My One-Year LHC Anniversary!

[Medievalmaniac]

OK, here it is, the long-awaited, one-year anniversary thread for Medievalmaniac (Well, OK, it has been long-awaited by *me*!)

My hair journey began very tragically, with a short, choppy bob dyed after a very unsuccessful perm forced me to chop off everything I had and start over. This was long before LHC, though.

Scary perm - look at my poor hair! (2007)

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x45/simonebeauvoir2/Annabeach5.jpg

(Gratuitous fur kid pic to distract LHCers from the pain of the hair they just witnessed)

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x45/simonebeauvoir2/IMG_0027-1.jpg

blond, straightened, and coned...if only I knew how damaged it really was - I thought it looked "so much better" here! (2007)

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x45/simonebeauvoir2/IMG_0760-2.jpg

chopped to just below my shoulders, still dying and highlighting in my vain attempt to "look normal" (August, 2008):

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x45/simonebeauvoir2/nickandmelle-1.jpg

Having come to my senses, this is November, 2008 - dyed back to a color more in keeping with my skin tone:

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x45/simonebeauvoir2/IMG_7799-1.jpg

October, 2008 - first dye job (faded by the November pic. above) - Ahhh, red. I should always have been a redhead. Stupid blonde phase!

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x45/simonebeauvoir2/newhair-2.jpg

Christmas, 2008:

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x45/simonebeauvoir2/Christmas20081103-1.jpg

Clearly, I needed help! Enter, LHC: July 24., 2009 - my first hair shot:

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x45/simonebeauvoir2/230-1.jpg

By this point, I had quit heat styling, perming, chopping, and pretty much everything except the dying. I owned: NO hairtoys, except my trusty claws and elastic bands.

that all changed.....! (to be continued in the next post...):p

[GoddesJourney]

*anxiously awaiting*

[triumphator!]

OMG the suspense :D

[Medievalmaniac]

My first hairtoy:

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x45/simonebeauvoir2/Myhairnewhairtoy.jpg

It looked so sad, sitting there all by itself, that I spent the next year collecting.

Ah, ah, ah! Hair pics first! (Ahhhhh, such a tease!!) Here's the progress I have made since that first shot last July:

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x45/simonebeauvoir2/SoclosetowaistIcantasteit001.jpg
October, 2009 - no cones, no fates, down to once a week washing and regular oiling with coconut oil - you can already see a difference in the texture, three months in.

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x45/simonebeauvoir2/106-2.jpg
This is really my first successful bun other than a simple cinnamon twist - it's a Celtic Knot. I was so proud of myself! November, 2009. (more bun pics in my albums)

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x45/simonebeauvoir2/025-2.jpg
WAIST! I was SO excited to hit this goal! December, 2009.

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x45/simonebeauvoir2/074-3.jpg
My hair typing shot from last December - when I first realized my hair was actually nothing like what I had always thought it was! By this point, I have been on hair,skin and nails supplements for about three months or so.

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x45/simonebeauvoir2/047-3.jpg
December, 2009 - final length of the year.


http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x45/simonebeauvoir2/006-12-1.jpg
February 2010 - it was around this point that my hair really started "behaving itself" and I felt like I was getting results - about the six or seven month mark.

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x45/simonebeauvoir2/2010/SANY2245.jpg

May, 2010 - officially the longest my hair has ever been to this point. SO delighted!!

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x45/simonebeauvoir2/2010/SANY3415.jpg
Probably my favorite hair shot to date.

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x45/simonebeauvoir2/2010/SANY3342.jpg

What I am referring to now as my "sweat swirlies" - no perm required to get these beauties, just a good long run in humid heat!


Hairtoy shots in the next post...!

[Gumball]

Most excellent! Happy anniversary, Medievalmaniac! Your hair history shows some incredible progress! Good going with that, and here's to your next great year!

