My hair grew better when it was straight

[yuhlovevybz]

*dodges thrown bricks*

I'm not saying I wanna relax again, like hell I don't. I went natural before I knew what natural was. All I knew was that I took relaxers into my own hands and jacklaxed my hair, on top of uglybleached it, on top of jet black hair dye, on top of jacklax part two. So I decided to just "stop relaxing" to save myself some heart ache. I was a straightened natural, but I decided to grow out my hair I could retain more length if I used less heat. I basically went maybe a few inches longer than my BC cut after chopping off heat damaged ends when I decided I wanted to do wash and goes more. Then I realized my hair didn't have the right shape [that I had desired] for a wash and go. I tried twistouts but I look ugly some days and good the next. Bipoloar twistouts. Plus i have a patch of type 2/3 silky hair that throws a big wtf into all of my hair styles. My best feature when I was young was hair that was 'longer than most black chicks'. And it won't even that long. I figured taking heat out of my regimen would help me retain more length, and I can't tell. The only benefit is that I learned my real texture and no longer have heat damage.

Ramble ramble ramble

Anyways, am I tripping? I have hardly gained any length from between may (beginning of hair journey after chopping heat damaged ends) and now, when usually my hair sprouts like crazy. It grew like a monster demon baby even when I was neglecting it in college and now its just....busy looking ugly while i try to do these natural hair styles and I look like a soggy thing. I guess my problem is feeling like i can't be pretty without long hair, and when my hair is straight, it looks longer. And it's easier to track growth with straightened hair, I suppose. I don't even know what I'm asking in this post.

Basically the topic here is do you ladies feel like it can be true that my hair was growing/retaining better when I was straightening, or do you think I simply noticed more growth because it was straight all of the time?

 

[yuhlovevybz]

Sorry there was supposed to be a question mark after the title! that was not a fact lol

 

[Bublin]

OP it sounds to me that you would be happier with a stretched style like braid/twist outs. Put some satin rollers on the ends to give them a nice finish.

 

[pookaloo83]

I'm pretty sure you can be a straight natural without heat damage. Why don't you truy rollersets?

 

[yuhlovevybz]

Thanks for the advice. My problem is my braidouts don't stretch right. I either cornrow or do large plaits on wet hair (that's the only way I can airdry it anyways). They only start to look good when I redo large braids on hair that's already been dried and stretched for a couple of days. Once I do that they turn out soft and fluffy. Anytime before that theyre kinda stiff and rigid (hope I'm explaining that right). So basically it takes two or three days after the general wash day for my style to come out right. Does it sound like I'm just doing something wrong? Should I detangle before styling (I hate combing)?

 

[yuhlovevybz]

I'm pretty sure you can be a straight natural without heat damage. Why don't you truy rollersets?

I've tried and for some reason my hair ends up looking like a bag 70s wig. And when I wrap it afterwards its HUGE and big and shiny and looks like a hair hat. I think maybe I'm using too small of rollers lol. I'll try it again with jumbo rollers, thanks for reminding me cause I keep forgetting to revisit it.

 

[Bublin]

If your braidouts are really stiff then maybe you need to change your products to something more moisturising and don't use gel. If your products are mainly protein then that will cause stiffness.

Also, the shorter your hair the smaller the braids or twists need to be (or in other words more on your head) to have a uniformed 'out' style.

 

[Bublin]

Oh and you say youu don't detangle/comb....How are you getting shed hairs out? How are getting tangles out???
If all of this is building up then it's no wonder getting your hair to style right is
a problem for you.

 

[yuhlovevybz]

When I combed my hair a lot I felt I was inflicting a lot of mid-shaft splits, and tons of hair would come out in my comb. I finger comb while I wash in the shower, once or twice a week, and this seems to take care of it. When I try to detangle I feel like my hair gets worse than it was before I started combing it, if that makes any sense.

I don't use gel, I just use leave in after I wash. When I do small braids the braid out is very tight and isn't stretched much more than my hair is after the wash. I think that part is just something I'll have to deal with with my hair being shorter than I'm used to it. Uniform braid outs are nice but my head is long oval shaped so short scrunched up styles look strange on me.

