introduction to my personal challenge

I've decided to challenge myself to some intensive hair growth treatments!

Even if they don't REALLY work, they make anyone feel like they're pampering themselves, right?

Here's the story. My brother has about a month until he goes back to college, during which time I will probably join him for a visit. There's a stylist up there I found just before I graduated, and she seems pretty great! I figure that if my hair grows enough to be able to cut it into a legitimately cute style--not just "I'm still growing my hair out, this week I look like a medieval prince so let me curl it a little bit"--I'll treat myself to a brand-new haircut to continue growing from!

This is a pretty huge deal, because as anyone who has ever had a pixie cut, a bob, or in my case, sort of both, can tell you, growing out that particular style is a bit of a hassle. The back sort of does this mullet thing while the pieces in the front grow at their own pace--usually uneven and completely irrelevant to one another. Seriously, I've learned that even though in theory your hair would grow proportionately to the layers it was cut into, this is almost never the case. My brother keeps finding pictures of 1970's folk singers and saying I look like them.

It's been a long couple of months.

But, anyway, that's why I've decided to try this! I'm noticing some increased hair growth with my new vitamins, but maybe doing a couple of these will help it along a little more. Worst case scenario, I use a lot of items from my pantry without really accomplishing much aside from a sense of spa-day indulgence. Not a bad deal!

So far, on my list for the next month or so:

• Mustard hair mask (I'm going to try my first one tomorrow, I think!)
• Rosemary and green tea rinses
• Egg and honey masks
• Gelatin protein masks
• Hot almond oil massages

I'm usually up for trying anything once, as long as it isn't completely over-the-top, so there's a pretty good chance I'll find more things to throw into my hair between now and then.

Additionally, I'm thinking of posting the recipes I used and some progress pictures, just for fun! Who knows, maybe I'll actually see a difference!

Has anyone actually tried any of these aforementioned treatments? I've done a couple before--they do seem to make a difference, even though they aren't all necessarily meant to encourage growth (that gelatin mask is wonderful for thickening/increasing curl factor!) 

I'd love to hear about anything you've tried, along with your results! 

a small documentary on hair growth

I am very much of the impression that every woman should do the short hair thing at least once in her life.

And I'm not talking about the whole "let's go from waist-length to shoulder-length and flip out about how all my hair is gone" situation.

I'm talking full on pixie.

Over the course of about a year, my hair gradually became shorter until one day I decided it was time to try something a bit different. Okay, if I'm being completely honest, the last haircut I'd had was a complete disaster. The stylist had essentially grabbed my hair, twisted it at the top of my head, and hacked it. The new person I promptly started going to informed me that my hair was pretty damaged, and that it would take about as long to grow out that monstrosity into something decent as it would to get a shorter haircut and start over.

So, I said, let's do it!

That is the face of someone who is not unhappy with their haircut.

Later, a couple of my friends complimented me on it and mentioned that I could even afford to go a little bit shorter. I was going through a huge flapper phase at this point, so I was only too happy to go back and request a couple more inches off.

I was pretty sold.

The trouble began when winter break came along, because I decided I'd get a trim that would be a little bit shorter to last me through the long vacation. The stylist assured me that she understood what I was going for. Then this happened.

I was trying to be a good sport.

I kind of cried when I got home. No, I'm not proud of it, but at the time, I was horrified. I had asked for a little extra trim, not a complete pixie cut. I had no idea what to do. For awhile, I was just really sullen. Later, I sort of came into it a little bit. Playing around with different things was pretty fun! Here's a little snippet of the last several months, for anyone who's interested.

It was waving again! I'm not sure what's up with the face, though.

I was actually pretty okay with this. As an aside, how cool is that Aladdin sweater?

This must've been during an awkward phase or something, because I do NOT look happy!

I wasn't a huge fan of my birthday hair, because it made me look a little crazy...

This was all right, too. The thing about short hair is that it goes through phases.

And this is a little before/after picture. This was taken several weeks ago, and it's actually grown a fair amount since.

Here are a few positive things I've learned about short hair.

• My big one: it forces you to accept what you look like. When your hair is cropped that close to your head, forget about hiding behind it. It makes you come to accept and appreciate the features you have.
• It can be a huge confidence booster. From what I gather, quite a few people have the curiosity and the urge to try a pixie cut, but few want to commit to getting rid of a foot of hair to do it. It's nice to hear about how bold you are for taking the plunge, even if it was accidental.
• Personally, I got a lot of fairy comments.
• Despite the awkward phases, watching it grow is kind of exciting. If you decide to keep it, then you can experiment with fun styles and hair accessories, but if not, it's a whole other journey back to growing your hair. Since my original intent was to grow back damaged hair, I ultimately decided not to keep mine that short.

However, here are some other things to keep in mind if you decide to go for it.

• Short hair is a commitment. Cutting off your hair takes all of two seconds, but growing it back can be a longer process. I originally cut mine in December, and I'm just now reaching what I hope is shoulder-length territory. But describing it that way is being very generous. 
• The awkward phases are a little maddening. It literally felt like one week I loved my hair and the next I couldn't stand it. 
• If you're the kind of person who loves to try out lots of styles, you might get a little bit bored. Personally, I was a little dismayed to find that my hair was now too short to be wavy. On top of that, there was really only one way to wear it. However, that can really work for some people, depending on the look they're going for and their hair type, so that's entirely based on preference. 
• Trims get a little pricey. That was a main reason I ended up deciding to continue growing it. The particular style I got--sort of a mini-flapper-bob--had to be maintained about every 4 weeks or the style completely grew out. I don't know about you guys, but as a college student, that wasn't happening, and I certainly wasn't about to attempt cutting it myself. I've done that once--it didn't end well. People notice. Not in a good way.
• Mullets. I don't know how everyone deals with it--probably different, depending on the person--but I just left mine there. It's only vaguely starting to look like regular hair again.

Still, ultimately, I'm glad I did it. For most of my life, I'd wondered about what chopping it all off would feel like. Liberating, for sure. Cold in the wintertime. And, as it grows, I can take note of how it looks at each length. If I ever wanted to cut my hair off again, I'd have a better idea of what did or didn't work for me.

Currently, I'm enjoying seeing my hair hit little growth spurts. Little DIY treatments at home like rosemary rinses or egg masks feel indulgent, and even if they do or don't really affect hair growth, it keeps things fun while I wait. 

I'll probably post more as time passes, since documenting hair growth is actually pretty neat. Sometimes when you feel like it just refuses to get longer, pictures can really give you a reality check. I'm hoping by the time my brother goes back to school in August, I'll have grown it enough to get a trim and finally eliminate this overgrown bob shape! (It's not a great look when it's months and months grown out.) 

See what I mean? ;)

I'm still glad it happened. :) Try it sometime, you will be, too! I've seen people rock a pixie WAY better than I ever could, and it's such a cute look for some of the styles floating around these days!

Who knows, someday I might end up doing it again. ;)

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