Acorn's year of growing on LHC *PIC HEAVY*

[little_acorn]

One year of LHC and what a year it's been! I love this forum, everyone was so welcoming, friendly and helpful when I first joined and I feel like I've made some real friends here :D. I've gone from chemical dyed hair to mainly natural and learnt so many things about how to care better for my hair.

So in the time honoured tradition of anniversary threads I shall sally forth from then 'til now.

This pic was taken about a month after I joined following my first SMT - hmmmmm SMT, what a fabulous formula it is!

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=3744&pictureid=49899


About 4 months later this is where I'd got too:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=3744&pictureid=59584


4 months ago and 4 months after the previous pic:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=3744&pictureid=65592

1 month ago my longest hairs are barely touching waist. This was taken just before a cut:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=3744&pictureid=75679

and after the cut to remove some of the layers - I'd also had my dyed ends coloured closer to my natural colour:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=3744&pictureid=76647

and here's a pic from a week ago - I have a bulky hood under that lot and I'm about 1 or 2 inches shy of waist:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=3744&pictureid=78999

Here's how I wore my hair today in celebration an XO braid with 2 accents - I also happened to have an afternoon tea date with my girlfriends:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=3744&pictureid=79357

and to finish off a gratitous kitty pic
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=3995&pictureid=73564

**Thank you LHC **

[ericthegreat]

Congratulations on making it to your first anniversary! :cheese:

I love the red shade you have, you use henna if I remember correctly? It looks so healthy and shiny!

[Aquamarine]

Happpy Anniversary!!! :cheese::cheese::cheese:
Your hair looks amazing!! I love the color:)



P.S. Love Merlin's cute face!:p

[Tangerine]

Congrats little acorn! :flower:

I love the richness of your colours, in all pictures!

Happy growing :flowers: :blossom:

[Loreley]

Wow, your hair has grown a lot! Congratulations and happy anniversary! :D
That hairstyle is gorgeous! :thud:

[Prettyeyes23]

Nice progress Little Acorn! Your hair is beautiful!

[bte]

Great progress, and lovely colour and shine.

[freckles]

gorgeous hair, congrats on your growth :)

[serious]

Beautiful hair, congratulations! :blossom:

And, what an outstanding updo! Just gorgeous!

[LouLaLa]

Well done! Lovely updo too!

That kitty is too funny :p

[Pixna]

Love your hair!!! :inlove: Am in awe of your XO braid!!! :inlove: Adore your kitty!!! :crush:

[Carolyn]

Beautiful! My goodness your hair grows fast!

[Capybara]

You have drop-dead gorgeous hair!

And that up do is amazing!

[Chrissy]

I love progress reports. I can't get enough of them. Your hair is looking great. I too love the silly cat picture.

[rags]

Wow, you've grown a lot! Congratulations on your anniversary! Your hair is gorgeous, and your kitty is adorable!

[lillylonghair]

Congrats Little Acorn!!! May you continue to grow and have lovely shiny,long locks.

[cmnt831]

Happy anniversary! I always love your updos, so beautiful! :flower:

[dayonea]

Fantastic pics! Great progress and adorable kitty!!!!!

[WyrdWay]

You had a lot of growth ^_^ and that braid updo looks really awesome !

[Medievalmaniac]

Congratulations on your first LHC anniversary! I love the shine and condition of your hair, your anniversary updo is amazing, - and also, we always appreciate the gratuitous kitty shots!! :cheese:

[DavidN]

Oh, my goodness, Little Acorn! What outstanding growth over the past year, such outstanding shine and thickness, and beautiful colour too!:blossom: Congratulations on being a wonderful member of this community for the past year!

[clichepithet]

:cheer: little acorn :cheer:

That 'do is gorgeous! Gonna have to try and copy-cat that one. Speaking of cats, that was unexpected! :D Handsome kitty.

