Has anyone else experienced this?

[prof-annie]

When I first decided to grow long hair my main goal was length.
As my hair has grown and my treatment of it improved my goal has changed.
Now my main goal is to have healthy hair and I am less concerned about the length it ultimately grows to.
Has anybody else found that their priority has moved away from just length and more towards general hair health?

[Bene]

Yes.




(10 characters)

[WaitingSoLong]

Yes, but only after I reached my goal.

[silverjen]

My hair grows so darn slow (0.25" a month) that I have to make health my goal. If I was focused on length I'd drive myself nuts.

[Sweetie]

no, definetely my goal is still lenght, but I guess from waist on I'll move to health - goal!!

[Kherome]

IMO goal means nothing if the hair is damaged and unappealing. Health before length always!

[jojo]

Yes me too!

[Elysium]

My goal is definitley still length, I'll worry about getting the hemline even and things like that when I get to my goal length :eyebrows:

[sharicat]

Definitely! I want longer hair but now I am much more focused on getting it nice and healthy :)

[CrystalStar]

No doubt about it! I originally just wanted long hair, but after seeing all the shiny, healthy heads of hair around here you get hair-envy! :D

[scorpio_rising]

Kind of the opposite, actually. I came around here trying to figure out how to make my hair beautiful, not long. The longer I'm here, though, the longer I want my hair!

[ladyfey]

Yes, especailly after seeing Arc691's hair on LHC. My hair is knee-length, her's is longer, but so much better looking than mine! So now I no longer brush, wide tooth comb very gently, switched to satin sheets and pillowcases. Wish I'd been doing all of this all along!

[cowgirllong]

I think wanting healthy hair has to come in there somewhere. If you aren't keeping it healthy, it isn't going to grow as long as you want it. If it is breaking off from damage it won't look good, either.

[xoxophelia]

Mine has always been health to some extent because the intial reason I came here was to grow a few inches of hair to 30" but to have support as I grow out damage which takes a really long time.


I think eventually I have started to focus even more on health just because I have become more and more tired of dealing with two toned and damaged hair.

[lorelai2012]

I find that the more time I spend on LH sites the more I obsess over splits and dryness- driving DBF as he complains every time I get my scissors out- "it's never gonna grow if you keep snipping it!"
Sometimes I think he's right, but maybe healthy hair is worth the wait.

Lorelai 2012 - 30ins by December 2012!

[owlathena]

Nope, my main goal is still length. Of course health is important, but I dont pay nearly as much attention to health as I do to length.

[Cocoa_Crema]

When I first decided to grow long hair my main goal was length.
As my hair has grown and my treatment of it improved my goal has changed.
Now my main goal is to have healthy hair and I am less concerned about the length it ultimately grows to.
Has anybody else found that their priority has moved away from just length and more towards general hair health?

This is my goal now too. Healthy lustrous locks are my priority and length 2nd.

[Jomo]

My goal is definitely to keep growing - buuut there's little choice in order to reach that goal except to pursue the healthiest hair I can get and be paranoid about damage to it. I also want it to look nice down once it's really long so working out ways to tame frizz, unattractive ends, etc is all part of it :)

[McFearless]

Sort of. I've always wanted long healthy hair but I love the look of straight hair so much that I damaged mine with a flat iron. When I joined this forum I was desperate for length and now that I have it, it doesn't feel so great because a good portion of my hair is damaged. My goal is still length because I can cut off more and more damage the longer it gets.

[MoonLover]

I agree with your sentiments! Even though I do want long hair, I've been thinking I'd rather have beautiful BSL hair than sad scraggly hip length hair (my most recent goal fantasy.) Hair can really be a reflection of whole body health so I'm working more towards that than just length.

[missvici]

I am definitely more focused on my hair's health rather than length. I don't see the point in having long hair of it doesn't look or feel good/healthy!

[MariaAZ]

When I first joined this forum, my goal was waist-length (it was slightly above BSL at the time). I had been using chemical dyes and the majority of my hair was damaged to some degree or another. I wanted SO MUCH for my hair to magically reach waist length, but after awhile I realized it would not happen with all the damage. The ends were constantly breaking (and my hair grows slowly) so my goal then became to slowly but surely remove the damaged hair.

I switched from chemical dyes to henna as I never really liked my natural color, and absolutely loved it. After a couple years I had finally removed the worst of the damage and my hair was still BSL. I became tired of constantly touching up my roots (my hair was about 50% gray at that time) and decided to just let it go natural. Although the henna started fading out, it still never completely left so once again I trimmed to remove the colored bits. That took a few years, but late last year DH did a "big snip" and took off about 5" of length and the last of the henna. And here I am, about six years after joining this forum, and my hair is now... at BSL. Just where I started.

