Ask a long haired natural

[MissMeWithThatIsh]

Lauryn, i still consider naturals who BKT as natural but idk too much about it...is it permanent? My bff back home did the twirl bun when she had natural WL hair and I probably can too when I get there but I can't remember how big it was.

It's not permanent, think of it like a "rinse" or a coat of nail polish for your hair... the better you apply and protect it, the longer it lasts, but as with all temporary things, it will wear down with time. Every application "refreshes" it.

 

[I Am So Blessed]

Hey I was in your fotki earlier drooling over all that hair. Do you buy the normal sized bottles or larger salon sizes? How long can you make them last before having to repurchase products?

i buy normal size bottles. one bottle last me about two weeks. thanks so much for the compliment. it also depends on how fast your hair drinks up the product.

 

[Miss AJ]

It's not permanent, think of it like a "rinse" or a coat of nail polish for your hair... the better you apply and protect it, the longer it lasts, but as with all temporary things, it will wear down with time. Every application "refreshes" it.

Hmmm...I have a feeling if my hair gets overwhelming as it gets longer I may want to do something like that and was considering texlaxing but im too scared of overprocessing and having to shave it all off...and yes I will shave it all off cuz I will be damned if I transition a 3rd time lol. So if i did a couple treatments and decided I wanted to stop, would I still have my natural curl pattern?

 

[MissMeWithThatIsh]

Do any of you (long haired naturals) use protective styles or did you to get to where you are now? I love wearing twists but with 3 kids (my 2 youngest are 3 and the other 8 mos) it's hard to spend hours on my hair. So lately I've been doing w-n-g's and pony/puffs.

I'm very wig happy.. I like it because they're cheap to replace, but if anything I can still remove them at the end of the day!

 

[Miss AJ]

i buy normal size bottles. one bottle last me about two weeks. thanks so much for the compliment. it also depends on how fast your hair drinks up the product.

2 weeks?! I'm heavy handed too so I know I'm gonna be some distributor's dream buying swimming pool sized containers of products when my hair gets longer lol. I bet she won't even remember but I'm gonna ask my mom how much she used on my hair when I was younger.

 

[CarolinaGal]

Responses in blue below.

Idk if this has been done before but instead of bombarding all my inspirations inboxes with elevendy billion PMs lol I figured it would be easier to ask general questions here and all the long haired nappies can chime in where they see fit! Alright I'm gonna go first:


1. Is it difficult to deal with long (APL and longer) natural hair?
For me past SL has been easier than anything b/c I am anti hair fuss and with the length I can do quick styles. I just do buns 90-95% of the time. If I want a glamorous look, I just put on a wig (the wig has to be curly to hide the lumps that my hair makes under it)

2. Do you go through a ton of products?
Not since I found the right products for my hair. I don't go by hair type, but my hair is fine yet dense.

3. If you are military or know a long haired napp in the military, how do you (or they) stay within regulation? I'm Air Force and for women the bulk of the hairstyle cannot exceed 3 inches(an example, I wore buns when my hair was long so my bun is not allowed to stick out further than 3 inches from my head). My ultimate goal is WL and my hair is thick so im not sure if it would even be possible for me to keep WL hair.
Since my hair is fine, I can wrap it and pin it down. Can you try a figure 8 at the nape? That way, the hair is spread out instead of sticking straight out.

 

[Miss AJ]

bumping for those who aren't night owls lol

 

[JustKiya]

I guess I'm a longhaired natural.

1. Is it difficult to deal with long (APL and longer) natural hair?

Not at all. For me, it actually seems to be easier than with shorter hair. I tend to wear my hair in stretched (but not heated) styles - and the longer my hair is, the easier it is to stretch it all in a 'single' block, vs having to do smaller blocks. Al long as my hair stays stretched, it's super easier to detangle. Soooooo. I find it easier, much easier.

2. Do you go through a ton of products?
Hrm. I go through a lot of conditioner. I use about - 12-16 oz a week - and I only do my hair once a week. I use a lot less of everything else - I'd say I use under 3 oz of everything else per 'session'......

