From BSL to waist... Advice please!

[BeatlesFanGirl]

Hello long hair people! :) I decided to grow my hair, that has been BSL for years, to waist. (Well, waist is only the first goal, the final is... as long as possible:P) Can you give me some good advice? How should I do it? Not trimming at all for a year? Microtrimming? Is my hair thick enough for longer hair?

[lora410]

Anyones hair is thick enough to grow. I am at BSL and honestly the best thing I am doing is putting it up and forgetting about it. You can trim or S&D if you want. I had a trim early this year and dont plan to trim unil I am a little past waist. It all depends on your prefrence!

[Shanarana]

Your hair looks well on it's way to waist. When I was growing mine to waist I only did micro trims when needed and left it alone for the most part.

[ladystar]

I just had a trim, I do not plan on trimming until I am a little past waist, maybe longer!!!
I am thinking maybe a year.

[Curlsgirl]

I am not trimming until waist either this time. The thing that has helped me the most is washing less frequently, minimizing manipulation of my hair and updos to protect, not all the time but a lot. Leave-in conditioners and coconut oil are also a lifesaver!

[ChloeDharma]

It really depends on what you want, if an even blunt hem is important for you then you might wan't to trim every 3 months or so which is what i used to do and that way i managed to keep alot of growth. But each time i grew it to waist i just kept it oiled and in a bun and didn't trim....that usually took about a year....but it meant my hemline wasn't at all even.
I must say with a thickness of ii/iii i'm amazed you could even begin to wonder if your hair is thick enough to grow long....personally i think it's long now, and beautiful.....as you grow i think it will look amazing

[anna1850]

I'm at waist now when my hair's straight and a couple of inches away when curly. I've only been S+Ding and I haven't had my hair cut properly since January 2007 (back to somewhere between shoulder and APL).

I'm glad I didn't need any trims as I reached BSL last September so it's taken almost a year (although it might be more or less for others as it depends on body shape and growth rate) but I think if I had to wait any longer I would have gone crazy! It was quite a frustrating length for me and didn't really look flattering until a month or so ago when it finally got out of the awkward stage and I've never been beyond BSL either.

As others have said, it all depends on how much taper you get and can tolerate. I don't have much taper and I think I could tolerate quite a bit more before I need to trim as my hair is quite thick so even if it thinned out it wouldn't be to thin (actually I sometimes wish it were thinner!). Also I don't know if people with straighter hair have less tolerance for taper (my theory is that it's less noticeable on curly hair and when I straighten it the ends still poof out slightly and make them look thicker). So for me taper hasn't really been a major issue.

Your hair's as thick as mine so I don't see any reason why your hair couldn't get longer (unless you started bleaching it, heat straightening etc). I guess you won't know until you grow it what it will look like but I think it can be done :) and the feeling of satisfaction when you get to waist makes it all worth it for me.

[rockkcor]

I am at the same stage (BSL) – and I had the same dilemma – ‘how long should I grow my hair?’

As you are Beatles fan you would understand that I think that John and Yoko with their ‘Hair Peace- Bed Peace’ convinced me that growing long hair can be a lifestyle!

So, I decided to grow it as long as possible – knees, floor or as long as it can get…

What can you do to keep it healthy – it depends on how your hair would react… Best thing is to trim only split ends not to give general trims to all of your hair…

But one never knows… Time will tell...

Wishing you ‘Hair Peace’!

:)

[spidermom]

To be most happy with my ends, I trim about every 3 months. It grows unevenly, and the ends split if somebody gives them a mean look, so it takes a lot of maintenance.

[sedonia]

I think your hair is beautiful and looks plenty thick. I have seen many people with "thin" long hair that looks really great (though I don't think yours looks particularly thin).

As for trimming, you could just not trim until you started seeing significant split ends, and then trim just enough to get most of them.

[podo]

What they said!! Anyone can grow long hair, and if taken care of it will look spectacular!

With ii/iii you have nothing to worry about with thickness. Mine is only i and I'm doing it.

Definitely browse the forums here for care advice. People do all kinds of things to their hair so you can get lots of great ideas. Don't try too many new things at once - maybe one or two and give them 2 weeks to do their thing before deciding they do or don't work, unless it's obvious your hair hates it right away. Even then, I'd give it a couple weeks to see if it was the treatment or just prior stuff getting fixed.

[SweetPea88]

I was about your length when I joined almost a year ago and now I'm at waist. I would suggest trying to extend the time between washes, treat your hair gently, and just enjoy it as it grows! I myself have layers, so right now I'm trimming each month so I can get rid of them without sacrificing a lot of length at once. Depending on what hemline you like, trimming might not even be that necessary and maybe a s&d every now and then would suffice.

[Autumn]

I have experience growing hair from BSL to waist (and beyond). I cut my classic-length hair and am now growing out again from BSL. When I grew it out before, I did not cut it at all as it was growing, and I do not plan to cut it this time until it gets to waist. However, I started with blunt-cut hair both times, while it looks like you are starting with layered hair (?). If I was starting with layers, I would probably get a blunt cut (losing as little length as possible) and then grow it out to waist without cutting, so it makes a natural-looking u-shape at the ends. If you decide you prefer blunt ends, you can always grow a few inches past waist and then blunt-cut up to waist.

However, you may want to keep your layers as your grow. If so, you might want to touch them up periodically to keep them looking nice.

As for hair care advice, my top tips would be:

1. Keep your hair up in hair-safe toys as often as possible.
2. Transition to less frequent washing and (if possible) stop using shampoo.
3. No dyes, heat styling, or styling products (except leave-in conditioner).
4. Take a multivitamin (perhaps also oils & vitamins specifically for hair growth), try to eat healthy (but do not under eat), exercise, don't smoke.

These are just my opinion and many people with different hair goals may well disagree.

[Mely]

I am more or less at waist now, and it has taken about a year to grow from bsl to waist. I didn't realize how much it had grown until I took pictures. I wash with regular shampoo and conditioner every day. I blow dry my bangs. I wear it up mostly, since it makes me too hot when I wear it down. I'm just growing it for fun. I'm curious to find out how much longer (if any) it will grow.

July 2007 -- Jan 2008 -- July 2008
http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j146/melykin/lengthsummer2007.jpghttp://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j146/melykin/lengthJan2008.jpghttp://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j146/melykin/lengthJuly232008-1.jpg

[Anlbe]

Good luck! I don't really have much to add, everyone else's advice is good - minimise the tangling and damage opportunities and snip out the split ends.

However as a slight note of caution my experience is that my hair has been at BSL trying to get to waist for - well twelve years - and it has never really gone past BSL. However thanks to my efforts it is healthy and a source of joy so I can't really complain that much!

[BeatlesFanGirl]

Sorry, I havent been online since...

Thank you all the great advice! :):)

SweetPea88: I wash my hair every 5th day, that's what it likes, no more frequent, no less frequent. :)

Autumn: thanx for your advice too :) Yeah, I dont mind this layered haircut, it's gonna be good even when I get to waist. As for health, I use organic shampoo, I do a LOT of sports, try to eat healthy, and I can't even stand smokeing :) So this part is gonna be ok.

About the thickness, I dont even know what my hair is. Sometimes it appears ii, sometimes ii/iii.