Final Word on Protective Styles - for a wannabe Waistlengther

[wyldcurlz]

So, what's the scoop from those of you who have successfully grown your hair?

Is it necessary to protective style in order to maintain length and health of hair? I have a friend who wears her hair down daily, although she's a type 1, but her hair is down every single day?

I like the idea of protective styling, but I'm wondering if its an absolute MUST?

Honestly, I like the idea of wearing my hair down at times...often. And my round face looks better with my hair down (judging from all the "you should wear your hair down more often" comments I get.) I know we all get that and I also know that sometimes we MUST SACRIFICE in order to achieve LENGTH! I also know most of you have used protective styles to achieve length, so maybe I'm answering the question for myself...but please, a final word on protective styles are they a 'most of the time must do' in order to achieve and retain length?

 

[lovechic]

I think you can retain length with or without protective styles! As long as there is no tension on the hair/scalp and you suffer from no severe breakage, length can be achieved. Moisture is always the Key!

 

[TwistNMx]

I think you can retain length with or without protective styles! As long as there is no tension on the hair/scalp and you suffer from no severe breakage, length can be achieved. Moisture is always the Key!

Agreed....

 

[wyldcurlz]

So moisture is the key? In what sense? When I was a weekly flat-iron/blow-out girl, I applied a nickel sized amount of KeraCare leave-in nightly, but for some reason, I wasn't maintaining length. My ends seem prone to splitting, but maybe it was the heat? Maybe it was my hair stylist? My goal is just above waist length hair, but I've been stuck at the same mid-back length for years.

What type of moisturization are you all using?

thanks so much.

 

[lovechic]

So moisture is the key? In what sense? When I was a weekly flat-iron/blow-out girl, I applied a nickel sized amount of KeraCare leave-in nightly, but for some reason, I wasn't maintaining length. My ends seem prone to splitting, but maybe it was the heat? Maybe it was my hair stylist? My goal is just above waist length hair, but I've been stuck at the same mid-back length for years.

What type of moisturization are you all using?

thanks so much.

If you have very dry hair (like mine) it's a must! You are able to stave off breakage if you keep constant moisture in your strands! I moisturize my hair 2x daily and now breakage is minimal! And also limit heat! 2 years ago I used to flat iron my hair 2 or 3 times a week, and my hair stayed at about shoulder/armpit length, now I use my flat iron about once a month and my hair is thriving! I keep my ends longer and I don't have to trim as much! The moisturizers I'm currently using are Scurl, activator gel (for buns) creamy leave-ins like salerm21, and water! HTH

 

[CarLiTa]

hey, ladies. I think moisture IS really the key, because one of the main points of protective styling IS to keep moisture in, like the baggie, the buns while protecting your ends, etc...

i do think that protective styling is important. I'm trying to be consistant with it now, which is why i started a personal bun challenge.
I'm trying to have the MOISTURE part down pat, so i can retain the length that I grow... but I need help in that area, so i'm doing research.

i think i'm going to get some Elasta QP Mango Butter for my ends

 

[MzTami]

I think there are pros and cons with protective styles.
For instance: If you are constantly pulling the hair back with protective styles (buns, phony ponytails) It can cause a tremendous amount of stress to your hair and you usually loose hair at the temples.

I have seen a lot of people that wear their hair down 99% of the time and retain more length than someone wearing a protective style.

I think it's all genetically figured out. It's a double edge sword.

 

[Blossssom]

If you have very dry hair (like mine) it's a must! You are able to stave off breakage if you keep constant moisture in your strands! I moisturize my hair 2x daily and now breakage is minimal! And also limit heat! 2 years ago I used to flat iron my hair 2 or 3 times a week, and my hair stayed at about shoulder/armpit length, now I use my flat iron about once a month and my hair is thriving! I keep my ends longer and I don't have to trim as much! The moisturizers I'm currently using are Scurl, activator gel (for buns) creamy leave-ins like salerm21, and water! HTH

Hey Love... I used to use S-Curl and other similar products. I think I'm going back to "semi-natural".

It was weird, though, when I had my hair big and curly, I got a lot of compliments on it. Mostly from whites, though. A couple of black women said it was pretty, but for the most part, blacks looked frightened.

