Natural hair SO long you retain more length by keeping it straightened/ stretched?

[Diva_Esq]

Please tell me about your experience and why you feel that way.

I ask because I am grazing WL and I usually cowash daily, wet bun and WnG pony my hair and retain a lot of length, BUT lately, it seems like it is a lot of manipulation and I lose more hair in my detangling process.

I got a flat iron and trim yesterday, but I am wondering if I should stay straight longer than the normal week I usually do after a trim so I can rest from the frequent wetting, cowashing, etc.? All I do is wrap or place my hair in a long sleep sack and gently comb down while flat ironed, so it is much less manipulation.

Anyone else have this thought/ issue? Seeking ALL opinions, and especially those MBL, WL, WHIP, HL or beyond...

 

[AtlantaJJ]

Re: Natural hair SO long you retain more length by keeping it straightened/ stretched

I keep my hair stretched 99% and it is totally helping me with retention. But you asked MBL, WL and HL people so I'll just back on out of the thread now

 

[Diva_Esq]

Re: Natural hair SO long you retain more length by keeping it straightened/ stretched

I keep my hair stretched 99% and it is totally helping me with retention. But you asked MBL, WL and HL people so I'll just back on out of the thread now

AtlantaJJ

Noooooo, I welcome any opinions!! Thanks for yours!

So...question...how do you stretch yours (preferred method)? What issues were you having before stretching? My hair gets SOOOOO tangled when I wear it out and curly, but not when straight. I think I am losing too much hair when detangling.

 

[AtlantaJJ]

Re: Natural hair SO long you retain more length by keeping it straightened/ stretched

AtlantaJJ

Noooooo, I welcome any opinions!! Thanks for yours!

So...question...how do you stretch yours (preferred method)? What issues were you having before stretching? My hair gets SOOOOO tangled when I wear it out and curly, but not when straight. I think I am losing too much hair when detangling.

After my wash, co-wash / DC, leave ins, seal etc. I do a braid/twist combo where I braid the first two inches and twist the rest of my length, or I just dry in braids to get my roots pulled a little tighter so that they can dry straighter than they do with twists.

I do about 6 to 8 of braids and then air dry. After I air dry I style by doing a twist out or braid out, or bantu knot out.

I maintain my hair by re-twisting in big twists at night, and then stretch them with scruncies to keep my hair stretched because I workout in the morning (and sweat like a horse), this helps to keep my hair from reverting. If I didn't workout, I could just sleep in a pineapple to maintain
my style.

I'll be doing this forever I guess. I don't see myself wearing WNG's too often, just on some occasions, I think my hair would get too many SSK's I don't know, I might experiment with this next summer.

I would have virtually care free hair if I didn't workout. Oh well.

 

[ladysaraii]

Re: Natural hair SO long you retain more length by keeping it straightened/ stretched

Yes! I used to bun all the time (plus I was a little lazy with my regimen so that contributed) but since I've started wearing my hair stretched (twists, min braids, french braids) and manipulating less, my growth has been steady and noticable.

 

[SherylsTresses]

Re: Natural hair SO long you retain more length by keeping it straightened/ stretched

I'm taking notes! I'm natural MBL/grazing WL and bunning is getting old. I need an excuse to flat iron and keep it that way for a while.

 

[Diva_Esq]

Re: Natural hair SO long you retain more length by keeping it straightened/ stretched

I'm taking notes! I'm natural MBL/grazing WL and bunning is getting old. I need an excuse to flat iron and keep it that way for a while.

SherylsTresses

Why you gotta bust me out for looking for a reason to get a bun break? After 3 years of mostly bunning, I am BORED!!! And the detangling thing...

 

[FoxxyLocs]

I'm WL and I do have to keep my hair stretched more now than when I was BSL. I also seal heavily and dust regularly to prevent knots.

I still try not to flat iron too much. Rollersets and bantu knot outs are good for stretching.

 

[Diva_Esq]

Re: Natural hair SO long you retain more length by keeping it straightened/ stretched

I'm WL and I do have to keep my hair stretched more now than when I was BSL. I also seal heavily and dust regularly to prevent knots.

