Shoulder | Armpit

[secret soup]

WOW InTheCity, that is definitely some bouncy hair! It's at APL though!!!! Congratulations! I actually wish my hair was curly enough to need assistance stretching it...it used to be very curly and I hated it. Now that it's only wavy, I miss it!

All the towel pics are inspiring! You all keep me going when I have dark thoughts about trimming.

[InTheCity]

Yes 3 inches sounds like a lot but the problem is the 3 inches just doesn't seem to continue. Just for you InTheCity, I will post this picture of my hair before I cut it in 2020. I probably won't leave it up too long because it's such a sad picture. I think maybe my ends were layered a bit? but still... I think this picture really illustrates well the extent of my growing problem and why I might never be able to get past APL.

Thank you for sharing! That's exactly how my ends looked the once in my life I grew it long. (2009-2011, signature pics.) I went full chop because the ends upset me so much and have spent the 10 year since going between chin and just past shoulder. I have a phone reminder quarterly that yells "never cut hair above shoulder!" but it doesn't seem to matter. Hair dressers always chop me when I say not to.

[ReadingRenee]

WOW InTheCity, that is definitely some bouncy hair! It's at APL though!!!! Congratulations! I actually wish my hair was curly enough to need assistance stretching it...it used to be very curly and I hated it. Now that it's only wavy, I miss it!

All the towel pics are inspiring! You all keep me going when I have dark thoughts about trimming.

Glad its inspiring! I always find it really inspiring too, to see how far people come.

Thank you for sharing! That's exactly how my ends looked the once in my life I grew it long. (2009-2011, signature pics.) I went full chop because the ends upset me so much and have spent the 10 year since going between chin and just past shoulder. I have a phone reminder quarterly that yells "never cut hair above shoulder!" but it doesn't seem to matter. Hair dressers always chop me when I say not to.

You're welcome! I know, it's such a bummer isn't it? However, I was as usual in a no trimming challenge. I have never attempted to grow the micro trim way past APL so my fingers are really crossed! But if it doesn't work out, at least I know that with repeated trims my ends at APL can be really thick, (well thick in my book and I like how that looks too).

I like your reminder! That's a good idea. I am terrified of hairdressers at this point. However, to be fair they never cut shorter than I ask them to. It's me that I'm scared of. When in a stylist's chair I often just go nuts and say "take it all off!". LOL I have had a few times like at a Supercuts when I was actively growing where I specified exactly how much I wanted off and they did it exactly. I really miss having a regular stylist who I trust, and like how they cut my hair but I just can't seem to find one in my area so far. The last time I got my hair professionally cut was April 2018. And the time before that was 2014!

[DropStitches]

All these towel tests inspiring me but man am I uncoordinated, so I had to enlist someone to help me stretch it. And my hair is just a dirty mess that I attempted to brush out. (Curly ends don't "brush out") I'll probably never be able to call APL because it'll never reach APL dry with whurls.

I love your curl pattern, InTheCity! It makes me think of spun sugar around some fancy desert. And congratulations on reaching APL stretched - I'm pretty jealous as I'm still so far away. I can see that APL unstretched might feel like a while away with your shrinkage, but please don't be discouraged. I'm genuinely excited to see how your whurls grow out!

Yes 3 inches sounds like a lot but the problem is the 3 inches just doesn't seem to continue. Just for you InTheCity, I will post this picture of my hair before I cut it in 2020. I probably won't leave it up too long because it's such a sad picture. I think maybe my ends were layered a bit? but still... I think this picture really illustrates well the extent of my growing problem and why I might never be able to get past APL.

I haven't 'quoted' the image as I don't want to make you feel sad, but honestly it doesn't look sad to me - it looks kind of fine and elfish. But regardless, I wonder if it will be different this time around for you, as it certainly seems like you've retained your thickness for longer - it looks so voluminous in your towel pic!

[ReadingRenee]

I love your curl pattern, InTheCity! It makes me think of spun sugar around some fancy desert. And congratulations on reaching APL stretched - I'm pretty jealous as I'm still so far away. I can see that APL unstretched might feel like a while away with your shrinkage, but please don't be discouraged. I'm genuinely excited to see how your whurls grow out!



I haven't 'quoted' the image as I don't want to make you feel sad, but honestly it doesn't look sad to me - it looks kind of fine and elfish. But regardless, I wonder if it will be different this time around for you, as it certainly seems like you've retained your thickness for longer - it looks so voluminous in your towel pic!

Ooh yes spun sugar! I agree DropStitches such a perfect description! And yes congrats on APL stretched InTheCity!

DropStitchesThank you for not quoting my picture. Although it wouldn't be the end of the world... I have to say hearing you say that it doesn't look sad but fine and elfish makes me sooo happy! That is to me one of the saddest hair pictures I have ever shared so wow, thank you! I will carry that description with me and remember it anytime I am feeling hair sadness.

