Shoulder | Armpit

I wonder if my hair qualifies as shoulder length. I'm growing out a pixie, I have loads of layers and if I had to describe my hair style at present, "mullet" would probably be closest :o. The shortest bits are just beyond chin length around my face and the longest at the back a bit longer than shoulder.

I seem to understand that a lot of people here consider layers as bad. I'm not quite sure if I subscribe to that for myself. Granted I don't care for what I have at present, but I wonder if a few longer layers would look all that bad. My hair tends to be quite voluminous and easily looks like a "tent" if cut straight...

For now I'm still caught between gaining length and losing a few layers, though. I think I might go for a trim in January...

Well I like layers too and I plan to keep them ...triangle-head isn't a good look for me. :)

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Originally Posted by piratejenny

...I seem to understand that a lot of people here consider layers as bad. I'm not quite sure if I subscribe to that for myself. Granted I don't care for what I have at present, but I wonder if a few longer layers would look all that bad. My hair tends to be quite voluminous and easily looks like a "tent" if cut straight...

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I think it totally depends on your hair type, PJ - those of us with finer hair tend not to be fans of layers, as they make our hair look artifically thin, and they tend to stick out of updos. Those of you with thicker hair tend to need layers to avoid the dreaded "triangle head" look. :)

I just got a hair cut, at a REAL (read: expensive) salon for the first time ever and believe it or not, she didn't cut enough.

I can't complain too much, since she answered my "you can cut more like 1-2 inches" with "you won't like it" and it's nicely cut. She stuck with .5-1" as best as I can tell (haven't measured) which did not get rid of the layers the way I imagined.

I had gotten *really* depressed with my layers making my thin hair look thinner so I went through a series of rash ideas like paying $50 for a haircut and getting a Japanese straightening done. I stuck with the former, thinking it would mean some magical haircut making my hair look super thick.

I also found out that if I committed today, during a holiday special, I could get a Brazilian Blowout/Keratin Smoothing treatment for about 1/3 the cost of where I live. My appointment is Saturday, in smalltown nowheresville (part of why the cost is low.) I now sort of wish I did not spend the money on a cut, since the texture change will (hopefully) come out nice, and would have shaken my bumminess. I also know the damage potential I'm facing and decided that I am willing to take the risk and see what happens, since I have no damage to speak of at present.

Sheesh, I just turned an "I got a too-tiny cut and I'm getting a treatment done because I'm bummed" reply into a super long ramble. Whoops!

OH, ITC, so many of us that are twice your age can relate! We want some magical cut/chemical/process to give us the hair we've always wanted - while reality is, we have the hair that we have. I guess the upside of age is that we've learned that - the downside is wrinkles. Ugh, that's a pretty sucky downside... :p

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Originally Posted by Lissandria

I really like your color! Lovely. :)

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Aww thank you! :D

I plan to be at APL by january! well, Im hoping so....im not quite as far off as i thought and i recently started coming back on TLHC so ive been taking even better care of my hair.
Im taking my supplements again, ive started using henna rather than chemical dyes i was using, and ive been wearing my hair up alot more (most of the week) also i never stopped CO-ing every other day with shampoo here and there . So i really think ill get there!

Hello from the wings of the thread!

I'm hoping to get my characteristic cold-weather hair growth boost this winter. Maybe I'll get to APL by January too! (Doubtful, since I chopped all that damage off in September.) Wouldn't that be fab? Oh, it would...

*happy, unlikely-to-be-fufilled sigh*

InTheCity, how nice to hear for once a stylist who didn't quite cut enough! Frustrating, I'm sure, but that's a much easier fix, erm, than one who cuts too much. lol. Also funny that her reply was "you won't like it." Did you go to a long hair salon, or did she just make a guess? Hope the blowout works for you!

piratejenny, I'm a layer-liker too. My hair is super fine, but it's also pretty wavy, so I still get triangle-head without them, only floaty, if that makes sense. After about waist-length I have enough weight to make my hair lay nice with fewer layers, but from here to there? Forget it! lol. I was surprised when I first started stalking this site that so many seemed to dislike layers, but then, I had assumed everyone got floaty-triangle-head like me, before LHC. Derr, lol. (No, Jessica. It's just you!:rolleyes:)

And OMG (I hate that I just typed that, he he he, but the moment called for it) Jaine, what a ridiculously simple/great idea about steamed foam rollers. Have you tried it yet? (I'm very excited about this idea!) Would the heat make the foam rollers harder to remove, you think?

my hair is just a couple months away from reach APL! :D

With this Thursday being Thanksgiving here in the states, I am trying to think of a cute hairstyle to do that will work with my folded-collar sweater. I would do a sock bun, but I don't want my hair pulled back so sternly. I'm thinking some kind of braid 'do.

