Learning to Comb My Natural Hair

When I was a kid I had natural hair and it was usually washed, bloodied, combed, brushed and styled. I was natural during the era of the relaxer in the 90's. I can recall people saying I had thick hair, but I never remembered having difficult to manage hair. In those days my tools included hair grease,  a small tooth Goody comb and a boar bristle brush. When my hair was not in plaits it was sometimes groomed daily and I had length and thickness.

   Fast forward a few years and went the way of relaxers with braided extensions worn quite frequently.  By 2001 I was ready to go natural permanently.  When I chose to ho natural there were online forums and a few books and online albums offering advice on how to groom natural hair. For over 10 years I faithfully followed the tenets of grooming natural hair according to the internet.  I learned at first to use wide tooth combs and to detangle my hair while it was wet with lots of conditioner.  The longer my hair grew the more arduous and cumbersome these detangling sessions became.  After a few years I gave up combs all together and went with finger detangling. My detangling sessions were still the bane of my existence. I had tons and tons of single strand knots and was drained and exhausted by the prospect of grooming my hair.

    In my recent frustration with detangling I decided to try something different and low and behold I stumbled upon a method to detangle my hair without all the hassle.  I have been using a wide tooth comb with super long teeth. The keys I found to successfully using this trusty tool is all in the technique.

   1. Air-dry and braid the hair to stretch it over night before attempting to detangle the hair. I learned the hard way that it is much easier to work on elongated hair than shrunken hair.

2. The second step and key to success is controlling moisturize levels in the hair to aid with combing. Too much water and the hair shrinks, knots, tangles and curls. No water and their is too much friction.  A light misting of water so that the hair is just barely damp, closer to dry, then the application of a shea butter cream and some hair oil provide soft supple hair that is pliable and easier to work with.

3. When moisturizing and detangle only apply product to the section you are combing,  wetting all your hair will just cause it to shrink and tangle. In your small section moisturize,  comb and style the hair before moving to the next section.  I find a twist or braids works well.

If you are like me natural,  but having a hard time detangling your hair I would recommend trying out working with stretched hair that is slightly wet and moisturized and using a wide tooth comb.  For me I will be keeping my trusty comb handy from now on.

CLM

Natural Hair Secrets You Should Know! Sculpt before Styling!

How to achieve a bun on twist or braids that shrink like the dickens!

If you are like me then your hair grows shorter in the front and add to that the fact that it shrinks. This combination of hair that shrinks along with slow growth in the front makes pulling your twist into a bun nearly impossible. If you have shoulder-length or neck length hair and have been battling with your twist or braids to force them into a bun then you might like this tip.

Braid the base of your twist or braids in the direction of the nape of your neck. Pretend you are doing some cornrows and braid your actual braids or twist going back. Most of us DIY naturals have learned to braid or twist our hair going to the right or left side for ease and comfort while gripping and braiding or twisting the hair. To create a sculpted style such as a twisted or braided bun you want to be intentional in the direction you twist/braid your hair in. You want your braids/twist to lie flat like you are smoothing your hair into a bun. The sculpting starts in the direction you are braiding your hair. Once your braid the base of your twist/braid down about ½ of inch going straight back towards your nape, you can then switch off to braiding or twisting the hair holding it at an angle going down toward the right or left for ease and comfort while styling.

So next time you twist your hair knowing that you want to rock a bun, make sure to twist your hair so that all the roots/bases are going back, and your twist are lying flat. You can always braid the root to make the twist lie down flat and they help control twisted bead head in the morning. To save time you can use this technique on the hair that is the front of your head. Happy styles.

CLM

Comb: A love hate relationship!

My best friend and the devil

For the past few weeks I have drastically changed my natural hair care routine. The main thing I changed was putting down the wide tooth comb and trying dry finger detangling with olive oil. Putting down my wide tooth comb proved disastrous for me. My hair has a love hate relationship with the wide tooth comb. When I use it faithful to detangle my hair each week before washing, it works wonders. When I do not use it as I learned during my dry finger detangle debacle, I discover tons of single strand knots. Not using a comb contributes to the production of split ends on my fine and fragile hair. On the other hand, should I comb my hair daily, I might see tons of breakage, and if I comb my hair dry, I can kiss my hair goodbye!

