Are you glad you found LHC when you did?

[Kristin]

Don't attack me! Of course, we are ALL glad we found LHC. What I mean is, do you wish you had found it when your hair was shorter or longer than it was when you started here? Why?

I think most people would say that they wish they'd found LHC sooner, but not me. When I came here, my hair was about 1/2"-1" shy of BSL. Now, it's about 1/2" shy of waist! If I had joined LHC when my hair was bobbed, it probably would have been better cared for, but it would have been such a loooong journey! I trimmed my hair whenever I wanted to before coming here and heat styled it if I felt like it (which wasn't too often). I cut it into a shag as I was growing it because I wanted to look like I had a style. If I'd been at LHC already, I think my grow-out phase would have been miserably long. Basically, I am too impatient to start here with a pixie or even bob.

I'm interested to hear what others think/feel.:)

[prbysasha]

I am happy I found this site when I did. For the last few months I have been playing with the idea of cutting my hair to a more manageable length, I was getting tired of bunning it. And I had no idea where to look for new up styles, I had no idea about moisturizing beyond OTC products. I found this site the night before last and it has renewed my dream of having beautiful soft curly knee length hair!

http://i1046.photobucket.com/albums/b469/LongHairedGirl/July2010137.jpg

[Tabihito]

I wish I'd found it back before I cut my hair off. I've had to make the looooooong journey from a G.I. Jane-esque cut to almost APL, and it hasn't all been pleasant. Of course, I found the site well before I actually joined, but still too late to reconsider the massive chop.

[vanity_acefake]

I wish i had found LHC years ago and then my poor hair wouldn't have had to have been put through such torture! I have learned so much about hair care and styling and what not to do.

[DARKMARTIAN]

Im certainly glad I found it when I did.....however I bet there are some others here that wished I hadnt.....:p

[Medievalmaniac]

I wish I'd found it at its inception. I wasted a lot of time with a lot of hairstyles and colors I hated before I thought to look for what I loved. I'm so grateful and delighted that I finally thought to google "long hair tips" when I finally did!! :D

[Siava]

however I bet there are some others here that wished I hadnt.....:p

Pfft! :)

My hair is happy I found this place when I did, but I bet it would've been even happier had it been found about a year earlier. There's still a year's worth of abuse to cut off.

[Medievalmaniac]

Oh - and also, if I had found it sooner, I might not be so chicken to henna, because I wouldn't be so old by the time I grew it back out if I don't like it! :rolleyes: (Not meaning that 41 would be "old" - but now that I am getting there, I want long, lusciously-colored long hair as long as I can have it, and the gray onslaught isn't showing any signs of slowing down, alas. In terms of age in general - shucks, we all know 40 is the new 20! :p It's just the hair genes don't seem to agree with me on that.)

[Cimorene]

I really wish I had found LHC before I dyed my hair black...then tried dying it red...then dyed it brown to cover up the previous disasters. My hair would be so much healthier, and about 6 inches longer because I wouldn't have lost as much to damage. :(

Oh well, live and learn, right? At least now I have a pretty strong aversion to hair dye. :) I'm glad I found this place before I did anything else to my poor hair.

[Islandgrrl]

I TOTALLY wish I'd known about LHC (or it's predecessor) when my hair was still knee length. I know for a fact that if I'd known then what I know now, I would NEVER have buzzed it. I'd have hair down to my feet by now (assuming my terminal length is that long).

[littlenvy]

:D I'm very happy I found it! Wish that I did so before winter instead of after so I could have avoided winter damage ... but its still all good.
My hubby, on the other hand, wishes that he could block this site so I wouldn't spend so much time here and then tried stuff on him ;)

[Angeletti]

if only I would have found it before I bleached my hair blonde and hacked layers into it when I was younger... oh well : )

[jane53]

My hair has always been long and almost always been healthy.

In fact, some of the stuff I was led to do by LHC has been BAD for my hair: my hair hates oiling and combing.

But I'm glad I found it when I did. I'd put up with decades of people telling me that women "my age" should have short hair, and I was really getting tempted to cut off my yard of hair just out of curiosity. (I haven't had it short in 44 years.) Coming here encouraged me to try additional updos and drove home to me the fact that long hair gives one more variety than short hair does.

