Hanging On To Thinning Hair To Get To Goal Length

brittle_hair · Oct 28, 2016

I seem to go through a continual cycle of cutting my hair in a bob, then attempting to grow it out, only to then get fed up of how thin it starts to look as it gets longer, so then I usually cut it back down again, get bored of the short hair, grow it out again and then the process begins again.

So I'm thinking it might be time to start a new approach - grin and bare the stringy growing out phase until I get to APL, then trim it down from there to maintain that length and then it will hopefully thicken out as the length evens out.

The thinness is a mixture of some breakage at the back left of my hair (usual place) where the hair is about 3 inches long as well as the fact that my hair generally looks thicker when it's all one length, but as it grows back grows faster than the front.

Has anyone tried this and found that it works or experienced something similar? Just wondering if it's just wishful thinking.

Prettymetty · Oct 28, 2016

Are you relaxed? I'm asking because relaxer stretches make your hair appear thin temporarily until your next touch up. I never got discouraged about the way my ends looked as I grew out my hair, because I knew after a touch up my ends would be blunt and thick again (without trimming).

Maybe some crotchet braids or a wig could get you past the Apl milestone and then you can grow from there.

MACGlossChick · Oct 28, 2016

I have this issue and I'm relaxed. Hair is longish and naturally thin, but my see thru ends ruin the look for me when I wear my hair straight and loose. To be honest, I haven't been really good on my moisturizing and sealing, so I feel that's part of why my ends are so raggedy. The other part is because I trim my hair on a not regular basis. My ends look best when I do mini trims every month or so.

I'm in the process of making some wigs so I can really protective style this winter and beyond. I want my hair back.

Bunnyhaslonghair · Oct 28, 2016

Bobs tend to make hair look unusually thick. It may be an illusion that your hair is thinning. I say stick it out and just keep your ends trimmed to combat that thinning look.

MzSwift · Oct 28, 2016

I have fine stands and my hair looks thin when it grows longer. I plan to keep natural looking layers in it so that it looks fuller as it grows longer.

divachyk · Oct 28, 2016

I had this issue when relaxed. Now that I'm natural, I clearly see my hair grows at very different rates which can cause thin areas throughout the hemline. The only solution for me when was relaxed was to keep my hemline manicured as I grew my hair longer and longer or it would appear stringy if I didn't.

eta: I tried to believe in the lead hair theory and it never worked for me.

klsjackson · Oct 28, 2016

I have the same issue, but I found that if given time my hair gained length and I would trim about 1/4 to 1/2 inch and it would appear full and thick. Then as it grew out again the same thing, so just keeping the ends trimmed every 3 to 4 months when trying to grow it out and with every relaxer when I want to maintain the length I have. I don't stretch relaxers 6 to 8 weeks is the max for me.

SmilingElephant · Oct 28, 2016

Trim an inch every 3-4 months to maintain a length....then give it 6 months to grow more and then go back to the 3-4 months trimming to keep the ends thick.

brittle_hair · Oct 31, 2016

Prettymetty said:
Are you relaxed? I'm asking because relaxer stretches make your hair appear thin temporarily until your next touch up. I never got discouraged about the way my ends looked as I grew out my hair, because I knew after a touch up my ends would be blunt and thick again (without trimming).

Maybe some crotchet braids or a wig could get you past the Apl milestone and then you can grow from there.

Yes, I am relaxed. I think braiding to get to a goal length is a perfect solution for some textures, but I tend to get a lot of breakage when I braid my hair because my natural hair is so coarse, so I don't think that would help with gaining length. But yes stretching does make your hair look thin, even after 8 weeks of growth my hair starts to look that way.

brittle_hair · Oct 31, 2016

Thanks for your responses, I ended up getting about an inch trimmed off after my relaxer, on the one hand I was annoyed the stylist cut so much but its nice to have blunt ends again and for the hair to be mostly even - as its all closer to one length now although the front is still slightly shorter than the back. I wont get another trim for another 4 months and the next time i'll emphasise I only want a 5mm trim, so hopefully that will help me to keep some length and keep blunt ends.

brittle_hair · Oct 31, 2016

SmilingElephant said:
Trim an inch every 3-4 months to maintain a length....then give it 6 months to grow more and then go back to the 3-4 months trimming to keep the ends thick.

I would love to not trim for 6 months! My hair breaks if I don't trim at least every 4 months. I might still try this though, esp since the trim/cut I've just had might actually keep me going for longer than usual.

KiWiStyle · Nov 1, 2016

Are you doing protein treatments to keep your older ends strong to prevent breakage?

hothair · Nov 1, 2016

brittle_hair said:
Has anyone tried this and found that it works or experienced something similar? Just wondering if it's just wishful thinking.

This is me, just with colour. You just have to really try to be consistent with protecting and moisturising your ends, The longest I've got to is BSL when I was in protective styles and on point with vitamins and growth boosters and deep conditioning.

When I am lax, such as now I am just about APL straightened. I want to try wearing my hair more as a straight haired natural to see if that makes a difference

brittle_hair · Nov 2, 2016

KiWiStyle said:
Are you doing protein treatments to keep your older ends strong to prevent breakage?

I don't do enough protein treatments to be honest, my hair doesn't react well to too much protein, so I think that has made me neglect protein treatments all together, but I should probably at least incorporate some at least every 3 washes. Porosity control is what keeps my hair mostly in check when conditioning, it makes it so easy to detangle.

KiWiStyle · Nov 2, 2016

brittle_hair said:
I don't do enough protein treatments to be honest, my hair doesn't react well to too much protein, so I think that has made me neglect protein treatments all together, but I should probably at least incorporate some at least every 3 washes. Porosity control is what keeps my hair mostly in check when conditioning, it makes it so easy to detangle.

Are you following it up with a quality DC? If not you should.

brittle_hair · Nov 7, 2016

KiWiStyle said:
Are you following it up with a quality DC? If not you should.

I should be but porosity control makes my hair feel so good so I usually don't. But now that you mention it I need to stop being lazy and do a proper DC as well. Other than at the salon after a retouch I don't DC much at all. My hooded dryer hasn't been used in a long time.

KiWiStyle · Nov 8, 2016

Yes, you may not feel the need to do it with every wash but you should do it at least once a month. More frequently until you get your moisture levels up.

Hanging On To Thinning Hair To Get To Goal Length

brittle_hair

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Prettymetty

Natural/4b/medium-coarse

MACGlossChick

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Bunnyhaslonghair

Ebonics Queen

MzSwift

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divachyk

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klsjackson

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SmilingElephant

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brittle_hair

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brittle_hair

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brittle_hair

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KiWiStyle

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hothair

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brittle_hair

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KiWiStyle

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brittle_hair

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KiWiStyle

Realtor & Foodie

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