Irritated by my progress (or lack thereof) pics

I BC'ed last February at 5 months post. Since then I've trimmed (and dusted) my hair about 2-3 times. So in short I'm almost at my one year mark.


But anyways.... I'm feeling I should have more hair. *sigh*

Why do you think you should have more hair? (It looks nice)

I am not sure how much you chopped off back last year, but I am imagining you still retained a nice amount of length.

What was your goal?

The length or hair is nice and healthy. Do You like the texture?

mzteaze said:

Why do you think you should have more hair? (It looks nice)

I am not sure how much you chopped off back last year, but I am imagining you still retained a nice amount of length.

What was your goal?

Click to expand...

Thank you. I trimmed between 1-2 inches total. I didn't really set a goal for myself this time because I didn't know truly what to expect and wanted to allow myself a bit of a learning curve. I guess that I thought there would be more of it.

India*32 said:

The length or hair is nice and healthy. Do You like the texture?

Click to expand...

Thank you. I do like my textures but it gets tricky balancing all of them. I love my hair but my crown needs a spanking.

How much did it grow (inches)--it's hard to tell since u didn't post any before pics? What is your typical hair routine/regimen? Maybe you should let some of the Lhcf pros critique it. I probably shouldve done that about a year ago when I reached a slump!

smdh. trimming is the devil. im just sayin..

but yur hair is cute tho

Your last relaxer was Sep 2009, right? Mine was in October 2009, so I'm probably your best growth tracker LOL.

It's looks like we're almost *exactly* the same length (CBL stretched?). I think my hair grows a tad bit faster than average, so I really do think you're doing fine.

As naturals, I think we sometimes get a little too caught up in our "Nappiversary" or BC date, when we really should be using the date of our last relaxer to track growth.

You'll actually be 17 months post relaxer on your nappiversary. Assuming that you'll have around 8" of hair then, that's means you retained a little more than 1/2" of hair every month. And that's in spite of your trims.

Pretty good growth and retention if you ask me :wink2:

Looks like you've had great growth and retention to me. My last relaxer was in november 09 so you are about 2-3 months ahead of me depending on how early in sept you relaxed. I still have all my natural hair growth while you trimmed and it looks like we have around the same amount of natural hair. I know it seems like our hair should grow faster than it does but I think you are right on target

I know it's frustrating just waiting for hair to grow but what helps me is forgetting about my goal length completely, thinking positive thoughts, and intensive care. By intensive care I mean whatever your hair seems to prefer, do it in abundance; long deep conditioning sessions is what my hair prefers. I think once you focus on caring and loving your hair, the length that comes with retention will appear to be more evident. Sometimes we get too caught up in x amount of inches in y amount of time that we stress ourselves out and we all know stress hinders hair growth. That same stress can also lead to forgetting to care for our hair along with a number of other things.

I also suggest that even though we have a lovely family of ladies here with beautiful hair, put that aside and concentrate solely on your own hair for a while. Nothing is wrong with inspiration but I know for myself that when I focus too much on other people's progress in terms of growth rate, it can shift my attention and cause me to get discourage which leads me to not properly giving my own hair the attention it deserves.

I understand where you are coming from. My Nappiversary is in March and I feel like I should already BE at APL. My hair has gotten on my very last nerve so many times that I started threatening it with a BC and a relaxer and it used to work but now it just mocks me.

But what can we do except wait? Have you tried a growth aid? Maybe that will speed it up, I used to take hairobics and I felt like it worked well but my skin was breaking out so bad that I had to stop and it took more than a couple of months for my body to readjust and stop breaking out. I also stop trimming so much, I was always cutting on my hair because I wanted it to be healthy and grow but I stopped trimming on it and started coating my ends (when I would braid or twist) in oil or cantu shea butter pomade aka grease. HHG/HHJ

ETA I just trimmed my ends for the first time in about 5 months last night and my ends look good, I a stickler for nice ends, most stylists are.