I wonder if it will be different too. My fingers are crossed for this grow-out to go better for me than last time! I think I did have my hair layered in the unicorn cut at least once that time, and I wore a LOT of messy buns with hair ties so maybe that made a difference too. InTheCity has a quarterly reminder to not cut above the shoulder, I need a quarterly reminder to not cut layers in!

Ive been reading the LOC thread to try to glean wisdom. I was thinking it would help for the soon to come(please soon!) colder months when my hair is dry. Does anyone use LOC?

[DropStitches]

Thank you for not quoting my picture. Although it wouldn't be the end of the world... I have to say hearing you say that it doesn't look sad but fine and elfish makes me sooo happy! That is to me one of the saddest hair pictures I have ever shared so wow, thank you! I will carry that description with me and remember it anytime I am feeling hair sadness.

I wonder if it will be different too. My fingers are crossed for this grow-out to go better for me than last time! I think I did have my hair layered in the unicorn cut at least once that time, and I wore a LOT of messy buns with hair ties so maybe that made a difference too. InTheCity has a quarterly reminder to not cut above the shoulder, I need a quarterly reminder to not cut layers in!

Ive been reading the LOC thread to try to glean wisdom. I was thinking it would help for the soon to come(please soon!) colder months when my hair is dry. Does anyone use LOC?

You are so welcome! We really can be our own harshest critics when it comes to hair, so I’m happy I could make you feel a little bit better. And oh my gosh, you’re reminding me how much of a devotee of the messy bun I used to be too!

I think I do LO - the C is for cream, as in styling cream, right? I never really encourage my whurls these days (I think henna has straightened them out a bit anyway), so I skip the cream step.

My routine is wash, condition, then apply a little bit of leave in from the ears down while it’s still wet (I’ve been using the 3-in-1 Garnier Hair Food for a while and love it!). Then I wrap it gently in a microfibre towel, to blot a lot of the moisture out of it (if I put the oil on it wet, it takes ten thousand years to dry). I take a teeny weeny bit of oil and rub my palms together to spread it over them, then I gently stroke it over my hair. Sometimes I’ll use my wooden brush to distribute it more evenly through the hair.

I think it has made a difference - my ends do feel very soft despite the fact that it’s been almost a year since I trimmed. If I notice lots of flyaways, sometimes I’ll use a tiny bit more oil to smooth them down.

[ReadingRenee]

You are so welcome! We really can be our own harshest critics when it comes to hair, so I’m happy I could make you feel a little bit better. And oh my gosh, you’re reminding me how much of a devotee of the messy bun I used to be too!

I think I do LO - the C is for cream, as in styling cream, right? I never really encourage my whurls these days (I think henna has straightened them out a bit anyway), so I skip the cream step.

My routine is wash, condition, then apply a little bit of leave in from the ears down while it’s still wet (I’ve been using the 3-in-1 Garnier Hair Food for a while and love it!). Then I wrap it gently in a microfibre towel, to blot a lot of the moisture out of it (if I put the oil on it wet, it takes ten thousand years to dry). I take a teeny weeny bit of oil and rub my palms together to spread it over them, then I gently stroke it over my hair. Sometimes I’ll use my wooden brush to distribute it more evenly through the hair.

I think it has made a difference - my ends do feel very soft despite the fact that it’s been almost a year since I trimmed. If I notice lots of flyaways, sometimes I’ll use a tiny bit more oil to smooth them down.

Yes we really are our own harshest critics and I try to remind myself of that when I am unhappy with my hair. Yeah the messy bun I think really did a number on my hair. Now I just do very uncool cinnabuns on the back of my head held with a claw clip. Im hoping once my hair gets longer I can at least get them on the top of my head.

Thanks for telling me your routine! That is very helpful. I haven't hear of garnier hair food, I will check that out next time I am at the store.

Today was a wash day so I did some very slap dash experimentation. I did suave coconut conditioner watered down as leave in, a tiny dab of coconut oil as the oil (I have to put it in wet or my hair looks really greasy) and a smidgen of shea moisture styling milk. It seemed creamy... My hair is still drying and it feels really good, but not sure how it will look after it dries.

Next time maybe I will use the milk as a leave in and use shea moisture smoothie as the cream. I have all these products and I don't really know how to use them so it will be fun to experiment.

[Bat]

your hair looks much better quality now Renee, I can already tell that you'll be able to grow past apl, it looks thicker now than it did back then

[draysmir]

your hair looks much better quality now Renee, I can already tell that you'll be able to grow past apl, it looks thicker now than it did back then

I agree. ReadingRenee's hair looks really full and healthy! I'm sure the thickness will travel down your length more this time around.

[Kathie]

I realised that my peacock twist looks kinda like a bun... if you squint... the folded down peacock tail forms half of it. For some reason I never really get the peacock effect when I do this style. I don't mind Its up and looks ok, so I'm happy with that.

Fake bun-