Classic Length 2013

Vintagecoilylocks

New Member
Silvestreaks I am glad to hear you are on the journey. I found it is more than a deciding to grow but a frame of mind of what was beatiful to me.. Since i was very young I wanted long hair and I mean long. It had to be TBL or beyond to be long in my mind. It was however a very elusive thing for me. No info like today on how to acheive it. When I did find some liturature it was from the 1800's and seemed like such foreign information. It is what I use now but was so locked into the contemporary way of caring for my hair it just did not take hold. I was raised with the hot comb and later went to relaxers. Never had longer than shoulder length until I was older and gave up the relaxer due to environmental incompatablity. Being over worked with two children left me little time for fancy care and I grew out my relaxer wearing buns, blow drying and occasionaly hot comb and ended up with grazing MId back. I was surprised and made the mistake of getting a wave nuvoue (spelling?) LOst huge amounts due to falty application by hair dresser. grew out again to shoulder and re waved it with better results. It grew out to below shoulder blade. Then I gave up chemicals all together. New baby and no job. Also just tired of the up keep of them. So as you can see I was wanting long but was clue less to how to care for my hair. In 2002 I was now all natural and struggleing with my hair. Hours to wash and comb out. It was broken and barely below shoulder length. I don't remember the reason one day I sat down and google long natural hair. I had seen woman with beautiful heads of natural hair in magazines and a singing star. I had began to just hope for a healthy head of hair even if not long. I tried following her hair care but it just did not improve the situation. My hair was dry. I then found a british web site for long natural hair. I spoke to the owner and he inspired me to change my whole approach. He helped me to embrace my hair. He also told me anyone can have very long healthy hair. This was 2002 or 2003. So I educated my self this time and of course with the internet the information was more available to the basics of acheiving long healthy hair. I too had to stumble along and had a huge set back with a shed that lasted 5 years. I am still learning and tweaking regimine. The shed was new and I learned from it. I finally realized my hair was always growing and will always grow and like the rest of my body I can choose to care for it to be the best it can be and as long as it can be. My bottom layer is six inches from my knee. I can hardly believe it but enjoying it. :spinning:
 

caliscurls

Well-Known Member
Silvestreaks I am glad to hear you are on the journey. I found it is more than a deciding to grow but a frame of mind of what was beatiful to me.. Since i was very young I wanted long hair and I mean long. It had to be TBL or beyond to be long in my mind. It was however a very elusive thing for me. No info like today on how to acheive it. When I did find some liturature it was from the 1800's and seemed like such foreign information. It is what I use now but was so locked into the contemporary way of caring for my hair it just did not take hold. I was raised with the hot comb and later went to relaxers. Never had longer than shoulder length until I was older and gave up the relaxer due to environmental incompatablity. Being over worked with two children left me little time for fancy care and I grew out my relaxer wearing buns, blow drying and occasionaly hot comb and ended up with grazing MId back. I was surprised and made the mistake of getting a wave nuvoue (spelling?) LOst huge amounts due to falty application by hair dresser. grew out again to shoulder and re waved it with better results. It grew out to below shoulder blade. Then I gave up chemicals all together. New baby and no job. Also just tired of the up keep of them. So as you can see I was wanting long but was clue less to how to care for my hair. In 2002 I was now all natural and struggleing with my hair. Hours to wash and comb out. It was broken and barely below shoulder length. I don't remember the reason one day I sat down and google long natural hair. I had seen woman with beautiful heads of natural hair in magazines and a singing star. I had began to just hope for a healthy head of hair even if not long. I tried following her hair care but it just did not improve the situation. My hair was dry. I then found a british web site for long natural hair. I spoke to the owner and he inspired me to change my whole approach. He helped me to embrace my hair. He also told me anyone can have very long healthy hair. This was 2002 or 2003. So I educated my self this time and of course with the internet the information was more available to the basics of acheiving long healthy hair. I too had to stumble along and had a huge set back with a shed that lasted 5 years. I am still learning and tweaking regimine. The shed was new and I learned from it. I finally realized my hair was always growing and will always grow and like the rest of my body I can choose to care for it to be the best it can be and as long as it can be. My bottom layer is six inches from my knee. I can hardly believe it but enjoying it. :spinning:

Vintagecoilylocks I admittedly lurk in this thread and I had to "come out" to say thanks for the inspiring post. It's refreshing to see someone with such long beautiful hair having been through lots of turns over the years in their journey and still learning. What I took from your post was
- what works today may not work tomorrow, be flexible and ready take a different approach as necessary...it's normal so expect it
- don't expect overnight success, it takes time and commitment, that commitment being to yourself - don't give up, it's a journey that doesn't end (like leading a healthy lifestyle)
 

Lucia

Well-Known Member
Hi Girls!!
I would like to have BSL/MBL length unstretched. It may mean to have CL length cause I have a lot of shrinkage (even if, actually, it will depend on my genetic).
I'm 4a and I would to hear about a 4 hair girl who is almost there (CL). I know these thread is the place to find her so, excuse me if I encrusted.
Could you share your experience with us please?
(your regimen? how long it took you to get there? do you think CL is affordable for most 4 hair girls?)
Thanks for answering!!!

