Does your hair grow without wearing a weave or braids???

[mika vs sasha]

For as long as I can remember my momma kept me in braids. I've worn braids off and on my entire life. Matter of fact, I've worn braids for two years straight and to my surprise I didn't see in any significant grow. Ofcourse, my hair grew some but not anything to shout about. I've come to the conclusion that wearing braids and weaves don't give me great growth results. My hair has been growing and is on it's way to being healthy. I've also found a hair regime that works for me, but I wonder if I should go back to my old ways, and get braids? Has anyone had growth without wearing braids or weaves?

 

[CarLiTa]

Yes i have grown my hair whithout weave nor braids. never had weave in my hair. first time i got braids was 3 years ago, and my hair got worse b/c i didn't know how to care for it while in braids, so it would dry out, break, and the new growth i would get from getting braids, i had to cutt off, so it really wasn't beneficial to me.

girlie, braids and weave don't MAKE ur hair grow. it grows anyway. the only thing is, u're allowed to see the new growth b/c u're not manipulating ur hair too much. i dont like having braids b/c either way i'm still getting the growth rate and without braids i can actually wash my hair properly when i want to and keep it moisturized.
So no, u don't have to go back to braids for growth. it's about ur diet, that's what counts. and if u are getting braids, take care of them real good, so that u don't shed too much or get too much dryness and breakage afterwards. Good luck

 

[lsubabiedee]

uhh...i've never had either and my hair grows just fine

 

[mika vs sasha]

No braids for me!!! I'm gonna try something new to me, that's means taking care of my hair properly for the first time in my life. I really need to let go off some of my hair myths.

 

[*Happily Me*]

I got my hair braided into box braids a few years ago. 2 months later when I took the braids out my hair was shattered! It dried my hair out and made it uneven, and I had split ends for days! I did not really take care of the braids while they were in so I'm sure this contributed to the damage. I've concluded that braids are just not for me.

My hair grows fine with plenty of moisture. For me, this means washing and conditioning every few days. When I was younger, my hair grew to BSL with wash and wear styles every day! Moisture is key. When my hair feels dry, I wash and deep condition it.

 

[Neroli]

I have 4b relaxed hair and always see tremendous growth after braiding my hair (never did the weave thing). If I want to gain a few inches, I throw in some braids for a few months and voila -- serious length every time. I don't think my hair grows faster in braids, I think I was able to retain length with braids because no chemicals, zero heat and zero manipulation for months at a time equals heathly long hair (IMO, heat and cheimicals kills my hair!). Only since LHCF am I learning to grow my hair without braids by stretching relaxers to 3 months, zero heat (use only cool setting on hooded dryer to dry rollersets -- takes forever but worth it!) and mininal manipulation in styling has really changed things for me. I am now seeing serious length without braids and loving it. I still do braids during summer to avoid "hair drama" when swimming and dealing with humidty . . .

 

[ajargon02]

My hair has ALWAYS grown wonderfully w/ braids, but I take care of them like I do w/ my loose hair. I deep condition, I moisturize, and use a leave-in. I also don't do my braids too tight, and let my hair rest one month for every 2 months that I have my hair braided. I do my own braids, so I guess that makes a difference, but bottom line is that when I take the time and care w/ my braided hair, as I do when it's loose, the growth is tremendous!

 

[LDebagoria]

My hair grows very well with or without braids, it's my ENDS that I'm trying to hang onto right now with braids.

 

[LaNecia]

My hair has ALWAYS grown wonderfully w/ braids, but I take care of them like I do w/ my loose hair. I deep condition, I moisturize, and use a leave-in. I also don't do my braids too tight, and let my hair rest one month for every 2 months that I have my hair braided. I do my own braids, so I guess that makes a difference, but bottom line is that when I take the time and care w/ my braided hair, as I do when it's loose, the growth is tremendous!

Can you please share with us how you deep condition your braids? I'm going to do my own soon but usually my hair is very neglected when in braids. I'd like to learn a new way of caring for them.

TIA!

 

[moda]

My hair grows either way, it is just easier to see the new growth when it is in braids since my hair is natural.