3. I don't know anyone in the military, but - well, it really depends on your hair. I've got 'big' hair - when it's loose. But it's very, very, very compact-able - I can squish it all into a very small space, because most of the size is from the kinks & air. I really don't have THAT much hair. So, a lot of tightly bunned/twisted styles would allow me to keep my hair within that size.....

 

[LadyPaniolo]

Well, I texlaxex once my hair reached a bit past APL, but I do recall what it was like at that time. I did use a lot of product... my hair is very thick. Did it take lots of time... yeah. That's the cost of doing business when you are a long haired natural (I'm 4a).

I have no plans of cutting off the texlaxed hair, but I don't think I'll texlax again either.

 

[Southernbella.]

1. Is it difficult to deal with long (APL and longer) natural hair? Not really. I wash in twists now and go through more product, but other than that, no.

2. Do you go through a ton of products? Yes.

 

[ceebee3]

I guess I'm a longhaired natural.


2. Do you go through a ton of products?
Hrm. I go through a lot of conditioner. I use about - 12-16 oz a week - and I only do my hair once a week. I use a lot less of everything else - I'd say I use under 3 oz of everything else per 'session'......

Thank you so much for that. I was wondering how much product I would need as a natural. Right now I use 5-6 ozs. to saturate my hair and I'm only shoulder length.

I figured out how much I use when I purchased an 8 oz bottle of conditioner and used most of it on the first go round.

I guess I should be prepared to use more as my hair gets longer. Thank goodness my hair responds well to cheap conditioner.

 

[LynnieB]

Idk if this has been done before but instead of bombarding all my inspirations inboxes with elevendy billion PMs lol I figured it would be easier to ask general questions here and all the long haired nappies can chime in where they see fit! Alright I'm gonna go first:

1. Is it difficult to deal with long (APL and longer) natural hair?

Not really. Since growth doesn't happen overnight, you automatically find yourself making little adjustments as you go along. I also agree that styling gets easier and you have more options but it definitely takes little longer to do.

2. Do you go through a ton of products?

Not as much as you'd think really and not as much as I'd thought it would. Out of the stuff in my stash, conditioners see the most action. Even then, any conditioners I use are almost always diluted with some kind of water since they're either used on soaking wet head or misted on the hair to help with detangling so I can get a lot done using less product. Deep conditioners are exceptions though and get used straight up, no chasers.

3. If you are military or know a long haired napp in the military, how do you (or they) stay within regulation? I'm Air Force and for women the bulk of the hairstyle cannot exceed 3 inches(an example, I wore buns when my hair was long so my bun is not allowed to stick out further than 3 inches from my head). My ultimate goal is WL and my hair is thick so im not sure if it would even be possible for me to keep WL hair.

My hair's thick and dense too and the only way I can squish my hair into a tiny space is to either blow it dry and plait it or to straighten it.

I'd think that if you could (or have someone else) cornrow or flat twist the hair around your head like a low crown, you could then wrap the rest of the hair braid or twist along the main braid then tuck in the end with bobby pins and secure with bobby pins.

I guess the bottom line is you'll have to experiment to see what will work for you.

Wishing you much success with your hair goals!!

 

[BostonMaria]

LynnieB, your hair is just gawgeous

 

[SEMO]

1. Is it difficult to deal with long (APL and longer) natural hair?

Because of shrinkage, not really. Now when my hair is straightened that's another matter. I'm not used to dealing with it in that form very often and be somewhat unwieldy. But I would still say my hair is mostly very easy to care for.

2. Do you go through a ton of products?

Not really. At least in my opinion I don't. I don't think I'm heavy-handed with my products and don't feel like I use much more than I did when I was relaxed.

3. If you are military or know a long haired napp in the military, how do you (or they) stay within regulation?

I'm not in the military.

Do any of you (long haired naturals) use protective styles or did you to get to where you are now? I love wearing twists but with 3 kids (my 2 youngest are 3 and the other 8 mos) it's hard to spend hours on my hair. So lately I've been doing w-n-g's and pony/puffs.

Well, I guess you can say I used protective styling to get me where I am today. I wore a lot of ponytails and buns especially. It keeps my ends protected and I'm able to maintain the growth that I achieve.

 

[LynnieB]

LynnieB, your hair is just gawgeous

Thank-you BostonMaria, so is yours!!!

