Modest progress, despite trims

**Katze** · September 17th, 2008, 01:09 AM

[/I]OK, so I've been trimming regularly (from every 1-6 months) since coming here, so my hair has not grown very much in length but has improved a lot in overall quality. Since June, I've probably trimmed at least an inch, if not more.

My avatar pic was my hair in mid-June of this year. Here it is in big:

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/...ictureid=14684

This is my hair from yesterday. I should have combed it, but it looked so good in the mirror that I didn't think it was stringy in the back. Also, I SMT washed, which I think was probably too much conditioning for me. Notice the extreme cowlick/scalp cleavage.

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/...ictureid=21186

My hands are at waist in both pics; BSL in the first pic is the tip of my hoody, which you can see under my hair. In the second pic, BSL is just above the crook of my elbows.

So, has it grown? When I see these pics I think I should cut even more off, but am worried about protecting "future ends" by keeping some of the fairytaled, stringiest longest layers.

It's funny, I've been more happy with my hair lately but when I see these pics I think it still looks very thin at the ends. From the front, it's looking really nice.

The other weird thing is how much straighter my hair suddenly is. I guess pregnancy can do that!

(I hope the pics show, I've now spent about ten minutes trying to insert pictures. No idea how to make this work!)

**Katze** · September 17th, 2008, 01:09 AM

crap, sorry, forgive the links. I just can't seem to make posting pictures work.

**minkstole** · September 17th, 2008, 01:41 AM

I can´t see the pics at all.
Congrats on the pregnancy!

**Arctic_Mama** · September 17th, 2008, 01:42 AM

Well the first link didn't work for me but your hair is looking lovely and long in the second. I am sorry about the scalp cleavage, that's no fun, but the condition of your hair looks so good compared to even a few months ago. CONGRATS!

**Arctic** · September 17th, 2008, 03:17 AM

The first link doesn't work.

I have found I can greatly reduse my scalp cleavage (at the same spot as yours) by
a) combing when wet/damp (first detangle ofcourse) from forehead to nape movement, so the scalp hairs get aligned agains the way the cowlick wants them to and in the way I want them to dry.
b) Even better results I get when I after combing I start to fluff the scalp hair, consentrating at the crown (aka the cow licky area) in the same direction as with combing, fluffing movement from forehead to nape. Do this fluffing several times while drying making sure the hair stays the direction I want it to not the direction the cowlick wants it to.

I personally don't believe the theory of keeping bad ends on purpose to protect the good ends, bad ends can cause more damage by tangling and thus possibly damaging healthy hairs, creating friction to healthy hairs, splitting which can travel up the hairshaft, etc. I personally want to have nicest possible ends so I can really enjoy my hair. The ends stay nice for several months, and if I trim every 3 to 4 months I always have nice ends.

Anyway from the pics it does look longer to me, and your hair in general has improved tons, the thickness really has travelled downwards!

Also I don't think it looks overconditioned at all

From what I've read it's very common to have a hair type change while pregnant, I find it really interesting, like an adventure!

Good luck and enjoy the pregnancy!

**Arctic** · September 17th, 2008, 03:39 AM

Originally Posted by Katze

It's funny, I've been more happy with my hair lately but when I see these pics I think it still looks very thin at the ends. From the front, it's looking really nice.

Take note you have only about half of your hair visible here, rest is in front of your shoulders

That in mind it's really not thin at all!

**Katze** · September 17th, 2008, 04:54 AM

No idea why I can't get pictures to show. I've done it before, but it seems to change every time I do it!

I guess I need to not dry my hair naturally if I don't want that cowlick/scalp cleavage to look like it does in that pic. I'm not very tall, so now I feel like people can look down on me and see it!

Originally Posted by Arctic

Take not you have only about half of your hair visible here, rest is in front of your shoulders

That in mind it's really not thin at all!

If only that were true! I wish! I deliberately threw my hair over my shoulders for all my pics...so that's all the hair I have. What doesn't show is the fact that I have heavy bangs, which are growing out, from nose- to chin-length, or the fact that my hair at the crown - despite the cowlick - is about 5x as thick as at the ends.

Your combing idea is great. I don't really understand the "fluffing" thing but will try next time I wash. I have tried combing before and just get an arc of hair standing up over the cowlick that doesn't hide it at all, but I will give it another try.

At least my hair is actually longer, and you all think the thickness is moving down, too.

**Arctic** · September 17th, 2008, 05:47 AM

Hmm, maybe I'm using wrong word..? What I mean by fluffing, is "massage" the scalp hair with your finger pads so that the scalp hair becomes "airy" (gets lifted from scalp) and is aligned from forehead to nape, so that the crown hair is gently forced to go against the cowlicks growing pattern. It's hard to explain but it's really easy: a bit like moving your fingertips from forehead to nape while doing a little zigzag and tiny up and down movement

Hope this helped more

**Arctic** · September 17th, 2008, 06:02 AM

Originally Posted by Katze

I guess I need to not dry my hair naturally if I don't want that cowlick/scalp cleavage to look like it does in that pic. I'm not very tall, so now I feel like people can look down on me and see it!

If only that were true! I wish! I deliberately threw my hair over my shoulders for all my pics...so that's all the hair I have. What doesn't show is the fact that I have heavy bangs, which are growing out, from nose- to chin-length, or the fact that my hair at the crown - despite the cowlick - is about 5x as thick as at the ends.

I took the liberty of drawing few lines in your picture, I'm sorry

[removed picture]

Here you can see that there really isn't but half of your hair hanging in your back. If you're growing the bangs out, or a even if you arrange the hair from your shoulders down to your back, so it's not fanned out, there is more hair there

I will delete this picture after you've seen it. Sorry again for drawing in it!