Long Hair then, Short Hair Now

[inthepink]

I've been feeling discouraged about my hair lately so this is a post to see who out there has been through what I'm going through as a little support for myself (and anyone else who needs it).

Who out there had long hair at some point in their adult life (over 21) and then had short hair due to something outside of their control? I am really interested in hearing from those who had bra strap or longer hair.

1. How long ago did you have long hair?
2. How long was your hair at its peak?
3. How many years did you have long hair?
4. Why did you have to go shorter?
5. Do you plan to grow your hair out longer again?
6. And for those who did this a while ago, how long before you were happy with your hair length again?
7. How do you feel about your hair right now?

 

[asummertyme]

i cant comment on your questions..but did u cut ur hair?
i know u were transitioning..but i dont remember hearing u did the big chop..

 

[Tai]

Hairlove did the chop in August, I believe. She's all natural now.

 

[inthepink]

I'll go first...

1. My hair was a few inches below bra strap at the end of July 2004.
2. My hair was just shy of waist length at the end of 2003.
3. I had hair that was bra strap or longer for 17 years.
4. A relaxer broke off my hair so I transitioned for a year and a half. Finally, I got fed up with my damaged long hair and cut off the relaxed ends at the end of August 2004.
5. Yes, definitely!
6. n/a
7. I love how easy my hair is to do. I love being able to wash it every day. I don't feel comfortable wearing it out b/c I am not comfortable yet with short hair. I cannot wait until it is longer. My hope is that by next year this time, I will be at a length I am comfortable with.

 

[inthepink]

asummertyme - I don't consider myself having done "the big chop." But I did have my relaxed ends cut off at the end of August. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[asummertyme]

o wow, i didnt know.....i remember ur pics and ur hair was always soo pretty..i know it looks great all natural..

 

[inthepink]

asummertyme - thanks. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Erica78]

I can't really add anything to this because my hair was long in childhood..and shoulder length in adulthood. Hang in there hairlove. Your hair is beautiful...and is an inspiration to us transitioners! /images/graemlins/weird.gif

 

[Poohbear]

First off Hairlove, your hair is not short! /images/graemlins/smirk.gif Don't you have shrinkage from having natural curly hair? Don't be discouraged; you have nothing 2 worry about as long as you like having the natural hair...

Anyway, here are my answers to your questions:

1. How long ago did you have long hair? 5-6 years ago /images/graemlins/scratchchin.gif

2. How long was your hair at its peak? armpit length /images/graemlins/smile.gif

3. How many years did you have long hair? 2-3 years /images/graemlins/scratchchin.gif

4. Why did you have to go shorter? No reason why...I got it layered at a salon once when I was in high school around year 2000, several trims, and a big layered cut in October 2003. /images/graemlins/whyme.gif

5. Do you plan to grow your hair out longer again? Most definitely! I'm growing it out naturally! /images/graemlins/clap.gif

6. And for those who did this a while ago, how long before you were happy with your hair length again? I don't remember my hair ever being that long until I saw pictures of myself. Also, I've always thought my hair was short or not long enough.

7. How do you feel about your hair right now? /images/graemlins/barf.gif /images/graemlins/down.gif

 

[Tonya]

How long ago did you have long hair? most recenlty...a year ago
2. How long was your hair at its peak? bra clasp length (all my childhood until highschool)

3. How many years did you have long hair? all my life until young adult life

4. Why did you have to go shorter? Damage from relaxers, color, swimming and just cutting it to keep up with latest fads...STUIDITY!
5. Do you plan to grow your hair out longer again? YEs...I am trying hard!
6. And for those who did this a while ago, how long before you were happy with your hair length again? I am still not happy!
7. How do you feel about your hair right now? Very unhappy.....back grows faster than the front so it looks like I have a shag.....

 

[ms_kenesha]

I know your hair may seem short to you, but believe me most people would not consider your hair short even when you wear it curly with shrinkage and all. This is probably more of a mental thing for you and how you perceive your hair, more than how others would actually perceive your hair. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[laketta]

1. How long ago did you have long hair? In 1995.
2. How long was your hair at its peak? Almost bra-strap
3. How many years did you have long hair? 1 year
4. Why did you have to go shorter? because of split ends.
5. Do you plan to grow your hair out longer again? I'm doing that now! /images/graemlins/smile.gif
6. And for those who did this a while ago, how long before you were happy with your hair length again? I am still trying to get there.
7. How do you feel about your hair right now? Overall it is more healthy and stronger than ever so I am almost happy with it.