 

[discodumpling]

Sounds like you're doing too much op. Concious hair growing is gonna take more time than 6 or 7 months. Evaluate your current regi..why do you do what you do to your hair? Find out the basics to make your hair thrive.

Droid baby!

 

[yuhlovevybz]

Doing too much... I hardly do anything, unless you mean washing often which I do because I run at least forty five minutes daily followed by other workouts. Afterwards I like to wash my hair. I found that keeping my scalp clean is just one of those things I need to do. Now that my hair is in braids I rinse my scalp daily so that I won't have to bother my hair too much. I've tried to cut down washing but if I get up to a week my hair feels dirty and I feel gross.

From between this point and may I've found that the best things for my hair is keeping it clean and not layering products. That's about it though.

 

[yuhlovevybz]

btw discodumpling I love the tattoo. Is it an astrological sign? From what I can see it's awesome

 

[Seraphina]

You may have said this, OP, and I missed it, but, are you using rollers on your ends while drying and sleeping?

I retained a lot more length when my hair was straight because of less shrinkage, and therefore fewer knots and tangling.

 

[yuhlovevybz]

I'm actually not...could you please explain more? Do you roller the ends? Do you braid the hair before rolling? Sorry if I sound slow lol

 

[SkySurfer]

One tip about the braidout, my braid outs and twists out tend to feel stiff if i do them on soaking eet hair...its much better for me when the hair is only damp, my hair is more stretched and has more movement

 

[westNDNbeauty]

Have you considered stretching your hair with heat before completing the braid out? This speeds up the 3 day process. I know you may be trying to avoid heat, but heat used for stretching is not as harsh as heat needed to straighten.

My siggy is a stretched braid out.

 

[Leeda.the.Paladin]

Op, you said your wash n go doesn't have a shape that you like. Have you considered going to get it cut at a salon that specializes in curly hair? Maybe they can cut it in a shape that you would like.

Anyway, about the growth. It is hard to tell if kinky/curly hair is growing sometimes because of the shrinkage. That is why early on, I would measure a certain part of my hair and, of course, I took a lot of picture so I could tell.

 

[BostonMaria]

OP, after I did the BC I alternated between curly and straight. I would wear my hair in its natural state for two weeks, then rollerset and wear my hair in a straight style for two weeks. For ME, I really believe that stretching my hair by rollersetting helped me avoid single strand knots and assisted with retaining length. Keep in mind that I deep conditioned, did Amla treatments, and only flatironed my roots very lightly. I also did protective styles at night.

With all that being said, if you think straight styles will help you retain length then I say give it a try for a few months and see if it makes a difference in your hair. Please be careful with heat.

 

[discodumpling]

btw @discodumpling I love the tattoo. Is it an astrological sign? From what I can see it's awesome

Thanx YuhLovevybyz! Yes it's an astrological wheel with all the signs and important folks birthdays noted. DH designed it and he has an earlier version in the same spot on his back to!

 

[MzSwift]

I used to think the same thing when I first started. I swore my hair seemed to grow faster when it was straighter. But I realized that prior to starting my HHJ, I had never paid this close attention to my growth as I do now. It grows the same. I had to find new ways to retain as I was wearing my hair a new way. I hope that makes sense.

I don't like to do frequent length checks these days as I seem to see more growth by comparing yearly checks.

And I agree, lots of naturals are straight naturals. But being a straight natural may not work for your active lifestyle. I like to keep my hair in mini braids b/c I can rinse them daily and they look better as they frizz and the ends curl up. I heavy seal my ends every night and it helps to reduce knots and splits.

I hope you find your solution soon!

 

[Evolving78]

you should try to roller set your hair and flat iron the roots? this way, you don't have to blow dry and you are just using minimal heat.

 

[yuhlovevybz]

SkySurfer that's great advice. I do mine on soaking wet hair so that must be why they feel stiff! I'll definitely try letting my hair dry a bit before I do them next time, thanks.

BostonMaria thank you for the advice. Since I re-started my hair journey more seriously I've been avoiding heat but still use it occasionally. If I can get the hang of rollersets than I can really cut down on the heat. When you wore your hair natural did you wash it daily? This is one of the reasons I have trouble because even though I like washing my hair, I hate dealing with it after I've washed it if that makes any since. I'm still trying to get down to washing it once a week instead of twice.

discodumpling love it!

