The journey of growing my hair from a short boyish cut to my waist was not without its surprises. Finding the best practices for my hair’s health and growth was just as important as simply letting it grow.
I had to adjust my routine, develop patience, and strike the correct balance between cutting and letting my hair grow naturally along the way. There were undoubtedly highs and lows, but I learned something new about hair care at every turn.
I’ll discuss my personal experiences, difficulties, and the advice I learned along the road in this post to help you achieve your hair goals.
| Stage | Description |
| 1. The Short Cut | I started with a very short boyish haircut, and it felt fresh and easy to manage. |
| 2. The Awkward Phase | As it grew, I went through an awkward stage where nothing seemed to sit right, but I stayed patient. |
| 3. The Shoulder Length | Eventually, it reached my shoulders, and I started experimenting with different styles to keep it fun. |
| 4. Mid-Back Length | At this stage, I noticed the weight of my hair more, and trims became essential to keep it healthy. |
| 5. Waist Length | Finally, after years of care and patience, my hair reached my waist. It was a long journey, but worth it. |
2003-2004 (11th grade)
By September 1st, 2003. It was the last time I got my hair cut short. To grow my hair out in a year for graduation was the plan.
I’ll indulge in a poetic digression.
To be honest, I had not intended to cut my hair so short. I went to the hair salon close to my house and had the girl’s hair cut in front of me, giving her a shoulder-length bob. Her straight, shoulder-length hair was cut squarely. The conversation with the hairdresser while seated went like this. My memory of it is quite clear, and I was taken aback by my weakness and incapacity to stand up for what I believed in. By the way, I only recently, a century later, stopped this hairdresser mentality.
Me: The girl who sat here before me has a haircut that I want.
Master: (laughs) You choose: long hair or a haircut?
Me: That girl, that is. (Apparently, I lacked the vocabulary to express my desire for a haircut on my long hair, "a la to trim the cut.")
Master: Did you know that bobs are currently in style? With your hair type, it will fit you perfectly.
Me: Well, let’s head out with Bob.
Following the haircut:
Hairdresser: Is it not to your liking?
Me: It’s good. (I keep thinking that it’s too short and that I should have gotten it like that girl.)
At the time, there was no information available on the Internet, and I read more about weight loss than hair care in magazines. I made the decision to wait a full year to get a haircut in order to observe how much my hair grew during that time. I saw the same girl with the straight cut from the hair salon.
I didn’t take any pictures of the care, of course. I will recount every detail from memory.
I had to settle for Artcolor henna during my school years because I was not permitted to color my hair. I thought the price was excellent. I loved placing orders from the Yves Rocher catalog as well. I purchased henna-infused shampoo for brunettes there. I’ve never owned a mask or conditioner, and I couldn’t even find a picture online.
To be honest, I’ve never been a fan of hair washing, so I avoided looking in the mirror from midweek until the weekend. It wasn’t enough for me to just wash my hair, comb it, and go to bed like all my friends with straight hair did. I ended up using a comb and a hair dryer to straighten my fluffy curls. And I added to the clean hair oil so I could comb the felt boot on my head.
The only thing missing from the treatment’s appearance is a picture of the shampoo:
My hair grew quite well in ten months. I could already create spikelets and a ponytail. I won’t share a graduation picture because you can’t see how much hair has grown in that style. Still, I’ll share a summertime picture.
The most amusing thing is that I owned a device that had a plate attachment and corrugation. My hair lay perfectly after I corrugated it all over, but I was too naive to realize that there were other attachments for straightening.
I don’t know why, but I felt really cool doing corrugation only on holidays! You could have a stunning appearance throughout high school.
My journey to waist-length hair from a short, boyish cut required perseverance, trial, and error. I discovered along the journey which techniques were most effective for me, from understanding the value of routine care and trims to nourishing my hair with the appropriate products. This experience taught me about self-care, perseverance, and accepting changes as a necessary part of personal development in addition to hair growth.
2004-2005 (1st year)
I was finally old enough to use oxide paint in a salon to color my hair after I graduated from high school. My goal before attending university was to look amazing. I used Ozzy Osbourne and his renowned red hair dyeing of the inner section as an example.
An image sourced from depositphotos.com
I visited a renowned master in an opulent salon. I mentioned that I wanted to cut my hair short and give it a unique color. Thankfully, it turned out that my hairdresser shared my quiet and reserved nature. However, she said the following to me:
Hairstylist: Your hair is incredibly thin.
Me: (I said nothing, thinking, What?!)
The color red was absent. Something under my hair was bleached, but it was subtle and unnoticeable. My hair was dyed to match my natural color overall. Although I don’t have a picture right away from the salon, I do have one from a month later.
I don’t see Ozzy Osbourne here for some reason. How about you?
And now for some useful counsel I picked up from this hairdresser:
- Use professional shampoo and conditioner for colored hair
- Use a professional mask to prolong the color
- Use oil for the ends
My mother’s friend suggested adding burdock oil from the pharmacy for the roots and regular salt scrub for the scalp to enhance the care I received. I was still using an iron-toothed comb.
Growth was excellent once again for eight months.
And I went to the same master to freshen up. I profiled them well and cut off a lot of lengths for some reason. I stopped expecting artistic coloring; as long as you did something, that was enough. Walking with its hair color was deemed impolite at that point.
On this occasion, the image was captured on the same day.
This time, a hair straightener opened up a whole new world for me! That was the happiest I had ever been!