So it saved me from the big chop.

[HintOfMint]

I wish I had discovered it about two years ago, when I had to lop off my just-below-BSL hair to collarbone. That was when I took having healthy long hair seriously. However, I don't wish that I had discovered LHC when I was growing my hair out before that. It was good to discover my mistakes first hand. If I hadn't abused my hair and worn it down all the time, I never would have known which parts of my hair are resilient, and which parts fray if you even look at it cross-eyed.

I also had some fun times frying my hair into submission. :scared:

[GRU]

If I'd found it earlier, I'd be at my true terminal length by now. Previously, I was brushing out my snarls every morning before I got in the shower, and I thought my hair just wasn't growing any longer than it was (roughly BSL). Turns out I was constantly RIPPING off my ends (instead of the snarl getting untangled, the brush just broke it off entirely), and that's why my hair didn't get any longer.

I'm now around waist, depending on the humidity level, and when wet it's butt-crack level. Now it's just a waiting game to find my real terminal length.

[ChrissieM]

I wish that I'd found LHC a few months sooner. I had waist-length hair, but wasn't really taking care of it. I cut it into an APL layered style. I liked the cut, but it was razored and I'm still dealing with trimming off damage. I wish I found LHC so I could have learned not to have such a damaging cut!

[Purdy Bear]

Part of me wishes I found it 6 years or so ago when my Alopecia got really bad, but Im glad I found LHC in March, as I now know how to treat my hair as it continues to grow back in.

I also find LHC like a group of Aunts and Uncles just waiting to give positive advice to me.

[Cupofmilk]

No I found it too late. If I found it just 6 months earlier I would now have classic- thigh length hair and not waist. I cut off about 18 inches around new year beacuse I couldnt' cope with my tangles and knots. Why oh why could I not have discovered here and coconut oil before then. It will take 3-5 years to regrow 18 inches. I am still livied with myself mind you once I am hip + I will feel a lot happier as my hair is thicker than ever

[Cinnamoon]

I wish that I had found it before I chopped all my hair off. Now I have to regrow it all! :(

[DARKMARTIAN]

Pfft! :)



I rest my case....:D

[Alvrodul]

I wish i had found LHC years ago and then my poor hair wouldn't have had to have been put through such torture! I have learned so much about hair care and styling and what not to do.
Oh, my, yes - me, too! On the other hand, painful personal experiance is the method of learning that is guaranteed to stick! So that is why I know that bleach will make my hair curl up and die, and that a perm either won't work or it will make me look like a sheep. :eek:
These days I am careful with my hair - partly because I remember the days I wasn't!:hmm:

[Paniscus]

Oh goodness, for me, I wish I had found LHC before my big chop in 2005~ After the birth of my second child, my hair was just past my shoulders and all one length. I went to the salon unsure of what to do, a simple trim or a bob haircut. The stylist didnt' even think twice, let's cut it all off! I went with it... oy vey! The worst haircut of my life, and at a hefty price to boot.

Yeah, had I found LHC prior to that cut, I would have gone in for only a trim and maybe some bangs cut in to spice things up! YEesh!

[luckyduck]

I wish I had found LHC in January. That is when I cut off about 5 inches and added a few layers! My hair would be closer to hip instead of waist. That being said, I am having a lot of fun learning how to care for and style my hair.

[Reptilia]

Yep, because about 6 months prior I had been convinced by a hairdresser to chop off 5 inches that she said was "totally dead", but now I know I could have just done with an inch and just moisturized the rest. Then she stripped my hair, and bleached it, and then charged me $500 for the process!

I'm STILL paying for that, the last of the bleach is about 4 inches left of my hair and it's much more dry and prone to breakage than the rest.

[GRU]

it will make me look like a sheep. :eek:

And just what's so bad about looking like a sheep???? ;)

[slythwolf]

I wish I'd found it last March before I went through with chopping 14" off because I didn't know any hairstyles for TBL that were appropriate for job hunting.