[Lamb]

Congrats on your anniversary! :flowers: Your hair has certainly undergone a lot of transformations, and it looks lovely.
And I must say, your furbabies have kinda awesome hair too... :lol:

[Medievalmaniac]

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x45/simonebeauvoir2/2010/SANY3661.jpg
Taken yesterday afternoon after a 1/4 inch trim. I am about 5-6 inches from lower TBL, which is my goal; about 3-4 inches from the top of TBL

Final hair shot, July 24, 2010 - 1 year anniversary!
http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x45/simonebeauvoir2/2010/SANY3695.jpg

And now, for the moment you've all been waiting for! lol Hairtoys:

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x45/simonebeauvoir2/2010/SANY3696.jpg
This is the whole collection.

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x45/simonebeauvoir2/2010/SANY3697.jpg
What I use my claws for now - holding things on my mirror! lol

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x45/simonebeauvoir2/2010/SANY3699.jpg
that first, little hairtoy.


http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x45/simonebeauvoir2/2010/SANY3701.jpg
Forks in the William and Mary cup.

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x45/simonebeauvoir2/2010/SANY3707.jpg
Ravenslair forks

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x45/simonebeauvoir2/2010/SANY3708.jpg
Leginyaba forks

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x45/simonebeauvoir2/2010/SANY3709.jpg
Grahtoe Studios fork in Lignum Vitae, tortie comb for French twists, Titanic butterfly comb (entirely Little Orca's fault, enabler! lol)

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x45/simonebeauvoir2/2010/SANY3710.jpg
Ravenslair shelots - Tree of Life and Here There Be Dragons

Continued.... (I know! And to think I started with just the one! lol)

[minaa]

This is exciting! Your hair has come a long way, it's quite gorgeous! Looking forward to the next post ... :] Congrats on one year at LHC!

[Medievalmaniac]

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x45/simonebeauvoir2/2010/SANY3700.jpg
Barrettes, pins and the like are kept in the heart box.

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x45/simonebeauvoir2/2010/SANY3711.jpg
Combs - Heavenly Harvest wooden, Hairsense "bone", and my BBB

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x45/simonebeauvoir2/2010/SANY3712.jpg

My hair collector - I love this little thing! Someday, I shall henna! Then all these collected hairs will not be uselessly lying in the pretty silver container. lol

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x45/simonebeauvoir2/2010/SANY3713.jpg
Ketylo Sticks and fork

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x45/simonebeauvoir2/2010/SANY3714.jpg
Grahtoe Antler Sticks. I LOVE these!!!

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x45/simonebeauvoir2/2010/SANY3715.jpg

Timberstone Turnings Melissa (I am "Melissa"! This was my design) in Yellowheart and Chloe in Holly with bands of Lapis

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x45/simonebeauvoir2/2010/SANY3716.jpg
Leginyaba Plumeria slide, Flexi-8s, and Nightblooming Lady of Rohan barrette

Continued.... (I know! It's almost embarrassing!)

[Medievalmaniac]

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x45/simonebeauvoir2/2010/SANY3717.jpg
Closeup of my dragon bowl, in which all my hair oils and such are kept (and my deodorant, as you can see, lol)

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x45/simonebeauvoir2/2010/SANY3718.jpg
Graydogs

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x45/simonebeauvoir2/2010/SANY3719.jpg
http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x45/simonebeauvoir2/2010/SANY3720.jpg
The two on the left are Birnam Grove; the two on the right are Amadlifeo; the final one is my "Blue Roses" / Pleurosis stick! I thought it was GREAT. I think the maker is Jessica's Designs? She's on Etsy and usually does cake toppers; when I saw this stick I thought immediately of Laura in "The Glass Menagerie".

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x45/simonebeauvoir2/2010/SANY3721.jpg

Hairsticks of Tristan and Isolde (my design and craftsmanship), a couple of chopsticks, Leginyaba sticks in black and orange toppers, and the final four are Aliarose, from Etsy.

