new thread
Alright, 8 months in, still growing. It's getting easier to visualize just what I'll look like with long hair. I got the 'look like a yeti' routine from my family, to which I popped open the photo albums and show'd my dad sporting a fro in the 70's. lol - that quickly changed topics, and they left me alone about it afterwards.
As for the hair itself, I'm a terrible judge of size, but I'm thinking it's a bit more than 6 inches from the top of my forehead to my lip, so my hair's about that long. Very thick, which makes it a bit of a pain to deal with, but it's not too bad to get it to stay parted down the middle and behind my ears now.
My routine thus far has been a shower every day, water washing only, washing the scalp well and rinsing, maybe 3-4 times a week I'll condition, shampoo 1-2 times a week. I let it air dry in the morning, and on the drive to work, brushing it about an hour and a half afterwards before work. It seems to work well for me, and my wife has commented on numerous occasions how health my hair looks and feels. I don't think I've got any damage that I should be concerned with at the moment, but I had a question regardless.
What are the early signs of hair damage? What are the first things that you'll see which means I need to change my routine? Thanks for any info.
Pictures:
Top Pictures - This is how I'm wearing my hair right now, with the hair around my collar getting messed up and curling up a bit, any suggestions on how to get that to lay flatter?
Bottom Left - Just showing my length.
Bottom Right - Super thick hair. there is litterally a black wall in front of me when I brush my hair down like this.
That's a great progress compared to the 6month update...
I bet the baby is growing faster!!
Keep it up and good work
Tes
Indeed... It's amazing to realize that she's already 3 months old. I think her growth rate head-to-toe is rivaling my hair's root-to-tip. She may even have inherited my thick hair, time will tell. One thing is for sure... you never appreciate just how much a full night's sleep has on you until you go without for several months.
You're getting there, once you can tuck your hair behind your ears growing out is easy. At least that was the way I felt.
Your hair is looking very good.
Signs of damage is when a lot of tangles occur, but given you're routine I can't imagine you've got any damage.
Yes, getting just some of my part behind my ears has been a tremendous help, it'll be great when the rest of it will reach as well.
You don't start getting any damage until after 2 years of constant hair growth. This is from my personal observation. You will start having to worry about hair damage if you are doing any of this.
1. Brushing hair while wet.
2. Not Limiting your hair dyeing to maybe 2 times a year.
3. Not using Conditioner after washing.
4. Neglecting your hair for an extreme length of time, like maybe a month.
- I brush before washing, and then again just before work to make sure it's neat, (I work in an office). It's typically still just a little bit damp, but I thought that was definitely better than doing it as soon as I jumped out of the shower. Is even this a cause for damage down the line?
- I have no interest in that, so no problems :)
- I don't condition after each water washing, but I do after every time I shampoo, should I condition more?
- Define neglecting? As in, no cleaning?
Thanks for your response and information. My biggest concern is that I've read several people talking about hair damage, and wanting to just cut their hair off, from most of the responses, it looks like I've got time before I need to worry about it, but I figure it's best to get into good practices now, so that all of my hair will retain it's quality throughout.
Your routine sounds good and I doubt you'll have to worry about damage for a long time. You may get a few split ends here and there. If they are dew just search and destroy as you find them.
I wouldn't think of trims for two years and if you go that route remember growth is about one half inch a month on average. so if you get an inch taken off that's two months growth. If you're a patient person that's fine if you want more length NOW! then no trims.
Looks good
Kevin
Yeah, I got the 'no-trims' message loud and clear, although I know some people prefer to do it. My target length is below the shoulders, so we'll see how long it takes to get there. 2 years should do it maybe? Scooper said in a previous post (http://www.mlhh.org/archive/?231298), that my target length may creep lower and lower, and indeed, seeing all the longhairs on this site has done just that. So we'll see just how long it gets :)
Your hair looks fantastic after just 8 months and I wouldn't even be worried about damaged hair so early in your longhair journey.Just let it grow and be thankful you have great,thick,sensational black hair.Eventually you may have to rotate product as if you use the same stuff constantly your hair may stop responding as well as it did early on.In such cases just move to another brand as this usually solves the problem.Anyway great update my friend.
Mark
Actually, on my wife's recommendation, I've already been doing a little bit of product rotation. I use Aussie shampoo & conditional the majority of the time, and then maybe 1-2 a month, I'll use this more expensive brand who's name I've completly forgot, but my wife really liked it so suggested I used it.
Her logic was that some shampoos can leave things behind, or not provide the right treatment, so she always uses 2-3 different shampoos/conditioners in the course of a month.
Hi Raverix,
Welcome to the hyperboard, and thank you for sharing your progress with us. As far as I can see, your hair is in excellent condition, with no damage at all. Thick hair is a genuine blessing, and I hope that you keep up the great growth!
Keep it growing,
David
Thanks, I always knew my hair was thick... in fact, when I had a buzz cut for so long, I jammed up many clippers at barbar shops. Some of 'em you could even hear the motor slowing down as it attempted to penetrate my hair's defensive force field.
Now that I'm growing it out, I'm enjoying the thick hair even more.
Nice hair, Raverix ! Very thick !
At this stage of growing, no damages. With your routine, I doubt there will ever be any damage until some years.
Vivien
Your hair looks in good condition, great progress Raverix. It sounds like you have a good routine going, not damaging at all. When longer (older ends) you can start to look for split-ends. A few are ok, and you can seek and destroy, but if you see many, you can get a dusting trim to take care of that problem.
Mosy important though, you must be the final judge of damage. Reports from others are unreliable at best and you cause you to trim excessively.
Bruce
hey bro i wouldnt worry about hair damage this early in the growth it looks good to me :), you kinda look like Robert the Bruce off Braveheart which is awesome so def keep that hair growing and flowing!
Hmmm, I never woulda drawn that observation myself... so I went looking & I can see a bit of a resemblence.
Whatcha think?
o wow dude! for a second there i can def see twins lol very cool picture lad :)
Hi Raverix. Your hair looks good. My suggestion is that wait till you are somewhat past the awkward stage (meaning you can put all your hair in a ponytail without falling out) before considering a trim. You do not want to prolong the awkward stage.
Regardless
Yeah, I'm not considering a trim at the moment, nor do I plan to any time soon. I'm just trying to make sure I'm already in good practices so that when my current hair is at the end of a pony tail, it'll still look good.
Welcome;
You thick, black hair looks great and healthy now and with length is going to be incredible. I saw a fellow recently with hair similar to yours and it looked like Raven Feathers to me. Just beautiful !!
I look forward to your updates during your journey.
Thanks for Sharing
WWT (Walter White Tail)