@PlanetCybertron said:
"I had half a mind to put my hair up in some plaits, but I was so done with this wash day I just split down my hair down the middle and did two high buns and slapped my bonnet on."
You didn't solicit any opinions...but....I noticed your hair on your right side is leading in length and very close to , if not at, your goal length. The hair in the middle is shorter than the hair on the left side.
That sometimes could mean the hair strength and fragility may vary in the different areas of the head, which is normal and common.
Have you considered splitting your hair in a different way instead of down the middle, in the back? Maybe split the hair from ear to ear so you have one section above and one section below?
Like this (But braided and protected)
Or like this with the part higher and rounder (But braided and protected)
View attachment 448551
BUT, instead of leaving the hair loose, maybe braiding it or putting it in a protective style?
Perhaps if your hair in the middle has that added protection, by being enfolded and covered by the longer hair on the right and left side, it will have extra support.
Now, you know your hair better than I. The front sides of my hair don't grow as fast and as long as the back of my hair near the nape. At least, not thus far. So, my suggestion may very well be way off base.
I mention it because I see that your hair continues to thicken from right to left. That longer section has gotten fuller. That looks to me it has done that because more hair from the center has dropped in length and joined your longer hair at the classic length. That's why I don't have the feeling in my gut that the hair in the middle just doesn't grow as long.
It seems to me that the texture of your hair might be different in the middle at the back , near the nape. I would guess it may be more coarse, and perhaps more dry there, than it is on the left and right sides.
By all means please contribute opinions. I thoroughly enjoy talking about any hair related lol.
Splitting my hair down the middle is so default for me. In fact I think I’ve been doing it for so long that my hair will kind of separate naturally somewhere down the middle.
I definitely need to try going horizontally. Once upon a time I used to, and just didn’t stick with it.
My left side is a bit longer stretched out. In the picture it’s much shorter considering I have quite a bit of new growth and only stretched the right side. I just usually grab my right side to show in pictures since it is still longer. But you’re definitely correct about my right side. It’s still longer than the left side.
Even if my left side does indeed grow slower, I believe that it doesn’t grow that much slower. I think it’s undergoing damage that’s making it shorter.
And you’re actually spot on about my middle/nape area. I too thought it just grew slower. Ever since I started growing my hair out. But In earlier pictures I’ve taken, it used to actually be the longest parts of my hair.
This one is a good example
That was taken October of last year, and for the most part my nape was the longest. But I was also wasn’t parting my hair down the middle that much if at all. I was mostly just bunning and keeping my hair all gathered up and together.
I think with the parting it’s causing slow wear and tear to my nape. Especially my crown area even more. I don’t braid or twist tightly, but I think just the actually mechanical movement of separating down the middle is enough to cause stress in that area.
As for texture. I do notice variations clearly. My nape and just above it has a very loose curl pattern. Even when I was natural that hair back there has always been a very loose 3 type of curl. The hair back there is also finer in texture, and noticeably softer. So I think it’s a good suggestion to start parting in a different way because my nape is proving to be a lot more fragile.
The number one spot(s) that are by far the most fragile is my crown area. Like many others, it’s the coarsest and driest area of my hair. It’s very resistant to almost everything except Butters and certain deep conditioners. Right at the dead center in the back of head where my crown is, is where the absolute most damage is. It’s not noticeable, but upon first glance it just looks like flyaways but there’s about a finger width patch of hair that is now about 4 inches long. It’s also slightly off to the left and right sides. But they’re a bit longer, but still have also broken off. So I have three small patches of hair that are all very broken off. And it was definitely caused by the way I part my hair.
To add, I think it gets worse considering I sleep on my back, and directly on the back of my head. So those parts inevitably get tension put on them, leaving my sensitive areas exposed. Even in a bonnet the tension is still there. Granted it’s a lot better than no bonnet, but still.
And then there’s the tangles it causes, and it’s a lot more tangly on the left side due to that short patch catching on multiple parts of my hair, so I think that’s the main driving force in the length discrepancy throughout my head.
The typical down the middle and then across the head is usually what I do. So four parts in total, and the epicenter of that parting is where my hair is reacting negatively to it.
So I do appreciate the feedback. I think parting in a whole new way would work. I just have to stick with it. I’d rather have that extra protection you mentioned from my longer areas and just have one big braid or twist in the back. May not look as good as I want at first but I’d like to give it a try.
And perhaps doing like Mohawk/fro hawk styles would be good too. Since all the hair is being kept up and together.
If I need more sections, I’ll just make a few more parts but all going horizontally. Like multiple parallel lines.
So I think it’ll cause a bit of a chain reaction. Changing how I part, will help with my crown, which will allow my nape hairs to have a break as well. With my crown not going through so much tension it’ll get longer which will cut down on tangling on my left side more so than anywhere else which will help it catch up to my right side.
That’s just for starters. I know it’ll probably take the rest of this year to get a habit going, but Im always open to very helpful suggestions, so thank you for chiming In
. It’s a nice texture, just has a little tiny bit of a gritty feeling, but I like the texture overall. I also have about 1.5 lbs of their Shea Nilotica that is very creamy. I’m excited to play with them both and make some whips, but I have plenty for my hair already whipped up and don’t need any more right now. I have a coworker who has ordered an 8oz whip for next Friday, so i’ll get to play then, 
. I think I’m gonna get some BTMS and get back to formulating conditioners, this time with Shea butter as the base “oil”, and see how it works for me. I was always scared to use Shea in my hair conditioner formulating in the past because I thought it would be too heavy. So I’ll see how it works for me now. 