MzSwift thanks for the advice. That's exactly how I feel and I think you're right. I never focused on my hair before as much as I do now. It seemed like in the past I'd just wake up one day and my hair was longer lol. I actually just broke down and put in some mini braids a couple days ago and I think they'll help out tons when I'm working out, and so I can get my mind off my hair. Hopefully I can keep them in, I tend to unravel whatevers in my head when I'm bored. Smh

KCcurly it's mainly because of the length. It's at the point where it's only just starting to hang barely, like the leaning tower of piza. So it's pretty awkward. I want it to hang a little more. Strangely enough, it hangs completely any time I clarify it. So somedays it hangs and some days it fros and I don't know which one to expect. Plus I have a patch of type 2/3 silky hair that flops completely. Trust me, it's not heat damaged I've chopped it three times and it's like that from root to tip. So when I wash I'll have a semi hanging curly fro with a patch of floppy silky hair. It looks pretty crazy.

 

[yuhlovevybz]

westNDNbeauty you're braidout is beautiful, but how long does it last? Do you rebraid it when it gets sort of fuzzy? I've actually thought about doing this, but with how often I feel the need to wash my hair, I don't think it would be worth putting the heat in it. I'll definitely try it when my hair gets longer because then I can just bun it when I'm tired of the braid out, but as of now I don't have the length to do that as effectively.

 

[BillsBackerz67]

My hair does better with the relaxer and Im a 3c I have NO split ends, knots, breakage or moisture issues. As much as I want to transition again (despite the issues I was having as a natural) Im going to purposely see what kind of growth i get being relaxed and compare it to the progress and condition of my natural hair. right now Im 7 months post.

 

[yuhlovevybz]

you should try to roller set your hair and flat iron the roots? this way, you don't have to blow dry and you are just using minimal heat.

Thank you for the advice. As I've mentioned I tried rollersets before, they look weird but I think I just need to use bigger rollers. When I rollerset the roots aren't even much of a problem that I feel the need to press them. It's just that my hair feels like a hair helmet. I think this goes with me doing my hair when it's soaking wet, it dries so thick and stiff.

 

[Leeda.the.Paladin]

OP, I don't guess you could post a picture of your hair?

I have a floppy part in my crown area and the rest shrinks up above my shoulders unless I weigh it down with a lot of product. Sometimes it's a little lopsided too, but I guess I just never worry about it. A lot of the time, I'll pin it back in the front or wear a scarf.

 

[DDTexlaxed]

My hair grew better strait, too. Unfortunately, my hair just won't get strait with a natural roller set. The high amount of heat needed to straiten my hair is a deterrent for me to be a strait haired natural. Shrinkage is the enemy of natural growth. It makes the hair seem so much shorter than it is.

 

[yuhlovevybz]

Not any recent ones...the one I have isn't so good but I'll post it anyway. This was a maybe four or five months ago, I'm assuming it was after a deep condition cuz it looks looser than what I'm used to seeing it. Excuse the flash too that's the only way my hair doesn't look like a cloud of nothingness. I'm gonna attach the same pic without flash so you can see what i mean.




Now my hair goes past my ears a in its curly state but it's basically like in this pic, some pieces don't hang while the top and the side hang. The back is more tightly coiled but hangs. The sides are loosely coiled but don't hang, they frizz up. the middle is thick waves that do whatever they feel like. Hope this description helps cuz even pics don't really tell the whole story lol.

 

[Evolving78]

maybe with the knowledge you have now, you could try texlaxing?

 

[yuhlovevybz]

shortdub78 you would not believe how long and hard I have been thinking about it. I still am, but I want to give my natural hair a chance to grow a little more before i shoot for that. I don't want to texlax and then have curls that are too loose or no curls at all. Then I've have to bc all over again. Plus there is the maintenance which is why I enjoy not getting relaxers, I don't have to 'go in for a touch up'. Sounds lazy I know....but if by the summer time I still can't deal with my hair, that'll probably be plan B.