Original LHCF Gangster's...2002,2003,2004,2005,2006...Come here Plezzz

[MissB]

I joined the LHCF in 2003. I stumbled upon the site by doing a search on
Elucence products. I had been using the same stylist for 10 years and of course she had me brain washed. I thought she was the only one who could do my hair. I was starting to experiment with Keracare, Design Essentials and Aveda products. I then realized that I could get salon quality hair at home.

So, I ended up firing my stylist and getting a new one for relaxers only. Through the use of vitmains, I developed bra stap length hair for the 1st time in my life. Then the new stylist said, "You don't need all of this hair, do you?" So, she got fired too.

And like Supergirl said earlier, I was already a product junkie and I became 30X worse. I would try everything mentioned on this site. Then I realized that I should only follow others with 4A hair types.

In the last few years, I have been struggling with gray hair on my hairline. So, I am always experimenting with sulfate free shampoos. But, my current stylist and I have come to the conclusion that my gray is very resistant and I am not going to venture into permanent color with a relaxer.

The best cult product for me has been the Mizani Butter Blend relaxer system. I have been using it faithfully for two years now. It can rain on my head and it will still look good.

I think the board is very different now since we have a combination of natural, texlaxed and relaxed heads. The original Gangsters appear sometimes because I think once you develop your regimen, then you venture into other things. Right now, I have a serious makeup addiction so I spend more time on that forum vice the hair forum.

 

[VictoriousBrownFlower]

If your join date is 2002-2006, please drop some history and old school knowledge on us.

What did you think about LHCF when you first joined? I thought it was inspiring. I saw a bunch of women like me that had the hair I wanted. It was addictive to say the least.

Did you think having long hair was attainable or did you think LHCF members were crazy and/or mixed (good hair)? I did think they all had long hair genes. They prob had long hair their whole lives and I couldn't possibly obtain the length they did. I thought I would be lucky if I got to apl but if I did get to apl then I would be able to get to bra strap which was my goal.

What were some of the failed attempts to grow long hair? I didnt have any failed attempts I just had setbacks. It was always from using to much heat on my fine strands.

When was retention discovered? I actually started growing pretty much right away. Once I found the products my hair liked it was on a poppin.

Are you relaxed, terlaxed, natural or a heat trained natural? Was natural then relaxed and now natural again.

Did you start your journey when you joined? If not, when? Yes I found LHCF while I was looking for ways to grow my hair back after going natural. So I started asap.

Was Waist Length your original goal? No Bra strap was my original goal but now its waist length

What is your current length? My current length is 2 inches from armpit

What was the board like compared to today? There was alot more drama and outspoken outrageous posters. There were alot more gate threads.

 

[daviine]

I'm not a gangsta but I love this thread...like a trip down memory lane.

What did you think about LHCF when you first joined?
I loved the format because I came from the Yahoo Groups ( Black Hair Super Grow Out, Black Hair Care and Body, and Relaxed Hair Care ). It was easier to keep track of conversations and read. In fact, the other day I came across some printouts of useful information in an old binder.

Did you think having long hair was attainable or did you think LHCF members were crazy and/or mixed (good hair)?
I definitely thought it was attainable. Otherwise, I'm not sure what the point would be of joining.

What were some of the failed attempts to grow long hair?
I didn't really have any failed attempts, that I can remember.

When was retention discovered?
Can't remember....sorry.

Are you relaxed, texlaxed, natural or a heat trained natural?
I'm transitioning but I'm only 21 weeks so I guess that makes me mostly relaxed.

Did you start your journey when you joined? If not, when?
I started my journey before I joined LHCF--I started my journey on Yahoo.

Was Waist Length your original goal?
No. Bra-strap length was my goal. The way I remember it, most of us wanted to reach bra-strap.

