Natural Sisters I have a question?

[katote]

Is it unrealistic to think your hair can grow longer being natural vs being permed?

I ask this question, because my hair reaches to my collarbone, but after 4 yrs of being natural and normal trims here and there, I thought my hair would be longer. Then I started thinking that my hair is about the same length my hair was when I had a perm. Peeping other hair albums and seeing folks perm days photos and their natural photos, they had long hair when it was permed, so it is not surprising that they have pretty long hair when natural.

 

[Crackers Phinn]

At first I had my doubts. My relaxed hair never grew past brushing the top of my shoulder. By the end of a 14 month transition, my hair stretched reached armpit. I credit that to wearing my hair up, moisturized and not touching my clothing.

What are you doing to protect your ends?

 

[Wildchild453]

I think it all depends on how you care for it. We've all learned that protective styles are the way to go when you want to retain length and if you're wearing Wash n Gos and Puffs it can hinder your retention

 

[katote]

I think it all depends on how you care for it. We've all learned that protective styles are the way to go when you want to retain length and if you're wearing Wash n Gos and Puffs it can hinder your retention

You're right!! I have 3 styles that I wear. Puff, wash n go or a bun. I do not protect my ends. I no poo, add leave in and apply gel. I should really moisturize my ends when I wear my hair in a bun.

 

[katote]

At first I had my doubts. My relaxed hair never grew past brushing the top of my shoulder. By the end of a 14 month transition, my hair stretched reached armpit. I credit that to wearing my hair up, moisturized and not touching my clothing.

What are you doing to protect your ends?

I don't protect my ends at all. I was seriously thinking about doing the BC again, but the days I don't feel like messing with my hair, that is when the ponytail/bun comes in handy.

 

[FineChyna]

for me my hair is longer now that it is natural. the perm was the kiss of death to my hair and everytime i had a perm it would break off. so when i stopped my hair started retaining length. the problem is as i stated in my own help thread is that i don't think my hair is getting the maximum results it could, especially seeing pics of people on this board. so its like i took one step forward and never got anywhere past step 1.

 

[hopeful]

I don't protect my ends at all. I was seriously thinking about doing the BC again, but the days I don't feel like messing with my hair, that is when the ponytail/bun comes in handy.

Don't you dare bc again! LOL not unless you have too. Maybe give or get yourself a good trim and like you said start to protect your ends better. I look forward to your updates and hearing if you surpass your relaxed length. Good luck.

 

[DDTexlaxed]

At leaast you can put it in a ponytail for quick styles. Why not flat iron your hair to check your length? I BCD now, but when I first went natural, I couldn't judge my length because I have uber shrinkage. Maybe it's the same for you. Your hair sounds very pretty.

 

[Qurlyqt]

Katote - I was thinking the same thing! Since the average hair grows 1/2" per month, I should have MUCH more growth. After thinking it over, I agree with Wildchild - it's about how we care for our hair. I've done far too much to my hair (wearing it out and not protecting the ends) and had too many major trims as a result of not taking better care of it. Whew... I'm learning.

 

[Poohbear]

Is it unrealistic to think your hair can grow longer being natural vs being permed?

No, it's not unrealistic...but hair growing to long lengths all depends on how you take care of it and your genes.

 

[lana]

I think it has something to do with genetics, but I'm not going to let that stop me. My grandma had hair that she could sit on. My female relatives and I have about the same length (shoulder length) they don't take care of theirs - it grows, I take care of mine - does it matter? We're the same length. Well I finally stopped comparing my hair to theirs. I need to just be myself and look at my own hair.

It's up in a sew in, when it comes down, I'll get a sharp trim, I won't mind if it's still just shoulder length. My hair is gonna grow one way or the other, so I focus on scalp health and hair health and let the growth take care of itself.

By the way I'm a 4a natural with hair that sits around my shoulders when pressed. I have been natural for 4 and1/2 years I thought by now my hair would be bra-strap length. It doesn't mean it won't happen, it may just take time.

