Has your hair grown without Protective styles? (POLL)

[Shima01]

"It never got beyond a certain length, and the ends were always thin and in need of a trim." This is exactly what happened to me, too! My hair grew but it will break off at the same time the new growth will sprout. Protective Styling was what allowed me to see the roots accumulate into length. And now my hair is waistlength. So yes, I use protective Styles to grow my hair. The BEST thing about Protective Styling is that after you learn to master this technique...meaning using variety of different styles as I show in my Shima hair guide...and consistency (using them for 2 weeks minimum) for every month your hair just grows and grows and grows and remains healthy. I swear that I have never seen a split end since I began my Protective Styling regimen 2 years ago!

I concur.

For years (pre-LHCF) i wore my hair out everyday. It never got beyond a certain length, and the ends were always thin and in need of a trim. Yet, every 6-8 weeks i needed a relaxer, so it was clearly growing. But i was never given a chance to see the length before it would break off as it grew.

 

[Proudpiscean]

"It never got beyond a certain length, and the ends were always thin and in need of a trim." This is exactly what happened to me, too! My hair grew but it will break off at the same time the new growth will sprout. Protective Styling was what allowed me to see the roots accumulate into length. And now my hair is waistlength. So yes, I use protective Styles to grow my hair. The BEST thing about Protective Styling is that after you learn to master this technique...meaning using variety of different styles as I show in my Shima hair guide...and consistency (using them for 2 weeks minimum) for every month your hair just grows and grows and grows and remains healthy. I swear that I have never seen a split end since I began my Protective Styling regimen 2 years ago!

Co-signing with Shima & Kinikakes
I'm new to this hair thing, but after seeing my hair grow and break off at shoulder length year after year from dryness/split ends I believe that my hair needs protective styling. It's finally beginning to creep towards APL- because of protective styling. Some people can get away with wearing their hair out daily.....I simply cannot.

 

[Mars_Reiko]

What do you put on your ends when you wear it down?

I use NTM leave-in every other day. That along with either cross wraping or pincurling keeps the ends in great condition

 

[lana]

I just remembered that when I was in highschool I wore my hair up in a french twist everyday. My hair grew really well then. So now I'm wearing a bun 24/7 for the next ten weeks. I'll see how much growth I retain.

 

[SimpleKomplexity]

Now that I think about it, my hair really did grow when I wore french rolls back in my middle school and high school days. I jsut feel like I have to go to the salon to have "kute" updos. I dunno how to do many myself, and buns are soOoOooOoo boring to me, but it seems I'm going to have to change up SOMETHING to get it apl

 

[tylertown]

I don't and never have done the prot. styles thing.

At one time I said I would do the protective styles but that didn't last long lol.

 

[Mz.Shug]

Very interesting thread....Bumping 4 more responses

 

[TLC1020]

My hair grew w/o protective styles, however I retained more length with protective styles. Before LHCF and I wore my hair down often my hair only reached SL, however since bunning almost all of the time I am now APL almost BSL. So my hair did grow but it didn't retain as much length as it does now.

 

[Mrs.Green]

I am just starting my hair care journey January. From January till April I wore my hair in low manipulation styles braid out's, bantu knots, pinned up every now and then*without ends protected*.

From April till July I said I was gonna give Protective Styles *hiding my ends* a try to see what works better. And let me tell you..... I can see a major difference . I am so excited for July to get here for my next relaxer, then I can see how much growth I retained. My hair is so much heavier when wet and it tangles more so I know it's keeping length.

Right now I am almost APL from just shoulder lenght in January. I think I will be bunning it till I reach my goal of BSL. Then I will be comfortable to wear it out more.

 

[ShiShiPooPoo]

I only wear ps's now and I can see a big difference.

 

[chebaby]

i will be ps for the next month or so. i hate pony tails. i cant stand them so if i fall off i wont be surprised. my hair has grown about 2 inches since i started but i have never done protective styles. my hair is apl so for the next month i'll see how much i retain.

 

[nklogan]

NO, I have a hard time retaining length without them.

 

[BlueNile]

I never wear protective styles. I wear my hair down every day and I still retain length.

SweetCashew.... :notworthy Gah!!! I have drooled over your hair for years! Please tell me, I didn't take the time to look...what is your hair type and how often do you relax? Good job girl!!!!