What is your current length?
about Shoulder length

What was the board like compared to today?
I haven't been on the board for several years so I'm not sure what its like today. I think bandwagons still exist-- I like the challenges. It used to be free but they had to charge to support the gajillion (or 50-11 )new members. I understand that. We were definitely more dependent on the boards then because we didn't have Youtube and all these blogs that are available now. We had lots of meetups and product swaps, although I haven't checked to see if that still is the case. There weren't many transitioning or natural members back then but thank goodness there are now since that's the reason I came back!

 

[My Friend]

Love this thread!

 

[FlawedBeauty]

If your join date is 2002-2006, please drop some history and old school knowledge on us.

What did you think about LHCF when you first joined?

Woooooooooooowww!!!

Did you think having long hair was attainable or did you think LHCF members were crazy and/or mixed (good hair)?

I knew they had healthy hairl but I was still skeptical about my own.

What were some of the failed attempts to grow long hair?

I never tried to grow it out, I just assumed i was just prone to breakage so *** it. Nothin I could do.

When was retention discovered?

About six months in.

Are you relaxed, terlaxed, natural or a heat trained natural?

Texlaxed now.

Did you start your journey when you joined? If not, when?

Yeap.

Was Waist Length your original goal?

Lord I was shootin for APL my ish was so chewed and had never been there.

What is your current length?

Back to APL. Made it to BSL then chopped to natural and went back to texlax.

What was the board like compared to today?

Seems about the same...maybe a bit more strict.

Answers in quote above

 

[lalla]

If your join date is 2002-2006, please drop some history and old school knowledge on us.

What did you think about LHCF when you first joined?I joined in 2002 or 2003, I don't remember. It was overwhelming. I came from the Ezboard relaxed hair care forum. I felt there were too many bandwagons and miracle products.

Did you think having long hair was attainable or did you think LHCF members were crazy and/or mixed (good hair)?
To be honest a lot of the long haired ladies where light skinned so I thougth BSL and beyond was easier for them. I had had long hair before, but never past BSL.

What were some of the failed attempts to grow long hair? I didnt have any failed attempts.

When was retention discovered? A few months after discovering LHCF and graowafrohairlong I cut my APL hair to my ear. It grew back fast, thicker and healthier than ever before.


Are you relaxed, terlaxed, natural or a heat trained natural? Was relaxed then and now natural.

Did you start your journey when you joined? If not, when? I started a few months before.

Was Waist Length your original goal? No. I had no particular goal but I didn't think I could grow it past BSL.

What is your current length? My current length is 1.5 inches from WL.

What was the board like compared to today?
More activity I think. More bandwagons too. I really admired some posters: Nay007, Adrienne 0914, Tracy (with the coloured hair), Supergirl, Peachtree etc...
At that time I didn't even know Off topic existed.

 

[Allandra]

I've been here since it was born. And I was at the pre-birth forum too.

 

[KhandiB]

What did you think about LHCF when you first joined?

I lurked for a while, I found LHCF after buying a book from the Dew Lady, lol. I lurked for like a year before I joined, and BOYYYY was I a PJ when I first started! It was definitely worth the $5 it cost at the time.

Did you think having long hair was attainable or did you think LHCF members were crazy and/or mixed (good hair)?

I did believe it was attainable,

What were some of the failed attempts to grow long hair?

Ive had many failures, I would get close to BSL and then cut my hair because I didn’t (and unfortunately still don’t) take great care of my ends. Then had horrible PPS and my hair thinned pretty bad

When was retention discovered?

Usually when I cut my heat down Id notice great retention.

Are you relaxed, terlaxed, natural or a heat trained natural?

I am relaxed.

Did you start your journey when you joined? If not, when?

I started while reading the book by the Dew lady.. Then realized she had long hair but to me it didn’t look that good. I got on here and saw more women with better hair and started seriously..sorta, lol

Was Waist Length your original goal?

No, BSL/MBL are my ultimate goal
What is your current length?

Im at APL right now, after a cut recently. Which is actually pretty sad now that I think that Ive been on here for 8 years and Im not MBL, lol.

What was the board like compared to today?

