Stagnant Growth

[divachyk]

Other than time and patience, what are some affordable and safe suggestions to spark growth? I emphasize safe b/c I'm a newbie and not quite ready to get into advanced hair care methods.

Scenario: I've been attempting this HHJ for about 3 months but I'm not seeing much progress. Good news is my hair is not breaking, the moisture/protein balance seems in check except I'm not witnessing any growth. I length check monthly and the hair is barely moving; not enough growth to even measure.

Overview (in no particular order):
-Low mani, no comb reggie
-Finger comb to detangle and style
-Brush hair with toothbrush as needed (b/c it doesn't rip out the hair)
-PS (bun) non-stop w/square dancing w/bun placement; take bun down when home; never sleep in bun
-M&s twice daily with whole head baggy for ~1-2hrs at night
-Bee mine (no sulfur) growth serum daily
-Scalp massage 3-4x week for ~5min
-Poo 1x week
-C/W only if mid-week wash required
-DC w/heat @ least 1x week
-Light protein treat weekly by adding it to my DC mixture; hard protein treat 6-8 weeks
-Air dry most times; rarely rollerset; never use direct heat (flat iron, etc)
-Sleep in satin scarf
-Take daily vitamins-->prenatal, calcium and fish oil
-Good water intake

ETA: I exercise at least 5x week. Mainly cardio and some weight training.

Suggestions?

 

[Whimsy]

I hope you get some replies that satisfy you, I can only add living a generally healthy and active lifestyle. I honestly don't know if this "sparks" growth, but I FEEL like it makes all of me healthier including my folicles

I focus more on retention than growth so I can't help ya.

 

[Miss_C]

It sounds like what you're doing is the recipe for healthy growth. One piece of advice though,stop checking your progress every month. That's a sure way to become impatient. You're already using a growth aide (Bee Mine), so you don't need another one. If you aren't excercising, add that. Otherwise, just do what you do.

 

[SelfStyled]

IA w/ Miss C- exercise really, really helps!

 

[che1219]

OP, 'A watched pot never boils'. Just continue to do what you are doing, and in no time at all you will be pleasantly surprised with how much growth you have.

 

[divachyk]

Failed to mention, I exercise routinely although not daily. At least 5 out of 7 days. Thx for the responses and will stop the length checking.

 

[Demi27]

How are your eating habits, OP? Even though you're exercising, drinking water and taking vitamins, do you eat anything that could possibly inhibit hair growth? Caffeine has been said to stump hair growth sometimes.

Just a thought.

 

[southerncitygirl]

How are your eating habits, OP? Even though you're exercising, drinking water and taking vitamins, do you eat anything that could possibly inhibit hair growth? Caffeine has been said to stump hair growth sometimes.

Just a thought.

i agree with this, OP just cause we are not overweight and excercise often doesn't mean we can eat whatever we want. processed foods have no nutrition and are hard to digest, which may potentially cause constipation, which hinders absorption of nutrients through the intestinal walls. do you eat lots of raw fruits and veggies? lean proteins? healthy fats like nuts and avocado? complex carbs like sweet potatoes, quinoa, brown rice? are you having bm's at least once a day but preferably 2-4? sorry to get so technical and personal but all these things play a part.

 

[brittle_hair]

I don't think 3months is enough, I would say you have to give it at least 6 months to see a noticeable amount of progress.

 

[choctaw]

ITA with brittle_hair's comment. I started keeping notes in February and made some changes. I realized my hair had grown when I had to turn head and pull hair across to detangle in shower. I use less braids/twists to prepare for bed. When I gather my hair towards crown there is a little bun. I have no heat skills so it took over 5 months to notice because I never straighten my hair.

 

[L.Brown1114]

WOW!! your regimen is flawless lol. i dont do half of what u do although i should be! as i got more into my HHJ i found a way on wash days to not have to M&S everyday let alone twice a day. but thats my hair, and im assuming your relaxed so if u want some tips just PM me. u said u exercise 5 times out of the week so maybe u need to cowash more because sweat is salty and it could be drying your hair out. in three months id have AT LEAST an inch of NG. even if your hair grew 1/4 an inch a month ud still have 3/4 an inch which should be easy to see especially when ur hair is wet. just be patient and keep doing what your doing and u should be fine. what helps is sew ins cuz u stop thinking about ur hair and more about the weave. HTH!!

 

[divachyk]

i agree with this, OP just cause we are not overweight and excercise often doesn't mean we can eat whatever we want. processed foods have no nutrition and are hard to digest, which may potentially cause constipation, which hinders absorption of nutrients through the intestinal walls. do you eat lots of raw fruits and veggies? lean proteins? healthy fats like nuts and avocado? complex carbs like sweet potatoes, quinoa, brown rice? are you having bm's at least once a day but preferably 2-4? sorry to get so technical and personal but all these things play a part.

No worries about being technical, it's all good. I have never had normal bm's and have to take miralax to promote it. It has nothing to do with my eating habits but other medical reasons. I intake caffeine very rarely and have a good, well rounded diet with very little unhealthy snacking. There is always room for improvement, of course -- b/c (for me) I don't deprive myself if I have a craving for something sweet/unhealthy. I do skimp on nuts b/c I'm allergic but overall, my diet is decent. I rarely eat red meat. Eat mostly chicken and seafood (crab, shrimp, lobster, scallops and occasionally fish). I'll look to where I can improve and try to make adjustments accordingly.

