Very good question. Personally, before discovering the boards, I wore my hair down 99% of the time (either hanging down my back or in a single ponytail). Yes I had splits, but I would trim them as needed. Overall my hair looked good. I grew it about 4" longer than it is now (not intentionally though).
Now, after discovering the boards, I wear my hair in protective styles about 50-75% of the time (either my ends are in a "down" braid / twist out or my ends are in braidout bun, etc). Yes, I still get splits, but I continue to trim as needed (just like I did prior to finding the board).
However, the major difference I've noticed after wearing more protective styling is that my hair appeared to be growing faster. Actually, it wasn't growing any faster than before; the growth rate remained the same, however, my "breakage rate" decreased, which enabled me to "RETAIN" more length.
My point.... protective styling (for me anyway) is not really necessary to achieve longer lengths. However, SOME protective styling * ends covering * (for me) is necessary if I want to achieve longer lengths * quickly *.
BTW, I love to wear my hair out too
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Just for clarity, my def of "protective styling" is "hair styles that do not expose my ends".