My own hair had always been between neck and shoulder length from childhood to adulthood while both natural and relaxed.
It wasn’t until I concentrated my energy on my own hair with all it’s quirks and adopted length retention techniques that I finally broke through my life long length plateau.
I understood the importance of and developed my own hair care regimen and came to see the importance of protein in my hair after which it finally grew past my shoulders and eventually down to waist length.
I have 4a/b hair and I share some of the same struggles as any other 4a/b/c but yes for me hair length has always been my biggest goal.
Having said that, I knew from the beginning that length was never going to be achieved if my hair wasn’t healthy so for week after week, year after year, I pampered my hair to deep conditioning* sessions, protective styling and regular moisturizing.
In the beginning I can’t say that I saw much difference in my length but I was sure that it would come later so I carried on doing what I knew worked. And when I realized that something wasn’t working (weekly braid outs for instance), I stopped doing them and changed to something else.
The problem is that a lot of ladies don’t realize that a ‘good regimen’ alone won’t get them the long hair they want. This is simply because what is a good regimen for my hair considering it’s strength, moisture levels and texture may not necessarily be a good regimen for you.
Yes, unfortunately a lot of this DIY hair care is trial and error and if you find that a regimen is great at keeping your hair healthy but not at retaining length, then you simply have to switch it up until you get the results you desire. It’s not hard, keep changing it until it works!
Now I understand completely that length is not a priority or a desire for everyone and some ladies prefer to wear their hair shorter. But if length has been a goal for you in the past, giving up on your goal without actually giving yourself the chance to see if a different hair regimen could work is just sad.
For the naysayers, I say keep your hair in protective styles like braids or a weave for whole year and then you will see that it is your regimen and nothing else that is affecting your length retention.
But to answer the questions, length should only be a secondary goal to the health of your hair and regardless of how you slice it, hair that breaks easily is simply not healthy.
Once you have got your hair to a state where it is healthy with good elasticity and moisture retention, length retention becomes a pleasant side effect of your hair regimen in which case if you enjoy the length, keep it and if you don’t trim it back.
With health comes length ladies!
Not for me. Making sure my hair is thick and healthy is my main goal. Hair length will happen eventually. It’s not a rush for me.
Yes,plus the healthy status of it too!!!
Nice hair
Healthy hair is my goal and has been accomplished, length is just an added blessing!
I’d like to achieve length but keeping it healthy is my main goal.
why do black women obsess over hair legnth?
Not black women. ALL WOMEN.
I never meant all but I do see a lot of posts about hair length, and length check I unfollowed a page on here because thatz all they talked about. I know not all because I’m not concerned about it. It grows when It grows.
Uglly Betty ALL women do not. There are many women happy with what the good Lord gave them 😉
Cherisha Christmas, I understand what you mean, it’s like their life is not complete unless they get long hair.
OH…and I don’t know anything about other women. I don’t hang around that many other women to know intimate details about their race.
1. Long, flowing hair is deemed an attractive aesthetic in our culture, especially for women.
2. Most in the African American community, really the whole African diaspora, have learned hair care techniques that are based on either the study of Caucasian hair, which is literally the exact opposite to typical afro textured hair, or straight up incorrect information from myths and stereotypes.
3. Employing practices that garner long Caucasian type hair, tend do destroy or drastically stunt both the growth and health of black hair, without the users of these practices understanding why.
So, most black women are confronted with image after image of “attractive,” long and flowing hair, but are perpetually unable to get it for themselves. In my humble opinion, these constitute the reasons why many, not all, black women obsess over hair length.
No. The healthiness of it is
I’m thinking if chopping mine off
Healthy length
Love her hair, she’s beautiful! Black women in general are so damn pretty! Our features really stand out dont they?!!
I want it ALLLL. ..thick healthy n long…
Nothing wrong with wanting long hair.
It used to be, but not at the moment. Moisture and Regular Trims are right now. Been rocking a pixie cut for a while and plan to keep rocking it. All I have to do in the mornings is fluff and go. My life is much easier now.
I want both healthy hair and length. I have the health and the length is coming (18 months post BC). I don’t think there’s a problem with wanting longer hair. Its not consuming my life but it is a goal for my hair. My hair has always grown beautifully and it continues to do so. I agree with this article when she says the naysayers are basically pessimistic in their views. I also don’t understand why one person’s goals bother some people so much. Its not your hair, move along.
I completely agree, Imani. Having hair goals is an individual choice and no one should be mocked for it. I think more people than those who mention it, have length desires too but prefer not mentioning it. There’s nothing wrong with having multiple goals.
Healthy hair
Since my hair is already pretty healthy, yes length is my goal now.
Yes it is. My 2nd biggest goal is health of my mane!
No I cut too much… I just want healthy hair
I recently just had to let go the thought and effort of having long hair. All I want is thick and healthy hair, length is a reward for me lol
I don’t look at hair length as the biggest goal, but I do consider it into my goal as I’m accomplishing whatever goal I set that year!
