If Your Hair Grew Faster…

[trinity8mod8]

If your natural hair grew faster would you just not care much about hair at all, stop worrying about retaining as much as possible, risk doing damaging things to it or consider chemical treatments again? Or are you like that already with your hair?

I’m wondering because whenever I hear about someone’s growth rate increasing from average growth to like 1” per month because they started oiling their scalp, using growth aides, doing scalp massages, taking vitamins, changed their diet or whatever, I always think to myself that if my hair grew an inch a month I would probably:

• stop doing protective styles
• start experimenting with dyes
• cut bangs or try other haircuts
• use heat more often
• go back to a twa for a while, just for the freedom

Basically, I wouldn’t be so afraid to experiment with my hair or have a fear of cutting it because I would know for sure that in a year I would have 12” of hair again, which is APL on me. I know growth isn’t the same as retaining, but I would know that at any time I could switch to being more conservative again and still meet my hair goal in about two years.

Any women here who get an inch per month and don’t worry about hair growth or other hair troubles? Or is getting an inch per month not really sustainable when you have gotten it and only lasts for like 3 months before you’re back at average growth? What would you do differently with your hair, if anything, if your hair grew an inch or more per month?

 

[Kerryann]

Girl if my hair really grew an inch a month I would wear my hair out in a big freaking fro all day everyday

 

[trinity8mod8]

I know right. It would be my dream to get an inch per month on my hair journey. I don’t think that’s too greedy? I just wanna stop worrying about my hair all the time and whether or not I am damaging it. Even after I reach my hair goals I will probably still be worrying about if I can maintain it there properly

 

[Evolving78]

i would still care. there are a lot of people around here that get that kind of growth, but don't see it, due to bad hair practices. if i want long, healthy hair, i still gotta put in the work. my hair isn't made of steel. i see some folks that can do all kinds of stuff to their hair and it still looks good, healthy, and they retain a lot.

i watched a youtube vid, and this chick had 6 months of new growth. it was wild how she was detangling her hair like a rag doll and it was torture watching her blow dry it. but her end results were fab and she didn't lose much hair in the process.

if i did what she was doing, my hair will look like a wild pack of dogs got a hold of me!

 

[Angel of the North]

I've never used growth aids but I think I have a good rate of growth, most people IRL comment that my hair grows fast. For me it's all about retaining my growth, If I grew 20 inches a year but was not maintaining healthy hair practices I would end up cutting 18 of those inches off. I spent the best part of 2010-2012 cutting my growth cos I was being lazy with my hair, not DCing regularly, not using heat protectant, blow-drying constantly, not PSing, not moisturising properly or sealing my ends. The only thing I did religously was go and get my hair trimmed , my stylist would always comment on how much my hair had grown and then trim it all off cos the ends were thin or split. I went from BSL to APL then APL to SL, back to APL where I stayed until December 2012 and now that I'm taking care of my hair again I'm seeing results and expect to hit all my length goals this year.

It is also about how my hair (or anyone else's hair) reacts to to the practices you would do if your hair grew faster, for me:
• stop doing protective styles: While I'm growing my hair PS is my best friend, more for thickness than length
• start experimenting with dyes: I've never had a problem with using hair dyes, I don't have enough greys to dye my hair yet but I've done all the experimenting I want to do where colour is concerned so I choose not to use dye
• cut bangs or try other haircuts: When I'm ready to go natural again I will probably cut a short style keep it for a while and then transition from a length that I can hold my hair up in.
• use heat more often: This can be done safely and many ladies are using heat successfully, I just choose not to, if I use heat protectant my hair is fine with direct heat.
• go back to a twa for a while, just for the freedom: I don't have a problem with TWA on others, they just don't suit me, I need at least a couple of inches on my head so I have no intentions of doing a BC to a TWA any time soon Overall I think my hair is quite resilient, I'm sure there are ladies who would have probably ended up bald if they abused their hair the way I did for 2 and half years, and it's not as though I didn't know better.

 

[Frizzyb]

I'd change my hair sooo often. Go short every year, try every hairstyle I thought would look good on me. I'd color as well cause I know any damage would be gone soon. Ultimately I would be the whole hairstyle book. Just 'cause!!!

 

[SimJam]

health was and is my first priority, once my hair is healthy Im good to go.

funnily when I was relaxed I didnt care so much about length, maybe because it was so much easier to see progress.

as a natural Ive become a bit obsessed with length because its not obvious to me because of shrinkage.

I wasnt one to colour my hair as a relaxed head and the few times I did, I usually had breakage, coloured my hair as a natural and same thing.
I prefer my hair curly so straightening is not a priority, but Ive found that reducing/eliminating blowouts improved the health of my hair.

I guess Id be happier if my hair grew 1 inch per month but only because my hair would get to the lenght that I want quicker.

 

[belldandy]

I would cut more often.

 

[amwcah]

I just want to know whose hair grows an inch per month.

 

[faithVA]

I wouldn't worry about protective styling. I would let it get to a length where I could bun it easily and then wear it out when I wanted and if I stopped retaining I would just throw it up in a bun. I probably wouldn't wear twists or braids after it was bun length. I wouldn't cut or color any differently. I cut often when I was relaxed. And I switched color often when I first went natural and wore a twa all the time.

