Random Hair Thoughts/Thinking out loud

[silverlotus]

Etsy vendors really need to start offering samples, esp if they have a no return policy. I’d rather just take my business to CVS where I can return no questions asked if I hate a product.

My powders from Hennasooq are here & im excited to try. If I hadn’t twisted my hair up last night, I would try them today.

 

[GettingKinky]

I have never tried DB. What's special about this cream?

I don’t know if there’s anything special about, but it works for me and I’m not into trying new products so when it worked, I stuck with it.

 

[faithVA]

I can spend a hour flat twisting my hair but only willing to spend 2 minutes trying to figure out how to pin it up so it looks like something Longer hair isn't going to solve that problem.

 

[GettingKinky]

Why did I ever stop LOCing and damp bunning? My hair is so happy.

 

[Alma Petra]

The DE Custard is very moisturizing and the hold is soft, no crunch. I liked it when my hair was shorter but I need more hold now. You should buy it from someplace you can return it to if you decide to try.

I have no staples other than the Curl Maker and sweet almond oil as my sealer oil. :/ I’ve been jumping around products too much. I do like Jakeala’s Flax Mallow Conditioner for cowashing. I haven’t decided on a leave in or moisturizer yet. Either the products I try don’t work or they do work but I hate the scent.

Unfortunately I don't live in the US so all of my purchases are risky behaviours lol.

How long is your hair now?

 

[nerdography]

Normally, when I do my hair I use a paddle brush to clump my curls. But, last week I was feeling lazy and didn't want to do all that, so I did the rake and shake method. Why haven't I been doing this all along? This method works really well with my edges that tend to frizz quickly.

 

[icsonia22]

All of the women with my hair type (4b) who have super long hair have simple regimens with simple products. Furthermore they keep their hair moisturized, sealed with something heavy, stretched and have their ends tucked away 90% of the time. I've been implementing these things in my own journey and it has gotten me much further along than I've ever gotten before. The only downside is I have no idea how to do anything extravagant with my natural hair. If it doesn't involve moisturizing, sealing and protective styling, I don't know about it

 

[fifi134]

I've been wearing my hair in a low slicked bun. The crown area isn't all the way long enough, but a little gel and bobby pins have been doing the trick lol.

I'm still debating on what to do with it next week for a wedding I'm attending. I'm so indecisive!

 

[I Am So Blessed]

Girl what's your secret? Come clean quick

LOL I been telling y'all!

I've been using a common sense approach! which we all know....

 

[I Am So Blessed]

Yes! It's Friday I will detangle my hair when I get home. I haven't detangled in almost two weeks.

 

[I Am So Blessed]

Hey East Coasters! Happy Spring weather finally! Enjoy!!!I am!!

 

[Napp]

Nice! Which brush of hers? There are many.

I have the divine DV-2 care and style brush. It gets all the shed hair out

 

[Britt]

African pride dream kids shampoo
Any conditioner
Wet Line gel
Carefree curl gold activator
Water
Olivia garden brush

Shampoo and condition. Sit for 3 minutes and detangle and remove shed hair with Olivia garden brush in shower. Rinse. Then apply activator all over hair. Smooth in gel. Spray in a little water and smooth hair to define curls. Shake and air dry. 1-2 times a week. Daily spray with with water to re activate curl or a little bit of activator.

Thats it.

My hair is so defined yet soft.

I love it.. such a straight forward clutter free regimen.

 

[Alma Petra]

I can spend a hour flat twisting my hair but only willing to spend 2 minutes trying to figure out how to pin it up so it looks like something Longer hair isn't going to solve that problem.

How about you bun it?

LOL I been telling y'all!

I've been using a common sense approach! which we all know....

That approach explains the retention but it doesn't explain the fast growth. There must be another secret. Come on! Lol

 

[I Am So Blessed]

How about you bun it?


That approach explains the retention but it doesn't explain the fast growth. There must be another secret. Come on! Lol

LOL Mu-ah- ah ha ha....



LOL no, but seriously I grow 1/2" every month. I just keep it all.

ETA: Oh, occasionally I would put Wild growth Hair oil in the past, But I was not very consistent as Id like to be. Like I said before, I grew 8-9 inches on my first year being natural. *doing the math* Since I am at 19" now, and if one is supposed to grow 6" per year, that means I am ahead of schedule by two - three inches. I was taking Natures' bounty on my first year also. So I pretty much have been carrying over those inches?

Hence the reason why recently I told y'all that I bought more vitamins. I want to accomplish the same results as in my first year.

 

[I Am So Blessed]

@Alma Petra I did not know that I seemed be growing hair fast. Lol. For the past two years I've been at 1/2". So you're really seeing my first year's work.