Any suggestions?

Hmmm... double braids with the ends tucked in? You could put pretty decorations into the bumps (I'm a geek like that though, it may not be your thing! :p), and would have a little more volume that way.

Or, if you still want the sock bun, you could braid the front, around the hairline in some kind of a partial crown braid/accent braid, and then smooth it back into the sock bun (does that make sense?). That way you'd still have some visual interest around the face, and you'd get to do a sock bun and a braid.

Or a crown braid all the way around...they always seem so flattering. A lot of work--for me at least--but worth the effort.

Don't forget to post what you decide!

*sitting here, not so patiently waiting for hair to grow.....* I'm definitely not going to make APL by xmas. I knew it was a long shot, but I'm a bit bummed about how far away I still am. Still, if I look at pictures of my hair from jan-feb-march, it has grown so much.

GROW HAIRS, GROW!!!!!! *begging position*

I'm just an inch from APL, so close and yet so fra away, sigh. Can't wait

Hello everyone, I'm here to check in and see if I can now consider myself growing SHL to APL
Here is my most recent picture from this November. My hair is naturally straight but while it was drying I had it up a bit and my ends are still damaged and when they split they curl up.. ew,

http://i41.tinypic.com/mii2rk.jpg

I know it looks very bad but I literally have not worn it down in about a year it is always up so the unevenness doesn't bother me. I have come a looooong way already with growing out my virgin hair and trying to even up layers since I have joined :)

Tonight I am going to get another hair glaze, a tinted one over my bleach damaged ends to match my roots and am getting some clip-in extensions dyed to match as well, I haven't worn any clip-ins in a year either.

I hope to join you all getting to APL, I think it will take me a year :)

Friends, I have reached a mini-milestone!!! My shortest layer has now reached chin length, with a couple shorter pieces! There are also some shortish fuzzies, does anyone else have those throughout the length? Quite irritating... anyway, yes, I've been growing the top-layer from the atrocious length of top-of-the-ear since June. It's been horrible, and the ends of this layer will still need trimming, but at least I can coconut oil them and keep them calm.
I love layers, but my layers at the time are not the kind I like. I love longer layers, and my hair right now is almost APL with the shortest layer now at chin-length.
So much frustration, even when a mini-goal is met.

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Originally Posted by vanillabones

Hello everyone, I'm here to check in and see if I can now consider myself growing SHL to APL
Here is my most recent picture from this November. My hair is naturally straight but while it was drying I had it up a bit and my ends are still damaged and when they split they curl up.. ew,

http://i41.tinypic.com/mii2rk.jpg

I know it looks very bad but I literally have not worn it down in about a year it is always up so the unevenness doesn't bother me. I have come a looooong way already with growing out my virgin hair and trying to even up layers since I have joined :)

Tonight I am going to get another hair glaze, a tinted one over my bleach damaged ends to match my roots and am getting some clip-in extensions dyed to match as well, I haven't worn any clip-ins in a year either.

I hope to join you all getting to APL, I think it will take me a year :)

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Girl, I feel your pain about the damaged ends curling up, mine do the same. It makes me cringe. Welcome and good luck growing! We are all in the same frustrating boat here.

mine is about 2 to 3 inches from APL. Yes the waiting is a pain, I hope I can keep the patience for it because I am not a patient person by any means. Wish me luck!

My hair is half an inch past APL when wet now (mini yeey), but as soon as it dries it curls up to shoulder/UBL again.

Since my hair is growing out healthy - it is growing out curly, those curls make hair appear as short as it was half a year ago. This makes me wanna just straighten it all out, but I've promised myself I wont.

I still have a good 4-5 inches to go to apl. Just now starting to to like my hair some days.

I just noticed something. With all my Bali bra's(only kind I have) its only about 2 inches from apl to bls. I wear the 4 hooks but with the unplanned weight loss the past few months I really need to get fitted again.

