new thread
First off, hi everybody. I just found this board last night and have enjoyed reading about other peoples' journey towards having a great head of long hair.
Ever since I was little, I've wanted long hair. I'd try to let it grow out, but would get discouraged because of the very nature of my hair. I've always had very thick hair, and as it grows out, it wants to just "puff out" instead of grow downward. Plus, my hair always tends to get curly in the back and start looking wacky. I used to think that if you wanted long hair, you had to just be lucky and have it in your genes, otherwise you were out of luck. But I'm guessing that's not the case? Has anybody else experienced that, where it seems like your hair just wants to puff out instead of grow long?
A lot of the posts here I've read have been pretty encouraging, that anybody can grow long hair if they just have the determination and the patience to let the hair grow out and do what it will along the way.
Here's a couple pictures I took this morning. My last haircut was in October. Does it look like I'm off to a good start? And while growing the hair out and going through the awkward stage I keep hearing about, is it okay to still wear hats, to help cover the wackyness up while out during the day?
my experience is that the hats look wierd when your hair is sticking out everywhere, but knit hats will (ones you were in winter that cover ears, something like skull caps but longer and with folds).
-Yeah, it can be discouraging when it gets wacky in the back. What I've been doing is cutting the back myself (using three mirrors), so the top layer can catch up. This way, when the top layer grows out and downward, it will cover the wacky part underneath. A lot of people on this forum will tell you to keep growing it out everywhere and put up with it looking like crap before cutting it how you like. It's up to you, and it depends on the look youre going for. However, my hair-growing journey isnt over yet, so I have yet to see if my strategy is a bad one.
-about your hair puffing out, try to limit shampooing to once a week (depending on your oil production). You'll have to put up with some degree of 'big hairedness' until it grows long enough to collapse under gravity. Oh well, keep wearing that hat; just make sure it's not too tight...
I had also wondered, would it help to have a stylist thin the hair out without actually cutting the length? Whenever I do get a cut, I usually have them thin it out a bit anyway to help maintain something of a style, so I was wondering if that would still work while trying to let the hair grow out.
Thinning: cool idea to maintain a style when short, very bad idea when trying to grow long hair. It came up on this forum a few months ago and the general concensus was that it makes the process more aggrivating in the long run. The reason is that thinning shortens up some of the hairs to make the cut of the moment look good, but then those hairs grow back and they take even longer to reach a ponytail binder (something that makes long hair look neat). Also, there's no way for stylist to shorten the same hairs each time, so inevitably he/she will take some of your hard-earned growth to temporarily decrease fluff.
If it's any consulation, I had a really bad hair day yesterday and looked something like an oversized mushroom.
Mouse
As thick as your hair is, I think that you will end up with some great long hair if you stick it out thru all the supposedly bad phases. I can't tell if it is relatively straight or not, but no matter - you will be fine.
Wearing a hat should be fine too. I think the myth that hat wearing causes baldness is not true. It seems that baldness causes hat wearing.
yeap,you are off to a great start!!
There are ways to control your hair during the awkaward stage,like hats,gel,hairspray,bandanas etc.some of them though might not be appropriate for some social situations but oh well..
I have thick,wavy hair that tends to curl in the back too...from what I've heard hair tends to straighten as it gets longer..as gravity takes over.In my case,it seems to be true,cause a few months ago my hair seemed a bit curlier :P
well..good luck..and keep us posted!
Thanks for the advice. donjuan suggested limiting shampooing to just once a week, but if I was to use gel or hairspray (I do use gel when my hair is short), I would have to wash every morning to get the previous day's gel out. I imagine that once it grows out a bit more, I can just tuck the hair around my ears behind my ears when I wear a hat.
This is basically the length and eventual style I going for and have always wanted to have.
Hi Michael, Welcome.
dont be put off with having thick hair, my hair is really thick too, eventually it will Grow downwards! some people take longer than others, but it will Happen, everyone says be paitent, its True! I never dreamed my hair would be the length it is now! and its taken just over 2 years from having a no2 Buzz to past shoulder length, Hang in there man, theres plenty of support on this board, Stick with it. Good luck.
Hi Michael,
your face is really made for long hair - whether it grows "puffy" or not. Just hang in, and wear it with pride! If it's like an "afro" during the transition period, so be it! Just post some more progress pics here from time to time. You look good now, and with long hair, you'd look phantastic!
Happy growth, and happy Christmas!
Hans-Uwe
Wecome Michael, you're off and running! As it gets longer, the added length will calm down any puffyness.
Not everyone has the the "perfect" hair type. But what is that? Some guys have curly hair and love it. Some have stick straight hair and want more body. Some have waves, some have both. It takes all kinds. I guess what I'm saying "perfection" is in the eye of the beholder. We tend to be more critical of our own hair, whereas the same hair type on others is ok.
Hang in there, keep on growin,
Bruce