4b/ 4c Naturals Growth Thread

Having color allows me to really see how much my hair grows. As I suspected it's slower than the standard half inch a month. Only by a little bit though. And because I'm not about that biotin vitamin life I'll just focus on eating better lol.

Other than that my desire to cut has faded especially since during my color appointment she fixed my shape so it's less awkward stage looking.

Haven't used shampoo since mid October. Still cowashing every 4ish days. Outside of the finger coils I did for Thanksgiving, I'm just doing wash and gos.
 
Trying to figure out what I should do from here. My hair texture is 4b. I've only been wearing my hair natural for a year, before that I either blowdried & flat ironed every week (which destroyed my hair) or wore a sew in (which helped me retain some decent length).

For the last year I've basically washed weekly and wore a twist out. Love my twist outs, but the single strand knots are getting out of control so I'm having to trim too much and clearly am not going to be able to retain much length if I keep doing them.

Blow dried this weekend and the length of my hair was surprisingly very healthy and full with few broken pieces, so I guess I've been doing something right. The ends are kind of a mess though, uneven due to trimming in it's natural state and tangly.

I'm around APL stretched now, the goal is waist. I guess protective styling might be my only option. I love wearing my hair out, but I guess I can PS for a while until I get to my goal then wear it out more and maintain at that length. I recently discovered knotless box braids on YT, think I’m going to try those soon.
 
syrk said:
Trying to figure out what I should do from here. My hair texture is 4b. I've only been wearing my hair natural for a year, before that I either blowdried & flat ironed every week (which destroyed my hair) or wore a sew in (which helped me retain some decent length).

For the last year I've basically washed weekly and wore a twist out. Love my twist outs, but the single strand knots are getting out of control so I'm having to trim too much and clearly am not going to be able to retain much length if I keep doing them.

Blow dried this weekend and the length of my hair was surprisingly very healthy and full with few broken pieces, so I guess I've been doing something right. The ends are kind of a mess though, uneven due to trimming in it's natural state and tangly.

I'm around APL stretched now, the goal is waist. I guess protective styling might be my only option. I love wearing my hair out, but I guess I can PS for a while until I get to my goal then wear it out more and maintain at that length. I recently discovered knotless box braids on YT, think I’m going to try those soon.
Click to expand...


Have you tried doing more low manipulation styles? I loooove a good twist out but it can be taxing on your hair to have it out all the time. I have switched to wearing two strand twists during the week and a twist out on the weekends/events. Also to help retain length and help your ends get you some Shea butter!!! I thought it’d be too heavy for my hair but just whip it enough and it’s won’t be. My hair drinks it up now and even my hair stylist commented on how my hair is thriving and how healthy my ends looked recently. Check out the Shea Butter thread — @Chicoro has a great ends routine. *slids some Shea Butter to a sis in need*
 
SunkissedLife said:
Have you tried doing more low manipulation styles? I loooove a good twist out but it can be taxing on your hair to have it out all the time. I have switched to wearing two strand twists during the week and a twist out on the weekends/events. Also to help retain length and help your ends get you some Shea butter!!! I thought it’d be too heavy for my hair but just whip it enough and it’s won’t be. My hair drinks it up now and even my hair stylist commented on how my hair is thriving and how healthy my ends looked recently. Check out the Shea Butter thread — @Chicoro has a great ends routine. *slids some Shea Butter to a sis in need*
Click to expand...

Thank you! I haven't tried Shea butter on my ends, I will definitely get some and check out the thread. I've been using castor oil for the past year but it's so sticky, I think it makes my ends tangle even more. Shea Butter might work better.

I know I should do more low manipulation =/. Twists during the week and a twistout on the weekends is a great idea. My twists shrink so much though which is why I never wear them out. I bought some marley hair recently, maybe I'll do some marley twists to give my twists some length and put my hair away for a while. I do think I'm going to commit to protective styling for the next year and see where that gets me.

I also had an idea last night to PS with a sew-in with some kinky hair. I'd leave my perimeter out all around, sew the hair in the middle and just wear it in a huge puff all the time. I grew my hair from collarbone to a thick full WSL in college with sew-ins so I think I could do it again.

Ideas, ideas :spinning:. Thank you for the advice! Going off to check out the Shea Butter thread...
 
syrk said:
Thank you! I haven't tried Shea butter on my ends, I will definitely get some and check out the thread. I've been using castor oil for the past year but it's so sticky, I think it makes my ends tangle even more. Shea Butter might work better.

I know I should do more low manipulation =/. Twists during the week and a twistout on the weekends is a great idea. My twists shrink so much though which is why I never wear them out. I bought some marley hair recently, maybe I'll do some marley twists to give my twists some length and put my hair away for a while. I do think I'm going to commit to protective styling for the next year and see where that gets me.

I also had an idea last night to PS with a sew-in with some kinky hair. I'd leave my perimeter out all around, sew the hair in the middle and just wear it in a huge puff all the time. I grew my hair from collarbone to a thick full WSL in college with sew-ins so I think I could do it again.

Ideas, ideas :spinning:. Thank you for the advice! Going off to check out the Shea Butter thread...
Click to expand...

You could pin the twists during the week in a cute updo instead of wearing them out. :)
 
metro_qt said:
i'm seeing a lot of tea rinses, @Aggie.. what are the benefits?
is it only for shedding or anything else?
Click to expand...
@metro_qt

Yes they are pretty helpful in making hair healthy, shiny and strong plus enhances it's growth as well. The black tea I used for controlling shedding but the others were for growth and strength. I have so many other herbs in my stash and taking my time using them up in tea rinses.
 
Aggie said:
@metro_qt

Yes they are pretty helpful in making hair healthy, shiny and strong plus enhances it's growth as well. The black tea I used for controlling shedding but the others were for growth and strength. I have so many other herbs in my stash and taking my time using them up in tea rinses.
Click to expand...

I think that in the new year, I'm going to look into tea rinses. They sound promising.
 
I just washed my hair and my always feel like Velcro when wet - dry and they are find. I know my ends are old, but I’ve already trimmed and don’t want to trim again. Can I salvage my ends without cutting? Olaplex maybe? I will do an Aphogee Treatment next wash day (overdue), but I know the results will last only a few weeks.
 
blazingbeauty said:
I just washed my hair and my always feel like Velcro when wet - dry and they are find. I know my ends are old, but I’ve already trimmed and don’t want to trim again. Can I salvage my ends without cutting? Olaplex maybe? I will do an Aphogee Treatment next wash day (overdue), but I know the results will last only a few weeks.
Click to expand...
Do you moisturize and seal your ends with a butter? S curl and melted Shea butter always give my ends new life. You can also add some silk amino acids to your ends to help them feel smooth
 
I have a few conditioners that I need to finish using up so I combined many of them in an APB empties jar and added some Banyan Botanicals bhringraj oil to it and put the mixture on my dry hair as a prepoo for about an hour.

I will continue to use these conditioners up this way until they are all done. It will take a very long time to use them up because I have quite a few in my stash.

I like this bhringraj oil. It keeps me relaxed and keeps my scalp cool.
 
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