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x45/simonebeauvoir2/2010/SANY3722.jpg
Nightblooming makes up the rest of my collection...! lol My collection includes many pieces I love, especially my dragons of the changing seasons, the Women of Middle Earth, the Houses of Hogwarts set, and my hair rapier, of course! lol

Annnnnnnnd...now we all know why Medievalmaniac is joining the Great Hairtoy Challenge of 2010! NO MORE (excluding those on reserve/customs already ordered) until January 2011!!

But - wow, it has been a lot of fun being here, and I LOVE MY HAIR for the first time in my life, and so....

I LOVE LHC!!!! !!!!:happydance:

[little_acorn]

WOW what an anniversary post :D

Your hair and toys are amazing :cheese:

[Medievalmaniac]

Whew! pant-pant-pant! lol That was longer than I thought it was going to be!!

I hope everyone gets a few laughs and really enjoys this thread, but mainly, I hope it provides some inspiration for newbies in particular - you really and honestly CAN transform your hair and get the hair you want - and you can also decorate it with really, REALLY pretty things! (Especially when you have enabling...I mean, caring and supportive, pushers - I mean, dealers - I mean, friends, on LHC!! :D)

Thanks for all the replies already, and hope everyone is having as great a journey as I am!!!

[going gray]

Amazing collection! Enjoy your lovely hair!

[missfortune9335]

LOL, I don't think I've ever seen an anniversary post that long!!! :D
Congratulations, your hair is looking GREAT!

[Yozhik]

Congratulations, Medievalmaniac! Your hair is amazing and your collection is . . . it leaves me speechless in breadth and variety ;) :D

[pennyroyal]

Your hair is very beautiful & inspiring!
Your toy collection is....insane! I am so jealous! I want! :p
I actually quite love the first one you said you got too.It's so pretty!

[Nae]

LOL that was fantastic, every time I would say, "Oh look at that pic!" I would scoll down and there would be more. And then MORE.......... That amused me very very much, of course I am tired so you can't trust me lol.

That was great! Your hair looks great! The kiddos and fur babies are adorable. The hair toys are to die for. YAY!!! What a great post! Grats on your one year anniversary!!! Here's to many more years of great hair!:beercheer:

[triumphator!]

Omg this thread is a ********. Can I say that here? :lipssealed:


Edit: bahaha, apparently not. Well... okay an.... exhilarting climax of hair related products

[Capybara]

This is one of the best anniversary threads out there!

Your hair has improved so much, it is beautiful! Great job!

And that hair toy collection ... I'm literally drooling. How many pieces, I wonder :eyebrows:

[Xi]

Congratulations, Medievalmaniac! Your hair is looking beautiful.:toast:

Thanks for the detailed chronicle of the growth of your hair ... and hairtoy collection!;) Both very worthy accomplishments.:D

[Medievalmaniac]

Well, I definitely think the hair is an accomplishment - the hairtoy collection, on the other hand,. represents a lot of moments of lapses of judgment and temporary insanity and instant gratification and Hairtoy addicts ...ummm....what do you guys call it when you enable me, intervention?! lol

I am the first to admit, I spent a lot of money this year, and not in the wisest way imaginable...but then again, I was starting from square one, I've never collected anything but books in my life, I've spent the past six years pretty much exclusively devoting myself time and money both to grad school, work, and my children, and - well, heck! it was fun! But, I am definitely slowing down a LOT, especially joining the hairtoy challenge beginning August 1. I have plenty to keep me busy, and I want to devote the next five months getting better at updos - using the toys I already have! lol

[LaurelSpring]

Great anniversary post! I loved looking at your progress pictures. What an inspiration! The toys pictures are great too. Probably too great because now I am starting to want to break my hair toy fast. You have such a great collection!

[Marjolein]

I love all the pictures, you've made great progress! But shhh, I loved the early pictures the best because of those adorable kids in them. From now on I think every hair length pic of you should include a kiddo!!

