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IndigoOptimist
June 20th, 2012, 08:56 AM
I know my hair grows slowly (same as my nails), but I've been taking photos every month since April and I expected to see more growth than this...

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/rose_art/combuptilljune.jpg

I don't know if it's just because it's pictures of me I'm looking at, but when I look at other peoples documentation of their growth I always see more :(

Maybe it didn't help that for the first picture I took my hair wasn't compleatly dry, but I can't see how that would effect it too much as I have so little hair that it doesn't really get weighed down much by water...

On the bright side, I seem to have gained volume and my ends look nicer :happydance:

Sorry for the rant, I was just sad looking at these and a blog post didn't seem appropriate :shrug:

On a sort of side note, I've been thinking about why my hair grows slowly and was wondering if I don't get enough protein/minerals/vitamins ect. I'm a vegetarian but I'm also lactose intolerant so don't get a lot of protein from dairy either.
Has anyone got any experience with this? Did you eat meat then stop and notice a difference in growth, or vice versa?

Hollyfire3
June 20th, 2012, 08:58 AM
I see alot of growth actually! The ends look thicker too. So great work!

EtherealDoll
June 20th, 2012, 09:04 AM
There definitely is growth - on the May picture the longest end of your hair is a little past stripe #6 and on the June picture it's past stripe #7 ( I counted the stripes on your shirt). Your ends look much thicker, too. And your hair colour is lovely :blossom:

IndigoOptimist
June 20th, 2012, 09:06 AM
Why thank you :) I thought I might just be me..... I'm quite critical ;)

Hollyfire3
June 20th, 2012, 09:07 AM
Why thank you :) I thought I might just be me..... I'm quite critical ;)

No problem, I'm critical too..don't get me started on my "short" (nearly BSL) hair lol.

Hollyfire3
June 20th, 2012, 09:07 AM
There definitely is growth - on the May picture the longest end of your hair is a little past stripe #6 and on the June picture it's past stripe #7 ( I counted the stripes on your shirt). Your ends look much thicker, too. And your hair colour is lovely :blossom:

I tried to count the stripes but lost count....guess I'm still asleep;).

IndigoOptimist
June 20th, 2012, 09:08 AM
There definitely is growth - on the May picture the longest end of your hair is a little past stripe #6 and on the June picture it's past stripe #7 ( I counted the stripes on your shirt). Your ends look much thicker, too. And your hair colour is lovely :blossom:

I tried to count the strips but got confused hehe, glad you ca count better than I :)

IndigoOptimist
June 20th, 2012, 09:10 AM
No problem, I'm critical too..don't get me started on my "short" (nearly BSL) hair lol.

Ha, last time I had BSL hair I was about 12! I get bored with it not growing and chop it off... then get sad and try to grow it again, and we repeat :p

I think not dying it helps, I just use a tint now which brings out the red :D

Hollyfire3
June 20th, 2012, 09:19 AM
Ha, last time I had BSL hair I was about 12! I get bored with it not growing and chop it off... then get sad and try to grow it again, and we repeat :p

I think not dying it helps, I just use a tint now which brings out the red :D

Well...last summer, I had nearly WL hair, but the ends were tattered and breaking from VERY rough heat styling and lots of old flat iron damage. I chopped five inches between that summer and Jan of this year. I am just now getting back to BSL, but my layers are nearly gone, my hemline is great and my hair is much happier (with much struggle to get my curls and balance back from the damage). Oh, and I still dye my hair two shades darker than my natural color (dark brown dye, natural is medium brown).

IndigoOptimist
June 20th, 2012, 09:26 AM
Well...last summer, I had nearly WL hair, but the ends were tattered and breaking from VERY rough heat styling and lots of old flat iron damage. I chopped five inches between that summer and Jan of this year. I am just now getting back to BSL, but my layers are nearly gone, my hemline is great and my hair is much happier (with much struggle to get my curls and balance back from the damage). Oh, and I still dye my hair two shades darker than my natural color (dark brown dye, natural is medium brown).
D: That doesn't sound nice, but getting rid of the damage is look I guess :) I suppose going from WL to shorter than BSL is a bit like me cutting my almost BSL to a short bob thing :s It got rid of damage but I was so sad!

