The "No End Goal" Thread: Enjoying the Journey

[Bat]

I'm pretty sure I'm still going to grow but I won't beat myself up If I relapse

[luxurioushair]

I guess I halfway belong here, because when I hit the latest milestone, I didn't know what to do next. Then I decided to just continue growing it and aim for a new milestone.
The only way to stop my hair from growing is to abuse it, which I don't want to do... because my whole journey started with wanting to take proper care of it, and to remove anything that was damaging it.

What was your starting point, and how long ago was it?
November 2014, my hair was about 4 inches long, but then I trimmed 2 inches off about 2 months later, so that was my starting point.

2. What made you decide to grow your hair?
I just decided to start taking care of my own hair, and it grew long as a result. Before that, all my life, others had taken care of my hair.
I am thankful to most of them, but the reality is that my hair never grew past my shoulders during those times.

3. Do you enjoy the process of growing your hair out?
I enjoy taking all my hair down about once per year, and realizing that I hit a new milestone. The rest of the time it's not really a process.
I don't see the real length of my hair for months on end. So I wouldn't call it a process.

4. If you had to make a wild guess, where do you think you'll find your hair's "sweet spot"? Have you had that length in the past?
I have no idea but I'm happy with it now. I'd be even happier if it got longer, for some unknown reason.
Every milestone I've hit since about 2016 is a new length I've never had.

5. Are you more interested in gaining length, or gaining thickness? Or are you just "meh" about your hair?
Length all the way

6. Do you trim your hair?
Once in a long while. Like once every couple of years if the ends are feeling a bit rough.

7. Has your routine changed since you've been on LHC?
No, I've just become a lot more relaxed with it. I mostly ignore my hair and I don't moisturize it as much as I used to. I just apply oil to the ends now.

8. Do you consider your hair to be a big part of who you are?
Not really but I like having it. I'm thankful for it.

9. Does taking care of your hair make you happy, or is it more of a chore?
It's mostly just a thing I need to do. I usually watch a show or videos while I style it, so I'm not really thinking about it.

10. Do you think you are more likely to eventually land on one length, or try several different ones and change it up?
When it gets too long for my arms to form twists in my hair, then I might cut it. Or, I might just clip up the extra length while I twist it, and refuse to cut it lol. Yeah I guess I can continue that for a long time... Other girls grow their 4c hair super long and they still twist ALL of it!

[meepster]

I'll play!

1. What was your starting point, and how long ago was it?

March 2020; I had a pixie cut.

2. What made you decide to grow your hair?

I couldn't go to the hair salon due to the pandemic and decided that this was the time to grow it out to the point that I could cut my own hair myself. And I just kept going.

3. Do you enjoy the process of growing your hair out?

Surprisingly, yes. I didn't enjoy it last time I tried to grow out my hair, but I always wore it loose, which looks horrible on me. This time I'm wearing it up most of the time, and it does make a difference.

4. If you had to make a wild guess, where do you think you'll find your hair's "sweet spot"? Have you had that length in the past?

I'm at waist length now and this is totally uncharted territory for me. I've never had hair this long in my life.

5. Are you more interested in gaining length, or gaining thickness? Or are you just "meh" about your hair?

Both, I hope.

6. Do you trim your hair?

No, but I probably should. I'm noticing split ends now.

7. Has your routine changed since you've been on LHC?

Yes - it got me to stop using baking soda on my hair.

8. Do you consider your hair to be a big part of who you are?

Not really, but it is a marker for a pretty significant change in my life, so maybe?

9. Does taking care of your hair make you happy, or is it more of a chore?

It definitely feels like pampering.

10. Do you think you are more likely to eventually land on one length, or try several different ones and change it up?

I want to find a good length and then just maintain it. At this point, I definitely could cut my own hair if I wanted to, which was my goal for this whole project.

[Bat]

Hey meepster it feels like forever since I last saw you

[illicitlizard]

OOOOH I think I may need to hang here - I've felt a bit aimless since I stopped actively growing at the end of last year but still enjoying having long hair and growing (and trimming) on repeat.

1. What was your starting point, and how long ago was it?
Guard 3 buzzcut 2018, pretty much exactly 5 1/2 years ago.

2. What made you decide to grow your hair?
I always liked having long hair, I only cut it because I wanted a fresh start, and to prove to myself and everyone else that short hair in fact would not "suit me perfectly" because I don't LIKE IT even though I have a long face (

3. Do you enjoy the process of growing your hair out?
I didn't when it was very very short, such a pain. But generally, yes. Feels like progress without having to do much to earn it. A little treat to acknowledge the passage of time.

4. If you had to make a wild guess, where do you think you'll find your hair's "sweet spot"? Have you had that length in the past?
When I started I thought the sweet spot would be BSL but all I wanted to do was get longer than I ever had (which was just past waist/hip-ish in my teens). Now at TBL I think my sweet spot for aesthetics and fun is between waist and hip.

5. Are you more interested in gaining length, or gaining thickness? Or are you just "meh" about your hair?
Initially desperately wanted length, then strove for thickness/blunt hairline, now I'm cutting layers in again because I achieved both of those goals.

