Anyone Retain Length with Consistent Wash-n-Gos???

[bumblb87]

I've just now started to wear my natural hair out. For the longest I had a serious weave addiction, wearing them before, during, and after my transition.

I am loving wearing wash-n-gos but I'm a little worried I wont retain length

Has anyone worn consistent wash-n-gos and still seen growth without any setbacks???

Anyone wash-n-go year round??? TIA

 

[Minty]

Great question.

Quite a few ladies have stated in other threads that continuous W&G have given them significant setbacks due to SSK. Wet/damp bunning seem to give the best opportunity for length retention.

 

[Evolving78]

i'm doing great so far. i keep my hair moisturized to avoid hair drying up and becoming knotted.

 

[mzteaze]

I haven't had problems with WnG, but I do tend to twist my hair at night to prevent SSKs and make sure I am vigilant with friction which seemed to be the biggest cause of my SSKs.

I think consistent use of JBCO and Vatika helps me.

 

[bumblb87]

Thanks Ladies for responding!

I've noticed a few SSKs but Ive been putting castor oil on my ends and I'm hoping that will help.

I'm more worried about having my ends out, bc wash-n-gos aren't really protective styles.... but then people wear twist outs and braid outs consistently...... isnt it the same minus the possibility of more SSKs???

 

[Strangefruittree]

everyday i have been cowashing my hair with coconut suave or neutrogena deep condish, soaking my hair with parnevu and smoothing my edges with ecostyler and running a bit through to decrease puff... i only actually run a comb in my hair once a week. i just try not to comb it alot when i wear it like this and let my boingy curly pattern to act as a protective style. i dont have ssk when i do this, i think mainly cause its so much more moisturized than when i try anything else other than straightening. My hair is retaining length because im not manipulating much and its super moisturized and not breaking off. I cowash and style at the gym at night and by the time i get home and go to bed my hair is 80% dry. I put it up into a pinapple and sleep on the satin pillow case, wake up the next day, fluff and go

 

[renren]

Thanks Ladies for responding!

I've noticed a few SSKs but Ive been putting castor oil on my ends and I'm hoping that will help.

I'm more worried about having my ends out, bc wash-n-gos aren't really protective styles.... but then people wear twist outs and braid outs consistently...... isnt it the same minus the possibility of more SSKs???

In my experience, wearing wash N gos caused alota SSKs. Braid-outs and twist outs seem to be a little better as the hair dries in a stretched state. With a wash n go the hair is left open to dry and we all know how much our hair tends to curl up(shrink) when it dries. Maybe sealing your ends with something heavy might help like vaseline? not sure.

HTH

 

[Lynnerie]

I've worn consistent wash n go's since my BC in Dec. 2008. Initially I did not have any SSK's but as my hair grew longer I started to notice then much more. But I was bad I slept on my wash n go's and slacked on deep conditioning. My hair is slowly creeping along.

I'm not a fast grower but I do believe you can retain length from wash n go's. If you decide to go this route just make sure you moisturize and seal those ends. Also, stretch your hair before you go to sleep. Don't just sleep on your wash n go because it will get tangled which results in SSK's and breakage.

1st & 2nd pic are taken in 2009
3rd pic- 2010
4th & 5th pic- 2011

 

[bumblb87]

Thanks!! Excellent advice!!! I'm going to combine a lot of these suggestions and attempt to come up with a regimen that works!!! Thanks again ladies!!!

 

[bumblb87]

I've worn consistent wash n go's since my BC in Dec. 2008. Initially I did not have any SSK's but as my hair grew longer I started to notice then much more. But I was bad I slept on my wash n go's and slacked on deep conditioning. My hair is slowly creeping along.

I'm not a fast grower but I do believe you can retain length from wash n go's. If you decide to go this route just make sure you moisturize and seal those ends. Also, stretch your hair before you go to sleep. Don't just sleep on your wash n go because it will get tangled which results in SSK's and breakage.

1st & 2nd pic are taken in 2009
3rd pic- 2010
4th & 5th pic- 2011

Thank you so much for posting your pics!!!! Your wash-n-go has come a long way!! Love them!!!

 

[EllePixie]

I wear wash n gos 99% of the time and cowash almost daily (unless I decide to stretch my wash n go). To minimize SSKs and tangles, I moisturize daily even if it's on dry hair, and usually detangle every 4 days.