I've learned a few things about my hair over these years. One, it's not only fine, it's fragile. The ends split easily, which in turn causes tangles that in turn cause breakage. Although I wanted more length, I really love wearing my hair down and so made the choice to wear it the way I liked over increasing length by protecting the fragile ends.

This year I've decided to have DH trim off about 1/4" every few months to see if I can coax a bit more length. The longest I've gotten is about half way between BSL and waist, but that was only a few strands and I want it ALL to be the same length. I've concluded that this may never happen given the nature of my hair.

Another lesson; dying and hennaing may have required maintenance, but being a long-haired silver fox requires even more work. I'm constantly on the lookout for color enhancing products for gray hair to counter the yellowing ends, and have even started protecting the ends to shield them from color-damage.

So, in my case my emphasis has DEFINITELY changed from length the health and appearance. I still dream of waist length but don't really see that happening. And now, it doesn't really bother me because I've really learned to love what I've got :)

[PrincessBob]

Yup. Long hair looks best when it's in good condition, so why not spend a little extra time waiting for it to be healthy before you go back to being length obsessed.

[Roseate]

I think I did it backwards: I came to LHC mostly looking for help with hair health, my scalp problems were really driving me mad. I was growing, but not with much goal in mind.

Seeing all the great hair here made me more interested in length again, and now I'm looking for a little of both!

[Kristamommyx3]

IMO goal means nothing if the hair is damaged and unappealing. Health before length always!

I have always 100% agreed with this philosophy. I trim off dry damaged ends as soon as I see them. I don't want anything but the healthiest of air, and if that means it takes me twice as long to reach my goal, then so be it. I would go around trimming off everyone's dead ends in public if I thought I could get away with it! Heehee

[christine1989]

My goal when I first discovered LHC was just general health then after seeing all of the great profiles I became preoccupied with length. Now, after spending over a year on LHC I'm back to focusing on general health although I am certainly still growing it.

[GingerSnapO]

I actually started growing my hair kind of accidentally. I couldn't afford to get it cut and highlighted, and next thing I knew, my APL was at BSL. :) Somewhere in there, I realized that I was kind of liking my length, and whenever I had gotten that long before, it had started to look really ratty, so I wanted to keep it as healthy as possible. Now, I'd love to make it to waist (or maybe even hip) but only if if it can be healthy and shiny also. I had my first trim in a year and a half last weekend, and I was thrilled that I didn't lose much length. My stylist was happy with how pretty my hair looked also, and she wants to help me keep the length. Yay!

[Jenn of Pence]

I've desired long hair for a long time (like, half my life ;)). I never could get past waist because I had no concept of hair care...I had to trim every bit of the amount that I grew because I had no idea how to keep my ends nice. So, I suppose for me I came here to learn how to have healthy hair so I could actually get to the lengths I wanted. While I'm still dealing with past damage, I'm willing to put up with some of it (some of it) to get to my first goal length (hip). From there I think I will be willing to maintain if I need to. There's no point in yoyo-ing between longer lengths without getting anywhere due to poor health, for me at least.

[long&blonde]

Yes.
For me, treating my hair better: leads to trating my hair better.
Seeing the health from a switch to no dye for 6 months,
Once a week shampoo only,
And all week in a braided bun?
Has now led me to "Why am I blowdrying when I wash, anyways?"
I am ready to try air dry, tho thought of the wurly curly wavy tangles to later comb? To braid dry?
Hmmmm....

[Mesmerise]

My goal is definitley still length, I'll worry about getting the hemline even and things like that when I get to my goal length :eyebrows:

This. But also, I am focussing on hair health as well, so the new hair growing in should be healthier than my old hair, and in time my overall hair health will improve.

However, I'm not going to chop off a few inches of my hair just to have better ends. My ends actually aren't bad (split wise) but they are very tapered, and I think my hair would look "better" if I were to chop off a few inches.

[Debra83]

Nope, my main goal is still length. Of course health is important, but I dont pay nearly as much attention to health as I do to length.

This......


Sort of. I've always wanted long healthy hair but I love the look of straight hair so much that I damaged mine with a flat iron. When I joined this forum I was desperate for length and now that I have it, it doesn't feel so great because a good portion of my hair is damaged. My goal is still length because I can cut off more and more damage the longer it gets.