Healthy, thick, then length
nope, the longer it gets the harder i find it to deal with. routine and everything else goes out window! i like the idea but in reality i find its more work then i want
It is for me. If my hair is healthy then I will accomplish my goal, if it’s not then I have to get it healthy.
Yes it is so what
Healthy hair and try different styles…I don’t care about hair length…to long will only cause me to cut it…
YES!!! health and length
No health hair is my goal.
Nope length does not matter.
That’s my goal is thick, long & healthy…27 inches within 3 yrs
Sorry but that’s unrealistic . In your first three years natural the most you can get is 18 inches that is IF your hair grows an AVERAGE OF 6 inches per year AND you have a good hair routine that works . Hair Routine and trims play a big part as well . Also this is determined by your terminal length . If your terminal length lasts 3 years then you may get 18 inched .
My daughter is mixed so I liked this page in order to get pointers on how to care for her hair. In other words, I can’t speak for myself. However, as an outsider looking in I must say, I absolutely love the TWA look! I also love the natural hair. I think that more and more these days, short is in and HEALTHY is the goal 😉
My goal is healthy & strong hair…Ive had breast cancer and lost ALL of my hair, so just having healthy & strong hair is a real blessing for me…
At this point yes
My hair is healthy so yes length is my goal
hair length as well as the health and thickness is my goal. so far the longer it gets the thickness comes with it. im blessed.
Health is first. My hair grows so slowly, so I’m not stressing about length. My hair is attractive and flexible at it’s current length, so I’m happy!
It is annoying to read about so many wanting long hair. Reading about women taking a day to detangle or never trimming ends because they nervous about losing an inch or shedding. Please. All hair grows in phases at its own pace. Healthy hair that is well maintained will get longer but obsessing will get your nowhere.
No. Healthy hair is more important. Length should be secondary.
No long HEALTHY hair is my goal. 🙂
Nothing wrong with wanting long hair but I want health and body!
yes. yes it is.
Why is bothering people to know that others want length? So what?! Hell yea I want health and length, that should not bother anyone! Ur hair goals are all ur own. Dont judge others because we all think differently, my God made us that way! Natural is still natural!!
No I want healthy thick hair not too long but at least to my shoulders so I can have a little more options when it comes to styling If length is someone’s goal it’s their hair so good luck and post pics please 🙂
Healthy hair..with healthy hair…the length will come. 🙂
No my goal is thick and healthy I dont care about length.
Yes. Health and length
Love her hair!
health and proper styling is my goal …length not my first thought
yes it is my biggest goal..length and health..
Health and length is my goal
It’s my goal right now
Its one of mine, I had long hair when I was young, thick and long, I want it back! I’m 60 now so I’m anxious to see what happens.i plan on ordering the vitamins next week!
My goal was to embrace my natural hair after living in weaves for years but with un-cared for natural hair. I love the way my hair looks when it is scrunched down and rejoice in the shrinkage. However, since reading all these blogs I have been questioning whether my goal is the right one. Thank you for this article because it has reminded me that YES, mine is fine for me because I am loving my hair even as it grows it will still be pushed back using a hair band even if it is down my back. Priority HEALTH indeed!
Back when I had permed hair I was able to grow it to my shoulders I. I cut my hair to go natural and I’m sure I can grow it to my shoulders by next year or two years . My goal is for it to be as healthy and moisturized as possible but I want to grow my hair past my shoulders that’s another goal. 🙂 I don’t do length checks every day though . This pic right here is my hair goal.
biggest goal, no. A goal, yes.
My goal is healthy hair! Health over length!
After health, then length is my next goal. Currently getting trims every 6 weeks
I’d be lying if I didn’t say my focus isnt on length. Even though I do want longer hair I’m going to make sure it’s healthy. So even though my priorities are “backwards” Either way I’ll be getting the best of both words
Long thick hair is the goal.
Health first because some will sacrifice health for length meaning their hair will be really damaged and stringy yet they refuse to cut the damage for fear of losing length not me I’d rather rock a full healthy fro than a long stringy wrap
As long as it is think and healthy. Besides I have had short hair for seven years now, I want a change
Why does a person’s personal hair goal matter? And who is to say long hair shouldn’t be their goal. My goal IS long hair and in order to achieve that goal, I must first and foremost keep it healthy. They work hand in hand.
Healthy hair is my goal. Length doesn’t matter.
Healthy hair the length will come
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I want it all thickness , health , and length. My hair is already thick but I want it to be thicker.
Yes I agree with health comes length. My hair is healthy and thick and it’s growing . I keep my hair braided ( no extensions ). My final hair goal will come soon . I’m not going to obsess over it. So I focus on health first then length.
My hair is already thick and healthy so my goal is brastrap length by 2017 of next year. I am currently armpit length. Oh and I never had long hair in my life until now. My hair use to break off at my shoulders when I had a relaxer. My hair was relaxed at 4/5 years old . I achieved armpit length even though when I first big chopped 2 years ago people said I can never grow my hair long. Now I beat the odds.