[restourceful]

Yay! A kitty pic. :joy:

Happy Anniversary and congratulations on your astounding progress! How about some instructions for duplicating that GORGEOUS braid? Just beautiful. :thud:

[CrisDee]

Inspiring progress! Gorgeous hair, and WOW what a lovely, intricate braid! Oh, and LOVE the GKP (gratuitous kitty pic) :D

[tinti]

wow, congrats on your first anniversary! Your hair looks really shiny and healthy :)

[Kristin]

You hair looks beautiful! Congratulations!

[Gumball]

Whoa that's some fantastic progress, little_acorn! Happy one year anniversary! :happydance: You chose a great style to celebrate it with, and with an event to go to where you can show it off. Congrats!

[little_acorn]

I'm following a leaf out of YC's book and multiquoting all you lovely, lovely people!


Whoa that's some fantastic progress, little_acorn! Happy one year anniversary! You chose a great style to celebrate it with, and with an event to go to where you can show it off. Congrats!
Thanks Gumball - high praise from the braidmaster himself :D


You hair looks beautiful! Congratulations!
Kristen thats super kind and thank you heaps :flower:


wow, congrats on your first anniversary! Your hair looks really shiny and healthy
Thank you tinti :flowers: - the shiny and healthy looking part is all thanks to the help I got off LHC - SMTs, more careful washing of my hair, Nightblooming's Triple Moon Oil :love:


Inspiring progress! Gorgeous hair, and WOW what a lovely, intricate braid! Oh, and LOVE the GKP (gratuitous kitty pic)
:o thank you so much CrisDee - I got the idea for that braid from a thread a while ago and it is a PITA BUT if you get it right looks pretty fab. The 2 accent braids were due to inspiration from the Gummy Braidmaster :D. Merlin is very happy you loved his pic :D

Yay! A kitty pic. :joy:

Happy Anniversary and congratulations on your astounding progress! How about some instructions for duplicating that GORGEOUS braid? Just beautiful. :thud:
Thank you so much restourceful :flowers:. Merlin demanded to get in on the pics

Thats braid is a little tricky but if you do dutch braids you can do it.
1. Part you hair in the centre from forehead to nape of neck
2. Part your hair across your head from behind one ear to behind the other.
3. Bundle the two front sections out of the way
4. Pull out two tiny pieces of hair from the back two sections either side of the part and about an inch down for the accent braids.
5. Bundle the two main back sections out of the way and braid the accent braids and finish off with those clear elastic thingys
6. Unbundle one front section AND the back section on the OPPOSITE side of the head as you are going to braid diagonally across
7. Start dutch braiding the front section - sometimes I lace braid this bit. When you get to the section break I do one round of just braid (no added hair) then start adding in the hair from the diagonal back section just like with a normal dutch. Finish off the remainder with a regular English and tie off like normal.
8. Repat on with the other pair of diagonal sections. This time you will need to do two or three braid bumps at the cross over point to give you enough slack to start using hair from the back section.
9. Now you should have two dutch braids that cross over at the crown and two accent braids. Loop the dutch round in a circle and pin and then pin the accents where you fancy.
10. Take pics and post em up on LHC for everyone to admire your handiwork!!!

[little_acorn]

little acorn



That 'do is gorgeous! Gonna have to try and copy-cat that one. Speaking of cats, that was unexpected! Handsome kitty.

Thanks clichepithet - Merlin loves all the praise and I'd love to see your XO braid




Oh, my goodness, Little Acorn! What outstanding growth over the past year, such outstanding shine and thickness, and beautiful colour too! Congratulations on being a wonderful member of this community for the past year!

Thanks DavidN you are such a lovely gent and have made this year on LHC just lovely for me




Love your hair!!! Am in awe of your XO braid!!! Adore your kitty!!!

Thanks Pixna - the XO only gets done on very special occasions as I always end up with tangles and loose extra hair - but it was worth it for you guys . Merlin says rrrww (translated as where's the tuna)




Beautiful! My goodness your hair grows fast!

thanks Carolyn I thought it grew slowly but it does seem to have made a bit of progress this year when you look back retrospecitvely




You have drop-dead gorgeous hair!



And that up do is amazing!

Thanks heaps Capybara -I'm seriously blushing and smiling with that compliment




I love progress reports. I can't get enough of them. Your hair is looking great. I too love the silly cat picture.

