I think I'm almost waist but...these fairy tails look horrible.

[fairy_ends_girl]

I am basically not knowing what to think about this. I have always wanted long hair but it grows out like this: http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll257/helenstmom/Hair/Photo86.jpg

And this: http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll257/helenstmom/Hair/Photo67.jpg

Why does hair grow like this? Why does it thin out at the ends? Honestly, does it look like crap? I am feeling so depressed right now.

And is this considered waist or mid back?

[turquoisebud]

Hum... Have you thought about hair vitamins or something. Some people like them. Maybe if you were to trim up to the thicker part and start taking hair vitamins and maybe research other remedies. I hope this helps a little. Hang in there. :flower:

[LaurelSpring]

I know that there are those that prefer blunt hemlines, but honestly I think that your fairytale ends are lovely. Sometimes I have a tendency to want to chop mine at the thick point which tends to be around bsl but then I think how much I will dislike not having my wispies that I use to secure updos or that just love to dance around playfully underneath my shirt bottom tickling me. When I see a picture like yours it encourages me to also embrace my fairytale ends, so think of yourself as a Fairytale end ambassador that helps encourage the rest of us to love our tapers also. :eek:

[Paula Auguste]

It looks as if some of your hairs are sprinters ;-) The fairy tale ends on theirself (itself?) do not look bad in my opinion, but I think the contrast is a little bit too much. I would recommend microtrims. I don't think you have to cut back if there is no damage, but cutting half an inch off of the longest hairs each month gives the shorter hair time to catch up.
You have lovely curls, btw, and I think when your hair is longer in general, this fairy tale ends will look much better! My hair does the same (the underlayer grows faster than the canopy), so I trim every other month to maintain a relatively thick hemline.

In the picture it looks like your canopy curls up more then the longer layers, which increases the appearance of thin ends. How big is the difference if you stretch out the shorter hairs?

[milagro]

It certainly doesn't look like crap, it looks lovely. Very nice curl pattern :flower: But I think hair doesn't thin out from APL if there's no breakage. So a little trim once in a while won't hurt, and your hair will safely reach waist - just a little later

[UltraBella]

First of all, awesome curls !!!
So, I am just going to be honest and I truly hope it doesn't hurt your feelings. Yes, it does look a bit strange. It appears that the bulk of your hair is much shorter than the whispy lengths hanging down. It looks like you go from thick to thin pretty drastically. From the very top to about APL it looks great ! I am sorry you are having this issue, I do understand why you are upset and I hope you find a solution that works for you :flower:

[Fufu]

I think is due to some of your hair length grow much faster than the rest, no worries they will catch up :)

Your hair looks great.

[Roscata]

Yes you are absolutely at waist. Congratulations! :D

Now if you start trimming about as much as you grow each month (the average is .5 inches) you will maintain your length and thicken your hemline getting the kind of hemline you want.

Honestly I'm totally in love with your fairytale ends they are beautiful. :inlove:

[mira-chan]

I have a longer version of your fairy tales. :) There were a couple of major sheds involved in creating the look and a few years without trimming. I have a similar wave pattern to you, and it's wavier towards the roots due to a somewhat resent hair type change growing in.

If you want to thicken them a bit I'd go with Paula Auguste's suggestions of small trims. I don't have success with big chops as the hairs spring grow into fairytales in a month or two. I'm currently maintaining length with microtrims and the ends are thickening slowly. This way you can thicken up the bulk of the hair and keep some fairytailing if you want by spacing the small trims, the sprinter hairs take care of the rest. Or you cna slowly trim to a blunter hemline like that.

The longest hairs look like they are close to waist, probably already there stretched.

[girlcat36]

My hair tends to grow that way, too. I don't have damage or breakage, but I am a heavy shedder. I microtrim all the time. I have been between 26-27" since August, in an effort to thicken up the ends.
My advice would be to stay at your current length, microtrimming off each months growth to see if the thickness catches up. Get a cool hairtoy and find an updo that you feel like you look pretty in, put it up and forget it. Microtrim for 6-9 months, taking pictures after each trim, and see if this improves.

[morecowbell]

SNIP
My advice would be to stay at your current length, microtrimming off each months growth to see if the thickness catches up. Get a cool hairtoy and find an updo that you feel like you look pretty in, put it up and forget it. Microtrim for 6-9 months, taking pictures after each trim, and see if this improves.

Great advice! :) I personally think your ends look magical, but I think they'd look better if your length was longer. I would maintain at waist until your ends are thick at the waist, then let your beautiful fairy tale ends spiral to greatness. :D

Good luck in whatever you decide. :)

[fairy_ends_girl]

Thanks everyone! Yes, my hair has tons of new growth underneath. I will bite the bullet and do micro trims as I have not trimmed in about 2 years. I just hope the underneath catches up to the length soon. Should I do 1/2 inch or 1/4 inch? I am also keeping my hair up or braided every day, taking vitamins and oiling. I appreciate everyones comments :) I may be at waist but it sure does not feel like it nor look like it. Glad I am here for support! :)

[girlcat36]

For faster results, I would suggest 1/2", just make sure you don't trim more than 1/2", or more frequently than once a month.

[spoonshine]

Have a similar thing going on myself but without your oh so pretty waves! I'm debating when I'll start trimming to try to thicken the ends up. I'm past waist now and if I wanted a blunt hemline I'd have to cut back to BSL or APL. That would make me an unhappy camper so I'm just trying to be patient 'til I grow to a level I'll be happy at maintaining for a while while I thicken up the ends. Looking at progress pics does help me to see that the bulk is slowly moving down after the wispy ends. Your hair does look very pretty in its current state.

