Newbie! 💖 Advice welcome!! 💖

[eaglelove]

Hello! I've been lurking on TLHC for probably about a year now. I'm so excited to start my hair journey.

I have 1aMii hair.

BSL ✂️ CHIN ➡️ ✂️ CHIN ➡️ SHOULDER ➡️ APL ✂️ CHIN
Goal: WAIST
The longest my hair has been was BSL, when I was 14 years old.
By that point, it had been dyed 5 times, starting when I was 11: twice red on blonde hair, bleached and then dyed pink, and then dyed blonde once. It was holding up quite well, probably due to the fact that I didn't wash my hair more than three times a week, and there was about a year between each dye, and I never heat styled.
I am now 16. I cut my hair when I was still 14 to chin length. I let it grow, with frequent trims, down to APL, until I cut it myself down to just below chin length again last month.
I did this to get rid of the blonde in my hair, leaving behind my virgin light brunette hair. I'm going into the salon in a week to get rid of the remaining few inches of blonde and to even out the length, making the front and back the same length.
When all is said and done, my length should be about 10 inches (25.4 centimeters) from a middle part. This is very short, but I'm putting the health of my hair before the length!
I'm excited to have a fresh start.
My goal length is waist length. This should take me about 3-4 years; waist length on me from a middle part is 28 inches (71.2 centimeters).

My priorities are 1) strength 2) evenness, and 3) length. For example, I would much rather have BSL with a blunt cut, which achieves an even length throughout, than have hair that tapers off to waist length.

My current hair routine:
Brush once in the morning.
Tie my hair into one/two bun(s) at the nape of my neck.
Wash with Herbal Essences shampoo and conditioner twice a week.
I always air dry.
I never use heat.
I don't swim in chlorine treated water.
I alternate my part every day in order to prevent excessive damage in a concentrated area.
I style my hair with barrettes, scünci "no damage" hairties, and tiny plastic elastics.

Characteristics of my hair:
Doesn't get greasy for a long time (5-6 days)
Doesn't get split ends easily.
Cooperative as far as brushing & heatless/product-less styling goes.
Doesn't hold heat curls.

Changes I want to make:
Start a hair journal.
Learn how to do French and Dutch braids.
Add deep conditioning into my routine.
Add oiling my hair into my routine.
Sleep in a silk bonnet.
Find what washing method works best for me. (CWC, WCC, CO, etc)
Wash hair with cold water.

Thank you so much for reading! I know it was verbose, but I wanted to cover all of my bases. Please comment if you have any advice, tips, comments, or helpful links! Thanks again!! 💖

[lapushka]

Good luck for your fresh start! And welcome to our little corner of the world.

I think your routine looks good. And you can start a hair journal or blog on this site once you reach a certain number of posts (there is blogging software here and it's a part of the forum).

You may want to read the posting permissions sticky in the newbie section, so you don't get confused.

In any case, good luck on your journey!

[Sarahlabyrinth]

Welcome here!

[Corvana]

Hello and welcome!

My tip, for accuracy's sake, is to start measuring from your hairline at your forehead and over your head. This is how I believe 99% of us here measure, and that will give you slightly more accurate information in terms of styles and such you can likely achieve at a given length! I know while it's really short it's a bit awkward to do, been there! But it's nice, IMO, to have a bit of a standardized way of measuring so that we all start on the same page.

Everything else looks pretty good to me, honestly. You have to find the routine that works best for you, as you're the one that has to do it and live with it! Experimenting is fun though

[Lady Stardust]

Hello and welcome! Come and join us in the chin to shoulder length thread, if you fancy some company

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/...ad.php?t=96954

[ravenskey]

Hi eaglelove, hope you enjoy yourself here!

Good luck reaching WL!

[Aredhel]

Hey, welcome eaglelove!! Sounds like you're on the right track already, can't wait to see your progress!

[eaglelove]

Good luck for your fresh start! And welcome to our little corner of the world.

I think your routine looks good. And you can start a hair journal or blog on this site once you reach a certain number of posts (there is blogging software here and it's a part of the forum).

You may want to read the posting permissions sticky in the newbie section, so you don't get confused.

In any case, good luck on your journey!

Thank you so much! I'll go check out that sticky ASAP!

Welcome here!

Thank you!

Hello and welcome!

My tip, for accuracy's sake, is to start measuring from your hairline at your forehead and over your head. This is how I believe 99% of us here measure, and that will give you slightly more accurate information in terms of styles and such you can likely achieve at a given length! I know while it's really short it's a bit awkward to do, been there! But it's nice, IMO, to have a bit of a standardized way of measuring so that we all start on the same page.

Everything else looks pretty good to me, honestly. You have to find the routine that works best for you, as you're the one that has to do it and live with it! Experimenting is fun though

Thank you! I'll definitely measure it when it's down again. (I just did my first ever successful french braid!!)

Hello and welcome! Come and join us in the chin to shoulder length thread, if you fancy some company

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/...ad.php?t=96954

Oh thank you so much! I'll go post in that right now! I can't wait ^u^

Hi eaglelove, hope you enjoy yourself here!

Good luck reaching WL!

Thank you so much!

Hey, welcome eaglelove!! Sounds like you're on the right track already, can't wait to see your progress!

Thank you~

[eaglelove]

Also, I know this is dumb but it won't last forever:

[Garnetgem]

Hello and welcome!