Grow It Long 2020 Challenge

[apple_natural]

i've added happy at last

 

[NaturalShe94]

@PlanetCybertron thank you for that informative post. I do try some of those suggestions. My hair was fully coated in oil though before the wash. But just a day after washing it's itching again. I don't think it's too much sebum, not sure how I'd know. Rubbing my scalp, I don't feel any thick oil.

at the bolded: that use to be me, turned out it was my coconut oil.

I also use to have dandruff. Id wash my hair almost everyday. This was yearssss ago though. Not sure why, but it just went away. I used to use Sulfur 8 medicated shampoo and rub the shampoo on my scalp before getting in the shower. That helped too.

Eta: Now that I think back, I think the Medicated shampoo is what made my dandruff go away. Not long after using it, my dandruff went away. I hadn’t even gone through the bottle.

 

[mayoo]

Have finally cracked the code on how I can get maximum hangtime with my braid outs! Too bad I'm about to wash today, loving the look right now (attached)

 

[GettingKinky]

Have finally cracked the code on how I can get maximum hangtime with my braid outs! Too bad I'm about to wash today, loving the look right now (attached)

So what’s the secret? Enquiring minds want to know.

 

[mayoo]

So what’s the secret? Enquiring minds want to know.

Loool sorry girl. Was waiting on someone to ask because sometimes I feel like I'm just talking to myself lol

So I think 3 things have been important:

1. Not a lot of moisture--I only moisturuze VERY lightly (just smoothing hair down with a little bit of leave-in) throughout the week. The length of my hair is never really "wet" which helps to keep it stretched. I do, however, wet and seal the ends every night while Re-braiding

2.Time. I won't get the best hang time until at least 4 days in unfortunately. My hair just won't stretch enough before then

3. Most importantly... Braiding pattern. I've been playing around with them and I've noticed that braiding towards the back, rather than out to the sides gives a flatter, sleeker look.
Also, the number of braids matter. I used to think that the more braids, I Re-braid in, the more stretched my hair would be. But actually it's the opposite for me. I am down to rebraidimg with 1-3 braids before bed. 1 braid (with middle or side parting) gives the best results for me in terms of a flattish stretched braid out that I can wear out

By day 4 my hair is looking like it's a braid out on old straightened hair.

I'm liking the look right now.

I hope this makes sense!

If you guys have any other tips for this, please share~ <3

 

[Mapleoats]

Loool sorry girl. Was waiting on someone to ask because sometimes I feel like I'm just talking to myself lol

So I think 3 things have been important:

1. Not a lot of moisture--I only moisturuze VERY lightly (just smoothing hair down with a little bit of leave-in) throughout the week. The length of my hair is never really "wet" which helps to keep it stretched. I do, however, wet and seal the ends every night while Re-braiding

2.Time. I won't get the best hang time until at least 4 days in unfortunately. My hair just won't stretch enough before then

3. Most importantly... Braiding pattern. I've been playing around with them and I've noticed that braiding towards the back, rather than out to the sides gives a flatter, sleeker look.
Also, the number of braids matter. I used to think that the more braids, I Re-braid in, the more stretched my hair would be. But actually it's the opposite for me. I am down to rebraidimg with 1-3 braids before bed. 1 braid (with middle or side parting) gives the best results for me in terms of a flattish stretched braid out that I can wear out

By day 4 my hair is looking like it's a braid out on old straightened hair.

I'm liking the look right now.

I hope this makes sense!

If you guys have any other tips for this, please share~ <3

Thanks for this! Can you post a pic of how you wear your braids in a bun?

 

[GettingKinky]

@mayoo do you do french braids?

 

[mayoo]

Thanks for this! Can you post a pic of how you wear your braids in a bun?

Hey girl ~

Do you mean the first day after I wash? If so, that's today so here's a pic attached. I usually wear this braided bun until my hair is fully dry.

When I wear my bun throughout the week, it's usually not braided but already in the braid-out state.

There are a lot more braids because I do the initial setting and drying in 8-10 braids

Hope this makes sense!

 

[mayoo]

@mayoo do you do french braids?

Not really. I attempt them once in a while but the process makes my head hurt and my hair gets set in odd directions (my head shape is not forgiving in terms of mistakes in braiding pattern lol)

Plus, my hair clumps a lot in braid outs and I found that keeping the same clumps keeps my hair mostly detangled throughout the week. Everytime I try and French braid, I disturb the clumps and end up ripping them apart.

Hope this makes sense!

 

[Mapleoats]

Hey girl ~

Do you mean the first day after I wash? If so, that's today so here's a pic attached. I usually wear this braided bun until my hair is fully dry.

When I wear my bun throughout the week, it's usually not braided but already in the braid-out state.

There are a lot more braids because I do the initial setting and drying in 8-10 braids

Hope this makes sense!

