Has anyone grown out shorter middle to "U" or "V" Shape?

virtuenow

Well-Known Member
Has anyone here grown out their shorter back/middle to a "U" or "V" Shape? I know many have been plagued w/crown problems and have an inverted"V". were u able to turn it around? What did you do to catch up and surpass the rest of your hair?

I want the back layer to be the longest. The crown itself can be a bit shorter for layering, but the back should truly be the fullest. It looks so beautiful when I see a head of hair this way (full, thick back). I will not stop until I reach this ultimate phase in my journey :yep:

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Saludable84

Better Late Than Ugly
I had bad crown breakage and am still growing it out. I haven't had an inverted V due to it thank goodness, mostly because I handled breakage in the beginning and continued to be proactive about it. I started with a V and slowly worked to a U while getting rid of dead ends. Kept up the U while still battling dead ends. Now I just have a U. Probably will focus on a more even hemline when I reach MBL. It's not hard to get rid of a V to a U, you'd just have to determine whether you want to wait of lose a little length.

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Vintagecoilylocks

New Member
When I started my journey (with better knowledge for I alsways wanted long hair) in 2002 I had a W for shape. Very thin and broken. Wear and tear was the culprit. I gave up shampoo, petroleum products and started to see results. Some areas of my head just too off growing. It slowly started to fill in naturally to a inverted V. Then I let go of the brush and began to alternate styling. I basically had to give up my part in the back and sleeping on my back. I then realized my differences in texture once the effects of shampoo was completely gone. After that it took a while and then I suffered a set back with a huge shed and stall in growth but I had achieved upper tailbone length hair by then. Never had i had such length hair before. My journey continues and I am still learning and achieving length. I am in recovery from the shed but have a lower natural hem line grazing Classic. I do not straighten but when I measure the hair length it is with in a half inch across the bottom. I have not trimmed in over 10 years.:yep: The layers and thickness of new growth are slowly moving down.
 
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naturalgyrl5199

Well-Known Member
My V is actually growing out for the first time!!! I think I always will naturally have a V/U shape but now its more like a U shape. I have been going out of my way to practice better techniques as far as taking down twists (instead of snatching them a part in a rush on wash day) and and wearing more updo's and taking care of my ends better than before. I just did some almost mini-twists last night and JUST noticed the difference.
 

virtuenow

Well-Known Member
Thanks, has anyone else grown out their "W"? I think my plan will be to trim the sides every 4 weeks (1/4in) and only trim the back every 8 weeks at 1/8in. That way I should reach my goal shape within 6 months
 

crazytrish75

Well-Known Member
My hair started out in a horrible "w" shape when I began my hhj. The breakage in the middle of my nape was terrible:nono: The biggest culprit I found was the way I tied my scarf at night. I tied my (tight) knot at the nape every night. This was chewing up my hairline something awful. There were many other culprits, such as severe over processing, but the scarf was the worst. Pay attention to how you are tying your hair up at night and make sure there is no tension there. My "w" is slowly but surely evening out. I am on iPad but will post some pics when I get back to my comp. In summAry, look throughout your Reggie or everyday habits to try to identify the culprit. Hth!
 

Ivonnovi

Well-Known Member
Popping in to say that there was a good thread on this very topic a few years ago. Perhaps the savvy LHCF slueths can fish that one up. I'm too tired to search (successfully)
 

Napp

Ms. Nobody
i still have a W even though my hair is cut evenly. i dont know what to do about it:nono:
 

Jewell

New Member
My hair used to constantly grow in a "W" (long sides, shorter middle) years ago, and I would always cut my hair blunt to combat the prob. I figured out that wrapping my hair around my head and wearing ponytails too much caused breakage in the middle. I syopped wrapping my hair fr good and did loose buns secured with Good Day Hair Pins instead of elastics, and within about 6 months the middle caught up to the sides and Ive never had the issue occur again. I stopped the doobie wraps and my,hair thickened up by 50% or more, and I reduced the amount of touch-ups I do per yr from every 6-10 wks to 12 weeks for a while then went to 16-20 wk stretches. I now do 20-22 wks, and only
MILDLY RELAX (considered texlaxing) the NG with no or absolute minimal overlap of the relaxer.
 

virtuenow

Well-Known Member
Do you have a pic of the "U" or "V"

Thanks everyone-- its difficult to do individual thanks in Firefox but, I see you! India*32 I don't have a picture, I'm just using "U" or "V" to describe hair that is full in the back. It doesn't necessarily have to be that shape. Many members have pics of "U" shaped hair in their signature pics if you really want to see. My hair is more of a "W" shape-- shorter middle, long sides.
 

scarcity21

Well-Known Member
Mine too. And I've been battling this for a while...I don't knot my scarves in the back anymore. Never wear my hair in a ponytail ...can someone help pls??? I refuse to keep cutting off length on the left and right nape to try to accommodate the midfle
 

Aggie

Well-Known Member
I don't even have any advice to help with the W shape in the back because my hair tends to grow into a V at the back. I kinda like it though. I cut it off before, but it grew right back so I figured that's where my lead hairs are. I believe it was @Chicoro who taught us that there are some hairs that are lead hairs and no matter how much you trim them, they come back and to just nurture the remaining hair until it catches up.

