I am new and newly on my quest to long healthy hair. As an African American mix, long hair was never a consideration. I had past shoulder length as a child but desperately hated the painful combouts and the smell of pressed hair. Sadly when I grew up I learned  whole new set of bad habits and forms of hair torture. Long story short, after years of relaxers, colours and daily heat styling, my hair finally was shot. 

At the beginning of this month I found The Long Hair Care Forum and learned about no heat styling and other tricks for my 4b/a hair. I did the big chop shortly thereafter (11-6-04). Even though that was only a couple of weeks ago, my hair has responded INCREDIBLY to not being blow-dried and curling wand fried.

Recently I was "contaminated" by The Long Hair Site's posting about how every woman should grow her hair as long as it will go just once in her life. So I am on a six year plan to see just how long my tresses (free of my past stresses) will go.

I could prattle on quite a bit more but this is already a book 

I am very glad I found this site!

My little hair album: http://public.fotki.com/lorrwill/
There is not much in there yet...

WELCOME! Sounds like you are off to a good start with your long hair program, stick with it and I am sure that you will end up with beautiful long hair!

In the early pictures in your album, your hair looks relaxed, but in the later ones it looks straightish, not nappy (4b) or springy (4a). What do you think the texture and curliness/waviness of your hairs will be as they grow in?

If you don't have true afro-forming hair, it might be in the 2 or 3 range instead, although perhaps very coarse. Sometimes women or men who grow long natural hair after a lifetime of short cuts and/or chemical processing find that their hair behaves very differently than they predicted it would.

Welcome LB!    I want to see how long my hair will
grow, too.  I've never gotten it longer than BSL, but
if I treat it right, maybe it will get longer.