I think the whole concept of BSL is flawed. Most people wear a bra with a strap that's too high in the back because it's too loose, and if they live in the U.S. and have a small ribcage then it's probably not their fault because bra manufacturers don't make the sizes that would fit a small ribcage with not-flat boobs.

So I hereby decree BSL to be a horizontal plane that intersects the bottom of the cup, in the front of the bra. (or the bottom of the boobs in front if you don't wear a bra - or the bottom of the pecs if you're a guy.) Problem Solved!

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Originally Posted by jaine

I think the whole concept of BSL is flawed. Most people wear a bra with a strap that's too high in the back because it's too loose, and if they live in the U.S. and have a small ribcage then it's probably not their fault because bra manufacturers don't make the sizes that would fit a small ribcage with not-flat boobs.

So I hereby decree BSL to be a horizontal plane that intersects the bottom of the cup, in the front of the bra. (or the bottom of the boobs in front if you don't wear a bra - or the bottom of the pecs if you're a guy.) Problem Solved!

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You don't get la Senza or Triumph there? You'd be surprised what they keep in the back, sometimes you have to ask for those sizes. I'm a 32 E, so I know. Triumph goes as low as 28 I think?

I did finally purchase two in my "real" size (30DD or 30E) from Chantelle and Simone Perele, but I hardly ever wear them any more to be honest... I'm more comfortable without one and I like the look of a completely smooth back.

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Originally Posted by CrisDee

OH, ITC, so many of us that are twice your age can relate! We want some magical cut/chemical/process to give us the hair we've always wanted - while reality is, we have the hair that we have. I guess the upside of age is that we've learned that - the downside is wrinkles. Ugh, that's a pretty sucky downside... :p

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I know, it's tough with hair. Because there is such a difference between hair from one moment to the next (dry verses humid weather, air dry versus blow dry...), it's easy to imagine something magical can happen. As for the aging process, if I want to see myself 18 years older, I have this magic mirror named "mom" :p Shows my EXACT image just older.

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Originally Posted by Jimothea

InTheCity, how nice to hear for once a stylist who didn't quite cut enough! Frustrating, I'm sure, but that's a much easier fix, erm, than one who cuts too much. lol. Also funny that her reply was "you won't like it." Did you go to a long hair salon, or did she just make a guess? Hope the blowout works for you!

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It wasn't a longhair salon but I think for once, the stylist actually listened and believed when I said "a few months ago, my hair was past my bra and my now ex-stylist chopped it all off." But you're very very right, I'd rather have paid too much for not enough cut than paid not enough (or any amount!) for too much cut!

I need a trim badly, but I really don't want to cut any of it. My hair hasn't been this long since I was a kid. The ends are just really rough and in icky shape, so I should probably get it over with. :(

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Originally Posted by InTheCity

I also found out that if I committed today, during a holiday special, I could get a Brazilian Blowout/Keratin Smoothing treatment for about 1/3 the cost of where I live. My appointment is Saturday, in smalltown nowheresville (part of why the cost is low.) I now sort of wish I did not spend the money on a cut, since the texture change will (hopefully) come out nice, and would have shaken my bumminess. I also know the damage potential I'm facing and decided that I am willing to take the risk and see what happens, since I have no damage to speak of at present.

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Make sure you know the potential damage to your health from those treatments not just to your hair. Formaldehyde is very common in those treatments and is a known carcinogen.

Dear Hair,

All I want for Christmas is for you to dry to approximately the same length every day.

Please don't yo-yo. It's bad for my heart.

You see, the two of us are in this together for the long haul, and I don't think it's fair for one of us to be poking fun at the other. It ain't kind.

So, I'll hold my towel in the same place everyday after a shower, and you just curl the same every day after a shower.

And we'll be best buds.

Much smooches,

The Head

Hi there,

I'm joining you on this long journey :) I am just at shoulder length now, so I will be following this thread for a while I think! I have decided not to cut for at least a year though, so I hope I will be at (more than) APL by then (I measured for the first time on November 1st, so I have no idea what my monthly growth rate is).

Oh my gosh I got a hair glaze last night (tinted the bottom half to match my roots) and got it blowdried, it was amazing. I have not blowdried my hair since February since I have thrown out my blowdryer (good riddance). It felt so good to get it blown out styled even though I felt a surge of guilt because I know even once can be damaging. It was such a treat.