[KittyLost]

Congratulations on your one-year anniversary! :)

[Monsterkitti]

Congrats your hair has grown so much! And what a huge and beasutiful hair toy collection :)

[Loreley]

Congrats! Your hair is beautiful and you have great hair toys! :D

[freckles]

happy anniversary MM! You have gorgeous, shiny hair that you should be really proud of :D

[kimki]

Happy anniversary! :cheese: Your hair is so beautiful and you have an amazing hair toy collection! :flower:

[Phexlyn]

Congrats! :cheese:
You have gorgeous hair, and I'm sure it will look fabulous at TBL!

[CrisDee]

Impressive collection, stunning hair! Thanks for photo-chronicling your journey for us, I very much enjoyed it :)

[Sammich]

Woah woah woah! I love the abundance of pics! You really took advantage of this anniversary! Amazing, woo! :D I love your hair! ^_^

[Medievalmaniac]

Congrats your hair has grown so much! And what a huge and beasutiful hair toy collection :)

Ha! I read the typo here as saying "beastly", so I had a "beastly" hair toy collection. My students use the term "beast" or "beastly" as a slang expression for something that's "out of control" in some way - so, you can imagine how that made me laugh! :D

[cdmorefield]

Great pics :)

[Medievalmaniac]

Thank you so much, everyone, for the pic love and all of the encouragement over the past year! It has made such a difference for me to be able to pursue my dream of having long, lovely hair, surrounded by others who understand that passion.

This past weekend, I went 'home'. My father died last year, and so going home means spending the weekend with my mother and sister. I love them dearly, and I know they love me as well, but they do NOT understand or support the long hair thing(along with many other aspects of who I am, SIGH Sis is a Math teacher, Mom was in real estate, nobody gets or supports the medieval bit :( ). Anyhow, my sister's hair is to her shoulders, chopped, colored, highlighted, and sun-bleached; my mother only just gave up dying and went gray (and I think it looks much better!!) but she has also chopped it quite short. They both spent the entire weekend telling me to get a haircut - and worse, telling my 6 year old that "Mommy needs to get your hair cut". She was almost in tears, because she is used to having people praise her hair, not tell her it needs to be cut.

Needless to say, after a couple of days of that, it was such a lovely thing to get home and be able to unwind looking at all of the pictures in my albums to create this thread, to visibly see the major changes that I have made and how they have led to where I am now, and to know that I could post and share it and you all would totally get it and be happy for me instead of telling me to chop it off.

[pepperminttea]

Wow, what a collection! And gorgeous hair; congrats on the progress! :D

[TrudieCat]

I loved looking at your wonderful photos. What a great post! And congrats on all of your progress! :cheer: I am sorry that you are not getting support for your hair goals from your family, that sounds frustrating to say the least. Please know what an inspiration your hair journey is to some of us here!!

[ericthegreat]

Congratulations on your first anniversary! :disco: Your hair has indeed come a long way even after the perm that you did three years ago. It is much healthier today. Here's to more anniversaries here to come! :cheer:

[patience]

Happy Anniversary! :cheese::cheese: Wonderful progress.

[sibiryachka]

"Pleurosis stick" almost made me blow coffee out my nose! Tennessee Williams FTW!!

[Stephichan]

Happy anniversary! You have beautiful hair and an amazing hairtoy collection!

[Pixna]

WOW, what a journey!!! Just amazing -- thank you SO much for sharing it with us. And YOU are Melissa??!! How fabulous that they named the hair stick after you. It's a beautiful design, too! Congratulations all the way around!!! :toast:

[mugglemomof3]

Happy Anniversary! You've got an amazing hairtoy collection there missy. :rockerdud

[Back_To_Basics]

Medievalmaniac (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/member.php?u=23772),
You have beautiful hair. Congrats on your anniversary.
I love all you hair toys.

