My 2012 Hair Care Method!

After much seeking and practice of many methods, routines and products in caring for my natural hair I have reached a conclusion. There is one tried and true method that works really well for maintain and retaining hair length and that is low-manipulation protective styles. I have found a way to maximize this technique.

First let me talk about some examples of natural hair that I have witnessed bloom from this technique.

1. I have personally grown my hair out several times using braided extensions. I would wear sets of braids back to back for two years and my hair would grow and retain length, even when I was shampoo it with regular cheap sodium Laural sulfate shampoo with no conditioner and I was using hair grease on it. Some times I would not wash my hair for months. I also use to detangle with a goody comb, but I did not do it often, maybe every two to six months! I think the reduced manipulation of my loose hair caused me to retain length even though I had no idea what moisture was.

2. I witnessed a girl who wore corn rows once a month retain length after a year of back to back braided.

3. The ultimate example is that I have witnessed tons of women with locked hair retain tones of length and they never manipulate their hair with combs or brushes!

4. I have witnessed other natural women who have worn two strand twist or box-braids for long periods of time retain length, but I was never able to copy them properly, because I was too busy looking at their products to notice the fact that they detangled their hair very infrequently. At first I thought the secret was just that they detangled their hair with wider tooth combs or special brushes or had a special technique such as detangling wet hair, hair with conditioner or moisturizer in it or even some oils.

I now know that they key was in the low manipulation! Even the worse detangling method is used sparingly did not manage to totally destroy the length retained. So here are my tips that I have gathered to care for the hair.

1. The best way to care for natural hair is to maintain the hair in a braided or twisted style at all times.

2. Wash your hair in braids or twist

3. Condition your hair in braids or twist

4. Detangle your hair in braids or twist

No matter what products you are using you are sure to have more hair by doing this.

To maximize results I recommend using medium braids like the crown and glory technique. Medium braids are take less time to put in and take down, they are easier to remove, they can be easily washed and styled, and they last for weeks at a time. You can decide for yourself how often you wish to re-braid and remove shed hair, whether it is once a week or once every few weeks. Also it is not necessary to take all the braids down and have the hair loose in order to wash, re braid or detangle the hair. You can simply UN-braid one braid a time and re braid it immediately after detangling. I recommend simply separating the hair with your fingers and removing the shed hair instead of using a comb or brush.

If you choose to maintain the same exact grid and you feel no desire to alter the style you can simply braid and re-braid the same set of braids over and over again and never have to tackle your loose hair again! You will always have the options to have your hair out loose when you need it,but while you are seeking to maintain length you can maximize your efforts by styling your braids aka pseudo-locks!

CLM