Ends make inches! The secret to longer hair?

I hope I can grow my hair out without having to leave it alone. Buns are not cute on me and so I have been transitioning with braid outs or bantu knots that I redo every two days, and since I work out I co wash every other day. I really hope I can reach the lengths I see in this thread.
 
sheedatj said:
I hope I can grow my hair out without having to leave it alone. Buns are not cute on me and so I have been transitioning with braid outs or bantu knots that I redo every two days, and since I work out I co wash every other day. I really hope I can reach the lengths I see in this thread.
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Me too..I hope now that my hair is long enough to do two-strand twists, I can keep those in and stop playing in my head so much.:look:
 
I agree with you. My hair gained the most length when I bunned 6/7 days a week and left it alone. I'll probably be going back to that method because wearing it out naturally gets me too many ssks and dries out my hair =(
 
I completely agree with OP! I wear my hair in very large two-strand twists (I used to do medium sized but I've been lazy so 16 twists at the most) and bun them every single day. I'll take them down to wash/condition weekly and it's back up into the twists. Every two days or so I'll rinse them in the shower, add a moisturizer, and bun again. I used to wear a puff or something one day of the weekend but I rarely even do that anymore because of the SSKs and plus, I'll end up getting really frustrated with the tangles and start ripping them out.
Anyway, I really noticed a difference in the way my ends felt with protective styling. They feel so dried out after blowing around in the wind...
 
My concern would be, six weeks without washing, especially adding oil everyday. Your nose becomes immune to the smell. Even though you don't smell anything, others will. And the probability is extremel high, they are much too polite to mention it. It's similar to people with bad breath, they often don't know they have it....
 
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indefinite said:
My concern would be, six weeks without washing, especially adding oil everyday. Your nose becomes immune to the smell. Even though you don't smell anything, others will. And the probability is extremel high, they are much too polite to mention it. It's similar to people with bad breath, they often don't know they have it....
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I think it seriously depends on your lifestyle.
In june, I didn't realize with exams, having two part time jobs, taking care of family..etc etc with all these things I didn't take a time to wash my hair, but for sure I was oiling my scalp and massaging it every days to (sometimes) every other day.
I didn't take time to wash my hair for... four weeks.
And my scalp wasn't greasy or kinda odorous. every night before bed i massaged my scalp, in the morning oil penetrated without leaving a greasy film.
I often asked to my entourage if my scalp was odorous and they always said no, not even dirty, not even dandruff.
so I think it depends of people and lifestyle(im sure it won't be the same if I workout/training 3-4 times a week lol)
 
For 2 weeks straight i have been wearing my hair in cornrows - with a single cornrow across the front of my hairline and another single row down the side. The rest of my hair is cornrowed straight back - the ends in satin pillow rollers. I put a durag on and wear a beanie hat with just the front rows showing. I have many different colours of hats to suit outfits/earrings. I've had people say my hair looks nice -lol - i have a hat and rollers on!

Once a day i will spray quite alot of water on my ends/scalp and seal with Dax (i apply jojoba oil to scalp when needed). I re-do the front cornrows every other day. The dax also makes my hair shiney and there is no build up as it seems to be sinking in.
 
to me every stage seems to have a challenge and leaving it alone has a new meaning depending on my length and situation:

- I was texturized for 14 years and my hair grew to almost bra strap all the time. All I did was: every 4 days wash, condition, deep condition, use a lot of creamy leave in (Sunsilk), seal the whole length with grease, dry with a diffuser at medium temperature. Leave completely alone for 4 days and repeat. Mind you, my hair was out 100% of the time!

- Then when I went natural and I was overwhelmed by all the info and didn't want to bother styling: I bunned all the time with a lot of natural conditioner and oil and a soft satin scrunchie for a year and it grew FAST.

- At shoulder length, many SSK. I had to trim 4 times. Leaving it alone like I did before, which means wet bunning with conditioner, didn't work anymore. I introduced ceramides and stretched styles 100% of the time and I only bunned when my hair was in a braidout.

- Now I am almost past bra strap and I am learning that yes, stretched styles are ok BUT I need to condition the roots as well. Leaving it alone means now finger detangling instead of using tools (= oil rinsing), avoiding complicated experiments (clays and too much protein and so on), sticking with what works and doing everything once a week instead of cowashing like crazy.

I can wear my hair out without consequences only if:
- it is in a stretched style
- I use natural and beneficial styling products only
- every night I baby my hair, which means, it must be braided or twisted without tools or violent manipulation, quenched with moisture and protected with a shower cap. When hair is in protective styles it doesn't seem to need this nighttime replenishing. But sometimes I need to enjoy my length after all these years bunning, keeps me motivated :-)
 
Curlykale

What are some examples of stretched styles?



Ber... can someone teach me how to do that mention trick? I did it one time by accident and now I can't do it at all!
 
