Please help, I just realized my hair has not grown in 3 years. No clue whats wrong?

[curlytwirly06]

Hi, I;m new here so forgive me if I'm posting in the wrong section or something. Anyway, I was looking back at some old pictures and realized that my natural 2b-3c hair is pretty much the same length as it was 3 years ago. I have no idea what I could be doing wrong. About 2 years ago I really got my regimen down solid. Before that I had some unhealthy hair habit and not paying attention to breakage, not utilizing trims etc. After that year my moisture retention, hair sheen, softness all of it went through the roof. My hair feels amazing now. Anyone who touches it says the same thing about how moisturized it is. Here is my regimen :

Starting thurs. night
finger detangle with hemp seed oil, brahmi oil, olive oil and peppermint oil mix. let sit overnight

Get in the shower and finger detangle again ( my hair is like butter at this point so its really easy) use shampoo (every other week) or co-wash , if shampoo then follow up with conditioner. I use Mill creek organics brand by the way. I usually do a few gentle run through with my denman.

Henna once a month, and A light protein treatment like aphogee 2min reconstructor or ORS mayo once a week. MY hair is VERY fine and loves protein.

Deep condition with my mixture of AOHSR, honey, various oils, and coconut milk.

rinse hair then rinse again with chilled ACV or Green / black tea

Braidout for the week and wait for it to dry / set - usually 24 hours

During the week I use a hair milk re-seal my ends and rebraid for the next day.

I trim the edges of my twist once every 1-2 months as of this past 1.5 years.

Admitted I wear my hair down in my braidout Mon-thurs. and up or tied down fri-sun. I length check every blue moon. I am terrible at styling my hair and gave up and usually wear braid outs. I thought I could get away with this because I stay deep conditioning and moisturizing. But looking at it now I wonder if my lack of PS is what is deterring my growth. I really would like some feedback at what better I could be doing with my hair. I dont know why i'm not retaining.

Side note * I'm have used aphogee , dudleys DRC, ORS mayo and Aphogee 2 step. I have never noticed dramatic difference in my hair after using them subtle difference but no decrease in shedding (I don't shed much at all) or a decrease in the breakage I get on wash day. I get more than a few of the little hairs and I'm not comfortable with it. My hair is never dry and always bounces back into shape. Please help me. Also I have c-cell which causes anemia which I take iron tabs for ( im not nearly as regular as I should be with them) I don't drink enough water I think, maybe 2-3 liters a day. I am not consistent with exercise. I am working on getting better at all these things.

Below is a hair timeline so you can see what I'm talking about:

 

[Subscribe]

Re: Please help, I just realized my hair has not grown in 3 years. No clue whats wron

Welcome to posting on the board

You and your hair are pretty.

Your hair is growing, your just not retaining it Your regi seems to be address your hair but I think your style choice is effecting your ability to retain.

I would find the bun/wig/weave challenge and see which one fits your lifestyle.

Good luck!

 

[newgrowth15]

Re: Please help, I just realized my hair has not grown in 3 years. No clue whats wron

curlytwirly06, your hair looks thicker in the 3rd picture and longer in the last picture, so you are getting growth. Perhaps your main problem in retention. The constant manipulation of re-braiding your hair for your style of choice is sacrificing your retention. Maybe you should try low manipulation styles for the next 3 months to see if you notice a difference. You will then have something to gauge your retention and will be in a better position to decide how you want to proceed. Hope this helps.

 

[curlytwirly06]

curlytwirly06, your hair looks thicker in the 3rd picture and longer in the last picture, so you are getting growth. Perhaps your main problem in retention. The constant manipulation of re-braiding your hair for your style of choice is sacrificing your retention. Maybe you should try low manipulation styles for the next 3 months to see if you notice a difference. You will then have something to gauge your retention and will be in a better position to decide how you want to proceed. Hope this helps.

Thank you for your response. I am hesitant about buns because they always look anemic on me. I hate pulling my edges. I am currently in yarn braids- my first set in 10 years - because its summer and Its a style I can do and take down monthly. Also it works better for me than having to style my hair. I just have not found a style to consistantly work for me yet. Maybe I should get more creative. Thanks again! I will take your advice!

 

[curlytwirly06]

Welcome to posting on the board

You and your hair are pretty.

Your hair is growing, your just not retaining it Your regi seems to be address your hair but I think your style choice is effecting your ability to retain.

