3. Protection – Protection isn’t just about ‘protective styling’ and if you are not trying various ways to do so you can suffer breakage, dryness and hair thinning. There are several ways to protect your hair when natural.
► Wearing a satin bonnet* or sleeping on a satin pillowcase* is necessary to combat breakage you can receive while sleeping. Regular cotton pillowcases or sheets can rob your hair of its moisture.
► Drying your hair with a microfiber towel* or an old t-shirt will keep your hair from frizzing up and disturbing the curl pattern. It can also be too rough to use a regular bath towel.
► Wear a satin-lined hat or a satin bonnet* under a hat to keep your hair from being robbed of its moisture by the fabric. This is really important in colder months where we are wearing more moisture whisking fabrics like wool and dealing with dryer weather in general.
► Also during the winter it’s cold so we have the heater on so our homes are hotter and dryer. Running a humidifier will allow some moisture to return to the air and be kinder to your hair and your skin!
► Sealing your hair is important and especially your ends as they are older and in need of TLC. Sealing them with an oil after your hair has been moisturized prevents split ends and keeps the moisture sealed within the hair so it can help protect it from dryness and frizz.
► Protective styling is a great way to keep your hair (your ends) from rubbing your clothing or being affected by pollutants or the elements. Not everyone feels protective styles (braids, weaves, and wigs*) are necessary and using styles that are too tight or in too long may turn out to be counterproductive and may cause damage. Keep the word protective in protective styling by not having tight styles and giving your hair time to breath in between added hair applications.
4. Damaging Techniques – There are several damaging techniques that can become a habit and although the damage may not be seen immediately it does not mean isn’t occurring.
One such damaging technique would be using chemicals. Certain chemicals should not be used (chemical relaxers or texturizers left in too long and harsh dyes). There are natural alternatives to the harsh dyes if you wish to color your hair. You can use henna* or less harsh hair coloring systems like the Shea Moisture* Color system.
Not moisturizing, not feeding your hair or not protecting it constitutes as damaging the hair and needs to be stopped or limited to short periods of time if it cannot be helped. If length retention is your goal then remember to keep your hair healthy and protected and you should have no problems.
I would love to hear what you have done to get over your length humps. Comment below!
Karen Baker says
Good Morning!
I love your articles and believe this or not, I use Aloe Vera Gel and Glycerin on my hair from time to time and I love how my hair responds to it! After I shampoo and condition, I have a mixture that combines both and spray my hair with it! Good Lord, the natural curls that are achieved are great! Recently, just yesterday, I decided to put my hair in braids as a protective style and give my hair a break. I will wear the braids for about 6-8 weeks, take them out, do my hair regiment and probably wear my natural hair for about 2 weeks and depending on the shape of my hair; either leave it as is or put the hair back in braids. I desire with all my heart to grow my hair healthy and retain length. My ultimate goal is to have my hair to my shoulders. Right now, my hair is just below ear length and I know I have growth from where I started a year ago. I refuse to give up. I read your articles and have found some great information from you and other women who share their own experience and I am grateful. Thank you!
Sabrina Perkins says
Thank you for sharing and your positive attitude is uplifting. Patience is key and you understand that and you will have past your shoulders, don’t you worry! Make sure the braids aren’t too tight and giving your hair a break from the bradis for a few weeks is key. You are on the right track love!
Jessica says
I started my HHJ on August 31, 2012 when I stopped relaxing my hair after 16 years. I transitioned for 11 months and big-chopped on July 26, 2013. I’ve currently reached my short-term goal of SL and I have mostly 4A coils. I use the LOC method. Believe it or not, I never use water to moisturize. I only use it to wash my hair and to re-wet my hair when I’m styling it. I use pure aloe Vera juice as my liquid, EVOO mixed with jojoba and Grapeseed as my oil, and Dark and Lovely’s Au Naturale moisturizing coil soufflé as my cream. I wash my hair with Shea Moisture Raw Shea Butter Shampoo and conditioner, clarifying with their African black soap shampoo when needed. I use the CHI keratin mist for protein, and creme of nature argan oil leave-in conditioner. Those are my staples in my regimen. I do my own protective style which is yarn twists. I put them in myself, saving money and my edges. I usually leave them in for 2 months before taking them out. My ultimate goal is to get my hair back to where it was back in 08 before I had to cut my hair from being too thin. But this time I want it to be healthier and thicker. I never thought I would go natural until my scalp and bank account just couldn’t take it anymore, lol. But I’m glad I did. I knew that going natural was going to be a tough journey, but I had the patience to keep going and I learned so much about how to properly take care of my hair. I’m glad I found this site because yall provide a lot of good information and I really enjoyed the article.
Caribbean Queen says
I have not had chemical in my hair for over 6 years now. I have been wearing wigs and weaves and have not been taking care of my natural hair. In November, I was going to have my weave re-done, and after removing the old one, my sister who was visiting was appalled to see the length of my hair. As a child I had naturally long, thick black hair, and to have it washed and comb was very painful, so I grew up not wanting to bother with my hair as the memories of that long thick black hair are painful. However, after my sister saw the length my hair is, she begged me to try and grow my hair back . Since I don’t see her often I decide to grow my hair and surprise her.
My hair grows fast if I take care of it, so as of the March 1, 2014 I began the journey of taking care of my hair and let it grow and started a regimen. I love it already. I wash once a week, using crème of nature Argan oil from Morocco shampoo and conditioner to wash and condition. I use Shea Butter Miracle moisture intense to moisture my hair and Jamaican Black Castor oil mixed with Palmer’s coconut oil to seal my hair. I will deep condition every other week and keep the ends trim. I wear my hair in two strand twist, making sure the ends are protected under a wig and sleep in a satin bonnet at nights. I use satin head tie for when I workout as well as under my wigs.
The best part of my hair is that it is a real nice healthy texture and I am really happy about taking care of my hair and watch it grow.
Claudia says
I have just found this site and this week is my first week trying your products. I have alopecia and I have tried everything to help my crown to grow back. At one point glycerin and condition showed some improvement but then it just stopped growing. I just purchased your MTG but I just read something about onion juice and would like to know your input on which would be best for alopecia.
La'Charae Brown says
Nice
Foodie Travelnista says
I will tell you something interesting. I tried the ORS curly to straight product and my hair didn’t come out as straight as I wanted it to. Not due to the product, Im just not a pro when it comes to using the flat iron. I got so frustrated because it wasn’t as straight and decided to do a twist out. Its one of the best twist outs I ever had and I think its because my hair is stretched and Im not getting a lot of shrinkage. I don’t know whats going to happen when I washed this product out, but Im very happy in regards to the length retention!!!
Linda PennyRed Gales says
Kressey Sassyrose Cunningham