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View Full Version : The ups and downs of the required patience



Louise148
June 19th, 2012, 05:07 AM
I am currently growing out a pixie. I knew when I decided to (four months ago) tha it would be a long road and I would just have to be patient. But oh how much easier that is to say than pratice.

Firstly I had to have quite a bit of damage trimmed off before I even began due to bleach damage (I no longer bleach) so I started out with layers that were about 2.5 inches. I measured then the other day and they are now 4 inches. I know that's probably not bad going (wish it was more though), especially since I have always thought my hair is quite slow growing. But maybe not as slow as I thought and maybe it just seems that way because it is so fine.

But I long to have long hair and wish I could just wake up tomorrow and have it. I don't even want it that long compared to the many glorious manes on here, I would be happy with APL. I know there is no magic wand and I will just have to wait but it seems soooo far in the future.

Anyway that's my whine over and thank you anyone who listens/reads :)

Shiranshoku
June 19th, 2012, 05:12 AM
I know how you feel! I started from chin length and luckily didn't have that much layers to get rid off, but it's been in such an awkward stage for so long!

I think you really need to reach apl for long hair to lie pretty/be braidable and now my ends always flip out because they only just pass my shoulders. Growl!

So lets commiserate! I completely understand you whinging! But you know, in three years we can have these glorious progress pics in our signature showing how we went from short to luscious long locks!

Jing
June 19th, 2012, 05:18 AM
I was very lucky in this regard: I let my pixie grow out (with anti-mullet self-trims) simply because I got too stingy to go to the hair dresser. I didn't actually decide to grow my hair long until it was already almost chin length.

Littlewing13
June 19th, 2012, 05:19 AM
Yep, I hear ya. 2 years ago I was pixie. Now I am just past APL. Thats after chopping off significant bleach & heat damage. I was a hairdresser until october last year & had to have the latest cut for work & heat style every day. I also changed colour a few times. If I can get this far, I'm sure you can do it sooner. Just hang in there. Soon as you can put it in a pony tail do that & try to forget about it as much as possible.

You can do it!

MaryMarx
June 19th, 2012, 05:29 AM
I'm with you sister. The waiting drives me crazy. I just chopped off to just above my shoulders to get rid om severe damage.
Although I don't regret it, it's such a LONG WAY to my goal length... can't stand it!

Valfreyja
June 19th, 2012, 05:41 AM
I used to be in your shoes. Don't worry - it gets better. When I was that length I liked to get natural-looking wigs for going out, it helped me forget.

Amanah
June 19th, 2012, 05:46 AM
I'm going thru similar pains :)
The most difficult thing to do is nothing, to just leave it alone and let it grow.
I'm always pondering if a trim will make it look better. But I know that sometimes I just have to step back and let it be :knit:

Louise148
June 19th, 2012, 05:50 AM
Thanks for all the replies. It's always uplifting to know people have been there and are there.

Being able to put it in a ponytail seems an age away and it probably doesn't help that I am a little obsessed at the moment and constantly looking in the mirror and measuring it :rolleyes:

Daft thing is I have grown out short hair quite a few times but I have never been this obsessed. I usually just decide to grow it and then mostly forget about it. This time it seems to be on my mind too much. I am trying ot console myself with the fact that it is currently in the best condition it's been in for years. In fact it kinda too soft and the hair slides are aptly named as they keep sliding out :)

Lou x

Rosamaria
June 19th, 2012, 05:51 AM
I'm in the same boat!

I chopped off my BSL hair a year ago, thinking that now that the greys are showing I should conform and have a short hair cut. By February this year, after getting a pixie cut, I realised that I just didn't feel like myself with short hair! So, I've been growing it for 4 months now.

Although my measurements show that it is growing a regular half an inch per month, progress seems so slow, and at the moment I look like a MUSHROOM :rolleyes:. It hangs over my eyes and in my face, headbands look silly, hair grips slide out, it's driving me crazy!

BUT, having done this before, several years ago, I am determined not to trim anything off as I know that the first aim is to be able to get it into a scrunchie bun, high up on the back of the head. Then it looks reasonable and is out of the way. The quickest way there is with no trimming, even though I know I am condemned to looking like a fright for a few months.

I reckon that by Christmas I will be there (with the help of a few pins) and like you, I will just have to arm myself with patience until then.

My sympathies to you - you are not alone!:)

Vanille_
June 19th, 2012, 05:56 AM
Being able to put it in a ponytail seems an age away and it probably doesn't help that I am a little obsessed at the moment and constantly looking in the mirror and measuring it :rolleyes:

In this case, I'd suggest benign neglect. I would try to put your hair out of mind if you can for a while. Take care of it, but don't think about it if you can avoid doing so.