I had been combing my hair with the wide tooth comb using some cheap conditioner. I found that I was struggling and I felt like my hair was being riped through my comb. I was becoming so frustrated. I was beginning to think my hair could not be combed at all. What I discovered was that I was applying the conditioner to my hair and instantly combing it. I was not allowing the conditioner time to penetrate my hair shaft and bring moisture to my strands. When my hair is supple, it is pliable, flexible and elastic, it is more durable and can be combed with the wide tooth comb. By sitting with the conditioner on my head for at-least 20 minutes I have hair that is much easier to comb.

What I observed through dry detangling with olive oil, is that my hair does not do well when it is stretched to within an inch of it’s life without moisture. My stretched hair was brittle and my brittle hair was prone to breakage, even from the gentle touch of my fingers. My hair produced tons of knots. When I was putting the oil’s onto my dry hair, that eats up oil’s, I was only making my hair more dry.

The major lesson I learned is that in order for my hair to be happy, I have to use a wide tooth comb on moisturized hair. By deep conditioning my hair prior to combing, I have hair that is easier to comb. When I comb my hair weekly I remove the shed hairs that pile up during the week and have an easier time to detangle the next week.

My routine is as follows:

1.      Remove style (usually two strand twist)

2.      Apply conditioner and twist hair in sections and sit for 20 min with plastic cap

3.      Use wide tooth comb to detangle and braid hair

4.      Wash hair using a sulfate-free shampoo ( I heart design essentials, and shea moisture)

5.      Apply a leave in to braided hair (I like design essentials daily hair lotion)

6.      Seal with a smidge of oil (Always add oil to moisturized hair for moi)

7.      Allow hair to air-dry for as long as I feel like it (over night or a few hours)

8.      Twist hair using a cream of butter (design essentials curl stretching cream is nice)

9.      Style hair in a bun of sorts or two large French braids

10.   Repeat process after 7 days

CLM

Nappy Hair Rescue 911!

I have been natural for over 10 years. Since I went natural in 2002 I have had my share of up's and downs. I remember when I was first getting started I would go to the library and hunt for any book at all that mentioned hair, African Hair, Braiding or Black Hair Care. I mostly found a few books on tribal hair styles, and a few books on relaxing hair. I recall coming across Nappturality and Motown girl websites, as well as few fotki albums. I tried my best to care for my hair. Along the way I tried several things that really were misses and wondered onto to some things that were hits. I am so happy today's African-American have wonderful blog's like CurlyNikki and plenty of youtube channels. They also have a plethora of products to choose from, unlike myself who had to hunt down ingredients at specialty health food stores.

So here are some of my misses.

1. Co-Washing. This did not really work for me. I have a very sensitive scalp and the conditioners would just irritate my scalp. I never felt like my hair was getting clean and it was not easier to comb after Co-Washing.

2. Wide Tooth Comb. Not until this year have I finally let go of the notion that my fine hair strands are meant to go through any comb at all. I use to slather conditioner onto my hair and comb in small sections to no avail. All I did was have my very kinky hair shrink up and snap back before snapping off.

3. Gels and Creams and the like. I discovered pretty quickly that my curl was tight enough to hold any two-strand twist without any products.

4. Rinse Out Conditioner. No matter what product I used to clean my hair with, adding conditioner and then rinsing it out did absolutely nothing for my hair. Protein conditioner's actually made my hair feel worse.

5.Mini-Twist on hair 4 inches or longer. This style just caused my hair to tangle like crazy.

6.Flat-twist/ Cornrows. All I did was rip my hair line out trying to get my fumble fingers to create tension to hold the style together.Some times the braid or twist would puff and frizz instantly, other times it would wait a respectable day or two.

7. Being a product junkie. I was always on the hunt for the next miracle product that would make my hair easier to comb or would help me grow (I mean retain length!) No such product existed!

8. Copying every thing from other people's routines. Just because the person I was studying had long natural hair, did not mean I could do exactly what they did to 1. produce the same style or 1. Get my hair to retain the same length.

Now here are some of my hits!

