new thread
Hey guys,
Haven't posted in a while- school got busy again. I hope everyone is doing well :)
I'm having an issue as of late with my hair, and I was hoping you all could help. I began growing my hair out last year(my last haircut was March of 2018), as growing my hair long has been a lifelong dream of mine since I was a young kid. It's been 11 months so far, and sadly I'm still stuck in the awkward phase. I constantly get comments from people about how dirty and messy I look, and how I should get it cut. It really hurts my feelings because long hair is something I really want, but I don't have a thick skin and people hurt me easily with their mean comments. I just want to be through the awkward phase to the point where my hair looks genuinely good, and nobody can insult it because it doesn't look dirty or messy anymore. How long will it be until I'm done with the awkward phase?
If you need pics of my hair I can provide them.
Thanks a lot as usual :)
Avi
Try your best to ignore what other people say. Its none of their damn business how you have your hair.
The awkward phase is generally over when you can put it all in a ponytail or when the length is enough to weigh your hair down so it will more or less stay in place.
Like was said, when you can get it in a ponytail and the weight of your hair keeps it down. How long this takes depends on your hair growth rate which is typically 1/2" per month. Bill had said that this is around 9 inches which is a year and a half (18 months) if you shaved your head. But where did you start from? If you started at 2-3 inches like I did last month then you are looking at 12-14 months.
That's if you have no hair growth or scalp balding conditions. I have the latter and have been cleaning my scalp a couple times a week with diluted apple cider vinegar and doing herbal tea rinses in between for a couple weeks now and seeing a bunch of baby hairs. Hopefully these survive. If they do than I'll put a detailed web page together explaining how I overcame male pattern baldness (a scalp peel with willow tree bark acid should be done first and every 2 weeks after that). I'm also seeing people say that the pH of everything going on your head should be 5-7. The apple cider vinegar with water is around 6.
Here's an excerpt from Bill's Longhair page:
Almost everyone's hair grows at about half an inch (1.25 cm) per month, though some guys will experience growth at as little as half that rate, and a few lucky men will see twice that or more. The usual growth rate works out to six inches (15 cm) per year. To really begin to look longhaired, you'll need at least nine inches (23 cm) of hair, so you are probably looking at a transition period of a year and a half. That is also about the length at which you can put your hair into a ponytail, a milestone of passage for many. Most longhairs do not want to stop there, of course; many want about twice that length. This means your total growing out project will probably take two to four years.
Hope this helps!
Marty
On Being a Longhair
I missed a word in my post making it difficult to understand and that word is problems as in hair growth problems. I'm not a dermatologist but I read about plenty of scalp conditions that cause itching and flaking and I would think that effects how quickly healthy hair grows.
Marty
Hey Marty,
I need your help.
I am coming up on my eight (8) year anniversary of letting my hair grow out. On Mar. 9, 2011 I got a guage four(4) buzzcut. I have let my hair grow out since then with the occasional trim. About two (2) years ago my hair was long enough to touch my pacemaker. My hair has shortened; I think because of breakage. Now my hair is barely shoulder length. How can I "kick start" my hair growth?
Your long haired bro,
Raymond
Ray, it's good that you are thinking about this now after 2 years. I didn't reflect back on my hair till 15 years had gone by because I figured I was going bald and there was nothing I could do about it-but 15 years later I still have most of my hair. So now I'm cleaning my scalp and I've gotten rid of my damaged hairs. Hopefully I can get it mid-back this time which I've never been able to do. I am doing lots of research into different ways of caring for my hair and scalp because this is my third time growing my hair out and I had problems with damaged hair all my life.
Something I've seen mentioned at a lot of sites is to ditch traditional store bought shampoo and conditioner and use natural cleansers and moisturizers. Good ol' apple cider vinegar, water, and a little baking soda can be used once a week to shampoo your hair but won't strip all the oils out of your hair so it's like a conditioner too. I'm using herbal tea rinses on the other days-teas like stinging nettle tea. Moisturize with a little jojoba or argan oil every day (especially on hair ends). People are also using canned coconut milk and aloe vera gel to make a shampoo. Apple juice is another natural product used to shampoo the hair but mine is acidic at pH of 4 so I just use 2 tablespoons and mix it into chamomile tea. Monitor the pH of the shampoo you make so it's 5-7 and closer to 5. I use pH strips. Coconut milk is also being used as a deep conditioner by draining the excess water off the top first. Green tea by itself is a nice natural cleanser and has a pH of 5-I double the strength so 2 bags per cup of water. Let the teas cool down before using on your head and I use a squeeze bottle with a thin nozzle. Extra coconut milk needs to be refrigerated or frozen but everything else seems to be OK at room temperature.
But first get your split ends chopped. This probably only means a half inch at the most but you can do this yourself since your hair is long enough. Have someone you trust do this with hair care scissors otherwise. I didn't know what a split end looked like till about a month ago-girls have made videos showing split ends in longhair on YouTube.
Once the split ends are gone then keep the ends moisturized with jojoba oil or something similar. Stay away from the hair dryer and any other thermal tool like hair straighteners. You should be good with damaged hair for a couple months.
Marty
This is the recipe I've been using for apple cider vinegar. Once the vinegar dries it doesn't have a strong smell but I put peppermint essential oil into it so it smells nice.
Take 2 tablespoons of organic apple cider vinegar
Add 1/2 - 1 teaspoon of sodium bicarbonate (aka baking soda)
Add 2 drops of tea tree oil (optional)
Add 2 drops of peppermint essential oil (optional)
Mix the ingredients in half a pint glass along with 1 cup warm water
Stir and wait to settle (the baking soda and apple cider vinegar will react)
Pour onto wet hair inside the shower and massage into the scalp for 3 minutes
Rinse out with cool-warm water.
Your hair should not get squeaky clean like store bought shampoos do. This is similar to a conditioner.
Apple Cider Vinegar for Hair Loss
Once upon a time I was in a similar position to you. I too wanted long hair my whole life but didn't get up the courage to grow it until I was in my 20s. I started and cut a few times because of the comments of others. Every time I felt awful about. The best advice I can offer is just to stick it out. If you are like me you'll regret it if you cut it only to have all that time and effort lost and to feel like you are betraying yourself. It is hard to deal with comments but worth it.
The awkward stage can mean something different to different people. So can neat, clean, messy, dirty, or what looks good. Unfortunately some people will think negatively regardless. I have always thought of the awkward stage as having hair that was too short to tie back. People may or may not accept your hair regardless of how long it is or how good it looks. I will say I found I got fewer messy, dirty, and even cut it comments when I wore it in a ponytail rather than loose during the first couple years of growing.
Hang in there! And don't be afraid to post pictures. People may have helpful feedback, but I am also sure your hair looks great despite what everyone says. Jacksonleeknight@gmail.com
18 months it will look “better”,20 months even better, 2 years looks really nice. Good luck, we’ve all been down this road, I’ve shaved it all off and started all over a few times actually. My strategy was to pretend that there is no such thing as a haircut. Hang tough.
