Waist at 30?

[MaryMarx]

Hello everyone!

I have a question for you, and please: be totally honest. Really.
I have this goal: I want to have waist length hair by the time I turn 30.

Here is my starting point: no chemicals and no heat since september (and never again!), CO-washing, some oiling, some scalp massage.
My hair is naturally not very thick, but the damaged hair since 10 years of chemicals and heat is really depressing; thin, dry, well, just really damaged, as you can see in the picture.

I am now 26, so I have almost four years for this.
But I feel so discouraged... there is so much damage.
I don’t have the guts to cut it off yet, I will take it bit by bit when I have more length.
All my life I’ve had shoulder length hair, can’t imagine it could possibly grow any longer!
I don’t know about my hair’s growing speed, I think it’s pretty slow but hoping it will speed up now that it grows out all virgin. :o

I shall give you two pictures! The first one is my hair at its best state and natural curl, the second one is a reeeaaally bad hairday, flat from sleeping, and I’m embaressed with it but it will show you what I have to work with… you can also see my waist line there.
But God, I’m ashamed of it. It normally doesn’t look that bad!

So what do you say? Am I forever doomed to shoulder length? Is this a reasonable goal?
And well, most of all, I need encouragement… :(

Normal hair: http://s1057.photobucket.com/albums/t399/schakt/?action=view&current=8jan2012.jpg
Really bad hair: http://s1057.photobucket.com/albums/t399/schakt/?action=view&current=3dec.jpg
Password: stackars

Thank you! Sorry for wall of text. :)

[bunzfan]

Just wanted to reply because i felt the same as you for years my hair never got beyond shoulder length, but after joining here about 17 months ago doing daily updo's to protect those ends and gentler hair washing i'm now approaching waist length hair at 35, it is possible.

Oh and the big thing for me was not trimming as much i used to get my hair cut every 8 weeks and they always took far to much off so it never seemed to really grow, trims every 6 months seem to work for a lot of people here.

Good luck :D

[MaryMarx]

Thanks, that's exactly what I need to hear!
Even though I guess your hair didn't look as terrible as mine...

Well... atleast I'm lucky to not have splits so i donät have to trim very often... guess that's something. :)

[bunzfan]

Thanks, that's exactly what I need to hear!
Even though I guess your hair didn't look as terrible as mine...

Well... atleast I'm lucky to not have splits so i donät have to trim very often... guess that's something. :)

Hey your welcome and if you look through my first hair growth album my starting pic was pretty bad, your hair doesn't look bad its just needs the chance to grow and a little TLC ;)

[misspixie]

I think it's totally possible for you to have waist length hair by the time you're 30. I saw a woman here on LHC who just two years ago had short buzzed hair and now it's almost BSL.

My hair was stuck at shoulder length for years. That's whenever I used heat everyday and didn't care for my hair at all. After giving it some much needed tlc, it started growing.

Just take care of your hair very well, baby it, and you will have waist length hair!:)

[tarn]

Nightshade has a good article on her siggy pic about damaged hair and growing it out. I'm not sure if it applies to some of your questions, but it is worth a read for some good info. If your ends are in good shape (which they seem to be), then I would just leave your hair until it needs a microtrim and try to gain length that way. Most people can grow to at least bra strap length and beyond even if their hair is more fragile than usual.

Here's nightshade's link http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=79

[Dragon]

It’s hard to tell. If the split ends aren’t to bad and they stay that way and you don’t have a lot of brakeage and rarely need to trim it, it might be possible to get it that long or at least some where between BSL and WL.

[MaryMarx]

Nightshade has a good article on her siggy pic about damaged hair and growing it out. I'm not sure if it applies to some of your questions, but it is worth a read for some good info. If your ends are in good shape (which they seem to be), then I would just leave your hair until it needs a microtrim and try to gain length that way. Most people can grow to at least bra strap length and beyond even if their hair is more fragile than usual.