1. Sulfate-free shampoo ( I love the bubbles! I love having a shampoo that does not strip every thing off the hair. I heart Shea Moisture, Eden Body Works, Black Earth Products etc)

2. Leave-Conditioner- Works wonders after a shampoo, especially once I discovered how to seal in all that good moisture with good old oils like Olive Oil.

3. Dry Finger Detangling. I am new to this. I am learning that by not ripping my hair out every time I detangle I can keep the hair on my head. ( Do use Olive Oil for lubrication!)

4. Two-strand twist. Have been a fan since day 1 of my journey. I like my med-large. Easy to put in, easy to take down. (Just learned that after a week, I can re-twist the hair, remove the shed hair and get another week out of the style. I use to just rock the twist for several weeks without re-twisting and I was in for tangle city when it came time to take it down. This caused me to wash and twist weekly for a while, which took up way too much time, especially since I was still using the dreaded comb.

This natural hair think is not rocket science. It has been fun to learn, grow, make mistakes and get some things right on my journey. Everyone's hair is unique and everyone's journey is unique. Don't be afraid to learn.

One of the biggest things I have learned so far is that while I was staying away from relaxers and heat styling tools, I was coveting the one tool that was doing the most damage to my natural hair, the wide tooth comb! While other's hair may have been strong enough to survive the comb, mine was not. I hope you learn something wonderful about your own hair today! May you have fun along the way!

CLM

2013 Hair Routine!

2013 Hair Routine My hair is long enough to fit into a twisted bun so I have achieved my 2012 hair length goal. My goal for 2013 is to maintain my length have a simple routine and see some more growth. I will be maintaining my hair in two strand twist, which I will keep in for one month. My routine is as follows: step 1: Remove twist, and braid hair for washing. Step 2: Apply conditioner of choice to hair, comb with wide tooth comb and twist hair. Step 3: As needed apply conditioner to hair for moisture. Step 4: Put twist into two banded pony-tails to sleep. CLM

My Tried and True Natural Style

Back in the day my style staple was fake hair braids down my back. I reached for these braids when I had an interview and even for my wedding. For years I rocked these braids. These days now that my natural hair is quite long, I opt for a twisted style sans fake hair with flat-twist in the front. I have found I have out grown my old extensions. I no longer wish to spend 8 hours braiding and the fake hair makes me itch. I will be wearing a protective style from Sept -Jan, basically just keeping my hair in twist. CLM

My 2012 Routine!

“My 2012 Hair Mission”

I am on a serious mission to hone all the skills and knowledge I have gained about natural hair to retain some serious length this year. I truly believe I will meet my personal hair goal of having a braided pony-tail this year! Along the way I hope to manage my hair and a simple and care free way.

The essential knowledge: Low- manipulation!

Do not handle hair in it’s loose state. Always care for the hair in a protected state such as when it is braided. Wash braided hair, style braided hair, moisturize braided hair, and finger detangle hair that is braided one braid at a time!

Finger detangle hair, do not attempt to use combs, brushes or other devices to detangle hair, just separate hair with your fingers and remove the shed hair.

Wear long-term styles such as braids will last for several weeks before needing to be re-braided.

The method: Pseudo-LOCKS!

Start: Create a grid of box-braids, the braids should be small enough to be versatile in styling and washing and yet large enough to easily put in and take down.

Maintain: Once a month redo the braids one at a time by taking the braid down and finger detangling (separating the hair with your fingers to remove the shed hair) and re-braid the unit. Repeat the process until all the braids are fresh.

Care: Wash braids as needed with a product of choice, focus on scalp and dilute product for easy rinsing. Apply leave-in moisture spray of choice and follow with oil if needed. ( Note: you can put as little or as much effort into the care as you please)

Style: Style your braids in a variety of styles, experimenting with different accessories.

CLM

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

Twist Experiment

I am conducting a hair experiment to test the following.

1. What product for twist will provide the most mosture
2. What product will give the best hold for a twist-out
3. What product will allow me to retain the most length of my twist

I will chart my data and come back with some conclusions.

The products I will be testing are

water
cantu leave in
olive oil miracle leave in
coconut blue magic
knot today
eco styler
curly butter cream
shea butter

CLM

Box-Braid Grow It Challenge & Moisture Exp!