...and the blue this!:D

[SpeakingEZ]

Health has moved up on the priority list only because I can feel the difference between my pre-LHC hair and my new growth . . . and I don't like it.

However, with the exception of s+d'ing splits, I'm determined to keep my hair growing until it's back at waist. Then, I'll feel much more comfortable trimming.

I guess my biggest goal is HAPPINESS with my hair! My Hair Happiness levels are as follows!

Past-waist-length healthy hair
Waist-length healthy hair
Waist-length unhealthy hair
Current-length unhealthy hair
Shorter than current-length healthy hair

As you can see, length trumps health until I am at waist, at which point health takes over!

[MagicAndMayhem]

My goal switched from length to convenience once I started college, but I switched back once I chopped a lot of it off D:

[tgagurl27]

i think im the same at the moment its length for me but once i reach a length tht im satisfied with then ill be trimming much more regularly to even out layers and wot not..

[daaisychains]

Definately, healthy hair glows!

Planning on reaching waist/hip and then maintaining until it's all healthy.

[spidermom]

My goal was always good condition first, length second.

[WaitingSoLong]

Mine has always been health to some extent because the intial reason I came here was to grow a few inches of hair to 30" but to have support as I grow out damage which takes a really long time.

XOXO I miss your beautiful face in your avatar! PUT IT BACK! lol. I agree with what I bolded here...


I wanted SO MUCH for my hair to magically reach waist length, but after awhile I realized it would not happen with all the damage. The ends were constantly breaking (and my hair grows slowly) so my goal then became to slowly but surely remove the damaged hair.
(edit)
So, in my case my emphasis has DEFINITELY changed from length the health and appearance. I still dream of waist length but don't really see that happening. And now, it doesn't really bother me because I've really learned to love what I've got :)

Ahhh...a long earned piece of wisdom.


I have always 100% agreed with this philosophy. I trim off dry damaged ends as soon as I see them. I don't want anything but the healthiest of air, and if that means it takes me twice as long to reach my goal, then so be it. I would go around trimming off everyone's dead ends in public if I thought I could get away with it! Heehee

LOL I think there is a balance...I will explain below...



I guess my biggest goal is HAPPINESS with my hair!
(edit)
As you can see, length trumps health until I am at waist, at which point health takes over!

AHHH....SpeakingEZ hit the nail on the head.

I think it is honorable to say one wants no damage in your hair, however, unless you have some fantastic genes, most people who grow past waist will have to have some damage in their hair just due to age. And I would say the majority of people (going by polls here on LHC) want to wear their long hair down some of the time. You cannot always keep it up and protected and enjoy the length, too.

I think one can do both...grow and trim back damage. As long as you don't trim as much as you grow, you will gain length. Exceptions, of course, for such severely damaged hair it breaks. If you have such a huge breakage rate that your hair never gains length even with no trims, it is time to cut off the damage. As for me, I prefer to grow and trim out damage and learn from people like Spidermom who put off necessary trims in order to gain length and ended up having to cut off the length they gained because the damage was too much.

Balance.

And above anything else...BE HAPPY WITH YOUR HAIR. If waist length fried hair makes you happy, go for it. :p

I also want to add that if you have 10" of damage and chop it all off, chances are, before you gain back that 10", some of the ends will become damaged again. I think if length is still in your goal that chopping off ALL damage at once is actually detrimental. You can cut out the 10" over a couple years and by the time that last inch comes off, it will be fresh healthy ends. The same length/ends chopped at the beginning of 2 years will have suffered some damage in the same amount of time. Think of slow trimming as protecting your FUTURE ends. If you always cut every inch of damage off, you are just leaving the new ends susceptible to damage. They are less susceptible to damage if they are "protected" by longer, less than perfect ends. Am I making sense?

[myotislucifugus]

Yeah...As the length increased, a desire for a much thicker hemline at that length ensued. So, bulking up (health) became as much of a priority as length. Though at times, a more frustrating goal

[KatiSasha]

My goal was length first also, but after learning heaps about hair health and growth the priorities have definitely changed. After switching to henna I now have a very distinct line of virgin+henndigo hair and "the rest." My 5 in roots look so shiny and healthy after simple CO wash and occasional ACV rinse with almost no frizz. Which is exactly opposite of "the rest" of my hair - dry and frizz city, no matter what I do to it. It actually looks like I'm wearing a hat LOL So I just put it up every day and wait to grow out the damage and just keep up with S&D and do a microtrim (I do it myself) when it starts to tangle more than usual.