People were much more cordial back in the day, you wouldn’t post in a thread and not be responded to, There aren’t too many bandwagons anymore, man, the MTG phase was crazy and make Shapley’s come out with a commercial line and Everyone used Neutrogena’s leave in

 

[KhandiB]

These four women and Lonei were My first Hair Idols

Did you think having long hair was attainable or did you think LHCF members were crazy and/or mixed (good hair)?

I definitely thought it was attainable. Everyone who had the hair I wanted was brown like me with kinky hair...Sylver2, Southerngirl, Macheriamour, Sistaslick, etc.

 

[Honi]

If your join date is 2002-2006, please drop some history and old school knowledge on us.

What did you think about LHCF when you first joined?

Was pleased to see alot of women wanting to learn about their hair. I learned alot about products especially. My regimen only consisted of CON, QH cholesterol and Infusium. I didn't know about anything else.

Did you think having long hair was attainable or did you think LHCF members were crazy and/or mixed (good hair)?

I knew it was attainable. It was just we do so many bad things to it.

What were some of the failed attempts to grow long hair?

My setbacks were stylists that wanted to trim after every touchup. I just never got past CBL-APL

When was retention discovered?

When I stopped trimming after every touchup and learned about protective styling from Wanakee.

Are you relaxed, terlaxed, natural or a heat trained natural?

Relaxed

Did you start your journey when you joined? If not, when?

I started my journey way before I joined which is how I found the site.

Was Waist Length your original goal?

Yep

What is your current length?

Waist length

What was the board like compared to today

It was free in the beginning but worth it when it became a pay site due to the knowledge gained from other members. The other forums are entertaining. It has also resulted in alot of businesses started by some members. Really nice to see

 

[My Friend]

I keep seeing this name..Wanakee, is she still on the board? Is she famous?

 

[havilland]

What did you think about LHCF when you first joined? note: I Started lurking in 2006. I Joined in '08. I thought everyone was hair obsessed and crazy! LOL

Did you think having long hair was attainable or did you think LHCF members were crazy and/or mixed (good hair)? i thought the members were a little "extra". too much emphasis on crazy potions and techniques. meanwhile those "potions" and "tenchiques" are staples in my hair regimen now.
whew...that's soooooo funny for me to think about now that my friends think the same about me! omg!

What were some of the failed attempts to grow long hair? i tried to get past collar bone and shoulder length for a long time before i finally relented and started getting serious about growing my hair. if you want me to mention setbacks since being on the board, then i will mention that my only real setback was after using a growth aid. after that i stopped hopping on bandwagons and started listening to my own hair. i still try new things, but only once or twice before giving up. my hair health comes first.

When was retention discovered? when i started protective styling as a RULE not an EXCEPTION.

Are you relaxed, terlaxed, natural or a heat trained natural? was relaxed bone straight at start of journey....now texlaxed.

Did you start your journey when you joined? i stalked for a year or two and then joined officially. If not, when? i started my journey before i joined "officially".

Was Waist Length your original goal? apl was my original goal.

What is your current length? Barely BSL

What was the board like compared to today? i think the board is the same basically....the main difference to me is that now things like protective styling and baggying and deep conditioning twice a week and mixing oils into relaxers and making your own conditioner are not foreign or crazy to me. also, there are a lot more natural heads. i can't believe that i am a LHCF Gangtsa....i have swag.

 

[BlaqBella]

I keep seeing this name..Wanakee, is she still on the board? Is she famous?

Idk if she was ever a member, but she wrote a (natural- I think) hair book and has really long hair.

 

[havilland]

I keep seeing this name..Wanakee, is she still on the board? Is she famous?

Wanakee is a model who was a hair pioneer and one of the first African American famous women to publicly cut off her hair and grow it back. she had a hair care line, like Kathy Howse, but she sold it.

She was the first women I ever saw with real hair down to her waist.

She still does hair interviews from time to time. Her main method of hair retention is protective styling and moisturizing the ends of the hair....which at the time she came out with it, was revolutionary info. now it's old news.