Pretty!! Thanks!

 

[Mapleoats]

Can any braid out lovers on here share why they prefer braids over twists? Do you find braids give you better stretch or less tangles?

I think I want to start auditioning for a new main style. Starting to feel like these twists / twist outs might be causing excessive tangling for me due to not stretching the hair enough.

@mayoo @water_n_oil you guys do braid outs right? Any thoughts?

 

[water_n_oil]

Can any braid out lovers on here share why they prefer braids over twists? Do you find braids give you better stretch or less tangles?

I think I want to start auditioning for a new main style. Starting to feel like these twists / twist outs might be causing excessive tangling for me due to not stretching the hair enough.

@mayoo @water_n_oil you guys do braid outs right? Any thoughts?

Yep, better stretch, less tangles, and more definition. It also lasts longer than my twistouts. I do twist the last 3" or so on each braid (a maximum of 8 braids for me).

 

[mayoo]

Can any braid out lovers on here share why they prefer braids over twists? Do you find braids give you better stretch or less tangles?

I think I want to start auditioning for a new main style. Starting to feel like these twists / twist outs might be causing excessive tangling for me due to not stretching the hair enough.

@mayoo @water_n_oil you guys do braid outs right? Any thoughts?

I agree with @water_n_oil, more stretch and less tangles and its easier and quicker for me to remoisturise. Same for me with twisting the last few inches as well. As for the very last inch or so, I don't twist. I just "twirl" to avoid tangles
Co-signing in the longer - lasting effect too. I could only wear twistouts for 2 days at the longest. I cam maintain a braid out for up to 2 weeks if I want to

Hope this helps!

 

[water_n_oil]

I agree with @water_n_oil, more stretch and less tangles and its easier and quicker for me to remoisturise. Same for me with twisting the last few inches as well. As for the very last inch or so, I don't twist. I just "twirl" to avoid tangles
Co-signing in the longer - lasting effect too. I could only wear twistouts for 2 days at the longest. I cam maintain a braid out for up to 2 weeks if I want to

Hope this helps!

Yes, twirling the ends as well! Way easier to remoisturize. I often will just do water and castor oil then rebraid when it starts looking old.

 

[NaturalShe94]

@water_n_oil & @mayoo What products do you guys use to prepare for a braid out? Do bigger plaits result a better braid out vs finer plaits? Do you get a better braid out styling on already dried stretched hair or on damp hair?

 

[Mapleoats]

@water_n_oil @mayoo thank you ladies!!!

 

[HappyAtLast]

I just conducted a porosity test on clean hair (5 times) and discovered I have low porosity hair. I don't know why that surprises me, but it does! It also may explain a lot of my past natural hair frustrations! I made sure to cut the natural hair from the relaxed hair (both are low porosity). I feel like this is about to open up a deep rabbit hole! So before I go down it, I'll ask you low-porosity ladies what works for you. I'd appreciate any feedback!

• Deep conditioners?
• Leave-ins?
• Layering products? Like LOC method, etc?
• Oils/greases?
• Applying leave-ins on wet, damp, or dry hair?
• Particular must-have ingredients?

 

[Mapleoats]

I just conducted a porosity test on clean hair (5 times) and discovered I have low porosity hair. I don't know why that surprises me, but it does! It also may explain a lot of my past natural hair frustrations! I made sure to cut the natural hair from the relaxed hair (both are low porosity). I feel like this is about to open up a deep rabbit hole! So before I go down it, I'll ask you low-porosity ladies what works for you. I'd appreciate any feedback!

• Deep conditioners?
• Leave-ins?
• Layering products? Like LOC method, etc?
• Oils/greases?
• Applying leave-ins on wet, damp, or dry hair?
• Particular must-have ingredients?

Be careful with those tests, they typically aren’t very accurate

 

[snoop]

Be careful with those tests, they typically aren’t very accurate

I was going to say the same thing

 

[HappyAtLast]

So how do you test your porosity?

Be careful with those tests, they typically aren’t very accurate

I was going to say the same thing

 

[snoop]

So how do you test your porosity?

This way: If you go to wash your hair and it takes a long time for your hair to get wet, then chances are you're lo-po. If your hair takes in water quickly, then chances are you're hi-po.

Conversely, if when you come out of the shower and it takes a long time for your hair to dry then you're probably lo-po. If your hair dries quickly, you're probably hi-po.

Lo-po --> water in and out with difficulty
Hi-po --> water in and out easily

The water test has too many moving parts that people never describe when they're giving the instruction: your hair has to be clean, the water needs to be room temp, etc. etc. etc. But, if I read correctly, the way that hair is composed (layers, lipids, etc.), it will pretty much always float.

 

[Mapleoats]

I’ve decided that for the rest of the year I’m going to challenge myself to wear stretched styles atleast 75% of the time (3/4 weeks of every month)

After years of wearing twist outs and twist out buns daily my hair never grew past collar bone length. Twist outs in a bun actually seem to make my hair tangle more than when I wear them out.