[redneckprincess]

I didn't read all the replies yet but I plan to when I get on my computer, I'm on my blackberry phone now but wanted to reply to this post..
I am more then greatful I found LHC when I did, though I do wonder what my hair would look like today had I came across LHC earlier then I did, or maybe even started frequenting sooner when I registered

[Alvrodul]

And just what's so bad about looking like a sheep???? ;)
Nothing - sheep are nice creatures. And wool is a nice material - in clothes. Just not so much attached to my hair. Though I suspect that the "looks bad" aspect was probably a matter of damaged hair.:hmm:
Perhaps it would have looked better if I had known how to take care of my hair.
As for sheep being nice creatures - for some reason I am getting hungry...:wink:

[Peter]

Well, when I needed help, I searched for it and found this place. So I'd say I found it just when I needed to. :)

[GRU]

As for sheep being nice creatures - for some reason I am getting hungry...:wink:

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

[Dragon]

I wish I found LHC befor I did.

[MsBubbles]

This probably isn't a valid answer...but I often find myself wishing that there had been a similar, available long-hair club or support group when I was aged between 18 and 30, or before the internet was prevalent. I had told myself that straight, fine thin hair would either not grow to bum-length or that I was so tall I'd reach terminal at BSL! Where did I come up with that?! Anyway, I think it would've been fun to have been early twenties and had TB hair, instead of mid to late forties (not that there's anything wrong with that).

[JenniferNoel]

I think my timing was right on. If I hadn't found LHC when I did, my efforts to get healthy hair would have failed miserably.

[Nae]

Oh boy, just 11 months earlier...........I would have been to waist by now. *sobs*

[jera]

I definitely wish I'd found LHC much sooner. I know I'm a long term long hair lover, so the question of growing bored and desiring a chop won't ever happen. :p But my hair was in such terrible shape from anemia related shedding and unhealthy hair practices. :(
Everyone here has been so sweet and patient and helpful. After year of trimming off damge, and learning healthy hair care regimes I'd never dreamed of before I came here, my hair is now almost classic length which is a whole foot longer than the waist length hair I had when I got here. :D

I've learned so much and if I'd known all those things years ago my hair would probably be much closer to my goal length, or it's terminal length whatever that will be. ;)

[Jenn of Pence]

I've kept BSL/mid-back since I was in junior high school, while not knowing how to protect my ends and never getting to waist like I wanted. So I could have benefited from LHC since it first started. But even if I had just found it in, say, October of last year, I could have ditched the straightener and saved maybe four inches of length; maybe by now I would be at waist. If I'd found it a year ago, I would have saved some layers and probably started growing my bangs out earlier. But I'm happy to have found it at all! :)

[Rivanariko]

I think I found LHC just about the right time. If I'd found it earlier, I don't think it would have really don't me any good, because I don't think I would have cared enough to take care of my hair. I didn't abuse my hair before, I just didn't particularly care for it.

[Roseate]

I found LHC soon after a cut from hip to chin, but I still think I found it at about the right time.

I wanted that haircut, and I enjoyed it; even with LHC tips and styles I don't think I would have kept my long hair then. But now that I'm growing it out again, it's fun to be able to come around here and talk about hair, try new styles and treatments, and generally distract myself from the long growing-out process.

[Kaijah]

I found LHC quite a while before I actually joined, but I didn't really pay attention or read all that in-depth. I wish I had - it probably would've saved me from my one and only year of heat straightening. I was probably at the tippity top of BSL, and that's all the longer my hair would ever grow at that time (I pretty much always had it down/ponytailed and poorly conditioned, even before trying straightening). :silly: Live and learn, I guess.

[freckles]

If I'd found LHC two years earlier, when I stopped maintaining my neck-length bob (when I started growing, although not consciously), I would have been looking after my hair all that time, and maybe I wouldn't have the splits I have now. But then, maybe I would still have these splits -- maybe they're just part of dealing with my hairtype. So I don't know whether it would have helped. :shrug:

If I'd found LHC in 2005 when I still had BSL hair, I could have had tailbone or longer hair by now! :D But I really enjoyed my shorter hair when I had it, later than that, so all-in-all, I'm happy with when I found LHC :)

[missjessiecakes]

So I am glad I found it and joined when I did but I wish 2ish weeks later I hadn't gotten a virus and was unable to find the site again because I have a poor memory like that and then I chopped it into that pixie that you see there <--

[tinti]

I'm happy I found it, but I wouldn't mind finding it earlier :)

[Elenna]

The last time I was almost to waist, but had it cut to shoulder length. That's when I started the hair salon merry-go-round with recommended harsh hair products and snipperly hair dressers. My hair was fried and dyed to a frazzle.