 

[wanakee]

Wanakee is a model who was a hair pioneer and one of the first African American famous women to publicly cut off her hair and grow it back. she had a hair care line, like Kathy Howse, but she sold it.

She was the first women I ever saw with real hair down to her waist.

She still does hair interviews from time to time. Her main method of hair retention is protective styling and moisturizing the ends of the hair....which at the time she came out with it, was revolutionary info. now it's old news.

I chose her name as my profile name, been a fan of her since the early 90s when I'd snip her photos out of magazines + catalogs. I'm a Wanakee wanabee.

 

[caribeandiva]

I can't believe I renewed my membership just so I could post in this thread.

 

[My Friend]

I'm glad you did Did you drop some knowledge on us?

caribeandiva

 

[caribeandiva]

I'm glad you did Did you drop some knowledge on us?

@caribeandiva

I'm about to.

 

[caribeandiva]

I joined in March 2006! woot woot!!!

What did you think about LHCF when you first joined?
OMG these ladies are crazy! I honestly was afraid to post because things could get very intense, and go downhill very quickly!

Did you think having long hair was attainable or did you think LHCF members were crazy and/or mixed (good hair)? I knew long hair was attainable because I knew women in real life who did it but they went to the salon all the time. When I asked them for hair advice, they were totally clueless and told me to get my butt to the salon every 2 weeks so I did.

What were some of the failed attempts to grow long hair? see above answer. I went to the salon every 2 weeks or at least every month and my hair kept getting shorter. My stylist was trimming it way too often! I stopped going, found hair books then LHCF. I was relaxed when i joined and saw great progress. I later had chemical scalp damage due to relaxer burns (my scalp is very sensitive) and a severe bout of anemia that kept breaking my hair off. I'm a colored natural now.

When was retention discovered? When I first started deep conditioned after every shampoo no matter what, using heat only on freshly cleaned hair, being gentle with my hair and using wide tooth combs ONLY. Oh and of course my iron supplements to combat my anemia.

Are you relaxed, texlaxed, natural or a heat trained natural? I'm a colored natural who straightens but isn't heat trained (I just started coloring and straightening).

Did you start your journey when you joined? If not, when? I started right away and haven't left it since. This is a life long journey for me!

Was Waist Length your original goal? Yes or midback, whichever is longest.

What is your current length? below full shoulder length (is that considered colarbone length). It's longer than when I BCed and it only took me 18 months to get there!

What was the board like compared to today? I had a lot more friends back then compared to now. They don't renew their memberships either! Ladies where are you?
Youtube wasn't as big as it is now so were relied heavily on fotki and other hair albums.
It seems there were a lot more drama back then. A lot of topics (or people) couldn't be discussed without some people getting their panties in a bunch. Threads were getting locked and deleted left and right. People were also getting banned more from what I've seen. Mind you I haven't really been here for the last 18 months or so...

*off to bump old threads I've been lurking in for the past few months*

 

[caribeandiva]

oh and of course the board is mostly natural now compared to mostly relaxed when I joined.

 

[My Friend]

Wanakee is a model who was a hair pioneer and one of the first African American famous women to publicly cut off her hair and grow it back. she had a hair care line, like Kathy Howse, but she sold it.

She was the first women I ever saw with real hair down to her waist.

She still does hair interviews from time to time. Her main method of hair retention is protective styling and moisturizing the ends of the hair....which at the time she came out with it, was revolutionary info. now it's old news.

havilland

Is this her? Was she a member here? Do you know anything about her hair? Regi? Did her products work?

 

[texasqt]

It's funny that I'm considered an OG


What did you think about LHCF when you first joined?
I joined February 2004 but didn't implement a regi until 2006. I guess you could say I believed but I wasn't 100% convinced.

Did you think having long hair was attainable or did you think LHCF members were crazy and/or mixed (good hair)?
Attainable but not for the faint of heart. It takes persistence, determination, focus, and TIME. I remember thinking most had the "good hair" gene. My friend who introduced me to the site had long hair when I met her in '97 so I didn't really grasp the teachings of this site with those thoughts (as in "they don't have hair like mine").

