hair growing tips

shygurl

New Member
what do you ladies find to be the best products/best regimes to use when you are trying to grow your hair. Also, i am considering getting braids this winter to give my hair a rest but everytime i have ever had braids my hair thinned out and it seemed as if it didn't grow that much. This time i am thinking about getting cornrows instead of micro braids. what do you think the reason for my hair loss was? And how long do cornrows with either human hair or synthetic (which is best?) usually last?
 

sassygirl125

Professional PJ
I'm not a braid expert. Have you tried the techniques at growafrohairllong.com? I think she recommends leaving them in no longer than two months at a time. Braids aren't for me... My hair looked thinner, too. And the mountains of hair that I combed out after only one month nearly gave me a heart attack. That's why I stopped.

As far as the "best" products and regimes, trial and error will determine which ones are best for you.
 

Common

New Member
[ QUOTE ]
what do you ladies find to be the best products/best regimes to use when you are trying to grow your hair. Also, i am considering getting braids this winter to give my hair a rest but everytime i have ever had braids my hair thinned out and it seemed as if it didn't grow that much. This time i am thinking about getting cornrows instead of micro braids. what do you think the reason for my hair loss was? And how long do cornrows with either human hair or synthetic (which is best?) usually last?

[/ QUOTE ]
Braids Good for our Hair??
After you read some of these horror stories, you just may be convinced that BRAIDS are causing many of our hair care/growth problems!
 

ladymarmalade

New Member
I had cornrows done on last friday and took them out the next day. 1) They felt to tight and i dont wanna go bald and two, the tyle just wasn't for me.
 

Karonica

New Member
I can't use braids for growing my hair.
My hair freezes while it's in braids. Barely any growing goes on at all, for some reason.
 

laketta

New Member
Braids are not for everyone but from my personal experience, they are working quite well. thinning hairline are caused by hair being pulled too tight. I know many people who say that certain braiders pull too tight when they braid. hair drying out and breaking can be cause by not keeping hair moisturized or at least rinsing it with water. Doing something like that causes product buildup and dirt causing hair to matt. leaving braids in too long can also be a culprit.
 

nita4

New Member
Years ago, I would relax and braid. My hair grew, but it also thinned out. I personally don't think it's a good idea to relax and braid. I think braiding weakens the hair strand.
 

aqualung

New Member
Good way:
Cornrows (not too tight) with NO braided extensions attached would allow you to wash and moisturize often. My little sister braids her own cornrows, and her hair's growing fast and healthy. It's not relaxed. Find a gentle, patient braider.

Not so good way:
My hairline and edges thinned from excessively tight cornrows. I'd go home from the braider and latch braided hair extensions in that were too heavy, so that strained the follicles even more. Plus, I didn't take care to wash my hair during the ~2 months I had the braids in. I didn't relax my hair for a couple of years there, so I guess it was strong enough to take the abuse. But my hair's been shoulderblades length FOREVER because every 2 months I'd just let the braider wash and blowdry and comb (rip!) through my natural hair. She was rough and disliked dealing with my foot-long 4b afro. She just wanted to get it over with. It was an unhappy cycle for me, so I quit the cycle and the braider.

Note: Synthetic hair (typical plastic hair for braided extensions) is coated with chemicals that dry out the real hair and make it kinda brittle. My new stylist says it's a common preservative containing formaldehyde.
 

Nessa

New Member
yeah but what if you braid with extensions, I mean what if you can't braid with your real hair. Cause I braid my hair and it be growin sometimes.
 

aqualung

New Member
Yeah, my hair grew in the braids too. It'll be okay.


If you must must must braid with extensions, try to keep the parts and braids clean and moisturized. Choose an oil that won't build up. At your local beauty supply store there may be products specifically for braid maintenance. I wish I'd known to moisturize my hair back then.


Then in between braided styles (I mean when you take them out to wash your own hair), deep condition and moisturize again with a creamy leave-in like Profective BreakFree.

Avoid microbraids! Don't braid tight!
 

curlscience

New Member
I haven't worn braids for several years because of my work environment (conservative), however when I was in grad school I wore micro braids and cornrows. Neither braid style caused thinning, but of course I saw a huge amount of hair shed when the braid style was removed (all of this hair had no where to go when it was braided). Go to www.naturalhair.org to learn about the "feed-in" method for cornrows. I had this done a couple of times and it gave a very natural hairline for my cornrow style without the "braid helmet" most stylists perform. The feed-in method for cornrows lessens the stress on the hair line and you don't have the tightness/irritation when there is a huge "bump" at the hairline.
 
G

Guest

Guest
[ QUOTE ]
I'm not a braid expert. Have you tried the techniques at growafrohairllong.com? I think she recommends leaving them in no longer than two months at a time. Braids aren't for me... My hair looked thinner, too. And the mountains of hair that I combed out after only one month nearly gave me a heart attack. That's why I stopped.

As far as the "best" products and regimes, trial and error will determine which ones are best for you.

[/ QUOTE ]

Why is that? That tons of hair comes out after, braids or updo after awhile. People say it's what shed normally if you combed everyday but I never get that much on a daily basis. This seems strange to me. It would seem since your not daily messin with it, that it would be stronger.
 

ComfortablyNumb

New Member
I didn't like braids...I'vce tried them tight loose, big and small and they never did anythign but thin my already thin, fine hair out.

But I also have a question...what kind of chemicals do they put in the human hair because everytime I put it in my hair I break out in a rash but not with the synthetic hair...I always thought the synthetic hair was supposed to be the bad kind...
 
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