Five years LHC - darkwaves

[darkwaves]

I had BSL hair as a teenager, and over the years, went from there to shoulder to pixie to shoulder to pixie and back again several times. When I found LHC in 2005, I was growing from shoulder, hoping to get it long! (By which, I think I meant, finally! BSL again... I never could figure out what to do with it, so without LHC I'm sure I would have cut at that point once again!)

I was inspired by anniversary threads then... They gave me hope, and also an idea of what hair like mine might possibly look like long. And so, in the spirit of giving back to the LHC community, here is my five-year update.

My hair was about 19" when I joined. The texture, as always, varied from curl to wave to frizz... Here's what it looked like mostly curly five years ago:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c346/hairpix/DCP04018-1.jpg

It's now at 35" -- a gain of 3" from last year, and 16" longer overall. Funny, but in pictures, it looks the same at 32" as it does now, but it feels far longer. I've still been trimming frequently... But that's it! I am putting the scissors away for a year!

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c346/hairpix/2010_10260002-1.jpg

I really liked my hair at about BSL, not so much at waist... However, I love the current length -- so much so that I've started using curly products again and wearing it loose a lot more.

My next mini-goal? To have it look TBL when loose and curly... With my shrinkage, that's about four inches if stretched, so perhaps by next year? (Or the next???)

Thanks to LHC for ideas and support -- and for introducing me to hair tools and hair jewelry! Without this place, I never would have had the imagination to see my hair past BSL. (Or the patience.)

[Lady Mary]

Beautiful hair! Congratulations on your 5 year anniversary :flower:

[Petite Simone]

Congrats on five years! Your hair is beautiful! I love the curl pattern

[DavidN]

I am at a loss for words, Darkwaves, and how truly awesome your curls are, and please add me to the thudpile!:thudpile:

Also, congratulations are going your way on your 5 year LHC anniversary, and I could not imagine this place without you!

[tigr]

Your hair is beautiful. Congratulations!

[Flaxen]

Stunning, simply stunning! :thud:

[cindy58]

Happy Anniversary, darkwaves! Your hair is gorgeous. I tried to inspire a curly haired co-worker to grow her dark curly hair long a few years ago by showing her photos of your many styles that you used to have in an album. She didn't stick with it for long though -- too bad.

[Feng-Shui]

Congratulations too your 5th anniversary. :toast:

Your hair is a large inspiration for me. :thudpile:

I love your curls.:flower:

[Sunny_side_up]

Beautiful hair:) Wow!

[jju1007]

Love your curls....beautiful!!!

[Speckla]

What a beautiful inspiration!! Gives me hope for what my hair will look like when I reach that length! Thank you!

[spidermom]

I could have done my 5-year anniversary this year too (in June). But I didn't.

I'm glad you did because your hair is gorgeous!

[SilverLocks]

It is a beautiful length for those magnificent curls. It's wonderful you can wear it down to fully appreciate it in it's full curly glory.

Happy Anniversary, dear darkwaves. It's a pleasure knowing you over the years.

Here's to more stunning growth. :toast:

[HeatherMae]

ABSOLUTELY BREATH TAKING!

Happy Anniversary!!

[little_acorn]

WOW what amazing hair!

Happy anniversary!

I'm also joining the :thudpile:

[Carolyn]

Your hair is so beautiful! Congratulations on your LHC anniversary. I love your rich dark color and those waves are to die for. I like to hear that people love their hair when they grow it out.

[dragonmyst]

oh wow.... your hair is so pretty....

I love the curls!!

[christine1989]

Your curls are stunning at tha length! I'm sure you get lots of evious looks when you are out and about. :)

[Heartwillfollow]

Beautiful hair Darkwaves !!! curls are so awesome congratulations on your anniversary !

[narydaco]

Fantastic! Congratulations on your 5 yr anniversary. Your curls, color and shine are awesome!

[tinti]

Oh my GOSH you have beautiful hair! I love your curls and how long it is :) Congratulations on 5 years on LHC!

[jojo]

that is beautiful thick curly long hair you have.

[ericthegreat]

I would commit murder for curls as beautiful as your darkwaves. Congratulations on your 5th anniversary! :cheese: Clearly, you know exactly how to best take care of your hair.

[FrannyG]

I joined here about 9 months after you did, and I remember being simply captivated by your hair even then. I soon learned what a lovely human being you are as well. :blossom:

I could never have imagined that some day your hair would be this length and even more beautiful than it was then. Thank you so much for posting this anniversary update thread. You've done an amazing job with your hair, and you've been a wonderful LHC member. :flowers:

[luluj]

:blossom: I agree with everyone, your hair is beautiful, very inspiring!:blossom:

[lapushka]

OMG that's gorgeous! You have such beautiful hair!

[Valdeon]

Your hair is just... breathtakingly gorgeous! I loooove the curls :heartbeat 5 years, huh? But it was definitely worth it! :toast:

Happy growing!

[punkcatknitter]

So stunning!

[darkwaves]

Thanks so much, everyone!

I'm happy to see so many LHC friends.

(FrannyG, DavidN, SilverLocks, spidermom, cindy58, jojo, Flaxen, Carolyn, Sunny_side_up, narydaco, Speckla, tigr, Feng-Shui, dragonmyst, HeatherMae, christine1989, Heartwillfollow, little_acorn, lapushka, tinti, luluj, ericthegreat, Petite Simone, Lady Mary, jju1007, Valdeon, punkcatknitter!)

