Anyone else having a summer stall/strong desire to chop?

[akilina]

Soo.....I have had only 1/4 of an inch of growth this month!
I gauge my growth by my roots because I henna once a month.

This is very disheartening. I thought summer was when the hair was supposed to grow faster, not slower. I know there is nothing I can do about it.
I figured my growth would be good...I have been doing many scalp massages and oilings, taking my vitamins everyday, drinking a ton of water, and eating healthier. Even sort of neglecting it during the day by wearing it up. Is it too much?

Another issue:
I seriously want to just chop. I feel like my layers are preventing me from ever having long hair. Especially with my hair type.
My hair has never got longer than this point...3 to 4 inches below APL.
Anyone else feeling this way?
And how are you beating this horrid urge?
Although I desperately want to chop, (luckily, for my own sake) I refuse to do so until another 4 months passes.

Sorry to ramble on. I just need some insights or support haha. :)

[Curly Hermione]

Don't worry! My hair never feels like its really growing, don't lose heart. It will get longer. As for the layers, I'm not the best person to give advice there, but think about whether you'd be happier if you chopped them off right now, or if you left it. Maybe search the net for some really pretty pictures of long hair, or watch a favourite long hair movie (I like lord of the rings and memoirs of a Geisha) to give you hair inspiration. Whenever I get really down about my hair, treating myself to a pretty hairtoy (when I can afford it!) usually helps to make me feel better about it. Happy growing! Virtual hugs from me, you'll get there! :) :flower:

[fridgee]

I am feeling exactly the same at the moment! :flower: I have not grown at all in the last month (tho its not exactly acting like summer here, so I'm not expecting the advantages to summer to be helping out!) and my layers are driving me crazy, making the ends of my hair look thin and ratty. I keep getting the urge to chop the longest one off, but I'm trying to make myself stay to my original plan of reaching BSL before maintaining to get rid of it. I know I'd hate to lose the length I've gained now and all the new updos I can do, so I'm just trying to put it up when it gets to me too much so I can't see how bad it looks!

[akilina]

Thanks for putting in some perspective you two :)
It helps to hear it from someone else a lot.
I always just look at how much I would have to chop...a whole years worth of growth, and if I did it it would be a whole nother year to be right back where I am...with no guarantees that my hair would be any better. I'll just wait it out.
My undercut growing out does not help a thing though D:

[earthnut]

Ironically, hanging out on this forum too much makes me want to fiddle with my hair too much and keep trimming it. :P

My advice? Go find another forum to be active on for a while, so you stop thinking about your hair and give it some benign neglect for a while. It'll grow before you know it!

You know, a watched pot never boils? ;)

[amanda_the_tall]

i feel the same way!! plus my sister had recently chopped her hair to shoulder, and her hair forms perfect wurls now, so i was tempted to chop too. plus it's over 110 degrees around here, but so far bunning has saved me from the scissors :) and my hair has never grown further than it has now, cause usually by this time i can't resist the chop lol. persevere!

[WaitingSoLong]

Me.

sigh

My hair has been in a stall several months with, at best, 1/4" a month.

I dont' cut because I am too chicken. I fear regret more than I hate my hair.

[swearnsue]

I went through a time where my hair didn't grow but 1/4 inch one month but then the next two months it took off with about 3/4 inch each month in a row. Don't worry, you'll catch up.

[akilina]

I hope I catch up...I really don't feel that I was doing too much to my hair so I am hoping this will result in a good growth spurt. I have been waiting for summer so much because of the usual increased growth!

[GrowingGlory]

YES! It hasn't been very long since I reached my goal length and I'm already itching for a buzzcut. I'd like to start over again, NW/SO, product-free, and see how much better my hair will be. Since I've decided that there will be no cuts along the way, it will likely take 2-3 years to reach term again.