6. Do you trim your hair?
YES! Every 6-9 months or so on average.

7. Has your routine changed since you've been on LHC?
I am gentler on my hair now (still rough compared to many to be fair), reintroduced sulfates/silicones after hearing people dispel the greenwashing/fearmongering around sulfate/cone free (basically, I use what works for my hair rather than what has the "best ingredients) and now I know what a hair stick is, so, yes, my routine has changed.

8. Do you consider your hair to be a big part of who you are?
Yes, it's one of my favourite and most identifiable features. I feel "like myself" with long hair - actually helps me recognise what I see in the mirror.

9. Does taking care of your hair make you happy, or is it more of a chore?
Usually I like the little self care rituals to do with haircare. Recently, it's more of a chore. I'm planning to cut back a couple of milestones though so it becomes enjoyable again
10. Do you think you are more likely to eventually land on one length, or try several different ones and change it up?
I think I'll bounce between BSL and hip or slightly longer forever. I don't see myself ever going shorter than that, and I'm not going to be growing to a particular goal length. Just like many others have said, I want to be happy with my hair so will see where that takes me!

[cadaverinna]

1. What was your starting point, and how long ago was it?
Last time I had it cut was to BSL.

2. What made you decide to grow your hair?
I always had it long and don't really like it too short, but I also think it suits my type of beauty better, but I don't think too much about it, TBH.

3. Do you enjoy the process of growing your hair out?
No. I'll want collarbone lenght when I'm circling around TBL and then want it back to classic after I get a lob. Ughh

4. If you had to make a wild guess, where do you think you'll find your hair's "sweet spot"? Have you had that length in the past?
Hip. Yes, and I loved it.

5. Are you more interested in gaining length, or gaining thickness? Or are you just "meh" about your hair?
I want my hair as thick and full as possible, but I get headaches and a sore neck after a certain point. I'll never be happy.

6. Do you trim your hair?
Yes. I don't have a rule, but every three months I'll check the ends and see if they're asking for help.

7. Has your routine changed since you've been on LHC?
Benign neglect saved my life.

8. Do you consider your hair to be a big part of who you are?
Yes.

9. Does taking care of your hair make you happy, or is it more of a chore?
Neutral, but I LOVE styling it.

10. Do you think you are more likely to eventually land on one length, or try several different ones and change it up?
Can't see myself at the same length for more than a year. I'll either get it cut after a while or forget about it and suddenly realise it's knee length.

[Maiden Fair]

1. What was your starting point, and how long ago was it?
I didn't really have a "I'm going to grow it long now!" moment, so I'm not really sure. I think the last time I had it cut was maybe around my shoulders?

2. What made you decide to grow your hair?
I've always bounced back and forth between long-ish and short-ish hair, with the idea that someday I would grow it "really long" just for funsies. I got really sick at the beginning of 2020 and my growth rate slowed drastically for almost 2 1/2 years. Sometime in the middle of that, I remember thinking "if it's so slow to grow now, I may never get it long again!" and that made me sad. After that I kind of decided to see how long I could get it before chopping it off again, knowing it might be my last time ever to get it long. (My growth rate finally speeded up closer to normal again at the end of last year, but I think is still a little slower than it was before.)

3. Do you enjoy the process of growing your hair out?
Eh. I guess I don't really think of it in those terms. It grows out whether I'm doing anything with it or not, so it's not like something I really do. It just happens.

4. If you had to make a wild guess, where do you think you'll find your hair's "sweet spot"? Have you had that length in the past?
I'm guessing it may be around classic? I'm past hip now and there are still some updos I just can't do with my thickness (looking at you, nautilus!), so it might be nice to have it long enough that all the more common buns/updos are available to me. I've never gotten past just brushing hip before this time, though.

5. Are you more interested in gaining length, or gaining thickness? Or are you just "meh" about your hair?
Length, I suppose.

6. Do you trim your hair?
Not really. I S&D sometimes when I'm noticing lots of split ends but my hair is so thick it takes a long time even to trim and I have to have someone to do it for me, so it's too much trouble to do on a regular basis.

7. Has your routine changed since you've been on LHC?
Not anything in the realm of products or daily routine, but the discovery of hair forks and sticks and buns that work with those saved me from cutting it when I got to about hip length early this year. Those have been a real game-changer that I now have a super easy and quick way to put it up and keep it both contained and protected. I feel so much more sanguine about my ability to take care of it and get it longer now.

8. Do you consider your hair to be a big part of who you are?
Yes and no...I've always been a haircut experimenter (often to the horror of my hairstylists, lol), so I've had it at chin-length and hip length and everything in between a number of times. I don't want to tie my identity to something that can change or disappear so quickly.

9. Does taking care of your hair make you happy, or is it more of a chore?
I would say it's usually a chore. It takes a long time to wash, forever to dry, combing it takes forever...I will say that the addition of hairsticks for styling, and a long silk nightcap for sleeping in have made it much easier to take care of, so it's *less* of a chore than it used to be.

