price Attack and some salons. Also online. I tried the shampoo, condish and scalp treatment but found that I really only need the shampoo to get the anti-shedding benefits.

Aer, the gold tone is from the left-over henna I think! I'm naturally very ashy.

Jojo, Hi! My hair IS growing fast, but so is yours :D Nice new pic.

skay, thanks. It was such a difficult process to go through and I had to really think about it. I think it was worth it though.

Spidermom, I LOVE that line!! I'm going to tell my husband that one (he's Italian/American). We are going to live in Tuscany for 1 year. It's just for the experience to live amongst another culture and learn the language and have the kids go to school there. It's a bit scary, but I think it will be rewarding :o

Calista, thanks, I miss Rini-Red sometimes :D That term always makes me think of the fake perfume ad that Nightshade did in my old picture thread :lol: I think you might be right about the mushroom/pyramid head, but I really think my ends need to go. I'm quite torn about it, wanting to keep the length but being aware that my hair does not look good with those thin ends.

[Sissy]

beautiful hair... happy anny and belated birthday! :)

[Dachsdragon]

Dachsdragon, Nioxin can be purchased from Price Attack and some salons. Also online. I tried the shampoo, condish and scalp treatment but found that I really only need the shampoo to get the anti-shedding benefits.


Thank you :blossom:

[Carolyn]

Congratulations on your LHC anniversary! Your blonde is lovely and I am so envious of your growth rate. Gorgeous hair!

[nastasska]

Happy Anniversay :bottomsup::hifive::disco:

Your hair really is beautiful :flowers:

[jel]

Happy LHC-versary, Rini! :flowers:

I must admit I also miss the Rini Red (it was such a perfect shade), but I do love your golden and platinum curls. Very Botticelli-esque, and therefore quite appropriate for your move to Tuscany! :D

Regarding your ends, I suppose it's the question of whether your wear your hair down curly. You've combed your hair as straight as you could for this pic, but if you let it wurl, the ends should shrink upwards and contribute to the beauty of curly hair. At least in my view!

[Aditi]

Lovely hair :) Happy Anniversary and Birthday :flower:

[Medievalmaniac]

Congratulations on your growth and your transformation from hennahead to natural! You've really gotten good growth since your cut - and how exciting to be moving to Italy. :)

[RavennaNight]

Great progress! Congrats on your 4 years and your successful business! :flower: I look foreward to seeing your progress:) because I am also a blonde :lol:. One day, I am realistic, right now it looks much later than sooner, I will have to go the same route. I'm thoroughly enjoying my black hair now, but your progress is an informative view of things that may be down the road for me one day.

[Rini]

Oh wow, thanks so much everyone :o

One can never really disagree with a freely given compliment, but I do think myself that my hair is not beautiful. I'm happy with the progress, but it's a long way from being really beautiful (absolutely not fishing here, this is really what I think). I hope one day it will be thudworthy :D

Carolyn, your hair is what I hope mine might look like one day, so your comment is lovely :)

nastasska: Hi! :waving:

jel: yes I do get quite a bit of shrinkage when my hair is wurly and the ends do not appear obviously thin then, it does look OK. I just find that they tangle a lot and feel rougher than the rest of my hair. I also don't like how they are still a bit orangey. They will need to go eventually. I'm still really not sure whether to do it now.

medievalmaniac: yes, it's quite exciting to be moving to Italy. I'm looking forward to seeing what hair products are available there!!

Ravennanight: yes, it's always a hard decision to make. I also enjoyed the red hair, but in the end it came down to maintenance and how much time I was willing to put into the colour. I was always worried about roots and it does feel really good now not to worry about my roots at all. I also thought that the blonde was more suitable to my skin as I age shudder: and I knew that sooner or later I'd have to revert to natural (I chose sooner so I could "get it over and done with" and enjoy the growth). Good luck with your own journey!

[Coriander]

Happy 4 year anniversary, and Happy belated birthday! :)

[WavyGirl]

Congratulations on 4 years Rini. I'm another one who loved the Rini-red but then I saw the blonde on you and fell in love with that instead. If the ends are really driving you that crazy maybe you should trim. But not a lot! I think if you went no shorter than APL and got the hemline shaped a little you'd be happier with how thick it looks and more able to wear it down without fretting. Also that would leave it long enough to avoid the dreaded triangle head. Then you could maintain between APL and where you are now until the hemline is exactly what you want.

That said, I'm pretty sure I remember seeing photos of you rocking shorter hair somewhere when it was still red so I know you can pull that look off if that's what your heart is set on.

[Myrddin]

Congratulations!
You are such a beautiful woman. I wish you the very best for your italian endeavour.

[Sammich]

I was looking through your albums and I saw you really have lovely hair. You're so cute too! :D Congrats on the anniversary, jeeze you've been here a long time. Happy you enjoy how long your hair is getting now. :)