 

[YvetteWithJoy]

@Alma Petra I did not know that I seemed be growing hair fast. Lol. For the past two years I've been at 1/2". So you're really seeing my first year's work.

Nice rate!

I get less than 1/4". Learning this changed my whole perspective. Lol.

 

[faithVA]

How about you bun it?


That approach explains the retention but it doesn't explain the fast growth. There must be another secret. Come on! Lol

My flat twist nor my hair is long enough to bun. I'm hoping by the end of summer I can bun my hair and by the end of the year bun my flat twist.

 

[I Am So Blessed]

Nice rate!

I get less than 1/4". Learning this changed my whole perspective. Lol.

Hi Yvette ya know....the only reason why I know that I'm at 1/2" is because when I use to color my hair a month later id hold a ruler to it and sure, enough 1/2 on thd mark. I wouldnt have known other wise.

 

[I Am So Blessed]

How do you know you're at 1/4"? @YvetteWithJoy

 

[I Am So Blessed]

@luvmesumhair
@lucy1957
@Hadiyah M

 

[luvmesumhair]

@luvmesumhair
@lucy1957
@Hadiyah M

Thank you hun!!! Fifty years old today!
Happy birthday to the other ladies here as well!

 

[YvetteWithJoy]

Hi Yvette ya know....the only reason why I know that I'm at 1/2" is because when I use to color my hair a month later id hold a ruler to it and sure, enough 1/2 on thd mark. I wouldnt have known other wise.

Measurement from month to month.

Finding out felt bad at first, then it caused me to switch over to just enjoying my hair without obsessing over length.

Now instead, I "obsess" over improving my regimen. Lol. In my MIND I know there's no such thing as the "perfect" regimen, but every time I make a change and my regimen gets better, I think . . . "That was amazing. Now what if I were to . . ."

Lol. I try to slow things down by picking a regimen to focus on for a month or quarter and then allowing myself only so many tweaks. My problem is when I'm gearing up for the new quarter's regimen. I trial a little too much at that point.

Otherwise, I'm feeling good about my hair journey. It used to really stress me out. Now it's a fun hobby.

 

[silverlotus]

Unfortunately I don't live in the US so all of my purchases are risky behaviours lol.

How long is your hair now?

It’s short lol. I have a tapered cut and it’s about 6 inches in front, 3 in the back. Still not long enough to get into a puff. I’m still at a twa, especially with shrinkage. My one year anniversary is coming up in June.

 

[silverlotus]

All of the women with my hair type (4b) who have super long hair have simple regimens with simple products. Furthermore they keep their hair moisturized, sealed with something heavy, stretched and have their ends tucked away 90% of the time. I've been implementing these things in my own journey and it has gotten me much further along than I've ever gotten before. The only downside is I have no idea how to do anything extravagant with my natural hair. If it doesn't involve moisturizing, sealing and protective styling, I don't know about it

This is the secret to growing all types of hair imo. This is basically how I grew my hair relaxed. Complicated regimens give me an anxiety attack just thinking about them lol. Hair needs to be moisturized and protected, that’s all.

 

[YvetteWithJoy]

This is the secret to growing all types of hair imo. This is basically how I grew my hair relaxed. Complicated regimens give me an anxiety attack just thinking about them lol. Hair needs to be moisturized and protected, that’s all.

I can only do the two steps of moisturizing and protecting if I'm in crochet braids. Even then I would really miss cleansing my scalp, though I guess if forced I could skip it.

Otherwise, if my hair is not put away in crochet braids, I must add the steps of cleansing, deep conditioning, and protein treating. I have tried skipping protein in the name of simplicity. Bad news for fine, hipo hair. And I don't know any Type 4 naturals who can bypass detangling.

So at minimum, I'm at

Cleanse
Treat as needed
Deep condition as needed
Detangle
Moisturize
Apply styler and style the hair

I can't get down to just two steps. I wonder if people can grow their hair long with those 6 steps.

 

[silverlotus]

I can only do the two steps of moisturizing and protecting if I'm in crochet braids. Even then I would really miss cleansing my scalp, though I guess if forced I could skip it.

Otherwise, if my hair is not put away in crochet braids, I must add the steps of cleansing, deep conditioning, and protein treating. I have tried skipping protein in the name of simplicity. Bad news for fine, hipo hair. And I don't know any Type 4 naturals who can bypass detangling.

So at minimum, I'm at

Cleanse
Treat as needed
Deep condition as needed
Detangle
Moisturize
Apply styler and style the hair

I can't get down to just two steps. I wonder if people can grow their hair long with those 6 steps.