I still try not to flat iron too much. Rollersets and bantu knot outs are good for stretching.

FoxxyLocs

Thanks! What did you do to achieve the style in your siggy pic? It is cute!

 

[Bublin]

Re: Natural hair SO long you retain more length by keeping it straightened/ stretched

After my wash, co-wash / DC, leave ins, seal etc. I do a braid/twist combo where I braid the first two inches and twist the rest of my length, or I just dry in braids to get my roots pulled a little tighter so that they can dry straighter than they do with twists.

I do about 6 to 8 of braids and then air dry. After I air dry I style by doing a twist out or braid out, or bantu knot out.

I maintain my hair by re-twisting in big twists at night, and then stretch them with scruncies to keep my hair stretched because I workout in the morning (and sweat like a horse), this helps to keep my hair from reverting. If I didn't workout, I could just sleep in a pineapple to maintain
my style.

I'll be doing this forever I guess. I don't see myself wearing WNG's too often, just on some occasions, I think my hair would get too many SSK's I don't know, I might experiment with this next summer.

I would have virtually care free hair if I didn't workout. Oh well.

Do you a product to do the braid/twist outs after you have air dried? AtlantaJJ

 

[leiah]

Re: Natural hair SO long you retain more length by keeping it straightened/ stretched

I have fine hair and a loose curl pattern, so buns get my hair nearly straight. I think that's why they work so well for me

I cowash every other day. I Detangle then dry my hair in 1 or 2 braids, then bun on my non wash day.

Detangling gets more difficult as my hair gets longer, that's inevitable whether I wear it curly or straight. I lose plenty of hair, especially if I go longer than 2 days without detangling

 

[AtlantaJJ]

Re: Natural hair SO long you retain more length by keeping it straightened/ stretched

Do you a product to do the braid/twist outs after you have air dried? AtlantaJJ

Yes, I use the Shea Moisture Curl Smoothie or a touch of the Deep Treatment (used as a styler, I'm in search of a better styler but these products keep my hair soft) I dampen my ends just a tad bit with my hands (I don't spray) and use either a touch of castor oil or a shea butter blend to seal them. I make sure that my ends stay detangled, and moisturized throughout the week. I have to do a little extra because of the workouts.

 

[Carrie A]

Re: Natural hair SO long you retain more length by keeping it straightened/ stretched

I'm losing a lot of hair with detangling too and not shedding. I have a lot of breakage. I got my hair straightened and keeping the hair detangled of course is much easier but I really don't want to increase the frequency of straightening because it's damaging as well. I'm contemplating roller setting this winter. I'm definitely trimming more regularly and adding protein treatments. I wore a wash and go and it was a disaster. Braid outs are good, but I was still going too long between detangling.

 

[lbellin]

Re: Natural hair SO long you retain more length by keeping it straightened/ stretched

I was at BL length in April and had to cut 4 inches due to ssks. I just got my hair flat ironed and I have another 1-2 ins of ssks AND I HAVE DONE EVERYTHING!! UGH!!!!!!!

I have about 50% shrinkage and even with stretching...braids, 2-strands twists, etc. my hair only hits shoulder length. I am so tired of losing inches to ssks. So I have decided to keep my hair straightened with rollersets, curlformers, flat iron [when I need to trim].

I will be doing Aphogee 2-step treatments every 4-6 weeks depending on the condition of my hair. I will increase my water, vitamin and healthy food intake. I am on a mission for WL hair by the end of 2013!

 

[Diva_Esq]

Re: Natural hair SO long you retain more length by keeping it straightened/ stretched

Thanks for letting me know I am not the only one.

 

[Songbirdb]

Re: Natural hair SO long you retain more length by keeping it straightened/ stretched

I was at BL length in April and had to cut 4 inches due to ssks. I just got my hair flat ironed and I have another 1-2 ins of ssks AND I HAVE DONE EVERYTHING!! UGH!!!!!!!