I also had my clipin extensions dyed to match my hair and I curled them this morning and wore them today. I love them but they are a little too dark so they need to be clarified a few times ;) I feel no guilt whatsoever in them because it's not my hair they can split all they want. They are uncomfortable and damaging but are for special occasions.

I'll post pics of my newly done hair soon :) even though I was way too tired to get a pic of it blowdried out.

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Originally Posted by jaine

I did finally purchase two in my "real" size (30DD or 30E) from Chantelle and Simone Perele, but I hardly ever wear them any more to be honest... I'm more comfortable without one and I like the look of a completely smooth back.

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:) I rarely go without a bra. I find the ones that are the right size are much more comfortable than the ones that aren't though!

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Originally Posted by FrozenBritannia

:) I rarely go without a bra. I find the ones that are the right size are much more comfortable than the ones that aren't though!

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Yep, agreed. For me on a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being least comfortable and 10 being most comfortable) the wrong size bra is a 1, the right size bra is a 4, and no bra is a 10 :)

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Originally Posted by Audhumla

Make sure you know the potential damage to your health from those treatments not just to your hair. Formaldehyde is very common in those treatments and is a known carcinogen.

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Thank you. I plan on verifying the levels, and possibly wearing a mask.

I'm about 3.5 inches from APL. I take the vitamins and started the Monistat last Friday. My hair usually grows about 1" per month so I hope to be at APL by 1 March.

I am just above apl, using castor oil and trying to take better care of it, my goal is to be a couple of inches above or below bsl by summer!

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Originally Posted by jaine

I think the whole concept of BSL is flawed. Most people wear a bra with a strap that's too high in the back because it's too loose, and if they live in the U.S. and have a small ribcage then it's probably not their fault because bra manufacturers don't make the sizes that would fit a small ribcage with not-flat boobs.

So I hereby decree BSL to be a horizontal plane that intersects the bottom of the cup, in the front of the bra. (or the bottom of the boobs in front if you don't wear a bra - or the bottom of the pecs if you're a guy.) Problem Solved!

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Brilliant! Thankfully I had a very nice woman in a bra shop educate me on how to wear one properly so I don't have the annoying straps up the back thing going on, and you are right, the bottom of my strap lines up with the bottom of the cup, so, great! :D I'm only a 32B and have to go to a specialty store because no store carries anything smaller in rib cage than a 34 it seems. Oh well, at least I get ones that fit right and last a while, I hand wash and buy good quality so I can avoid shopping again for 2-21/2 years at a time.

I've just barely hit APL when hair is wet!!!:D

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Originally Posted by RedBlue

I've just barely hit APL when hair is wet!!!:D

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Nice one ... you're right where I am too! :)
I was briefly APL dry, but I had a much-needed trim last week. I grew 7 inches in 11 months and kept 6 inches... now my ends feel fresh and non-tangly ... good trade I think.

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Originally Posted by jaine

Nice one ... you're right where I am too! :)
I was briefly APL dry, but I had a much-needed trim last week. I grew 7 inches in 11 months and kept 6 inches... now my ends feel fresh and non-tangly ... good trade I think.

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yeah I am there too, apl when hair is wet.... wont call it til it is when it it is dry. ;)

I'm around an inch and a half away from APL. This means I should hit it around my birthday, February. What a nice present that would be :cheese:

I'm almost to APL I think, I haven't measured to see how far away I am. I'm less concerned with growth rate and everything than I used to be, I know my hair will grow to hip or longer because it has before, and the fact that I keep having to dye my hair every month means that the growth hasn't stalled, so I'm content in that.

Still, APL would be nice and BSL-waist would be better. My boyfriend thinks waist+ is too long, but phooey to him.

My hair feels like it's grown alot the past few days, and I'm not quite sure why. I'm starting to get the "wet blanket on (upper) back" feeling in the shower. :eek: I'm actually much closer to APL than I thought I was. :)

Does this seem right? I just measured from my hairline down to my waist- 21.5 inches and I'm 5' 3". I only have a carpenter's measuring tape at the moment, so forgive me!:)


Nevermind!! I figured out the problem and my waist is at 27"!