It's hard being a hairstylist... (when I'm trying to grow out my hair)

[tokidokichi]

I have been "growing out" my hair for about three years. I started when I was a bleach blond with terrible damaged ends and shoulder length hair. Around that time I started cosmetology school. So while I was in cosmetology school I pretty much colored and or bleached my hair every month! I went from blonde to red to nearly black, and back to blonde again..and then red again. And on a spur of the moment thing I got a pixie cut! eeeep. The good thing was that it cut off all the damage I had done.

When I started working in a salon I also started doing chemical straighteners. It was nice not to have to straighten my hair everyday but it left about 1 to 2 inches of my ends looking horrible everytime (I think I finally learned). I find the urge to change my hair is sooo hard to resist because I'm around hair all the time and I always want something new (plus it is free, the other stylists do my hair and I do theirs!). So I colored and bleached and chemically straightened and colored again, and all it led to was more frequent trims to get rid of the 1" of dead ends that I always seemed to have.

I was fairly nice to my hair (other than the chemicals). I washed my hair (shampoo and conditioner) once a week and did moisture and protein treatments along with some oil treatments. It just wasn't enough, the damage was already done.

So here I am.. just a bit shorter than where I started three years ago.

Today I made goals for myself (and some promises!)
here they are

mini goal #1
SL- 17"
mini goal #2
APL- 21"
mini goal #3
BSL- 24"
ULTIMATE GOAL
Waist 28"

Okay here are my promises:
1. No chemical straighteners ever again! ahh!
2. No bleach!
3. I will not color my hair again until my hair touches my collar bone.
4. No blowfryer.
5. Only flat iron new growth to mid-shaft once a week (not touching the ends of my hair with the iron).
6. I will not darken my hair color (I've been down that road one to many times and I always go back to light hair).
7. Trim 1/4 inch of hair every month to slowly get rid of damage.
I think that covers it?


Right now my hair is growing about an inch a month (thanks to my supplements!!)
I did some calculations and if I maintain 1 inch a month and trim 1/4 inch a month I'll be 28" in 17 months. Thats August 2011!

I know this was kind of a long post, but I had to get it down in writing. It makes it more permanent somehow.

[TXbarbie]

Good luck! I'm sure it's hard to grow long hair in a salon, where you're always wanting to cut hair! :)

[chelssix]

It's so hard, because we have a lot of new techniques we're learning at school all the time, and so many of them look like a lot of fun...

At the same time, I started growing my hair before I started school, so it's been easier to say "no" than I thought.

[tokidokichi]

Good luck! I'm sure it's hard to grow long hair in a salon, where you're always wanting to cut hair! :)
thanksss! I need all the support I can get ^_^


It's so hard, because we have a lot of new techniques we're learning at school all the time, and so many of them look like a lot of fun...

At the same time, I started growing my hair before I started school, so it's been easier to say "no" than I thought.

Exactly, I wanted to try everything and I put growing my hair out on the back burner instead

[jera]

It sounds like you're doing all the right things for your hair now despite what you did to yourself in the past.

What supplements are producing 1" per month for you because I'd like to try those myself. :D

[*Rose Red*]

Good luck! If you want to cut your hair, come back to the boards and chat with us :D

[countryhopper]

Sounds like you have a great plan!!

So you have no damage or color on now, right? That's a great place to start!

Maybe try new braids and updos as a change of pace instead of cutting and dyeing?

[Bethie]

A plan, with mini goals is always a good thing. Good luck!

[MonikaHa]

Sounds like a good plan, now stick with it!
I imagine working at a hair salon, and not wanting to try everything is like working in a chocolate shop, and trying not to eat chocolate every day LOL.

And yeah, I am also wondering about those supplements - do tell!

[curlylocks85]

Right now my hair is growing about an inch a month (thanks to my supplements!!)

Me too!

I think it is great that you set some goals for yourself. It does help when you want to achieve something that will take a lot of patience and time.

The best of luck to you. :disco:

[tokidokichi]

Jera & MonikaHa, I'm taking Hairtopia vitamns and minerals and Hairtopia amino acids. I'm also taking Brewer's Yeast and MSM three times a day with meals. I also just started taking 10mg of Biosil a day to make my hair grow stronger and thicker.

The hairtopia vitamins are a little expensive so I did some research and found more budget friendly vitamins and amino acids with at least 95% the same ingrediants as the hairtopia vitamins.

