It's SO Good To Be Back!!!

Hello, my friends. Well, a few day's vacation from blogging turned into a few weeks, which then turned into a few months, which ended up turning into 21 months! Life just got crazy busy in so many ways, and the Internet wasn't on my mind, I'm afraid. Time does fly though. It doesn't feel as though I've been away from you for that long.

Since I last posted, I turned 50 and this year I turned 51. I like it! I still feel young, but I feel that I have more wisdom (I hope). I still have so much more to learn, though. I said to a friend recently that I wouldn't go back to being 18 for ANYTHING. I mean it. I wouldn't even go back to being 40, or 30. Truly.

I've trimmed more hair than I've grown since I last blogged, but it was to remove the thin ends caused by what I now know was a pre-menopausal shed. I'm back in growing mode. My hair is now 28 inches/71 cm long, just about three inches from being well at waist length. I don't regret the trimming at all. This is the thickest that my ends have ever been at this length.

 I no longer have a particular goal in mind, but I'm just going to see how long my hair will grow and still look decent at the ends. As I've said before, fairytale ends look beautiful on some people, but not on me, with my very fine, straight, hair. I really would like to get to tailbone if possible, but we'll see.

 My hair is in good condition. I've really got my hair care regimen simplified though. I pretty much just wash it with conditioner, put a few drops of olive, coconut or jojoba on it, bun it when dry, and that's it, these days. When I'm feeling ambitious, I do a deep treatment of some sort, but not often enough. I'm happy to say that I don't have any split ends, even when I look with a magnifier.

So much has changed since I was last here, but I'll get into that in later entries. For now, I'll leave you with my latest length shots and my comparison photo (All photos clckable for larger viewing).

I have missed you all so much! Love to all, and extra hugs to anyone feeling ill today. xoxo

October 2010 Progress Photos

I had said yesterday that I wouldn't post progress photos for October 1st, because I had just posted my BSL update a few days ago. However, what is a progress blog without photos of progress? 

I ran across a photo of my hair in February of 2009, and I decided to take a comparison shot, wearing the same shirt that has some clear markers on it.  Photo can be clicked to enlarge it.

My hair in the first photo, from Feb. '09 was 17 inches long. This is the shortest my hair had been in almost five years. It's a pretty good example of the breakage I had incurred. It's especially notable on the right hand side.

My hair in the second photo, taken today, is 25 5/8 inches long. I trimmed almost half of my growth in that time, so given that, the progress has been fairly good.

I do wish I could figure out a way to have the colour the same in every photo, but I just can't seem to do it. My  hair is actually the same shade in real life as it was in the before photo, but it's looking dark in the photo taken tonight and too gold in the photo on the left. I guess the lighting in the house has changed.

I'm noticing that my ends look fairly thin in the second photo, but having studied photos taken in the past month that I've posted here, I'm thinking it might be a bit piece-y because it was just a bit damp.

In any case, while it's been arduous to cut off so much hair while trying to grow it, I am very happy with the results so far. I still plan on maintaining my length for a while once I hit waist length next summer, in order to remove remaining damage.

'Til tomorrow, my friends. Love to all.
xo

September Growth Progress

Well, it's the last day of the month, so of course, that is progress report time. 


Today I measured in at 25 5/8 inches (65.1 cm), which made for a respectable growth month. I dusted about 1/8 of an inch this month, so while I have a net growth of 1/2 of an inch, my hair actually has grown 5/8 of an inch in September.

I'm not posting a progress photo today, since I just posted my BSL update photo a few days ago. I will be doing my quarterly comparison photo next month.

I was looking at my growth and trimming statistics for the past year (yep, I keep a chart--I really am that geeky), and while my hair has grown a total of 6 5/8 inches, I trimmed out 2 7/8 inches of damage in that time for a net growth of  3 3/4 inches.

I'm sure that you can understand that with this trimming of almost half of my growth in the past year, it's been a long haul to get as close as I am to BSL. This is why I was so surprised and thrilled to see that I will likely be firmly at BSL in the next month or two. Every little milestone just means so much to me right now.

I have no regrets about the amount of trimming that I did. It was imperative for me to trim those almost 3 inches off, in order for me to feel positive about my hair. As I've mentioned ad nauseam, I had a great deal of breakage on the bottom few inches of my hair, especially on the right side. It's nice to see the amount of see-through ends slowly getting to be less and less.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. For me, it's not about quantity; it's about quality. So I've sort of made a nice compromise, and I have experienced growth while at the same time slowly removing the non-quality hair.

It will be such a relief when the damage is gone for good.

In any case, it really does look like I'm on track to be at or near waist length by my birthday next July, even with regular smaller trims.

Did I mention that this process has required a lot of patience?

'Til tomorrow, my friends. Love to all and extra hugs to anyone feeling blue today.

September BSL Update: Oh, So Close!!!!

Just a very quick entry today, friends.

On a whim, I decided to take a BSL update photo, and I was surprised to see that I'm almost there!!! I think I only have about a half inch left before I am firmly covering the bra strap. I really didn't expect to be so close so soon, especially after my update photo in early August. You can click the photo to enlarge it.

I really do need to trim in October, but it's getting so tempting to wait until I've reached BSL, wait another half inch and then trim my regular half inch.