 

[Chromia]

My hair grows without braids - I haven't had braids in years and years. I've never had a weave.

 

[reformatio]

My hair grows whether or not I am wearing braids. I mainly wear braids so that I do not have to deal with my hair on a daily basis. I think that I am able to retain length because I try not to manipulate my hair. I wash/detangle/style once per week, only detangle when my hair is damp, protect my hair at night etc.

 

[sylver2]

Never ever wore braids or a weave. I'm one of those who is just to terrified of anything hindering my growth. I just try not to do anything to my hair.

 

[cocopuff]

I agree with most of the posts that were made. My hair grows whether or not I wear braids. When I was in high school, I wore braids all the time because it cut down on time when I would get ready for school in the morning, plus I just liked to have different braid styles in my hair. Since I started wearing my natural hair, I have had braids in my hair about twice. I just got my hair done in silky locs and it is the second time I have worn extensions in two years. My hair grew about 10 inches without the use of braids or weaves. When I do wear braids, I make sure to moisturize my braids or extensions with a leave-in or some type of braid spray and I always oil my scalp. I also use a latherless shampoo to clean my scalp from buildup. When I do get my hair braided, I do ask the stylist to not braid my hair so tight, especially around the hairline. I have never had a weave put in my hair.

 

[missyT]

Our hair grows with and without braids. ITA with what most people said about being able to see the amount of growth more when you hair is braided. That is one the main reasons why I was so addicted to braids or any type of extensions. But braids with extensions can be drying so in some cases you lose what you gain.

I used to be a constant braid wearer but didn't achieve much length so I have now concluded that if I get braids of any sort I will not use extensions. I will just braid my own hair. I feel a lot more free when I don't have extensions because I can wash, condition and generally take better care of my hair when I want.

Not wearing extensions will also hopefully help me to practice some delayed gratification!

 

[mochamadness]

I don't wear braids or weave and my hair is growing. It's all about finding what works for your hair and sticking to it.

 

[shawniegee]

My hair grows hair with braids,espicially individuals. Now weaves glued or sewn in does not agree with my hair. I grew my hair from TWA to shoulder length using braids. Now I'm using braids and buns to get it armpit length.

 

[Jewell]

In my lifetime I've worn:

-a sew-in
-individual braids
-cornrows
-goddess braids
-a wig
-stuffed twists

98% of my hair growth comes without the help of braids/weaves.
The sew-in broke my hair off in a small area in the back, probably due to improper removal by the person who put them in. The only reason I had the sew-in done was for a hair show, and I wasn't about to have nobody frying my own hair with a marcel iron! I wore a wig for the first time the other day, and I really liked it. I just moisturized, plaited my hair in two pocahontus braids underneath, put on a wig cap, and the wig. I actually liked wearing it, plus its a pretty style and color. I would say that my hair grows really well with or without braids, but especially WITH braids. But, I RARELY do braids or any other long-term style because I get tired of them and want to take them out. So, its kind of a waste of money for me!

 

[Isis]

I haven't worn braids or weaves and my hair grows. Hair always grows. It's what we do to retain that growth that makes the difference. Keeping our hair and especially the ends moisturized is always the key so we can see that length.

On this board, you'll learn many ways to take care of your hair so it will grow to the length you desire.

Edited to add:

I forgot to mention (as Neroli did), that using no heat, airdrying in a rollerset (or using the cool setting on a hair dryer, washing every 3 days has made a tremendous difference in retaining my hair's growth. Today and all day, I am airdrying in my rollerset, no hurry for my hair to dry.

 

[BabyCurls]

I haven't wore any braids since last year, and my hair still grows pretty fast. I had a relaxer touch up just recently, and I'm getting a bit of new growth already. I have fine, fragile hair, and if I put my hair in a weave or braids, it'll break off easily. So I don't mess with the braids and weaves.

BC

 

[gorgeoushair]

My hair grows with or without braids. I love braids b/c they are a great protective style and my hair just seems to grow faster with them and weave.