Hairtopia Vitamins & Minerals = Puritan's Pride Vitamin's for the Hair
Hairtopia Amino Acids = Puritan's Pride amino 1500
Hairtopia Herbal Plus = Puritan's Pride Hair Skin & Nails Formula

also, I have only been taking these vitamin's for a month and hoping for even more growth after they have been in my system 2 or 3 more months!

*Rose Red*, yessss definately, I will do that if I ever get the urge (and I will!)

countryhopper, right now I have about a tiny bit of damage on my ends and I have color on my hair that is very close to my natural so I won't have noticable roots when it grows out ^_^

Bethie, thank youuuu! I feel like if I have mini goals I can celebrate them individualy instead of waiting and waiting for the ultimate goal to come along!

Curlylocks85, thank you for being supportive! Good luck to you too =]

[Juliannaissance]

I'm taking Hairtopia vitamns and minerals and Hairtopia amino acids. I'm also taking Brewer's Yeast and MSM three times a day with meals. I also just started taking 10mg of Biosil a day to make my hair grow stronger and thicker.

The hairtopia vitamins are a little expensive so I did some research and found more budget friendly vitamins and amino acids with at least 95% the same ingrediants as the hairtopia vitamins.

Hairtopia Vitamins & Minerals = Puritan's Pride Vitamin's for the Hair
Hairtopia Amino Acids = Puritan's Pride amino 1500
Hairtopia Herbal Plus = Puritan's Pride Hair Skin & Nails Formula

also, I have only been taking these vitamin's for a month and hoping for even more growth after they have been in my system 2 or 3 more months!
So you take both the Hairtopia and the Puritan Vitamins, along with the MSM and the Brewers yeast?

[Katze]

Good for you to stick to what you believe in. Maybe some day you can specialize in updos for 'very long' hair? :)

I was a bleach head and curling iron/blow dry addict for over two decades. My hair is also 2a, and I have discovered that I actually have nice waves, now that it is long, and that my natural color isn't so bad either.

It is really hard to stop these practices when you see them all around you, and I liked to go to salons so I was always having them done to me (it felt good, like an animal being groomed). I never knew why my hair would not grow.

Your idea of mini goals is a really good one. Doing that has helped me a lot since my hair was so damaged and I did not get the length as fast as others do. I am still cutting my thin ends every few months since I want my hair to be like an advertisement for healthy treatment.

Keep up the good work and PATIENCE and you will reach every single one of those goals, I promise!

[windinherhair]

Best wishes with your goals! You will get there! Just stay strong, and be patient. I can only imagine the temptation being a hairstylist. My friends suggest to me that if I like hair so much, that I should do something like that too. But I realize it could be very different then what they are thinking with me just really liking long hair. :)

[GoddesJourney]

Sounds like a good plan to start with. On the other hand, though. Don't feel too bad if you really enjoy messing with your hair. Wanting long hair for some people is like saying, "I would like to get married, some day." Some people find it hard to commit because they're not really finished with dating. Others commit right away and are happy with it. Granted, long hair isn't as permanent as marriage, but it is similar in that it requires a commitment. It sounds like it hasn't been the right time for you yet. It's okay. Maybe this time around it will work out for you. I wish you the best of luck. Those habits can be difficult to resist.

[Isilme]

I suggest cutting down on that flatiron to maybe once a month. But I understand it may be hard. A though, I assume you have all those temporary colours for customers wanting a non permanent change. Could that be a way for you to mess with all those lovely colours without hurting your hair? (yeah, I love temporary colours and use them many times during a year;))

[tokidokichi]

So you take both the Hairtopia and the Puritan Vitamins, along with the MSM and the Brewers yeast?

No, right now I am only taking the hairtopia vitamins, but next month I plan on replacing the hairtopia vitamins with the puritan vitamins because puritan's are much cheaper ^_^ sorry if that was confusing!


I suggest cutting down on that flatiron to maybe once a month
I wish I could!! Really, I do! Its just that with the chemical straightener on my hair and the 3 inces of wavy new growth, my hair looks kind of silly if I do not flat iron the new growth! When all or most of my chemical straightener is cut off I won't need to straighten it as often =]]

Thank you guys for all of your awesome support and encouragement, it is just what I need!! ^__^

[beez1717]

I'd say that you could always state that you are doing an experiment or you could say that you want long hair and you are determined. They might see it as your little "project"

[ravensinger13]

You could just start writing notes to yourself about various DT's and their ingredients; that should give everyone enough to talk about and reduce the temptation to do something that would set you back from your goals. (I did a caramel treatment yesterday and my family thinks I've lost my mind, thus the thought on recipe sharing)