OP, I know EXACTLY what stage you mean because I myself am just
barely coming out of it.
It feels like it lasts forever!
What I did was stayed in braids for six months out of the last year (in two month intervals) and just sprayed my hair everyday, washed every two weeks, and slept with a scarf. Everytime I took my hair down, I noticed how much it's grown!
You def have to be careful if you have thin/brittle hair though because tight braids can break hair off.
When I was out of braids, I did coils, braids, twists, bantu knots, everything I could think of to keep it stretched. I literally
just did a series of posts on these
:
http://curlypop.blogspot.com/ And a headband was my best friend! I have a weird, floppy afro (my sides have a looser texture, so it tends to hang more while the crown is very undefined/kinky) so unless I pull it back off my face, it looks off.
I also exercised and took vitamins for about the last two-three months.
ETA: I know all this stuff sounds like I was crazy about hair growth, but I swear it was a holistic approach.
I was exercising for the summer/beach season, taking vits for skin, and eating better for health. I kept braids because I'm a student and way too lazy to do anything with my hair.