how did you grow your hair?

[divachyk]

i started to throw out this question in another thread but wanted the most participation possible so i'm starting a new thread (hope you don't mind).

as a general statement/question -- many of our LHCF sisters have such beautiful, long hair. were you just blessed with this hair length/thickness/etc or did it result from proper care/management from steps learned on LHCF? this question is open to all, please chime in.

when i see a lady with a head full of long hair, i am in awe, a little jealous, but not in a hater type way. i often wonder, how did you get your hair to grow so long. i was at BSL for several years (that's the longest i've ever been) until my hubs got cancer and stress helped take the length away. praise be to God, he's healed of cancer (thx you father! -- sorry, had to give him praise) and I hope to resume my hair journey. Right now I a little passed SL but I seem to be stuck. i didn't do nothing special to grow to BSL other than frequent the salon faithfully every 2 weeks. i no longer have that luxury so it's on me to take my growth back to BSL and beyond.

i've searched some older threads and some say it's genetics, some say it's moisture. i just wanted to check in and see what's your thoughts.

TIA

 

[Nasdaq_Diva]

as a general statement/question -- many of our LHCF sisters have such beautiful, long hair. were you just blessed with this hair length/thickness/etc or did it result from proper care/management from steps learned on LHCF? this question is open to all, please chime in.

I was definately blessed with the thickness of my hair. No denying that. I had a nice length of hair as a child (no Rudy Huxtable though) and knew with proper knowledge I could grow it out to greater lengths.

What's helped me most on my hair journey:
Increased water intake
Workingout
Ayurveda
Protective Styles

 

[Ms.Christ3n]

Low manipulation and a good moisture/protein balance!

 

[cch24]

I grew my hair to almost WSL while transitioning due to research on this forum. I didn't post much, I just read, studied, and utilized the search feature. I kept seeing people say "what works for me may not work for you", so I found what seemed to be working for most, and incorporated that into my regimen. I have found that moisture (cowashing) and protective styles (bunning) were the keys to allowing my hair to retain length. Those seemed to be the factors that most people mentioned in their regimens, so I tried them and had great success.

Good luck on your journey!

 

[Nonie]

This thread may have a lot of the stories OP is looking for:
http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=449594

This one too:
http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=415434

 

[ButtaSmooth]

My hair had always been pretty long (bsl) until a bad relaxer last year that caused major damage. Since then, I have been able to restore my hair's health through protective styling, low manipulation, and moisture and protein balance.

 

[Pink Pearls]

I was definitely Blessed with thick hair. It never grew past BSL until I made a few changes:
better diet....fruit & veggies, water, fish and chicken
Vitamins
Stretching relaxer and managing my own hair
Less heat

 

[kmn1980]

My hair has always been thick and I've always been a decent grower. I started to retain length when I left my hair alone.

 

[song_of_serenity]

Never say sorry to show your praise for what God did for your husband! I am so glad he's alright!
Are you relaxed or natural? For both, low manipulation is the way to go, especially over that sl hump. When it is SL, your ends often rub on your clothing and the ends get frayed and split.
Keep your moisture at a good level, care for your ends, make sure you're eating right, too!!

 

[ladylina]

the longest my hair was before lhcf was a little above APL, what got me to MBL was:
changing to mild from regular relaxer
low heat
babying my hair
rollersets
CW also I love it!!

 

[I Am So Blessed]

hey diva!!,

well i already had thick hair, but it never got any longer than apl so i started researching on how to grow black hair. then i found the products that worked for me. and before i knew it, i was WL 2 1/2 years later like BOOM! even i was shocked. and its just been a hair swinging, weave checking, hair snaggy on bras, journy ever since!!!!

 

[DaDragonPrincess]

Protective styles "sew ins,phony ponys,buns,etc"

Vitamins

Water

Less direct heat , I went a full year without using direct heat, this will be the second year

Staying out of Salons

Co washes and DCers

 

[I Am So Blessed]

Protective styles "sew ins,phony ponys,buns,etc"

Vitamins

Water

Less direct heat , I went a full year without using direct heat, this will be the second year

Staying out of Salons

Co washes and DCers

whats good DDP!!!! enjoy ya vids ma.

 

[Harina]

When you guys are talking "thickness" are you talking the actual thickness of the strands or the density.

 

[I Am So Blessed]

When you guys are talking "thickness" are you talking the actual thickness of the strands or the density.

.... density

 

[divachyk]

Never say sorry to show your praise for what God did for your husband! I am so glad he's alright!
Are you relaxed or natural? For both, low manipulation is the way to go, especially over that sl hump. When it is SL, your ends often rub on your clothing and the ends get frayed and split.
Keep your moisture at a good level, care for your ends, make sure you're eating right, too!!

serenity, thx you -- we're definitely blessed! i didn't want to offend anyone with my praises. you know how ppl (not saying ppl on this board, but ppl in general) are so easily offended nowadays.

i'm relaxed and eat pretty good. i definitely can increase my water intake and my work regimen.

i use to work for an african american boss that would get on to me for ponytailing. she thought it was very unprofessional. she actually gave me a complex about it and i stopped ponytailing. in recent years i've incorporated it back in my lineup but, i haven't been protective styling. it was a hanging pony, rubbing against my clothes. you all have given me renewed hope in protective styles -- buns, phony ponys, protective ponys, etc. thx!