 

[Miss AJ]

bumping again!!! i know there are more questions than this! lol

 

[Urban]

1. Is it difficult to deal with long (APL and longer) natural hair?

I don't consider my hair long at all, but it is longer than APL. I don't think it's any more difficult than when my hair was shorter. I think it just takes me a little longer to get it done ... plaiting etc.


2. Do you go through a ton of products?

I'm pretty heavy handed when it comes to conditioner. But I don't think it's a lot on LHCF standards. I think generally people out there use like one dollop of conditioner. I use a good palmful (I have small hands! lol) or two. More if I'm going to be combing.

 

[I Am So Blessed]

Miss AJ i wish you great success in your hair growing journey...you will love having love hair, lol the down side to natural long hair is shrinkage!! you will go from mbl to neck length if your caught in the rain lol. Happy hair growing!!

 

[Miss AJ]

Miss AJ i wish you great success in your hair growing journey...you will love having love hair, lol the down side to natural long hair is shrinkage!! you will go from mbl to neck length if your caught in the rain lol. Happy hair growing!!

My natural hair isn't foreign to me at all lol. I was natural until my sophomore year in high school, began transitioning during the summer right before senior year, BCed a week before my senior prom and stayed natural for 2 years, relaxed again for 10 months, transitioned for 5 and then chopped for the last time in August '09. I haven't seen my super long hair since I was about 11 years old and I'm dying to have it back, no chemicals in it, just the way my mommy had it and should have MADE me keep it lol.

 

[I Am So Blessed]

now, thats whats up!!

 

[Miss AJ]

Hopefully with 3 years of consistent good care, my hair can get on YO hair's level lol

 

[BostonMaria]

My natural hair isn't foreign to me at all lol. I was natural until my sophomore year in high school, began transitioning during the summer right before senior year, BCed a week before my senior prom and stayed natural for 2 years, relaxed again for 10 months, transitioned for 5 and then chopped for the last time in August '09. I haven't seen my super long hair since I was about 11 years old and I'm dying to have it back, no chemicals in it, just the way my mommy had it and should have MADE me keep it lol.

Wow! that's alot of back and forth! Did you get bored or were you not sure what you wanted?

BTW I never really thought about shrinkage when I finally did the BC. In Jan 2009 I was shoulder length curly. By Dec 2009 I was... shoulder length curly! In the meantime I gained 6 inches of hair and you couldn't tell

 

[testimony777]

Hi! This is a good idea. Flowerhair started a thread similar to this for ladies WL and beyond and I have found that thread very helpful.

1. Is it difficult to deal with long (APL and longer) natural hair? I have worn my hair every length from 1cm long to WL. I have to say that the easiest lengths to care for were extremely short (1cm- 1.5 in) and long (BSL or longer stretched). For me long hair requires the least amount of work because I don't have to do anything to it daily for it to look presentable. When my hair was short, I didn't have to do much but I did have to wet it everyday and put in some type of styler (gel or conditioner).

2. Do you go through a ton of products? Yes and no, I go through a lot of conditioner. I detangle with conditioner twice a week (once on wash day and once mid week) so I end up purchasing conditioner about twice a month. As far as other things I use in my hair (shampoo, coconut oil, vegitable glycerin, KCCC) I don't use much of those at all.

I am not in the military so I can't help there.

HTH .

 

[I Am So Blessed]

i with you on that bostonMaria. i could gain 10 inches and shrinkage takes the joy all away like a thief!!!!!

 

[Miss AJ]

I think I have my military hair problem solved. I can compact it pretty good when it is wet so once I hit full APL I'll be wet bunning, and on dry hair I'll just stretch it and take a previous poster's advice and make a bun that lays flat rather than sticks out.

 

[Miss AJ]

Wow! that's alot of back and forth! Did you get bored or were you not sure what you wanted?