Here's nightshade's link http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=79

Thank you! I've read that one actually during my lurking-time here, but I will definitely read it again, I need all the help i can get. :p

[MaryMarx]

It’s hard to tell. If the split ends aren’t to bad and they stay that way and you don’t have a lot of brakeage and rarely need to trim it, it might be possible to get it that long or at least some where between BSL and WL.

Sounds good! The length is not feeling too well but at least it's not breaking. It's a fighter. :D

[Mesmerise]

I think 4 years to reach waist is a very realistic goal for you, especially if you get few split ends, as your hair won't need trimming too much.

Even hair that grows at an average rate (as mine does) can get from neck to waist in about 3 years, and yours is longer than that!

[MaryMarx]

Mesmerise, whiii! :)

Also, glad I posted this. My hair has made me feel sad for too long now.

[Mannaz]

If not at waist I think BSL a very realistic goal, it depends on a lot of things, like how much you're going to trim while growing etc. It doesn't look that bad, and it definitely will get so much better, believe me, I know from experience!

[Kiwiwi]

I cut my hair really short (1cm?) in june 2009. Now a bit more than 2,5 years later I am about 2,5 inches to BSL. I didn't have anybig trims, just tiny ones. My hair does not grow fast at all. But, since taking care of my hair the LCH way my hair grows a bit faster and it's def. thicker on my scalp, like newgrowth, so a few cm.

I say it's def. possible in 4 years. And if not it will be a bit later. But it's gonna happen for you for sure! :-)

[MaryMarx]

If not at waist I think BSL a very realistic goal, it depends on a lot of things, like how much you're going to trim while growing etc. It doesn't look that bad, and it definitely will get so much better, believe me, I know from experience!

You guys here are so sweet.
Thank you for the support! Made my day. :)

[jojo]

It all depends on how tall you are and how many inches waist is on you and how fast you grow. Waist on me is 30" and from your length it took me 4 years, so yes very possible!

[MaryMarx]

Hey your welcome and if you look through my first hair growth album my starting pic was pretty bad, your hair doesn't look bad its just needs the chance to grow and a little TLC ;)

Will do this, when I get to 25 posts (one more to go!) :p

[jojo]

I also have an album which shows my growth progress, feel free to look!

[jacqueline101]

I don't think it would take 4 years to reach waist. I think it would be reached in 2 1/2 years.

[Charybdis]

MaryMarx, I think you will be amazed at how much better your hair will look and feel as you get more virgin growth that hasn't been damaged with heat and chemicals. You look like you have plenty of hair at scalp, and I suspect most of the thinning you see in the length is due to damage (specifically, breakage). With a regimen of gentle treatment (including careful detangling, no brushing when wet, steering clear of 'dos like a daily ponytail that put stress on the same part of the hair everyday), I think you'll see lots of improvement over time. Waist length in 4 years is totally do-able. Happy growing!

[MaryMarx]

I don't think it would take 4 years to reach waist. I think it would be reached in 2 1/2 years.

Oh my... I feel like crying in joy. :o

[LaceyNg]

I don't think it would take 4 years to reach waist. I think it would be reached in 2 1/2 years.

i tend to agree-- i dont think it'll take 4 years-- i'll say 3.

i'm not sure where you're located, but did you see any of the casey anthony trial? when she was 1st arrested her hair was shorter than yours now, i believe. she spent 2 years in jail and her hair made it PAST waist, looked like! i'm assuming she's a fast grower and she probably wore it up ALL the time though. and its not like i got a close look at her ends or anything to check for splits :) but it just goes to show whats possible!

[MaryMarx]

It all depends on how tall you are and how many inches waist is on you and how fast you grow. Waist on me is 30" and from your length it took me 4 years, so yes very possible!

Hm, let's see! I'm 170 cm/ 5'7" if I get it right. If I wanna measure my waist-inches, I start from my hairline, is that right?

