What do you guys think?(Long but please read)

[missyT]

I am planning to waer my hair in weaves for a period of two years so as to really grow my hair. I believe it grows better in weaves as oppose to braids because I had been wearing braids for a majority of my life and my hair never really used to grow. I suppose that could be because I was not bothered to take care of it therefore it would break at the same rate that it grew.

Anyhoo, I believe my hair is growing now that it is in weaves. For some reason I think having it all woven up keeps it more moist becaus the ends are up against your scalp and therefore when you add moisturisers to your hair, it is able to get to the ends as well.
So far I am using braid sheen spray alone, I was using surge before but I left that at home (I'm living in uni. halls). I apply it once a week because I don't want to much build up.

I am on my second weave and have been in weaves for 4 months now. With my last weave I washed my scalp about every 3 weeks but this one I haven't washed it at all for the 4 weeks I've had it.

Is that disgusting? Should I be washing my hair more often?

I'm just worried about ruining the weave because I am planning to keep it for 4 months? Is that bad?

It's just that I am a student and really can't afford to keep doing my hair every 2 months or shorter. I kept my last weave for 3 months but I wasn't happy with the amount of growth I got so I figured by leaving it for longer I will accumulate more growth.

Whilst on my challenge I am taking biotin, pantothenic acid, multi vits and vit.B. I didn't do this whist in my first weave, so I am hoping for more growth this time round.

In the 4 weeks I have this weave, I've gotten 1 1/2 cm of growth. Is that good or average? :scratchch I think its more that I got for that period of time with my last weave. Do you think this means that I would get 4 1/2 cm in 12 weeks? I wish!

Is there anything you guys can recommend I keep doing to ensure consitent growth?
Do I need to wash my scalp more often so as to keep the follicles clear?

All of your responses and suggestions will be much apprciated because I understand that this is a very long post.

Thanks in advance.

 

[esoterica]

Hi MissyT
I'm doing the weaving thing also, we might have to start a 2 year weave challenge from my experience in the last two months, washing your hair while in weave is very important for optimal growth and moisture as well, even if you are only applying braid sprays. even if you limit it to once a week, i'ts still better than once a month. i wash my hair every 3 days or so, so i'm probably biased! dont feel ashamed about ruining your hair, cause we all know that stuff costs money. one of the main reasons i'm chaning weaves every month is so i can do an aphogee treatment and a proper deep condition every month. i always neglected those two things and my hair really suffered.

as for growth, i get about the same as you do, somewhere between 1cm and 0.5 inches. scalp massage is a great idea, and definitely something i need to start doing daily, but its not easy getting to the scalp when youve got a weave is it? using a vibrator is an easy solution to this and much easier on the hands! as for consistent growth, taking those supplements like clockwork will help (i'm shamefully bad at that). exercise is also a good idea as it gets the circulation going. or if youre lazy like me, do what i do and take cayenne capsules!

 

[ThickHair]

Keeping your weave in longer than recommened (sp) is not good for your nor your hair. If you can't afford to do maintaince them maybe weaves aren't the thing for you. I suggest that you learn how to do your own weave or have a friend that both of you can work on each other. That will save both of you money. Old bad weaves don't look good.

3 to 4 month old weaves don't look good on anyone.

 

[Shariracquel]

HI, I really do not see any problem if you want to wear you hair in a weave for the next two years the only thing you have to remember is that hair gets weak after a while, and when you do finally take it out, expect a lot of breakage and expect that you will need a great trim afterwards. It is just like when you put acrylic on your nails and stuff like that, when you take them off they are weak and they immediately start to break off. My cousin wore weaves for a long time for nine months basically because she was pregnant. And yes her hair grew a lot and it was good for a while until she bleached it out and recently um had to CUT IT because it broke off from the bleach and now from it being in the middle of her back, a little above bra stap it is at her chin now. So just becareful of what you do afterwards okay.

Oh and it is a good idea to keep it up at least once a month because like I said hair gets weak just as nails do w/ acrylic. She kept hers up at least every 3 - 6 weeks depending on the type of style she had. Mind you she is back to weaves now, to give her hair a break and let it grow out, but Im sure she will be changing it often at least you know, because you have to give the hair a rest sometimes.
Goodluck

 

[missyT]

Thank you all for your responses.
Asphyxxia- Perhaps we can give eachother encouragement with this 'weave challenge. I am going to start washing my hair once a week. It's funny though because it was my stylist that discouraged me from washing my hair. She said that it is not neccessary because i makes the weave bukly (not sure if I agree with that though because that didn't happen with my last weave). Then again, she is a hairdresser and keeps her hair for a max. of 2 months.

ThickHair- I appreciate your honest advice. Unfortunetely none of my friends know how to do weaves but I am in the process of learning, I just don't know how to close it off nicely because its a full head weave. I do find that my hair grows better when I leave it alone, but thats prob. just because of accumulated growth and I am trying to retain as much as possible.

Shariracquel- Thanks for the comparrison to acrylic nails. I didn't think about it like that. I do leave my hair out for sometime before I get it done again although not for long. Last june/july I kept it out for about 4 weeks and my hair didn't break, so that was good. I am planning to do the same thing soon. The only thing is that it didn't seem to grow but then again it is natural and its hard to tell. What do you mean by 'keep it up'?
Does the fact that my hair is natural make any difference as to the strength? fOR instance I'm not going to relax it when I take it out.

 

[Poohbear]

I don't see a problem with washing your hair every 3 weeks. I would be afraid to mess up my weave too if I washed it too often. What kinda of weave do you have sewn-in? Is it straight or curly/wavy hair??? And about the hair growth, 1.5 cm = approx. 3/4 inches so I think that is pretty good normal growth for 4 weeks. The thing that helps my hair grow is NatureMade Super B-Complex. I used to use Surge Plus 14 last year but I don't think it aided in my hair growth at all. As far as the overall wearing weave challenge for 2 years, sounds like a good idea because you will not be messing with your hair. Just keep on taking good care of it each time you take the weave out and put it back in. Hope that helps!

 

[UmSumayyah]

Don't know much about weaves. Does your weave cost alot more than braids? Because you could try alternating braids and weaves, really taking care of your hair in the braids with the tips from this board. You could really get to your scalp that way and keep it clean, and keep the braids in for 3 months at a time and save some money.
HTH.

 

[HairQueen]

I would say that to achieve faster growth you really need to be washing your hair much more often than every 3 weeks, I was washing my hair once per week prior to LHCF but even that was not enough because 3 days later it was dry dry dry so now I wash 2 times per week and my hair is now NEVER dry.

I understand your concerns about messing ur weave but girl unfortunately one thing I have discovered is that beautiful hair comes at a sacrifice. By this I mean that if you are going to wear ur hair in a weave it will still need washing therefore the water will make your weave will start to get notty / messy when u wash it so maybe when it does this you could scrape it back in a bun or pony tail for daily wear rather than wearing it out?

I have not looked my best for 4 months due to daily buns - but my hair is thriving!

Good luck, let us know what u decide to do...