Oh, the dilemmas we longhairs have! This is going to be a tough one.

Anyway, that't the excitement for today. I hope you're all having the best weekend.

'Til tomorrow, my friends. Much love to all and extra hugs to anyone feeling hurt today.
xo

BSL Update and Other Stuff

Thank you all for the kind comments about my progress photos of yesterday. They are much appreciated. I think that in the next six months or so I'm going to leave the "sort of long hair" stage and be at the "that's long hair" stage. I'm looking forward to it.

Ice Queen, I agree that we hair people are more conscious of invisible damage than non-hair people. I think you may be familiar with experiencing the feeling of spongey ends, while the rest of the hair feels normal.  That's what I have right now.  It doesn't show up in photos, but I sure can feel it when my hair is wet.

Also, I did have some breakage and I've been living with it for two full years.  If you click yesterday's photo and look at it in large size you can see that the breakage is worse on the right hand side, and the ends are thinner on that side.  After two years, I've really had about enough of it, but it's going to be a long time before I trim to the point of that breakage, if I plan to keep on growing.  I just have to grin and bear it. Unfortunately, I can't always grin, depending on the day.

Lulu, I agree with Her Majesty, The Ice Queen. White vinegar is the preferred rinse for people with either platinum blonde or silver hair. There are several people at LHC who have reported ACV depositing a bit of colour on their silvers.

AutumnLeaves, I forgot to answer your question about the long French Twist forks the other day.  I think you may mean Chignon Pins or Chignon Forks like this or this? If you do a search using either of the terms I gave you, you'll find plenty of them.  I think they're gorgeous. I've seen some really beautiful vintage chignon forks on Ebay, but never have purchased one.

I decided to post a photo marking just how far I have to go to reach bottom of BSL. I have about 1 5/8 inches or a little over 4 cm to go. I'll likely be there in 4 months or so, barring some unexpected catastrophe.

Well that's it 'til tomorrow, my friends.  Love to all.

August 2010 Progress Photos

Well, finally I have my August progress pictures.  I'm going to compare this month's length to February's, six months ago.

It's not a very dramatic difference, since I've cut 2 inches off since February, as I gradually cut off damage, but still, I'm pleased.  First a picture of this month's length.

February to August Comparison

The photos are clickable as always.  It's obvious that I still have a few inches of damage.  I'm going to be trimming minimally for the next year, and I'm hoping to be at waist length by August of 2011.  

I think I'll maintain at waist until I grow out the damaged, thin ends. Or I might just cut off half of my growth every 3 months.  I'll have to wait and see how it all shakes out.

All in all, I'm happy with my progress.  As far as the damage goes, it could have been worse, and in that case, I might have had to cut my hair very short, as I've had to do in the past.

'Til tomorrow, my friends. Love to all.

A Very Quick Update

I'm unable to make a lengthy blog post today, as I'm quite ill (don't worry, Sherry, I'll be okay in a day or so).

Today is hair length update day.  I wasn't able to get my photos done today, as I've been all but sick in bed and indeed have bedhead, but I was able to measure my hair.

I had a reasonable growth month, with 5/8 of an inch of growth, bringing my hair to 24 5/8 inches from the hairline on my forehead to the tips of the ends.  Slowly I'm getting there. It still looks as though I should hit BSL by the New Year.

I do want to mention that I really admire you both, Lulu and AutumnLeaves, for going with your natural colour.  I can't even envision a day when I won't want to have the colour of my own choice surrounding my face, so I really take my hat off to you both, for just letting your hair be your hair.

I hope that everyone is enjoying a lovely weekend.

Love to all.

Me? Really, Madam, You Must Be Joking!

Do I think about my hair 24/7?  No.  Even though I write about hair and hairstyles every day, I really don't give it a lot of thought most of the time.  Except...

When the end of the month hits, I am filled with girlish glee as I anticipate my monthly measure-in and progress photo, which I do on the last day of the month.  Then I post the results on the Internet.  Sometimes I feel silly about it, I admit.

Yet there's something so satisfying about seeing a new number on that measuring tape, and knowing that there will always be a larger number.  There's something almost miraculous in the fact that hair grows in amounts that are measurable every month.

I also enjoy taking my progress photos.  I never compare it to last month's picture.  I look at the photo from three months ago.  Invariably the difference is visible.  This is just another way in which the long hair journey is fun for me.

So even if I feel that I'm making no progress, the tape measure and the photos tell me differently.  While I know I still have some damage that will eventually have to go, I am reminded that even with my quarterly 1/2 inch trims, my hair is still getting longer, and the amount of damage is getting less.  It's all so positive!

If someone had ever told me four years ago that learning how to properly care for and style my hair would become something of a hobby, I would have laughed. I couldn't have imagined that I'd ever be frequently looking for new braids or updos to try.  To be writing about all of this on the Internet?  Really, you must be joking!  However, here I am, enjoying talking hair to my Internet friends, sharing my thoughts on hair care and hairstyles.  I never would have imagined.

I know that to some people, one would have to be some sort of a nut to even think about measuring and photographing one's hair length every month.  

I guess I am some sort of a nut.  Filled occasionally with girlish glee.   I can live with that.