Naturelie
Haircrush on YouTube
Urban bush babaes
Mwedezi
 

Silverstreaks

Well-Known Member
Silvestreaks I am glad to hear you are on the journey. I found it is more than a deciding to grow but a frame of mind of what was beatiful to me.. Since i was very young I wanted long hair and I mean long. It had to be TBL or beyond to be long in my mind. It was however a very elusive thing for me. No info like today on how to acheive it. When I did find some liturature it was from the 1800's and seemed like such foreign information. It is what I use now but was so locked into the contemporary way of caring for my hair it just did not take hold. I was raised with the hot comb and later went to relaxers. Never had longer than shoulder length until I was older and gave up the relaxer due to environmental incompatablity. Being over worked with two children left me little time for fancy care and I grew out my relaxer wearing buns, blow drying and occasionaly hot comb and ended up with grazing MId back. I was surprised and made the mistake of getting a wave nuvoue (spelling?) LOst huge amounts due to falty application by hair dresser. grew out again to shoulder and re waved it with better results. It grew out to below shoulder blade. Then I gave up chemicals all together. New baby and no job. Also just tired of the up keep of them. So as you can see I was wanting long but was clue less to how to care for my hair. In 2002 I was now all natural and struggleing with my hair. Hours to wash and comb out. It was broken and barely below shoulder length. I don't remember the reason one day I sat down and google long natural hair. I had seen woman with beautiful heads of natural hair in magazines and a singing star. I had began to just hope for a healthy head of hair even if not long. I tried following her hair care but it just did not improve the situation. My hair was dry. I then found a british web site for long natural hair. I spoke to the owner and he inspired me to change my whole approach. He helped me to embrace my hair. He also told me anyone can have very long healthy hair. This was 2002 or 2003. So I educated my self this time and of course with the internet the information was more available to the basics of acheiving long healthy hair. I too had to stumble along and had a huge set back with a shed that lasted 5 years. I am still learning and tweaking regimine. The shed was new and I learned from it. I finally realized my hair was always growing and will always grow and like the rest of my body I can choose to care for it to be the best it can be and as long as it can be. My bottom layer is six inches from my knee. I can hardly believe it but enjoying it. :spinning:

Wow, that is truly amazing, almost knee length! I'm still learning and tweaking my regimen as I go, but I have already established my basics in terms of product types and how they'll be utilized. I guess the key is to use "benign neglect", being good to it but not constantly fussing with it. I'm encouraging my niece to take better care of her hair and showing her that it need not be difficult. As you said, we now have information we didn't have before. It's up to us to use that new found knowledge to its best advantage. Your journey will continue to inspire me to keep growing my hair to its full potential. I thank you for sharing your experience.

Sent from my iPhone using LHCF
 

Shadiyah

Well-Known Member
Vintagecoilylocks you have inspired me to put my hair in twist and grow out my grey and leave my hair alone. I don't have to trim as much as when I had my hair in wash n gos and my hair is getting thicker because the little hairs are growing down and I see it. Thanks for your story. I have been wearing twist for a month and working on getting full mbl. WL will come when it comes.
 

Lucia

Well-Known Member
Lucia thanks for answering! (Haircrush is a 3C, isn't she?)

Naturelie
She claims she doesn't have a curl pattern which is either type 1 or 4bc
Typing is so off and sometimes it takes time for hair to show its true pattern
I never liked typing bc it's misleading diff products work for many diff hair-types people get locked into that I have x hair-type or think I have it and must do this or that. Besides its obvious they missed mixtures of textures thickness along with curl pattern there's silky silky/fine silky/coarse silky/cottony cottony and there are straight wavy wavy/curly curly curly/kinky and or kinky versions of the above like Leoboy C5 is 3ab silky/cottony more sheen than shine and her hair is just as thick as Haircrush
see what I mean
Getting off soap box
 
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Silverstreaks

Well-Known Member
Well, the year is about to come to an end and so is my almost 5 year journey to attempt to grow my hair waist length (officially over by February 1, 2014). So I won't be anywhere near classic anytime soon, although it is still an ultimate goal. I had to chop off quite a bit of severely damaged hair. Good move. My hair is so much easier to handle and looks a million times better. I'm now starting fresh for the new year.

