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

[Evolving78]

i think i may have to go the protective style route to during the winter, since my hair was catching on everything and if i don't, i will have my hands in it too much, putting products and trying to style it. i don't have hair that i can just get up and go. i really want health and length this coming year. i don't care about protective styles or low manipulation if i was rocking shorter lengths.

 

[Bublin]

In my experience the overuse/abuse of heat and protien overload have caused major setbacks for me - not whether i protective style or not.

In the 2 years that i have been fully natural i only cottoned onto the heat usage 4 months ago (i do not use heat at all now) and realised i was overdosing on protein just this past week.

Protective styles just look so juvenille on me and i actually manipulate my hair far more than when i wear my hair in braid-outs. My protective styles only last one day, so have to be re-done and a whole head of twists look very fuzzy after just a few days so all the manipulation to do them is not worth it.

 

[Oasis]

i don't PS for protection. i only do it because i'm a lazy *** and my hair is not and has never been a priority.

i'm very lax with it. sometimes i'll wear my hair in twists for weeks at a time because i don't feel like doing it and then i'll wear it in a matted bun for weeks because i don't feel like doing it. i base my styles on how much time it takes, rather than how much it's protecting my hair.

 

[LovelyNaps26]

from experience i retain much more with ps-ing. i retained 5 inches the year i wore my updos and 2 inches within a year wearing braid outs. my hair grew just as much but due to knots at the ends of my hair and more manipulation i had to trim more.

the moral: once i reach my goal i can still gain length wearing braidouts all the time, just less. it's no issue b/c i LOVE big luscious buns and updos.

 

[Charla]

Exactly. I always see the same language used when people talk about protective styling, people will say they protective style but they want to "enjoy their hair" once they reach their goal. So protective styling isn't enjoyable to many women. What I don't know is, do we need more attractive protective styles, or is it the feeling of having something to prove? Just the psych major in me, not trying to offend or call anyone in particular out, just commenting on the language I've seen a billion times on this board and others. It seems that so many of us are in a perpetual state of waiting. Even women with gorgeous bra strap length are left feeling like they won't be the **** until they are waist length, and waist length women won't be happy until they can sweep the floor with their hair
It's good to have goals, but I truly believe that protective styling will be a constant for some of us who want to have HEALTHY hair of any length, not just long hair. So if this is something we have to do indefinitely, we better find a way to make it enjoyable. No sense is feeling like a schlub 5 days out of the week and only feeling attractive on the weekend. That is no good for anyones sense of well-being.

I think this is key for me. I see PS as a mean to an end, but in the meantime, I've used expressions like, "It's time for me to lock my hair away." "Time to put my hair on lockdown." "Time to hide my hair." Then I'm like, dang! What did my hair do wrong? Sounds like I'm sending her to prison!

And as far as needing more attractive PS, yes, Definitely! All my PS include fake hair because I am extremely styling impaired (did you see my flat iron attempt?) But in the meantime, I have to keep using my PS to reach my goals. And since I don't yet know how to style my hair, I guess I do feel like I'm gang-chained linked to them.sigh

 

[LongLeggedLife]

Thank goodness I never had a need for it because I feel like having hair is pointless if I cant style it down and out.

 

[sylver2]

nope ive never protective styled and im RELAXED type 4a-4b. i enjoy every bit of my hair. i have to work a little harder but its worth it to wear my hair out. i wear my hair out every single day even during my 1 year relaxer stretch.

 

[sylver2]

but i do have to wear a scarf/bonnet every night been doing that since i was like 2 years old.

 

[CurlsBazillion]

Right now since my hair is short indefinite protective styling for the rest of my life doesn't sound too bad. Plus I love wearing wigs right now so the idea doesn't bother me. I'm sure I won't enjoy having my hair out daily once I reach my goal of waist length. I'll show it off every now and again but I can't imagine me not wearing a bun or still trying to put a wig over all that hair at some point. Since joining LHCF I've become soooo bothered by my hair touching my clothes. I felt one of my ends snap on my sweater and I immediately oiled my ends and put it in a bun. I know my nerves wouldn't be able to take it.

 

[chrisanddonniesmommy]

I should hope not. I guess, to get to one's goal length, it's necessary. But, I would want to eventually enjoy it.

(I couldn't enjoy my first press in nineteen months because I was too worried about moisturizing it.)

 

[HauteHippie]

I like protective styles. My goal is waist length, though I'll probably cut a few inches once I reach it. I'm mad lazy, though, when it comes to styling. So laziness + love of messy bun, single braids and updos = protective styler for life.