I had a big shed that was freaking me out in December. This advice was given to me. I even stopped coming here as often for a while just so I wouldn't think about it. The distance helped.

Your hair will grow whether you fuss or not :)

browneyedsusan
June 19th, 2012, 06:02 AM
I'm with you. Have you visited the "super shortie" thread? If you haven't, come on over and let it all out! We all are growing and dealing with "eye-poking" bangs, mullets, and trying to make our hair look decent while it feels so disheveled.

Ambystoma
June 19th, 2012, 07:23 AM
The trick that helped me feel presentable when my hair was too short to get into a pony was doing two french rolls (since it was too short at the nape to go into one). I would take the top section, roll and pin in, then do the same with the bottom. With a little practice you can get them to blend quite nicely so it looks like a regular updo. I wore it like this every day even when I could muster a stubby little paintbrush since I felt it looked like a proper style, not just a "making do" one. Good luck on your growing journey, I know how hard it is at awkward lengths. The other thing that helped me stay positive was treating it really nicely and seeing how healthy all the new growth was - before you know it, all your hair will be made up of happy shiny new stuff :)

Zesty
June 19th, 2012, 07:34 AM
Just wanted to pop in and offer some encouragement. I grew out from a pixie I got around 5 years ago, and I'm sure I had over 12 inches cut off in trims during that time (I went to the hair salon regularly to keep it looking like I had a real style as it grew out, because I wasn't at all concerned about sheer length then). Just try to forget about it when you're not pampering it and before you know it you'll be to APL. :) I basically woke up one day realizing I had MBL hair that was starting to get in the way of normal activities, and thus found LHC. At least you'll have LHC during your WHOLE journey. ;)

Odonata
June 19th, 2012, 07:43 AM
I am currently growing out a pixie. I knew when I decided to (four months ago) tha it would be a long road and I would just have to be patient. But oh how much easier that is to say than pratice.

Firstly I had to have quite a bit of damage trimmed off before I even began due to bleach damage (I no longer bleach) so I started out with layers that were about 2.5 inches. I measured then the other day and they are now 4 inches. I know that's probably not bad going (wish it was more though), especially since I have always thought my hair is quite slow growing. But maybe not as slow as I thought and maybe it just seems that way because it is so fine.

But I long to have long hair and wish I could just wake up tomorrow and have it. I don't even want it that long compared to the many glorious manes on here, I would be happy with APL. I know there is no magic wand and I will just have to wait but it seems soooo far in the future.

Anyway that's my whine over and thank you anyone who listens/reads :)

hang in there , i know the feeling , it was 10 years ago now with lots of bumps and dye and layers and un layers and more dye and a crappy damaging winter along the way but my hair was 2" ish at 16 and when i was almost 18 i started the journey - now waist length despite doing a lot of different things to it and now taking very good care of my hair and on the way to classical length

the worsed is when your hair isnt long enough to get pulled back but too long to sit in a short style- just lays flat on the back of your head and irritates your neck -
resist the temptation to cut it here and you have already won, good luck
http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/297_28727988222_2814_n.jpg
http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/417346_10150647938693223_411344286_n.jpg
so going to happen for you

Louise148
June 19th, 2012, 07:48 AM
I am currently rolling the front into a sort of twisted braid which makes things a little more bearable. They are very thin looking twists though as my hair is so fine. The little mullet which is developing is just flicking out at the mo as I have a bit of a wave to my hair but it doesn't look too bad yet.

I will definitely be getting regular micro trims as my hair is so fine it needs a bit of shape for me to work with otherwise it looks really straggly. But whereas when I used to have short bleached hair I would go every 6-8 weeks I am now only going to go every 10-12 weeks.

I keep looking at photos of me when I was younger and had longer hair to figure out if my hair has got thinner with age (I'm 42) or if I had just forgetten how fine it really is. I can't see my scalp but it is very fine. I have come to the conclusion it's a bit of both. I have always had fine hair and had forgot how thin but also, it is a little thinner than it was in my 20's :(

It is good to have found LHC not just to know there are others going through awkward hair stages as well but for all of the brillaint hair care advice. :joy:

Lou x

Louise148
June 19th, 2012, 07:54 AM
Odonata - I absolutely love the colour of your hair. It's so vibrant and looks amazing on you.