[Hippiemommie]

Absolutely! I feel the same way, especially since I am terrible with updo's. A ponytail is as complex as it gets. I'm also itching to dye it. It's virgin right now and that is the only thing keeping me from breaking out the hair color or trying out henna.

[akilina]

Thanks everyone for your replies. It is hard to go thru and reply to everyone.
I was reading the post justgreen made in the friendship board about not feeling acknowledged in here. It is nice to know some of you share my stress about chopping haha.
I thank you all for giving me some input and your thoughts and feelings about this.

[akilina]

Ironically, hanging out on this forum too much makes me want to fiddle with my hair too much and keep trimming it. :P

My advice? Go find another forum to be active on for a while, so you stop thinking about your hair and give it some benign neglect for a while. It'll grow before you know it!

You know, a watched pot never boils? ;)
Oh yes haha! Being on here REALLY makes me want to do more and more to my hair. It is frustrating, yet fun. I got a little scissor happy this last month because of excitement of trimming with the Moon. A watched pot definitely never boils :D

[Hairizona]

I have pretty average growth; 6~7"/ year. I get almost all my growth from the end of September to Feb. ~ April. Almost none to none during this time of year, so I just go with the flow...

[PinkyCat]

Yes me. I gave in a tiny bit last night, trimming a teeny tiny bit around the bottom of my U hemline. Ho hum. A spurt is just around the corner...

[WaitingSoLong]

I have pretty average growth; 6~7"/ year. I get almost all my growth from the end of September to Feb. ~ April. Almost none to none during this time of year, so I just go with the flow...

I have 6" a year. I have been measuring monthly since I joined TLHC 3+ years ago and it was always 1/2".
Always.
Until this spring.
I should have hit 42" in April yet I am still not there.
I have had 2 major sheds in this time frame (3+ years), one of which is going on now and has been since May though it does seem to be winding down finally.

I decided to start scalp oiling before shampoos and I am back to taking hair and nail vitamins (which I swore I would never do again, I believe in eating your vitamins not taking them in pill form but I seem to be desperate here.)

Thing is, I hit goal (twice now, cut back to TBL last October), too, and have no real goal now. I was going to cut back to hip (I'm in the two week wait) but I don't think I will be happy with hip, I am really wanting to go shorter, like waist. I was even considering BSL (hence why I started THIS (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=95543)thread).

I've considered maintaining but I am a goal oriented gal.

Yet I seem utterly incapable of cutting. This forum makes me never want to cut. I have tried to take a break from TLHC and it is not working! lol

[MissAlida]

I want to cut it sooo much. I always had the urge to cut it back into a pixie, but now I seem to have outgrown that urge. But I still feel like I'm spending way too much time on my hair, and it looks good the day I wash and the day after, but not longer than that. I'd just like shorter hair, to save some time and effort. Also, I don't like updos, I hate them. I like braids, but they don't look very nice with my thinned out hair. I just don't know what to do with it. I'm just igonring it. Put it in a braid or a cinnamon bun at home, and try not to think about it. Sometimes I love my hair, other times I can't stand the singht of it.:rolleyes:

[RachieBaby]

Meeeeeee! I feel like my hairs not grown since May! I've started making a fruit smoothie a day so I'm hoping that make help kick start things again, I'm also trying out CO and buying pretty hair toys to stop me from going to the hairdressers.

BSL to waist seems to be taking me forever. Im hoping to make it by Christmas 2012 but I think it may be early next year now.

[MinderMutsig]

I stall every summer and have a growth spurt in winter. Maybe you are the same way.

I also get the urge to cut every summer but I an control that my monthly microtrims. I often loose a little length (maybe in inch over the summer) by doing this but my ends also thicken up considerably during that time so in the end it's all good.

[Audrey Horne]

I have a stall now. I think I had a spurt and stupidly I trimmed twice per month or 1/2 inch back then. I thought I absolutely had to have a summer spurt like last year. But it never came... So I sit here with a stall since winter :confused: And I do want to chop, the desire is present 99% all of the time.

