Growing Hair with Braids

vtoodler

vtoodler

New Member
Have you guys ever used braids to grow your hair?

Do you know anyone who has? If so, how successful was it?
 
I did. See my siggy. Went from shoulder to almost wl in 14 months (also note that I had a chop from mbl at the beginning of the 14 months to get to shoulder length and then a two inch chop in Nov 2010). I may look apl in that first pic but I was leaning my head back because I was so upset with cutting so much. And I was leaning hard:look:. The second batch (pic 2 and 3) no leaning, and also one pass of the iron so it wasn't completely straight.

Mostly braided up the last 3 months I've weaved it (which is still essentially braiding) for a change as I was tired of seeing myself in cornrows. The exception was my trip to cannes, I took my hair down for those two weeks because of business. But then it was back up in braids.

So you're talking non stop crown n glory with exception of 2 wks in 14 months.

This is something I learned well before lhcf (my grandmother is the queen of low manipulation and protective styles and passed that on to my mom and she on to me. I just didn't know their was a word for it lol.). LHCF has helped me with motivation, and just to find cool hair inspiration, and also great products.
 
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I am doing it right now...
I bc'd last march and decided to get braids to grow my hair out a lil bit. I am relaxed but my hair was really short and I didn't want to flat iron everyday for it to look decent. Right now wearing the braids has allowed me to stretch the longest I ever did, which I am current 28 weeks post, I am going 32 weeks :) ... I must say so far so good I haven't had any problems.. You can take a look at my fotki to see what I'm talking about.

There are many ladies here who grow their hair by wearing braids..
 
I'm doing it at the moment. I did the big chop in october and will maybe get weaves at the end of the year
 
Braids are a great way to retain growth! As long as they aren't too tight and you take care of your hair, they are good. I prefer kinky twists because I'm super lazy. They don't make my hair grow faster, just helps me keep what I grow.
 
do micros help hair growth and considered braids?

iheard an awful lot if BAD things about getting them :perplexed
 
I am currently using braids (cornrows) for growth. I got a good amount of growth last year so I will continue until this summer.
 
vtoodler said:
I think micro braids are not the best for growing hair.

Here's a photo of the braids that I want to get. Do you think that they would be good or bad for hair growth? http://www.braidsbynina.com/images/catalog/112767.jpg
Click to expand...

To me those are micro-braids, but I guess that's relative.

There are many factors that will affect whether they will be good for your hair growth or not. I personally think getting any braids done by someone other than yourself is risking a setback. So if I were to give you advice, I'd say learn to do them yourself and then MAYBE you won't have any problem.

This thread was on the same topic you're discussing here: http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=417854
 
I am also doing it now. The first time I wore braids to grow out my hair was in 2008, now I'm wearing it again for two years plus. I have about 10 - 16 months left. I don't take any breaks, I just wear braids as if they were dreds -- wash, condition and apply profectiv to my edges and thats it. Sometimes I use Scurl for moisturizer.
 
When my DD was 6, she and her cousin decided to play beauty shop and cut her hair down to literally 1-2 inches ALL AROUND her little head, I turned to braids to grow her hair back and it was the best decision I think I could have made.

After I was done crying about it, I started braiding her hair in extension braids up into a little ponytail and took them down every 6 weeks to let her hair down for a couple of days and then braid it right back up for another 6 weeks. This took her from 1-2 inches, all the way to what would be between BSL or MBL on her in less than 2 years (She is 8 now).

I will try to find the pics from then. I am actually going to do it again because me being dumb, I heat damaged her hair weekly for her cheerleading season and competitions (Don't judge me). I know better and we know the braids will definitely assist in retaining all of her growth. HTH!
 
mostamaziing said:
do micros help hair growth and considered braids?

iheard an awful lot if BAD things about getting them :perplexed
Click to expand...

@mostamaziing See my posts in this thread: http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=417854 but most importantly, only if you are doing the braids yourself are you able to guarantee no harm because you can follow all the right rules...and can maintain them so they don't break your hair.

Incidentally, my definition of microbraids are small braids, whether done to the ends or not. Some people define microbraids as half braided hair, which I think is an oxymoron coz what if the braids are not "micro" which means "tiny". :spinning:
 
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ummm, have you seen the braid it up challenge on here??

Braids have worked for me. I went from above my ear length to now past shoulder length in 2 years, I'm currently in braids now to get to APL or BSL.

The only braids I would stay away from are micros.

I would also encourage the crown & glory method or something similar.
 
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I would suggest NOT to get braids that cornrow the front!

Traction Alopecia!

I am STILL trying to regrow my edges after years of discontinuing those type of braids. Not sure if they will ever grow back.

DON'T! PLEASE DON'T!
 
I am sure most people know my regimen by now :giggle:
I wear cornrows alot, my hair doesn't suffer at all. My cousin braids it very softly I am tender headed still as an adult. I leave them in for 3 weeks.

Maybe you can try a childrens hair stylist. They can usually be more gentle.
 
I have been in braids sine 2009 but due to a setback had to chop again in Oct 2010 to 3 inches of hair. It's definitely growing back but I just have to be patient. I am doing the c&g method as well. My hair grows well two ways either in braids or when it's pressed. I leave my braids in at the most 6weeks at a time due to me having to cover my gray:lol: hairs with coloring (rinse). But have been seriously considering pressing my hair for a couple of months.....just to take a short break from the braids.
 
