Anyone grow hair without hiding it?

[snillohsss]

I am. I tried bunning, and it started to break my ends off, and I immediately stopped.

My hair is just about APL length now (about 2 inches shy). When I started this journey back in Nov.08, I was neck length.

When I wear it curly, I will sometimes place perm rods on the hair in the back to make a it a bit shorter so it isn't all brushing on my shoulders.

 

[girlyprincess23]

I totally agree with this. I have very fine hair, though it's getting thicker and fuller. It's much harder with fine hair because I had many setbacks wearing buns all the time. I found that buns could break and weaken my hair just as much as heat or wearing it down. My goal was to figure out what was the best approach for my hair. I learned that I needed to change it up often. Therefore I wear it in buns twice a week; I may wear an sweep-up twice a week; and I may wear it down and out twice a week. I'm learning that I need to switch it up and not wear one style consistently. Even if I wear it down two or three times a week, I change the style because wearing it one way all the time did more damage than not.

I also learned that I had to find a happy medium when it comes to stretching. I stretched for 6 months and my hair turned out worse than was worth it. I'm learning that I cannot stretch longer than 4 or 5 months at a time. Well, at least not until my hair gets thicker and healthier. Healthier hair may be able to withstand heat and wearing it out often. My hair is healthy and fuller, but it hasn't gotten to where I want it yet.

Keeping things simple is working well, too!

I second this!!! As a fine haired person I also notice that constantly in one style (whatever it is) is not good for me!!!!!!!!! Buns cause damage from being in that shape or pulled with a scrunchie in the same position all the time (even if it isn't tight, the pressure from the scrunchie alone causes damage) Any sort of constantly wet styles or regimens are a no, because the hair constantly being in that vulnerable state leads to breakage. And heavy proteins are an absoloute NO. The only thing my hair seems to LOVE is rollersets ad DC's with heat (it seems to love moderate doses of heat period---still trying to figure that one out). And it likes to be moisturized but not wet It also loves Hairzings. I have yet to try other clips. But the pressure from the zing is not concentrated in one spot so it works. Also I am sure if I wore it down 2 nonconsecutive days out of the week it would be fine because that is the way it likes to be. I am still trying to figure it all out. But moral of the story is what works for one person may not work for you and the best way to find out is to try it. I personally think no matter your hair type leaving your hair down a coupl of times a week will not damage it as long as the ends are moistureized and sealed adequately. That;s just mho

 

[poookie]

interesting :scratchch

i have ridiculously fine strands, too, and my hair thrives when i leave it in a style for days at a time. i love being able to pin it up into a bun or french braid it, and remain in that style for 4, sometimes 5 days.

i also require protein at every wash. i love hardcore protein treatments.

i love the diversity within hair strands. every head of hair truly is different!

ETA: oops! forgot to answer OP's question!
my hair thrives when i pin it up and leave it alone. i don't notice growth as much when i wear it down all the time. i love pinning it away and being surprised at how long it's gotten the few occasions when i do straighten. some people can do it, i prefer to tuck my hair away

 

[BlackMasterPiece]

Me!!! I definitely did, untill this year all I did was be a striaghtened natural for like 3-4 years there. I can get away with that because I have thick/coarse strands that can take it, but I realized no matter what you wanna limit heat exposure so now I have my hair in pixie braids for the next month-2months DCing when I can and always airdrying with infusium & sealing with an oil I'm gonna make my goal of MBL using no heat

Once i reach my goal I'm gonna go back to straightening but give my hair more breaks this time. I think you can grow your hair out without protective styling but you have to know if you have the hair type that can handle that but its always ideal to protective style at least sometimes....

 

[Ladybelle]

Me!!! I definitely did, untill this year all I did was be a striaghtened natural for like 3-4 years there. I can get away with that because I have thick/coarse strands that can take it, but I realized no matter what you wanna limit heat exposure so now I have my hair in pixie braids for the next month-2months DCing when I can and always airdrying with infusium & sealing with an oil I'm gonna make my goal of MBL using no heat

Once i reach my goal I'm gonna go back to straightening but give my hair more breaks this time. I think you can grow your hair out without protective styling but you have to know if you have the hair type that can handle that but its always ideal to protective style at least sometimes....

you have some pretty hair btw! I'm trying to balance myself - I stretch as long as possible, reduce heat and refrain from using the flat iron as much as possible. I don't go all out for work (with manipulating the hair) and I save those high manipulation styles for special occassions. So far it's working.

I think you hit the nail on the head with the bolded.

 

[Ladybelle]

when you say hide, do you mean weaves and such?

i use one protective style 90% it had helped me to retain my length. i have not used weaves or anything during my grow out period.

when I say hide, I mean mainly weaves but also bunning daily and things similar to that.

 

[Ladybelle]

Yep! when I was relaxed I kept it out all the time and my hair grew to Bra-strap length. I only pinned it up during the winter under hats with a silk scarf in between the hat and my hair. If I did wear it up it was in a loose ponytail or bun so my edges wouldn't suffer.

wow! So, was your regimen on point then?