[Chiara]

I wish LHC had been around when I was 16... or even younger. All that time spent dealing with static and tangles (since I found LHC, I no longer have those problems....brilliant!)

[HikerTrash]

I'm glad I found it when I did (which was only a few days ago). I was getting this close to cutting it all off. Now I have more ideas of what to do with it and how to take care of it. I even saw the fishbone braids and suddenly remembered that I used to know how to do that. I wore a fishbone braid to a party yesterday and got a compliment!

[Smile4Kiki]

I've frequented the sites occasionally but I didn't sign up til 2 days ago (yay me!). I wish I would have found it sooner since I've been "growing out" a pixie (with numerous trims in between) for a year and a half and just when I was finally at shoulder length 3 months ago I hacked it off back to chin length :mad:. But I am about 2 inches til sl and am grateful to have the inspiration from this site to get me to my goals.

[embee]

Oh my, many times I've wished I'd found it a few hours earlier than I did. That could have stopped me from doing that 8 inch chop that I thought would "help".... huh. Took me two years and a bit to grow back.

[Fiferstone]

I wish I'd found LHC before I started dying my waist-length hair auburn with evil box-dye. I'd probably be at terminal by now, but I am definitely happy I found LHC when I did. I would never in a squillion years have thought of stretching washes or using oils on my hair on my own. Never.

[littleflowerr]

I wish i had found this site before i took a big chop last summer... almost waist length hair to apl :( with a lot of razored layers. Ever since then i've been ridding of those terrible layers which i have about 3 inches of left... and my hair is still short! at least they feel soft though and i know how to take better care of them now so i won't have to worry much.

[squiggyflop]

well i wish i found it in high school so i wouldnt have been dyeing and bleaching it all the time.. or at least i would have stopped after the fire engine red (which actually looked good oddly)

[Schefflera]

I found it when I was looking for updo instructions, which I looked for when I wanted them. *grin* By that point I had grown my hair to my waist and cut it back twice (once to somewhere mid-back, once to shoulder) when my ponytail started catching in my waistbands. I don't have very thick hair (my mom thinks I do, my mother-in-law thinks it's thin and calls it medium to be polite -- this isn't a case of in-law conflict, just what they're used to), but it seems to be relatively tolerant. I'm still hoping that with a little more diligence, I can use some of the tips here to get it to grow a bit thicker (scalp massage/gentler treatment), make my canopy behave better (I have an idea, just haven't really tried it... I may need to buy *gasp* a small claw clip), and do my own trimming (okay, that one doesn't require diligence as such).

[irisheyes]

Of course I'm glad I found LHC when I did (several months ago) but I sure would have been happier five years ago. That's when I moved to a new house with hard water. It took me this long to realise just what was wrong with my hair! I was afraid to follow LHC advice to use clarifying shampoo because my hair was so dry and brittle. Little did I know it was mostly due to the hard water and product build up. The first time I clarified, I said out loud to the shower, "I can"t believe this is my hair!" I'm so grateful. Now I'm not blow drying, using products, etc. Thanks LHC!

[Aurantia]

Aside from finding it upon its opening day, I'm thankful that I found it when I did because it literally saved my hair from the enormous protein damage I was subjecting it to each week, and the big chop that would have inevitably come from another month's bad care. It was blessed timing.

... But I absolutely wish that I had found it right after my last super, super short pixie cut. My hair would now be classic length and gorgeous instead of BSL and still in the stages of repair.

[teela1978]

I'm glad I found it when I did... but there are at least 2 times in my life pre-LHC when it would have been a member.

Back during undergrad I was growing hair out and finding more long hairstyles would have been fantastic (although I do think I might have almost stumbled onto early versions of LHL or the net 53 boards... didn't have much time to figure them out though). Also, the first time I grew my hair out from dye it would've been nice to get over the "omg, you have greys!!!" comment from friends faster and perhaps not re-dyed.