 

[honey_jammz82]

1. How long ago did you have long hair?
Two years ago, I chopped my hair to neck length.
2. How long was your hair at its peak?
A little past bra strap length.
3. How many years did you have long hair?
All my life, until I was 18 or 19.
4. Why did you have to go shorter?
I had breakage, I had no idea how to transition, I got tired of having my hair look unhealthy.
5. Do you plan to grow your hair out longer again?
Most definitely!
6. And for those who did this a while ago, how long before you were happy with your hair length again?
I think maybe a year after, it was hard to tell because I did not straighten my hair out a lot. I remember I could not even put my hair in a ponytail, and that was devastating to me. I had really good results though after about a year, I would say!
7. How do you feel about your hair right now?
I am happy with the length(bra-strap), I still have had setbacks, but overall my hair is HEALTHIER than it has ever been.
HTH

 

[webby]

1. How long ago did you have long hair? I had very long hair about 4 years ago.

2. How long was your hair at its peak? I didn’t measure, but it was about 3 inches past bra strap (I’m 5’7)

3. How many years did you have long hair? I had long hair for several years.

4. Why did you have to go shorter? Long story short: I moved from NYC (dominican salons were unheard of where I relocated). I had a white woman do my hair, pulled out a plug on the very top. I had a 3 inch patch of hair, that stuck up like an alphalpha sprout, looked terrible. So that was my first big cut (10” in one sitting). Then I decided to do my own relaxers until I moved again, found a dominican salon and thought that she would be able to do my hair just as well as the doms in nyc. WRONG, so I cut it all off and started from scratch. However, I learned to care for my own hair.

5. Do you plan to grow your hair out longer again? Absolutely. My hair is really thick, takes over an hour to dry at collarbone-length, so debating on just how long I’ll let it get, but definitely longer than it is now.

6. And for those who did this a while ago, how long before you were happy with your hair length again? I had my hair cut short, like Halle Berry when she was in Swordfish. I HATED it, because it was uneven and my thick hair curled up too much from the humidity. After a year of regular dustings I finally had a nape-length bob, that was super-even. I have grown it out to about 2 inches past collarbone, but had to cut off some length, as my hair was dried out over the summer.

7. How do you feel about your hair right now? I’m finally at a happy place. Thanks to everyone here, I’m controlling my hormone-related shedding. I would love to magically grow at least 4 inches over night, but I am thrilled that I can do my own rollersets, do my own dominican blowdrys and get the same, exact results that my stylist gets. The only thing that I do not do myself is my relaxer and my rinses. I leave that to the pros.

 

[inthepink]

*bump*

 

[skegeesmb]

These are answers for when I cut my hair two years ago.

1. How long ago did you have long hair?
I have longish hair now, but before I cut I had longish hair for about a year.
2. How long was your hair at its peak?
My hair was brastrap length or mid back length.
3. How many years did you have long hair?
I had long hair for about nine years, then I cut it to shoulderlength and when I started growing out out it was a good length for about three years.
4. Why did you have to go shorter?
I went shorter because I did the big chop.
5. Do you plan to grow your hair out longer again?
I sure do. I have been growing it out since May 2002.
6. And for those who did this a while ago, how long before you were happy with your hair length again?
I wasn't happy with my length until it hit shoulderlength a year later.
7. How do you feel about your hair right now?
Right now I'm loving it. It's the longest I've let it grow since 23. It's getting to a comfortable length and now, the more it grows the closer it gets to my waist! I love it!

 

[InsertCleverNameHere]

Well, right now I'm only 22 and the "incident" happened when I was 19 or 20, so I guess I can consider it my adult life since I haven't been grown long, lol!

1. How long ago did you have long hair?

About 2 or 3 years ago.


2. How long was your hair at its peak?

It was prolly brastrap or maybe a tad longer (I paid no attention to brastrap back then, though.


3. How many years did you have long hair?

On and off my whole life but this last time it was for about 2 or 3 years.


4. Why did you have to go shorter?

I burned a huge chunk out of my hair with a marcel flat iron.


5. Do you plan to grow your hair out longer again?

That's what I'm doing now!


6. And for those who did this a while ago, how long before you were happy with your hair length again?

I'm starting to get more satisfied with my hair length...It's close to it's original length but not as even as it was or as thick since some parts of my hair are shorter now.


7. How do you feel about your hair right now?

It's okay. Not as good, but much better. For about a year and a half to 2 years I had to keep my hair in a shoulder length bob while the chunk I burned out was growing out to match the rest of my head. Now that chunk which was only like 2 inches is about collarbone length...the rest of my hair is almost brastrap. So there is still a difference and will be for a little while but the difference is far less striking. I've had another set back since where a two inch chunk of my hair fell out at my crown. Luckily its not as huge of a chunk as the last time so my hair can disguise it.