How long did it take for you to nurse your hair to health?

[curlyj]

Took me a little over 6months...Due to color damage, though I loved the color and plan on going back once I've reached all of my goals(healthy hair, APL and on to BSL, and to rid my hair of dryness=breakage for me)...
I wore my hair protected for a full winter...During this time I washed 2/wk swtiching between protein, fortifying or moisturizing treatments...And I sealed my ends weekly with EVOO....

My main problem was dryness due to lifting my already colored hair too much. I was also trying to combat this problem by over conditioning(moisture only). My hair really benefits the most from the combination of protein(Elasta QP Breakage Control Serum) and Moisture(Metelax treatment, Nubian Heritage raw shea butter conditioner, and mango butter for ends)....My ends were horrible but with the oil sealing trick(thanx LHCF) that is no longer a problem... i also used Infusium daily...great for moisture and followed by oil to SEAL,SEAL,SEAL!

I am concentrating on thickness right now-thanx to MTG...this seems doable too!

 

[B_Phlyy]

I'm still nursing it back to health and trying to get some length. But I did get over my biggest hurdle, which was chronic breakage.

 

[LadyJay114]

still nursing it, but I think this is the healthiest my hair has ever been. Thanks to:
1. drinking more water & taking vitamins
2. washing my hair more often
3. NO PETROLEUM PRODUCTS!!!
4. No blow drying
5. Bought better hair care products
6. lengthened relaxer stretches (I currently on week 9)

The only problems I still have are scalp/new growth moisture and taking better care of my ends.

 

[JustKiya]

hah! Soooo still nursing my hair to health - I double processed it (bleached & dye) about 3 months ago, and I've more or less accepted the fact that my hair isn't going to grow very much until most of the color (esp. my tips) has been trimmed off.
I wear lowmaintence styles, plan on using henna to strecten my ends, and moisturize (inside and out) religiously.

 

[planodiva]

I voted 6 months are less. In Feb. 2006 I had the relaxer for hell and it broke off my hair in so many places especially the kitchen and my hair was breaking/falling out. Hair hysteria (flashbacks) but now I'm feeling pretty confidant that all I have been doing in the past few months is paying off.

Except I love my color but know hair color and healthy hair don't mix. So contemplating coloring in the winter or the spring. What's a girl to do?

 

[vikkisecret]

Currently I am still nursing my hair to health. I seem to be causght in a pattern. My hair does really well for awhile and grows a couple of inches and the back breaks off. Go figure....I don't knoe...i'm getting discouraged that I'll never reach BSL...

 

[a_ caribbean_dream]

I recently had major shedding and breakage and with the right products and this forum- my nursing period was only for 3 washes (3 weeks)!!!!

 

[Mahalialee4]

1999-2002 severe illness, meds and stress
Also I remember that I had so bleached streaks in the fron and bag area.
Never thought about my hair much prior to 1999. I chopped it off to 1" rather frequently because it just was more of a nuisance than anything and then I didn't have to worry about it or style it. I never deep conditioned, oiled, or cared for or about it. Now I am a fanatic researcher and hair Luver!!!!...because I was put in a position of maybe not having any hair period, ever!!!. That brought out the caring in me and it hasn't stopped and now I am actually wanting to grow it long to my waist....who would have thought it????
bonjour

 

[Mahalialee4]

sorry...some ....front....and bang.....

 

[Wishin4BSL]

I marked still nursing before, but I think I'm completely done now. It's been 6 months for me.

 

[p31woman]

ummm one hour. I cut it all off. Does that count?

 

[skoloco]

This is a great thread. I voted for still nursing. I just joined the forum a couple of months ago, and I've prepared myself for the fact that it will take about a year for my hair to be healthy. THEN I can concentrate on length.

But the last 2 months have been fantastic for my hair! It is sooo much healthier. It's just that after years of relaxing every 5 weeks and not doing any protein and using oil as a "moisturizer" Of course it will take about a year until I can grow all that overprocessed and damaged hair out. I get that annoying breakage that you guys talk about too, the little pieces in the sink and on my hands when I apply my leave-ins or oil. Having said that though, it IS less than before, and I am retaining length. I will share pics when I get a few more months under my belt and a difference can REALLY be seen.

 

[CoCoGirl821]

I just started my journey to healthy growing hair recently so I am still nursing it to health. However, I will say that my shedding and breakage have definately reduced in the last month or so. I owe that all the LHCF.

 

[ak46]

I cut almost all of my hair off in January and it took me about 6 months to get it to where I felt it was healthy. Now I'm nursing it to length, thickness, etc.

