What do you think about the rate of this progress?

[mischka]

I grew out my relaxer with sew ins and I love my natural hair. But I damaged it awhile ago having it straightened and now I hate the way it looks. I'm also considering cutting it, and short hair is not a good look on me. So even though I don't want to I'm considering going back to sew ins again for awhile. I just haven't gotten the hang of retention yet and caring for my own hair has been decidedly unsuccessful .

So given the time frame, does the length retention justify going back to sew ins?

 

[havilland]

I use sew ins as a retention tool and I see no issue with it.

I say "why not?"

Trim off the damage or at least some of it, and then hide your hair for a while to baby it and protect it from further damage.

Sew ins also make it easier to adjust to a trim, since your hair still appears longer.

Don't keep damage hair. In the end, damaged hair just slows your overall progress.

Sent from my iPhone while out living my best life!

 

[Chaosbutterfly]

In the long run, it doesn't matter because you'll have to cut it anyway.

 

[Nonie]

To answer your question on whether you retained well with sew-ins when one compares the photos you posted, I say a resounding yes! There are people who are stuck at your 2009 photo stage and have been there for years. And if you've had trouble retaining in other ways, then clearly this is working for you, and it's both protective and low mani--two ingredients that help a lot when it comes to retention. At the end of the day, when you reach a length you are happy with, how long it took to get there won't matter. That you got there will be all that will matter. So I say do whatever you did to go from pic 1 to 2. It clearly works!

mischka But if you will go back to weaves, I say cut off the damage and grow a healthy mane. That's what I did in 2004. I had damaged my hair with heat and had to cut off about 2 inches. I braided my hair after the cut and by 2006, I was happy with my length again. Not just back to SL but was at CBL. And the time was so irrelevant. I just loved the look of my friends when they saw my twists and were surprised that the ones in the nape I left down were not "with extensions".

 

[hothair]

Unless you intend to ALWAYS have extensions in I would learn to deal with it first.

This was me for years on my hair journey. I would grow my hair with weaves/braids then try to wear my own hair for two months and have it all break off. I forced myself to leave my hair out for two years, and by look and feel of my hair I learned how to look after it, so the weave is an option not a necessity.

 

[MzSwift]

That's good retention for 1 year and 2 months!

IA, that you should cut off the damage if you're gonna go into weaves for a long period of time.

 

[mischka]

Unless you intend to ALWAYS have extensions in I would learn to deal with it first.

This was me for years on my hair journey. I would grow my hair with weaves/braids then try to wear my own hair for two months and have it all break off. I forced myself to leave my hair out for two years, and by look and feel of my hair I learned how to look after it, so the weave is an option not a necessity.

yeah, this is also why i really dont want to go back to sew ins. i dont like being dependent on them. before the heat damage i had already had a setback! i ended up losing probably about an inch to an inch and a half. but now after both those issues, i have recovered a little by using no heat and deep conditioning with as low manip that i can manage for the past 3 or 4 months.

so i feel a LITTLE more confident now that id be able to manage my hair next time. i actually was doing things that i knew were bad for it so its not surprising i suffered for it. now i want a sew in to recoup some length and i think i'd be a little better at maintaining on my own the next time around. my hair cant handle even the vaguely damaging stuff i was doing to it and i know that now.

 

[NappyNelle]

You've had great retention. What is your main concern with caring for your own hair, heat damage? Weaves are nice, but they can become a crutch if you are uncomfortable with caring for your own hair out of fear of damage. What were the other vaguely damaging things you were doing?

 

[mischka]

i had also had my hair cut during the time to slowly trim off the relaxed ends.

im not worried about heat damage because i am not going to the salon anymore, and i dont even flat iron it myself anymore. if i did want to, i have a sedu, and it can straighten my hair under 300 degrees. but i dont plan on straightening it so heat damage isnt the problem.

my problems are: i cant find the right products to keep my hair in good condition... i often have stiff, dry, hard feeling hair and dont entirely know what to do about it. and: i have issues with shampooing/washing... my hair cannot take manipulation from frequent washing, yet its the only thing that helps it to feel less dry. for about a month or so i was washing/cowashing like every other day and that was really the cause of my setback. my hair was breaking like crazy whenever i did anything to it.

now i dont do anything to it. ill shampoo once every two weeks with a deep condition and then put it away. its doing better but its still not as strong as its been before. plus, it looks like crap. apart from the heat damage, i dont style it anymore. im not gonna be able to keep getting away with that once i get a life again.

eta: here is my last thread about heat damage, there are pics a little further down http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=557191