How do you just let your hair grow?

[pinkchocolatedaisy]

I know this may sound like a stupid question but really how do you do it? For you ladies that are APL or BSL and beyond, what is your secret? I am currently transitioning fr relaxed to natural and I just want to know. I mean how do you keep it growing and defeat breakage is basically what I am asking. I DC and do the protein and moisture thing. Do you trim or not? Is it b/c you don't comb or manipulate the hair? What is it? What is the deciding factor in just letting your hair grow?

 

[drasgrl]

I'm trying to keep it as simple as possible. I'm trying to get away from putting a lot of stuff in my hair and just letting it be with not a lot of styles or products.

What helps me with breakage is really being on top of moisture and handling it as gently as possible and trying to be patient with it. I've found that washing more helps with dryness. I can't go without combing the roots especially for too long or it will start to dred. I don't trim but I just cut to get rid of splits.

I massage my scalp every night for 10 minutes and I hear that is helpful. For the last few months I've seen it grow just by keeping it simple and a steady routine and just putting my hair up helps a lot.

 

[chocolate01]

I agree with the poster above I keep my routine very simple and I don't put a lot of things in my hair. I know what works and what doesn't. I try to stay away from heat as much as possible and I do trim my hair when necessary. The other thing that I believe has worked wonders for me is wearing proctective styles. I usually wear my hair up in a bun or I will wear my hair in twists a lot. I do wear my hair out occasionally so I don't get bored but 90% my hair is up. Other than that I would have to say patience. I find some people want their hair to grow like today, it can happen for you it just takes time.

 

[bbdgirl]

I am relaxed transitioning to texlaxed. I mostly try to co-wash 2x a week and DC 2x a week. I put conditioner and Garnier Long and Strong anti-split end leave in, and I swear by Profectiv healthy ends. I also wear protective styles 5days/week (buns mostly). I am a conditioner fool and moisturize my hair 2x/day. My hair just grows, that's my routine.

 

[Isis]

For my texlaxed hair, the most important factors have been:

Eliminating heat by airdrying
Keeping my hair moisturized (I wash and DC 2x each week)
Keeping my ends moisturized (I use Constant Care for Ends)
Stretching between relaxers
No brushing at all. No combing except when wet on wash day
Most importantly, I continue to have a loving attitude towards my hair at all times.

 

[Babygurl]

For my texlaxed hair, the most important factors have been:

Eliminating heat by airdrying
Keeping my hair moisturized (I wash and DC 2x each week)
Keeping my ends moisturized (I use Constant Care for Ends)
Stretching between relaxers
No brushing at all. No combing except when wet on wash day
Most importantly, I continue to have a loving attitude towards my hair at all times.

Just wanted to echo everything that Isis (my hair idol, lol) says, all of these steps with the addition of bunning is what grew and most importantly retained my growth.

 

[FineChyna]

leaving my hair alone, paying attention to the signs it was giving me and moisture, moisture, moisture

i used to use heat but finally felt that i was able to let go of it.

i invested in a really good conditioning shampoo/conditioner and mositurizers: this is probably the hardest thing because it takes a lot to figure out what your hair likes.

for example my hair does NOT like over the counter conditioners-it likes the natural stuff from honey fig and carol's daughter. so those are things i buy regularly

i also have a leave in protein foam (joico's k-pax) for my ends when i feel that my hair is going through a lot of wear and tear (from changes in weather, tangling, ect) that stuff works well for breakage even when you don't use heat

i also learned to keep garlic shampoo on hand to combat shedding. for example if i noticed my hair is shedding a lot (which usually only happens when the weather changes too quickly) i use the garlic shampoo on my scalp and roots (i don't put it to the ends of my hair) and usually the shedding subsides dramatically.

i also use boundless tresses on my scalp and do not really comb my hair unless i am washing it. other days i just rake my fingers through it

i also spent a lot of time looking through these threads to figure out where i was going wrong. it took me a year to get my hair to where it was but it was worth the extra effort and stressing over it.

don't worry your in good hands on this board so you will find your way soon enough