Hair Growth Progress Page
For a good many years this is the way my hair looked, with some variations on how I wore the bangs. This picture was taken in August of 1994 (that is my oldest, Thereon, on my hip....he was 1 1/2 at the time).
Length: (approximately) 17"
Condition: Oily scalp, dry ends...the story of my life.
Products used: These were the real salad days of my life...I was using either St. Ives Aloe vera shampoo/conditioner or Dr. Bronner's castile soap with no conditioner at all. I've long been a minimalist, as far as stying products go....once I left that punk/80's big hair phase behind in high school anyway.
The picture to the left was taken in June of 1998. At this point, I had been trying to grow my hair out for about 6 months (it was slightly shorter than mid-back when I started). It was in pretty bad shape, but it was the longest it had been since I was 4 years old, so I was rather proud of it. I also had heavy bangs and numerous layers.
Length: 25"
Condition: Still oily scalp, dry ends....I was soon to discover oil treatments, which made a big difference.
Products used: I was still using St. Ives products, but I was beginning to look around for something better.
This picture was taken in August of 1999, at this point my hair was just touching my waist, and it was in much better condition thanks to regular oil treatments and periodic trims. Over the winter I had been trimming off about 1/2 inch month...basically keeping it at the same length and evening up the layers.
Length: 27"
Condition: Better, some shine and fewer split ends.
Products used: Nature's Gate Original Herbal shampoo/conditioner. Weekly oil treatments (olive oil). Around this time I started taking suppliments (multi-vitamin, amino acid, and vegital silica)
The pictures below were taken in June of 2000. My hair at this point was 2-3 inches past my waist. You can see that most of the layers have grown out (although quite a bit of growth was lost to monthly trims that winter, as well) and the ends look much thicker because of this. It is in still better condition, and at this point I'm planning on letting it grow out to it's full length...only trimming split ends and to keep the ends neat. I began growing out my bangs around Christmas time and by the time of this picture they were almost chin length.
Length: 32"
Condition: Much better, my scalp is much less oily and the ends are almost normal, although still inclined to frizz in humid weather.
This picture was taken on Feb. 10th, 2001. My hair is looking pretty good and is still growing. I've been having some troubles with my oily scalp again, but nothing serious. My bangs are now 3 inches past my chin...the longest I've managed to let them grow since I first had bangs in 5th grade.
Length: 35"
Condition: Had some problems with oily scalp. The ends are basically normal, with very few split ends. Time will tell whether humidity is still a factor.
This picture was taken on Sept. 10th, 2001.
Length: 39"
Condition: Had some problems with excessive shedding, due to dietary deficiencies related to going back to work over the summer, and the fact that I stopped taking my vitamin suppliments at around the same time. So, I felt like I wasn't getting a lot of growth, but I guess 4" in 5 months really isn't anything to sneeze at. :)
This picture was taken on February 21, 2002. We're really getting there now!!
Length: 42"
Condition: Pretty good...I resumed my vitamin regime and have been enjoying the new growth. My biggest problems at this point strem more from figuring out different ways to where it, as it's too heavy now to wear in a simple bun (the weight needs to be distrubuted all around my head).
Care: I scalp wash daily, and deep condition/oil treat either once a week or every other week as needed. I've found that since I've been doing this for over a year now, that I go through about a 10th of the conditioner that I used to and my hair has never looked better.
This picture was taken on August 27, 2002.
Length: 43"
Condition: Pretty good, for the first time I can remember I had a relatively frizz-free summer...my hair actually looked curly!
Care: I scalp wash daily, and deep condition/oil treat either once a week or every other week as needed.
This picture was taken on December 10, 2002...after a rather radical cut of 3"-4".
Length: 40"
Condition: I was getting really frustrated with the thinning of my hair toward the ends, and decided to bite the bullet and cut it back to tailbone length in an effort to fill out the ends.
To be continued....