[fairy_ends_girl]

Okay everyone, I just took off 1 1/2 inches!!! It does not really look any shorter and I feel as though I did the right thing. I will take off 1 inch in about 6 weeks from now. Okay, braiding it now :) Thanks for the advice :)

[girlcat36]

Okay everyone, I just took off 1 1/2 inches!!! It does not really look any shorter and I feel as though I did the right thing. I will take off 1 inch in about 6 weeks from now. Okay, braiding it now :) Thanks for the advice :)

Good girl! I think this will pay off in the end.
As long as you don't cut back up further than BSL your hair is still 'long'. Take pics to document, it will be helpful to you, as well as others who are struggling with this hair issue.

[jojo]

Your hair is lovely and the fairy tails always look better on curly hair than straight IMHO. If they bother you, then you could dust monthy (canopy) until the under carriage (is that what its called; the under hair? i dunno!) catches up and maybe try monistat on your under carriage which will allow it to catch up, but overall yes your hair is fine but hair doesnt have to be thick to be beautiful.

[ddiana1979]

I think your hair is pretty. :) You already mentioned you did a 1 & 1/2 inch trim. I think that was a good idea. Do you know roughly how much your hair grows a month? The average is 0.5", I believe. So if you grow at the average rate, if I were you (and I'm not, so feel free to disregard this opinion if you think it's batty or insulting) I would cut of 0.25" per month. . . just on the ends of your longest layer (the fairytale part). That way you will still get a little bit more length each month, but you're also taking off some of the fairytale ends. Within 4-6 months or so, I bet everything will have evened out and look much thicker. I think fairytale ends are nice on wavy or curly hair though, so I would leave some & not go all the way to blunt.

[tinywife]

I like Roscata's idea of maintaining the length while thickening the hemline. Give the slowpoke strands a chance to catch up. :)
If you want to speed up the process, consider taking biotin. It's really working well for me.
And - I think you're definitely at waist! Congrats!

[Anywhere]

its not bad. It could look that way because, as others have said, the bottom layer grows faster. It could be emphasized by the nape hairs as well (my nape hair grows to about APL and then tapers dramatically to nothing at almost BSL). Once the top grows out a little more I don't think it will be as noticeable. :flower:

[Tressie]

I know you may want a thicker hemline, but honestly I think your hair is magical too, as someone said already, so don't get too carried away with your micro trims, OK? (o:

You've recieved very good advice and I think you are doing a great job!

[fairy_ends_girl]

omg, i am sitting here with scissors in hand getting ready to cut back to apl. i keep looking at my hair pics from last year and hair was so thick and now i look freakish with these horrible thin ends. i did take 1 1/2 inch off today but it still needs more. maybe up to bsl. i need someone to talk me out of this. scissors are in hand now :( i am so sad but maybe this just needs to be done.

[Druida]

omg, i am sitting here with scissors in hand getting ready to cut back to apl. i keep looking at my hair pics from last year and hair was so thick and now i look freakish with these horrible thin ends. i did take 1 1/2 inch off today but it still needs more. maybe up to bsl. i need someone to talk me out of this. scissors are in hand now :( i am so sad but maybe this just needs to be done.

Don't do it! :scared:

Yes your ends are thin, but that doesn't mean they're bad!! Your ends are beautiful, don't be ashamed of them! Everybody has trouble with their hair at some point on their hair journey. Think of all the people on this forum who post and read threads every day about hair concerns. We all go through it at some point, so don't worry about your hair at all.

Here, maybe this blog post (http://longhairedatheart.blogspot.com/2010/03/even-hemline-without-loosing-length.html) will help?


(http://longhairedatheart.blogspot.com/2010/03/even-hemline-without-loosing-length.html)

[Demetrue]

Wait a month before you trim any more off.

[Tressie]

I think you should wait two weeks, at least, before you trim again...........just to be sure you don't regret it!:pray:

Continue to take care good care of your hair and wear nice updos for now. Try to get your mind off this issue and onto something else. :chillpill: :puppykisses::pizza::cookie::kitten::chocolate:

You may feel differently in a few days, and if not, you can ALWAYS trim!!! :scissors: Hope this helps!

[Wheatland]

As someone who really doesn't like fairy tale ends I have to say that I actually like yours. I don't think you should trim them. I think they are delicate and beautiful, especially with your curls. Don't despair!

[jasper]

Two week rule! Especially if you are feeling extra emotional about it.

I feel your pain. My hair is doing the fairy tail thing too. In my case, my hair is considerably shorter on one side than the other. A cut could make things better, but I am in a bun wearing holding pattern.

[Deborah]

omg, i am sitting here with scissors in hand getting ready to cut back to apl. i keep looking at my hair pics from last year and hair was so thick and now i look freakish with these horrible thin ends. i did take 1 1/2 inch off today but it still needs more. maybe up to bsl. i need someone to talk me out of this. scissors are in hand now :( i am so sad but maybe this just needs to be done.


You don't look freakish by a long shot. But I think you should do the cut. It's obvious that you are sick of see-through hair. Losing more length would mean gaining more thickness, and I think you would probably be a lot happier. Long hair is not all about length; it's about beauty. On this board 'fairy tale' ends have become a buzzword, but some of us don't think there is anything 'fairy tale' about very thin ends. Your hair can be long and beautiful with much thicker ends after a good cut.

I'll admit that my hair grows very fast, so bigger cuts don't phase me like they seem to many others. If you are a person who panics at the thought of shorter (but still long) hair, then maybe it could be too much. But you don't seem to have this kind of fear. Ultimately, as always, it's your hair, and you should do what you think is best. The rest of us care that you are happy.

[girlcat36]

I hope you didn't do it!