Looks like your hair is doing just fine! Though like me, it looks like you retain a lot of bulk when you straighten your hair. That being the case, it will always tend to look a little shorter than it would if you were able to get it bone straight. The advantage in this however, is that it will always be full, and IMO, more healthy looking. Bone straight hair is okay, but I'll take full, voluminous shorter hair over long, limp stringy hair any day!

You've retained some great length for 17 months post relaxer! Just keep doing what you're doing and try to be patient!!

So if you're frustrated with your hair growth then I guess I should just kill my self ! (joke)
Girl my last relaxer was in Sept. 09 and I BC Feb 2010 like you only I'm still struggling to claim 6 inches of hair in some parts of my hair, and I'm no where near 7 inches. I was frustrated too but I decided to take a break from my hair (I'm wearing a sew in) and now I'm focusing on my fitness goals. Sometimes it helps to step away from the hair growing grind and get a breather

I'm sorry that you aren't happy with your growth! I think that you are doing just fine...It looks healthy and that's really more important than length!

Sorry if this post is choppy. The FH's on his way and I'm soooo going to be late LOL.

virtuenow said:

How much did it grow (inches)--it's hard to tell since u didn't post any before pics? What is your typical hair routine/regimen? Maybe you should let some of the Lhcf pros critique it. I probably shouldve done that about a year ago when I reached a slump!

Click to expand...

I haven't been measuring because I tend to obsess when I do that. I have some pics in my album. I didn't take blow out pics. But this is where I started.

In February (chopped @ 5 months post)


My siggy pic was taken October 31st.


I mostly co-wash but I clarify as needed. I try to keep it simple. My hair likes a leave in that I make with HELTR, glycerin, evoo, and castor oil.

I try to leave it alone and I'll either twist it or wear it out. I haven't been doing alot of protective styling but I will wig it when I go out. I need to co-wash every three days but it's been cold and I've been a bit lazy.

I do henna glosses every now and again and I use Nexxus Emergencee or mane n tail for my protein (my hair will not tolerate Aphogee in any shape, form, or fashion.)

When I blow dry in sections (which is few and far between) I use low to medium heat, my leave in, Chi Keratin Mist, and Chi Silk Infusion. After blow drying it feels a wee bit crunchy at first then it's amazingly soft.

I'm having to tweak my regimen because this winter is ROUGH. I've tried NOT using glycerin and it DID NOT WORK. I've also tried some natural products and they've been hit and miss for me.

doll-baby said:

So if you're frustrated with your hair growth then I guess I should just kill my self ! (joke)

Click to expand...

STOP!! I guess I'm just ready for my puff to block doorways and random vantage points. I need to figure out what to do with it NOW so that when there's more of it, I won't be shell shocked and more frustrated. I'm patient with everything else but hair growth. It's teaching me more patience so I should be humble and take good care of it without obsessing.

Girl my last relaxer was in Sept. 09 and I BC Feb 2010 like you only I'm still struggling to claim 6 inches of hair in some parts of my hair, and I'm no where near 7 inches. I was frustrated too but I decided to take a break from my hair (I'm wearing a sew in) and now I'm focusing on my fitness goals. Sometimes it helps to step away from the hair growing grind and get a breather

Click to expand...

You read my mind. Girl I took a pic and thought I saw jowls. erplexed It's time for me to get my fitness on.

OT: Just wanted to say thanks. It's been a bit wild around here but it's good to know that LHCF's still dependable when it comes to my grass. I really appreciate y'all.

Looks good too me.

Don't get frustrated, the length will come. Your hair looks really healthy and the that's a good sign that you are on your way to more growth.

You look like you had good growth, even though you had lots of cuts. HHJ!

Your hair is really long, miss. Shrinkage is evil!

I understand your frustration. Today is wash day, and I jus finished my routine and I was thinkin the same thing about my hair.

I've been natural for three years and have only had two official trims in that time and I'm STILL not APL. Cut yourself some slack and enjoy the ride. Your hair will surprise you soon enough! LOL