This is my big chop pic from Dec 26 2009

And here is a pic of my hair taken yesterday (13 months, 6 days later)

 

[Priss Pot]

When my hair was shorter (BC - SL), I could get away with wash 'n gos with no problem. But now that my hair is longer, I have to be careful because my hair will knot and tangle like crazy. I rarely wear them now that my hair has gotten longer because I don't want to take that chance.

 

[e.lauren]

I wear wash n gos year round. In the warmer months I co-wash my hair every other day and apply my olive oil and eco styler in the shingling method.

But now in the dry horrible winter with Boston's hard water I use the tightly curly method with my crece pelo deep conditioner. I usually wash at night. Do the whole conditioner step then separate my hair into medium sized braids and oil each section with my olive oil JBCO mix. I unbraid them when I wake up and separate some of the curls.
It took me a while to get it to look like my curls weren't crushed by sleeping in the braids but my hair feels markedly better and I never have SSKs and my ends are healthy.

Depending on the length of your hair, friction is a problem. I'm still trying to make sure my hair doesn't rub against my collar or my jacket/hoodie. I'm at that length where the very ends of my hair rest a little past my collar MAJOR FRICTION.

 

[missykeyana]

Yes, I have.

I've gone periods where I've worn wash-n-gos consistently for months and my hair has grown. However, this is before I realized that single strand knots is a problem that can be remedied. Crazy, right?

Even so, I am confident that I can wear them again with minimal problems by utilizing the following steps:

1. Oil rinsing every time I shampoo or conditioner wash.
2. Going no more than 2 days MAX between co-washes when I wear WNGs.
3. Moisturizing my hair every day. Usually I would refresh my hair with a little water in the shower, then apply moisturizer to my damp hair when I'm ready to style.
4. Tying my hair up at night with satin bonnet and scarf.
5. Doing more WNG puffs as opposed to full-out WNGs.

I don't normally stretch my hair once it is in a WNG because it seems to do my hair more harm than good.

 

[EllePixie]

Yes, I have.

I've gone periods where I've worn wash-n-gos consistently for months and my hair has grown. However, this is before I realized that single strand knots is a problem that can be remedied. Crazy, right?

Even so, I am confident that I can wear them again with minimal problems by utilizing the following steps:

1. Oil rinsing every time I shampoo or conditioner wash.
2. Going no more than 2 days MAX between co-washes when I wear WNGs.
3. Moisturizing my hair every day. Usually I would refresh my hair with a little water in the shower, then apply moisturizer to my damp hair when I'm ready to style.
4. Tying my hair up at night with satin bonnet and scarf.
5. Doing more WNG puffs as opposed to full-out WNGs.

I don't normally stretch my hair once it is in a WNG because it seems to do my hair more harm than good.

Thank you for this info! I have a question...how do you do your puffs? When I put my hair up and let it shrink grouped together, I get way more tangles, but I'd like to put my hair up more.

 

[Detroit2Dallas]

When my hair was shorter I could do wash n gos but now? NO. It gets to be a tangled up mess. And I def wont do them in the winter , where as before I had no problem in all types of weather. But I think they are great for a twa

 

[mzteaze]

Agreed Missykeyana. I think the big thing is that with a WnG you MUST do maintenance that night or no later than the next day. Just because you saved a little time to go doesn't mean that you can avoid maintenance within a reasonable amount of time afterwards. Esp if you get a LOT (say 40% and up) hair shrinkage.

 

[iri9109]

i have! sealing with castor oil definitely cuts down on tangles and knots for me, as well as sleeping with my hair protected...i have around 7 inches of hair, so idk maybe this will change when it gets longer, but as of now i WnGs or WnG puffs about 95% of the time with no negative effects. recently i started cowashing at night and baggying, which allows my hair to be fully dry the next morning b4 i leave the house, and partially stretched since i put it in two ponytails after i apply my product before i put on the plastic cap.

 

[aicramphoto]

I tried to have wash n go's this summer because I thought was it was low manipulation, but I did got a little lazy and I did not gain any length. I did not lose much, but I lost a whole 12 weeks of progress!

So, now, I co-wash in the morning, comb through (I have to or it gets tangled), use NuGro moisturizer (spray), seal with a little oil, put a dime-sized amount of IC Fantasia Sparkling Gel or Kinky Curly Custard and go.