[Torrin Paige]

Baby it, don't trim so often and you can get there. My mom used to have her hair styled like a Dolly Parton wig. It was teased, highlighted, and hair-sprayed into oblivion. She said she had to keep it that way because it wouldn't grow. After a couple of years of my begging her to put down the curling iron and her teaser comb, she finally relented and asked me what she should do with it. At 51 she now has beautiful waist length hair! Granted, she still gets a few highlights and she does love her flat iron - but she gets them professionally done and uses a heat protectant when she does flat iron. It took her only two years to go from shoulder length to waist length (granted she's only 5'2", so she's a little slip of nothing, but still) once she started to take better care of her hair. That's pretty good considering she was stuck at shoulder length for 10 years. :) Good luck on your hair journey! I wish you all the best!

[MaryMarx]

Torrin Paige: two years! That's amazing. I'm a bit taller so I will not expect that to happen to me but it sure was inspiring to hear. Thank you. :)

[MaryMarx]

i tend to agree-- i dont think it'll take 4 years-- i'll say 3.

i'm not sure where you're located, but did you see any of the casey anthony trial? when she was 1st arrested her hair was shorter than yours now, i believe. she spent 2 years in jail and her hair made it PAST waist, looked like! i'm assuming she's a fast grower and she probably wore it up ALL the time though. and its not like i got a close look at her ends or anything to check for splits :) but it just goes to show whats possible!

Oh, sorry, I haven't heard of that trial. :p
But I like that! So spending time in prison makes hair grow... hmmmm... :whistle:

[holomi]

My hair grows slowly and it's taken me 3.5 years from where you are now to get to where I am now. Very possible.

[MaryMarx]

That's nice to hear!
Now the only problem is how to make those years pass quickly...

[Zéphine]

My hair takes about 2 years to get from shoulder to waist with occasional small trims. I'm about average height, but all torso.

[jojo]

Hm, let's see! I'm 170 cm/ 5'7" if I get it right. If I wanna measure my waist-inches, I start from my hairline, is that right? thats correct measure from front hair line and over the head to waist. i am 5 foot 6" and grow anything from 1/4" to 1/2" sometimes more, lately ive been getting 3/4" since stopping smoking but my yearly average is 6".

Once you have measured, then measure what your hair is now and repeat for the next few months to see what your average is and then just measure the difference you need to grow and then its down to patience! you will get there!

[CarpeDM]

Well let's see here...I cut my hair shoulder length in August of 2010. I am hoping to be at waist by the end of this year. So for me 2 1/2 years or 3 years (depending on trims) is a realistic goal to get from shoulder to waist. I think you have a great plan in place.

[alyanna]

MaryMarx,
I think you could totally do it. If you don't cut, it should not take a whole 4 years for you to reach waist.

BUT, I will go against some of the advice to not trim if you say your hair is damaged. If you don't trim off some of that damage, while you may be able to reach waist sooner than you think, I do not believe you will be satisfied by the appearance of your hair. This is coming from a fine, thin-haired person as well. You risk having hair that is breaking off at the ends. I don't want this to be a frustrating journey for you!

I would suggest you spend the next year or so trying to get rid of as much of the damage as you can, and babying your new growth.

In a year's time, if you start with "fresh" virgin hair, I believe it'll grow much nicer and thicker and I think you will be more satisfied. At that point, you'll be in a better place to go the "no trims" route...

Good luck and stay positive :blossom:

[owlathena]

You already have tons of advice and support here, but just chiming in to say that you can do it! :cheer: A bit of TLC and LHC goes a long way :) A couple years ago I never would have imagined that my hair would look like it does now!

[MaryMarx]

MaryMarx,
I think you could totally do it. If you don't cut, it should not take a whole 4 years for you to reach waist.

BUT, I will go against some of the advice to not trim if you say your hair is damaged. If you don't trim off some of that damage, while you may be able to reach waist sooner than you think, I do not believe you will be satisfied by the appearance of your hair. This is coming from a fine, thin-haired person as well. You risk having hair that is breaking off at the ends. I don't want this to be a frustrating journey for you!