How are your eating habits, OP? Even though you're exercising, drinking water and taking vitamins, do you eat anything that could possibly inhibit hair growth? Caffeine has been said to stump hair growth sometimes. Just a thought.

Yes -- I don't forgo cravings. If I want it, I have it, within moderation though. As mentioned above, I'm relatively good with my diet and nutritional intake. I'll review my food journal and figure out where I can improve and tweak my diet accordingly.

 

[nikolite]

3 months!

You need to calm down a bit, because you're not likely to see any difference in growth in that short of time, especially when you are looking for it. Just keep doing what you are doing, focus on other things, and be patient. The growth will come but never when you're watching it. If anything, just focus on your hair health and make sure it stays healthily each month, but not the length.

 

[bride91501]

I'm a newbie too, and I've also been on this LHHJ for almost exactly 3 months. I don't know....I have to disagree with most of the other comments.

No- you may not be able to notice (by sight) 3 months worth of growth, but if you're measuring, you should be able to see some measurable growth that way. The numbers on the tape measure don't lie, so if they're not moving, there has to be a reason for that.

From what I've learned so far, unless you have some health problems that would affect hair growth, that's probably not it. Your issue is likely retention. Are you noticing an overabundance of broken hairs when you wash or manipulate your hair? I also think you should consider LBrown's comment about co-washing more to rid your hair of salt buildup that may be drying out your hair.

I too work out 5-6x per week, and even if I don't co-wash on a workout day, I am sure to completely rinse my hair clean of salt under running shower water (and seal afterwards, of course). I also measure my hair monthly and I've retained about 2.5" since May 31.

I know all heads are different, but I just wanted to give you my experience since we started this thing around the same time

 

[divachyk]

I'm a newbie too, and I've also been on this LHHJ for almost exactly 3 months. I don't know....I have to disagree with most of the other comments.

No- you may not be able to notice (by sight) 3 months worth of growth, but if you're measuring, you should be able to see some measurable growth that way. The numbers on the tape measure don't lie, so if they're not moving, there has to be a reason for that.

From what I've learned so far, unless you have some health problems that would affect hair growth, that's probably not it. Your issue is likely retention. Are you noticing an overabundance of broken hairs when you wash or manipulate your hair? I also think you should consider LBrown's comment about co-washing more to rid your hair of salt buildup that may be drying out your hair.

I too work out 5-6x per week, and even if I don't co-wash on a workout day, I am sure to completely rinse my hair clean of salt under running shower water (and seal afterwards, of course). I also measure my hair monthly and I've retained about 2.5" since May 31.

I know all heads are different, but I just wanted to give you my experience since we started this thing around the same time

No breakage to speak of. I have a broken strand or two on wash day but not enough to truly impact retention. I'll be honest -- I haven't measured with a tape measure. I placed marks on my shirt (like the ones you can buy to track growth except I made mine) and have eyeballed the length of my hair in comparison to the length marks on my shirt. I thought I would see a visible difference but didn't, so I didn't whip out the tape measure. I guess I should just measure it (with a tape measure) to see a true length difference but I will wait and be patient.

The one thing I don't do is co-wash after gym time, never have and have grown my hair pretty effortlessly throughout the years. I lost length when my dh was diagnosed with cancer. Praise be to God he's healed and now I'm trying to get back to my BSL/MBL. Now that I'm "trying" to grow my hair, it's not happening (as quick as I would like). I do think there's something to be said about leaving your hair alone and just letting it grow at its own pace. In the past, I didn't m&s and wore my hair out 100% of the time in the past and my hair still grew...oh well.

Thank you all for responding!

 

[Nonie]

How are your eating habits, OP? Even though you're exercising, drinking water and taking vitamins, do you eat anything that could possibly inhibit hair growth? Caffeine has been said to stump hair growth sometimes.

Just a thought.

I agree with what you said but as a rep of the Caffeine Protection Society, I would like to set the record straight and let you all know that caffeine doesn't stump (or stunt) growth, otherwise I'd be stuck at no-grow level coz I drink at least a cup of coffee a day without fail, and I've been known to have an affair with Coke, although I've been in therapy to give up that unhealthy relationship.

Caffeine is high in antioxidants which we all know are good for healthy cells. What gives coffee a bad name is all the crap people add to it to make it more like a dessert drink.

Caffeine has even been found to help in treatment of baldness.

 

[grow]

everyone has pretty much covered everything and i see you've got a great reggie, so the most important thing i think is patience.

other than that, i can add that i've read where they say massaging the scalp must be done for at least 15 minutes to activate the circulation to a point where it starts to enhance growth.

i have no idea if that's a fact or not, but i do it.

also, have you tried cayenne pepper?
i put that on before i massage because they say that it too, helps circulation.

 

[Aggie]

My hair grows about 1/2 an inch normally but a litle over of an inch when I engage in hair growth methods, like taking my vitamins every single day, scalp massages of my MN/sulfur mixes every couple of days.