What were some of the failed attempts to grow long hair?
My biggest fail was not sticking to a regimen. I would follow one for a few months and then stop. It wasn't until I reviewed before and after pictures that I could see the benefits. Everything I've tried over the years had good results. MN, Pinkskates (blowdrying & flat-ironing), mane & tail, Cathy Howse (wash & style 2x per week/every 3 days), castor oil, Sylver2 (stretching relaxers), Macherieamor (roller setting), crown & glory, Boundless Tresses, sulfur, Carolyn Gray, pre-poo, cowash, westndnbeauty (deep co-wash & flat-ironing), Brittanynic (heat training), BKT, Phyto #2 relaxer, my beloved Sedu, just to name a few

When was retention discovered?
What has gotten me to APL - becoming a natural who straightens 90% of the time.

Are you relaxed, terlaxed, natural or a heat trained natural? Semi-heat trained per Brittany's method. A year ago maybe, I did a full heat-train treatment once and loved it. I did a few touch ups but now I can get my hair straight with little to no reversion following Westndnbeauty's straightening routine.

Did you start your journey when you joined? If not, when? 2 years later when I got tired of my hair looking a hot mess.

Was Waist Length your original goal?
No. I only hoped for APL which I'm a half of an inch away from it now. It has only taken a year and a half from me cutting all my relaxed ends off. Six inches a year is real if you can avoid setbacks & scissors. Never thought I would see APL and now I'm wondering how long my hair will grow. Going to increase my PS (not a believer of that yet). Next stop - BSL.

What is your current length?
Right above APL. Will make it officially by the end of May.

What was the board like compared to today? I don't know being that I don't visit as frequently now. I have a few threads that I'm subscribed to that I'll check from time to time. I will say that there were no 'gates' and there was not a lot of talking about 'coloring' either. ;-)

 

[havilland]

@havilland

Is this her? Was she a member here? Do you know anything about her hair? Regi? Did her products work?

yes. that's her.

i used all her products and really only liked the deep conditioner treatment. it was a good quality. the shampoo was just ok...i didn't like it at the time because it was too gentle...imagine that!

i loved IDEA of her Constant Care product for the ends of the hair and she had an edge cream that i can't remember the name of. i used them faithfully and saw no results. now i realize that the edge cream had mineral oil in it, so that's why my edges always looked bone dry after applying it.

her regular conditioner was just ok as well. the hair oil was awful. way too heavy.

overall i give her product line a 3. with the exception of the deep treatment that came in a tub...that stuff was a 8. i would rate it higher if i could remember the ingredients to verify that they were healthy.

her techniques were the real pinnacle of her program --- protect ends and edges by moisturizing regularly. deep condition. tie your hair up at night and whenever you can. protective style to hide your ends. trim regularly.

wanakee is the real OG

 

[sj10460]

If your join date is 2002-2006, please drop some history and old school knowledge on us.

What did you think about LHCF when you first joined? I came here after reading Cathy Howse book. Her method wasn't working for me, so I started googling "Grow Long Black Hair" and I found LHCF. I thought LHCF was an underground world that I had just discovered. I was truly amazed at the amount of women that struggled with their hair growth and were actively seeking ways to grow their hair long. I never saw so many black women that had long hair that were unselfish with sharing their hair successes.

Did you think having long hair was attainable or did you think LHCF members were crazy and/or mixed (good hair)? I always knew long hair was attainable, I just didn't think MY HAIR would ever reach the length that I wanted it to be. If I remember correctly, there was a large number of women that appeared to be mixed, but I remember members who I thought had beautiful hair that did not appear mixed; DLewis, Sistaslick, PinkSkates

What were some of the failed attempts to grow long hair?
Doing "what's in" jumping on the bandwagon, not listening to my hair. Using excessive heat and not taking hair of my hair; Keeping box braids in too long, not washing my hair while in braids and not mostorizing. Just K.I.S.S.