Hollyfire3
June 20th, 2012, 09:29 AM
D: That doesn't sound nice, but getting rid of the damage is look I guess :) I suppose going from WL to shorter than BSL is a bit like me cutting my almost BSL to a short bob thing :s It got rid of damage but I was so sad!

Yeah, but brave of you to do that! At least now the damage is gone, your hair will be even more beautiful at longer lengths! The problem is, I sota just went to my hairdresser (an old fashioned one that loves long hair and is super nice and does what I want) and said cut where its breaking, this was the last huge trim I did, it was 3 inches off ( in addition to the 2 inches my previous, not so wonderful hairdresser cut off) and I never really acknowledged my switch from nearly really long hair to just, hair. Now, I look in the mirror and its longer, so I feel better.

longhairedleah
June 20th, 2012, 09:39 AM
I think there's great growth! Your hair also looks much healthier and thicker. Plenty of improvement, don't be discouraged!!
I also find the picture taking to be a little discouraging though... self criticism is the toughest type of criticism!! :)

BrightEyes
June 20th, 2012, 09:40 AM
Your hair does look longer, in the first picture it looks like it's not quite APL. But in the last picture it looks like it is at APL, or even a little past. So yup, definite growth:)

It looks like the overall condition of your hair has improved, in thickness and shine. And the ends are looking really good. It's beautiful!

I do know what you mean about being critical though. I'm that way too. But I've found that the more I take care of my hair the more I love it and am accepting of it. The LHC is awesome:D

IndigoOptimist
June 20th, 2012, 09:54 AM
I think there's great growth! Your hair also looks much healthier and thicker. Plenty of improvement, don't be discouraged!!
I also find the picture taking to be a little discouraging though... self criticism is the toughest type of criticism!! :)

I want to take pictures because then I can look back in a year or so and be like ''oooo yey lots of growth'', but looking at them month to month in annoying sometimes ;)

IndigoOptimist
June 20th, 2012, 09:57 AM
Your hair does look longer, in the first picture it looks like it's not quite APL. But in the last picture it looks like it is at APL, or even a little past. So yup, definite growth:)

It looks like the overall condition of your hair has improved, in thickness and shine. And the ends are looking really good. It's beautiful!

I do know what you mean about being critical though. I'm that way too. But I've found that the more I take care of my hair the more I love it and am accepting of it. The LHC is awesome:D

Thank you :)
I am really trying to work on the condition! I've got really fine hair and not much of it. I think the worst thing is when I brush it and I can hear 'snapsnapsnap' :( I got a TangleTeezer last month though and it seems to have helped! I've also been S&Ding when I'm bored, but I can only get to the bottom layers, I can't see the top ones well enough yet :p

spidermom
June 20th, 2012, 09:58 AM
I counted the stripes, too, and your hair is definitely more than one stripe longer, almost two.

IndigoOptimist
June 20th, 2012, 09:58 AM
Yeah, but brave of you to do that! At least now the damage is gone, your hair will be even more beautiful at longer lengths! The problem is, I sota just went to my hairdresser (an old fashioned one that loves long hair and is super nice and does what I want) and said cut where its breaking, this was the last huge trim I did, it was 3 inches off ( in addition to the 2 inches my previous, not so wonderful hairdresser cut off) and I never really acknowledged my switch from nearly really long hair to just, hair. Now, I look in the mirror and its longer, so I feel better.

I'd like to find a hairdresser like that! I don't trust them, last time I let someone else cut my hair was 3 years ago :p

IndigoOptimist
June 20th, 2012, 09:59 AM
I counted the stripes, too, and your hair is definitely more than one stripe longer, almost two.

Oooooo, you think so?! Yey :happydance: I tried to count but my eyes failed me! Thank you!

jacqueline101
June 20th, 2012, 09:59 AM
Your ends look thicker and the length is longer.

IndigoOptimist
June 20th, 2012, 10:10 AM
Your ends look thicker and the length is longer.

Well it looks like a few people think that. Maybe it's just me being critical of my own hair more so than I am of other peoples.

heidi w.
June 20th, 2012, 10:34 AM
The first photo is of wet hair, so it's a bit hard to really compare compare because we aren't able to compare equal things. Dry to dry; wet to wet......

But to me it looks like things have improved quite a bit. You're just caught up between your imagination and hopes and what is in reality. You MUST know that most hair only grows around 1/2 inch per month. You'll probably hit a growth spurt at some point, but it may be a while yet before that happens. So in a 3 month period, if it's equally proportioned, at most you'd gain 1.5 inches of length, which isn't an exorbitant amount really. So everything to me looks as though it's proceeding just fine. Chin up. Your plan is working. Don't be so hard on yourself.

heidi w.

BrightEyes
June 20th, 2012, 10:35 AM
Thank you :)
I am really trying to work on the condition! I've got really fine hair and not much of it. I think the worst thing is when I brush it and I can hear 'snapsnapsnap' :( I got a TangleTeezer last month though and it seems to have helped! I've also been S&Ding when I'm bored, but I can only get to the bottom layers, I can't see the top ones well enough yet :p


I totally get the 'snapsnapsnap' sound. My hair is fine too and I try to be so gentle with it but sometimes I still hear that horrible snapping sound. And I'm thinking "shoot, I don't have much hair to begin with and there goes a couple more, ack!". I think you just have to be as gentle as you can and try not to obsess too much about it. It's evident though that you are doing something right, so keep it up:D

I got a Tangle Teezer too, but my kids love it and have taken it over. Sometimes I use it though and I do like how smooth it makes my hair. With my hair, I tend to stick with a wide tooth seamless comb. But everyone is different and I hope your TT keeps working for you:)

IndigoOptimist
June 20th, 2012, 10:38 AM
The first photo is of wet hair, so it's a bit hard to really compare compare because we aren't able to compare equal things. Dry to dry; wet to wet......

But to me it looks like things have improved quite a bit. You're just caught up between your imagination and hopes and what is in reality. You MUST know that most hair only grows around 1/2 inch per month. You'll probably hit a growth spurt at some point, but it may be a while yet before that happens. So in a 3 month period, if it's equally proportioned, at most you'd gain 1.5 inches of length, which isn't an exorbitant amount really. So everything to me looks as though it's proceeding just fine. Chin up. Your plan is working. Don't be so hard on yourself.

heidi w.

Aw, that really made me smile :) Thank you!
I know it's hard to compare the wet to dry, but I'm just so inpatient!

catamonica
June 20th, 2012, 06:37 PM
Your hair is longer. Try Original Mane & tail Horse shampoo from wall mart. My hair grows slow
to. I had past midback for years. I added two capfuls of olive oil to the shampoo. 2010 it grew
to waist.

lilliemer
June 20th, 2012, 08:52 PM
I agree with heidi w., it is impossible to compare photo #1 where your hair is fairly wet to photo #3 where it is dry. However since it looks a bit longer dry in photo #3 compared to photo #1 where it was wet...and significantly thicker and healthier than photo #2...I think you have made nice progress!! Do not be such a harsh judge to yourself!!

Sama
June 20th, 2012, 09:30 PM
Wow, I can definitely see a serious growth in volume and what looks like at least an average amount of growth in length. Seriously, though, your volume seems to have doubled! Amazing, and your hair looks so healthy right now! =)

I've been a vegetarian for 12 or 13 years now, without any breaks in between, and I think my hair grows at just as average a rate as any non-vegetarians out there. I expect yours would be about the same. If you're unsure, a multi-vitamin couldn't hurt. I've taken prenatal vitamins for the majority of the past 4 years, and they really seem to make a huge difference in the health of my nails, hair and body overall.

SongofLove
June 20th, 2012, 09:39 PM
I see some beautiful growth there! Nice hair!

Yes, comparing wet to dry is hard. I know I get a little too excited when I see my wet hair, only to be disappointed when it dries :P

Merlisea
June 20th, 2012, 09:46 PM
Your hair looks so much healthier in the most recent picture than in the other two pictures! (By little hair I assume you mean fine/thin hair) I also have fine/thinner hair, and your blunt ends are to die for!
Maybe for your pictures you could have someone brush/comb (only if you brush and comb your hair, of course) your hair so that the ends don't fall on your back shorter than they are. If I try to take a picture without having someone else do that the ends kind of get scrunched up a little bit when I'm moving around, making them hit higher on my back.
I can DEFINITELY see some hair growth even when just looking at the last two pictures, but I think that the fact that one picture is closer up than the other, and what I said about the ends scrunching up creates the illusion that it is less growth.

Your hair really looks beautiful and much healthier. I would never guess that you don't have much hair like you said in your post :)

IndigoOptimist
June 21st, 2012, 06:00 AM
Wow, I can definitely see a serious growth in volume and what looks like at least an average amount of growth in length. Seriously, though, your volume seems to have doubled! Amazing, and your hair looks so healthy right now! =)

I've been a vegetarian for 12 or 13 years now, without any breaks in between, and I think my hair grows at just as average a rate as any non-vegetarians out there. I expect yours would be about the same. If you're unsure, a multi-vitamin couldn't hurt. I've taken prenatal vitamins for the majority of the past 4 years, and they really seem to make a huge difference in the health of my nails, hair and body overall.

Thank you :)

I'm glad to hear from someone who is vegetarian and hasn't had any growth problems because of it. I'm always being told that I need to eat meat to be healthy (living in a house of carnivores haha!), but if other people are fine why can't I be ;)

IndigoOptimist
June 21st, 2012, 06:04 AM
Your hair looks so much healthier in the most recent picture than in the other two pictures! (By little hair I assume you mean fine/thin hair) I also have fine/thinner hair, and your blunt ends are to die for!
Maybe for your pictures you could have someone brush/comb (only if you brush and comb your hair, of course) your hair so that the ends don't fall on your back shorter than they are. If I try to take a picture without having someone else do that the ends kind of get scrunched up a little bit when I'm moving around, making them hit higher on my back.
I can DEFINITELY see some hair growth even when just looking at the last two pictures, but I think that the fact that one picture is closer up than the other, and what I said about the ends scrunching up creates the illusion that it is less growth.

Your hair really looks beautiful and much healthier. I would never guess that you don't have much hair like you said in your post :)

I could try that. My boyfriend finds it weird that I take photos of the back of my head, but he doesn't understand why I want long hair either :rolleyes: He'd brush my hair for me if I asked :)

My hair really is thin! It's getting better than it was, but for example: I gave a friend at work a hair band so she could tie her medium thickness hair up... This hair band will go round my hair in a ponytail about 6 to 7 times. She struggled getting it round a third time :s I was sad o.O

Lucky_Lucy
June 21st, 2012, 07:53 AM
Your hair has grown and the ends really are thicker! It really looks healthy too. Congrats!
I'm a vegetarian too, but my growth rate doesn't seem to have changed since I was eating meat. If you think you're not getting enough protein, maybe you should just eat more beans, spinach, tomatoes, rye(or other veggie stuff that have more protein) :D

Five of Five
June 21st, 2012, 03:24 PM
I definately see some growth, congratulations! You have a really unique, pretty colour as well ;).

I think that the larger size of the last picture gives the illusion of proportionatley shorter hair. For me personally, as well as others I have seen on here, the journey gets a lot easier after APL - and it seems like you're nearly there.

I am a veggie too (8-9 years) and my hair is actually thicker than it was when I ate meat. That could be attributed to puberty, though. I just make sure I vary my legumes and wholegrains, and get good fats from microalgae oil and flaxseeds.

Hollyfire3
June 21st, 2012, 03:34 PM
I'd like to find a hairdresser like that! I don't trust them, last time I let someone else cut my hair was 3 years ago :p

Aww, with my constant damage from heat and my rough handling, I needed a hairdresser, but the one I had thinned my hair with lots of layers and always cut too much off, the only thing I can say is that without all that being cut over the course of years, my ends would have been WORSE when I decided to treat them right. Now, my current hair dresser even out all of mess, cut one long layer in and only trims a tiny bit (he even showed me the ruler on his comb!:)). And, he always says how thick and nice my hair is when I come in for a trim (he's honest, noy just flatering me, he even tells me what parts of my hair need tlc and so on.) You'll find a hairdresser like that hopefully, and if not, there's always self trims.:D Good luck!

poppy81
June 21st, 2012, 05:24 PM
I can see growth and more volume, your hair looks great. You and I look like we have similiar hair, I have thin hair but mine is wavier than yours, I think you have lots more volume than me too. Keep posting pics each month. :)

CurlyCurves
June 21st, 2012, 06:25 PM
Hey hun, just wanted to say, I am also a vegetarian and it hasn't made my hair growth slow down. Everyone has different rates of growth, and unless you're severely deficient in vits (in which case, there'd be other, more noticable signs), I doubt it'd hinder your growth too much.