It is a fair question. It would change the game for me. I probably would actually flat iron my hair which I never do now and probably won't do often in the future.

 

[trinity8mod8]

i would still care. there are a lot of people around here that get that kind of growth, but don't see it, due to bad hair practices.

Yeah, I never thought about that before. I really don't know exactly how much my hair grows per month, but always knew it was around the average because no matter if I protect my hair or do low manipulation styles I still only see a little growth during the month. I guess I didn't think about that most people don't measure their growth and even if they have a fast growth rate wouldn't know it if they are already doing the things I listed in my OP

I know that people use dye to measure their growth rate. And I saw this lady on YouTube use a rubber band tied tight to the root of a few of her strands to measure her growth rate for a full month. Maybe there should be like a hardcore measuring challenge so we can actually get some real growth numbers to analyze

 

[trinity8mod8]

I've never used growth aids but I think I have a good rate of growth, most people IRL comment that my hair grows fast. For me it's all about retaining my growth, If I grew 20 inches a year but was not maintaining healthy hair practices I would end up cutting 18 of those inches off. I spent the best part of 2010-2012 cutting my growth cos I was being lazy with my hair

Yeah that's a good point. I did notice that when I blow dried my hair more it was getting dry and I knew if I kept stretching it like that it would eventually break off....but I think that with growing an inch a month I would still be able to try a lot of different experiments on my hair, but maybe just one at a time so that I wouldn't overwhelm my hair with too much lol.

 

[trinity8mod8]

Frizzyb
See that's how I would be. I have never had bangs and always wanted to see how they look. I've always wanted to try dying my hair red and putting Henna on my hair just didn't cut it. I have so many styles I want to do that would look better if I straightened my hair first, but I'm to chicken to do any of this right now lol.

SimJam
Yeah I would be happier that I could reach my hair goals faster too, but I guess I'm trying to say that even after I reached that goal and my hair is healthy, I would still be afraid to try new things because I would know that it would take me probably 4 years if I screwed up and had to start from a twa again

belldandy
me too, especially nicely cut layers

amwcah
every so often I see people posting increased growth results in several different forums, especially after they tried gro-aut oil, JBCO, MN, vitamins or some other growth aide. Many times they even had pictures to show the before and after shots of their hair after a month and I would have to agree with most of them that it did look like they gained a good inch of hair. But I'm not saying that people don't lie, but I did believe most of them and they had what I accepted as decent proof.

 

[trinity8mod8]

faithVA
wow, it sounds like you've already tried a lot with your hair. Maybe I just regret not being more experimental thus far with my hair. When I had relaxed hair, the most I colored was medium brown in the front and that was to blend in with a sew-in I was getting cause I couldn't find the right hair and I haven't done any thing at all since my BC except trying BKT but that was more for ease of styling and it still didn't work lol

 

[koolkittychick]

If my hair grew that fast, the first thing I would do is work to get to waist length, then I'd:

1. Immediately go back to the honey blonde color I wore when I was younger and rock it like Beyonce do!
2. Leave my hair out ALL the time to swang in the breeze.
3. Once I reach my weight goals and after I have played all I want in my long hair, I would probably cut it all off and rock the cute little pixie shag I wore when I was in my early twenties.
4. After about a year of that, then I would cut it all off and go natural so I can rock a big fluffy 'fro by the end of the year.
5. Then probably stay natural and work to get my hair back to waist length and beyond.

 

[trinity8mod8]

If my hair grew that fast, the first thing I would do is work to get to waist length, then I'd:

1. Immediately go back to the honey blonde color I wore when I was younger and rock it like Beyonce do!
2. Leave my hair out ALL the time to swang in the breeze.
3. Once I reach my weight goals and after I have played all I want in my long hair, I would probably cut it all off and rock the cute little pixie shag I wore when I was in my early twenties.
4. After about a year of that, then I would cut it all off and go natural so I can rock a big fluffy 'fro by the end of the year.
5. Then probably stay natural and work to get my hair back to waist length and beyond.

Wow, sounds like you have it all planned out lol...yeah I would love to get to waist length and then go crazy with my hair color and leave it out to swing around while I'm walking and be like everybody WHATCHOUT (George Lopez voice). I knew this girl in middle school who hated her hair because she said that every time that she got a hair cut that she really liked her hair would grow out of it in like a few months and I saw her cut her hair really short one year and by the end of the year she was at least BSL. And I was at SL all year and was absolutely amazed

 

[Taina]

If my hair grew faster, I still be trying to protect it. I can not imagine growing 1" per month and not retaining any of it ... that would be so frustrating

 

[faithVA]

@faithVA
wow, it sounds like you've already tried a lot with your hair. Maybe I just regret not being more experimental thus far with my hair. When I had relaxed hair, the most I colored was medium brown in the front and that was to blend in with a sew-in I was getting cause I couldn't find the right hair and I haven't done any thing at all since my BC except trying BKT but that was more for ease of styling and it still didn't work lol

I've done all types of things to my hair. I think I was fortunate not to know anything about growing long hair until I was much older. That way I was able to play with my hair while I was young. I tried every hair color on the palette, even blonde. My coworkers thought I was crazy. I'm just now starting to settle down. I am done experimenting.