[Tia2010]

My hair is in a holding pattern right now and it is driving me nuts!

I admit, I'm a frequent trimmer... but I hid my scissors and haven't cut it in a while and my hair is still in the exact.same.spot :mad:

I know it will grow again eventually...until then I will wear it up and curse at it under my breath :D

[Amber_Maiden]

I feel like chopping because I keep finding damage from my old hair dye days.

[akilina]

I stall every summer and have a growth spurt in winter. Maybe you are the same way.

I also get the urge to cut every summer but I an control that my monthly microtrims. I often loose a little length (maybe in inch over the summer) by doing this but my ends also thicken up considerably during that time so in the end it's all good.
You must be right... I almost think I do spurt in the winter..last November I got 3/4 of an inch, and the month before better than a half inch.
I went to crazy with the microtrims. I know I lost some length because I trimmed twice and my hair hasn't grown but 1/4 of an inch.

[Silverbrumby]

Just had a growth spurt but I also started whey protein.

[akilina]

Interesting..whey protein..do you eat it?
I have been interested in DE, but not sure if I will actually try it...

[Ginger Kitteh]

Sadly, I'm there, too. :( I thought I was a fast grower, so I thought, I'll get out of this "pob" (pixie/bob combination named after Victoria Beckham, or Posh Spice) quickly! I trimmed the bottom and got to growing it out. I had some lightening that was growing out, and I didn't have very much root regrowth. I wasn't keeping track of the days though, so I thought I would measure after a month past henna. Well, I henna'd it, and I don't see it reaching half an inch by the end of this month.

The good thing is I know I'm not really losing any length on the bottom, because after combing my hair (gently), I obsessively look for the root of the hair in the fallen hairs, and I have only observed maybe five hairs that I have accidentally broken in these past few months.

Like you, I have been giving myself scalp massages, and even taking vitamins...My roots used to come back really fast...I don't know what these stalls mean! I wish we could find out...

[Vanille_]

I put my hair in a bun every day and don't think twice about it. Thats how I deal. If I leave my hair down, I'm more prone to get annoyed and contemplate a chop.

[akilina]

Sadly, I'm there, too. :( I thought I was a fast grower, so I thought, I'll get out of this "pob" (pixie/bob combination named after Victoria Beckham, or Posh Spice) quickly! I trimmed the bottom and got to growing it out. I had some lightening that was growing out, and I didn't have very much root regrowth. I wasn't keeping track of the days though, so I thought I would measure after a month past henna. Well, I henna'd it, and I don't see it reaching half an inch by the end of this month.

The good thing is I know I'm not really losing any length on the bottom, because after combing my hair (gently), I obsessively look for the root of the hair in the fallen hairs, and I have only observed maybe five hairs that I have accidentally broken in these past few months.

Like you, I have been giving myself scalp massages, and even taking vitamins...My roots used to come back really fast...I don't know what these stalls mean! I wish we could find out...
Geez thanks you just unintentionally reminded me to take my vitamins just now :D
Were lucky that we use henna so we can atleast see our growth. That helps me a lot. I try to henna on the 20th of every month but this month I did it two days early.
Ugh I really hope this means I get a good growth spurt soon!

[elbow chic]

My hair stalled right before hitting BSL, too. I'm told it is not that uncommon-- oldest/longest hairs have reached the end of their cycle, having been cut over their natural lifespan, and the younger, shorter ones haven't caught up yet.

It's just a thang. 1/4 inch is still progress. Kind of like, if you are trying to jog somewhere and you have to break it down and walk for awhile, you are still going faster than you would be if you sat down on the curb!

Once I got a lil past BSL I stopped worrying about it so much. For me, some of the angst about it was that I'd never had hair any longer than APL and I wasn't convinced I COULD. So any little setback was like "wah! I can't do it! I'm off to the salon!" :laugh:

Cheapness wound up being my salvation. :p

[akilina]

My hair stalled right before hitting BSL, too. I'm told it is not that uncommon-- oldest/longest hairs have reached the end of their cycle, having been cut over their natural lifespan, and the younger, shorter ones haven't caught up yet.