[paperwhite]

I do wish that I'd found LHC sooner than I had. Even though I don't regret chopping off my length when I did, it would be nice to have hair much longer than it is now. If I'd been roaming around LHC while contemplating the big cut I might have talked myself out of it and have hair nearly twice as long as it is now, and that would be great. Also, although I never did anything really damaging to my hair, I could definitely have treated it better (wearing protective styles, oiling, combing instead of brushing while wet, etc.), and thus, it would have been in better condition while growing longer. But, it is what it is, and I'm here now :)

[pepperminttea]

I'm glad I found it when I did. I think sometimes it'd be nice if I'd found it earlier, so I'd have longer hair now, but I probably needed to mess with my hair with a perm, dyes, and various things to get it out of my system before I came to appreciate healthy hair. That, and become more open-minded towards non-mainstream ways of looking after it; I found the LHC after I'd already been experimenting for a few years and needed pointers rather than persuading. It was kind of perfect timing. :)

[evampr18]

ditto, i wish i had found lhc when my hair was tailbone! :( instead i found it a couple months ago after cutting it off. :(

but i have some progress since i found this haven.

[hermosamendoza]

I definately glad I did. I was looking for inspiration for growing my hair out. I really thought I was the only one who wanted long hair not for religious reasons. seeing all you ladies was wonderful and the tips help so much! I started at 18 inches and now am at 28 1/2 and i have 9 more inches to my goal...less than a year by the length my hair grows and i am pregnant so i know these vits will help. i just wont be looking forward to the shedding that will come lol

[Yozhik]

I'm glad I found LHC when I did :)
I doubt I would have had the patience or time to go through the boards and realize what a treasure trove of information and people there was here if I hadn't been out of college and temporarily unemployed.

That being said, if I had come across it earlier, it might have heightened my frustration with growing it out, because I got a chin-length bob the Christmas before last; so if I had found it sooner than last September, I would have had to grow it a lot longer to reach my goals! That being said, it might have been in better condition than it is now :/

C'est la vie -- I'm happy I found LHC, period!

[jasper]

For me it is a good thing I found it when I did and none too soon. Still, if I came here any earlier, with shorter hair, I wouln't have understood at all what you long haired crazies were going on about. ;)

[heynormy]

For me, it's hard to say! I'm glad that I've found LHC, but sometimes I wish I would have found it sooner (I cut my almost BSL hair to SL a few months before I came here), on the other hand (since my hair was shorter), there is a lot more healthier hair than what would have been!!

[countryhopper]

I'm happy I found it when I did.

I found the site a couple of inches above APL. Before that, I had an A-line bob. Then we moved to a hotter climate, and I found it much cooler to clip up my flip length hair than to have a high-maintenance cut in humid weather. So I just never cut it.

I've also learned a bunch on new hairstyles, so now my long(ish APL) hair is never boring!

[Kleine Mädchen]

I sooo wish I would have known about LHC last October. It was slightly past BSL and was in fairly good condition when a 'friend' wanted to bleach and dye my hair for me because she was attending cosmetology school. It was a total disaster and I had to chop it into a bob cut. But I suppose I will be able to grow my hair out even healthier thanks to LHC! Looooong journey though.

[christine1989]

LHC is fantastic of course but most of what you find on LHC can be found with a simple google search anyway. I love that I have LHC so I can find all of those great tips in one place not to mention the real-life personal experiances of others who are growing long hair.

[Patrice]

Yes and no.
Yes, because I learned to take better care of my hair, and I learned a lot of new hairstyles.
No, because it's an addictive site, I try to visit every day even if sometimes I don't have much time...

[Loreley]

I think I found LHC at the right time. I had started taking better care of my hair half a year before I found this site. I started trimming, doing S&D, using DTs and combs instead of my old plastic brush and I bought a BBB. When I joined I found much more information about hair here than ever before and it was great inspiration. :)

[Autumns Veil]

I have very short hair and am grateful to have found LHC now. As I have no idea about how to grow my hair healthily. After childhood, I had short to medium hair only. I could certainly use the help and support.

[Othala]

I wish I'd found LHC when I was 16....that's 29 years ago, LOL and I didn't even have a computer back then but you know what I mean. If I had I can only image the kind of hair I would have now.

[Qadupae]

I think I found LHC at a good time, but definitely wish I had found it sooner since I cut my APL to pixie about 6 years ago. I think though that if I would have never found this site, I would never have found the courage to try for WL.

