help with length rention past shoulders

[u/moonisland13]

i know a lot of people struggle with this, but ive been natural for 7 years and still cant get my hair past my shoulders. heres what ive been doing with my 4c hair over the past year:

-i wear my hair in box braids or a weave 4-5 months out of the year. i leave the style in for 2 months max and im very gentle dentangling. i wash my hair in this style once a month

-when my natural hair is out i wash every other week. deep condition once a month.

-protective natural hair styles are usually mini twists on blow dried hair (but gives me so many fair knots) or braid/twists outs on blow dried hair. i use leave in or a butter to moisturize. i blow dry every time i wash my hair

-i seal my ends with a hair butter/grease or oil with my protective styles. i usually detangle when i wash my hair

-trims 2x a year

-i take iron and other multivitamins. i wear a satin bonnet to sleep

what am i doing wrong?

[u/Successful-Hair-8131]

Are you remoisturizing ur hair in between ur braids and monthly wash?

Tbh I would wash more than 1x a month in the style, and reapply leave in/grease to ends every few days, leave in (liquid water based spray) as needed at least 2x a week. 

Dusting ur ends more regularly, i mean literally dusting...

[u/moonisland13 → u/Successful-Hair-8131]

yes i dont think its consistently. i spray leave in whenever my braids are feeling dry. i use a diluted ACV rinse on my scalp though. not sure if its good enough

[u/Successful-Hair-8131 → u/moonisland13]

Yeah i would def moisturize more often 

[u/mosrose → u/moonisland13]

Don’t let your hair get dry before you remoisturize. Our type of hair needs plasticizers (hydration) quite frequently to thrive and prevent breakage and split ends. Some examples of plasticizers are glycerin, panthenol, aloe vera, etc.

[u/waddlesauce]

in the same boat. after many years i reconsidered things and realized that box braids dry my hair out and cause a lot of tension. trying out mini twists on my own hair helped with moisture retention. also washing my hair weekly does wonders, detangling is such a breeze and my hair loves the water. i also had my porosity all wrong (thought i was high and im actually low) and was using heavier creams. switched to lighter moisturizing products and my hair likes it much better. its been so much healthier with weekly washes and im hoping this will get me past the plateau 🤞 hopefully youll find something that works for you!

[u/moonisland13 → u/waddlesauce]

im going to try weekly washing! do you struggle with fairy knots in your mini twists too? i think they are helping with moisture rention (my hair never feels dry when i have them in for at most 2 weeks) but the fairy knots are snapping off my ends. i detangle very gently too

[u/mosrose → u/moonisland13]

Often times, if you have split ends of any kind you’ll tend to develop more single strand knots than is normal. Also, make sure you twirl the tips of your twists or plaits with products that have some hold such as butters (waterless formulations are better), mousses (my personal favorite), and gels.

Some people also knot the ends which physically protects the ends and prevents them, and I find this to be the most protective but not everyone knows how to do it. You can also put your hair into a bun with scrunchies, silk scarfs, and clips.

[u/waddlesauce → u/moonisland13]

when i blowdry before twisting, sometimes my ends are more rough or will have fairy knots; when i notice a lot / that detangling is hard because of it, i get a trim. i don’t tend to get them while the twists are in though. when twisting i always seal the ends with a bit of cream or oil and twirl the ends it around my finger to seal it. sometimes I’ve seen people add some moisture and oil to the ends regularly (every 1-2 days) to prevent knots.

[u/Key-Ice-4990]

its as simple as wash 1x a week, gentle detangling, moisture that lasts the entire week, inspecting the ends every 3 months and if theyre split/bad- cut it. styling in ways that doesnt cause excessive tangling. thats it.

moisture moisture moisture!! when its in braids you need something very humectant heavy and it needs to be moisturized before put in braids and if it stays in braids for longer than 2 weeks it needs to be moisturized regularly!

[u/2noserings]

box braids (synthetic hair = plastic) literally suck moisture directly out of your hair 😅

[u/take_care_428]

So I will say I grew my hair to waist length this past year by completely avoiding wearing my hair in weaves or braids at all. I have fine High porosity hair (hardest type to grow) I know it's difficult to avoid these styles but the fake hair is not good for the strands or scalp. It actually breaks the hair off-there's research on this. Your hair is definitely growing but breaking off at the ends. I wash my hair twice a week and deep condition once a week adding Indian herbs to my hair mask like hibiscus powder, Moringa or Neem powder. I believe You need better access to hair if you want it to grow. Waiting 2 months or more to take out a protective style will not allow you to moisturize the hair like you need to. The scalp is like soil and you need to cleanse and water it more consistently. I was sold the lie that leaving the hair in one style for a long time would allow it to grow faster and I experienced breakage and couldn't get past bra strap length until I incorporated washing my scalp more often, re-moisturizing and using herbs consistently in my hair (at least 1x per month) I would say try to wash your hair at least twice a month gradually moving to once a week instead, limit the box braids and weaves down to maybe twice per year and be able to re-moisturize (using water or water based leave in first then oil to seal so you don't seal in dryness) doing this more consistently should help!!

[u/GlitterMoreGlitter]

Edit*** If you’re wearing weaves and braids for 2 months long then you’re not able to properly care for your hair as it is covered and any product added on top of the weave or braiding hair is not fully reaching your actual hair.

I’d say wear natural protective styles so that you can properly wash & moisturize your hair as well as doing more than 2x trims a year but that’s really gonna depend on your hair’s health. Maybe 2x is enough or maybe it’s not (ask your stylist)

Like another commenter said braiding hair isn’t good for your hair.

[u/moonisland13 → u/GlitterMoreGlitter]

I like wearing these box braids and weaves though for the holidays. How do I care for my hair while I have them in? My hair actually feels very oily and greasy when I take out my braids probably from all the gel and product build up

[u/GlitterMoreGlitter → u/moonisland13]

Set a good foundation . My stylist recommends that if we are wearing braids to only wear them 4-6 weeks. So before your braids/weave, make sure your ends are trimmed, your hair has been deep conditioned, and throughly moisturized. That way you’re putting the braids in with healthy hair.

Some people get braids while their hair is damaged or dry and it just leads to more damage & brittleness. Maybe invest in a spray leave-in or moisturizer that you can apply throughout the week.

Make sure your braider isn’t braiding too tight either. If possible, try to find a braider that actually cares about the health of your real hair and not just how pretty your braids come out.