 

[lovechic]

Hey Love... I used to use S-Curl and other similar products. I think I'm going back to "semi-natural".

It was weird, though, when I had my hair big and curly, I got a lot of compliments on it. Mostly from whites, though. A couple of black women said it was pretty, but for the most part, blacks looked frightened.

Girl, tell me about it! People always ask me why isn't my hair straight! I just laugh now!

 

[Blossssom]

Girl, tell me about it! People always ask me why isn't my hair straight! I just laugh now!

Are they black?

No one had more of a problem with the way I wore my hair than us.

 

[lovechic]

Are they black?

No one had more of a problem with the way I wore my hair than us.

Yeah, they are! But not one of them has nice hair. And one girl wears a phony with jacked up edges! So I just laugh at her!

 

[Blossssom]

Yeah, they are! But not one of them has nice hair. And one girl wears a phony with jacked up edges! So I just laugh at her!

How did I know they were black? I must be psychic...

Well, I'm going in here to watch some more devastation.

My heart truly goes out to these poor people... even the looters.

Night, girl...

 

[Jewell]

I am one of those people who knew nothing about protective styling before this board in March, and I have had at least bra-strap length hair for a long time (upwards of 8 years)...my hair was pretty close to my waist in high school, but I didn't take care of it, and an overprocessing incident caused a major cut to right below my shoulders (it grew back to bra strap within 5 months or so). I think protective styling is good, but the tension applied to the hair to acheive protective styles could cause more harm than good. I have retained most of my length without them. The only purpose for my doing them is to keep my hands out of my hair.

 

[simplycee]

I've been on my own personal bun challenge for almost a year. I washed twice a week, wore a loose baggied bun at night and a bun or updo during the day. I retained most of my length with the exception of 2 trims. For me, in order to get past shoulder length, I had to protect my ends from the friction caused by rubbing up against my clothes. My hair tends to be on the dry side so the combination of moisture and protection helped me retain length.

I know that my hair will grow no matter if I use protective styling or not. In my case protective styling helped me get closer to my goal.

 

[foxybrownsugar]

I have been wearing protective styling since around 96-97 and it has helped me retain length. But i do not wear tight ponies and i would single braid and moisturize at night (a loose braided pony) or if i was lazy just a regular pony. I use to spray my braid with water and oil but now i just co mostly since i found this board this year.

 

[SweetNic_JA]

I've been wearing a protective but I have not retained any length...ok, ok it's because I'm transitioning and I'm trimming inches off every 2-3 months. If I were just growing my hair out without any focus on trimming off my relaxed ends, I would have retained A LOT of length. Protective styling can really be helpful if you wear them right, but protect your edges and the crown of your heads, as too much pressue at either points will put you back.

 

[hiza]

I didn’t know anything about protective styling before joining this board in May 2003.
And I have had my hair to bra strap before.

 

[imstush]

I think there are pros and cons with protective styles.
For instance: If you are constantly pulling the hair back with protective styles (buns, phony ponytails) It can cause a tremendous amount of stress to your hair and you usually loose hair at the temples.

I have seen a lot of people that wear their hair down 99% of the time and retain more length than someone wearing a protective style.

I think it's all genetically figured out. It's a double edge sword.

I agree...I think it all depends on the person. When I was younger I had waist length hair...and my mom did semi protective styles on me (ponytails, twists and barrettes). When I started to do my own hair, I would put it in one ponytail and leave the ends out, every day. Then I got the relaxer and it pretty much stayed one length. Then I grew the relaxer out...and my hair started to grow again. I left out the heat and the relaxer and my hair actually went back down to my waist when straightened. I stop relaxing again in May...I mostly wear wash and go styles...and a majority of the time I put it back in a very loose ponytail...and people are commenting how much my hair has been growing. So I think you can achieve length w/out the protective styles...but it all depends on you.

