Do I absolutely have to wear protective styles for length?!!
- Thread starter lunabelle
- Start date
longhairluva
Active Member
I don't know if you would call me a sucess but I started out at earlength and now I am APL and I never did protective styles. My hairline and temples are too fragile. Now it did take me longer to get past shoulder but I care more a health than length so that wasn't a problem for me. I love thickness. 
june/05-may07. I had a couple of setbacks to. I slacked off for a year and I cut a lot of my hair in May07. I hate see thru ends.
FlawedBeauty
Well-Known Member
how did u wear your hair during the time you went from ear to APL?
I don't know if you would call me a sucess but I started out at earlength and now I am APL and I never did protective styles. My hairline and temples are too fragile. Now it did take me longer to get past shoulder but I care more a health than length so that wasn't a problem for me. I love thickness.
june/05-may07. I had a couple of setbacks to. I slacked off for a year and I cut a lot of my hair in May07. I hate see thru ends.
longhairluva
Active Member
wet wrapped or rollerset. Every now and then I went to the salon and got a spiral set.
Neroli
New Member
I am sorry ladies I know a lot of you all are big protective style supporters and for good reason. But I absolutely HATE wearing my hair up all the time! Are there any who have had success w/o protective styling?
I've had success without protective styling, just much slower. When I consistently wear my hair protective, I retain lenght almost 3 times as much as if I wore my hair out. That's just me . . .
If you don't like protective, don't do it, I mean, it's all about compromising the up and down side of things, like most everything else in life.
SouthernTease
New Member
Inquiring minds want to know
especially from people that are past APL...
I've been doing "pin-up-buns" for the past 4 months...
I think I've retained more lenght since my ends are
never seeing the light of day I don't have any issues
with split ends.
intergalacticartist
New Member
Your hair is GORGEOUSI don't know if you would call me a sucess but I started out at earlength and now I am APL and I never did protective styles. My hairline and temples are too fragile. Now it did take me longer to get past shoulder but I care more a health than length so that wasn't a problem for me. I love thickness.
june/05-may07. I had a couple of setbacks to. I slacked off for a year and I cut a lot of my hair in May07. I hate see thru ends.
longhairluva
Active Member
Your hair is GORGEOUS
thank you chica. I will be revealing my new length at Christmas.
karezone
Well-Known Member
IMHO, yes to get length I highly recommend protective styling and less heat. Once I did both of those, my hair really took off. I have been wearing my hair up since last October, and now my is longer than it was in 2001.
I have also limited my coloring to once a year. Every November, I am allowed to use demi-permanent color on on my hair. Before I was doing it every twelve weeks
and my hair was really breaking then.
I have also limited my coloring to once a year. Every November, I am allowed to use demi-permanent color on on my hair. Before I was doing it every twelve weeks
and my hair was really breaking then.
HoneyDew
Well-Known Member
IMHO reducing manipulation is more important than hiding the ends. If you can a style that you can reproduce each day without combing or brushing that's just as good.
Waits for Lauren450, macherieamour, or sylver2 to chime in.
Girl, you read my mind! I was thinking of the same 3 ladies.
sareca
Well-Known Member
Girl, you read my mind! I was thinking of the same 3 ladies.
Then we both forgot about lonei! 
*shhh* I won't tell if you don't. 
honeybadgirl
New Member
at 1st i didnt want to but now i really dont care anymore. it doesnt bother me at all. when i want to wear it out i do. plus my hair is so soft and since its natural, it totally puffs up if its even the slightest bit of humidity out there!! if i am considering wearing it out, i check the weather forecast 1st!
Southernbella.
Well-Known Member
Nope, I don't wear protective styles. I like to enjoy my hair, and I think I've gotten pretty good length without them.
Southernbella.
Well-Known Member
IMHO reducing manipulation is more important than hiding the ends. If you can find a style that you can reproduce each day without combing or brushing that's just as good.
Waits for Lauren450, macherieamour, or sylver2 to chime in.
ITA about manipulation. Also, keeping heat off of your ends is essential. If you aren't constantly trimming damaged ends, you can keep your length (and health).
HoneyDew
Well-Known Member
Right!
How could I forget about here! She is one of the people that encourages me to master rollersetting texlaxed hair!
SleekandBouncy
Well-Known Member
No, you don't have to, but it makes it faster.
I had to skip getting a relaxer for 6 months and during that time I wore my hair up. I went from armpit to bra strap in that time.
I don't wear protective styles on the regular, but I do try to wear my hair up when I'm home and 2x a week. I add a protective leave in to my ends only every 3 days.