I would find the bun/wig/weave challenge and see which one fits your lifestyle.

Good luck!

I was leaning in that direction but trying to kid myself that my lack of PS and braid manipulation was not the culprit. Boo who, guess I am going to have to find some other style that looks alright on me and I can do easily. Thank you for your feedback! Also thank you for your compliment my mother always tells me how much she loathes my hair. Your comment made me feel a bit.more confident.

 

[curlytwirly06]

Also if anyone has any product suggestions like protien treatments and daily moisturizers I would gladly accept them!

 

[Urban]

Re: Please help, I just realized my hair has not grown in 3 years. No clue whats wron

- What are you doing that's breaking your ends off?
- Do you use a comb at all? What kind? How much hair are you getting in your comb? Is it shed hair or broken hair?
- How much tangling to you get in your hair?
- How much do you cut during your trims?
- Are you relaxed or natural?

 

[coolsista-paris]

i too have fine hair.
dusting is great. i think you need to keep your hair off your shoulders. wear protective styles.

never bun at the same area for long time: that have me bad breakage.

good luck ;-)

 

[Prettymetty]

Re: Please help, I just realized my hair has not grown in 3 years. No clue whats wron

Maybe every 2 months is too often to trim. Try dusting your ends every 6 months and see if that helps. My hair loves protein also. To balance it out I use aloe vera juice/glycerin as a leave in spritzer a few times a week. I buy both from Cvs or Walmart

 

[veesweets]

Might look into switching out the denman. Fine hair and the denman don't always work together. I know I had to throw mine out even after I modified it

 

[ckisland]

Re: Please help, I just realized my hair has not grown in 3 years. No clue whats wron

I would guess the culprit is daily braiding and your hair rubbing against your shoulders. The only way I could rebraid my hair at night and not suffer from breakage was by adding a small bit of oil to my fingers and doing only 3 braids. I also found doing a big twist and clipping it to the top of my head (would change the position) also let me maintain braidouts.
I can't bun my hair without my ends getting chewed up, so what I used to do was wear my hair up loosely in an octopus claw. It gets your hair off your shoulders without pulling your edges or being rough on your ends . Also, doing a braidout and clipping it up will give you a thicker look. I did this routine for a summer and I retailed every bit of length I grew!

ETA: Yeah, the denman is the devil for a lot of people's hair. I would give that rest for a little while to see if it helps too.

 

[overtherainbow]

Re: Please help, I just realized my hair has not grown in 3 years. No clue whats wron

OP, you got some good advice. I agree with everyone about the rebraiding every night being the culprit. I don't have fine strands but my hair would definitely protest. I would also drop the denman and maybe start detangling on damp/dry hair instead of wet hair in the shower. I found I lose more hair when I shower detangle because the hair is at its weakest.

 

[leona2025]

Re: Please help, I just realized my hair has not grown in 3 years. No clue whats wron

Braid outs and buns are my main two styles. I do my braidouts on hair that is about 75% to 85% dry. I can usually rock my braid out a few days before the curls really fall and then I rock a messy bun. If I want to rebraid I spritz the dry hair with water. For me combing/brushing completely dry hair results in breakage.

 

[koolkittychick]

Re: Please help, I just realized my hair has not grown in 3 years. No clue whats wron

OP, just wanted to say you and your hair are gorgeous! You got some good advice above, mainly that you probably should start protective styling more and limit your trims to 3 times a year max; assuming you grow the average, (half an inch a month) and your hair is breaking off at the ends from rubbing on your shoulders to the tune of maybe a quarter of an inch a month average, and you're getting trims of even as little as a quarter inch every 1-2 months, you could be losing all of your growth for that month from "wear and tear" and trims alone.

One way to slow that down is to make finger detangling on damp (not wet) hair your primary means of styling; just put the denman brush and comb away for a while and see what happens. Once I learned to style my hair this way, my retention shot up exponentially. You seem to be doing everything else right. Good luck, and hopefully you will see some changes soon.

 

[BostonMaria]

Re: Please help, I just realized my hair has not grown in 3 years. No clue whats wron

Maybe you're not retaining because you are using too much protein - aphoghee AND henna IMO may be too much for your hair. I would do one or the other... pick one and maybe cut it down to every 2-3 months. I know that some of the fine haired ladies have complained that too much protein didn't work too well for them.

My only other suggestion would be to do more protective styles for 6 months and see how your hair reacts.

Good luck!!