It's just a thang. 1/4 inch is still progress. Kind of like, if you are trying to jog somewhere and you have to break it down and walk for awhile, you are still going faster than you would be if you sat down on the curb!

Once I got a lil past BSL I stopped worrying about it so much. For me, some of the angst about it was that I'd never had hair any longer than APL and I wasn't convinced I COULD. So any little setback was like "wah! I can't do it! I'm off to the salon!" :laugh:

Cheapness wound up being my salvation. :p
That is exactly how I feel...I don't even know that my hair CAN get past this point. it never has. This...between APL and BSL and not long enough at all thing. You're right though. Progress is progress and I should try to stop obsessing.

[akilina]

I put my hair in a bun every day and don't think twice about it. Thats how I deal. If I leave my hair down, I'm more prone to get annoyed and contemplate a chop.

I wish I had the will power to do this. For some reason I get so self conscious about my face. I have gained a lot of weight and my face is sort of round and I have a veryyy slight double chin. Ugh!
I am definitely trying though. Like today I actually went out in public with my hair up. My mom got me two really cool hair forks for my birthday and they have really been helping me.

[WaitingSoLong]

1/4 inch is still progress. Kind of like, if you are trying to jog somewhere and you have to break it down and walk for awhile, you are still going faster than you would be if you sat down on the curb!

Cheapness wound up being my salvation. :p

I love both of these statements :p

[torrilin]

I've considered maintaining but I am a goal oriented gal.

Yet I seem utterly incapable of cutting. This forum makes me never want to cut. I have tried to take a break from TLHC and it is not working! lol

I promise you, if I can manage to hunt and peck something on Jul 28 (it'll be 2 days after hand surgery) I will be begging for pictures. I'll need a distraction! So unless you start sounding a lot more gung ho about growing, I'm expecting a chop.

If necessary, we can also yell at you come October to start reporting how many days you wore your hair down :D. After all, what's the point of chopping if you don't do the wearing it down that was the reason for the chop?

[FrannyG]

I am not experiencing a stall, nor a spurt, but I've been having the strongest desire to have my hair cut into a style, like a long bob that is about collar length in the front. I've been feeling like this for months now, and it's driving me crazy.

I went through menopause last year, and my hair just doesn't feel like my hair anymore for some reason. Some of it is a bit kinky and feels dry to me.

At the beginning of July, my hair was just about a half inch above waistlength, and I cut it back to BSL, which I still consider to be reasonably long. I thought that would help, but it didn't.

I've tried to distract myself from thoughts about a hair cut by doing extra nice things to my hair, trying new hairstyles, and even getting a couple of new hair accessories. None of that has taken the desire for a new haircut away.

I guess I miss the days when I would go to a salon and get a complete new look for my hair. I thought I had it out of my system, but I was wrong.

Sometimes I feel trapped by the idea that I can't cut my hair, as my family has been very supportive of my growing and they don't want me to cut. Perhaps they think I would regret it.

I know now how quickly hair grows and I would just like to have the experience of a well shaped hair cut that would be wash and go. And then I could grow it again once the novelty wore off.

Okay, I've blathered on long enough, but yes, I'm having a very strong desire to cut my hair. I honestly don't know what to do.

[velvetvenus]

I have absolutely no desire to chop (although I am having a trim in a few days) but I feel like my hair is stalling and it is so frustrating. Everyone else's hair seems to be growing super-fast this time of year so I'm blaming this rainy english weather! Hopefully when I go off to the tropics in August my stall will disappear! :)

[WaitingSoLong]

My hair usually does grow faster in summer, at least by a little. I need to start measuring in centimeters. I don't like our measuring system.