I would suggest you spend the next year or so trying to get rid of as much of the damage as you can, and babying your new growth.

In a year's time, if you start with "fresh" virgin hair, I believe it'll grow much nicer and thicker and I think you will be more satisfied. At that point, you'll be in a better place to go the "no trims" route...

Good luck and stay positive :blossom:

Thank you so much for your advice. The problem is that I would have to cut atleast 10 cm, and that feel so discouraging, I've finally starting to get some weight on it, you know...
Well, a small trim now and then might not be a total disaster! :)

[jeanniet]

My hair was chin length 2 1/2 years ago, and now it's about an inch short of hip (longer than in my sig picture). I didn't have heat damage, but used to rip a brush through it and did have about 3-4" of damage I had to gradually trim off (probably still have a bit left). If your goal is waist in four years, I think it's definitely doable. What you might considering doing is using Feye's method of self-trimming to dust just a bit off your ends every month to keep them looking fresh so you don't get frustrated. I did that for about six months until most of the damage was gone. If you trim 1/8-1/4" a month, you'll be trimming an inch off every four to eight months, and the damage will be less every month. You can do it!

[MaryMarx]

Whoah, that's some crazy growth, congratulations! And thanks for the support. :)
Dusting sounds like a great alternative between cutting all damage off at once and no trimming at all, will definitely try that!

[BlazingHeart]

I think cutting 1/2 of your growth until your ends feel better is a great idea. That's about what dusting works out to be, depending on how fast you grow.

I went from cheekbone length to just a hair shy of hip in about 19 months, even though I had a terrible stall due to a couple of medical problems (my hair grew 1" in 5 months when it usually grows over 1" a month). So shoulder to waist in 4 years is definitely possible.

How long it will take is typically a pretty simple equation for which you need 3 pieces of information: the difference between where you are and where you want to be, how fast your hair grows per month, and how much you will trim. The first piece you can get right now, just measure from your front hairline to where you want to be and subtract the measurement from your front hairline to where you are now. That'll give you a number (and it's easier for us to estimate how long it will take with that number! It varies from person to person as we aren't all built to the same proportions). It'll take you a couple of months to know how much your hair grows per month, just measure today, and then on Feb 23, and on March 23, and on April 23 - that should give you a decent reference, though some people's growth speed does depend on the season. Then you can try to figure out how much you're planning to trim - how often do you want to trim and how much? With the damage you've got at the bottom, you may want to trim more in the beginning and less later on.

Anyhow, happy growing! Without knowing your specifics, all I can say is that in general, your goal is reasonable.

~Blaze

[MaryMarx]

BlazingHeart, cheekbone to hip in 19 months, that is just amazing! I hope my hair will start growing that fast soon... :)

Actually I did a trim today. About 1 cm. (I don't know if it's okay to write in cm's or should I convert it?) I don't think I have the patience for dusting... :P

[Maverick494]

Hello everyone!

I have a question for you, and please: be totally honest. Really.
I have this goal: I want to have waist length hair by the time I turn 30.

[...]

So what do you say? Am I forever doomed to shoulder length? Is this a reasonable goal?


Totally possible. My hair was worse when I started growing it (having gone through black dye and bleaching it to white, to dyeing it to blonde) and I am almost at hip now. My hair isn't virgin, but I got my hairdresser to do a tint back to match my roots and I haven't dyed for more than 6 months now and you can't tell the difference.

My advice: cut off all the damage and start off fresh. Trust me, you'll get to your goals faster this way. I tried growing out my hair with damaged scraggly ends and it broke off as fast as it grew. When I finally got it cut back I made much more progress. In total I think it took me around 3,5 to 4 years to get where I am now. I have to say I'm very meticulous about my hemline. If I had let it grow in my hair's natural V pattern, I probably would have gotten there way sooner than I have now.

[tinywife]

Also, glad I posted this. My hair has made me feel sad for too long now.

Everyone should have hair that brings them joy. We're so glad to have you with us.

