Is this the only secret?

[soslychic]

All who have reached waist length seem to have the same major secret, protective styles.
My final goal is waistlength hair, but I'm trying to figure out how badly I want it. Wouldn't I be willing to wear protective styles 70% 80 or 90 % of the time for the 3-4 years that it would take me to reach my goal? I'm not sure, so my question is this:
What have protective styles helped you achieve? Is it keeping the ends moist and therefore keeping the length? If so, is that impossible to duplicate when keeping your hair down? Wouldn't moisturizing and sealing (even several times a time) be sufficient?
Or is it that protective styles help with snagging and breaking on your clothes, seatbelts, etc...Could that be reduced with a little more care?
Is there anyone who has reached or is reaching waist length that dosn't keep there hair up more thatn 50% of the time?

I want this yes....but I'm not sure how much I'm willing to sacrafice....for that, anyone responses I'd appreciate. Thanks.

 

[miss_brown]

Good question. Lately I've also been concerned about protective styling - which I will try wholeheartedly for the 3 month challenge - I've just been thinking about this on the long term. My final decision, however, will be determined by my December results. We'll see...

 

[stacia]

I'm not sure if it's the only way but I can say that every time I did something stupid and my hair fell out (i.e over processing, over using appliances)I would always use braids or latch hook to grow my hair back out. I think the fact that you are not handling your hair and doing the damaging things allows it to rebound while being protected.

my hair is currently about 4 inches from brastrap in the back and a little past my chin in the front. I am about to go back to my latch hook for a couple of months which will take me right around my first goal of bra strap length.

 

[myco]

My hair is bra strap length and I know that for me, adding any oils, creams, or liquids will "wreck" my down hairstyle so my hair would end up in a bun or banana clip anyway. I think that is why protective styling and constant moisturizing tend to go hand in hand. Styling my hair would be a waste of time if it were wet, oily and/or limp from all of the products.

I think you have to develop a regimine that gives you little bit of both - if that is what you want. There might be some styles you have to sacrifice and there might be some moisturizing options that just won't work for your hairstyles. Just take notice of how your hair responds to being down and adjust from there.

 

[Tracy]

SSC,

I wholeheartedly beleive that with all of the diligent care my hair has received in the past year and a half, that the PRIMARY reason I haven't retained more length is because I was never a regular user of protective styles. Because of this I have vowed (reluctantly, but vowed nonetheless) to turn over a new leaf as to this aspect of haircare.

The kind of extraordinary health and length (as well as very rapid accumulation!) that people (Supergirl, Adrienne, Caramela etc.) have enjoyed is not something I have EVER enjoyed - and I take EXCELLENT care of my hair. But I have ALWAYS worn it down. This is the only aspect of my regime that differs from theirs (with the exception of color - which hasn't caused me any ill effect at all - that I'm sure of).

I am convinced that protective styling is - perhaps not THE ONLY way - but a very significant factor in not only accumulating length but accumulating it more rapidly than you would have otherwise.

Just my opinion tho...

 

[jrw]

I don't think you have to keep your hair in a bun 70 to 80% of the time to maintain waist length hair. I now only wear my hair in a bun when I go to bed or occassionally when I want it out of my face or to keep it from getting caught in something. I love wearing my hair down. I wear it down almost everyday. On the other hand, I condition my hair like crazy. At least once a week I deep condition my hair, sometimes twice a week. It is possible to grow your hair to waist length and still wear it out. The key is keeping it well conditioned and moisturized.

 

[nita4]

I don't think it's the only secret. I think you have to do what works for you.

For example, I am the french roll queen.

Everytime my hair has been damaged/weak. My roll has brought my hair back to life with along regular consistent care. Whereas even though I want to try this phoney pony I'm wondering if it would work for me.

because wearing a ponytail consistently breaks my hair off vs. my loosly pinned french roll.

I really think it's a matter of keeping your ends/strands moisturized and hair protected along with your regular hair care regimen. Longer hair is just an extra bonus.

 

[Supergirl]

I think protective styles are beneficial definitely because of course the ends are "protected." But also a BIG reason that I think that protective styles are good is because they keep the hair immobile. I think that the less the hair moves, the more manageable it stays so the less you lose in daily styling/combing. This is also why it is good to sleep with your hair in some way that it won't move. --tied down with a scarf is perfect.

 

[EmeraldSky]

I think it's possible to grow waist length or otherwise long hair without wearing protective styles 80% of the time, however I think that for most of us protective styles are the fastest way to get there especially because it cuts down on the amount of necessary trims due to splits. I wear my hair down almost every single day and I went from collar bone length to a little above bra strap in about a year and a half, I didn't know half the stuff that I know now and blowdried it everytime I washed it. I suggest findg a balance between wearing it down and protective styles, since I do believe that protective styles and braids are good, but I don't think that you have to always wear your hair covered up, that would take away all the fun for me

To counteract the stress from wearing it down I would make sure you condition your hair 1-2 a week, protect your hair at night and when you're not out keep it protected, as soon as I get home I twist my hair into a bun and tuck the ends under same thing on weekends when I'm home, also use a good moisturizer that you can apply to your ends often to keep them from drying out since they are the oldest part of your hair, when I wear my hair down I rub moisturizer in my hands to thin it out and then apply it to the ends of my hair every 48hrs. Also I wouldn't recommend wearing your hair down outside in the winter, that's the one season that I do wear protective styles 100% while I'm outside and 50% of the time indoors. I hope this helps, good luck with your hair goals.