It is time to really see maximum length. Starting now until the end of 2012 I will be keeping my hair exclusively in small box-braids. I will do the braids small enough to be cute, but big enough to remove easily. I will primarily be wet setting my hair daily while it is in the braids. I will conduct monthly moisture experiments while I am wearing the braids.

My up keep routine:

I will set my hair in the braids within the next few days.

Every fourth week I wash my hair and then the next day I will divide my hair into 6 sections. Each day I will undo the braids in one section, detangle and rebraid the hair in that section. I will repeat the process touching up one section per day until my whole head is complete and then I will wash my fresh braids.

The Experiments:
1. Water Wash Method (Rinse hair with water daily no products added)
2. Water and Oil Method (Rinse hair with water and apply oil of choice)
3.Water and Aloe Method (Rinse hair with water and spray with aloe)
4. Water+Aloe+Oil Method (Rinse hair with water, spray with aloe and apply oil)
5. Water+ Braid spray Method (Rinse hair with water, spray with braid spray)
6. Water+Aloe+Braid spray Method(Rinse hair with water, spray with aloe and braid spray)
7. Water+ Braid spray+oil (Rinse hair with water,spray with braid spray and apply oil)
8. Water+Aloe+Braid spray+Oil
9. Water + Conditioner (Rinse hair with water then apply conditioner)
10. Water+Cond+Oil
11. Water+aloe+Cond
12. Water+aloe+COnd+Oil
13.Water+Leave in lotion
14. Water+ leave in lotion+oil
15. Water+ gel and oil
16. Water +cond+gel and oil
17. Water+leave in+gel and oil

Each experiment will last one month with an exception of the gel experiment which will last one week at a time.

CLM

CLM

Prevent Shrinkage Daily with Banding!

One thing I have noticed with my hair is that I can almost never see it's true length. My hair shrinks almost up to 80% in it's afro state and even when it is braided or twisted it still shrinks to about 50-75%! This really holds me back when I am trying to rock my twisted or braided hair in styles, like up dos or pony tails. I have already discovered that my loose banded hair can be stretched in to a high pony-tail and almost into a low pony-tail. The thing is I never where my hair loose, because that requires too much maintenance. I recently decided to try an experiment where I banded my twist in about six large sections. The results were incredible! I could fit my twist easily into a half-up, half-down style. By November 2012f, I should be able to fit my stretched twist into a comfortable pony-tail if not a low pony-tail.

I have always known about stretching my loose hair, but now I know the key is to stretch my twisted and braided hair! The easiest way to stretch my braided or twisted hair is by banding. Sign me up for stock in soft fiber bands!

CLM

Up coming hair exp!

The lock treatment

Twist hair in medium sized twist, wear for one month. Wash once a month with low sulfate shampoo such as Carol's daughter and then spray as needed with leave in spray. Detangle once a month.

Easy style:
1. Wear your hair down
2. Do the freddy to protect your hair, two pony-tails in front
3. Optional faux braid in front
4. Two flat-twist down the front

CLM

Current Routine!

Currently I am rocking some small box braids. I did them early this month and an in effort to keep my hands out of my hair I will keep these in until September 1st at all cost. I am not washing these braids, or applying any products except maybe a little leave in spray if needed. This will be my last time braiding this small!!!!!!!!!!

If I do a low manipulation style such as twist or braids they will be medium sized no matter how long I leave them in.

Routine:

Wash hair once a month with conditioner and then apply a little leave in conditioner and detangle, then style.

Products:
1. I want to get some Carol's daughter and some Patene Relaxed and Natural, but until I can I will use whatever is available.

CLM

How many ways can you use conditioner?

Conditioner can be used for many things. Here is a list.

1. You can use it as a shampoo it called a co-wash
2. You can use it as a normal rinse conditioner
3. You can use it as a deep conditioner just add a little olive oil
4. You can use it as a leave in cream
5. You can use it as a leave in spray just dilute with water
6. You can use it as shaving lotion.

CLM

Natural Hair Exp!

