One year Anniversary!

[Rocket22]

I actually made it! I can not believe it has already been a year. When I first joined, the anniversary threads were what gave me hope. I thought I could never get long hair on my own but loved to see the progress others made and hoped and wished someday I could maybe get there. So my story in a nut shell, I wore extensions for about 4 or so years solid! bleached off and on for many many years, heat styled daily, and basically did everything I could to keep my hair in horrible condition. When I stumbled upon this board I decided to give it my all. I stopped with the daily extensions. I would put them in every now and then, but only for a short time. I completely quit with bleach or any color processing, I quit heat styling (about 95%) and stopped having it "trimmed" by professionals. Basically I am taking better care of my hair with what I have learned from this community. I have in one year gone beyond what I thought I could do with the length and health. I have a long way to go but as we all know this is a process that takes time and dedication.

ETA: I'm adding pictures of my hair in different years before LHC to show how much of a difference this board has made in my hair. woo hoo!!!!!

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=6650&pictureid=114721
(http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=6650&pictureid=114721)


http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=6650&pictureid=115123

[SoulOfTheSea]

Great growth and beautiful hair! Love the shine and color! :)

[duckhugger]

Thank you for sharing :D I am anxiously looking forward to my one year anniversary as well! I am a pixie right now and I cannot wait to see where I will be in a years time! These are the types of threads that are keeping me going as well! So I get where you are coming from :D THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

[Noreth]

Amazing growth and your hair's gorgeous! Congrats on your anniversary!:cheese:

[Vallena]

Amazing growth! Congratulations! Your hair is looking good!

[<3OnHerSleeve]

wow!!! absolutely amazing growth! Congratulations!!

[owlathena]

Congrats!!

[MsBubbles]

Great progress! Glad you are here!

[caiti42]

Congrats your hair is so pretty :)

[Rocket22]

Thank you!!! I am an average grower 1/2" a month so nothing really big but it does seem even to me like a lot for one year. But to be fair, I think in the first picture my head was tilted a tad bit forward. I'm still soooo pleased with the results so far, and looking forward to my 2 year anniversary. :)

Duckhugger: I totally know what you are going through I wanted long hair as in yesterday when I join (and still do) and never thought I would have it. The anniversary threads were my inspiration. Sometimes when you see all this long hair it's hard to imagine that at one time they were right where we are. It's always nice to see the progress photos to show you that it will and can get there with the right care and some patients. :)

[longhairedwolf]

Congratulations on your anniversary! Your hair is beautiful. I also like your signature line - very true!

[Mesmerise]

Wow, great growth! Your hair looks lovely :)

[Yozhik]

Wonderful progress! Congratulations on your first LHC anniversary! :flower:

[Netabug]

Congrats! I, too, love all the anniversary pics! I can't wait to see how long my hair will be in a year. The color and condition of your hair is beautiful!

[lw8666]

Congrats! Your hair is beautiful! Your progress is extremely inspirational!

[jaine]

Wow, that's definitely above-average growth for one year. And your hair looks so healthy!! You must be well pleased! :)

[Safira]

Well done, it´s great growth!! You have made big changes with your haircare and it starts to show. :heartbeat

[Loreley]

Happy anniversary! :)

[oktobergoud]

Woah amazing growth :D

[krissykins]

Well, hey there, Gorgeous! Your hair looks amazing! :D

[freckles]

congratulations on your anniversary. You've really gained a lot of length!

[JamieLeigh]

Congrats on your growth and your one-year anniversary! :flower:

[CastaDiva]

Congratulations on your anniversary:) Your hair has certainly grown a lot! Lovely shine and colour.

[CurlyMopTop]

Congrats on your anniversary! Your hair is gorgeous, great growth and very shiny! :D

[HuggyBear]

Beautiful! Congrats! :)

[Oksana]

wow you have gained so much length! Congratulations :cheese:

[Rocket22]

Thank you all! I'm still so amazed that with some extra care and little knowledge you really can change your hair and how it behaves. I put some other photos in my album (before and after ) because I'm still in such awe that this is my hair :) It still does not look this long in real life, but I'm sure at some point it will.

ETA: also a side note, I have been really bummed about my hair the last several month so I had not taken progress photos . I was bummed on how thin it is and how my bleach breakage layers make the hemline look thin. But when I compare it against the old photos of my hair I realize all this is making a difference. I think when we compare our hair to others that are blessed we sometimes lose sight on what we have achieved. so basically don't give up and keep taking those photos for reassurance.

[paper]

That amazing growth, and very pretty! Happy Anniversary! :flowers:

[blondie9912]

Your hair is beautiful! Is it you both in your siggy and avatar? The colour looks great, I don't see any roots/line of demarcation at all. When you gave up colouring, did you dye your hair back to your natural colour to help the regrowth blend?

