What did you do CORRECTLY before hair boards?

[Crysdon]

We've all made posts of all the awful things we've done to our hair. I think we should post the healthy/correct procedures we've done in the past. You'd be surprised at the knowledge some of us knew.

I'll start first:

1. Always tied my head with a satin scarf

2. Stopped using "doo-doo brown (pre-con) gel" a looooong time ago

3. Washed my hair once a week

4. Spaced my relaxers every 8 weeks (currently 12 weeks)

5. Used a leave-in detangler

6. Wore a protective style (ponytail) 3 weeks before and up to a touch-up.

 

[Shatani]

um....while natural...i didnt comb dry hair, i was sure to moisturize daily, and.....hmmmm....yeah, i guess thats it! hahaha....oh! i did conditioner washes!! woo hoo! got three!
~T~

 

[Nay]

Used my wide-toothed K-Cutter. I HAD to. It's the only comb that can tame this hair

 

[PretteePlease]

braids for growth method, satin pillow cases/bonnets etc, less is more method, spacing relaxers

 

[inthepink]

*Airdried in ponytail to decrease heat usage.
*Only used curling iron once every week or every two weeks.
*Moisturized hair.
*Used a leave-in conditioner.
*Use fine tooth comb to smooth instead of brush. (only problem is that it wasn't seamless...I knew nothing about seamless then.)
*Got regular trims b/c I was using heat and didn't want scraggly ends.
*Did not use any type of gel on hair.
*Left it alone once it was done for the day.
*Stuck to with same stylists for consistent results (i.e. relaxer application)
*Wore a satin scarf.
*Detangled hair in shower.

 

[Guest]

Satin Bonnets.

Weekly Washing.

PJ junkie but not using them properly.

 

[ubavka123]

Satin pillowcases
deep conditioning
washing every 3 days
touch-ups no earlier than 2 mos after last
same hairdresser/relaxer for 10 years
protective styles

 

[NaturalRox]

Great topic! To be honest though, I really didn't do anything positive for my hair before coming across my hair boards. What a God-send they've been for me!

 

[Innocent_Kiss]

Actually, nothing really

I did wash my hair once a week, though

 

[MissB]

I used a satin bonnet and satin pillow case. And I went to the salon every 2 weeks for 10 years. I did not wash in between. I did avoid products with drying alcohol.

 

[cutebajangirl]

washed weekly
never used a curling iron
air dried
covered at night (sometimes)
relaxed every 8 weeks
never used gel or spritz

 

[Victorian]

I only relaxed every few months

protective styles 99.9% of the time

moisturized every day

washed once a week

deep conditioned every wash

I was a big fan of frizz ease serum (still am

)

Come to think of it, all I was really doing "wrong" was using heat too much (blowdried every time I washed and wasn't afraid of using the curling iron to straighten any and all newgrowth

) and not tying my hair up at night (I slept in my ponytails

). Unfortunately, those two things were enough to keep my hair from ever reaching bra-strap length. I was stuck at the same length forever because I had to keep trimming the scraggly ends (from the shameless use of heat). I had just figured my hair didn't grow longer than around "shoulder blade" length.

Funny, now that I know what to do to get past that point, I'm cutting it off on purpose (transitioning)

 

[Supergirl]

*stretching relaxers
*good conditioning regime
*little or no heat
*satin on every night

 

[ballet_bun]

-air dried
-protected ends
-used curling iron only once a week (a lot less now)
-stopped using gel and hairspray, except on special ocassions.

**NOTE: most of this went out the window in between 01 January 2003 - 16th July 2003.

 

[chocolate01]

I always slept with a scarf on and got regular trims.