 

[chrisanddonniesmommy]

I would still care. In addition, my hair would still be in a bun or puff because I like to keep things simple. I'd probably use heat once a month (flat ironing), though, instead of once or twice a year.

 

[trinity8mod8]

Taina
that's true, you never know if your growth is going to slow down anyway as you get older, so might as well grow and retain while you can.

I've done all types of things to my hair. I think I was fortunate not to know anything about growing long hair until I was much older. That way I was able to play with my hair while I was young. I tried every hair color on the palette, even blonde. My coworkers thought I was crazy. I'm just now starting to settle down. I am done experimenting.

Yeah, I wish I would have tried more with my hair while it was relaxed and breaking off anyway. I guess I should have know that being on a healthy hair journey meant that I was probably not going to want to cut my hair or jeopardize it in any way when it had grown the longest that it's ever been before.

 

[Stormy]

Well, I'm too scared NOT to continue doing most of the things I do now for retention, even if my hair grew an inch per month. In fact, there have been a couple of times that it did grow that fast, but not for long like for 3 months as you said.

I remember the first time I went natural back in 2009 and I did get a little careless. My TWA grew out so fast, once I had enough hair to do some styles, I started straightening it all the time! Thinking that my hair was strong and grew fast so I just didn't think about it. One time I pressed it when it needed washing and had a lot of product build up on it. The comb was too hot that time and I ended up burning it straight. It wouldn't even revert. I went from a 4B to a 2 something. Eventually I had to get it cut. Then I experimented with texturizers and texlaxing and that resulted in a drying mess. All of this taught me a lesson and that's why I don't think I'll ever stop what I'm doing except... I'd switch my protective styles from twists and braids to buns.

 

[trinity8mod8]

chrisanddonniesmommy
Yeah, I would still care as well, but I don't think as much as I do now. I like simple styles as well, but like you said maybe I would do something a little extra and more risky with my hair because it would be less scary for me if things went wrong.

Stormy
Sorry to hear about your bad experience with heat. What did you attribute the extra growth to for those 3 months? Yeah, like faithVA said I can see how once you've already experimented with your hair that you just want to find a simple regimen that works.

 

[Stormy]

trinity8mod8 Oh it's ok thanks. That was so long ago and the first and last time that ever happened. I'm an expert with heat now. LOL! As for the extra growth it happened again last year. I think for me it's just the summer months because I don't take vitamins or anything. My hair tends to grow more and faster during this time. Must be that my hair retains moisture more with the heat or something.

 

[silverbuttons]

i'd want healthy hair till the end.
but i'd be in my afro all the time!

 

[McQuay30]

health was and is my first priority, once my hair is healthy Im good to go.

funnily when I was relaxed I didnt care so much about length, maybe because it was so much easier to see progress.

as a natural Ive become a bit obsessed with length because its not obvious to me because of shrinkage.

I wasnt one to colour my hair as a relaxed head and the few times I did, I usually had breakage, coloured my hair as a natural and same thing.
I prefer my hair curly so straightening is not a priority, but Ive found that reducing/eliminating blowouts improved the health of my hair.

I guess Id be happier if my hair grew 1 inch per month but only because my hair would get to the lenght that I want quicker.

i was the exact opposite, relaxed u couldnt get scissors near my hair but now natural i am always trimming my hair. I would love an inch per month because after a year of being natural i am now focusing on length. i still wouldnt use heat maybe more washngo.

 

[Seamonster]

Like some of the other poster, I know that there have been months in the summer where I have grown an inch of hair. Last year I cut my bangs to eyeball length in June. I kept them that length for a few months, and when I could keep up the trims; they are full chin length now.

My hair is among the shortest on the board, so I don't think growth is that big a deal. I think we need to say if my hair was so strong that no matter what I did I could retain an inch a month, now you are talking.

Just like some of the posters mentioned as soon as my twa got to the length I could bun I was forced to give up the twist because sometimes my hair grows too fast to maintain them. I don't get steady growth; I get growth spurts, so it seems like I will just wake up looking raggedy.

If I didn't have to struggle to retain hair so badly I would color my hair a bright red. As it is, I am just going to be satisfied with henna. If I get to waist length I am going to keep on growing to terminal.

 

[Aireen]

I would relax more often, instead of every 3-4 months, it would be every 2-3 months.

 

[greenandchic]

If my hair grew 1" per month, I would still care for my hair because it is pretty delicate and I am prone to breakage, but I would probably be a bit more liberal when it comes to styles - especially WnG. I wouldn't feel the need to wear it stretched in a protective style all the time.

I don't even get 1/2" per month so 1" would be grand!

 

[Aviah]

I swear some of my family members grow 1" a month... Not like I ever got a taste of that gene. *hmph*

Anyway, I would get it to MBL/WL and layer it. MAYBE add some color.

 

[ChocolatePie777]

Nothing would change.....I dont even pay attention to my mothly growth rate....just the amount of healthy hair ive been able to retain at the end of the year