 

[ms.blue]

I realize the less you do the more the hair grows in terms of styling. In high school I grew out a chin length bob to full shoulder length in 4 months. All I did was put cocoa butter on my scalp, wash and dc every two weeks and wore my hair down or clip it up and by June my hair was @ sl. I use to joke that my hair did not like being that short but it was that I was doing less manipulation with my hair.

 

[KittenLongPaw]

-Definitely conditioner washing, it so so so helped to improve the moisture level in my hair.

-Avoiding chemical processes and heat - I used to color and at times relaxed and straightened my hair with heat. My hair just can't take all that and stay healthy.

-Deep conditioning.


My hair never grew past maybe shoulder length? or maybe a little longer, before I found the hair boards. It used to always be so dry too so I kept having to cut it shorter because it felt so rough.

 

[DaDragonPrincess]

whats good DDP!!!! enjoy ya vids ma.

Hey sweetie,thanks...Your hair is so pretty and thick

 

[casey3035]

the longest my hair was before lhcf was a little above APL, what got me to MBL was:
changing to mild from regular relaxer
low heat
babying my hair
rollersets
CW also I love it!!

This may seem like an odd question but how did changing you relaxer from mild to regular help? I'm curious because I use mild only because I am a self relaxer and am sooo afraid of over processing...

 

[Katherina]

i had never been past SL before LHCF and am now almost BSL (a length i never thought i could be!).

i did several things, but most importantly i started low manipulation, and learned to assess what my hair needs and learned the correct techniques and products to fix its problems.

(e.g., my ends were breaking all over the place - no growth - before LHCF and i thought that i could do nothing about it. once i got inspiration via LHCF ladies' progress - hope sprung up - i found a good moisturizer/dc, stopped combing dry hair, stopped using heat so much, and started doing LOW MANIPULATION & protective styles only.)

i also stopped trimming so much and do s&d only now.

 

[Gigi-07]

I've always had super thick hair, but was never past NL as a child. Then I learned the C & G technique at 15 yrs old. That, plus some more education from different hair boards such as this one, allowed me grow to MBL in 2.5 yrs.
I'm back to NL due to a setback but I'm using C & G again to reach long lengths once more.

 

[Bnster]

It took coming onto this hair board and YouTube to start looking after my hair for my hair to grow. My mother never had trouble growing hers, mine never grew past SL and it wasn't in good condition. If I didn't get frustrated and thought why not I can grow my hair and correct the damage parts on my head, I wouldn't be here today. I would be still ignorant. Thank you Jesus for awakening my eyes and seeing the truth that with TLC my hair will grow and with health!

 

[Wildkat08]

I've always had super thick hair, but was never past NL as a child. Then I learned the C & G technique at 15 yrs old. That, plus some more education from different hair boards such as this one, allowed me grow to MBL in 2.5 yrs.
I'm back to NL due to a setback but I'm using C & G again to reach long lengths once more.

What exactly is C & G????

 

[divachyk]

What exactly is C & G????

i'm curious too, what's C&G?

i'm learning how to care for my hair much better and i've only been a member for about a week and a lurker for about a month. i'm so happy i became a member. i have renewed hope. i didn't realize doing my hair could be so fun and addicting. i need to learn the art of protective styling. all i know how to do is a loose, messy bun with my own hair right now. i've tried the donut and scrunchie bun but i haven't mastered that yet. i also attempted CW'n a few days ago but it didn't go well so i gave in and shampoo'd. i guess CW takes some getting use too. i felt like my hair wasn't getting clean. i will attempt CW'n again.

 

[Toy]

Protective Styles
Condition washes
Moisturizing
Stretching Relaxers

 

[KaramelDiva1978]

C & G is the crown and glory method. Here is the link for it http://www.growafrohairlong.com/crownandglory.html. I agree with everyone else also--moisture, little to no heat and protective styling works wonders for attaining length. I am putting the same method into play right now as a newly natural growing out my twa.

 

[Nova]

i'm curious too, what's C&G?

i'm learning how to care for my hair much better and i've only been a member for about a week and a lurker for about a month. i'm so happy i became a member. i have renewed hope. i didn't realize doing my hair could be so fun and addicting. i need to learn the art of protective styling. all i know how to do is a loose, messy bun with my own hair right now. i've tried the donut and scrunchie bun but i haven't mastered that yet. i also attempted CW'n a few days ago but it didn't go well so i gave in and shampoo'd. i guess CW takes some getting use too. i felt like my hair wasn't getting clean. i will attempt CW'n again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

C&W stands for Crown and Glory Technique.
The website: www.growafrohairlong.com

I think the creator of the website (Robin) grew her hair from NL or SL in 2.5/yrs. using this method she created.

Excuse me! I meant C&G (Crown and Glory), not CW. It's been a long day!

 

[LaFemmeNaturelle]

This may seem like an odd question but how did changing you relaxer from mild to regular help? I'm curious because I use mild only because I am a self relaxer and am sooo afraid of over processing...

She said she switched TO mild FROM regular

 

[Kindheart]

Well mainly moisturizing my hair on a regular basis ,DC atleast once a week,oiling the ends every night ,and using light protein conditioner once a week and heavy ones every 2 months.