 

[greenandchic]

Re: Please help, I just realized my hair has not grown in 3 years. No clue whats wron

Have you tried putting your hair up in a "pineapple" at night instead of constantly rebraiding? Here is a list of videos if you're not familiar with it. Pineapple Method

 

[curlytwirly06]

Re: Please help, I just realized my hair has not grown in 3 years. No clue whats wron

- What are you doing that's breaking your ends off?
- Do you use a comb at all? What kind? How much hair are you getting in your comb? Is it shed hair or broken hair?
- How much tangling to you get in your hair?
- How much do you cut during your trims?
- Are you relaxed or natural?

Hello! I am natural, no chemicals at all I have not been using tools for almost 1.5 years now. As of a month ago I used a denman once to detangle before putting in the yarn braids I have in now. I have very little shed hair. I detangle on dry hair with my oil mix and then let my hair sit overnight. Then in the shower the next day I detangle with my fingers for any missed strands and lastly run the denman through 1-2 times. I get broken hairs when I detangle the first time and maybe a few in the shower. Outside of the denman I don't use any tool at all. no brushes combs etc.

Maybe every 2 months is too often to trim. Try dusting your ends every 6 months and see if that helps. My hair loves protein also. To balance it out I use aloe vera juice/glycerin as a leave in spritzer a few times a week. I buy both from Cvs or Walmart

Thanks for the suggestions. I appreciate you taking the time to comment!

I would guess the culprit is daily braiding and your hair rubbing against your shoulders. The only way I could rebraid my hair at night and not suffer from breakage was by adding a small bit of oil to my fingers and doing only 3 braids. I also found doing a big twist and clipping it to the top of my head (would change the position) also let me maintain braidouts.
I can't bun my hair without my ends getting chewed up, so what I used to do was wear my hair up loosely in an octopus claw. It gets your hair off your shoulders without pulling your edges or being rough on your ends . Also, doing a braidout and clipping it up will give you a thicker look. I did this routine for a summer and I retailed every bit of length I grew!

Thank you! I am realizing that I have to PS from now on. I don't really like the way buns look on me. They always come out thin looking. When I do a braid out I only do eight braids the first day and four to re-braid at night. I like your idea about an updo on braid out hair! Thanks!

ETA: Yeah, the denman is the devil for a lot of people's hair. I would give that rest for a little while to see if it helps too.

NOOOO! LOl, I just bought one a month ago and used it for detangling once before I put in yarn braids. I fell in love with how easily I could detangle with it. Is there any way to safely use it?

Braid outs and buns are my main two styles. I do my braidouts on hair that is about 75% to 85% dry. I can usually rock my braid out a few days before the curls really fall and then I rock a messy bun. If I want to rebraid I spritz the dry hair with water. For me combing/brushing completely dry hair results in breakage.

How often do you PS? How much do you retain? Has this method worked for you? I don't use combs or brushes ever. I use my denman for like 2 swipes through my hair after I have thoroughly finger detangled just for the smoothness.

OP, just wanted to say you and your hair are gorgeous! You got some good advice above, mainly that you probably should start protective styling more and limit your trims to 3 times a year max; assuming you grow the average, (half an inch a month) and your hair is breaking off at the ends from rubbing on your shoulders to the tune of maybe a quarter of an inch a month average, and you're getting trims of even as little as a quarter inch every 1-2 months, you could be losing all of your growth for that month from "wear and tear" and trims alone.

Thank you for your kindness! I will try to cut of trims. Anytime my ends dont feel perfectly blunt I hit up the scissors. Your analysis really broke it down for me Thanks! How often should I protective style? What should my schedule look like?

One way to slow that down is to make finger detangling on damp (not wet) hair your primary means of styling; just put the denman brush and comb away for a while and see what happens. Once I learned to style my hair this way, my retention shot up exponentially. You seem to be doing everything else right. Good luck, and hopefully you will see some changes soon.

Hi, thank you for your time. I detangle on dry hair saturated with oil. My hair is fairly tangle free at the time because I keep it braided throughout the week. I dont use an tools besides my hands mon-fri. On saturday I swipe my denman through 1-2 times on already detangled hair. I love the smoothness it gives my hair. There is virtually no hair in the brush when I do this. Is this still a bad thing? I was using no tools at all for about a year and a few months and I did not see that much of a difference in splits or breakage etc.