 

[BklynHeart]

^^^ Yup! I just deep conditioned after every wash, rollerset, dried in a dryer on low heat, and wrapped. My ends stayed healthy, and my hairdresser dusted/trimmed after every touch up. I used to keep it pinned up in a bun and my ends and edges started suffering so I just kept it out. My hair hates any extra fuss.

 

[Sera]

"Too much of one thing is good for nothing." -unknown. Anyways, my point is protective styling can be very helpful in growing out your hair, but I've found that if I do it excessively, i.e. buns, then some breakage does occur. So I had to find a happy medium, between protective styling & wearing my hair loose & out - it's all about finding what method works for your hair when it comes to retaining growth.

 

[hothair]

I PS-ed (weaves and braids) constantly when I started out on my HHJ. I retained a lot and almost got to the my longest length ever (APL) - my hair was definitely the most healthy its been. Then I decided to enjoy it a bit more by wearing my own hair out. Disaster.

What I found was I never really learned to deal with my own hair ie read the signs when it needed moisture/ protein/left alone cause it was always hidden away I'd just DC and the PS would keep my ends intact.

Seeing that I'm growing my hair to rock it, I decided on a new approach this year, I straighten every week using a protein intensive regimen wearing clip-ins for extra length and styling, and since the beginning of the year this is the first time I have put my hair in cornrows but with only my own hair (no extensions).

I will be updating my pics next week from April/May to now. I have retained my length and I'm quite happy and KNOW I can of grow and retain my own hair while its out.

 

[tocktick]

I PS-ed (weaves and braids) constantly when I started out on my HHJ. I retained a lot and almost got to the my longest length ever (APL) - my hair was definitely the most healthy its been. Then I decided to enjoy it a bit more by wearing my own hair out. Disaster.

What I found was I never really learned to deal with my own hair ie read the signs when it needed moisture/ protein/left alone cause it was always hidden away I'd just DC and the PS would keep my ends intact.

This is exactly what happened to me. I thought since I had my hair out for much of my first year natural, I knew enough. However, since I BC'd to a TWA and kept my hair in braids most of the time after being 7 months natural, I didn't really know how to take care of longer hair.

When I took down my 3-month braids early this year, my hair had gone from between SL and APL to past APL. I didn't really know how to care for it and was still stuck on thinking my old reggie would work. From March - late May, I kept my hair loose and lost some hair due to doing things the wrong way. I PS'ed again from July to mid August and I've had it loose since then. It's in excellent condition now because I've taken the time to learn how to wash longer hair, what to do at night, how much moisture longer hair really needs etc etc. I'll still use braid extensions to retain length but I'll use the time I have my hair loose to tweak my reggie and learn about the new low-mani styles that I can do with longer hair. When I reach MBL, I don't think I'll be using fake hair but I will still protective style using my own hair.

 

[ebonylocs]

To me this topic is very delicate territory.

I think the reasoning for the protective style is to help retain the lenght. I don't buy the whole "fine hair" argument simply because non-Black women wear their hair done 90% of the time and they still manage to not only grow hair but retain length, and their hair is fine.

You are missing the point and you are incorrect.

1) It isn't about how "fine" the strands are, per se, it's about how fragile they are. It is beyond question that Afro-descended people have the most fragile, brittle hair on the planet. So that's where PS can be useful. (Of course, PS is helpful for anyone of any race who wants to retain length, especially if they have fragile, brittle strands).

2) As for fineness, I have never seen a woman of another race with strands as fine as mine. There is some correlation between strand thickness and strength - Asians have the strongest strands, they also have the thickest strands. Thicker cuticle layers = thicker strands, and also = stronger strands that can withstand more and are more elastic.

 

[AvaSpeaks]

You are missing the point and you are incorrect.

1) It isn't about how "fine" the strands are, per se, it's about how fragile they are. It is beyond question that Afro-descended people have the most fragile, brittle hair on the planet. So that's where PS can be useful. (Of course, PS is helpful for anyone of any race who wants to retain length, especially if they have fragile, brittle strands).

2) As for fineness, I have never seen a woman of another race with strands as fine as mine. There is some correlation between strand thickness and strength - Asians have the strongest strands, they also have the thickest strands. Thicker cuticle layers = thicker strands, and also = stronger strands that can withstand more and are more elastic.

Funny though, when the beauty companies market products for "fine" hair, they are not talking about your or our type of hair that is "fine".

If they were they would be using us in their commercials pushing their shampoos and conditioners for "fine hair" instead of non-Black women. I'm not talking about "fine" in how we use it here on LHCF, I am talking about "fine" in the majority of the world uses and recognize it.

I said that I wasn't going to get into this debate.

 

[DarkAngell]

I'm BSL. In the fall, winter, and early spring when it's straight, i leave my hair down all week until it's time to wash and flat iron again. The only time I tie it is when I get to hot in which case i just loosely clip it.

 

[AshMoBev]

DITTO!!!! Exactly what I do...

I'm BSL. In the fall, winter, and early spring when it's straight, i leave my hair down all week until it's time to wash and flat iron again. The only time I tie it is when I get to hot in which case i just loosely clip it.