[hm85]

I wish i found it sooner too! I have realised i have so much in common with people on here.
I do think in a strange way i found it at a good time because my hair is at APL and my friend has noticed the difference in the health of my hair since iv joined! This site is just so helpful and addictive lol with nice people on it...there is nothing more you can ask for really :)

[Linnykinz]

I found it a long time before I joined so I can't really say, because since I wasn't a part of the forums it didn't have such a big effect on me. It took a big chop to get me to join. So, I guess I wish I had *joined* sooner :) I would still have my hair aaahhh!

[Tonks]

I would have loved to have found TLHC when I was in the older end of elementary school. It would have saved me a lot of heartache because I had no idea how to care for my hair back then, and my mother loved trying to keep it short (thick, wavy hair and shortness don't go together!) when I had always wanted it long. But you can't have long hair if you don't know how to care for it...

[pineconejg]

If I had found it around the time I got engaged (November 2008) and decided to grow my hair for my wedding, I wouldn't have cut it off in May 2009 after my wedding, and I wouldn't have layers! I wish I had discovered it earlier.

[ooo]

I found LHC at the right time. The lovely finnish members helped me settling in in Finland. :flower:

[Hiriel]

I didn't think of this until now, but imagine how long my hair had been now if I had decided to grow my waist length 2004 hair longer instead of trimming it back to BSL...

[VanillaTresses]

Yes, and not particularly because it necessarily saved me from a "big chop" or anything. It didn't. I have still subjected my hair to all kinds of evil hair experiments. :twisted: However, I did find it when I was at a point in my life where the companionship and distraction it provided were extremely welcome. I <3 LHC! Along the way, I feel like I have learned quite a few things about hair that I otherwise wouldn't have known. And maybe now I can finally grow my hair out! :p

[ademtce]

very glad!

and iam forever grateful to whom ever told me about KillerStrands! seriously thank you so much!

[Tiina]

I wish I had come here before my last cut&dye in February. The dye turned out fine and I don't regret it despite the fact that I am now in the process of growing out virgin hair. But the cut was terrible. If only I had known what difficulties layers could add to becoming a long-hair...

At least now I know better. What's done is done.

[*Aoife*]

I wish I had found here in about mid 2006. I was frustrated and had no idea how to look after my hair. And I'd have much longer, non damaged hair now.

[akosei]

Yes and no. Yes I'm glad I found it when I did because NOW I'm ready to really indulge in and honor my hair. In the past I never thought much about my hair other than cutting/trimming it faithfully every 4-6 weeks.

On the other hand, no, I wish I'd found LHC earlier! Before I did my last henna treatment! I love the way my hair feels and looks with henna but I miss my silver streaks! :sad The "renegrays" have been so inspiring and now I'm gonna have to wait for my hair to go from dark brown/auburn w/ copper streaks to regular brown with silver streaks. :sigh

But, better late than never!

[aksown]

I'm happy I found it when I did. I never really engaged in damaging activities like straightening or blowfrying. I dyed it... four times, maybe??:hmm: I never bothered to touch up the color, I just let them all grow out. I found LHC just in time to really get a handle on caring for my hair right before a major, traumatic event in my life. I'm still dealing with the shedding, 15 months later but I knew I wanted long hair and the support and ideas in this site have helped me stick with it. :flowers:

[maybe sparrow]

Not really. I do wish that I'd found henna sooner.

[glossyshine]

I wish I'd found LHC sooner. Please allow me a little rant.

I'm here as much for good hair care advice as to grow my hair long. I am just fed up with hair stylists, who are supposed to be trained and knowledgeable about hair, knowing absolutely NOTHING.

I go to a fancy-schmancy salon, and the owner's chin-length hair is so worn-out and dead I'm just frightened. If my hair looked like hers, I'd have a hat sewn onto my head so there'd be no chance anyone would ever see it. I'm not exaggerating.

I'm really happy with my cut, but no one at that salon could ever tell me anything about how to take care of my own hair, and from the looks of theirs, they didn't know.

I went to India and got my hair henna'ed, and that's when I knew for sure there had to be something else. My hair was great before, because I lucked out and got great hair genes and because I've always conditioned my hair as a hobby, but the henna just put it into the stratosphere. I decided to seriously look for advice online, since I'm never going to get it at my salon.