[Pumpkin]

I think the 'anniversary' threads are my favorite on this board. Congratulations on your growth and your amazing hair toy collection. It is the people like you, on this board, that make me want to hang in and keep growing!! :cheese:

[restourceful]

I saw the first post last night and waited...and waited...and waited some more...and then I HAD to go to bed. :yawn: So I hit subscribe and came back to find The. Most . Amazing. Anniversary post I've ever seen! :agape: Now I'm thinking to myself, "must get to know MedievalManiac!" You have some seriously GORGEOUS hair, girl! :thud: Not to mention all the cute kids and furbabies. And I am pea-green with envy looking at all your pretty hairtoys.:D

Congratulations on your amazing growth and happy anniversary! :cake: Thanks for posting all the great pictures of your lovely hair and fun hairtoys. :flower:

[ptnicole]

:cheese:Wonderful post! Congratulations!

[DavidN]

Happy LHC anniversary, Medievalmaniac, and here's to many more years in our community!

Thank you for sharing your excellent progress photos with us, and your hair has come so far since you joined! Keep up the good work.

[Tressie]

Wow, just WOW!!! Your hair has really grown, and the color, shine, and condition are awesome. Your hairtoy collection is mind-boggling!! LOL! So many beautiful toys! How do ever decide which one/ones to wear?? (o: Congratulations all around!!!


ETA: I forgot to say that your furr babies are just precious!! What hair....I mean...fur!! (o:

[Medievalmaniac]

Wow, just WOW!!! Your hair has really grown, and the color, shine, and condition are awesome. Your hairtoy collection is mind-boggling!! LOL! So many beautiful toys! How do ever decide which one/ones to wear?? (o: Congratulations all around!!!

This is exactly why I have decided to quit buying them and start wearing them! lol I love them all, but sometimes getting up in the morning and looking at so many pieces is stressful! And I definitely do not regret the money I spent, but at the same time, I also do not advocate spending that much money on an ongoing and indiscriminate basis, indefinitely!! I'm pulling back the reins for the rest of the year, and from this point on I intend to collect much more slowly and emphatically. I have been really lucky, however, in that most of my purchases, coming as they did from LHC-recommended vendors, are excellent quality and craftsmanship, and I feel really happy with my collection as it is because of that. I know whatever I do choose to wear, I will love it and it will look wonderful!! :D

Thank you so much for all of the wonderful comments on my thread, everybody!! As I said before, mainly I just wanted to give some inspiration to newbies. A year ago, I didn't know ANYTHING about any of this stuff, and as I have already said, I was pretty actively discouraged in real life by the people around me. But, long hair is my dream! So, I spent the past year immersing myself in the articles, links, video instructions, and generally trying to navigate this site and learn everything I could, meet everyone I could. And now - a year later, I am well on my way!!

But it definitely took a big part of that year to get my feet under me - so if you are new and feeling overwhelmed or discouraged, I just want you to know that it gets easier, and you WILL see the progress you want to see - but you really do have to put in the time and effort, and work at it. It's an ongoing work in progress, and the journey is so much fun once you realize that and just start going with it. :)

[Medievalmaniac]

I saw the first post last night and waited...and waited...and waited some more...and then I HAD to go to bed. :yawn: So I hit subscribe and came back to find The. Most . Amazing. Anniversary post I've ever seen! :agape: Now I'm thinking to myself, "must get to know MedievalManiac!" You have some seriously GORGEOUS hair, girl! :thud: Not to mention all the cute kids and furbabies. And I am pea-green with envy looking at all your pretty hairtoys.:D

Congratulations on your amazing growth and happy anniversary! :cake: Thanks for posting all the great pictures of your lovely hair and fun hairtoys. :flower:

OK....this just made me :blushing: Thank you! :flower:

[dropinthebucket]

Gorgeous, just gorgeous!

the toys are beautiful too! :)

[luluj]

:blossom: I just love your anniversary thread! Beautiful hair, awesome hairtoys and downright lovely lady!:blossom: :magic:HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!:magic:

[akrasia]

Wow. Just--wow!

[Kristin]

What a wonderful variety of hair toys! Your hair is beautiful, too!

[rags]

Your hair is just beautiful, so shiny and healthy looking! Your fur kids are adorable!And the toys! Oh, the toys! :bigeyes: