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Do you have to protective style the rest of your life to have long hair?

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To retain long hair, do you have to proctective style indefinitely

  • No, that is totally unnecessary, after it's long, wear it as you please

    Votes: 55 36.7%

  • Yes, protective style are need to preserve those ends

    Votes: 32 21.3%

  • Who knows? may depend on your hair type

    Votes: 63 42.0%
  • Total voters
    150
  • Poll closed .
I'm going to protective style hardcore until I reach my goal, then ill wear it out more...but not so much that I lose what I worked hard for...I do believe in enjoying your hair, but since too much out time causes lots of setbacks for me, I've decided to really take care.
 
Girlfriend, let me just say I'm anti-protective styling and I've gotten my hair to my waist SEVERAL times. I refuse to wear braids, weaves and wigs cause you know why? God gave me this hair and I'm gonna show it off, not some crap from India. The key to growing hair long and healthy is proper nourishment~~inside and outside. The proper hair products and the proper care like satin pillows or bonnets. If you need a lil extra moisture in the air for winter months, get a humidifier or vaporizer for your home. Oh and let me just say, finding the proper stylist helps. Any nut who wants to trim your hair every 6 weeks is on crack. Just do the math. You trimming every 6 weeks and your hair grows half an inch a month!!!! When you meet stylists like that, run!
 
My plan is to protectively style until goal length and then wear my hair out more, but honestly, I think that for alot of people, when you actually get to goal length, PSing will be more of a convenience than anything. I can't imagine wearing WL+ hair out everyday without killing myself, clumsy as I am.
And when you can't get your hair to act right, it's nice to know that there's always the option to put it in a nice bun.

I've never understood why people see PSing as this huge chore.
 
Chaosbutterfly said:
My plan is to protectively style until goal length and then wear my hair out more, but honestly, I think that for alot of people, when you actually get to goal length, PSing will be more of a convenience than anything. I can't imagine wearing WL+ hair out everyday without killing myself, clumsy as I am.
And when you can't get your hair to act right, it's nice to know that there's always the option to put it in a nice bun.

I've never understood why people see PSing as this huge chore.
Click to expand...

This.

For me wearing my hair out is a chore, with the tangles and knots those out styles cause. I don't know, but my guess is naturals are more likely to PS and those who are relaxed are more likely to wear their hair out...
 
Chaosbutterfly said:
My plan is to protectively style until goal length and then wear my hair out more, but honestly, I think that for alot of people, when you actually get to goal length, PSing will be more of a convenience than anything. I can't imagine wearing WL+ hair out everyday without killing myself, clumsy as I am.
And when you can't get your hair to act right, it's nice to know that there's always the option to put it in a nice bun.

I've never understood why people see PSing as this huge chore.
Click to expand...

What is funny is that after I BC'd I use to think like this. The longer my hair gets the more 'fun' PSing seems to be. I no longer see it as a chore (only in the winter where I am baggying under my hats:look:). But I am finding that bunning, twists, etc are becoming more beautiful with length therefore PS are starting to become my style of choice.

To be realistic, it would be a hassle to wear long hair down everyday, but thats just me.
 
AimWard said:
Judging from my own hair, I think low manipulation and little to no heat is the key. I wear my hair out 95% of the time. The only time I protective style is when... Well... My hair needs to be protected. I twist it when I go to sleep and I put it up in a clip when I workout (or do anything that would cause damage). That's the only protective styling I do and I'm at WL stretched (and it didn't take me 10 years to get there). We tend to forget that the purpose of hair is for warmth and protection. It's the brain and spinal cord's first line of defense. Being bossy and cute is just an added benefit.
Click to expand...


I like the way you think! LOL...

For me, I have nothing against protective styling. I have worn twists for days at a time, but I like the way I look when I wear my hair out. Maybe it's just a matter of finding some PS styles that I like...I'll have to look into it...
 
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No, I am living proof that you don't have to protective style to have long hair. My thinking is that life is too short not to enjoy my hair. Say I bun every day to get to BSL. Then what? I want to get to MBL, so I keep bunning. Then I hit MBL and...you guessed it, more protective styling to get to the next goal. No ma'am.:nono:

To each her own, but I'm willing to sacrifice quick growth and retention for beauty. If not protective styling means retaining .25 inches a month instead of .5, so be it. :yep:
 
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My problem is finding the motivation to protective style again. I feel super homely when I wear my hair in a bun. Now I love braidouts and have wore them 99% of the time. I just need to find some cute ps that suit face.
 
For me, protective styling (e.g. buns, messy updos) EQUALS enjoying my hair.:grin: As a bonus, I retain length much better than when I wear my hair down 7 days a week.

I have an active lifestyle, and I can't stand my hair being in the way. I'm glad that it is finally long enough to do some "substantial" styles, and I look forward to playing around with them for the rest of my life.

As a poster mentioned earlier, I also love the WOW effect that I get when I do wear my hair down. :grin:
 
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To answer the question, no, but everyone's hair is different. No protective styling for me, but my hair doesn't need to be babied.
 
I chose who knows... See I look at it like you have to protective style to "get" long healthy hair BUT you don't have to do it to "have" long hair. So in other words once you reach your goal just maintain and keep it moving.
 