 

[katote]

By the way I'm a 4a natural with hair that sits around my shoulders when pressed. I have been natural for 4 and1/2 years I thought by now my hair would be bra-strap length. It doesn't mean it won't happen, it may just take time.

ITA! This is going to be a goal of mines. If I want longer hair, then I must take better care of it![/quote]

 

[rosie]

I have been natural since July 2003. When permed, my hair woould never get much longer than 3-4 inches max. And that was long for me. Relaxers just did not agree with my hair.

I have been on this and other hair boards for years, working the system, but relaxers never worked for me.

Now that I am natural, I am low maintenance. I wash and twist up for a month with weekly COs. My hair is past APL, but a ways from WL. This is the most hair I have ever had in my life.

At Easter, I pressed it out. And was amazed at the length. Next time, some one else is doing it. It took forever. I really didn't know what to do with it. 'Cause I had never had that much before. I became the focus of a lot of attention from friends and realtives. Most accused me of wearing a weave. (I usually wear my twists shrunken or pulled back).

So, yes, it is realistic to believe that your hair can grow longer natural than relaxed. It is about how you take care of it and what works for you. FOr some, the natural texture is hard to manage and relaxing straight is the best option.

For me, my natural texture works best. I can get it straight when I need it, but I don't need it straight very often. About 1 or 2 times a year. I will straighten it out for my dh birthday. He likes it. And maybe Easter again next year. But for the most part. I twist and wear it in a myriad of styles like most relaxed ladies.

 

[MzTami]

I have been natural since July 2003. When permed, my hair woould never get much longer than 3-4 inches max. And that was long for me. Relaxers just did not agree with my hair.

I have been on this and other hair boards for years, working the system, but relaxers never worked for me.

Now that I am natural, I am low maintenance. I wash and twist up for a month with weekly COs. My hair is past APL, but a ways from WL. This is the most hair I have ever had in my life.

At Easter, I pressed it out. And was amazed at the length. Next time, some one else is doing it. It took forever. I really didn't know what to do with it. 'Cause I had never had that much before. I became the focus of a lot of attention from friends and realtives. Most accused me of wearing a weave. (I usually wear my twists shrunken or pulled back).

So, yes, it is realistic to believe that your hair can grow longer natural than relaxed. It is about how you take care of it and what works for you. FOr some, the natural texture is hard to manage and relaxing straight is the best option.

For me, my natural texture works best. I can get it straight when I need it, but I don't need it straight very often. About 1 or 2 times a year. I will straighten it out for my dh birthday. He likes it. And maybe Easter again next year. But for the most part. I twist and wear it in a myriad of styles like most relaxed ladies.

Great Thread! I love reading about stories like this! Thanks for sharing!
Keep them stories rolling ladies!

 

[Country gal]

Everyone's hair grows. Some of us are not as good at retaining the lenght. My natural hair is retaining lenght nicely. I wear twists as protective styles and wash my hair often. K, I think you need to work on wearing twists and other protective styles. Simple routine and styles does wonders for retaining length.

 

[Poohbear]

It's up in a sew in, when it comes down, I'll get a sharp trim, I won't mind if it's still just shoulder length. My hair is gonna grow one way or the other, so I focus on scalp health and hair health and let the growth take care of itself.

By the way I'm a 4a natural with hair that sits around my shoulders when pressed. I have been natural for 4 and1/2 years I thought by now my hair would be bra-strap length. It doesn't mean it won't happen, it may just take time.

lana,

How often do you wear sew-ins?

How often do you press your hair?

 

[nefertitiblack]

You may want to check to see if your "normal" trims are really normal. Just make sure you are growing more than you are trimming.

 

[Cheleigh]

You may want to check to see if your "normal" trims are really normal. Just make sure you are growing more than you are trimming.

ITA. I wear my hair out most of the time, and I seem to be able to retain length so far. I was concerned about trimming my hair frequently, but it seems that I may only need to dust occasionally and trim every three-four months. I co-wash and detangle frequently and I use no heat and almost no styling products. I also moisturize a lot, which seems to help prevent broken hair and split ends.