I have about 50% shrinkage and even with stretching...braids, 2-strands twists, etc. my hair only hits shoulder length. I am so tired of losing inches to ssks. So I have decided to keep my hair straightened with rollersets, curlformers, flat iron [when I need to trim].

I will be doing Aphogee 2-step treatments every 4-6 weeks depending on the condition of my hair. I will increase my water, vitamin and healthy food intake. I am on a mission for WL hair by the end of 2013!

What is SSKS? sorry if thats a stupid question.erplexed

 

[lbellin]

Re: Natural hair SO long you retain more length by keeping it straightened/ stretched

Songbirdb. They are single strand knots...the "end" killer!! I hate them! It is when the hair curls around itself and forms a knot. It wreaks all kinds of havoc on your ends which leads to difficulty detangling and breakage.

 

[Carrie A]

Re: Natural hair SO long you retain more length by keeping it straightened/ stretched

What is SSKS? sorry if thats a stupid question.erplexed

Also the bad thing is if the hair breaks mid shaft and that end (the broken off end) forms a single strand knot then the other hairs start to mat around the knot.
So you may have mid shaft super knots that have to be cut out. This happened to me after a wash and go. So I have to keep my hair stretched until the broken hairs grow and meet with the gradually trimmed ends. I've only recently started having this issue.

 

[Songbirdb]

Re: Natural hair SO long you retain more length by keeping it straightened/ stretched

@Songbirdb. They are single strand knots...the "end" killer!! I hate them! It is when the hair curls around itself and forms a knot. It wreaks all kinds of havoc on your ends which leads to difficulty detangling and breakage.

Thanks so much!

 

[luckiestdestiny]

Re: Natural hair SO long you retain more length by keeping it straightened/ stretched

I stretch through braiding or flat ironing/rollersetting. (lately it's mostly braided but I've gone months in just straight syles too). However with that said, I do alternate with flatironing (or roller set) and I keep it straight for more than a week (up to three) using sea breeze on scalp if needed to clean and dry shampoo. I cross wrap at night. My hair is and smells fine grin. I have even gone over a month (but as it reverts my hair goes into other styles after three weeks: french braid, etc). I use "kera care creme press" with my flat iron. It's the only thing I know that keeps hair from reverting for weeks and keeps it shiny/silky too).
MY strands are in the 4 category,fine but my hair is dense (tons of strands) so if I manipulate a lot=tangles=breakage and loss. So I don't bother with tons of manipulation if I can help it.

 

[FoxxyLocs]

FoxxyLocs

Thanks! What did you do to achieve the style in your siggy pic? It is cute!

Thanks! It was a braidout from large cornrows on blow dryed hair.

 

[Carmelella]

I think everyone here is going to need some pictures of that WL flat ironed hair to truly formulate an opinion ( braid out will do) lol.

 

[regina07]

Re: Natural hair SO long you retain more length by keeping it straightened/ stretched

I cut my hair back to WL in Oct and to tell you the truth, I'm tired of dealing with it. I bun 80% of the time and deal with SSK, shedding and breakage.

When I flat iron, I don't deal with any of that. Instead its oily scalp/greasy hair and shedding. I do retain more when I flat iron, no doubt.

I don't know if I'll reach my goal of tailbone before I cut it back to NL!

 

[kellistarr]

Re: Natural hair SO long you retain more length by keeping it straightened/ stretched

I do braid outs to keep my hair stretched. I've decided to go no longer than 2 or 3 days, then I need to start the process all over again. My braid outs were lasting a week, but a week is too long to go without detangling my hair. If I detangle every 2 or 3 days I don't lose as much hair as I do going without detangling for a full week. The longer my hair gets the more I need to detangle. My tangles come from shedding. The longer the hair, the more shedding. I think this is inevitable, but the process of doing it isn't such a chore if I wash my hair/and or co-wash 2x a week. I've thought about straightening it but all that is going to do is keep me away from water, which isn't good.

 

[offthechainliz]

Re: Natural hair SO long you retain more length by keeping it straightened/ stretched

I was at BL length in April and had to cut 4 inches due to ssks. I just got my hair flat ironed and I have another 1-2 ins of ssks AND I HAVE DONE EVERYTHING!! UGH!!!!!!!

