Naturals: Is it hard not knowing when you'll reach your goal?

[choconillaprincess]

My ultimate hair goal is BSL unstretched & sometimes it's discouraging knowing that I can't estimate how long it will take me to get there...

Shrinkage is so upredictable... I look at people who's hair once looked at mine but has grown out over the years & some of them still have hair that is shoulder length ustretched while others may have hair that is almost to their waste and anywhere in between... I hate not knowing which of these groups I fall into...

I suspect my hair will shrink less as it grows but still I'm not sure how much... I'd like to have an idea of when I will meet my goal but I wonder if i'd be setting myself up for failure.... Is it possible that shrinkage will never allow me to have curly BSL hair?


I can set goals for my stretched or straightened hair but since i very rarely straighten (1-2 times a year) it seems really pointless to set goals for looks I'll rarely wear

It just seems like with shrinkage I'll be the only person who even knows my hair is growing! what are your thoughts?

 

[Mortons]

I straighten more often (2-3 times a month) but I think that not knowing when I'll reach my goals is best for me. When I wear my hair natural I am looking in the mirror, pulling my hair trying to see if its where I want it to be. But when I wear my hair in my natural bun, I take care of it and I slick it back with gel daily. It stresses me out less and gets taken care of properly, a win win situation.

 

[nappity]

Not knowing works best for me! I like my hair bouncy and curly and the eae of the routine after so many years of practice and disasters. I know if I leave it alone- It'll grow and not break. When I do get it blown on on the rare occasions- maybe twice a year- but actually for me it was only once this past year and I see the cumulative blanket of hair that flows down my back- i realize that it'll show off better the more I just let it do its thing.
It also felt very thin and unbouncy and un curly and I didnt like that slick look.

 

[EMJazzy]

That is precisely why I wear my hair wash n' go everyday and also why I created the countdown ticker. Not "seeing" progress was becoming very frustrating so now I've decided to *be surprised* and flatiron after one year of "hiding" my length in a wash n' go. I figure by then I HAVE to have SOME type of progress, heck by then I would have been a member here for 2 1/2 years . I am disappointed in myself because I could have reached atleast one of my goals (APL stretched) a long time ago but my failure to be consistent had resulted in a totally avoidable setback

I know one thing when I finally do reach my hair length goals....OH HAPPY DAY!!!! and everyone here will know it also.

 

[ajargon02]

My ultimate hair goal is BSL unstretched & sometimes it's discouraging knowing that I can't estimate how long it will take me to get there...

Shrinkage is so upredictable... I look at people who's hair once looked at mine but has grown out over the years & some of them still have hair that is shoulder length ustretched while others may have hair that is almost to their waste and anywhere in between... I hate not knowing which of these groups I fall into...

I suspect my hair will shrink less as it grows but still I'm not sure how much... I'd like to have an idea of when I will meet my goal but I wonder if i'd be setting myself up for failure.... Is it possible that shrinkage will never allow me to have curly BSL hair?


I can set goals for my stretched or straightened hair but since i very rarely straighten (1-2 times a year) it seems really pointless to set goals for looks I'll rarely wear

It just seems like with shrinkage I'll be the only person who even knows my hair is growing! what are your thoughts?

From one natural to another I can understand how you feel. I have come to the polnt that I want HEALTHY hair no matter what. Now with that comes a healthy body and length. Ya I do get frustrated with how slow my hair seems to grow, but then again you are your own worst critic. I mean an inspiration for me is when I look at photos of my hair. Knowing how much I had to cut off from the damaging color that I put in nearly 2 yrs ago, and I am still not at the length that I was before I colored but I am getting closer with every month that passes. I just recently took photos of my shrunken hair with no product it was MAJOR shrinkage, but when I stretched it was down to my lower lips/chin. Now before the cutting and color it was down to my collar bone. SOOOO it takes a while, but hey, hang in there. Something that's helped me not "think" about my hair is protective styling. Not only does it keep me from HIF disease but I am daily protecting my hair with buns and such. I love my natural hair, and it's a continous journey to keep loving it. I knwo that might sound strange, but it's truely a process of acceptance for me. Hang in there, and try to be encouraged


ETA: shrinkage link
http://public.fotki.com/ajargon02/december-2007/december-2007/10012821.html

If it's making you put a pswd in try:dec2507 but it shouldn't

 

[JustKiya]

I've more or less given up on putting a timeline on my hair - you see when my tailbone goal is - I figure if I haven't reached tailbone by 2017 (my 40th birthday, to be exact), whatever length my hair is at at that point is most likely my terminal length, and I'll be happy with it then. I'm assuming that there are no major haircuts, and few to little trims during that time period.

Honestly, unless you know precisely how much your hair grows, the seasonal variance in it's growth, AND have a fool-proof measuring standard, trying to put a 'goal' on hair length is like trying to put a 'goal' on a childs growth - it happens, as it happens, and all the calendars/ goals/ schedules in the world ain't gonna change that...

Really, what difference does it make if you 'know' when your hair is supposed to be BSL? That day will come, one day, gods willing, and either it is, or it isn't. Assigning a day to 'when' - how does that benefit you? Esp. since you've got a pretty high chance of that day being TOTALLY wrong?

Hair grows, that's what it does, and it doesn't get (nor care about) a timeline. If you take care of it, it'll grow. Linking that natural growth to an artifical timeline seems more stressful than anything else.

I'm about a 2-3 inches from shoulder, and I'm part of the shoulder in 08 challenge. I figure I should be able to get 2-3 inches in a year, and that's about as tight of a schedule as I'm willing to impose on myself.

Release the schedule! Love your hair at every length and for every season it is that length. Enjoy your hair, as folks like to say.....

 

[laketta]

I am just now a little below BSL when stretched and did a generic measure which puts me 5 inches from my waistline. It is hard because I can go a year and not notice any progress.

 

[Bint Yusef]

Yes this annoys and frustrates me like nothing ever before.