MissManda
August 30th, 2010, 06:43 PM
Hello Everyone! :waving:
It was my one year LHC anniversary on August 10, 2010, but due to an incredibly upsetting family issue, I felt it would be best to delay my anniversary thread until I was feeling a little better. So please allow me to share my hair journey with you all. My hair has been through a lot over the years, but I am still so surprised that my hair made so much progress in one year.
I had long hair when I was a child (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/album.php?albumid=3936&pictureid=57250) and I loved it and always got compliments on it. I was very proud of how long, thick, shiny, and beautiful my hair was. Unfortunately, there were people who did not like my hair one bit and constantly told me how thin and flat it was and that I should cut it. After years and years of being nagged by these same people, I caved in during sixth grade and got my very long hair chopped into a bob (sorry no pictures, I'm to embarrassed to post any, it was that bad). I liked it for maybe the first twenty minutes after the cut, and then I started to miss my hair dearly. I spent two years trying to grow my hair back out, with very little success (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/album.php?albumid=3936&pictureid=57252) because my grandmother would insist on awful-looking bangs, refused to teach me how to properly care for my own hair (the adults in my life insisted on taking care of it and not me, unfortunately), and would nag me even more about how awful it looked. I never succumbed to dying or using heat on my hair, but I did not know how to do any updos to protect my hair, so it was not in good shape. After getting that bob, i was so horrified of hairdressers that I refused to go get my hair trimmed and my hair got "scraggly."
So in eighth grade, I decided to get my hair cut into a pixie, which I wore through most of high school. I got bored of it quite quickly and started to hate it because people constantly mistook me for a boy, but I was too terrified to try to grow my hair out again because my grandmother would tell me that my hair was too thin, fine, and straight to be long. I was so ashamed of my naturally straight hair that I decided to try a perm during my junior year.
I must say that having a perm was sort of fun for a short time because of the dramatic difference between the curls and my straight hair. But the curls had a major downside because they made my hair excessively dry and I couldn't get a comb through my hair while it was slathered in conditioner in the shower. I decided I didn't want a second perm, but I was bullied and threatened with straight, ugly hair if I didn't, so in November 2007, I got my second perm.
January/February 2008.
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=3936&pictureid=80883
The second perm made my hair even worse and it was at that point when I decided to never, ever do something so damaging to my hair again. Rather than declaring it to everyone, I kept it my little secret. Since my hair was still curly, I managed to grow my hair longer (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/album.php?albumid=3936&pictureid=74376) than I would have if I kept my hair straight because the perm hid how "ugly" my natural hair was. Unfortunately, this led me to use the curling iron on my hair. I graduated high school and my hair got a little longer (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/album.php?albumid=3936&pictureid=55468) during that summer, even if the hairstylist cut off more than I would have liked.
As a graduation/birthday present, my boyfriend's mom had bought me natural shampoo and conditioner that really helped with my severely damaged hair. I didn't know anything about 'cones back then, but I did notice that my hair, even the straight parts, looked much better and was not flat. I left my grandparents' household in the fall of 2009 to remove myself from their abuse.
My DBF and his parents took me in and treated me like family. i told them how uncomfortable I was about growing out my naturally straight hair because I had been told how ugly it was in the past. They helped me get on my feet and taught me how to take care of myself and as I grew as a new adult, my hair grew, too. It was awkward (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/album.php?albumid=3936&pictureid=57251), but I managed. In March 2009, I got the rest of my perm cut out and got my hair demi-dyed for the last time. I reached APL around May or June 2009.
Then I stumbled upon the long hair care boards in July 2009. I was looking for photos of long hair for an art project I was doing with my DBF and I was blown away by what I had found. There were people with all kinds of hair growing to long lengths and I remember drooling over all of the beautiful signature pictures. I was happy to discover that there were people with hairtypes similar to mine that were growing their hair out. For the first time in a long time, I felt like I could grow my hair out to be just as, if not more, beautiful as when I was a little girl.
I promptly gave up my curling iron and I started using the CWC method to help with my dry hair. In August, I joined this site because I felt that my hair looked way better than before.
Here is my very first presentable length shot in August 2009.