Thanks Chrissy - Merlin is very silly but he doesn't think so




Wow, you've grown a lot! Congratulations on your anniversary! Your hair is gorgeous, and your kitty is adorable!

thanks Rags - I think Merlin is adorable too, so I had to share him




Congrats Little Acorn!!! May you continue to grow and have lovely shiny,long locks.

Thank you Lillylonghair - right back at you




Happy anniversary! I always love your updos, so beautiful!

Aawww thanks cmnt831 - I've learn't so many updos off LHC and I'm excessivly grateful for all the Youtube vids to showm me how




Fantastic pics! Great progress and adorable kitty!!!!!

DH says that the way my hair looks in the photos is all down to him - he is my daily photographer . Merlin is revelling in all this exra adoration




You had a lot of growth ^_^ and that braid updo looks really awesome !

Thank you Wyrdway




Congratulations on your first LHC anniversary! I love the shine and condition of your hair, your anniversary updo is amazing, - and also, we always appreciate the gratuitous kitty shots!!

Thanks MM

Hehe I knew you'd love the gratuitous kitty pic


Happpy Anniversary!!!

Your hair looks amazing!! I love the color







P.S. Love Merlin's cute face!

Thanks Aquamarine - you're so sweet! I had to share Merlin with all of you




Congrats little acorn!



I love the richness of your colours, in all pictures!



Happy growing

Thanks Tangerine - my hair colour always has a mind of it's own! Seriously!! The majority is growing out hair dye with the top 6 or so inches being completely natural. I had the ends dyed closer to my naural colour about a month back but even so it changes colour all the time




Wow, your hair has grown a lot! Congratulations and happy anniversary!

That hairstyle is gorgeous!

Thanks Loreley - my first thud




Nice progress Little Acorn! Your hair is beautiful!

Thank you so much Prettyeyes23




Great progress, and lovely colour and shine.

Thanks heaps bte




gorgeous hair, congrats on your growth

Thanks Freckles




Beautiful hair, congratulations!



And, what an outstanding updo! Just gorgeous!

Thanks heaps Serious - you are really kind




Well done! Lovely updo too!



That kitty is too funny

Thanks LouLaLa - Merlin is a funny boy but don't tell him I said so!!




Congratulations on making it to your first anniversary!



I love the red shade you have, you use henna if I remember correctly? It looks so healthy and shiny!

Thanks Eric - I used henna years ago but not for the last 5 - now I'm happy growing in my moonstruck hairs

[JessTheMess]

Congratulations!!!!!!!!! I LOVE that XO braid!! awesome! Your hair has grown a lot in the past year!:cheese:

[Henrietta]

Wow! Fantastic growth! Your hair is so healthy and you're very good at braiding. I love the calebration updo! :)Congrats! :)

[KarpatiiSiv]

Congratulations on your anniversary. Your hair looks gorgeous and has grown a lot.http://yoursmiles.org/msmile/girls/m0401.gif (http://yoursmiles.org/m-girls.php?page=1) Merlin is also looking as adorable as ever. http://yoursmiles.org/tsmile/kitten/t09040.gif (http://yoursmiles.org/t-kitten.php?page=2)

[Kathie]

That updo is great! Its nice that you got to go out and show it off :D

And most importantly--- happy anniversary:disco:

Your hair looks great :blossom:

[pennyroyal]

You have gorgeous hair, m'dear! Congrats on the anniversary and the growth! & i absolutley adore that updo. it is amazing!

[Naamah]

Beautiful hair!

[FrannyG]

Wow, your hair looks gorgeous. Fantastic progress! :blossom:

[Joliebaby]

Great growth, thanks for sharing your journey!! That multi braid up-do is fabulous!
Special thanks for the kitty growl though :D

[sally_neuf]

Congratulations! you have beautiful hair!! (and kitty bonus! that's even better!)

[Paniscus]

Congratulations on the growth! Beautiful hair.. and I LOVE the kitty pic.

Keep growing, that updo is gorgeous!!