Can you retain length without doing protective styles (ie. twist, braids, weaves, wigs, cornrows etc)? Can you retain length while wearing your hair in loose styles (puffs, twist-outs, braid-outs) the majority of the time?

From April -December I will rock my hair in a variety of out styles (braid-outs, twist-outs and puffs) I will follow my 3 day cycle regimen and my no comb regimen, I will focus on keeping my hair clean and moisturized and see if I am able to retain length.

Single Day Braid out (medium braids 40min)

Day 1 clean hair and apply leave in. divide hair into 4 sections and braid in medium sized box-braids. (the evening before)In the morning release braid-out and rock it like you love it. (clips, bobby pins, flowers, head bands etc)

Day 2 (the evening before) Divide hair into 4 sections, lightly mist with water and braid hair in medium braids again. (the next morning) release braids and style

Day 3 Optional if hair feels ok, re mist hair and re braid that evening for braid-out the next day. If hair is dry, wash hair and braid it to rock the braid-out.

Afro-Puff (large box-braids 20-30 min)

Day 1 clean hair, apply leave in and braid hair in large box-braids. The next day release braids and fluff into puff, secure with knee high.

Day 2 re wet hair lightly and apply leave in, re braid hair at night, release into puff the next day.

Day 3 Wash hair and braid, release in the morning.

Note: For best results with the afro-puff you may need to rinse the hair with water each night before braiding.

Short and curly twist-out. Follow the same steps as for the braids.

2-day braid-out. (40 min)

Apply gel to freshly washed hair and braid in medium braids, release the next day and apply a light amount of oil to hair, sleep with satin bonnet and finger fluff the next day.

CLM

In Between Blues!

Do you truly feel like you are going crazy when it comes to your hair? Sure your hair is chemicl free, but it is short. It's no longer a twa (teeny wheeny afro), you can twist it and braid it, but your twist and braided styles are lacking umph. You keep looking for inspiration and what you find is that your hair is to short to do (feel in the blank!) You are frustrated and you just wish you could pull your hair into a pony-tail or a sleek bun and melt your troubles away. Your hair is too short for this though, sure you can fit your hair into 2 or 3 pony-tails, but you feel that style is just too elementry. You keep hearing that if you just hang on and keep your hair in a protective style you will finally get the length you desire. You say how am I supposed to keep twist and braids in my hair when I cant stand looking at the for more than a day. You break down and get a weave, a wig or some fake hair braids, but they itch, the cost, their too tight, you don't want to spend 8 plus hours sitting their getting braids. The fake hair is not your style and wasn't the point of going natural to rock your own natural hair. Your sitting here right now with your head under a wrap or a head scarf asking yourself what in the world am I going to do with my hair?

When your hair was shorter you were forced to just rock that fro, but now you have been warned that you need to keep that hair braided. You have noticed that when you wear twist-outs, or braid-outs you enjoy the style. The problem is these styles only seem to last for one day and isn't it too much manipulation( ie, anti protection ) to style your hair in twist every night only to take them down?

What about the trusty afro-puff? If you wear this style every day will it be bad for your hair? If you can never wear your hair out loose what it the point?

What if your hair is just too short for a quote on quote protective style suits your mood?

You tried to spice it up with cornrows and flat-twist only to discover that just like all Black folk don't have rhythm, they can't all braid.

So What do you do now?

Well I propose that you break the rules! Thats right, break the rules before you break down in tears, tear out your hair, cut it all off, relax it or burn the mess out of it with a flamming hot tool.

Which rules should you break? Which ever rules are necessary to achieve your style. What about the damages you say? Just do your best to care for your hair, moisturize, wash, condition, handle your hair gently and say a prayer and rock the styles that make you happy.

By stepping back from the stress of being ocd and preforming your sacred growth ritual you may notice that your hair just may grow to the level you desire right under your noise. You may just be able to have your cake and eat it too!

CLM

My New Favorite Style

Some natural styles are too old, too young, too trendy, too punk and some are just right, it all depends on my mood. I really want hair long enough to just put up in twisted or braided buns, but my hair is not ready for this yet.

So for now I am rocking large flat-twist. Two large twist down the sides and 4 large twist going down the back secured with butter fly clips. This is my new style and I will be rocking it for quite some time!