I wanted to buy it, of course. The master told me to look for a less expensive one on sale because they have it on order and it’s very expensive.
An additional piece of advice from a hairdresser:
- The straightener must necessarily have a ceramic coating
- The use of thermal protection is mandatory
2005-2006 (2nd year)
The second university course I had straight, loose hair and was happy to stroll around. However, I felt that they were not long enough.
I also needed to hunt for a straightener. Only in Golden Babylon did I find it. I grabbed what I had because I had no other option.
I paid 1500 rubles for Babyliss the straightener. In addition, I updated the rinse-off care and oil and took a professional heat protection course with Wella Professionals. I chose bottles with a different color, disregarding the writing on them. The heat shield was losing its effectiveness as quickly as light. It dawned on me that taking care of one’s hair is an expensive pleasure.
This was how care looked at the time. The same hair dryer from school and an iron comb.
My hair has grown so much that I’m really happy with the length. And I visit the hairdresser once more.
I had to show you all of the pictures that showed a regular face without any hair. May 2006: I make a deadly error. I do braids for crazy money in a hotel salon while on vacation in Egypt. I spent a full month traveling with them.
2006-2007 (3rd year)
I cut half of my hair and wear braids. They had a cotton-wool appearance. At the time, it appeared to me that I had three feathers remaining on my head. However, the photo shows thicker hair than the current one.
I had grown weary of Wella SP cans by then. My parents bring me shampoo and conditioner with mud from Israel because I have had dandruff for a long time. Going forward, I will state that using regular Nizoral, I was only able to cure my dandruff in 2019. I followed the directions and there’s still no dandruff.
They also brought me hair masks, which I opened in turns rather than all at once. I didn’t open a new jar until I had finished the last one. There won’t be any pictures of the care, and I’m positive I won’t find those products online.
I go to the hairdresser once more before the new school year. They colored my hair and removed all of its growth for an unknown reason.
I even have a picture of my hair taken from the back.
Something happened to me in the winter, I was so lazy to straighten my hair that I walked around with my curls. It looked good because of the coloring. It looks sloppy on dark hair.
For some reason I ask the hairdresser to dye everything in one dark color, but I liked my lightened hair.
Since everything washed off after two months, something tells me that it was Toning.
2007-2008 (4th year)
I made the decision to switch hairdressers in my fourth year. discovered nearer to one’s residence.
Speaking with a brand-new hair stylist:
Hairstylist: Your hair is extremely thin.
Me: Alright. (What now?)
The cascade on my head is a big favorite of the new hairdresser. Her own hair was very thick and long, and it was cut straight. When I inquired about the same, I was told that my hair type was not suitable for a straight cut. I thought, all right, but I’m still not sure why my hair is the way it is.
I think my hair is very thick and dense. It would look fantastic without the thinning, cascade, and rounded cut. However, the proprietor—a hairstylist—is, as they say, a gentleman.
A fresh hairdresser’s advice:
- Shampoo doesn"t matter at all, mine is any.
- The most important thing is an expensive, high-quality conditioner.
- Burdock oil? Well, rub it in if you want.
- Masks? The main thing is a good conditioner.
I used the same low-cost Israeli products starting with the rinse-off care. I purchased the identical Wella oil for the edges. However I discovered a less expensive heat protector. I kept applying burdock oil to the roots.
I had grown my hair almost to my ideal length by the end of the school year. I wanted to leave it just the way it was because I was so cozy.
2008-2009 (5th year)
I returned to the previous hairstylist. They told me the ends were terrible, but I really didn’t want to cut the length. I brought up the subject of a straight cut once more. They made it very evident to me that thin hair with broken ends should not have a straight cut.
I was feeling particularly into red hair at the time. I used dye to bleach my hair. It was a good length, but I would have preferred it to be longer!
I already had hair ampoules and Kerastase under my care. I also made sure to use silicone oil to protect the ends and burdock oil for heat protection. I occasionally purchased specialized items to fortify the roots. Naturally, I had no system in place for taking care of my hair, but I was a hair maniac.
2009-2025 (work)
I used my scholarship to purchase all of my hair products while I was a student. I received As while working as a class monitor and earning extra money for it. I was given 1,300 rubles in total, but the amount was also increased annually. During my fourth year, I began working part-time. I had the misconception that rivers of gold would appear at work after studying, but this was not the case at all.
I really wanted to grow my hair, but I had no money for any kind of care. I stopped being excited about hair care at that point. And the hairdresser’s bad advice—that conditioner is the most important ingredient—worked.
With mediocre care, I grew into this in a year.
The ends are gnawed, as you can see. I went back to using shampoo and conditioner along with henna artcolor. I purchased the cheapest one for heat protection.
My cascade was stubbornly cut by the hairdresser, who then proceeded with thinning. Every haircut was discussed in relation to a straight cut. My hair took on this appearance.
The thickness of the hair at the base was more than impressive, even with the dumb haircuts. Why it was so difficult to make the even cut that I begged for is beyond me.
Upon reflection, my hair journey required a combination of perseverance and resolve. It took some time for my hair to grow from such a short cut to waist length, but the effort paid off. I changed my routine as my hair grew and I learned new techniques for taking care of it.
I had frustrating moments along the way, particularly in the awkward parts. However, those experiences made me realize how important it is to persevere even when things seem to be moving slowly.
The trip wasn’t just about distance in the end. It was about discovering a style that really suited me, accepting change, and learning more about myself. Anyone can do it if I could.
