NATURALS: Do you retain more length with wash-n-go/puffs or straight styles

[Karamelcutie]

Ladies,

I've been doing the wash-n-go/puff thing for a year now and I don't feel like I've retained as much length as I should have at this point. I think it's because my hair always gets so tangled and I have to end up finger-combing it and detangling every morning. Do you think I would retain more length if I wore my hair straight so I won't have to rake through tangles all the time? Let me know your thoughts.

 

[mkstar826]

i retain the most length with twists and braids or any LOW manipulation style...

 

[hopeful]

Best length retention for me is primarily braids or twists (no extensions), hands down. But that is not what you asked, so given the choice between wash n go and flat-ironing, I would go with flat-ironing. My hair does not like non-stop wash n go's, it becomes very aggravated with the constant manipulation. The best combo for me is wearing twists mostly and an occasional twist out, whenever I wear my how "out" for too long, even in a twist out it ends up breaking and thinning a bit somewhere.

 

[BrownSkin2]

I rarely wear straight styles so I don't know if I retain lenght that say, but I retain more length and thickness in braided styles like cornrows, kinky twists, and sew-in weave. I use to wear a wng and I retained no length because my hair tangled a lot and I would wind up cutting knots out of my hair. It did sabotage my length. I think it's detrimental to some hair types like 4 a/b.

 

[Nola Darling]

I've gotten the most growth from keeping it straight but I'm trying to move away from the flat irons. When my hair is out in poofs it breaks off like crazy!

 

[Triple-J]

i retain the most length with twists and braids or any LOW manipulation style...

This is how I retain the most length.

 

[Luvmylife]

If I had to choose between the two, I would say that I've retained the most length by wearing my hair straight. Wearing puffs daily ravaged my ends and kept me at the same length for ages! Co washing and then immediate bunning or braiding will help too...basically anything that keeps my ends covered with low manipulation will always be better for my hair than the wash n' go/puff. The puff lead to too much tangling and no matter what I did, I could never keep my ends moist

 

[PinkSkates]

I know for a fact that I retain more length by keeping my hair straight. If I try and wear it in its natural state loose, I get massive tangles and knots which lead to breakage.

 

[so so chic]

I know for a fact that I retain more length by keeping my hair straight. If I try and wear it in its natural state loose, I get massive tangles and knots which lead to breakage.

I agree with this.

 

[ladylibra]

i guess that i am the only one who has retained length mostly wearing my wash and go puff.

i think one major mistake the OP is making is combing/detangling every day. i only detangle once a week during wash day, only when soaked with conditioner. dry combing would definitely lead to breakage, especially if done every day.

also... not everyone's hair is the same. some people's hair tangles and knots too much in wash and gos to promote length retention, so they do better with straight styles or protective styles. HTH

 

[bbdgirl]

Honestly I retained more length when my hair is natural because i kept it in a ponytail mostly and really rarely combed it. That may lead to more tangles but truthfully when my hair is straight my hands are always in it flipping it and hand combing it. When it's straight I always wear it out. I flat iron it constantly and rarely wash it for fear that I would have to wash, blow dry and then flat iron it and then wrap it. Honestly that is alot of work for me some days. I am mostly not up for all of that so I rarely washed my hair when it's straight. I don't think that was best for my hair.erplexed. I believe that low manipulation is best.

 

[Enchantmt]

I read the thread we had on dusting and I've started dusting my ends every one to two months, so I'm gaining more length. I normally wear puffs everyday. Since I got the silk amino acids for my mascara, I've been adding it to my conditioner that I use for CW's. My puff never looked so good. I'm hoping I will continue to see good results.

 

[tinkat]

I retain my length with low manipulation in the natural state. I always wore sew-ins and got alot of length from that (not far from shoulder length) but now I am it out. I am noticing that my hair tangles less when I twist it up every night with frequent conditioner washes.

 

[remnant]

i retain the most length with twists and braids or any LOW manipulation style...

Me too

 

[Harmony0221]

I think it's all about low manipulation what ever the style is. I joined the LM challenge so I've been doing twist for 2/3 weeks. Then twistouts for a week and if I got lazy a rinsed twist out(WG) for another week. And detangled once before doing it all over again And my hair has definately grown.