After the damage is gone, I want to be happy with my hair at any length while I'm growing it out. To me, it will make the process a lot easier :)

[elbow chic]

I think I pretty much always knew that health was non-negotiable for me. I've chopped fuzzy, dried-out ends SOOOO many times in the past that I know I have no tolerance for hair that doesn't feel at least as good as it looks. Hair is a tactile thing for me, at least as much as a visual one.

I'd rather have shoulder-length hair that feels good than TB hair that's full of splits down its final five inches. Hopefully I can land somewhere in the middle. :)

[vanillabones]

My hair is so damaged it has to be healthy in order to grow, and I think that is how it is for all hair. If I had the length I'd chop off all the damage now. But instead once I am finally at shoulder I will maintain until all the damage is gone and then smooth sail from there for long beautiful healthy hair. I'd rather it be healthy and short than long and stringy and damaged, then I'd have to start all over pretty much even though the hair is long. I feel pretty and healthy go hand in hand. I want to be pretty and I want my hair to finally be pretty! :)

[WaitingSoLong]

I'd rather have shoulder-length hair that feels good than TB hair that's full of splits down its final five inches. Hopefully I can land somewhere in the middle. :)

You just described my hair.

It is not that bad, really. Splits and healthy hair can coexist. I honestly don't think I could ever have split free hair at this length and I am not willing to cut it just to get rid of them. :shrug: To each her own.

[elbow chic]

You just described my hair.

It is not that bad, really. Splits and healthy hair can coexist. I honestly don't think I could ever have split free hair at this length and I am not willing to cut it just to get rid of them. :shrug: To each her own.

Oh, I'm sorry. I don't mean that as an insult. :o I'm not a purist about it, especially not on other people.

Just on me that I can't deal with dried out, fuzzed damage. Maybe I'll find less-than perfect ends a little less aggravating with more length; but I can't cope with damaged, dry hair at APL. It's right there in my face!

I mean, basically that's the whole story of my previous hair-growing attempts. Hair gets to APL, turns into huge, horrific, shapeless dried-out mess, I bewail the tragedy and duck into the nearest SuperCuts at earliest possible convenience. Repeat about ten times over the last... fifteen years. :p

So, for me, to grow my hair, it just has to be in pretty good shape so I can stand to live with it. At least for now.

[Cowgirl16]

My goal has always been length AND health. My hair was to my tailbone about 4 years ago; I went in for a trim and ended up with a HUGE cut (up to BSL). I was so upset but then I noticed she had cut off alot of damage and my hair was better for having it done:rolleyes:

[Sunny_side_up]

Health before length for me! Hence why i didn't gain hardly any length in a year from VERY regular trimming to rid my hair of layers! Now its its feeling thicker, looks healthier and feels stronger thanks to keeping it healthy from the inside and externally :D

[WittyWordsmith]

I'd like to say "health before length" but the truth is that I'll just have to see how it grows. I could end up being so excited to finally have the length that it may not be in its most optimal condition.

Right now I'm just focused on treating it well and getting it to BSL. Once there, I will need to evaluate whether to start trimming a bit or if I just can keep growing.

The longer I hang around here, the longer I extend my goal length, LOL. I'm sure I'm not the first or last for this, though!

[lapushka]

I've been growing out a perm for more than 2 years (there is damage), and it's going to take at least 2 more before it's entirely gone, unless I get it cut to about APL. I am nearing HL however, and updos have started to become possible since WL, so it's difficult to decide.

[NouvelleNymphe2]

I honestly have the opposite going on. I've been pampering my hair since it was a pixie, and it's pretty healthy (no sulfates, no heat styling tools in the home, no chemical coloring, delicate handling, etc.) so now all I can think about is length, length, length. I agree that health/condition comes before length. Actually for my fine hair it's kind of a prerequisite to growing. But that being said I wouldn't mind several inches of "experienced" ends in exchange for even waist length hair. It still looks beautiful, and you can always add oils and butters to smooth the ends out. It's like the imperfect hair thread, a lot of the time the hair doesn't behave, so yeah I'm all about the length. ETA: Okay just read through that and it's contradictory. I guess what I mean is that hair can still be healthy and have have several inches of rougher ends.

[SpeakingEZ]

If you always cut every inch of damage off, you are just leaving the new ends susceptible to damage. They are less susceptible to damage if they are "protected" by longer, less than perfect ends. Am I making sense?

You make perfect sense. I've been trying to find the perfect words to say this for a while. I think someone called it the "buffer zone".


I'd like to say "health before length" but the truth is that I'll just have to see how it grows.