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=3936&pictureid=56184
I started to teach myself lots of new braids (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/album.php?albumid=3936&pictureid=72698) and new ways of being gentler with my hair. I bought a wide-tooth comb, a couple of wooden brushes, and a BBB. I also discovered jojoba oil as well as the wonders of AVG.
Oh, and I mustn't forget Flexi-8s, which are my favorite hairtoy. Here is a length shot from the end of December 2009.
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=3936&pictureid=58764
By May, my ends were getting really unruly, were breaking off, and were resembling Velcro. I decided to henna my hair to keep it together until I could buy a suitable pair of hair scissors. When I used chemical dye, I loved the auburn color that it would make my hair, so henna seemed like the best option for me.
Here are the results of my first henna in May. I am very happy with my color and I cannot wait to do my next henna!
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=3936&pictureid=73199
I then discovered the wonders of coconut oil and have found that my hair cannot seem to get enough of it. :D I have also been experimenting with CO. I also managed to get my hands on a decent pair of hair scissors so I could give my ends a well-deserved trim.
My trim made me realize that my hair was longer than I thought it was. I was convinced it was midback-length, when in fact it was about halfway to hip (I trimmed 3 or 4 inches off). You can't see it well in this picture, but you can see my scraggly ends. Excuse the lack of shine/depth, as the sun was going down when the picture was taken.
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=6100&pictureid=79689
Here is my most recent length shot taken right after my 3-4" self-trim. Please bear with my cell phone's camera, as it does not pick up detail well. I hope you can see my less-scraggly ends and my new U-shaped hemline. :)
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=3936&pictureid=80993
So... can I call this waist? ^
Thank you so much, LHC, for all of your knowledge and support. I don't know where my hair would be if I hadn't found you. I feel so enabled now that I can put my hair up in creative and pretty ways, properly care for it, and trim it myself. I have even re-learned to love and accept my hairtype as well as realize that it is not ugly, flat, or stringy. I still have a long way to go both length-wise and S&D-wise :eyebrows:, but I am happy with the progress i have made so far and I am really looking forward to where my hair journey will take me during the coming year. Hopefully I will be around tailbone next year.
It was my one year LHC anniversary on August 10, 2010, but due to an incredibly upsetting family issue, I felt it would be best to delay my anniversary thread until I was feeling a little better. So please allow me to share my hair journey with you all. My hair has been through a lot over the years, but I am still so surprised that my hair made so much progress in one year.
I had long hair when I was a child (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/album.php?albumid=3936&pictureid=57250) and I loved it and always got compliments on it. I was very proud of how long, thick, shiny, and beautiful my hair was. Unfortunately, there were people who did not like my hair one bit and constantly told me how thin and flat it was and that I should cut it. After years and years of being nagged by these same people, I caved in during sixth grade and got my very long hair chopped into a bob (sorry no pictures, I'm to embarrassed to post any, it was that bad). I liked it for maybe the first twenty minutes after the cut, and then I started to miss my hair dearly. I spent two years trying to grow my hair back out, with very little success (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/album.php?albumid=3936&pictureid=57252) because my grandmother would insist on awful-looking bangs, refused to teach me how to properly care for my own hair (the adults in my life insisted on taking care of it and not me, unfortunately), and would nag me even more about how awful it looked. I never succumbed to dying or using heat on my hair, but I did not know how to do any updos to protect my hair, so it was not in good shape. After getting that bob, i was so horrified of hairdressers that I refused to go get my hair trimmed and my hair got "scraggly."
So in eighth grade, I decided to get my hair cut into a pixie, which I wore through most of high school. I got bored of it quite quickly and started to hate it because people constantly mistook me for a boy, but I was too terrified to try to grow my hair out again because my grandmother would tell me that my hair was too thin, fine, and straight to be long. I was so ashamed of my naturally straight hair that I decided to try a perm during my junior year.
I must say that having a perm was sort of fun for a short time because of the dramatic difference between the curls and my straight hair. But the curls had a major downside because they made my hair excessively dry and I couldn't get a comb through my hair while it was slathered in conditioner in the shower. I decided I didn't want a second perm, but I was bullied and threatened with straight, ugly hair if I didn't, so in November 2007, I got my second perm.