10. Do you think you are more likely to eventually land on one length, or try several different ones and change it up?
No idea. I'd like to think I'll find the magic length and decide to just maintain it there, but in the past, I've always gotten bored/frustrated and changed the length every few years. Now that I have an easy way to do updos (I feel like I'm sensing a theme in my answers, haha), I've been feeling much less frustrated about everyday care, so I may be able to find a good long length and stick to it. We'll see.

[Purple Ink]

1. What was your starting point, and how long ago was it?

A pixie cut that I loosely maintained for the second half of 2020 and early 2021.

2. What made you decide to grow your hair?

I strongly dislike having to go to the hairdresser's, because that is a sensory nightmare to me. As an enby I was also 100% done with stylists telling me they had done this or that to "keep the hairstyle feminine" when I specifically asked for something androgynous and not feminine.
I've also had long hair for 90% of my life so I thought, why not.

3. Do you enjoy the process of growing your hair out?

Yes and no. Shorter lengths are hard to deal with because I have thick hair, so attaching it before it reaches MBL is a struggle. But because I started from such a short length, I had plenty of weird, awkward and funny lengths with a hair texture that changed every day, and I really enjoyed the chaotic energy of it!

4. If you had to make a wild guess, where do you think you'll find your hair's "sweet spot"? Have you had that length in the past?

I'm pretty sure it's around waist length. That's the length I've had for half of my life because it looks best on me and has a manageable weight. I don't think I will stop there though.

5. Are you more interested in gaining length, or gaining thickness? Or are you just "meh" about your hair?

My hair is impossibly thick already so I'm not going to worry about it until I hit hip length ha ha. For now, I'm only interested in gaining more length.

6. Do you trim your hair?

I S&D whenever I remember that's a thing or see a split end, but other than that I haven't had a trim since I equalized the length of my hair after the chaotic pixie-bob period, and I don't intend to get one in a long time, unless at some point my lengths are so different that I have a hard time braiding or bunning it.

7. Has your routine changed since you've been on LHC?

When I was still lurking (before 2020, when my hair was growing to tailbone) I abandonned silicones and I am now mostly using shampoo and conditioner bars, with an occasional use of sulfates when my hair gets too greasy. Since starting to regrow, I also began oiling.

8. Do you consider your hair to be a big part of who you are?

Not really. Chopping it usually accompanies big changes in my life, but other than that I think other people tend to associate my long hair with me more than I do so myself.

9. Does taking care of your hair make you happy, or is it more of a chore?

It really depends on the moment, sometimes it really won't work with me, sometimes it decides to look really good, which is rewarding. I guess mostly yes, as I said I like the chaos of it!

10. Do you think you are more likely to eventually land on one length, or try several different ones and change it up?

Definitely change it up. Sometime I'd like to reach terminal length if possible, but I also want to see what I look like with a buzz cut and everything in between. I'd like to experiment with my hair as much as possible!

[Braided Lady]

I had a trim a couple weeks ago, and I'm thinking I'll start maintaining with growth, because I really like the length I'm at right now. It feels weird to start maintaining, even if I won't cut off all the new growth, but I'm reminding myself I was never in it for the length, just the enjoyment. I'm actually really looking forward to a couple closer together trims before I go back to benign neglecting it

[shelomit]

Oh, this is DEFINITELY me ; D

1. What was your starting point, and how long ago was it?
I started growing my hair out around age 8, I think.

2. What made you decide to grow your hair?
Initially it was partially a reaction to a bad haircut, partially because of admiring my cool uncle who wore his hair long.

3. Do you enjoy the process of growing your hair out?
Didn't enjoy or un-enjoy. It's mostly just. . . there.

4. If you had to make a wild guess, where do you think you'll find your hair's "sweet spot"? Have you had that length in the past?
My hair is at its longest-ever right now (calfish), but I spent a very long time growing it out to mid-thigh and cutting it back to waist or so. I would usually cut it back when the ends were getting raggedy, which I've had a lot less trouble with over the past few years after changing some things. In the longterm I think I might settle back at mid-thigh or fingertip again; that kind of feels like "home."

5. Are you more interested in gaining length, or gaining thickness? Or are you just "meh" about your hair?
Meh c:

6. Do you trim your hair?
Yes, but not at all often. I think I'm on about three years since my last trim.

7. Has your routine changed since you've been on LHC?
Yes! I've shifted over to primarily finger-detangling. Otherwise I don't think I would have made the leap past fingertip ( ;

8. Do you consider your hair to be a big part of who you are?
It's definitely the only aspect of my appearance that I routinely feel good about. Some people recognize me by my long hair. . . and others go for years without realizing that I have any hair at all since I'm also a headscarf wearer, LOL. I guess it's part of my private persona/self-image but not so much my public persona.

9. Does taking care of your hair make you happy, or is it more of a chore?
Mostly a chore but I also don't do much to it. It mostly hangs out and doesn't bother me ( :

10. Do you think you are more likely to eventually land on one length, or try several different ones and change it up?
As mentioned above, I think I might come back to mid-thigh in the longterm. Having grown from waist to mid-thigh a bunch of times, I enjoy all of the steps along that particular patch and have a slightly different experience/repertoire of hairstyles at various points along it.