CLM

Neveau Regimen pour le cheavux!(new routine)

I have changed my routine from a 7 day cycle to a three day cycle. On my 3 day cycles I rotate between three products for my wash regiman.

Cycle 1 wash with Lorel sulfate-free shampoo (Moisture formula)
Condition with Pantene Relaxed and Natural
Leave in condtion with Kimmay Tube Leave in (Knot today, aloe and oil)

Cycle 2 Co-wash with Geovanni Smooth Conditioner
Leave in Geovanni Direct Leave in

Cycle 3 Wash hair with Hair One Cleansing Conditioner
Leave in Mixed Silk Conditioner

Note: I always pre treat my hair with olive oil before any kind of wash.

CLM

Delayed Gratification

I have studied several different women's hair routine with natural hair and what I have found was that there seem to be few rules or hair laws that seem to apply. Here a few hair laws I have heard that I have seen exceptions to.

1. Do not use blow dryers on natural hair (I have seen this law broken by several people with long natural hair, some use heat weekly while others use it monthly. Some seem to be ok with any altered texture as a result of frequent straightening, others claim to see no difference in their hair texture as a result of heat. I have tried heat and my texture was alterted severly after one proffessional flat-iron and blow dry. Some sections of my hair remained straight and others remained permanentely in a loose texture. I want my natural curls tight so for me I will not be playing around with heat. When it comes to length I have seen long hair that has been heat treated.

2. Do not use flat irons (Same as blow dryers)

3. Do not use sulfate shampoo ( This one is funny, because the majority of shampoos on the markert contain sulfates and even those so called natural shampoos that are sulfate-free still raise the culticle of the hair shaft and make my hair feel stripped. This is why I pretreat with Olive Oil no matter what I am using.

4. Do not use hair grease aka mineral (My hair grew quite long as a child and the only thing used on my hair was grease and water. My hair seems to respond the same way to mineral oil products as it does with shea butter, olive oil and other natural oils. When used dry it just sits on top of my hair. I only use Olive Oil as a pre shampoo treatment and once it is washed out with soap no oils of any kind other than the kind coming from my scalp itself touch my hair until my next wash.

5. Wash your hair weekly ( I have seen and heard it all regarding the frequency of washing your hair, every thing from once a month to every day washing. I think this one is truly up to personal needs. If one is not using lots of products I suspect one could get away with washing less frequently, but it dependeds on the needs of that persons scalp. I have seen long hair on people who wash monthly as well as daily. I think there are multiple factors here such as products used in styling, daily maintenance, hair style itself, whether your hair is loose or braided, activity level, the health of the scalp, the amount of oil produced by the scalp, sweat, dandruff, and products used to clean the hair. I personally like to wash my hair every seven days, because my hair starts to feel limp to me after any longer than that. If my hair is loose I like to wash it nightly. I have gone months when I was younger without washing and my hair did not fall out, nor did I develop any scalp condition. I have also had a bi weekly routine. I think the only real practical reason I could see for not washing my hair every week, but rather once a month is less detangling sessions weekly which would mean less manipulation which would mean less breakage. I would still have to moisturize my hair at least once a week, I cannot stain putting any products on hair that has not been freshy washed so I would probably be likely to apply products only once a month. I am basically a person that does not believe that products really any thing to my hair except dirty it, outside of shampoo and conditioner.

6. Wear protective styles ( I have seen lots of people grow long hair using protective styles, but I think the style you get, whether the braids are too tight, and the length of time you wear them impact whether the style is really working to preserve the hair. If you dont touch your hair much I guess it would have less opportunity to break. Plently people touch their hair once a day and still have long hair so I guess it depends on the person.

CLM

Hair Update!

It is my one year aniversary since I have chopped my hair off. My hair has grown about 5-6 inches. Now I know that my hair does grow at an average rate. I plan to keep my hair in a protective style until March 2012 so that I can retain these six inches and grow my hair to 12 inches.

My grow and retain routine.

1. Braid hair in small box-braids once a month
2. Wash braids weekly with L'oreal paris sulfate-free shampoo.
3. Spray braids with Carol's daughter leave in after shampoo and as needed between shampoo.