At night, the big difference: I moisturize again, put it in four plaits, and I now do what renren suggested: I seal the plaited ends with a heavy moisturizer (QP Elasta or Carol's Daughter Mimosa Honey thingy).

I have noticed a lot less hair in the shower, so I must be doing something right!

I am following the sulfur challenge, so now I am bunning and only wearing wash n go's on the week-ends. HTH.

 

[Zaz]

I wear wash n gos every day. I recently measured my hair out of curiosity and seem to have retained exactly 0.5" per month (3" in a 6 month period) so I guess it doesn't really hurt much.
In theory I deep condition once a week and detangle every 3 days or so but I've gone as long as 3 weeks without detangling. I also sleep on my WnG sometimes (most of the time) and just spritz in the morning. I moisturise right after I wash/cowash but don't seal and I don't moisturise daily
I'm trying to be better this year though, I guess my hair can take a lot of abuse

 

[suburbanbushbabe]

I wear wash and gos 98% of the time. I protect hair at night by loosely scrunching in a pineapple (high puff) and tying a silk scarf around my hairline. I never sleep with loose hair. I keep ends hydrated when styling in the a.m. by smoothing a mix of Loma Imply and Qhemet Olive Honey & Hydrating hair balm on them, after scrunching a little Devacurl Set it Free mixed with Qhemet BRBC on entire head - 1/2 tsp.

 

[empressri]

yeaah especially last summer! i was doing them all of the time, cowashing every few days to keep my hair fresh. apparently it did something because my stylist said my ends looked great and after 6 or more months of growth he only snipped away a half inch (or an inch) when i got my trim.

 

[chebaby]

i have been natural for 22 months and thats all i do is wash and goes. i have tried to protective style with twists but i always get antsy after 3 days and take them out so i stopped.
i just co wash and wear it out or in a puff everyday and my hair is growing and retaining just fine. i am 1-2 inches from bsl and i cut all the way down to less than an inch of hair.
when i twist my hair at night i end up with tangles the next day when i go to co wash. i know, weird. so at night i just throw on a satin cap and go to bed.

 

[missykeyana]

Thank you for this info! I have a question...how do you do your puffs? When I put my hair up and let it shrink grouped together, I get way more tangles, but I'd like to put my hair up more.

I just use an "ouchless" ponytail holder to put up my hair. No particular steps to it. My hair can get tangled wearing up like that, but I make sure to stand under the shower stream and coax my hair down until it hangs before I wash my hair.

 

[Evolving78]

i cowash daily, so i don't refresh my my WnGs. i have tightly coiled hair that can shrink to an inch. i moisturize my hair twice a day. i shampoo and dc once a week. this past month i have retained a whopping 0.5 inch! when my hair was loc'ed i retained, because i wasn't twisting and untwisting. i'm learning my hair can't take all of that manipulation.

 

[Janet']

A wash and go is my go to style...That's basically the only way that I've retained my length!!

 

[Aireen]

Interesting thread!

I wonder how the wash-'n'-go techniques of braid outs and twist outs would look on relaxed hair? :scratchch

 

[EllePixie]

Interesting thread!

I wonder how the wash-'n'-go techniques of braid outs and twist outs would look on relaxed hair? :scratchch

Aireen, technically braid/twist outs aren't wash n gos because you have to style and "set" your hair. However, I have seen them on relaxed hair and they look really pretty! My friend is transitioning and all she does is twist outs, they look so good!

 

[Aireen]

Aireen, technically braid/twist outs aren't wash n gos because you have to style and "set" your hair. However, I have seen them on relaxed hair and they look really pretty! My friend is transitioning and all she does is twist outs, they look so good!

Ohhhh so a wash-'n'-go is literally what it states. You wash your hair and leave it alone?

EDIT: Oh since your friend is transitioning then it might work for me since I'm extending my stretch! Thanks, Elle!

 

[EllePixie]

Ohhhh so a wash-'n'-go is literally what it states. You wash your hair and leave it alone?

Usually people apply conditioner and/or gel in sections to their hair after getting out the shower, but you don't manipulate your hair into a style.

ETA: I also used to do braid outs on relaxed hair all the time, and I didn't even know they were called that then...however, I used to comb my braids out to make my hair really big, lol.