LISA LISA

I'll second all of the recommendations so far. They are all good practices: CO washing, protective styling, avoid heat, oil regularly, sleep in a satin bonnet and take your vitamins.

If you do all these things, you will minimize any damage or breakage. If there is no damage, there is no need to cut - just let it grow. I would advise learning how to self-trim with a CreaClip or other method so you are in control of how much comes off each time.

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Athenacurly:)

Why does keeping your hair up make it grow faster I read that leeaving your hair down makes it more lose and is not pulling on your hair

NorahBugg

I think the idea is to protect it from the elements. It
s not that it makes it grow faster; it just keeps your hair healthier so you get more growth (fewer trims). As long as you're using hairbands or barrettes that don't put stress on the hair (as in not too tight), you should be alright with wearing your hair up a lot. I do wear my hair up almost every day for work, and gotten no damage from this. When my hair is down, I think there's more exposure to the environment plus I have to use a blowdryer and stylers

Puertoricangirl

I agree with all the things and would like to add a few. I am growing my hair out as well and have a video all about it on my youtube channel. I hope you check it out my youtube name is Puertoricanbeauty22. My hair used to be about tail-bone length and I cut it right below my shoulders. It has grown a significant amount since I started doing all of the following! It is about mid back length pulled straight.

Ok the tips that I go by are taking multi-vitamins daily, massaging your scalp to stimulate hair growth, drinking plenty of water, eating healthy (plenty of protein, fruits, veggies, and good fats), eating avocados (great for keeping hair healthy and shiny), eating salmon and eggs (full of protein), trimming split ends as needed, applying natural hair oils regularly (I use olive oil), deep conditioning at least twice a week (paying extra attention to the ends), getting enough sleep, trying to eliminate stress, putting hair up in protective styles (to protect from wind, sun, and rain), not using heat products, staying away from products that can dry your hair and damage it like alcohol, not using brushes since they cause breakage, not brushing hair while wet (use a wide-tooth comb or fingers), and exercise as much as possible (I am bad at this lol).

I hope this helped and don't forget to say hi on my videos if you are interested

belwillcoily

My hair is currently past shoulder length but not quite APL (I'm about 2 1/2 to 3 inches from APL) and what I have found that works with my hair is a mix of low manipulation styling as well as protective styling.

When I protective style, I have to be very careful not to pull it back or up too tightly (i.e. a tight bun) or I will get breakage from the roots (not necessarily the ends) that would thin out my hair over time.

At the same time, when low manipulation styling I can't wear it for too long in a style where my ends are rubbing against moisture-robbing shirt collars which causes breakage due to dryness and abrasian on the ends which stunts the growth.

Currently, I have my hair pulled up and back in a loose french roll type style held in place by a stick barrett and hair pins. Putting my hair up with even covered elastic bands at my current length is a recipe for breakage. I also keep my hair moisturized and dryness at bay with weekly DC and two time a week application of a moisturizing LI as well as regularly sealing.

I shampoo once a week with a lo-poo and have recently begun experimenting with finger combing exclusively reserving the wide tooth comb for every few months use. I'm hoping that I'm able to gain those 2 1/2 to 3 inches to make me full APL over the next 6 months. My ultimate goal is WL and I'd rather get there sooner rather than later as I'm not getting any younger...

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Me Fascina El Pelo




Low Porosity; Medium Strands; Dense
http://public.fotki.com/Belwill/

Kiaraa

These are all very good tips! Informative thread, thanks y'all My shortest hair in the back hasn't reached to the bottom of my neck and I'm hoping to change that in the next 6-9 months. Mini goal: reach shoulder length. For right now, I'm gonna try cowashing, removing cones and sulfates, and using EVOO in my hair.

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