I have about 50% shrinkage and even with stretching...braids, 2-strands twists, etc. my hair only hits shoulder length. I am so tired of losing inches to ssks. So I have decided to keep my hair straightened with rollersets, curlformers, flat iron [when I need to trim].

I will be doing Aphogee 2-step treatments every 4-6 weeks depending on the condition of my hair. I will increase my water, vitamin and healthy food intake. I am on a mission for WL hair by the end of 2013!

Hi, my natural hair is not long yet but i thought I'd share. Being newly natural less then i year I have been suffering a lot this past couple of months with ssks after ever wash it was a nightmare to comb. i started dreading wash days. I could see all the hair coming out were ssks cause they all had knots of hair balled together at the ends (truly end killers for real) I started getting frustrated and i knew it would take 3 times as long to reach my goal at the rate that my hair was being pulled out. So lately ive been flat ironing and then putting my hair in a protective style like buning. I notice after doing this a few time the next time i wash my hair is mostly detangled already. i have very little to no ssk's and my hair detangles much easier. I am 4b maybe even c natural.

 

[Diva_Esq]

Re: Natural hair SO long you retain more length by keeping it straightened/ stretched

I think everyone here is going to need some pictures of that WL flat ironed hair to truly formulate an opinion ( braid out will do) lol.

See siggy pic. I also have albums on here and other threads where I posted length check pics.

I cut my hair back to WL in Oct and to tell you the truth, I'm tired of dealing with it. I bun 80% of the time and deal with SSK, shedding and breakage.

When I flat iron, I don't deal with any of that. Instead its oily scalp/greasy hair and shedding. I do retain more when I flat iron, no doubt.

I don't know if I'll reach my goal of tailbone before I cut it back to NL!

I think I will flat iron more in winter with deep conditioning and protein between.

Hi, my natural hair is not long yet but i thought I'd share. Being newly natural less then i year I have been suffering a lot this past couple of months with ssks after ever wash it was a nightmare to comb. i started dreading wash days. I could see all the hair coming out were ssks cause they all had knots of hair balled together at the ends (truly end killers for real) I started getting frustrated and i knew it would take 3 times as long to reach my goal at the rate that my hair was being pulled out. So lately ive been flat ironing and then putting my hair in a protective style like buning. I notice after doing this a few time the next time i wash my hair is mostly detangled already. i have very little to no ssk's and my hair detangles much easier. I am 4b maybe even c natural.

Thanks for sharing...I do plan to french braid and messy loose dry bun more to stretch my straight styles.

 

[Dee Raven]

Re: Natural hair SO long you retain more length by keeping it straightened/ stretched

This has been my experience as well. I try every now and again to wear a wash and go and it ends up being a big mess. It looks good for a day or two, then I take twice the time to detangle, I have a ton of ssks, it's just no bueno. But twists, buns, twistouts, braids, braidouts and occasionally flat ironing does the trick.

 

[Fine 4s]

Diva,
Since your hair is relaxed, maybe you can use heat more (low if course.)
Maybe you can blow dry and bun or do some more out styles since you're bored with the buns. My siggy was done with a blow dry for example.

I have fine 4 strands and lots of it and I love twist outs. Too much heat changes the look of my twist outs so no heat for me. Since I keep my hair in protective styles, buns included, SSKs don't bother me much. I get them and snip as I go. Point is if you don't need curls then use heat but still not too much to compromise the integrity of your strands a la Longhairdontcare...

You and that gorgeous hair will be fine.

 

[SherylsTresses]

Re: Natural hair SO long you retain more length by keeping it straightened/ stretched

@SherylsTresses

Why you gotta bust me out for looking for a reason to get a bun break? After 3 years of mostly bunning, I am BORED!!! And the detangling thing...

It seems that I have too much hair and want to enjoy it. BTW I love your reveal pics.

 

[glamazon386]

Re: Natural hair SO long you retain more length by keeping it straightened/ stretched

My hair retains length better when I keep it stretched. That's why I rarely wash and go. It causes too many SSKs.