I should’ve said protein/moisture balance, but I took cleansing, detangling, etc as a given. My regimen relaxed was once a week:
1. Shampoo
2. DC
3. Detangle
4. Moisturize & seal

I styled in a bun always, and about once every 4-6 weeks, I did a protein treatment before DCing. My relaxed hair was fine, hi-po. Moisturizing and sealing was done daily or at least every other day. My hair went from APL to WL in about 2-2.5 years. I had a very simple regimen and didn’t switch up products once I found what I liked.

I think anybody can grow their hair with cleanse, detangle, d/c (or appropriate treatment), and then a proper moisturizer & sealant as needed. Some naturals do no-poo but idk much about that. After shoulder length, ends optimally need to be protected from air exposure & friction w/ protective styles.

As far as wearing the hair in out styles after SL when it can rub on clothes, etc, I have no idea what growth would be like natural because I’m not there yet. Relaxed, I got more breakage after WL wearing braidouts all the time, but mostly from knots snapping off my ends. No clue how that works as a natural, but I assume wash & go’s and unstretched styles cause more knots and therefore breakage.

Anyway, what I personally am not a fan of for myself are growth aids, complicated regimens, and switching up products all the time. The people with the longest hair have the most basic regimens that prioritize moisture and carefully protect their ends. That’s been my own personal experience. Ends can’t break off if they’re moist and hidden.

 

[I Am So Blessed]

Thank you hun!!! Fifty years old today!
Happy birthday to the other ladies here as well!

50! Let the fun begin!

Or as my Grandmother would say "roll that beautiful bean footage!!"

Commercial quote Lol!

 

[I Am So Blessed]

Measurement from month to month.

Finding out felt bad at first, then it caused me to switch over to just enjoying my hair without obsessing over length.

Now instead, I "obsess" over improving my regimen. Lol. In my MIND I know there's no such thing as the "perfect" regimen, but every time I make a change and my regimen gets better, I think . . . "That was amazing. Now what if I were to . . ."

Lol. I try to slow things down by picking a regimen to focus on for a month or quarter and then allowing myself only so many tweaks. My problem is when I'm gearing up for the new quarter's regimen. I trial a little too much at that point.

Otherwise, I'm feeling good about my hair journey. It used to really stress me out. Now it's a fun hobby.

@ the bolded: AND it shows! That you are having fun!

Eta: But I think perhaps you could be growing more but, just don't take a rest to notice.

Ok maybe not.

 

[PJaye]

I should’ve said protein/moisture balance, but I took cleansing, detangling, etc as a given. My regimen relaxed was once a week:
1. Shampoo
2. DC
3. Detangle
4. Moisturize & seal

I styled in a bun always, and about once every 4-6 weeks, I did a protein treatment before DCing. My relaxed hair was fine, hi-po. Moisturizing and sealing was done daily or at least every other day. My hair went from APL to WL in about 2-2.5 years. I had a very simple regimen and didn’t switch up products once I found what I liked.

I think anybody can grow their hair with cleanse, detangle, d/c (or appropriate treatment), and then a proper moisturizer & sealant as needed. Some naturals do no-poo but idk much about that. After shoulder length, ends optimally need to be protected from air exposure & friction w/ protective styles.

As far as wearing the hair in out styles after SL when it can rub on clothes, etc, I have no idea what growth would be like natural because I’m not there yet. Relaxed, I got more breakage after WL wearing braidouts all the time, but mostly from knots snapping off my ends. No clue how that works as a natural, but I assume wash & go’s and unstretched styles cause more knots and therefore breakage.

Anyway, what I personally am not a fan of for myself are growth aids, complicated regimens, and switching up products all the time. The people with the longest hair have the most basic regimens that prioritize moisture and carefully protect their ends. That’s been my own personal experience. Ends can’t break off if they’re moist and hidden.

I wholeheartedly agree with this. I grew my hair from SL to HL in three years by sticking to a simple formula that mimics the one you outlined above: clean it, fully detangle it, DC the hell out of it, keep it healthy and strong by maintaining balance, use a creamy LI and oil as finishing products, air dry it . For me, it was more important to have a ridiculously fly ponytail than wearing all kinds of hairstyles. IMO, nothing beats a MBL ponytail. Nuthin' (unless it's a HL ponytail ), and in order to achieve that ponytail, I kept things simple and straightforward. There's no need for special additives and complex routines. Keeping the hair moisturized, strong and balanced is all that's required.

IMO, the keys to success lie in finding the most effective DC and proteins for one's hair. Once a person has these two criterion locked in, the rest of it all falls into place. They could apply crisco and baby lotion to it and their hair would prosper. Plus, most issues that arise, from breakage and excessive shedding to dryness, tangles and knotting, can be traced to faulty and/or ineffective DCs and protein usage. For years, I couldn't find a good shampoo, but my hair thrived in spite of it because I had great DCs and proteins in my arsenal. This, coupled with keeping one's ends tucked away as much as possible, is all it takes...IMO.