 

[BlueNile]

Oh, I wear protective styles about 90% of the time and I'm sick of them

 

[Blessed_Angel]

I never wear protective styles. I wear my hair down every day and I still retain length.

Same here.

 

[STLCoverGirl]

I think I did protective styling for a month or two when I first started my hair journey and figured it was the only way.

I quickly learned that I couldn't do it. I can't do challenges and I can't do protective styling, it's too restrictive for me. I refuse to believe that the only way to get long, healthy hair is by wearing buns daily.

I know it works well for a lot of people, but for me it's not an option. I enjoy my hair and I enjoyed it at every length of the journey. I think my hair would have reached wsl sooner(not sure how much sooner) if I had done protective styling, but I would have been miserable.

 

[Butterfly08]

I have achieved beyond BSL without PSing. My hair was a lot thinner and not as healthy though. (This was pre-BC).

When I gave up direct heat (except for touch ups at the salon) and added SOME PSing, my hair probably thickened twice as much. My ends look great as well, and I am on my way back to BSL.

 

[cecilie]

I retain more lenght with protective styles and streching .

 

[cocoberry10]

I think everyone is different. I am natural now, but my hair didn't seem to like protective styling!

 

[Spongie Bloom]

my hair is a lil past my shoulders and i wear a pony tail most of the time cause its the easiest for me at the time what with having to go to class everyday but when summer came round i was braid outing and wearing it down which was good (currently in braids) i cant do a bun to save my life and when my hair gets to apl and beyond i wont be pony tailing it as often

 

[vestaluv1]

IDK, I'm too scared NOT to wear protective styles to find out!

 

[longhairlover]

My hair grows at a decent pace and I normally wear my hair down everyday. I use heat I love my blowdryer and flat iron, i still blow dry once a week and flat iron normally wrap my hair up at night and still see growth.

I guess it depends on the persons hair, of course protective styles are probably even better for growth, but for me it happens regardless.

 

[CHECKMATE!]

Great thread OP...I honestly have seen more length retention with protective styling than w/o...my hair is fine and has a tendency to break easily when exposed to the elements for a long period of time...this,I believe stunted my growth retention for many years

 

[SouthernTease]

Besides heat and chemicals...
the environment is very damaging to our hair...
(sun, pollution, etc...)
Hair grazing against your clothes isn't the only reason
protective styles are crucial to hair retention.
If you live in tropical environments (like I did in Miami)...
the sun can be really damaging and since the ends are the
oldest, most fragile part of the hair strand... it's necessary to
be very protective of them if you want to see retention.
I don't think you have to wear your hair in protective styles
all the time, but I do believe if you want to see longer hair faster
it would help to protect your ends as much as possible.

 

[Solitude]

I pin the ends of my hair up when I have to walk around the neighbor hood or to the train, but then I let it down. It stays protected from the wind and cold weather, but looks nice when I am inside in a controlled environment.

I figure if I keep my hair up 70% of the time- at home and commuting, that's pretty good. However, I am open to trying more protective styling because I really want to reach my goals.

 

[pri]

No protective styles for me either. I do bun ocassionally, but I do it because it's convenient. It has not stopped me from retaining length. What I do find interesting in this thread is that a lot of mid back to waistlength ladies do not wear protective styles to retain length. I do believe that it can help though.

I agree, so I wonder if protective styling is better for someone with shoulder length (like me) or shorter. I would have thought all the ladies w/ mid-back and longer are bunning it. It does work for me though. Maybe hopefully I can wear my hair down more once I past bsl.

 

[pri]

IDK, I'm too scared NOT to wear protective styles to find out!

LOL...totally agree..me too!

 

[longhairlover]

I always wear my hair out even when stretching and I get my hair to grow at a decent pace. From here on out though I am going to make sure that I keep my hair moisturized because that is something I realize I don't focus on. I know alot of females that wear there hair out all the time and it still grows. one of my friends hair is past her bra and she relaxes regularly and wears it out everyday.

 

[Wildchild453]

I've been hovering near BSl for over a year now mostly because I can't commit to protective styles. My hair has grown but not nearly at the rate it could have.

 

[asubeauty]

I didn't vote because I usually wear my hair out up to about 4 wks post touch up (I rollerset and then wrap) and then I usually rollerset or blowdry on low heat (basically no heat) and bun for wks 5 through 10 or 12. I'm happy with the amount of length I retain.