Maybe you're not retaining because you are using too much protein - aphoghee AND henna IMO may be too much for your hair. I would do one or the other... pick one and maybe cut it down to every 2-3 months. I know that some of the fine haired ladies have complained that too much protein didn't work too well for them.

My only other suggestion would be to do more protective styles for 6 months and see how your hair reacts.

Good luck!!

Hi, Thanks for your reply! I don't think protein is my problem. I experimented with doing full strength henna treatments every week for two months and saw no adverse effects. My hair did not dry out or anything. I have used dudly's and megatek. All with no adverse effects. My hair just drinks it up. I moisturize and have no problem. I was actually looking for something stronger seeing as how I used all these products and never felt a real kick if you feel meerplexed. I am definitely doing a PS challenge for myself. I am going to keep my hair in braids for the next three months with two week intervals. Thanks!

 

[Subscribe]

Re: Please help, I just realized my hair has not grown in 3 years. No clue whats wron

Weave it up for 6 -7 months. Do back to back weaves and then do a self reveal and celebrate for Thanksgiving!

 

[newgrowth15]

Re: Please help, I just realized my hair has not grown in 3 years. No clue whats wron

curlytwirly06, I forgot to ask, do you ever baggy your ends to lock in extra moisture? If not, perhaps you can try bagging your ends a few times per week, when you are not in the yarn braids. It really helps with retention.

 

[Urban]

Re: Please help, I just realized my hair has not grown in 3 years. No clue whats wron

Hello! I am natural, no chemicals at all I have not been using tools for almost 1.5 years now. As of a month ago I used a denman once to detangle before putting in the yarn braids I have in now. I have very little shed hair. I detangle on dry hair with my oil mix and then let my hair sit overnight. Then in the shower the next day I detangle with my fingers for any missed strands and lastly run the denman through 1-2 times. I get broken hairs when I detangle the first time and maybe a few in the shower. Outside of the denman I don't use any tool at all. no brushes combs etc.

Ok, so you get the most broken hairs when you're detangling on the dry hair? What's actually breaking the hair? Are you pulling/ripping knots apart? Y'know what I mean? Hair doesn't just magically fall off because you're detangling. There's a force that's being applied that's breaking the hair. I'm texlaxed now, but when I was natural (10 years) I found that I have to extremely slow and gentle like I was handling strands of silk. If I pulled at all, it was highly likely that I was breaking something.

Have you tried a detangling product? I know there are many detangling conditioners. I've used Johnson and Johnson detangling spray in the past. But you can looking up old threads on what detangling products the other ladies are using. You want a product that has Behentrimonium Methosulfate. So perhaps use your oil if you like it, then add a detangling product on top and give it time to work.

You have fine hair like me. I would completely avoid the denman/ tangle teezer/ anything with small teeth.

My other question to you is: Why do you trim? What is the purpose of your regular trims? From my understanding trims are to get rid of split or damaged ends. Are your ends splitting or damaged? If so, is it ALL the ends or just some? If it's just some, then you may need to think about just "dusting," rather than just potentially trimming off perfectly healthy strands. If you look at your ends and see no damage/splitting, there's no need to trim!

I find a lot of people perceive where your hair becomes thin right at the end of your hair is automatically "split ends". Not necessarily so. All your strands are growing in a different rates/ times so some are currently longer than others - giving that appearance of thinness. Eventually though, the slightly shorter ones will enter their growth phase and catch up with the others etc. Don't take my word for it, I think you can google on how hair grows from a scientific source or basic dermatology textbook. So just because there's that thinness right at the end of your hair, it doesn't necessarily mean it needs trimming. Actually look at it and see if it needs trimming. <-- this page has good, clear pictures. Of course there's a time when all the ends may feel raggedy and you may want to chop them all off ... usually they feel like that when they are old ... but I doubt that should be every 1-2 months, if so they are being unnecessarily damaged and you may need to re-evaluate your regimen.

In summary:

- I would leave the Denman alone. Stick to your fingers, a wide tooth comb and a detangler.
- If you find yourself holding a pair of scissors, really question yourself as to what you're doing and what purpose it's serving.

 

[leona2025]

Re: Please help, I just realized my hair has not grown in 3 years. No clue whats wron

How often do you PS? How much do you retain? Has this method worked for you? I don't use combs or brushes ever. I use my denman for like 2 swipes through my hair after I have thoroughly finger detangled just for the smoothness.