BTW I never really thought about shrinkage when I finally did the BC. In Jan 2009 I was shoulder length curly. By Dec 2009 I was... shoulder length curly! In the meantime I gained 6 inches of hair and you couldn't tell

The first time I relaxed was because I was young and dumb and my logic was "Hmm, the boys make fun of me because my hair is nappy, so if i get a perm they will stop and want to ask me out"....next year, silky, swangy hair...still got no play lol. After a year and a half of relaxing I grew up a bit and decided I didnt care what ppl thought and I was too unique to be looking like everybody else and i got my last relaxer July '05. fast forward to spring time of '06 and im going back and forth about my hair for prom...I did NOT want those scraggly relaxed ends hanging on to my fro and looking ridiculous so exactly 1 week before prom i did my own BC and loved it....fast forward again to May '08, i was reading horror stories on NP about negativity towards napps in the military so i scared myself into getting a relaxer in basic training because i did not want my white male T.I ripping me a new a**hole because I had a halo of frizzy hair sticking up from my supposed to be perfect bun. i kept on relaxing because i did not want to lose all my progress but i knew I would eventually go natural again but planned for a 2 year transition. between overprocessing and being scared to even comb my hair for fear of breakage was too much for me..even Aphogee 2 step couldnt help so at that point i said screw it, the health of my hair is way more important than my vanity about length, so March '09 i got my final relaxer and was anxious to be natural again....5 months later while watching big chops on YT i just grabbed the scissors to cut a section to see how it would look...liked the result and an hour later i was all natural again lol.




Deep down I always knew my natural hair was all i ever wanted, i was never ashamed of it i just put other people's opinions ahead of my own but i know in my heart that i love my natural hair entirely too much to ever make that mistake again.

 

[lalla]

1. Is it difficult to deal with long (APL and longer) natural hair?

Not really. When my hair was short I would do wash and gos and afros every day, but I was still getting used to my natural hair and experimented a lot. I spent a long time tryng to find a good detangling tool , once I bought the Denman things went smoother.
Now that it is BSL, I mostly do twists, twist outs, braid and braid outs. It seems easier because I've gotten used to it. I spend less time and money on my hair now than I used to.


2. Do you go through a ton of products?

I get 10 washes out of a 125 ml bottle of shampoo.
I use about 50g of conditioner on wash days and 15g (or so) of moisturizer every other day. I use maybe 50g of oils when I oil rinse.
I don't use much conditioner because I part and smooth my hair as I apply. Oils rinses make the hair smoother and applying the conditioner easier. I don't apply conditioner near my scalp because I tend to get build up.

3. If you are military or know a long haired napp in the military, how do you (or they) stay within regulation? I'm Air Force and for women the bulk of the hairstyle cannot exceed 3 inches(an example, I wore buns when my hair was long so my bun is not allowed to stick out further than 3 inches from my head). My ultimate goal is WL and my hair is thick so im not sure if it would even be possible for me to keep WL hair.

 

[I Am So Blessed]

the best thing is. the longer your hair gets, the easier it is to put away and protective style it.

 

[~~HoneyComb~~]

My hair is right at APL stretched.

1. Is it difficult to deal with long (APL and longer) natural hair?

Last year I grew my hair to a little past BSL and it was getting very difficult to maintain so I cut it to ear length (I had some damage from heat and using too many product with "cones"). Since then my hair has grown a lot and so far, with the method I'm using now to keep it tangle free it's been working.

I flat-twist my hair just about everyday, and when I let it out I either put it in a loose ponytail or wear it loose. This has cut down on shedding that use to come when I'd try to comb it all back in a ponytail and it would get matted.

When I wash my hair, I am careful about not disturbing the hair to much so as not to cause tangles and let the water from the shower run through my hair. I do my detangling after I get out of the shower, and will section my hair for more flat twists (about 12 for the whole head).

2. Do you go through a ton of products?

I use to go through lots of products, but not any more. I wash my hair once a week, and I use a small amount of shampoo just to cleanse the scalp, and for the length of my hair, I use a couple of large dollops, scrunch it in really good, then rinse.

I use 5 products faithfully - shampoo (any kind as long as there are on "cone"), conditioner (Sauve, always), and for styling Long Aid Curl Activator gel, or Aloe Vera Gel mixed with glycerin, and I sometimes use a leave-in Biotera.

 

[Lynnerie]

What styles did you wear to get past APL and beyond?



Did you wear protective styles or did you wear your hair out?