For those on heat regimens. . .

[beloved1]

Are any of your experiencing good growth in spite of the fact you use heat weekly? I have just started and am more or less following Cathy Howse's method with products I selected (i.e. I wash once a week-although she recommends every 3 days, deep condition with her original recipe of MNT + Oils, protein every other week, - I don't comb my hair when wet at all, I sit under the dryer and use my hands to smooth it and then use my curling iron afterwards.) The rest of the week I just wrap it and comb it with my fingers. Mid-week I spritz it w/ a little water, put in some hot oils (cocunut, jojoba, peppermint, olive) and wrap it while I take a hot shower.

So far I have had no breakage, especially since I never really comb it, but I'm wondering if it's feasible to reach a good length (like underarm or beyond) whild using direct heat once a week? If not, I may braid it until it's longer and I'll do braid-outs or something, but I do love how it looks with the regimen I have right now.

 

[musiclova]

Hey beloved1, I use heat every week and my hair continues to grow and it always has but I have had long hair all my life. I got it cut late Sept. of last year into a chinlength bob and it is brushing my shoulders now but I got a trim a month ago which set it back about a 1/4 of an inch. Anyway, I think it all depends on the person whether your hair will grow because some people abuse heat everyday or don't do half as much as the ladies of this forum and they still achieve length. My suggestion to you is to see what your hair can handle b/c some people can handle more heat than others. Try applying heat once a week but also incorporate moisturizing deep conditioning treatments and protein to keep your hair strong and moisturized. Moisture is the key though . Also invest in a good heat protectant and you should be fine. HTH

 

[musiclova]

I also wanted to add that I do give my hair a break from heat every now and then when I have the patience to flexi rod and do braid outs and sit under the dryer for 2 hours. I am transitioning also so it gets difficult sometimes. You just have to be patient with your hair.

 

[Poohbear]

I've never had a problem with heat. Heat doesn't hinder growth. If you use it excessively, it can cause breakage which leads to less length retainage. I plan on using heat once a month when I get my Maxiglide.

 

[simcha]

I have to agree, everyone is different. I've been roller setting my hair and flat ironing it (One to two times a week) afterwards since September. I trimmed on October 17th and was trying to maintain my ends for six months before another trim. Unfortunately I had two set backs but they didn't have anything to do with heat. I had surgery which resulted in extreme shedding and the week I had to put one of my cats to sleep I had hair just falling out all over the place. The latter really did it so I have to trim at five months instead because my ends are now uneven. Even still I only need to trim off about 1/2".

And yes moisture, moisture, moisture...

When I used to air dry and bun it or leave it in a ponytail or bantu knots I had more breakage than I do now.

With both methods my hair thrived but with roller setting my hair just looks better and since I'm trying to catch a man...

 

[Poohbear]

Bump!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[hiza]

I roller set my hair to two times a week.
Heat doesn't hinder growth.


hiza...

 

[Victorian]

Since doing the big chop I'm not on a heat regimen anymore, but I was back when I was relaxed, and then after a period of no heat shortly after joining lhcf, I went back to it during my transition.
I had been washing and blowdrying once a week when I was relaxed, but my ends were looking raggedy. I came to lhcf for help in this area. That's when I figured I should stop using the blowdryer. My hair was actually the longest it had been up to to that point (armpit length), but I didn't like how the ends looked. So I did a "big trim" of about 3 inches or so and went on a no heat regimen. It worked for a while but I did get some breakage from airdrying. I figured I just needed to work on my technique and so I stuck with it for a while.
Once I decided to stop relaxing, and the newgrowth got longer and longer, I went back to blowdrying for ease of maintenance. I was doing it once a week. My hair grew fine, and it was actually during this time that I reached brastrap length for the first time.

Soooo, what I'm saying is that it did work for me, but it doesn't work for everybody. Also, I know from experience that the WAY you use heat matters a lot. I wasn't using good techniques at the time I had first found lhcf, but later on when I knew more about do's and don'ts with blowdrying, I blowdried with the same frequency but avoided the problems I had had before.
I haven't really used a flatiron/curling iron as a regular part of my regimen, so I can't say anything specifically about that. But I'm sure the principle is the same

 

[karezone]

I use heat weekly. With no problem.

In fact the time of my life that my hair grew the most I was using heat daily on short hair cut that I did not know how to style. I washed every three days and conditioned with Motions CPR only. I used BB supergro, Profectiv mega growth, and Dax curling wax on my hair. After I washed, conditioned and blowdried. I curled with iron using the curling wax and put a roller on it. Then the next two mornings, I would curl it with an iron. On the night of the third day, I washed. I went like this for about year.

 

[Poohbear]

I use heat weekly. With no problem.

In fact the time of my life that my hair grew the most I was using heat daily on short hair cut that I did not know how to style. I washed every three days and conditioned with Motions CPR only. I used BB supergro, Profectiv mega growth, and Dax curling wax on my hair. After I washed, conditioned and blowdried. I curled with iron using the curling wax and put a roller on it. Then the next two mornings, I would curl it with an iron. On the night of the third day, I washed. I went like this for about year.

Interesting you said this because I read an article a while back that said if you're a regular heat user, you should wash your hair more often. I see that you said you washed your hair every 3 days. So that would make perfect sense to why your hair grew. I think if someone had used heat a lot and only washed her hair every 2-3 weeks or longer, her hair would have suffered.