When was retention discovered?
Finally in 2009 after several set backs. Growing up, always colored my hair from age 14 I had a different color yearly. In 2007 was my last relaxer, I was in love with Rihanna's short bob from Umbrella and tried to recreate that style. I had a horrible stylist who didn't know what she was doing. Needless to say, I didn't achieve Rihanna's look. It was then I decided to transition to natural. For the next two years I tried almost everything I read on LHCF to grow my hair, instead of one of the first things I learned, K.I.S.S. In 2009 I started the crown and glory method and have been able to retain the longest length I've had in years!

Are you relaxed, terlaxed, natural or a heat trained natural?
I would say I am fully natural. I thought I was heat trained until I got caught in hurricane Irene and I was reminded

Did you start your journey when you joined? If not, when?
Yes, I did start my hair journey once I joined but like I stated, I had major set backs and still were practicing bad habits; detangling on dry hair, not wrapping my hair at night, excessive heat. etc

Was Waist Length your original goal?
No, that's too long for my taste & too much work. My goal is MBL but I am a slooooow grower so BSL would work too, I can weave the rest

What is your current length?
SLAP- Shoulder Length-Armpit Length

What was the board like compared to today? It was free
So different! Almost everyone had a Foki! There was no youtube, so you couldn't go there and type in something and see someone demostrate. You actually had to take the time out and read the information the ladies provided you with.
There was more compassion for Newbie's (Adopt-A-Newbie) I felt like there was more of a big sister vibe. There was ALWAYS a new miracle pill or CON to try. MTG was really heavy and caused a lot of debates Today there are so many other areas to the forum that wasn't here before. I would say the site has def. expanded and it's much easier to navigate through.

 

[Poohbear]

What did you think about LHCF when you first joined?
When I first joined LHCF, I thought it was great to be able to get advice about achieving long hair from other black women.

Did you think having long hair was attainable or did you think LHCF members were crazy and/or mixed (good hair)?
Yes, I thought long hair was attainable. I was someone who did not know about the "mixed/good hair" idea until I started visiting hair forums. I also thought all black women relaxed their hair. I did not know there was black women whose hair was free of chemicals (...tells you how sheltered I was)!

What were some of the failed attempts to grow long hair?
Before joining LHCF, I didn't have any failed attempts. I had cut my armpit length relaxed hair, which I thought was considered long hair in the black community, to chin length. And I was desperate to find a way to grow it out quickly.

When was retention discovered?
I cannot remember because in the process, I decided to go natural right after joining LHCF.

Are you relaxed, terlaxed, natural or a heat trained natural?
I have natural hair. When I first joined, I had relaxed hair.

Did you start your journey when you joined? If not, when?
Yes, I guess

Was Waist Length your original goal?
No, brastrap length was my original goal. After I went natural, I started to desire waist length hair which has not been achieved yet.

What is your current length?
APL/BSB

What was the board like compared to today?
Back in 2004, the board did not have as many topics as it does today.

 

[GeorginaSparks]

If your join date is 2002-2006, please drop some history and old school knowledge on us.

What did you think about LHCF when you first joined? My original join date was Sept. 2004

Did you think having long hair was attainable or did you think LHCF members were crazy and/or mixed (good hair)? I had been on other boards so i knew it was attainable

What were some of the failed attempts to grow long hair? Vitamins didnt work for me. Neither did MTG and a boat load of other things. The only thing that worked was CO-washing often(helped retention) and Megatek(RIP to the old formula)

When was retention discovered? I think 2009

Are you relaxed, terlaxed, natural or a heat trained natural? Im transitioning

Did you start your journey when you joined? If not, when? I started I think 2002

Was Waist Length your original goal? No just BSL

What is your current length? BSL

What was the board like compared to today? There were some cool a$$ members and we didnt have a lot of natural members like we do today. When I went natural from June 22, 2005 - July 1, 2006, i had to go to nappturality to get my natural hair advice and help. Im glad there are more naturals to help me on this journey for the 2nd time

 

[My Friend]

Love this thread

 

[WaistLengthDreams]

Bump

 

[Nice & Wavy]

If your join date is 2002-2006, please drop some history and old school knowledge on us.