I have a similar post in the "hair last year" thread. I was going through my pictures and realized that almost all of the captions said that I'd trimmed but wasn't going to trim again. :rolleyes: In truth, I have no idea what my hair will need next month, next year. I'll just have to wait and see.


I can't cope with damaged, dry hair at APL. It's right there in my face!

LAWL!!!!

[Jenn of Pence]

...
I think it is honorable to say one wants no damage in your hair, however, unless you have some fantastic genes, most people who grow past waist will have to have some damage in their hair just due to age. And I would say the majority of people (going by polls here on LHC) want to wear their long hair down some of the time. You cannot always keep it up and protected and enjoy the length, too.

I think one can do both...grow and trim back damage. As long as you don't trim as much as you grow, you will gain length. Exceptions, of course, for such severely damaged hair it breaks. If you have such a huge breakage rate that your hair never gains length even with no trims, it is time to cut off the damage. As for me, I prefer to grow and trim out damage and learn from people like Spidermom who put off necessary trims in order to gain length and ended up having to cut off the length they gained because the damage was too much.

Balance.

And above anything else...BE HAPPY WITH YOUR HAIR. If waist length fried hair makes you happy, go for it. :p

I also want to add that if you have 10" of damage and chop it all off, chances are, before you gain back that 10", some of the ends will become damaged again. I think if length is still in your goal that chopping off ALL damage at once is actually detrimental. You can cut out the 10" over a couple years and by the time that last inch comes off, it will be fresh healthy ends. The same length/ends chopped at the beginning of 2 years will have suffered some damage in the same amount of time. Think of slow trimming as protecting your FUTURE ends. If you always cut every inch of damage off, you are just leaving the new ends susceptible to damage. They are less susceptible to damage if they are "protected" by longer, less than perfect ends. Am I making sense?

You have some excellent points, Waiting, and you've expressed them in a very clear way! I particularly appreciate your bolded statement; I had never thought of it that way before, but it makes a lot of sense. It also enables me to not feel bad about not trimming my moderately damaged ends for a while. :eyebrows:

[Laurenji]

I found LHC because I wanted to dye my hair with kool-aid. So right away, LHC helped me out with the health aspect (no I did not dye my hair that way).

Then I saw all the long hair and wanted length.

Then I met DH, who likes "long" hair, but really he means "hair as long as normal people." Which is equal to "short" LHC hair (shoulder to BSL). Since he doesn't really want me to grow past BSL, I'm back to focusing on health. Plus my scalp is acting up again, so I really want to get that fixed before I do anything else. So health it is.

[WaitingSoLong]

Yes a buffer zone!

Plus I still really think, that at least for my hair, I cannot have this length without some damage just because of the hair age and the fact I am unwilling to wear it up all the time. Another balance issue...down and pretty, up and protected. Up and pretty hasn't really happened for me yet. LOL

[Jean Stuart]

I want my broken hair to catch up to my length. LHC is teaching me tlc.

[AnaGeorgette]

for me the only way to GET long hair is to keep it healthy (prone to split ends) so yeah, it's a priority for me :)

[Dark Queen]

Yep, same here. I caved in and trimmed my hair back a few inches to improve the health of it. Now I'm just hoping it will grow back to where it was quickly :D

[Sophie.Bold]

I get where you're coming from, and definitely I appreciate more my hair's health as I know thats what is going to give me length, but over all, for me is Thickness!

[washurei]

mine happens to be both health and length.

[Arcadia]

Yes! This definately. Since I decided I wanted to grow my hair long again, I realised it needed to be healthy to achieve length. Since realising this I have been researching hair health, which is how I came across TLHC and now I am obsessed with the idea of *healthy* hair first and foremost and length can wait.

[KayBee]

I think I'm going to concentrate on health a bit more. My hair is a right mess at the ends and it feels like straw.

[Qamar]

Health has always been a priority as I've been gaining length, but I'm still loathe to trim more than microtrim amounts. Instead, I tolerate some fairytailing of my ends and have gotten very good at assessing what my hair needs (protien, moisture etc) and whipping up whatever concoction it needs to address that and become ever healthier.

[jenhow]

I'm kind of the opposite. When I started on here it was to learn from others about optimal hair health but after seeing all of your beautiful long locks, I'm equally obsessed with length!!

[beccababesx]

A little bit, but only because you guys have taught me that healthy hair grows faster! Haha :)

[LadieRyrie]

A little bit, but only because you guys have taught me that healthy hair grows faster! Haha :)

Same here. Both are about equal concerns. I really want the length but I'd rather have healthy shorter hair, than funky looking long hair.

Healthy+long=YAY!