Growing out for the next decade on fresh chin-length cut -- 1a-1b/f/i

[Happymaman]

Hi, all!

I've poked around the forum in the past but in all honesty, I'm just getting back into hair after years of not paying attention to it.

I'm 30 years old now. I plan on doing a huge backpacking trip with my 3 kids to celebrate my 40th birthday in 2032 if all things align (like... my 2020 travel plans did not work out for me). I want to grow my hair out until the end of that trip and see how long I can get it during this decade. I'm especially eager to see if I develop any greys. I currently have zero, but I'd welcome them whether they happen now or later. Just curious to see.

I have had my length at least to shoulder blades several times (2009, 2012, 2017, 2021). The latter two of those times were pregnancies because my hair just grew super fast. I wasn't aiming for length; it just happened. My hair was supposedly hip-length when I was 2.5 years old. I used to not believe that (I have very few toddler pictures but the ones I do have I clearly have long hair, I'm just not sure it was HIP-length). but my two biological children have CRAZY hair that just grows and grows. My youngest kid is 15 months and her hair is already 17 inches from front hairline down her back. On her tiny body, that's easily past her shoulder blades. So I'm now thinking it may have actually been possible that it was as long as my mom said it was. I know we cut it because I hated sitting for the long detangling sessions and my mom was not a proficient braider so it tangled frequently. The one time that I purposely grew out my hair was 2007-2009. By the time I cut off 10 inches for Locks of Love, it was to the middle of my back. I'm really looking forward to getting that length again, and then of course, pushing past it! That length took me 3-4 years with regular salon trims. I remember a lot of breakage and split ends at that point, but at the time I had to tie it back daily for dance and I didn't pay attention to varying the elastic type or location. I also shampooed my hair every day and often straightened it (WHY??? I have the STRAIGHTEST natural hair), even using the straightening iron on WET hair. I now know better so I'm confident that when I grow it out this time, it'll be in better shape. I had a haircut to chin-length lightly-layered bob August 31, 2022 that completely got rid of my previous fringe that I've grown out. I'm happy that it's all basically one length now as a fresh start, and I have ZERO split ends.

My reignited interest in haircare came about from learning to manage my adopted child's 4b-4c/f/i hair. I have found that digging into the details on things like porosity, density, thickness, etc. has benefited us so much. Truly understanding protective styling has given me a new-found appreciation for styling finesse. And in learning to love caring for his hair (I've carefully installed 250 microlocs and we could not be happier right now!) I thought to myself, "Hey! I could show myself as much love! I could groom myself with as much attention! I could learn all these things about myself and my own hair and be better off for it." So I have done just that.

Obviously it's a journey and I'm still learning (a ton), but I have inadvertently discovered a good many things about my hair that are relevant to me beginning this journey. One is that I don't have to wash my hair frequently at all. I'm certain I have washed my hair fewer than a dozen times in the 6 years I've lived in my current home. For some reason, that just works on my hair type. Even though it's super fine, it doesn't get particularly weighed down beyond like day 3-8 after a wash as long as I brush it with a wooden brush to distribute the natural oils. However, I have not been oiling my scalp in the past few years so that may make a big difference as I plan to oil my scalp and ends as I grow it out this time. We will see. Water-only washing has been fine for me (rinsing it thoroughly every few days), but I am super crunchy and I'm drawn to historical haircare, so I think I plan to egg-wash when I feel it start to get gross, whenever that is. Second is that my hair is so fine that any wet or damp detangling results in ridiculous amounts of breakage. I've learned to dry detangle and most of my detangling is finger-detangling. I use my wooden brush, wooden wide-tooth comb, and now I also have a soft horse-hair and goat-hair brushes as well as a double-sided fine-tooth wooden comb. I have high-porosity, light-brown (easily sun-damaged) 1a/1b (extremely, extremely straight until it gets past my shoulders when in the past, it has finally held a SLIGHT wave with a wavelength of 8-10 inches), fine hair in a ponytail that probably is somewhere between a US dime and nickel in circumference. However, despite the (i) designation based on ponytail, my mother (an aesthetician) has always remarked on my hair density. I have a LOT of follicles. I've never counted my density per square inch, but I am interested in doing that sometime because I'd like to know if I really have a high number of hairs. Nevertheless, despite having a supposed large number of hairs, because of the wispy, airy nature of my hair and its relative light color, I wind up with a lot of visible scalp when I wear my hair back, which has always bothered me. I am finding that the horsehair brush makes a huge difference there, as the brush seems to help align all the strands and orient them to slick together with a common purpose. I'm thinking that'll make it easier for me to wear more styles that will help me to care for and grow my hair.

Anyways...
Goals: don't cut it for 10 years, hoping on somewhere between mid-back and past my butt for length, but I will take whatever length I get!
Nightly care regimen: finger-detangle, oil ends and braid at night, sleep on silk pillowcases
Daily care regimen: brush and style back/up at least 6 days a week. Be mindful of varying tension points.
Weekly care regimen: lightly oil scalp and length beyond shoulders (once we get there), massage scalp, evaluate washing needs but I currently plan to begin protecting my hair from the hot water from my daily shower, only water-washing about 1 time per week as I get more length.
General care: Learn to rely more on hair sticks, u-pins, and silk scrunchies than on elastics.
Current length: 14 inches from front hairline to back end, now about halfway down my neck (I want to say it has grown 1.5 inches in the past almost 2 months since my chop, but I'm not exactly sure as I didn't measure then)

Looking forward to meeting some people and getting more inspiration! Advice and encouragement welcome!

[lapushka]

Lofty goal! But good luck on this journey. Welcome!

[Happymaman]

@lapushka, thank you! Yes, lofty indeed. I'm not changing much of my current routine, but thinking about doing anything consistently for 10 years is intimidating.



I meant to ask if others can point me toward either currently active LHC members or past prolific posters with my hair type, I'd appreciate it!

[GoatLady]

Hello and welcome! I look forward to watching your hair journey.

[shelomit]

Howdy, nice to meet you! I also get away with properly washing very seldom--I shampoo every few months. With that experience, I might advise a little caution regarding the scalp oiling. A lot of people are sensitive to oils directly on the scalp. Even if you aren't, though, you'll likely find you need to wash more frequently ( ; Good luck!

[mochichichi]

I started from a chin length bob and am now at 10 years growing! You got this!!!

[Happymaman]

Thanks, Shelomit, after poking around I think I may just try to scritch and massage in a methodical, consistent way and see if that eliminates what I was thinking was a need for oil. I'll just stick with oiling the ends for now.

mochichichi, ooh how long is your hair now? Thanks for the encouragement!

[spidermom]

Happy hair growing!

[mochichichi]

A little past hip, blunt hemline. I would probably be at classic by now but I had bangs some years ago or so, and when I got to waist I sacrificed some 5 inches for a completely even hem.

[Happymaman]

Thanks, Spidermom!

And mochichichi, wow, congrats! I can dream it might be classic in 10 years but I'm not confident. I am tallish (5'9") with a very long torso and shorter legs so I'm thinking I need to measure where different lengths will hit on me to even have any frame of reference for how many years it might take. Thankfully I just evened up my hair by doing the chin-chop and getting rid of my bangs completely so I won't have to worry about it later.