I don't really protective style. I bun, ponytail and braid out. It just depends on how I feel after the wash. Plus it's quick and easy for work.
This method has worked for me. I have been doing this for several years and first I noticed my hair thicken back up from a bleaching diaster. I believe I'm going to reach wl this year if I can keep from cutting.

I'm texlaxed, but finger combing doesn't work for me. My hair is very tangly. So I detangle damp hair with a wide tooth comb. I do have a bad habit of pulling my hair to get the shed strains out.

 

[curlytwirly06]

Re: Please help, I just realized my hair has not grown in 3 years. No clue whats wron

Ok, so you get the most broken hairs when you're detangling on the dry hair? What's actually breaking the hair? Are you pulling/ripping knots apart? Y'know what I mean? Hair doesn't just magically fall off because you're detangling. There's a force that's being applied that's breaking the hair. I'm texlaxed now, but when I was natural (10 years) I found that I have to extremely slow and gentle like I was handling strands of silk. If I pulled at all, it was highly likely that I was breaking something.

Have you tried a detangling product? I know there are many detangling conditioners. I've used Johnson and Johnson detangling spray in the past. But you can looking up old threads on what detangling products the other ladies are using. You want a product that has Behentrimonium Methosulfate. So perhaps use your oil if you like it, then add a detangling product on top and give it time to work.

You have fine hair like me. I would completely avoid the denman/ tangle teezer/ anything with small teeth.

My other question to you is: Why do you trim? What is the purpose of your regular trims? From my understanding trims are to get rid of split or damaged ends. Are your ends splitting or damaged? If so, is it ALL the ends or just some? If it's just some, then you may need to think about just "dusting," rather than just potentially trimming off perfectly healthy strands. If you look at your ends and see no damage/splitting, there's no need to trim!

I find a lot of people perceive where your hair becomes thin right at the end of your hair is automatically "split ends". Not necessarily so. All your strands are growing in a different rates/ times so some are currently longer than others - giving that appearance of thinness. Eventually though, the slightly shorter ones will enter their growth phase and catch up with the others etc. Don't take my word for it, I think you can google on how hair grows from a scientific source or basic dermatology textbook. So just because there's that thinness right at the end of your hair, it doesn't necessarily mean it needs trimming. Actually look at it and see if it needs trimming. <-- this page has good, clear pictures. Of course there's a time when all the ends may feel raggedy and you may want to chop them all off ... usually they feel like that when they are old ... but I doubt that should be every 1-2 months, if so they are being unnecessarily damaged and you may need to re-evaluate your regimen.

In summary:

- I would leave the Denman alone. Stick to your fingers, a wide tooth comb and a detangler.
- If you find yourself holding a pair of scissors, really question yourself as to what you're doing and what purpose it's serving.

Thank you so much for your in depth analysis. I am still taking everything you said into consideration.Thanks!

 

[curlytwirly06]

Re: Please help, I just realized my hair has not grown in 3 years. No clue whats wron

I don't really protective style. I bun, ponytail and braid out. It just depends on how I feel after the wash. Plus it's quick and easy for work.
This method has worked for me. I have been doing this for several years and first I noticed my hair thicken back up from a bleaching diaster. I believe I'm going to reach wl this year if I can keep from cutting.

I'm texlaxed, but finger combing doesn't work for me. My hair is very tangly. So I detangle damp hair with a wide tooth comb. I do have a bad habit of pulling my hair to get the shed strains out.

Very interesting. I like your method. Outside of braids I really don't like protective styling... but I will make the sacrifice for my hair. I will take everything you said into consideration.

 

[curlytwirly06]

Re: Please help, I just realized my hair has not grown in 3 years. No clue whats wron

curlytwirly06, I forgot to ask, do you ever baggy your ends to lock in extra moisture? If not, perhaps you can try bagging your ends a few times per week, when you are not in the yarn braids. It really helps with retention.

Great idea! Thanks! Since I exclusively do (or now did) braid outs I avoided moisture because it would add to frizz. But now I am going to also implement into my regimen.

 

[topnotch1010]

Re: Please help, I just realized my hair has not grown in 3 years. No clue whats wron

Two things: Denman is a blow drying brush. Don't use it. Don't brush your hair AT ALL except the edges. They are rough on the hair.

Hair doesn't grow that fast in a month. You're cutting off all of your progress. Braid outs are ok. Be careful how you secure the ends though. That could be a culprit as well.

I think your main problem is the trims. Ditch them and get one, maybe two trims max per year.