[HintOfMint]

Congratulations! And absolutely beautiful. Epic is a fitting term for your hair.

[DuckyDot]

Wow. Your hair is lovely! Congratulations on a 5 year anniversary and lets hope for many more :) :thudpile:

[CurlyTresses]

Your curls are beautiful and your hair is definitely an inspiration. Congrats!! :o

[EdG]

Wow! :thud:

Congratulations on five years! :)
Ed

[eezepeeze]

Yaaayy! Curly hair CAN grow beyond BSL!! I knew it could be done and here's the proof!

You are my inspiration to keep going. If you can do it, I can, too, I just have to have patience.

[jessie58]

:thudpile: :heartbeat

[pennylane]

Gorgeous hair darkwaves! Beautiful!!!!!

Congratulations!:blossom:

[PurpleAshes]

Absolutely beautiful!

[julya]

I think that your curls are just amazing! Congrats on the five years!

[RecklessCharlie]

Wow, you truly have SUPERB hair! Such great texture to your curls and the length is wonderful. It looks amazing, congratulations! :)

[darkwaves]

Thank you, HintOfMint, DuckyDot, CurlyTresses, EdG, eezepeeze, jessie58 :flowers:, pennylane, PurpleAshes, Reckless Charlie and julya of the wonderful long tresses!

And eezepeeze, curly hair can grow long... although depending on your curls, it might not look long, or it might not look curly (or you might have to figure out how to make it look curly while long. Mine needs lots of leave-ins to keep it from drifting into slight waves or exploding into frizz. Or, you might be lucky and naturally have great long curls! Grow on and see where it goes! (And visit the curly/wurly thread on this forum for ideas.)

[JamieLeigh]

Happy Anniversary! You have some beautiful curls!! :crush:

[~bear]

Wow! Gorgeous thick curls!

[<3OnHerSleeve]

Congrats on the 5 years!!! your hair is unbelievably gorgeous

[Dragon]

Congrats, looks great:)

[Garnett]

WOAH!!!! It's BEAUTIFUL! Congrats on your progress; you hair is absolutely stunning :D

[EleanorRigby]

OMG, your hair looks AMAZING i really love your curls, extremely beautiful:toast:

[pepperminttea]

:thudpile: Stunning!

[Loreley]

:thud: Your hair is gorgeous! Congratulations!

[Teazel]

Absolutely thudworthy, darkwaves. :thud: Your beautiful curls remind me of wonderlywroughte's hair. :)

[KittyLost]

Beautiful Curly Hair!

Happy Anniversary! :)

[katha]

Your hair looks absolutely stunning.

[Isadora Lewie]

Gorgeous hair! What an inspiration... :-D

[jasper]

I think your hair is really beautiful!

[mrs_coffee]

Holy moly, that is some gorgeous hair!

[serious]

Congratulations on 5 years!

And...:thudpile:
Your hair is beautiful!

[mellie]

Wow, that's GORGEOUS!!

[darkwaves]

Thanks so much, mellie, serious, mrs_coffee, jasper, Isadora Lewie, katha, KittyLost, Loreley. pepperminttea, EleanorRigby, Garnett, Dragon, <3OnHerSleeve, ~bear, JamieLeigh!

And Teazel, wonderlywroughte was one of my first idols here - I loved her thickness and length, and I am honoured, though I know I don't come close!

[TrudieCat]

WOW! You have absolutely stunningly beautifully gorgeous hair!! Congratulations on such wonderful growth. :cheer:

I said it before, but it bears repeating - you have absolutely stunningly beautifully gorgeous hair! :thud:

[princessp]

Wow your hair is stunning! :thudpile:

[restourceful]

:thud: I am in awe of your gorgeous dark curls! Simply beautiful! Congratulations, Happy Anniversary, and thanks so much for sharing!

[elliebean184]

Your hair is beautiful, darkwaves! And you have my dream hair! I'm looking forward to seeing more of you and your curls in the future! Happy Anniversary!

[Gumball]

Your hair is just plain great! :thud: Congrats on five wonderful years! :D

[Alvrodul]

Your hair is lovely! Such a wonderful color, and those curls! :crush:

[Sammich]

Marvelous! Add me to the thud pile! :p

[bte]

Amazing - you don't often see hair of your texture at that sort of length. Wonderful progress!

[Sooze]

:D WOW!!! What else is there to say?

[triumphator!]

Oooo I love your curls! Your hair looks so shiny and healthy! It looks so much thicker than F, too!

[darkwaves]

Thanks, Sooze, triumphator, Sammich, bte, Alvrodul, Gumball, elliebean184, restourceful, princessp, and TrudieCat!

triumphator, lots of LHCers have fine -- yet thick -- hair. (And mine is iii, so yes, it's thick.) And it's also pretty common for curlies to have fine hair. Also, I've been trying to get mine to clump more, so perhaps that's why it may not look fine? (Although that texture is tough to see in a photograph!)

And bte, I have use a lot of leave-in conditioner -- and at times, gel -- to keep my hair curly at this length! Left totally alone, it wants to billow out in frizz or drop into waves, which I call straight but are likely somewhere in the 2 a/b range.