Happy New Year to everyone!

Sent from my iPhone using LHCF
 

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Lita

Well-Known Member
Saying hello! Hope everyone growth is coming along..2014 is around the corner,let's keep it up..

Happy Hair Growing!
 

Naturelie

New Member
@Naturelie
She claims she doesn't have a curl pattern which is either type 1 or 4bc
Typing is so off and sometimes it takes time for hair to show its true pattern
I never liked typing bc it's misleading diff products work for many diff hair-types people get locked into that I have x hair-type or think I have it and must do this or that. Besides its obvious they missed mixtures of textures thickness along with curl pattern there's silky silky/fine silky/coarse silky/cottony cottony and there are straight wavy wavy/curly curly curly/kinky and or kinky versions of the above like Leoboy C5 is 3ab silky/cottony more sheen than shine and her hair is just as thick as Haircrush
see what I mean
Getting off soap box

Lucia, don't like hair typing either lol but it can help sometimes!
Yes, I see what you mean: thanks for answering!
 

Silverstreaks

Well-Known Member
Well, the year is about to come to an end and so is my almost 5 year journey to attempt to grow my hair waist length (officially over by February 1, 2014). So I won't be anywhere near classic anytime soon, although it is still an ultimate goal. I had to chop off quite a bit of severely damaged hair. Good move. My hair is so much easier to handle and looks a million times better. I'm now starting fresh for the new year. Happy New Year to everyone! Sent from my iPhone using LHCF

Hi, everyone,

Now that the year is coming to end, I thought I'd share some of my progress for 2014. I'm still a long way from classic, but it's my endeavor to try to make it if my hair has that capacity to grow that long. Here are some pics taken this month:



image-3654934842.jpg



image-3509885053.jpg



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image-1803482632.jpg

Sent from my iPad using LHCF
 

Silverstreaks

Well-Known Member
Lovely growth Silverstreaks. What's your regimen?
Thank you, Bunnyhaslonghair. After removing damage and evening out the ends some, I kept things fairly simple. I straighten my hair only in December because of low humidity, but basically keep it naturally curly in 2-strand twists pulled back in a bun. I try to ensure it stays moisturized and has enough protein for strength. I use very few products, using just a basic shampoo (the one I use is by Suave - it has sulfates in it because it's a clarifying shampoo, but I add oil to it to cut down on the drying effects if I don't have a lot of product buildup. If I do use much product or if I'm going to do a protein treatment, use it undiluted . I use a mix of oils for sealing (a blend of JBCO, avocado, jojoba and coconut), a flaxseed gel/aloe Vera gel concoction for detangling (post-shampoo or co-washing), also employed conditioner/oil application for detangling (pre-wash or water rinsing). I started using my fingers more for knot removal also. At the end of the month, I plan on trimming whatever damage I have, which at this point is much less than last year. Search and destroys helped a lot also, especially in those areas where I have the most difficult to manage hair, where it also happens to be my shortest and driest areas. I still have areas in the front that need special attention, too. My new grays coming in just love to stand out and up (literally, Lol!). I really hate that "I didn't comb my hair" look.

I hope to keep up the momentum for 2015. First time around it took 5 years to reach nearly the same length starting from nearly the same point.
 
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Silverstreaks

Well-Known Member
I'm going to also revisit my Shea butter/coconut oil/castor oil mix to seal my hair during the winter. I hadn't used it in a while, but I think I perfected the consistency that's right for my hair to help retain moisture.
 

Silverstreaks

Well-Known Member
This evening I trimmed off 2 1/4 inches to even out my hair a little and remove any errant single strand knots and splits. Hoping that by doing this once a year I will be on a better path to achieving my goals and keeping more healthy hair. So, this is my new starting length for 2015:


image-1666291805.jpg

Happy New Year to all. Be safe.
 

Silverstreaks

Well-Known Member
Hi, everyone. As the year 2015 comes to a close, I hope that everyone who aspired to reach classic length has met their goal or is very close to it:cup:. As for me, I still have a long journey ahead of me. I don't think I gained much over this past year in terms of overall length, but I had some improvement in my trouble spots, which I hope to continue to improve this coming year.

My game plan is to continue to use methods that work and products that help. I won't be doing a shape up trim like it did last year. They have a way of really unshaping over time:eek:. So, I'm going to continue the search and destroy method, which I think helped quite a bit with my trouble spots since they're shorter than the rest of my hair. I also plan on concentrating on the hair closer to my scalp to better nurture that hair to longer lengths. That might help with overall volume and help push more of these micro-layers down further. That would be helpful since my hair is on the thin and fine side.

