Yvete: @ Ogugua88 - Lolz. Did you use a detangling spray or you tried to force the comb through your dry hair? Long-term stretches are not for me too - Max is 3 months.

uzoo: @Ogugua88

You're right , its the same thing that's happening to me too,The hair is fast growing but i can't seem to retain more lengths . like i said ,seems like my new growth are on steroids that makes the rest of the relaxed/texlaxed hair break away. I dont even do much to it just wrapped up in a pony tail with the ends tucked in after moisturising and sealing.

Ok, so let me cut a very long story short...I was completely natural last year (2009) I only did it because I THOUGHT I wanted to go natural...turns out that it wasn't for me. I applaud, salute, and hail up all of you natural ladies!! It is not the easiest journey, and you need patience...of which I did not have for my hair in it's natural stage. :-) Forgive me!! I tell ya, if I had more patience, I'd probably be natural still, but alas, that wasn't my testimony...lol!!

Ok, so after I big chopped in January (2009) Since I transitioned for 10 months, I hid my hair from January to August of last year cause I wasn't comfortable with my hair being so short. I decided that I would relax my hair in August (right after taking that last photo as a natural above) and protect it for a year with wigs! Under the wigs, I decided to keep my hair braided in 7 cornrows...I moisturized and sealed my cornrows every night with wave nouveau moisturizing finishing creme followed by jamaican black castor oil which went on my scalp as well...i oiled my scalp with it about 2--3x a week...I did that from august 2009 to march 2010 where i got a touch up (see middle photo below).

Oh, I was also taking a multi-vitamin, and nioxin recharging complex vitamins. At this point, I thought the growth was ok, but nothing to alert the media about, so I decided to try a new mixture for my scalp to see what would happen. This time I mixed together Mega-tek, MTG, Jamaican black castor oil, olive oil, coconut oil, monistat D (YES, the vagina creme)...I melted them all in the microwave into a liquid and put it in one of those bottles that had the skinny applicator at the top, and i oiled my scalp two to three times a week consistently. All through this I had my hair hidden under my wigs....well, fast forward to august 0f this year and look at the progress! lol...I guess one of those bunch of ingredients, or the combination of all of them did some help!!! Either way, I'm not complainin!! One year mark?!! PRETTY GOOD TO ME! LOL!!

BagLova: she is the motivation for starting this thread. im using her method which has been working for me in terms of fullness and length. this is her full post



How do we get here? lol.

babestell: Uzoo your hair and mine sound like sisters........mine should be the elder cos she turns coarse sometimes after a day, I havent tried a tea rinse before, maybe I should. Am in my 6th week of strechibg and its like at my last deep conditioning all my hair went with the comb . My hair is fuller now and I have more strands on the edge but it doesn't want to grow like that hairlicious chick's own.

Am so demoralised I just had to go fix my hair even though I planned not to. Does anybody have ideas for cool protective styles for short hair, the ones I see are usually for long hair.

babestell: Na Uzoo be this, madam when people with short hair talk you too open mouth! If I catch u ehn, I will use scissors and show you short hair then we can start stretching together

uzoo:
to retain length you have to pay extra attention to your ends cos that where they break from. Always wet your ends with water or a good leave-in and seal with either olive or coconut oil and keep it wrapped up esp at night.as your hair brushes your shoulders it gets drier and drier and finally breaks off.so keep it in a bun each night and when you are not going anywhere. See a good regimen that can help :
http://darkchildlovethyhair..com/2013/08/in-my-last-post-i-talked-about-laziness.html


oh oh ,can't remember my hair being that short in the first two pictures. You can take a look at my blog for my previous length and current length http://productsthatactuallydowork..com/p/hair-w.html


1.
Fullness (Volume) - that in fact has never been my hair's problem ,if i had a way of making it less fuller trust me i would,the hair is just something else, i have to do a lot to get it to smoothen out.

2.
Length - Now, this is what i'm looking for (i've gone past the length in the third picture which has always been the length where my hair stops growing ) but since i joined in the stretch in june i've added about 2 to 3 inches ,but like i said the damn thing is breaking at the rate at which it is growing.

So i will be waiting for any more tips on how to retain length or like you said get to our desired length. ( i just want bra strap length and i'm fine ..lol)

ogugua88: I thought I was transitioning. It ended up being a 36-week stretch. All I can say is never again lol. Detangling was a nightmare and breakage was troublesome. Seems like my hair broke off almost at an identical rate to my growth as the length retained doesn't seem to be up to two inches.

I'll be relaxing more frequently now and going back to doing what I was doing before. It seems like 14-18 week stretches work best for me.

BagLova:

What a tough decision u made. it will surely pay off when u continue loving on ur hair. Good luck.

lovethyhair: tangles make stretching very difficult but you just have to know the right way to detangle.its really easy once you get the hang of it.as a natural myself I found a method that gives me no breakage and I know stretchers will find it useful too
http://darkchildlovethyhair..com/2013/09/detangling-natural-hair.html
try it and see if your hair responds well to it

Yvete: Quick question for ladies on Biotin pills:-

Does it make your legs and underarms hairier? Do I need to cut down on mcg to avoid this? I would like to buy 2 bottles of biotin 5,000 mcg tonight on amazon. - http://www.amazon.com/Solgar-Biotin-5000mcg-veggie-caps/dp/B000OQ4ACO

I DON'T WANT A HAIRY CHEST! Thanks.

Yvete: @ Uzoo: I came across Joico products today. Do you use Joico's K-Pak Conditioner?
I co-washed with Cream of Nature's Intensive Conditioning Treatment with Argan Oil and it didn't detangle as I would have liked. Need a good moisturizing or hydrating conditioner.

uzoo: If you are looking for a Hydrating Conditioner i am still standing by the Herbal Essence Hello hydration , The one beside the Joico in the picture is finished so i got the bigger Size, that conditioner makes my hair silky soft.

ogugua88: For anyone who wants thicker hair, I beg of you to throw away your flat iron, curling iron, blow dryer, etc lol. I can count on one hand how many times I've used direct heat on my hair this year. It was thick before but it's now reaching uncontrollability. Awesomeness.

Yvete: I try to stay away from heat, but I've seen youtube gurus recommend the 'Brazilian Blow-out'. Heard its great for long stretches because they use keratin and protein treatments with heat. ... Anyone tried it yet?

Playgal: My hair was seriously damaged..........I had to leave my hair for 5 good months. I just kept doing cholesterol and hot oil steaming monthly. And wowwww wen I relaxed my hair 2wks ago, I was so impressed. Amazed and happy. My hair was full, long, my front hair dat had Chopped became full with hair, my back hair dat was scanty became full and long. **dancing Skelewu**
I will keep treating my hair, steaming, taking multivitamins, I will start doing 3months stretch, I will avoid thonging my hair and any tin hot dat will damage my hair. If I have to go under dryer, I will use oil or heat protection creams.
Am loving my new hair, am loving my new Confidence.
Wish u all the best. Love u all

NIAPREXT: I'm a bit confused about the Protien treatment, is it before or after stretching Also losing my front hair, and advice would be appreciated.