I had to skip getting a relaxer for 6 months and during that time I wore my hair up. I went from armpit to bra strap in that time.
I don't wear protective styles on the regular, but I do try to wear my hair up when I'm home and 2x a week. I add a protective leave in to my ends only every 3 days.
cococutie007
Member
I like to wear my hair down (out) too. I'm APL with 1-2 more inches til BSL. My tail is like 1/2 from BSL. I wore donuts(what we called them); ladies here call them buns- a lot in the mid 90s so I do not care for them now. I used to go to the salon every 2 wks and in between that time I did nothing-not even moisturize much and definitely didn't wash it . I know much better now and stop going to the stylist in july when I found LHCF. The thing is even with me doing nothing in between salon visits my hair still grew. To make a long story short, I believe it was the rollersets. Rollersets keep your ends away from your clothes for the most part but still let you wear you hair down.
YAY rollersets now only if I could get my rollersetting down under 1.5 hours.
erplexed Still practicing though.
Do you guys consider braidouts and twistouts a protective style?? I kinda do.
. I know much better now and stop going to the stylist in july when I found LHCF. The thing is even with me doing nothing in between salon visits my hair still grew. To make a long story short, I believe it was the rollersets. Rollersets keep your ends away from your clothes for the most part but still let you wear you hair down.YAY rollersets now only if I could get my rollersetting down under 1.5 hours.
erplexed Still practicing though.Do you guys consider braidouts and twistouts a protective style?? I kinda do.
Ebony Majesty
Well-Known Member
I don't think its necessary, but I think looking after your ends (moisturising) is essential
honeybadgirl
New Member
I like to wear my hair down (out) too. I'm APL with 1-2 more inches til BSL. My tail is like 1/2 from BSL. I wore donuts(what we called them); ladies here call them buns- a lot in the mid 90s so I do not care for them now. I used to go to the salon every 2 wks and in between that time I did nothing-not even moisturize much and definitely didn't wash it
YAY rollersets now only if I could get my rollersetting down under 1.5 hours.
Do you guys consider braidouts and twistouts a protective style?? I kinda do.
i wish i could rollerset....
i tried several months ago and the ends came out pretty straight but about 6inches from the roots were puffy
i'll do a search maybe, for a how to rollerset for naturals. theres has to be one out there for us
HoneyDew
Well-Known Member
i wish i could rollerset....
i tried several months ago and the ends came out pretty straight but about 6inches from the roots were puffy
i'll do a search maybe, for a how to rollerset for naturals. theres has to be one out there for us
This is my problem! I am going to try saran wrapping it next time to see if that helps smooth things out.
neonbright
Well-Known Member
Long answer short. From 2003 to 2004 I wore my hair in various updo styles, mainly because I had wore my hair in braids for about 3 1/2 years staright and forgot how to do my hair. My hair grew fast and strong, I just happend to have a great stylist who cared. After that I moved and I started to wear it down and up sometimes, but I was abusing it a little, got a 3 inch cut and found LHCF, I am still wearing my hair down but majority of the time and my hair is growing fast, strong and long. I do the low pony when I don't want to mess with it. I can say it grows long, but faster with protective styles.
Ms.Joi
Member
You THINK it's long
oke:, No it is lol. I am glad to see that there are ladies having success without the wearing you hair up all the time. Way to go ladies.cococutie007
Member
I know when you're stretching even 2 weeks past normal, it seems like roots get a mind of their own. My roots look like
everything AFTER the newgrowth is "silky fine". I was thinking about trying macherie's technique for blowing out roots on a very low setting.
everything AFTER the newgrowth is "silky fine". I was thinking about trying macherie's technique for blowing out roots on a very low setting.I rarely wear my hair up & i will be hiting the BSL mark within a couple of months Each week I do a rollerset. As my new NG gets thicker (5-8 weeks post relaxer) I flatiron only the roots. Im sure if I wore my hair up I'd probably retain more length 
but I just make sure to keep my ends moist & dust every couple of months.
ETA: I ALWAYS keep my hair wrapped up & covered when im home & at night.
Each week I do a rollerset. As my new NG gets thicker (5-8 weeks post relaxer) I flatiron only the roots. Im sure if I wore my hair up I'd probably retain more length but I just make sure to keep my ends moist & dust every couple of months.ETA: I ALWAYS keep my hair wrapped up & covered when im home & at night.
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Vshanell
FKA Pokahontas
I think you can get good growth w/o protective styles. You just have to be extra careful with everything else you do like heat, moisturizing, combing and brushing. I never wear protective styles but I keep manipulation very low and I don't use a lot of direct heat. I haven't seen any problems and I get good growth.
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