I also will continue with protective styling-maybe try to find one or two in addition to my go to style that will require less fussing with. Wigs are on the table, too:afro:!

So, yeah, I'm still aiming for the ground!LOL:lachen: . Hopefully, 2016 will bring me closer to my goal.
 

faithVA

Well-Known Member
View attachment 346677
This is my length for this year's end. Pretty much the same as last year.

I also added one from last year. And one that shows my shrinkage. I keep my hair twisted or bristed (braided base, twisted length. I got that term from 22nd Century Natural Woman).
thanks for posting again this year. Your hair is much longer this year. I'm comparing your picture to after your cut. You were just past APL after your cut. You have made some great progress this year.
 

Silverstreaks

Well-Known Member
thanks for posting again this year. Your hair is much longer this year. I'm comparing your picture to after your cut. You were just past APL after your cut. You have made some great progress this year.

Thank you very much, faithVA. I hope to make better progress for 2016. Sometimes it's better to have another pair of eyes. I will continue to post here every year in December, since it's the only time I straighten my hair (no humidity) to do length checks. Unless something profound happens in between.
 

Silverstreaks

Well-Known Member
Greetings to all. Sharing my progress or lack thereof. I thought I would be close to waist length with more volume this year end, but I'm not sure where I went wrong. I'm guessing that I may have still been over handling without realizing it, thereby incurring breakage. I also was not consistent with protein treatments. I still have major tapering of my ends and it seems my hair got thinner. Still considering cutting back up to shoulder/collarbone length to get the volume and evenness and keeping it there for a couple of years to grow out the top crown layers and the spot below the crown at the back of my head. Last year, I only did a search and destroy; I did it this year also when it flatironed my hair this past week. I think trims/cuts with search and destroys might be my best options for optimum health. Something I'm considering-haven't decided yet.

Here are photos from last year and this year December 2016:
2015IMG_0954.JPG
2016IMG_0215.JPG IMG_0219.JPG

Will also try to improve my nutritional needs, since I have a bad habit of not eating right all the time; not necessarily junk food, but just not eating enough throughout the day, particularly protein. Will post a pic if I decide to chop. I'm still gonna ride this classic length train 'cause I intend to get it right!. I'm going to get as close as I can one step at a time and continue to learn from my setbacks.
 

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Silverstreaks

Well-Known Member
Well, another year has gone by and things have not changed. No new pics, as the ones posted last year show the same length for this year so I decided to cut my hair again. This time to even it out and thicken the hemline. I didn’t bother to straighten it, but when I pull it down, it now reaches below armpit length with a much better, fuller hemline. My game plan for this year is to trim every three months, no exceptions. No more than 1/4 to 1/2 inch each time. Keeping it straggly has not helped with length retention and the search and destroy method was not enough. Soooo, I’m trying this yet again, but using all my experiences as a continuing learning curve.

With that being said, wishing everyone a Happy New Year and to hoping everyone reaches their hair goals.
 
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Silverstreaks

Well-Known Member
C27E304B-C185-48CB-8C3A-F3E89683D475.jpeg EF11763F-1613-4FEB-929B-36EFE5790959.jpeg ...and this is my post-cut length, which I did the end of December 2017 (a couple of weeks ago). I did not bother to straighten my hair. Looks better without the scraggly ends. I just hope this year I can get a better result with a slightly different approach. I think my hair needs more frequent trims to stay healthy, like every 3 to 4 months, taking off just a very little bit, as opposed to once every few years. We shall see how it works out.
 

CurlyWhoCrux

Well-Known Member
I admire your tenacity and commitment to your goal. I hope in 2018 you see lots of progress that encourages you to continue on your journey to classic length.

In a previous year's post you mentioned your hair was fine. Have you tried incorporating protein into your regimen permanently? Like using a shampoo with protein in it every wash day, for example? I'm wondering if your strands are so fine that they just need that constant reinforcing and strengthening to keep them from breaking which may be causing you to not retain as much length.

My apologies if this seems like an overstep.
 

SmilingElephant

Well-Known Member
The very top of it is. For myself BCL is 9 to 10 inches from Classic.(my bum is big) TBL is about half way between BCL and Classic. It's nice to have TBL as a middle marker to see progress.

#Epiphany...I mistakenly thought BCL was AFTER TBL. So I'm actually reaching for BCL by the end of this year, not TBL.

I still might make TBL tho. Hmm...
 
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