 

[Victorian]

You may want to check to see if your "normal" trims are really normal. Just make sure you are growing more than you are trimming.

This is the first thing that popped into my mind too. I'm not anti-trim, but I am for limiting trims. katote, this whole trimming thing may not even be the issue you're having, but in case it is, and in case someone else reading this could benefit I'm gonna tell my story.

When I was relaxed I trimmed usually with every relaxer (about every 3 months). That doesn't seem like very often, but I was only growing about 1/4" per month, so trimming a normal amount, like 1/2" every 3 months would leave me with about an inch of retained newgrowth by the end of the year. An INCH!
When I stopped trimming so much I finally reached new lengths. For the more visual learners, I have attached a comparison photo.

The first picture is from 8th grade, and the one next to it is 3 years later, in 11th grade. It took me 3 YEARS to grow that much hair, and keep in mind that my ends are tucked in the first picture so there's actually a smaller difference in length than it may look. It really is about a 3 inch difference. Although I'm a big fan of the blunt look, the trims really were taking away most of my length.
In the next line, you see my hair length just after a cut. I was starting fresh for my LHCF journey (had no idea I'd be going natural at this point). The next picture is almost exactly 1 year later, at which point I was already transitioning, but was trying to reach bsl before my big chop. I had some newgrowth in the first pic and since I'm not pulling the hair down like in the second pic you can't see exactly what the difference is, but you'll probably still agree that there's somewhere between a 2-3 inch difference.
This is 3 years versus 1 year, people, and my hair was growing at the same slow rate the whole time. And although I had given up my blowdryer for a while when I first joined LHCF, I went back to it to keep the newgrowth under control during my transition. So basically everything was the same except A. I wasn't relaxing and B. I wasn't trimming (I did dust from time to time but no substantial trims). It's nearly impossible for me to say whether or not the lack of relaxer had something to do with it. My hair was still growing at the same rate, and if anything I had MORE breakage during my transition because of the serious line of demarcation I had. So really it comes down to the trimming.
2-3 inches retained over the course of a year may seem small, but that's just how my hair was growing, and it's a heck of a lot better than ONE inch.

Now that I'm fully natural I'm paying much more attention to overall health of body, scalp, and hair, and sticking to my low trimming schedule (scissors touch my hair 2 times per year), and at my one year bc anniversary I had retained almost 7.5 inches. Clearly my hair is growing faster now, but I still know from the comparison above that if I had been trimming more often I wouldn't have come away with this much length. And I don't do protective styles either.
So the take home point is to STOP CUTTING OFF YOUR PROGRESS!!!

Okay, I'm done

 

[MeccaMedinah]

I've had a lot of trouble lately retaining length. I believe that the problem is the water at my house. So this weekend past I bought a filter for my shower. My hair should get back on track now.

 

[lana]

Poohbear: This is my first sew in in like 4 years. I wore it so far for 6 weeks. I'm going to take it out like tomorrow or Friday. I got an inch of growth but that's normal in 6 weeks. (not a lot in my opinion)

I press my hair bi-weekly but "press" may be the wrong word, I get it professionally flat ironed or I flat iron it myself. So twice a month I use heat. I don't get regular trims anymore because I was cutting away my growth. I trim only when needed now and I prefer to do my own trims with sharp scissors used only for hair.

What do you think Poohbear?

 

[lana]

Poohbear: This is my first sew in in like 4 years. I wore it so far for 6 weeks. I'm going to take it out like tomorrow or Friday. I got an inch of growth but that's normal in 6 weeks. (not a lot in my opinion)

I press my hair bi-weekly but "press" may be the wrong word, I get it professionally flat ironed or I flat iron it myself with the Sedu 1 inch. So twice a month I use heat. I don't get regular trims anymore because I was cutting away my growth. I trim only when needed now and I prefer to do my own trims with sharp scissors used only for hair.