JJamiah said:
I am sure most people know my regimen by now :giggle:
I wear cornrows alot, my hair doesn't suffer at all. My cousin braids it very softly I am tender headed still as an adult. I leave them in for 3 weeks.

Maybe you can try a childrens hair stylist. They can usually be more gentle.
Click to expand...

i was wondering when u conrow do u usually where fake hair or you use your own hair
 
I went from a Rihanna cut(shaved back and sides...long bang) to APL in a year and a half using yarn braids.

I'm about to put some back in too...I may start today actually, and I'm trying to wear them til June, when hopefully I will be BSL.
This is the only protective style I've ever done for any length of time, and I wear my hair out anytime I dont have braids. I dont give the braids credit for "growing" my hair...but I can pretty much retain all of the growth by not manipulating the hair.

I do mine myself, but if I were going to let someone else do it,
I would be really diligent in finding out exactly how they put them in, because I have seen some techniques on youtube that are not healthy, will cause the hair to lock/mat/tangle at the root, and you will end up losing hair instead of gaining. When I first learned how to do them, I did it the wrong way also, and ended up with severely knotted hair at the root when I took them down, and have since adapted the more healthy way to install them (braiding the extension in using two strands of your own hair, instead of wrapping the hair around one piece).
 
SND411 said:
I would suggest NOT to get braids that cornrow the front!

Traction Alopecia!

I am STILL trying to regrow my edges after years of discontinuing those type of braids. Not sure if they will ever grow back.

DON'T! PLEASE DON'T!
Click to expand...

SND411, correct me but you probably mean the cornrows where they add hair from the start? I don't think feed-in cornrows would cause any problems if the braider isn't pulling the person's hair when she braids. I think most people get traction alopecia because the braider isn't good and she's trying to attach hair and so has to pull tight to attach the hair. If they were not attaching hair at all, they might've been less "rough". So the feed-in which starts w/o any fake hair might not cause as much damage. Or you can just do it w/o extensions and add them at the tail. I have done cornrows starting at the front with no added hair and had singles immediately behind the cornrows and I had no damage.

Thing to note: I did my own cornrows. I think that's the ticket. Someone you know who won't pull your hair like they're dealing with a dead doll.
 
Forgot to add I use my own hair when braiding (with exception of the two times weave. And even then the hair is braided underneath).

And when I mention crown and glory Im just talking in general. I didn't know about her method until lhcf. I don't necessarily reinforce my braids so to speak as she requires. I found that I got tons of build up that way. BUT I think everyone should do what they think they should. For me, (washing braids with diluted condish and shampoo every other time followed by diluted condish) seemed to be enough for me. I'd also add a little diluted condish if I felt my hair was dry. AND after the braids came out I made sure to do heavy dcs with silk protein (my hair does not like hard protein) and also oils: coconut, argan, avocado mixed in overnight (with silk elements deep condishioner, or mixed with shescentit's avocado condish) overnight. Then I condish washed them out (and a little shampoo only on scalp though and diluted).
 
Box braids and/or microbraids have officially become my new go to style for the winter. I did them myself and they are right above hip length. I think as long as you or the braider isn't braiding your scalp you should be fine. Just get a mist type of moisturizer for your scalp and hair and you should be fine.
 
I've always gotten my hair braids the whole time I've been natural... Almost 10 years... But I did a terrible job taking care of them... I kept some micros in for 6 months after I had my twins.. CAUTION: I LOOK A HOT MESS O' TRASH http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-0lh4zt4k0&feature=player_detailpage#t=361slol just trifling... Even after all that mess I've been able to just barely maintain APL on my longest layers when I should really be bald...lol

I've been wearing my natural hair out and under wigs since that fiasco but I think my hair and scalp will thrive best with lower manipulation...

I want to try the crown and glory method with yarn braids? Have any of you ladies done yarn braids as well?
 
LongLeggedLife said:
I went from a Rihanna cut(shaved back and sides...long bang) to APL in a year and a half using yarn braids.

I'm about to put some back in too...I may start today actually, and I'm trying to wear them til June, when hopefully I will be BSL.
This is the only protective style I've ever done for any length of time, and I wear my hair out anytime I dont have braids. I dont give the braids credit for "growing" my hair...but I can pretty much retain all of the growth by not manipulating the hair.

I do mine myself, but if I were going to let someone else do it,
I would be really diligent in finding out exactly how they put them in, because I have seen some techniques on youtube that are not healthy, will cause the hair to lock/mat/tangle at the root, and you will end up losing hair instead of gaining. When I first learned how to do them, I did it the wrong way also, and ended up with severely knotted hair at the root when I took them down, and have since adapted the more healthy way to install them (braiding the extension in using two strands of your own hair, instead of wrapping the hair around one piece).
Click to expand...
@LongLeggedLife -Great idea. Are there any youtube vids using your technique?

I LOVE the extensions I have in now, but I dread to think what my OWN hair will look like if I leave it in longer than 2 months (some of my real hair is already twisted at the root).

--
Just googled single plaits and the styles at the bottom of the page are lovely: http://hairbraidingacademy.wordpress.com/tag/single-plaits/s (IMG is way too big to post).
 
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