My daughter has bright blue hair at the moment, which I do as I used to be a hairdresser many moons ago. But none-natural colours do nothing for me and make me look washed out. I tried on a long blue wig once to see what I would look like. I can report I looked like a very ill mermaid. ;)

Lou x

akilina
June 19th, 2012, 09:45 AM
We all know how we all feel :( I think many of us are impatient. I envy those out there who are just all good with the growing process and enjoy it. I am trying to enjoy it. I guess I do a little bit.
It's worse when you have a set back like a huge CHOP. I chopped last year at this time to above the collar bone. taking off probably 6-8 inches in some spots :( Now, my weight line is only a little bit thicker and my hair in general is nicer but I would be so much further ahead if I had only chopped maybe 2 inches and microtrimmed for a while and maybe maintained a length for a few months of the time. I also wish I wouldn't have touched my layers and just got a blunt cut to get rid of em. Since now I am trying to grow out layers as well which is almost MORE annoying then growing out length.
/rant.
*___*

akilina
June 19th, 2012, 09:47 AM
hang in there , i know the feeling , it was 10 years ago now with lots of bumps and dye and layers and un layers and more dye and a crappy damaging winter along the way but my hair was 2" ish at 16 and when i was almost 18 i started the journey - now waist length despite doing a lot of different things to it and now taking very good care of my hair and on the way to classical length

the worsed is when your hair isnt long enough to get pulled back but too long to sit in a short style- just lays flat on the back of your head and irritates your neck -
resist the temptation to cut it here and you have already won, good luck
http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/297_28727988222_2814_n.jpg
http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/417346_10150647938693223_411344286_n.jpg
so going to happen for you

YOURE SO CUTE!!! :D

swearnsue
June 19th, 2012, 10:12 AM
I'm growing out a very short cut also. At first it was like it didn't grow at all, I took care of it but then all of a sudden it was ponytail length! A tiny little pony but a pony! After that it gets a lot better because you feel like you have hair, you've made your first goal and it gets easier.

jacqueline101
June 19th, 2012, 10:55 AM
I never grew a pixie out but I've been let down by an outside factor that dampen my dream goal of bra strap length hair. I'm looking forward to growing it out.

spidermom
June 19th, 2012, 11:20 AM
It always seems like it's taking a l o n g time while you're going through it, but when you get to goal and look back, you'll wonder where the time went.

Nae
June 19th, 2012, 07:18 PM
Hang in there! I grew out from a pixie in 2009, it is doable.

I suggest you take progress pictures so you can tell the difference. Once a month, every three months........whatever just document the fact that you are actually growing so that you don't get discouraged.

HintOfMint
June 19th, 2012, 11:53 PM
This is my second time growing out my hair from above shoulder length in my adult life and right now it is hovering above tailbone (which is really trying my patience, I've been hovering just above tailbone for a damned eternity!).

It truly does get better and longer.

This forum can be a double edged sword. On one hand, with all the advice you get, you can avoid the damage that sends you to the hairdresser more often than is optimal for hair growing at the pace you like.
On the other hand, it can make you obsess.

Hang in there though.

catamonica
June 20th, 2012, 12:17 AM
My hair grows slow too. In 2009 my hair was just past midback. It had not grown in years. I
heard about Original Mane & Tail Horse shampoo, from wall mart. My hair grew to my waist. I
added two capfuls of olive oil to the shampoo. If you decide to try it, its in the pet section of the store. Or you can order it online. The olive oil makes your hair soft. And I read that the oil helps growth, but I am not sure if it helped.

Louise148
June 20th, 2012, 02:26 AM
It's always good to hear from the people who have grown out a pixie, helps keep my spirits up and reminds me that hair does grow even if it is eventually.

I have a wedding to go to in 2 years time, they have just got engaged and decided on 2014 as the year to tie the knot. I am determined to have long/er hair by then. I have worked out that my hair seems to grow the average amount, roughly 0.5inch per month, although it slows a little during the winter months, so I should have hair that is somewhere between 12-16inches by then...fingers crossed!

I have took a couple of photos over the last couple of months and I can see some difference. But mostly I can feel the difference more than see it, when I run my fingers through it, particularly at the back, it feels longer so it is growing. I hope it also thickens up as time goes by, even a little bit would be nice.

Lou x

poppy81
June 20th, 2012, 04:34 AM
I totally hear you! My patience is running thin at the moment, I am past shoulders trying to get to BSL but I am too obsessed about it, and check my length every day. I am going to have to try and stop that!

Louise148
June 20th, 2012, 04:42 AM
I completely understand about the constant checking. I do that all the time and really really need to stop :rolleyes:

Lou x