 

[foxybrownsugar]

I agree...I think it all depends on the person. When I was younger I had waist length hair...and my mom did semi protective styles on me (ponytails, twists and barrettes). When I started to do my own hair, I would put it in one ponytail and leave the ends out, every day. Then I got the relaxer and it pretty much stayed one length. Then I grew the relaxer out...and my hair started to grow again. I left out the heat and the relaxer and my hair actually went back down to my waist when straightened. I stop relaxing again in May...I mostly wear wash and go styles...and a majority of the time I put it back in a very loose ponytail...and people are commenting how much my hair has been growing. So I think you can achieve length w/out the protective styles...but it all depends on you.

VERY WELL SAID!

 

[krissyprissy]

I think that some people hair absorb moisture better than others. Based on if your hair is type 1, 2, 3, 4, fine, course, etc. I have 4a/b semi course hair and I used to wear my hair out everyday. My hair never grew past my shoulders. As of Jan 05, I experimented with baggies, buns, and french rolls. Now my hair is 2 1/2 inches past shoulders. My conclusion to this experiment is if your hair evaporates moisture like dry leaves in the winter, then protective styles are almost a must to achieve length faster than normal.

 

[brownhaired_bonanza]

I've been wearing protective styles on a regular basis since the late 90's. That means buns, french twists and elaborate pinned up "dos". I never had a problem with breakage anywhere. I think it has helped my hair remain healthy. I'm still wearing the same styles, but i don't do it nor have i ever done it to retain length (although that was part of it). I just prefer my hair being up.

 

[wyldcurlz]

I am one of those people who knew nothing about protective styling before this board in March, and I have had at least bra-strap length hair for a long time (upwards of 8 years)...my hair was pretty close to my waist in high school, but I didn't take care of it, and an overprocessing incident caused a major cut to right below my shoulders (it grew back to bra strap within 5 months or so). I think protective styling is good, but the tension applied to the hair to acheive protective styles could cause more harm than good. I have retained most of my length without them. The only purpose for my doing them is to keep my hands out of my hair.

Jewell,

what were you doing to your ends to protect them and retain length? I guess that's the problem, my ends, even with using leave-in daily, still split and i'm not able to retain length - add a scissor happy stylist to the mix & you've got the reasons I've stayed the same length for 2 years now!

 

[Peachtree]

I've had long (& healthy) hair all of my life (before I even knew what a protective style was).

After learning of protective styling, my hair has grown longer, FASTER... so for me, protective styling is not necessary to gain length, however it did contribute to how QUICKLY my hair grew (cuz I was retaining more length).

 

[MizAvalon]

I don't think protective styling is 'absolutely' necessary for gaining length. But it can be very helpful, especially if you're at the length where your hair is rubbing against your collar.

 

[Jewell]

Jewell,

what were you doing to your ends to protect them and retain length? I guess that's the problem, my ends, even with using leave-in daily, still split and i'm not able to retain length - add a scissor happy stylist to the mix & you've got the reasons I've stayed the same length for 2 years now!

Hey I wrapped my hair religiously every night and made sure to put some type of oil or hair moisturizer on the ends right before wrapping. I also regularly trimmed my hair at least every 3-5 months. My hair stayed the same length (round about) for the past 2 years (right at or right below bra strap) because I got to the point where I was trimming every 2 months at least 1/4".

I didn't have a problem with splits...I just liked super even ends...when I stopped cutting it so frequently my hair really took off in length, and my ends were still healthy. I did the baggie method for a bit this year and it helped in keeping my ends really moist, but I don't really do it anymore since I'm transitioning and will be trimming occasionally anyway. My split end days were pretty much over when I stopped using heat altogether, which was about 1 year 9 months ago.

 

[missyT]

I believe that both moisture and protection are essential for length retention, well at least for me.

I was wearing braids for years without looking after my ends (i.e moisturising) and my hair grew very slowly because it was breaking when I took out the braids (I didn't know this then).
Now, I have started wearing weaves and my hair stays moisturised and its gaining a lot more length. I am sure that if I keep wearing weaves for a year, I will retain at least 6 inches.

 

[napgurl]

My conclusion to this experiment is if your hair evaporates moisture like dry leaves in the winter, then protective styles are almost a must to achieve length faster than normal.[/QUOTE]


Very well said. Sometimes good can get in the way of the best. Hair can grow at a good pace down, but the best environment for me is a protective style.

 

[nymane]

nice thread....