January/February 2008.
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=3936&pictureid=80883
The second perm made my hair even worse and it was at that point when I decided to never, ever do something so damaging to my hair again. Rather than declaring it to everyone, I kept it my little secret. Since my hair was still curly, I managed to grow my hair longer (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/album.php?albumid=3936&pictureid=74376) than I would have if I kept my hair straight because the perm hid how "ugly" my natural hair was. Unfortunately, this led me to use the curling iron on my hair. I graduated high school and my hair got a little longer (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/album.php?albumid=3936&pictureid=55468) during that summer, even if the hairstylist cut off more than I would have liked.
As a graduation/birthday present, my boyfriend's mom had bought me natural shampoo and conditioner that really helped with my severely damaged hair. I didn't know anything about 'cones back then, but I did notice that my hair, even the straight parts, looked much better and was not flat. I left my grandparents' household in the fall of 2009 to remove myself from their abuse.
My DBF and his parents took me in and treated me like family. i told them how uncomfortable I was about growing out my naturally straight hair because I had been told how ugly it was in the past. They helped me get on my feet and taught me how to take care of myself and as I grew as a new adult, my hair grew, too. It was awkward (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/album.php?albumid=3936&pictureid=57251), but I managed. In March 2009, I got the rest of my perm cut out and got my hair demi-dyed for the last time. I reached APL around May or June 2009.
Then I stumbled upon the long hair care boards in July 2009. I was looking for photos of long hair for an art project I was doing with my DBF and I was blown away by what I had found. There were people with all kinds of hair growing to long lengths and I remember drooling over all of the beautiful signature pictures. I was happy to discover that there were people with hairtypes similar to mine that were growing their hair out. For the first time in a long time, I felt like I could grow my hair out to be just as, if not more, beautiful as when I was a little girl.
I promptly gave up my curling iron and I started using the CWC method to help with my dry hair. In August, I joined this site because I felt that my hair looked way better than before.
Here is my very first presentable length shot in August 2009.
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=3936&pictureid=56184
I started to teach myself lots of new braids (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/album.php?albumid=3936&pictureid=72698) and new ways of being gentler with my hair. I bought a wide-tooth comb, a couple of wooden brushes, and a BBB. I also discovered jojoba oil as well as the wonders of AVG.
Oh, and I mustn't forget Flexi-8s, which are my favorite hairtoy. Here is a length shot from the end of December 2009.
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=3936&pictureid=58764
By May, my ends were getting really unruly, were breaking off, and were resembling Velcro. I decided to henna my hair to keep it together until I could buy a suitable pair of hair scissors. When I used chemical dye, I loved the auburn color that it would make my hair, so henna seemed like the best option for me.
Here are the results of my first henna in May. I am very happy with my color and I cannot wait to do my next henna!
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=3936&pictureid=73199
I then discovered the wonders of coconut oil and have found that my hair cannot seem to get enough of it. :D I have also been experimenting with CO. I also managed to get my hands on a decent pair of hair scissors so I could give my ends a well-deserved trim.
My trim made me realize that my hair was longer than I thought it was. I was convinced it was midback-length, when in fact it was about halfway to hip (I trimmed 3 or 4 inches off). You can't see it well in this picture, but you can see my scraggly ends. Excuse the lack of shine/depth, as the sun was going down when the picture was taken.
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=6100&pictureid=79689
Here is my most recent length shot taken right after my 3-4" self-trim. Please bear with my cell phone's camera, as it does not pick up detail well. I hope you can see my less-scraggly ends and my new U-shaped hemline. :)
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=3936&pictureid=80993
So... can I call this waist? ^
Thank you so much, LHC, for all of your knowledge and support. I don't know where my hair would be if I hadn't found you. I feel so enabled now that I can put my hair up in creative and pretty ways, properly care for it, and trim it myself. I have even re-learned to love and accept my hairtype as well as realize that it is not ugly, flat, or stringy. I still have a long way to go both length-wise and S&D-wise :eyebrows:, but I am happy with the progress i have made so far and I am really looking forward to where my hair journey will take me during the coming year. Hopefully I will be around tailbone next year.