[Rocket22]

Your hair is beautiful! Is it you both in your siggy and avatar? The colour looks great, I don't see any roots/line of demarcation at all. When you gave up colouring, did you dye your hair back to your natural colour to help the regrowth blend?

Hi Blondie9912 the siggy is me the avatar is not. There is a difference from root to length, you can see more in my albums. I didn't do anything but let it grow out The first year I would say is the hardest. But once it gets some longer roots it seem to blend somewhat, at least enough for what I'm going for (which is Ombre)

[utdesertrunner]

Wow! Great growth! You sure moved down a lot of stripes on your shirt!

[constancev18]

Great progress. Beautiful hair!

[thelittlestdoc]

I'm a long-time lurker on the boards (only recently joined) and I have to agree that the anniversary threads are so inspiring. It's been nearly three years of botched haircuts and frustrating cycles of growing and having stylists lop off more than I wanted.

Gorgeous heads of hair like yours are super inspirational and I'm definitely going to stick with the gentle treatment of my soon-to-be long locks. Congratulations on a great first year!:cheese:

[Lostsoule77]

Congratulations on your growth and anniversary! I love these anniversary threads too! It looks like you gained quite a bit of length and your hair looks like it is in much better condition that it was. :)

[MonaLisa]

amazing progress! congrats! :)

[DavidN]

Congratulations, Rocket22, on your LHC anniversary, and thank you for sharing your progress with us! Your hair is outstanding, thick and healthy, and you have achieved excellent growth! I love the colour as well!

[Rocket22]

Thank you EVERYONE! for such sweet and encouraging words. It really means a lot to me! The support that this community gives is amazing.

[missoj]

The difference is amazing congrats :)

[racrane]

So lovely. Great growth, too. I am so inspired! :)

[archel]

So shiny and healthy and long! I have hair envy here! LOL

[Avital88]

Amazing progress Rocket22! both growth and health have really improved.. happy growing to you xoxo

[honeyblonde]

Looks beautiful!! :flower: Looks so healthy and shiny. Great job!

[jojo]

your one of my favorite members and its been lovely getting to see the progress you have made over the past year. Your hair is looking so healthy and shiny, really chuffed you have come so far and your still my hair twin!:)

[jojo]

Thank you for sharing :D I am anxiously looking forward to my one year anniversary as well! I am a pixie right now and I cannot wait to see where I will be in a years time! These are the types of threads that are keeping me going as well! So I get where you are coming from :D THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

you will be there before you know it, I love these threads too . x:)

[Rocket22]

your one of my favorite members and its been lovely getting to see the progress you have made over the past year. Your hair is looking so healthy and shiny, really chuffed you have come so far and your still my hair twin!:)
OMG this gave me goose pimples :) That is the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me. This especially coming from someone that I look up to on the board. I remember going through your albums when I first joined and what an inspiration you were/are. You have come such a long way and it really meant a lot to me to see the photos of success.(I'm still an album stalker) It can be done, even if it doesn't feel like it. I know from being the newbie how it seems like it will never happen. I'm not to my goal by any means but I'm so excited for the progress of the next year.

So basically to all the new people, it can happen!!! it will take some patients and learning what your hair likes and needs. Some can get away with doing things others can not. That will be the trial and error curve. Keep taking pictures it does help. Just when you think you are not getting anywhere the pictures say otherwise.

Thank you all for all your kind words, I can not even express how much they mean to me.:flower:

[Roscata]

Wow, your hair is very pretty. Happy anniversary! :D

[teal]

Beautiful! Love the shine and congrats on your anniversary! :bounce:

[Beatrix_Kiddo]

You have beautiful hair! I love the color :3

[tinti]

Happy anniversary! Your hair has grown so much, and it look healthy and lovely. Congrats!

[Emerald88]

It's beautiful and it looks so soft.

[jojo]

OMG this gave me goose pimples :) That is the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me. This especially coming from someone that I look up to on the board. I remember going through your albums when I first joined and what an inspiration you were/are. You have come such a long way and it really meant a lot to me to see the photos of success.(I'm still an album stalker) It can be done, even if it doesn't feel like it. I know from being the newbie how it seems like it will never happen. I'm not to my goal by any means but I'm so excited for the progress of the next year.

So basically to all the new people, it can happen!!! it will take some patients and learning what your hair likes and needs. Some can get away with doing things others can not. That will be the trial and error curve. Keep taking pictures it does help. Just when you think you are not getting anywhere the pictures say otherwise.

Thank you all for all your kind words, I can not even express how much they mean to me.:flower:

aww your hair really has come on a lot and your making me blush, i dont see myself as an inspiration but what I do know I like to pass on :)

[Tressie]

Wowee, zowiee! Your hair has grown fast and it looks fabulous!! Congratulations on your anniversary!! :blossom:

[angelfell]

Wow, congratulations! Your hair looks wonderful! Thick, healthy, and shiny :).