Ladies APL or longer......

[wish4length]

or ladies who have been APL or longer,
In your opinion what is the worst thing you can do when trying to retain length if you happen to "fall of track"? i.e-using direct heat, not protecting the hair at night, skipping shampoos,etc..........

I know a combination of things is bad, but what is the 1 thing you suggest someone NOT do if they are trying to retain length?

 

[jamaraa]

Not protecting the hair and ends and letting it get tangled. You can get away w/ tons if you keep you hair detangled and if you don't wear it out all the time. Tangles are probably the most important. That's where you really get breakage.

 

[Barbie83]

for me, using direct heat. Even with heat protectant, it's still damaging no matter how u slice it.

 

[jreagins]

not moisturizing and sealing... even if i dont wash my hair for 2 weeks.. i have to moisturize and seal.

But then again there arent alot of cones in my reggie...
AND i dont use anything on my scalp, so besides trying to mask musty hair (lol) I have to moisturize

 

[ceebee3]

Not moisturizing your hair or doing anything that would dry your hair out, the hair should never be allowed to get dry.

It will start breaking off like crazy.

 

[Galadriel]

Ditto. Even if you're having a lazy/tired day, throw something moisturizing in there and put your hair up in a bun or something--but don't neglect your hair to the point of it getting dry and feeling like straw.

Not moisturizing your hair or doing anything that would dry your hair out, the hair should never be allowed to get dry.

It will start breaking off like crazy.

 

[danibot]

Direct heat has been my pitfall. I'm avoid it like crazy!

 

[Oliv3]

Not moisturizing your hair or doing anything that would dry your hair out, the hair should never be allowed to get dry.

It will start breaking off like crazy.

This This and This. Not moisturizing, in my opinion, is the worst thing you can do. I make sure to apply my oils/creams/etc daily to avoid dryness and breaking. Especially since this was my main problem prior my hair journey.

 

[Toy]

Not moisturizing and using Direct heat IMO.

 

[Anew]

The worst thing for me was not moisturizing as I should, that's why the nape of my hair is kinda see through. Its frustrating, I may cut or gradually trim. My stylist says there's no splits but I don't like them ends, lol...

I don't know I'll see in a few months. May just cut and get some braids.

 

[Fedoralova]

The worst for me is not protecting my ends. I notice a difference as soon as I fall off and immediately get back on it. Its helped me retain length especially within the last couple of months.

 

[MsBoinglicious]

you gotta protect your ends!

 

[charmtreese]

If you are relaxed and you stretch and fail to treat the two textures separately and or allow your ng to matt and tangle breakage at the line of demarcation can occur.

This was the cause of a set back I had earlier this year. I thought I was doing everything right because I was stretching, using moisturizing products and low manipulation, however this was a recipe for disaster. My fine hair required much more protein, heavier product on my ng then relaxed ends, the use of a detangler and a soft boar bristle brush for my edges and ng. As well as paying close attention to weekly washes to ensure that the amount of hair I loose is not increasing.

 

[topnotch1010]

Not moisturizing your hair or doing anything that would dry your hair out, the hair should never be allowed to get dry.

It will start breaking off like crazy.

I may not be APL but doing this has caused my hair to make a 100% turn around over the last year! Never let your hair get 100% dry.

 

[flowinlocks]

Thanks for all these wonderful tips ladies!!

 

[vainღ♥♡jane]

for me it was flatironing hair without heat protectant. that APL/BSL hair said hell no we gots ta go.♥

 

[washize]

or ladies who have been APL or longer,
In your opinion what is the worst thing you can do when trying to retain length if you happen to "fall of track"? i.e-using direct heat, not protecting the hair at night, skipping shampoos,etc..........

I know a combination of things is bad, but what is the 1 thing you suggest someone NOT do if they are trying to retain length?

bleaching and coloring hair often. If you dye your hair, make it black or a dark brown.

I dyed my roots last December, and 14 inches of bleached broke off, but I have 16 inches of hair now. I have 2-3 inches of bleached hair left. My hair would be 26-27 inches now, if I didn't dye my hair and use heat every day.

 

[aribell]

Yup...pretty much the dryness. Gotta moisturize and seal. And keep it detangled. Once I got a good detangling conditioner (Paul Mitchell's The Detangler), it's been a whole different ballgame.

 

[Helpmeblongagain]

I agree with the above posters on not moisturizing

 

[BellaLunie]

great thread op! thanks you ladies have geat heads oh hair so I'm taking notes!

 

[wish4length]

Thanks ladies. I'm trying to get to APL asap

 

[Bella_Atl]

I can't go more than a week without washing my hair. It starts to tangle and get dry. And since my hair is fine, I can't put anything "on top" of my hair once it is dry. No moisturizers or serums, no matter how light it is... they weigh my hair down and attract dirt and dust. I have to moisturize from the outside in. I DC or use hot oil treatments each wash.

 

[nymane]

Shampooing 1x week and consistently NOT following up with Dc'ing...I actually tried this one week because I was feeling lazy (I'm 16 weeks post) and when my hair dried it was a brillo pad...I'll never be that lazy again, but I can imagine if I consistently did that, especially during a stretch, I'd have a major setback

 

[Dee Raven]

Going to the salon too regularly.

 

[Victorian]

Two things:

1. Allowing your hair to dry out. There are a lot of things that can cause dryness, so what you have to do to fix it may vary. But your hair will start breaking when it gets too dry.

2. Man-handling. You should avoid dryness because it makes your hair so weak it will just start breaking off at the slightest touch. Now if you are applying way more than "the slightest touch" to your hair on a regular basis, it won't matter how moisturized and protein-ized your hair is -- you can still cause breakage.

Breakage is the enemy!

 

[locabouthair]

If you are relaxed and you stretch and fail to treat the two textures separately and or allow your ng to matt and tangle breakage at the line of demarcation can occur.

This was the cause of a set back I had earlier this year. I thought I was doing everything right because I was stretching, using moisturizing products and low manipulation, however this was a recipe for disaster. My fine hair required much more protein, heavier product on my ng then relaxed ends, the use of a detangler and a soft boar bristle brush for my edges and ng. As well as paying close attention to weekly washes to ensure that the amount of hair I loose is not increasing.

I'm not APL but I'm dealing with this right now. I have never gotten tangles and matted hair before until now. I tried doing the no combing thing and I had so many tangles, knots, and lost a lot of hair.

I agree with not letting your hair dry out, which is a constant battle for me because my hair is coarse.

 

[Janet']

 

[Vshanell]

Hold on to bad ends by not trimming or dusting.

 

[nymane]

Not M&S my ends regularly, Not wearing my silk scarf at night, and rushing during the detangling process.