 

[Ms Red]

I have 3c/4a hair and whenever I wore weaves for 1-2 months at a time, sure, my hair grew and it thickened up too. But my problem was instead of taking out the weave and then taking care of my own hair (poo, conditioning, deep conditioning, protein treatments, etc.) like I should, I went and put in another sewn in weave.

My hair never got to really breathe. My mantra was... get a fresh perm (that I did myself from a box and probably overlapped- this WAS college), wait a day or two (i thought that was pushing it!) and then get that human hair sewn in as soon as possible. If I couldn't get that done, I'd get a ponytail. I didn't want to even see my hair. I would literally take my weave out and perm it the same night (or the next day if I was tired) and then get the new weave (5 days MAX!) Horrible haircare!

Mistreating my hair like that caused me to eventually have to cut off 2 inches (and I still see a little damage). I am now transitioning and will stay away from weaves, period. I know I can take better care of my hair now and I am learning from past mistakes. So do I think the weaves contributed to my hair's growth? Yes. To my hair's health? No.

 

[Mestiza]

For as long as I can remember my momma kept me in braids. I've worn braids off and on my entire life. Matter of fact, I've worn braids for two years straight and to my surprise I didn't see in any significant grow. Ofcourse, my hair grew some but not anything to shout about. I've come to the conclusion that wearing braids and weaves don't give me great growth results. My hair has been growing and is on it's way to being healthy. I've also found a hair regime that works for me, but I wonder if I should go back to my old ways, and get braids? Has anyone had growth without wearing braids or weaves?

Welcome to LHCF!

I've never worn a weave, wig or extensions. I've had my own hair braided a few times, but, it hurt and would unravel quickly. I didn't notice any faster growth from it.

It sounds like you're already on the right path! HHG!

 

[JenniferMD]

My hair grows without braids, but I must admit that my nape area caught up to the rest of my length by wearing braids for a few months. I don't wear braids often, I've only had them twice so far, but I'm getting them again tomorrow for one month in the summer. Like others, I don't want to deal with swimming and the humitity with my own hair. I'm planning to care for them just like last time: Rising them daily, washing them once a week, surging and most importantly moisturizing everyday.

 

[brittanynic16]

I get good growth with braid but I get good growth without them too.

 

[Country gal]

Braids and weaves are a good protective style but they can also be damaging for your hair if not properly taken care of. I was sporting a weave this year and I wished I just did the BC instead. The stylist pressed my hair in the front and routined my texture. The front of my hair tends to be straighter while the rest of my hair is curly.

 

[chellee]

I wore sew-in weaves the entire time during high school and college and my hair never grew past my shoulder. Of course I was clueless on how to care for them and more concerned with how long the style lasted. Yes, hair grows in braids but in my experience it resulted in major tangles during removal = hair loss, a thinning hairline, scalp irritation/rashes, dry, thin hair and lots of split ends. What I assumed to be thin hair (hereditary) turned out to be unhealthy, uneven hair.

My hair is much healthier now.

Even with the proper knowledge on how to care for extensions, I think they make it easy to forget about the hair underneath; "Out of sight, out of mind." Plus, I get spoiled when I wear false hair. Having the "perfect" look everyday and a low maintenance style is addictive. It made me frustrated with my real hair whenever I tried to style it . . . but that was then.

I think people with thicker strands may have better success stories with these methods, also people that wear them every once in a while.

 

[Mariaat40]

I've never had a weave. I've only had braids twice. And my hair has grown from mid neck length. Like many have said, your hair grows whether you wear braids or not. Braids are great because you don't manipulate your hair as much, which causes you to retain the growth. If lack of manipulation works for you, you can do that by minimizing heat, wearing protective styles, etc.

 

[IntelligenceisBeautiful]

braids have never worked for me personally I have braided my hair on many occasions and everytime I had alot of breakage and thinning. So as far as I'm concerned braids are a big no no. I have been wearing a sew-in for the past three weeks, it's my first I hope everything goes well when I take it down. For the rest of the year I plan to wear my own hair, (with a few instant weaves here and there) so I can give it the extra TLC that it needs

 

[Poohbear]

Yes, my hair has and is growing without weave/braids!