There is protein in just about everything. It's not impossible, neither particulary hard for us to get protein. Remember, meat is a small portion of the range of foods available out there.

Also, if you want some ideas of how else to get protein;

Quinoa
Nuts
Lactose free milk
Soy milk and other soy products (TONS of protein in these!)
Lentils
Wholegrains
Quorn.

These are just a few suggestions.

As for your growth, I'm sorry you feel sad that you haven't made more progress ((hugs))

HTH!

CurlyCurves
June 21st, 2012, 06:30 PM
I totally get the 'snapsnapsnap' sound. My hair is fine too and I try to be so gentle with it but sometimes I still hear that horrible snapping sound. And I'm thinking "shoot, I don't have much hair to begin with and there goes a couple more, ack!". I think you just have to be as gentle as you can and try not to obsess too much about it. It's evident though that you are doing something right, so keep it up:D

I got a Tangle Teezer too, but my kids love it and have taken it over. Sometimes I use it though and I do like how smooth it makes my hair. With my hair, I tend to stick with a wide tooth seamless comb. But everyone is different and I hope your TT keeps working for you:)

I get this too! I am gentle with my hair, but every time I brush it or finger detangle dry - *snap* *snap*. It freaks me out. I always curse in my head or out loud.

In fact, it happened just an hour ago! I hate it! Makes me scared of touching it dry.

Merlisea
June 21st, 2012, 06:51 PM
I could try that. My boyfriend finds it weird that I take photos of the back of my head, but he doesn't understand why I want long hair either He'd brush my hair for me if I asked

My hair really is thin! It's getting better than it was, but for example: I gave a friend at work a hair band so she could tie her medium thickness hair up... This hair band will go round my hair in a ponytail about 6 to 7 times. She struggled getting it round a third time :s I was sad o.O

haha I have the exact same issue with the pony tail holders!! I have to get the baby ones that are thin, and even then it goes around my hair what feels like a million times, where most people get the thick ones and only wrap it around once or twice. So depressing!

At first I was hesitant to ask my fiance' to measure/take pictures of my hair, but I talk about my obsession with my hair being longer allll the time so my fiance' is used to it by now and knows how important this has become to me. He is usually okay with helping me take tons of pictures, brushing it out, measuring it, and even helping to micro trim it sometimes. (Honestly, I think he just like plays professional photographer haha :)

I think for people like us who maybe have a harder time growing out hair, we kind of develop this hair dysmorphia where we think our hair is different than it actually. For the longest time when I was lurking around LHC, I put myself in the shoulder-length category, when it is obvious from my pictures (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=95756) that I am at least APL. I think that stretching the hair so you can see its actual length and documenting it will really help a lot :) it has for me!

RileyJane
June 27th, 2012, 11:51 AM
looks longer to me! it could be that there isnt enough protein in your diet, but you could do protein shakes, plus theyre really good for you :) i work out a lot, so the protein helps build and repair my muscles, but it seems to make my hair grow a bit faster and stronger! :)

IndigoOptimist
June 27th, 2012, 11:59 AM
I definately see some growth, congratulations! You have a really unique, pretty colour as well ;).

I think that the larger size of the last picture gives the illusion of proportionatley shorter hair. For me personally, as well as others I have seen on here, the journey gets a lot easier after APL - and it seems like you're nearly there.

I am a veggie too (8-9 years) and my hair is actually thicker than it was when I ate meat. That could be attributed to puberty, though. I just make sure I vary my legumes and wholegrains, and get good fats from microalgae oil and flaxseeds.

Thank you :)
I'm quite exited to be past APL, I haven't had hair that long in nearly 10 years xD
Looks like quite a few people are fine without eating meat. The problem is that I live with my boyfriends parents at the minute and they insist on cooking our main meal of the day, so quite often I get whatever they are having with some obscure veggie/meat free thing as the replacement for the meat :p They're not doing too badly though bless them ;)