 

[simplycee]

Moisturized every night, flat iron as needed, washed once a week, alternated which side I wrapped, always used a satin scarf, roller sets instead of curling iron, deep conditioned at least 2x a month, relaxers at least 8 weeks apart

 

[carletta]

SAD TO SAY.... NOT 1 DARN THING

 

[Tai]

Washed at least once weekly
Slept in a satin bonnet
Didn't use grease (but didn't moisturize at all)
Only used heat weekly (still too much for my hair)
Detangled with wide tooth comb
Regular "trims" (more like mini cuts 2-3 inches gone each trim)

Stretched texturizers 8-12 weeks

 

[Dare~to~Dream]

*Washed hair once a week [I wash twice a week now]*
*Monthly hot oil treatments [TCB hot oils]*
*ALWAYS slept with a silk scarf to protect hair*
*Leave-in conditioners [I don't use them anymore though]*
*Braids or wore fake buns/ponytails to cover real hair*
*Took hair vitamins and a regular multi-vitamin*

Even though, I've done these things...my hair NEVER GREW. Back then, I pressed my hair more frequently and when I had braids sometimes they made my hair "worse" instead of "better". If it grew while I was in braids, I eventually lost the 1/4 inch.

I read Cathy Howse's book and joined sites like this and changed up a few things like moisturizing everyday instead of using grease. I also started doing intensive conditioning and protein treatments.

 

[ChildlikeEmpress]

Ah, well....

::thinks a minute:: I never lit it on fire. Does that count for anything?

Seriously, I pretty much did EVERYTHING wrong. The only thing I did right was using conditioner. And as bad as perming and daily heat use were for my hair, that was pretty much pointless.

~Rochelle.

 

[webby]

Always used a silk scarf
Used the best products for my hair type/texture (thanks to years of spending money at dom salons)
Kept hair, especially ends moisturized
Always used creme rinse to detangle hair
Minimized handling of hair
Never used hair clips, bands, or anything that would cause breakage
Was never afraid of a good trim/cut

 

[VelvetRain]

Deep conditioned my hair twice a weekly- I have since become super lazy.

Used a silk hair scarf

No hand held blowdryer

Rollersetting for literally years.

Trims with every relaxer re-touch.

 

[TigerLily]

I got a relaxer every 8-12 weeks.
Used a satin scarf.

 

[calbear]

I didn't get REAL serious about growing my hair until last year so I was stretching my relaxer, keeping up with my protective styles and no heat. I think I wasn't doing all that bad - now I'm doing just a bit better with the vitamins, moisture and a few other things.

 

[CharUK]

Nothing

 

[kandyland]

When I think about it I did alot of things right
deep condition
hot oil treatment
protein treatment
wash 1 a week
satin scarf
no heat(roller wraps and then rewrap at night was my staple style)
vitamins
plenty of water.
I had a really good stylist who was really big on hair care and not hair styles..***I MISS YOU GIRL!!*** She and my mother taught me alot about hair care. One of things I didn't do however was protective styles.I wore my hair out e'ryday. That's why when I found LHCF..my hair took off.

I LOVE LHCF

 

[NubianQueen]

When I was in the ninth grade, for a few months I washed my hair weekly

. BUT, I did not use a conditioner and then I pressed with Blue Magic!

In my mid twenties I moisturized my weave with Sta-Sof-Fro and CareFree Curl Gold Moisturizer every night for months.

So, basically my answer is: Nothing (at least not consistently)!

 

[nurseN98]

I always wore a satin scarf @ bedtime
Always spaced out relaxer touch-up at least 3 months
Deep conditioned with every wash

 

[Leslie_C]

well for the year before LHCF I wore a fake pony which protected my ends, only relaxed about 3 times that year, did a reconstructor every other week, no blow dryers(only every few months to see how much it had grown) and left my hair alone other than that.

it was kind of partly by choice, partly bc of necessity bc my hair was really damaged so I cut it down to almost nothing. It was too short to style and most of it was natural so thats all I knew to do with it. it definitely paid off though.

since Ive joined LHCF and adopted a more detailed regimen Ive worn my own hair, and its still making steady progress, my sides needed a break from the phonytail anyway. I will still alternate with this style from time to time in the fall.

 

[candibaby]

slept in a scarf at night
already used profectiv products (mega growth, healthy ends, 3n1..)
i quit putting gel in my hair