What do you think Poohbear?

 

[Estee]

I've been natural for 7+ years now and I expected way more length than I have. I was making great progress, at well below shoulder length, up until 2 years ago when I stopped doing what I doing. I stopped covering my hair at night, wasn't moisturizing my ends, no CO washes, stopped taking hair vitamins, stopped juicing, stopped coming to LHCF , you name it. I thought with all the length I had, I could stop focussing on my hair as much and just style it. WRONG!!! If I were to be graded on effort, I would have flunked.

Why was I dumbfounded last year when I couldn't figure out why my crown had dropped to 3 inches and the texture was extremely hard? I even had Barry Fletcher himself look at my hair, he claimed my texture was always that way... Heck no I told him! Even the professionals aren't always right. Well, I have since gotten back on track with my old regimen and some new tips (thanks to the ladies here at LHCF ) since the beginning of the year and I am definitely seeing results!

Since it's summertime, I'm going to wear mostly 2 strand twists and an occassional afro puff to protect my ends and manipulate less often.

Don't give up! It's just a matter of time and EFFORT.

 

[Poohbear]

Poohbear: This is my first sew in in like 4 years. I wore it so far for 6 weeks. I'm going to take it out like tomorrow or Friday. I got an inch of growth but that's normal in 6 weeks. (not a lot in my opinion)

I press my hair bi-weekly but "press" may be the wrong word, I get it professionally flat ironed or I flat iron it myself with the Sedu 1 inch. So twice a month I use heat. I don't get regular trims anymore because I was cutting away my growth. I trim only when needed now and I prefer to do my own trims with sharp scissors used only for hair.

What do you think Poohbear?

Using heat bi-weekly may be the culprit to not retaining more hair... just think... in a year, you are actually using heat about 104 times! But do you ever see broken hairs on your shoulders or clothes throughout the week or right after your hair is completely flat ironed???

 

[lana]

I think I use heat about 2 times a month, so that's more like 24 times a year....(12 months times 2 ...)

Anyways I haven't used heat in 6 weeks and I plan to do sew ins more often to give my hair a rest. As long as I can wash it while in the sew in I'm okay.

I don't really notice breakage anymore since I've been learning how to take care of my hair with moisture and protein. But I'll keep an eye on it.

Sometimes hair will break as fast as it's growing. The thing with my hair is it usually grows 6 inches a year. I think my main problem was for the last few years I used to let stylists cut off 3 or 4 inches with trims that were actually cuts. So I never saw any length...now I hope to see more.

Sorry for the double post up there.

 

[Poohbear]

I think I use heat about 2 times a month, so that's more like 24 times a year....(12 months times 2 ...)

:Blush2: OOPS! I'm sorry.... I calculated twice a week instead of twice a month! LOL!

Anyways I haven't used heat in 6 weeks and I plan to do sew ins more often to give my hair a rest. As long as I can wash it while in the sew in I'm okay.

I don't really notice breakage anymore since I've been learning how to take care of my hair with moisture and protein. But I'll keep an eye on it.

Sometimes hair will break as fast as it's growing. The thing with my hair is it usually grows 6 inches a year. I think my main problem was for the last few years I used to let stylists cut off 3 or 4 inches with trims that were actually cuts. So I never saw any length...now I hope to see more.

Sorry for the double post up there.

Yeah, get your stylist to cut off less from your ends.... I hope you see more length too... Happy hair growing!

 

[lana]

Oh that's okay girl. I was like over a 100 times a year REALLY? LOL

I found a new stylist and I think I'M going to have to ask HIM for a trim, because so far he hasn't suggested one. He says my ends look fine and he'll let me know when it's time. He's hesitant to cut off length. I just want to get to below shoulder length and I will be thrilled. I'm almost there. Just need three inches. So I hope in six months I'll be singing from the rooftops. I gained 3 inches! Hurray!

I honestly am thinking about getting a curly sew in for another six weeks but I want my hair to rest in between.