In the months since I've been here, I've started oiling my hair (it loves it!) bought seam-free combs (once again, hair love!) and stopped using shampoo anywhere but my scalp.

Why didn't my hair dresser tell me these things? My hair is really, really happy now, and it's all from advice I've gotten here or on the hennapages. Thanks, everyone!

[KittyLost]

I'm glad that I found LHC when I did a few years ago, and I'm glad that I only just joined it now. I had long hair a few years ago and I would've just been frustrated with it and not have much conviction to grow it long. I'm glad I joined when it was short so I could keep it healthy and looked after and all the good advice and inspiration on this website would lead me to grow my hair long rather than just have it at my standard BSL and give up. Plus I would've just lobbed it all off anyway, to give it a healthy start if I had joined when I first found LHC.

[bte]

I wish LHC had existed in the 1970s - if it had I would have had fingertip length hair by the early 1980s.

[IcarusBride]

I think I found LHC at the perfect time! About 6 months pre-LHC I curled my hair several times, then ended up cutting off the last 6 inches and starting WO. I could say that I regret the damaged from the curling and the resulting 6-inch cut, but I don't really. I love the look of (artificially perfect) curls, and I'm glad I got to wear them for a while, that's something I would always be tempted to do, so I'm glad I did try it once in my life. Because from now on, there will be no heat ever! Plus that 6-inch cut got most if not all of my old dye damage out, so that all the hair I have on my journey to super long hair will be virgin!

[sunshine-locks]

I wish i found LHC when i was 11, before i started dyeing it (it was bsl length) because dyeing my hair so much has started to ruin it :( Or even if i joined halfway through last year, before i chopped it into a short bob/long pixie, because that was NOT flattering at all.

[FrannyG]

I wish I had found LHC about 18 months sooner, when my hair was still a lip-length bob. I would have been able to grow it from a fairly short length without the mega-heat-styling that I did between then and joining here.

My hair in the first year after joining was growing like mad, but the quality of it was terrible, so I ended up cutting back to where it was when I joined here. Twice

On the other hand, after that, I still made a crazy colour decision that cost me another 2 years' growth after joining here, so maybe it wouldn't have made any difference. Perhaps I needed to get all of my hair craziness out of my system. Who knows?

[growing2shine]

I would love to have known about the forum before I dyed my hair black. Back then it was about the same length as now. Back then it was just beautiful, shiny and healthy... God I miss it soooo much. I didn't even think it through. If I knew about this forum earlier I would NEVER have dyed it... NEVER!!! :(

[LILBERT]

I wish i had bothered to log on (after an inactive period) after my son was born. My hair was virgin all one length at about the same length it is now. And i went and got layers cut through (which i am STILL growing out 2 years later!) to make me feel "better". But still im glad ive come back. I was getting so frustrated trying to convince myself the only way i was ever going to look half decent was to straighten constantly, that i just wanted to shave it all off. Now ive embraced the fact that one length long hair will hold enough weight to it that it wont just poof out like shorter. And i was BORN for updos! :D It just helped me to discover and accept a bit of who i really am and feel like its ok even if it isnt the 'norm'.

Its hard to explain, but particularly for girls my age, where i live anyway, if your hair isnt dyed and straightened or processed in some way, its not groomed. people almost think that you dont make an effort somehow. The care that LHC has taught me for my hair makes it look super groomed naturally and you cant get more pretty/professional/groomed or whatever than the updos on this site! Theres one (or five!) for every occasion.

[AstrayStar]

I totally wish I had found it sooner - I ended up chopping my hair off TWICE thinking the ends were dry and damaged and really it was just build up from having very hard water! :( Now I know - but I would love to see how long my hair would be right now!

[rosieex3]

No, I wish I found it in February 2009 at least. My hair was a little shorter then it is currently, it was dyed a very rich, beautiful chocolate brown color that would have matched my natural hair color very nicely growing out. Got some bad highlights in March 2009, and dyed my whole hair black after that and chopped a lot of it off (yeah, it wasn't supposed to be black.) Ever since then I've damaged and dyed my hair so much..it's finally to a color that I can grow out without it looking odd, but its patchy and dry. I am finally giving up the hair dye and chemicals for good!