[restourceful]

Thanks for the perfect instructions, Little Acorn. I think I might be able to do that. :agree:

*reaches over to scratch Merlin behind the ear*

[chloeishere]

Your hair is beautiful and growing fast! I am always impressed by your beautiful braided hairstyles, mine look lousy. And Merlin is a handsome boy, it's always great to see him!

[Juneii]

your hair has grown wonderfully, what beautiful shine! Congrats!

[frost pattern]

Congrats on your anniversary and your growing process, little_acorn! (Can't see you images due to not enough postings, but will definately return when I can see them.)

[patience]

Happy Happy Anniversary!!!:cheese::cheese::cheese:

Such great progress. I love seeing your hair grow (along with the hair toy collection :) )

I love your anniversary hair-do! I haven't been around much, I must go searching for the instructions. It looks beautiful on you.

[little_acorn]

Congratulations!!!!!!!!! I LOVE that XO braid!! awesome! Your hair has grown a lot in the past year!
Thanks so much Jess


Wow! Fantastic growth! Your hair is so healthy and you're very good at braiding. I love the calebration updo! Congrats!
Thanks Henrietta - my braiding skills have definitely improved with the LHC mad skills


Congratulations on your anniversary. Your hair looks gorgeous and has grown a lot.http://yoursmiles.org/msmile/girls/m0401.gif (http://yoursmiles.org/m-girls.php?page=1) Merlin is also looking as adorable as ever. http://yoursmiles.org/tsmile/kitten/t09040.gif (http://yoursmiles.org/t-kitten.php?page=2)
Thanks KarpattiSiv - Merlin sends purrss


That updo is great! Its nice that you got to go out and show it off

And most importantly--- happy anniversary

Your hair looks great :blossom:
Thanks so much Kathie!


You have gorgeous hair, m'dear! Congrats on the anniversary and the growth! & i absolutley adore that updo. it is amazing!
awww thanks Pennyroyal


Beautiful hair!
Thank you Naamah


Wow, your hair looks gorgeous. Fantastic progress! :blossom:
Thanks heaps FrannyG - LHC definitely helped me get there and hang tight when urges to re-dye or cut hit me


Great growth, thanks for sharing your journey!! That multi braid up-do is fabulous!
Special thanks for the kitty growl though :D
Thanks heaps Joliebaby - Merlin says rrwwr


Congratulations! you have beautiful hair!! (and kitty bonus! that's even better!)
Thanks Sally_neuf - Merlin loves to sneak in here


Congratulations on the growth! Beautiful hair.. and I LOVE the kitty pic.

Keep growing, that updo is gorgeous!!
Thanks so much Parniscus - I love that pic of Merlin too


Thanks for the perfect instructions, Little Acorn. I think I might be able to do that. :agree:

*reaches over to scratch Merlin behind the ear*
oooh good luck and post pics if you have a go - Merlin is sending loud purrs


Your hair is beautiful and growing fast! I am always impressed by your beautiful braided hairstyles, mine look lousy. And Merlin is a handsome boy, it's always great to see him!
aawww thanks Chloeishere - Merlin is definitely a handsome boy but I'm totally biased


Congrats on your anniversary and your growing process, little_acorn! (Can't see you images due to not enough postings, but will definately return when I can see them.)
Thanks and welcome to LHC Frost pattern

Happy Happy Anniversary!!!:cheese::cheese::cheese:

Such great progress. I love seeing your hair grow (along with the hair toy collection :) )

I love your anniversary hair-do! I haven't been around much, I must go searching for the instructions. It looks beautiful on you.
Thanks so much patience I'm looking forward to photos if you have a go at the XO


your hair has grown wonderfully, what beautiful shine! Congrats!
Thanks so much Juneii

[dropinthebucket]

Wow,you fast grower you! Looks fabulous! :D

[missfortune9335]

Congratulations on your anniversary L.A. ! Your hair is beautiful :D

[xoxophelia]

Your hair grew so much! :D

[smilinjenn71]

Way to grow!!:cheer: Awesome year here on LHC. Keep up that healthy growth!!