Well shoot. It worked that time too. Do you have to do the mention function in the advanced reply box? (Instead of the quick reply?)
 
Curlykale said:
braidouts and twistouts (I like braidouts)
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Thank you. I hope I am like you. Last fall/winter was my first time fully natural and my hair wouldn't dry completely over night in braids. I wore a lot of wash and gos, but now I think my hair is at an awkward length for those and kind of look funny.

I'm back in twistouts and braidouts this summer. Do you have any suggestions on how to keep your hair smoother at the top near your head while you sleep? It gets poofy up there, especially with twist outs. Not too terrible on me, but it just makes the style more curled up than "long" and wavy.
 
I am so happy I found this thread. Its just what I needed. I haven't touched my hair in almost a year. I mean no cowashing or any products at all. I was just wearing sew in weaves. No vitamins or nothing. The last install I had got done was in April. I was still pregnant, a week after my install I had my baby. A few days ago I took out my install and my hair is the longest it has ever been. Its thick, healthy, and bouncy. I am in shock. After all the growth aids, cowashing etc. My hair hasn't been this long and healthy. My ends did stay protected in the install. I'm confused and dnt understand how, but hey I wont complain. God is so awesome! I don't know if I want to use growth aids now seems like my hair is doing fine on it's on. lol! Only thing I can say I did different is upped my water intake and wore the install. Other than that I haven't touched my hair at all.
 
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LadyRaider said:
Thank you. I hope I am like you. Last fall/winter was my first time fully natural and my hair wouldn't dry completely over night in braids. I wore a lot of wash and gos, but now I think my hair is at an awkward length for those and kind of look funny.

I'm back in twistouts and braidouts this summer. Do you have any suggestions on how to keep your hair smoother at the top near your head while you sleep? It gets poofy up there, especially with twist outs. Not too terrible on me, but it just makes the style more curled up than "long" and wavy.
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When I first went natural I found styling problematic and I haven't mastered the art yet, but focusing on my hair "health" has caused growth and for some reason my longer hair seems easier to style (my everyday mood was "ok, another epic fail and another boring day bunning but at least it's growing" LOL)

definitely pineappling overnight helps (1 big pineapple or multiple pineapples if you have shorter hair). Or I, more often, rebraid with slimy hands, using water and conditioner or some homemade flax seed gel. I usually braid the half that is closer to the scalp and twist the rest, as well (so it's more stretched on top and spirally/voluminous on the bottom, I find it looks more natural and it shows the length more). I love flax seed gel by the way (I don't seem to be able to post without mentioning it LOL), especially on dry hair.
 
I hope my frequent (2-3 times a week) washing, rinsing, shampooing, cowashing is not shooting me in the foot. I sweat at the gym frequently and cant imagine going a full week without washing, let alone weeks. I just hope that doesn't hinder my retention.
 
Sounds good to me, but I could never go that long without washing my hair, and I would have to dust or trim more than once a year. I hate seeing people with thin, scraggly ends trying to claim a length.
 
I have recently had trouble retaining so I've upped my game to moisturise my ends every night regardless of whether they feel dry or not. I've also ordered some new professional hair sheers so I can start a fresh this weekend.
 
The only thing in the OP that works for me is no heat....the rest would have me bald. But we all know it's Do What Works For Your Hair.

I do think low manipulation helps though, but I wear my hair out....no buns.
 
MrsJaiDiva said:
The only thing in the OP that works for me is no heat....the rest would have me bald. But we all know it's Do What Works For Your Hair.

I do think low manipulation helps though, but I wear my hair out....no buns.
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I wish this worked for me. I haven't used heat in over a year and I still struggle to retain.
 
melissa-bee said:
I wish this worked for me. I haven't used heat in over a year and I still struggle to retain.
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I don't think heat was a major issue for my hair, so not using heat is better...but I think it's the combination of things I do that leads to better retention.

I found just about all of my HG's
Make sure my scalp is clean & healthy
co-cleanse 3-4x's a week, no shampoo
Oil rinse
Moisturizing conditioner as a leave-in
Regular trims
Low manipulation
Weekly protein DC with MT mix
No heat

Lol, but what works for me, might be the whole wrong thing for someone else... It took a minute for me to lock in my regimen, and I also do a lot of kitchen mixology. If I use a shampoo it's customized for my hair so it's not going to damage it, or cause a setback.
 
EllePixie said:
No, you're correct, it's not crazy talk. All of the methods you state above are keys to retaining length. When my hair is long enough I plan to bun during the week.
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Me too I already bun after wash days but I tend to take out the bun to moisturize my ends and I cant get it in the bun again. Oh hair why are you taunting me?
 
OP,you just quoted my Regi, and iam nearly waist lenght too. it definately works.started this two years ago due to laziness. now i'm sticking to it. heat every wash day,which is once a month, and buns there after.
 
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