new thread
Hi,
I would like to ask you experts what you think I should do about my curly hair. I have been growing it for a little over 5 months and it is right now 4 inches at most in length. While I recently noticed the different characteristics of it being longer, such as being able to feel it when I shake my head, I feel under an illusion of it not getting any longer.
As may or may not be normal I am noticing that I lose more hair from time to time. This happens when I comb, brush, or run my hand through my hair. The individual strands themselves do not break or fall out. This loss contributes to the illusion of my hair not growing any longer. I am calling it an "illusion" because after reading through this site I feel it should be growing even longer but I am not noticing.
I would also like to ask about how long I can expect to have to wait before my curly hair begins to start looking longer and falling downward. Right now it is not long enough on the back or sides to fall down like curly longhairs so it just sicks out 1.5 inches or so (it is 4 inches in length here). The hair on top of my head is more willing to stay down so long as I don't purposely try to "mess it up" at any time (if I do this it is like an irreversible process until I wet it again).
The reason I am asking about this is because I don't like the way my hair looks at all and have seriously considered straightening/relaxing techniques. I decided, however, that I would rather wait until my hair grows longer so that I can see what it looks like curly/long and perhaps be happy with it. How long can I expect to wait before my hair will start to fall down? How long will it be before it starts going down my neck (it is only 3-3.5 inches long in back)?
If I really want to try straightening, what is the best way for me to do so? Do those non-chemical products that you must use daily work? Would that be a good idea say, for if I needed to have my picture taken before it is longer? Lastly, can I get advice from anyone on this board about the other (more permanent) hair straightening procedeures? What do those with long curly (or straightened hair) think about them?
I appreciate your advice, especially during the haircut sale at GreatClips. ;-)
Ahh... curly hairs have it bad for growing out I guess, for us straight hairs every inch of growth is down, but for a curly hair an inch of growth can be accomodated in a curl and not look any longer. Your really just going to have to sit it out and wait. I'm currently growing out my straight hair out and it seems to take forever, so I sympathise in your situation. It's really hard to say how long it will take you, it depends on the tightness of your curls I guess. One product you may be interested in is paul mitchel styling glaze, its a gel type styling product specifically for curly hair, its supposed to be great, and does not feel dry or crunchy. You could also try a relaxing cream to 'relax' you curls a bit tho I dont know of any to recommend. I would recommend against straightening as due to its elliptical structure curly hair is more fragile than straight hair, and it will probably start breaking off after a while if you chemically straighten it (see post below)
Think about something else, leave your hair grow without stress.
Why worry? You know it will grow!
Take care, and be patient!
-vincent
As has been mentioned the more curly your hair is the longer it will appear to take to get any apparent length, cos rather than falling down your head it just curls up. I have wavy hair so my aparent progress is also stunted somewhat when you compare my pics to that of Fink or MattR who both have straight hair.
So basically you need patience, no magic hair treatment is gonna make your hair grow any faster. I can't really endorse Vincent's notion of hair care, but you need to forget about it for a while, maybe take progress pics on a monthly basis - it should help you see your progress (even with curly hair.)
A suggestion to help you see your progress is to perhaps have your hair straightened using a straightening iron, it's temporary (until the next wash/rinse) and provided you don't make a habit of doing using them it'll not cause any damage. (Though remember curly hair is naturally more fragil than straight.) I would however avoid any chemical straightening techniques, these are bad!
Give yourself a year of Growth and by then you should start feeling like you have "Long Hair" by this time your hair may have started to naturally straighten thanks to the added weight or if not you'll have really excellent cascading curls like That "Ball" Guy either way I'm sure you'll be well impressed!