 

[A_Christian]

I started wearing a bun almost everyday when I was around 11. Back then my hair was above my ears. By the time I was 13 my hair was shoulder length and by the time I was 15 my hair was going down my back. I think protective hairstyles definitely help in terms of maintaining length. However, I love wearing my hair down. So now I usually wear it down in public, but waer a bun or have it wrapped up in a satin scarf as soon as I get home. That way I can protect it for at least half of the day.

 

[Isis]

Cathy Howse said she never wears her hair in a protective style. I'm wondering if the main thing is keeping the ends (and rest of the hair) moisturized at all times.

 

[Foxycus02]

It might be helpful but I disagree, I think it all depends on the process the extras you have to do to get your hair straight. If you are a blow dryer, curling iron, flat iron, extra heat type user, stick to protective styles because you are adding extreme damage to your hair. But if youre like me, I wash and deep condition 2x's or 1x time a week depending of the hecticness of my schedule, rollerset and then wrap and tie down w/ a satin scarf then damage is minimal. I wrap my hair every night tie it w/ a scarf and in the morning I brush down and Im ready to go Hair seems as if I just had blown it out. My hair achieves its great lenghts and strenght this way. Protective styles is just too much handling for me, the tying the hair up and brushing it back everyday was just too much for my hair. With my method I brush once gently and Im good.Im also one of those people that arent chronic when it comes to running my fingers through my hair and twisting & handling it just because its out. It all depends on you, your personal style, and phobias, and of course the condition of your hair. If your hair is very weak & fragile protective styles might be beneficial for the meanwhile

 

[babyblue]

[ QUOTE ]
What have protective styles helped you achieve? Is it keeping the ends moist and therefore keeping the length? If so, is that impossible to duplicate when keeping your hair down? Wouldn't moisturizing and sealing (even several times a time) be sufficient?
Or is it that protective styles help with snagging and breaking on your clothes, seatbelts, etc...Could that be reduced with a little more care?


[/ QUOTE ]

I think its both. Right now my hair is past my bra strap and this was achieved through protective styling. When i wore my hair down all the time i stayed at the same lenght (above bra strap) for years. It wasnt untill i found out about Wanakee and read her theory on protective styling that i started to make changes in my routine and started to see results. i believe the protective styling helps because

1. your keeping the hair out of harms way
2. it keeps the ends from tangling up and getting snagged breaking off in clothing and things(like wool coats/hats/sweaters in the winter)which was a major cause of breakage for me
3. when you freshly moisturize your ends and tuck it away in a frech roll, bun etc or a claw clip. you keep the ends from being exposed to the elements and drying out quicker.
4. if your like me and constantly playing in your hair and twirling around your finger when your bored another cause of breakage, wearing a protective style can help you keep your hands out of your head.

all these factors together have helped me retain more lenght. Now some people do all sorts of "bad" things to their hair and their hair still grows long, but some of us just need a little boost to help our hair grow. i know everyone wants to wear their hair down from time to time and thats ok but in the end the benefits of protective styling are completely worth it

 

[inthepink]

My hair was almost waist length at the beginning of the year and I hadn't been wearing protective styles. I do think that I would have maintained my length and gotten there faster if I had done protective styles though.

 

[OnlyErin]

It's a good question. Scissor-happy stylists were part of the reason my length remained stagnant, but I have to say that protective styling plus conditioning washes after working out have helped me retain length. I'm a hair "player," and when I have my hair down, I mess with it. The thing I worry about with buns is having it in the same place every day, so I vary it. I also just got a foam donut, covered it in satin, and am loving it. I really think that you can probably grow your hair without protective styling if you can keep your hands out of your hair and are SUPER diligent about moisturizing your ends. I know I am not, so it's the bun for me!

OE

 

[Allandra]

I feel as though protective styles definitely helped me to get to waist length. I recommended it to anyone who wants to grow their hair out.

 

[inthepink]

I agree about playing in your hair! I used to have the world title in hair twirling! I cannot have my hair down without playing with it - touching it, seeing if I have split ends, and snapping or snipping split ends if I see them. It was ridiculous. Now, that I wear my hair up 95% of the time, I don't play with it. (Ok, sometimes in the evening, I can't resist playing in my waves for a bit!) But, I am 90% cured of my "hand in hair" disease.

 

[localhost]

Yes, protective styling made a huge difference in the amount of length I retained from relaxer to relaxer. Once I heard about it a year ago, I was reallly relunctant to wear my hair up all of the time. I wanted to look cute! I found myself breaking out the curling iron everyday to "bump" those ends, and I ended up with a lot of breakage.

Although protective stying is a major secret to growing your hair long, I also think staying away from heat as much as possible plays an equal part, ESPECIALLY for relaxed hair. Again, I was relunctant to do away with the heat, but once I did, my hair TOOK OFF! (Plus I stopped burning my ear and my neck

)

 

[babyblue]

[ QUOTE ]
I agree about playing in your hair! I used to have the world title in hair twirling! I cannot have my hair down without playing with it - touching it, seeing if I have split ends, and snapping or snipping split ends if I see them. It was ridiculous. Now, that I wear my hair up 95% of the time, I don't play with it. (Ok, sometimes in the evening, I can't resist playing in my waves for a bit!) But, I am 90% cured of my "hand in hair" disease.

[/ QUOTE ]

lol im still not cured. its a sickness aint it?

 

[Isis]

Well, since I am participating in the bun challenge, I will know first-hand how this protective styling works. I am enjoying the journey.