What did you think about LHCF when you first joined? I thought that this was the place to be! I found a forum (Hairboutique) after looking for a certain vitamin online. I went on the forum and saw a post by Pokahontas. I was on there for about 6 months before I came here. It was so much more happening on this forum than the other, so I have been here ever since.

Did you think having long hair was attainable or did you think LHCF members were crazy and/or mixed (good hair)?I knew it was attainable, as I had hair back in the day that was BSL and most of the women in my family had long hair.

What were some of the failed attempts to grow long hair? Using too many products at one time. It took some time for me to narrow down a list of products that would work for me, but I wasted tons of money on products that just didn't work.

When was retention discovered? I did the BC in Aug 2006 and that's when my hair took off.
Are you relaxed, texlaxed, natural or a heat trained natural? I'm natural

Did you start your journey when you joined? If not, when? I started I think 2006

Was Waist Length your original goal? BSL/MBL

What is your current length? APL - I made BSL and then got happy with the scissors early last year and cut my hair to shoulder length.....I was not happy after that....don't know why I did it, guess I got a hot flash or something but I'm growing my hair now to the length I want it to be and only searching and destroying ends instead.

What was the board like compared to today? I think there were more members who were very serious about their haircare and worked with one another to help each other achieve their goals. There was less quarreling. I think there were tons of us who were professional PJ's....it was crazy!

 

[Healthb4Length]

If your join date is 2002-2006, please drop some history and old school knowledge on us.

OG, checking in... I'm mainly in lurk mode though. Joined in 2003, been stalking since 02.

What did you think about LHCF when you first joined?
Loved the community, it felt like a family. A place where I could share my obsession about all things hair without feeling crazy.

Did you think having long hair was attainable or did you think LHCF members were crazy and/or mixed (good hair)?

Yes, I've always had long (real world standard) hair, very fully and thick shoulder length or APL length hair...but I wanted to know if it was possible for a "Black" girl (i.e. no immediate mixture) could grow BSL-WSL hair.

What were some of the failed attempts to grow long hair?

No failures really, just my inability to stick to anything. I wasn't consistent. When I did grow my hair guess what I did? I cut it off.

When was retention discovered?

When I followed Cathy Howse method while relaxed, and later Crown and Glory method.

Are you relaxed, terlaxed, natural or a heat trained natural?
I am currently natural and have been for 2.5 years.

Did you start your journey when you joined? If not, when?

No, I started my journey years before I joined but the with internet being new to me in the late 90s I just read those hair magazines. I got the basics from them, like washing once a week and deep treatments every two weeks but it wasn't enough. I couldn't get past Shoulder length unless I was in braids, I wanted to learn how to grow long hair without braids. It was by searching Yahoo (no google back then) that I learned about Cathy Howse, from there I learned about Relaxedhairandbody...yahoo group. Adrienne was a member and I just recalled how floored I was at her hair. Gorgeous! After that group ended I found out about LHCF. OT, OGs remember when Adrienne's hair was on the opening page when you logged on? Those were the days. SuperGirl was also another inspirational member, her hair was drool worthy...so many members so little time to type it all out.

Was Waist Length your original goal?

Sure Waist Length was my goal but I never got there, remember what I posted about being inconsistent? Yeah, that's something that I'm working on. The furthest I got while relaxed was full BSL, oh I wasn't good at updating much so I'm not sure I have pics. I have a fotki which I rarely check. Now that I'm natural I will be happy at BSL.

What is your current length? APL

What was the board like compared to today?

It was all exciting and new, after being on here awhile you figure out what works and what doesn't. Sometimes it got a little "too real" and I needed to take a break, well it's been awhile since it got crazy but I'm mostly happy in lurk mode.