Here’s a picture of me at 29 years old, at my in-law’s house for Clo Clo’s first birthday. My hair was bra strap length.

My niece and sis-in-law

Length check early 2012

Length check just yesterday, November 29.

The sides have grown and it’s fuller, but you can see little growth because of three setbacks. The “V” shape is becoming more of a “U.”

I had several setbacks this year. For the majority of months I wore my hair in twists and twist outs, never used heat. My hair still was weak, but I think there were a few reasons for that, and I’ll discuss that later. I also got knots that despite my hair slathered in conditioner, still took out my fine strands.

Remember the post I put up last week–five tips to longer hair in a year? The first tip was to face that fact that what you’ve been doing hasn’t been working. I thought about that this week, then found that 9-year-old picture and tried to remember what I was doing that made my hair retain length and stay healthy.

Did I used heat? Yes. I had a press and curl and went to the salon every 2-3 weeks.

Did I moisturize and seal? Nope. Water didn’t touch my hair in between wash visits, but I did use oils and serums that seemed to do the trick.

Did I have a low manipulation regimen? BINGO. Four days after going to the salon, my hair was up in a ponytail or bun, and no comb or brush went through the entire shaft of my hair for at least two weeks. I used a boar’s hair brush to smooth the sides, but that was it.

I also used one product line–Aveda Shampure shampoo and conditioner. What made this simple formula so special? The shampoo cleans gently, the conditioner had terrible slip but had a light protein formula. Both don’t contain anything heavy so no films were left on my hair.

Speaking of film, one very valuable bit of knowledge I learned about my fine hair is that too much build up will cause it to break right off and I need to shampoo my hair with a chelating shampoo at least once a month or the build up from styling products and such will snap my hair mid shaft.

New Goals

Guys, this is my last hoorah. The “Hail Mary.” The last desperate act. I’m going to realign my hair-growth goal from waist length to bra strap length–which is about the middle of that white Bando. I’m give it until my 40th birthday, July 17, 2013. Since I’m about 3 inches away, I think it’s a totally doable goal, sans no major mishaps.

I’m more keen about identifying when my hair needs moisture and protein, and I think I’ve got it down. Turns out my fine hair needs LIGHT protein. HEAVY protein treatments will leave my hair too hard and cause the fine strands to tangle.

I’m also going back to heat stretching at least with gentle tension and a very, very expensive blow dryer, continue with low manipulation and biweekly washing and deep conditioning under a heat cap for at least a half hour.

I’m also taking BioSil and collagen supplements, plus continuing to eat healthy and maintaining my low-sugar diet. As always, I’ll exercise, but I’m upping my cardio workouts to improve overall circulation.

So fine-haired ladies, what’s your reggie? Got any tips for me?