[xoxophelia]

It depends where waist is on you. It seems the range is usually between 26"-36" from what I've seen around here. And, judging from your pictures, if the last time you colored your hair was September, it definitely doesn't grow particularly slowly (most likely average at least). My guess is you could have small trims along the way and make waist in time.

I have a pretty normal growth rate and you can see in my siggy where the color of my hair changes. The lighter hair took 2 years for me to grow out and the rest used to be black. So, you might even have a fast growth rate. It is a really good idea to measure your hair and then do so again in 3 or so months, divide by the months, and figure out a rough average growth rate. Then you can calculate how much you can trim to meet your goal. You won't have to worry about things after that.

[Diamond.Eyes]

I have been growing out my hair for 3 ½ years and I'm already almost to tailbone length. I started at a chin length bob that was a little damaged at the ends from old dye and heat damage. If I hadn't cut my hair from bsl to chin length to get rid of damage, I could already be well passed classic lol. I'm sure it will grow A LOT in four years! :flower: For all anyone knows you could be to classic length by then :).

[MaryMarx]

It depends where waist is on you. It seems the range is usually between 26"-36" from what I've seen around here. And, judging from your pictures, if the last time you colored your hair was September, it definitely doesn't grow particularly slowly (most likely average at least). My guess is you could have small trims along the way and make waist in time.

I have a pretty normal growth rate and you can see in my siggy where the color of my hair changes. The lighter hair took 2 years for me to grow out and the rest used to be black. So, you might even have a fast growth rate. It is a really good idea to measure your hair and then do so again in 3 or so months, divide by the months, and figure out a rough average growth rate. Then you can calculate how much you can trim to meet your goal. You won't have to worry about things after that.

Your hair is so beautiful. :)
I measured it yesterday! So now I have some months of long wait ahead of me...
But it will definitely be interesting to find out, I've always thought I was a slow grower since I have some curls and the growth just kind of disappears. :p

[Lissandria]

I think you have a very realistic goal of four years, but you may well get there sooner! :D I think the most painless way for some people to get rid of damage is to microtrim away damage gradually- they can sometimes gain length and eliminate damage simultaneously over a period of time. :) Patience and persistence are key. Good Luck and Happy growing, I look forward to seeing your progress on the boards :flower:

[MaryMarx]

I have been growing out my hair for 3 ½ years and I'm already almost to tailbone length. I started at a chin length bob that was a little damaged at the ends from old dye and heat damage. If I hadn't cut my hair from bsl to chin length to get rid of damage, I could already be well passed classic lol. I'm sure it will grow A LOT in four years! :flower: For all anyone knows you could be to classic length by then :).

Oh, that makes me very positive! Thank you. :)

[MaryMarx]

Guys, I just made a major trim. shudder:
Picture in my album: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/album.php?albumid=9643
Looks better, right? :)

[Madora]

Guys, I just made a major trim. shudder:
Picture in my album: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/album.php?albumid=9643
Looks better, right? :)

Yes! Good for you, and happy hair growing!

[bunzfan]

Guys, I just made a major trim. shudder:
Picture in my album: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/album.php?albumid=9643
Looks better, right? :)

Good for you, your find it much easier now and that hair will grow back in no time. It looks so much thicker to:)

[Buddaphlyy]

I too am 26 with a goal of waist length by 30. As other's said, it's more than possible, but it's the actual waiting that seems like forever. My hair is quite a bit shorter than yours (I just cut to about chin length a month ago) and I'm already seeing improvement in my hair. Be extra protective with your ends if you feel they are prone to splits/damage.

[MaryMarx]

I too am 26 with a goal of waist length by 30. As other's said, it's more than possible, but it's the actual waiting that seems like forever. My hair is quite a bit shorter than yours (I just cut to about chin length a month ago) and I'm already seeing improvement in my hair. Be extra protective with your ends if you feel they are prone to splits/damage.

We're in this together! We just have to find a way to make time go faster, like getting a new job, or... win the lottery and travel around the world. :p