[chelseamichelle]

I wish i had found it a lot sooner! My hair wouldn't have had to go through what it did.. it would be a lot healthier now :rolleyes:

[shawty]

Six months ago I got a pixie. Now my hair is 4 inches long and it looks much worse than it did when I had the pixie (which was flattering on me) so I'm desperate to grow it out. I think I found LHC at the right time because any question I can up with, LHC is right there to answer. This way I can be very careful on my journey, treat my locks well, and hopefully wind up with the best, if not longest, hair of my life so far.

[Drynwhyl]

Nah, it was just the right timing. Otherwise I'd cut it and regret it back then. I just wish I knew more about henna before I started using the crappy pre-mixed stuff, now I can't go back ;S

[Capybara]

Yes :) I've been lurking for years now, and can't complain. I only joined a few months ago, but am glad I finally did :D

[technoir]

I am so happy to have had a recommendation to find this site. So many great ideas - hair care, styling, products - as well as support for choosing to have long hair.

[Lilacs]

Yes! I found LHC just before I cut my hair! I'm so glad that I found it because I know I really would have regreted it if I had cut my hair and now I enjoy it a lot more than I did before I found LHC!

[spitfire511]

I totally wish that I'd found you guys years ago! I'm still going through all the different tips and techniques (do you ever get through them all?) In all seriousness, I would have been over here trying to grow out my hair and doing just horrible things with no idea I was working against myself!

Have to thank Torrin Page's YouTube for pointing me over here (what great tutorials!)

[paigeturner]

Even the short time I've been here, my hair has improved dramatically...though reading through these posts, I'm intrigued to hear about "hard water" making ends worse! I live in a very hard water area (we have to descale our kettle every week) and wonder if that makes me hair worse? I'm scuttling off now to search the boards for more information!

[NorthernDancer]

I'm glad I found LHC when I did, but it would have saved me from a WORLD of grief if I had found it sooner.

Since LHC I've found out that I'm allergic to something in commercial poo/dish products. I had a problem with dandruff for as long as I can remember. These really big flakes (really big, like pea size, just flat) and an itchy scalp that would drive me nuts. So I kept trying different "anti-dandruff" products in an attempt to make that better, but it only seemed to get worse.
When I found LHC one of the first things I tried was WO, which didn't work for me, but I did find out that my dandruff when away COMPLETELY after 2 weeks. And it came back with a vengeance once I went back to my old poo/dish routine.

Since then I've been trying different natural things to wash my hair. I've tried BS/ACV (I'm allergic to ACV too!), catnip, and now I think I've found the winner: soapnuts.
I will occasionally try to use up the rest of my products, but it only takes one use and my scalp is itching again! So I've pretty much decided that I'm going to throw them out or give them away and never buy them again!

I don't think I would have ever thought of doing something different then commercial products if it hadn't been for LHC. And I would have lived a life with an itchy flaky scalp.

:cheese: THANKS LHC! :cheese:

[Feng-Shui]

I am glad and happy which I to LHC found.

Before I have very much money wasted in the salon on hairstylisten.
They have me promised mine hair to repair by care products XYZ.:justy:

I had myself already thereby arrange my hair longer than waist to never grow can.

It was much frustrating.:(

Here I do have learned all over ingredients and that I broken hair not repaired can because it dead material am like a fingernail also.

This realization was hard at the beginning for me because I knew which I a long way to go has before mine hair recovered is.

I decided to accept my personal challenge with myself.

I have here learned over correct handling and care for my skin and my hair.

Also as importantly one healthy nutrition is.

I have to learn many books in addition read in order.

Today my skin is happy and my hair longer than I ever believed that it to be can.:joy:

I would have much money and frustration me saved if I LHC would have in former times found.

Thank you LHC.:flowers:

[LunarAurora]

I have found LHC when I already knew some tips to grow long hair.

When I came here for the 1st time I was afraid to see so much topics and so much members, I would have been "lost" here if I didn't knew anything about hair care before ! (and as English is not my mother tongue, it would have been difficult to me to understand some "hair words" and to start to think differently about hair care... I don't know if I am clear lol)

But now I am really glad ! I am more confident and I try to participate to topics because I know what I am talking about (well... I'm supposed to !) and I am always curious about hair care that I didn't know :D