I say no (depending on your hair). I think protecting your hair at night is important but i don't think you have to constantly hide your hair in a bun. My hair has been much healthier since I STOPPED protective styling. I found that wearing buns and ponytails on a regular basis was more manipulation than my hair could handle. I got really into buns a few years ago and while my hair grew to about WL I ended up cutting it all off because by ends were terrible and I got frustrated.

I revisited the tightly curly method and have been wearing my hair down 90% of the time for the past year with great results. Wash and goes set once a week, gentle detangling and regular trims have helped me get back to the length I was at before when I was PS daily but with full healthy ends. And now I enjoy my hair however, it is styled. I love wearing it down. But when it gets on my nerves or I am just in the mood for something different I love being able to throw it up in a messy bun (or when I feel like it a more polished up style).

I say enjoy your hair at whatever length you are at. Keep it moisturized, handle it gently (if needed) and let it do what it do :yep: You will see length and more importantly you will enjoy the journey.
 
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Southernbella. said:
No, I am living proof that you don't have to protective style to have long hair. My thinking is that life is too short not to enjoy my hair. Say I bun every day to get to BSL. Then what? I want to get to MBL, so I keep bunning. Then I hit MBL and...you guessed it, more protective styling to get to the next goal. No ma'am.:nono:

To each her own, but I'm willing to sacrifice quick growth and retention for beauty. If not protective styling means retaining .25 inches a month instead of .5, so be it. :yep:
Click to expand...

I thought the same thing for years until I realized years have gone by and my hair was still SL. I wasn't retaining anything.

Sent from my ADR6350 using ADR6350
 
I used twists, bantu knots, braids, puff to get hair to SL. As it grew past SL and started to catch on things, I switched to a single braid. I love one braid because it is easy to maintain for daily swims. KISS and KIM :yahoo:
 
I prefer my hair in buns so it is not a big deal for me however, I do feel that having fine strands means that I'd have to protective style to prevent breakage, even if I didn't want to.
 
I have fine hair. For the first two years of my hair journey I PS around the clock. This year, not so much. I only trim twice a year and that hasn't changed. I'm paranoid about breakage and haven't seen any out of the ordinary.

I think that it is more important to maintain protein, moisture, and (if you are texturized or natural) keep your ends stretched out. Also keep your ends moisturized/sealed. I think PS is most important at SL as there is more rubbing/contact than at longer lengths.
 
I know that when I reach a certain point where I'm truly satisfied with the length and thickness of my hair, I will stop protective styling regularly. If I don't retain growth or retain just a little, that'd be fine by me because I would've already reached my hair goals. I didn't do as much PSing last year as I did this year and I still managed to maintain a couple of inches, so who knows? Though I think the need to have healthy hair would intice me to PS even when I didn't need to. :lol:
 
Southernbella. said:
No, I am living proof that you don't have to protective style to have long hair. My thinking is that life is too short not to enjoy my hair. Say I bun every day to get to BSL. Then what? I want to get to MBL, so I keep bunning. Then I hit MBL and...you guessed it, more protective styling to get to the next goal. No ma'am.:nono:

To each her own, but I'm willing to sacrifice quick growth and retention for beauty. If not protective styling means retaining .25 inches a month instead of .5, so be it. :yep:
Click to expand...
This is the exact approach I take with my haircare journey. Totally agree.
 
My strands are too fine. I think that if a woman had long hair before LHCF/without paying any attention to growth and retention, then psing is probably not significant for that woman's hair.

Sent from my LS670 using LS670
 
I agree with others that you should enjoy your hair sometimes even if its at the expense of growth retention. I think you can utilize protective styles often until you reach your goals, but afterwards you should definitely be able to enjoy your hair (within reason. I think you always need to limit heat styling in order to maintain healthy hair)

My advice would be to enjoy your hair along the way. I've seen many ladies on this board who protective style all the time by bunning and baggying constantly, who are not retaining 4-6 inches a year. I think protective styling works, but you don't have to be hardcore with it. Enjoy your hair thoughout your journey.
 
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I only ps when I don't want to deal with my hair..I may wear a bun for a week or two out of laziness..my hair only suffers from heat I have flat ironed my hair more this year than any other year and I have more splits breakage and ssk..I can't live in buns, twists and braids..I don't even wear twists and braids cause they look juvenile on me..so I just enjoy my hair...baby it when it needs attention and rock it how I want..the length will come..


Sent from my iPhone using LHCF
 
I'm going with it depends on hair type. My hair is insanely fine. I just flatironed this past week and while my hair was down it breaking on everything. My clothes, coat, etc. I washed after 4 days to make sure I didn't have a setbakc. I think some people can grow their hair without ps'ing because of the thickness of their strands (*ahem* my sister, for example). However, if you're like me, it's not happening.

Besides, I love buns and such. Not all protective styles are ugly. I rock some awesome styles lol
 
my goal is APL and for me it appears that the ONLY way I'm going to make it is thru protective styling. however I only bun monday thru friday and on weekends I wear my hair out/down. but I like bunning only because I don't care for hair in my face or rubbing against my neck...so when i wear my curls I have them pinned up anyway. some women don't have to protective style at all which is awesome. but I think to some degree even when you reach your goal you still have to take care of your lovely hair :)
 
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