6 months after drastically reducing my twist outs to 2-3 days/ week ( by leaving the twists in for 4-5 days) I was at arm pit length. So as much as I love the look, I just have to admit that they aren’t beneficial for my hair growth.

I’ll be doing mostly roller/rod sets and braid n curls, worn in a bun. This should give me enough stretch to make detangling more manageable, reducing SSKs and splits hopefully. I have an appointment to get my hair rollerset this weekend at an Ethiopian salon that uses those hourglass rollers. really looking forward to that, and not having to do my own hair haha

I hope not to have to trim this weekend, but depending on what my ends are looking like after the set, I may have to

 

[Mapleoats]

So how do you test your porosity?

I agree with everything @snoop said. Bri Hall also has a really good video on porosity

 

[HappyAtLast]

Thanks, Ladies. I'll look this through and try again. The only thing I know for sure is that when I let my hair air-dry, it never takes "forever." It's not super fast, but I never felt it was slow drying. And I also know the ONLY leave-in that makes my natural hair feel moisturized for days is Cantu Shea Butter Leave-in Conditioning Repair Cream used on dry hair with no sealant. So IDK what all that means!

This way: If you go to wash your hair and it takes a long time for your hair to get wet, then chances are you're lo-po. If your hair takes in water quickly, then chances are you're hi-po.

Conversely, if when you come out of the shower and it takes a long time for your hair to dry then you're probably lo-po. If your hair dries quickly, you're probably hi-po.

Lo-po --> water in and out with difficulty
Hi-po --> water in and out easily

The water test has too many moving parts that people never describe when they're giving the instruction: your hair has to be clean, the water needs to be room temp, etc. etc. etc. But, if I read correctly, the way that hair is composed (layers, lipids, etc.), it will pretty much always float.

I agree with everything @snoop said. Bri Hall also has a really good video on porosity

 

[water_n_oil]

This way: If you go to wash your hair and it takes a long time for your hair to get wet, then chances are you're lo-po. If your hair takes in water quickly, then chances are you're hi-po.

Conversely, if when you come out of the shower and it takes a long time for your hair to dry then you're probably lo-po. If your hair dries quickly, you're probably hi-po.

Lo-po --> water in and out with difficulty
Hi-po --> water in and out easily

The water test has too many moving parts that people never describe when they're giving the instruction: your hair has to be clean, the water needs to be room temp, etc. etc. etc. But, if I read correctly, the way that hair is composed (layers, lipids, etc.), it will pretty much always float.

Product usage will also make a difference in this as well. If I layer 2-3 different things for a wng then my hair will take ages to dry. If I simply slap on a leave in and/or oil it dries pretty quickly.

 

[HealthyHair2020]

Have been keeping my hair in twists for the past few and I don't mind it at all! Wish I looked older than 17 while wearing them but oh well

 

[snoop]

Product usage will also make a difference in this as well. If I layer 2-3 different things for a wng then my hair will take ages to dry. If I simply slap on a leave in and/or oil it dries pretty quickly.

I should have clarified to say that I was referring to naked hair

 

[snoop]

Thanks, Ladies. I'll look this through and try again. The only thing I know for sure is that when I let my hair air-dry, it never takes "forever." It's not super fast, but I never felt it was slow drying. And I also know the ONLY leave-in that makes my natural hair feel moisturized for days is Cantu Shea Butter Leave-in Conditioning Repair Cream used on dry hair with no sealant. So IDK what all that means!

You might be normal porosity. I find that people rarely address this porosity level.

 

[Royalq]

Yes I have highly porous hair and it dries within an hour if left to it’s own devices and will feel very dry. If I do a good protein treatment then DC my hair takes many hours to dry

 

[mayoo]

@water_n_oil & @mayoo What products do you guys use to prepare for a braid out? Do bigger plaits result a better braid out vs finer plaits? Do you get a better braid out styling on already dried stretched hair or on damp hair?

Sorry I missed this!
Here are my answers~

What products do you guys use to prepare for a braid out?

I braid on freshly washed hair with my leave in (currently looking for a staple. Using Maui Moisture Curl Milk currently), raw shea butter and olive oil on top.

Rebraid with water, leave-ins, shea butter only on ends

Undo braids in the morning with oil only

Do bigger plaits result a better braid out vs finer plaits?
For me, yes. I prefer a more stretched braid out. With finer braids, it ends up more angled and puffy for me.

Do you get a better braid out styling on already dried stretched hair or on damp hair?
Do you mean initally or rebraiding?
When I first start it, it's always on wet hair right after deep conditioning.

When rebraiding, I don't wet the braid apart from the ends. Otherwise I get a lot of tangles.

Hope this answered the questions