I don't even try to remove them anymore. I just nurture my whole head until they look awesome together. I don't need a perfectly straight shape at the back anymore. It's cute but I rarely wear my hair straight anyway so it doesn't bother me much at all. That could be also because I have tiny layers cascading across my shoulders which makes my hair look properly styled when straight.
 

scarcity21

Well-Known Member
I don't even have any advice to help with the W shape in the back because my hair tends to grow into a V at the back. I kinda like it though. I cut it off before, but it grew right back so I figured that's where my lead hairs are. I believe it was @Chicoro who taught us that there are some hairs that are lead hairs and no matter how much you trim them, they come back and to just nurture the remaining hair until it catches up.

I don't even try to remove them anymore. I just nurture my whole head until they look awesome together. I don't need a perfectly straight shape at the back anymore. It's cute but I rarely wear my hair straight anyway so it doesn't bother me much at all. That could be also because I have tiny layers cascading across my shoulders which makes my hair look properly styled when straight.
@Aggie i barely wear mine straight either but it's just so obvious in the natural state that I can't even wear it out without trying to apply water to the left and right to shrink it while leaving the middle dry to try to disguise what's going on back there:(
 

Aggie

Well-Known Member
@Aggie i barely wear mine straight either but it's just so obvious in the natural state that I can't even wear it out without trying to apply water to the left and right to shrink it while leaving the middle dry to try to disguise what's going on back there:(
@scarcity21

Do you wear your hair in a wash and go a lot or do you protective style most of the time? I protective style most of the time and I pay careful attention to the middle of the back of my head.

I plait/row down that area specifically and never part it down the middle when I put it up in a PS. That middle section has it's own plait or row and I plait around it just to make sure I don't lose it. I mostly plait - not row it down anymore because my hair is a little long now and it's easier to unravel plaits for routine moisturizing throughout the week.

I also make sure to plait it all the way down to the last hair on my nape area, leaving barely nothing out. Plus I sleep on my sides, hardly ever on my back. By the way, I wear wigs as my PS during the day and I take them off every night. Oh I almost forgot to mention, massaging my scalp a 2-4 times a week helps as well.
 

scarcity21

Well-Known Member
@scarcity21

Do you wear your hair in a wash and go a lot or do you protective style most of the time? I protective style most of the time and I pay careful attention to the middle of the back of my head.

I plait/row down that area specifically and never part it down the middle when I put it up in a PS. That middle section has it's own plait or row and I plait around it just to make sure I don't lose it. I mostly plait - not row it down anymore because my hair is a little long now and it's easier to unravel plaits for routine moisturizing throughout the week.

I also make sure to plait it all the way down to the last hair on my nape area, leaving barely nothing out. Plus I sleep on my sides, hardly ever on my back. By the way, I wear wigs as my PS during the day and I take them off every night. Oh I almost forgot to mention, massaging my scalp a 2-4 times a week helps as well.
@Aggie no wash n gos for me, my hair is 4c and wng's don't necessarily work in my hair,. I do protective style by wearing crotchet and wigs but I've decided to give crotchets a break and wear wigs exclusively for 6 months maybe longer to be able to give my hair more attention. I take my wigs off every night. I normally moisture with gel and flat twist (4-7 flat twists). I'm going to start plaiting /corn rowing that section as you suggested to see if I notice an improvement. I started to deep condition once a week since July.
 

Daina

Well-Known Member
My hair naturally grows in a V shape. Stylists have always tried to "even" things out but it just grows right back that way. I do have to watch my sides as my left side grows slower than my right one. Right now there is about a 1/2 inch difference. I won't be trimming to even it will catch up. I do tend to baby the left side more though.
 

scarcity21

Well-Known Member
I guess I wouldn't care much if it was only 1/2-1 inch difference (btw which is what my hairstylist said when I went to get a trim last month...she used the tension method) but it just looks like much more. I will continue to baby it and see if I notice any improvement in 6months or so.
 

bajandoc86

Lipstick Lover
My hair grows in a W shape at the nape. It is very annoying. The hair at my nape in the middle (and the area above it) is SUPER SUPER fine, curly and fragile. A twist in that area always looks thin and anaemic and tends to be much shorter than the sides.

I hate it. *pouts*
 

scarcity21

Well-Known Member
My hair grows in a W shape at the nape. It is very annoying. The hair at my nape in the middle (and the area above it) is SUPER SUPER fine, curly and fragile. A twist in that area always looks thin and anaemic and tends to be much shorter than the sides.

I hate it. *pouts*
@bajandoc86 how did it look when u had 5-6 inches of hair?
 

scarcity21

Well-Known Member
I got my sis to take this pic of my situation but I can't post. Can someone help a sis out?? I have an iPhone
 

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