 

[luvlonghair]

Still nursing my hair back to health. Its considerably thicker and stronger since I started this regimen last August.... so i see that it's getting there. And Ive gained a couple of inches, which is encouraging. BUt Im still having a bit of breakage, which concerns me. Not shedding, but actual little broken pieces of hair. Not a lot at all, but i would love to get to a place where i have NONE at all.

I have increased the moisture in my regimen, to make sure that lack of moisture is not causing the breakage, but no change. The breakage is a few short strands of hair in the sink, on my hands, and in my wide tooth comb when i apply oils to my scalp and my moisturizers/oils to the ends. I scrutinize the pieces carefully, and the ends that break off arent split at the end or anything, thank goodness (although i dont know how the remaining piece left in the hair looks now). I'm barely manipulating my hair when im doing this, so it seems odd for little pieces to be in the sink, even if just a few. So i figured its time for an intense protein treatment, like Aphogee.

Kinikakes,

This can acutally be that your hair is split in the middle of the shaft. I'm still going through this for almost 3 years now. Mine came from being overprocessed back in 2004. I didn't want to chop all of my hair off so I baby my hair and it's managed to hold on all this time, but eventually it will fall off. It's been a while since you've posted this, but I'm sure you should have this under control now.

 

[luvlonghair]

I voted 6 months or less. It really took me 3 months to get my hair healthy and growing steadily. Even though I still have problems here and there, for the most part it healthy

 

[Blaque*Angel]

bump bump bump

 

[Nanyanika]

Well i've finally nursed my hair back to health after bad texturizer, I cut off all the bad ends in December and now I can gain length. Its all up from here

 

[tijay]

my main problem was frequent elaxers and dry hair.

 

[Soul♥Flower]

Both times I nursed my hair back to health from extreme damage, it took me 3 months.

 

[texasgrl]

It took me 10 mths.This was from washing my hair every month with whatever was around never deep conditioning and using heat everyday . I found this site and some others and started getting my staples in order I changed my diet and started deep coning weekly, baggying daily and taking vitamins, I use quality products and no direct heat. My hair is vibrant,managable,moist,and growing. I retain every inch that I grow and coulnt be happier .

 

[asiaticlily]

I'm still nursing. Just started my healthy hair care journey in 2-3 months ago.

 

[RZILYNT]

Immediately after the thin, split, dry, rough ends were cut off, I saw a big difference. I have been treating my hair like fine silk since then. I decreased the amount of heat to my hair. After finding LHCF, I stopped applying heat at all and I can still acheive my straight and curly styles with the products that I use. I consider my hair healthy, but will continue to nurture it.

 

[seymone]

I am still nursing my hair back to health since i recently permed my hair and thru it right back off track...

 

[Dee-Licious]

Still working...

 

[InnerSoul]

I voted still nursing hair to health.

I actually started my regimen at the end of August '06.. I have seen a drastic improvement with the condition of my hair. But I still have a long way to go. I just make sure I keep deep conditioning with every wash twice a week, keep my hair and ends moisturized and seal with oils, and I only dust my ends when needed.

As far as protein treatments I use Aphogee.. though I still have breakage at times even with use.

My deep conditioner has oils already in it so that gives me a hot oil treatment at the same time under the dome dryer.

 

[HighlyFavored1]

I'm still working on it...I officially joined LHCF in June, but I didn't really get my regimen together until December 2006. I think I'll consider my hair completely healthy once my nape and sides are thicker, and once I'm no longer afraid that my ends are going to go crazy and need a big cut.

 

[EbonyHairedPrincess]

Okay, I am loving this thread. It took about 2 years to get my hair back in shape. This involved growing out the old relaxer and gradually cutting it off until I only had healthy virgin hair.

 

[amwcah]

I'm still nursuing my hair back to health. I found and joined this site a few months ago.

 

[jellynote]

I'm still nursing my hair to health. I have so much damage from permanent dyes and relaxers.

I know what you mean. I had highlihgts put on my hair about 6 weeks ago and because I'm in cosmetology school I let a classmate of mine put a relaxer in on feb. 2, 2007 my hair has been coming out and i have really short hair (next to no hair @ all) in my nape area and the same goes for my sides @ the temple. I'm also a diabetic so I don't know if it was the mixture of my meds plus the chemicals, because my hair has never done this before. so on saturday i'm getting a weave and no more relaxers for me. I'm just gonna keep my hair moisturized. I just bought a whole lot of natural products from www.camdengrey.com. It's so funny because when I joined LHCF back in 2003 I didn't have healthy hair, but I did have healthy hair for about 2 1/2 yrs and then I moved here to Arizona in May 2005 and my hair hasn't been the same since.So now I'm back on the right track to getting my healthy hair back.