 

[MichelleMyBelle]

I retain length with wash n go's. I wash my hair at night now that its chilly outside. Every night I spray my hair with a water/oil mixture or I use Miss Jessies curly buttercreme. I braid my hair and twist the ends of my braids with my finger to create a finger coil/curl. Sometimes I sit under my dryer for 15-30 minutes. In the morning, I unbraid my hair. I have pretty waves that curls at my ends. I never use a comb! I have not used a comb in a year! I use my fingers to detangle and part my hair. I wear a lot of afro-puff styles too.Braiding my hair at night has helped.

I try not to use any heat. It works for me. I exercise 5-6 days a week and I teach a pilates class 3X a week for the last 5 years. So flat iron and pressing is no good for me.

 

[Wildchild453]

twists always work for me since it keeps my hand out my hair

 

[imstush]

i guess that i am the only one who has retained length mostly wearing my wash and go puff.

i think one major mistake the OP is making is combing/detangling every day. i only detangle once a week during wash day, only when soaked with conditioner. dry combing would definitely lead to breakage, especially if done every day.

also... not everyone's hair is the same. some people's hair tangles and knots too much in wash and gos to promote length retention, so they do better with straight styles or protective styles. HTH

Same here. If my wng are looking dry I do a cowash or spritz with water but I don't detangle until wash day

 

[naturaline]

i think my hair grows fastest and keeps the length when i braid or twist it and forget about it for abit. lol. i usually braid/twist when wet (and leave for 2/3 days) and then wear a braidout style till the next wash day. however im changing that by leaving it braided/twisted till the next wash day (wash every 3/4 days) then only having my hair out when i get fed-up.


SORRY that was so longg!!!

 

[LynnieB]

NATURALS: Do you retain more length with wash-n-go/puffs or straight styles

wow, neither. my hair is in perfect condition from root to tip and i want to keep it that way and both of those styles if done routinely would be asking for trouble.

wng's and puffs are great for a once-in-a-while change of pace hair style but no way i'd do them everyday. they cause me soooooooooo many shrinkage related tangling it's a shame.

straight styles - same thing. great for a change of pace e'ery now and again but never all the time.

when straight or in a puff/wng, manipulation would have to be kept to a minimum.

 

[cocosweet]

Of the styling choices you mentioned, keeping it straight helps me retain length. If I wng or puff more than a few days at a time, knots can happen. My hair is in twists most of the time though.

 

[IrisDaVirus]

For myself I definitely retain the most length with wash-n-go's. I just make sure to never comb my hair when it's dry.

 

[stargazer613]

Definitely with straight styles.....my hair sheds and tangles too much with excessive rinsing/wasn n go styles.

 

[thefineprint]

when i was a loose nappy wearing puffs helped me retain length but really damaged my edges. be very careful not to pull the hair too tight w/ those bands and scarves.

 

[DDTexlaxed]

I've been unable to do twists, so all I do is WNG. My hair grew very fast. I now can do 2 mini puffs. That will be my protective style until I master those twists.

 

[silvergirl]

wash an gos / buns / pony tails

 

[EMJazzy]

I'm retaining length with the wash n' go Consistency with my daily regimen is paying off in spades for me.

 

[CurleeDST]

Honestly I am with you. My hair tends to retain the most length straight. Go figure!

I've gotten the most growth from keeping it straight but I'm trying to move away from the flat irons. When my hair is out in poofs it breaks off like crazy!

 

[miss Congeniality]

To scared to go straight. I think I retain more hair by doing potective styles.

 

[CORBINS]

In my experience, keeping my hair stretched by twisting and braiding has helped retain length.

When wearing wng's it's important to do just as they are called, WASH and GO. That means no manipulation at all, only in the shower. When I wore them after my BC, I made sure I didn't comb my hair. I detangled in the shower while I had conditioner in it.
As soon as I started combing and messing with my hair while it was shrunken, I experience so much breakage and I even caused my ends to split badly.

Sorry so long!!