Results from long term Protective Styling...?

[Gr8ness83]

I know that many, if not most of us PS or have PS at some time or another during our journey but are there any ladies here who have PS for an extended period of time, like well over a year? I am just curious and would like to know the pros and cons to doing growing your hair this way. I want to grow my hair to at least TBL and I know it will take some time, I am currently BSL when stretched with the exception of my bangs and a small section at the nape of my neck. I am giving myself 4 years to reach this goal, I have seen more growth this year than I have in the past 3 years so that tells me that I am doing something right. My main plan, other than vitamins, water, exercise is to PS my way to that length. Can anyone share their results or experience with long term PS? Thank you!

 

[naturalmanenyc]

I will let you know in December. I've been wearing Havana twists every 2 months since before Christmas 2013.

I tried to install them myself and filmed it here: http://youtu.be/mp5auzzT0P0

I ended up having them professionally done. Photos are on my blog here:
http://goingnaturaltransitioningtonaturalhair.com/diy-fail-havana-twists/

Washing them is simple. I use a knee high as shown in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2e1k_wB3zTM&feature=youtu.be

The takedown can take forever!!
I was using a safety pin to remove them as shown in this video but now I'm just cutting the ends. http://youtu.be/HWmlvtXDZOs

I drink mostly water, workout and I've been drinking green smoothies since mid July. I normally have them reinstalled after 2 -3 weeks but this last time I had them reinstalled after only a few days due to a work trip. I had my hair trimmed, twice, in May due to suspected heat damage from a blow out so I'm hoping to at least see 3.5 inches of growth by December. My goal is BSL.

I've hovered around APL for years because I refused to protective style for extensive periods of time. My go to style was always a twist out or wash & go.

Havana twists are working well for me. I spray them with my braid spray/hair strengthener combo daily and wash them every week or two.

 

[mscheergrl]

Pros: Long-term protective styling is an awesome way to retain your maximum amount of growth. It gives your hair a chance to relax and not be put under stress from friction, extreme weather, manipulation, etc.

Cons: Sometimes you just want to wear your hair down and free!

Pro: If you do anything long enough, you can teach yourself to like/love it. I wore buns for a year and at first I longed to wear my hair down. However, at around the third month, I grew to love my buns and everyone else did too

 

[tiffers]

When relaxed, I ps'd for 4 years and probably wore my hair out about 5 times during that period. It was all buns and phony ponies for me. I went from almost SL (the length I was stuck at all of my life) to MBL.

Now I've been natural for three years and have worn my hair out maybe twice. It's always twisted and when I leave the house, I wear a wig. I've gone from TWA to WL.

Here's a summary of my natural hair progress : http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=735585

 

[pre_medicalrulz]

Meee!!! **raises hand**
My results from wigs are in my siggy.

 

[atlien11]

^^ Thats awesome!!

 

[Gr8ness83]

Meee!!! **raises hand**
My results from wigs are in my siggy.

Thank you! That is absolutely amazing progress, what is the tjmeline for the pics, I can't read them clearly. What was your wig regemin?

 

[southerncitygirl]

There are some folks that have had setbacks from protective styling so I would carefully watch my hair after every removal. Every head of hair is different with what it can/can't handle. That is wonderful you are doing the right things to retain that much length!

 

[Gr8ness83]

I will let you know in December. I've been wearing Havana twists every 2 months since before Christmas 2013.

I tried to install them myself and filmed it here: http://youtu.be/mp5auzzT0P0

I ended up having them professionally done. Photos are on my blog here:
http://goingnaturaltransitioningtonaturalhair.com/diy-fail-havana-twists/

Washing them is simple. I use a knee high as shown in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2e1k_wB3zTM&feature=youtu.be

The takedown can take forever!!
I was using a safety pin to remove them as shown in this video but now I'm just cutting the ends. http://youtu.be/HWmlvtXDZOs

I drink mostly water, workout and I've been drinking green smoothies since mid July. I normally have them reinstalled after 2 -3 weeks but this last time I had them reinstalled after only a few days due to a work trip. I had my hair trimmed, twice, in May due to suspected heat damage from a blow out so I'm hoping to at least see 3.5 inches of growth by December. My goal is BSL.

I've hovered around APL for years because I refused to protective style for extensive periods of time. My go to style was always a twist out or wash & go.

Havana twists are working well for me. I spray them with my braid spray/hair strengthener combo daily and wash them every week or two.

Thank you for your response! It took me a while to get past where I was as well but when I got serious and began PS like I know I should, my hair took off. I want to fast forward 3-4 years to see if I meet my goal.

 

[Eiano]

Thank you for your response! It took me a while to get past where I was as well but when I got serious and began PS like I know I should, my hair took off. I want to fast forward 3-4 years to see if I meet my goal.

dontspeakdefeat has picturess of her clients before and afters with weaves. There are a lot of women on this forum that also use weaves as their protective style, such as pre_medicalrulz (sp)? She has waist length hair.

 

[pre_medicalrulz]

Thank you! That is absolutely amazing progress, what is the tjmeline for the pics, I can't read them clearly. What was your wig regemin?

That was 2 1/2 years I believe.
Underneath my hair was in little box plaits. I washed/DC/light protein treatment every 2 weeks at the time I think. Sometimes DC every week. Just depends. Wigs can be drying so I had to soak my hair in moisturizer before plaitting. That's why I needed the light protein treatment so often.

 

[Gr8ness83]

When relaxed, I ps'd for 4 years and probably wore my hair out about 5 times during that period. It was all buns and phony ponies for me. I went from almost SL (the length I was stuck at all of my life) to MBL.

Now I've been natural for three years and have worn my hair out maybe twice. It's always twisted and when I leave the house, I wear a wig. I've gone from TWA to WL.

Here's a summary of my natural hair progress : http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=735585

Oh my goodness! You have amazing growth and retention! You have me new hope. Lol.

 

[Gr8ness83]

dontspeakdefeat has picturess of her clients before and afters with weaves. There are a lot of women on this forum that also use weaves as their protective style, such as pre_medicalrulz (sp)? She has waist length hair.

Thank you. I use weaves and box braids as my primary protective styles. I have an appointment with Reniece on August 17th. I'll get it redone in December, close to my birthday and then get some loc extensions in April or May. I'm hoping (claiming) 6 inches of growth by then.

 

[Gr8ness83]

I will let you know in December. I've been wearing Havana twists every 2 months since before Christmas 2013.

I tried to install them myself and filmed it here: http://youtu.be/mp5auzzT0P0

I ended up having them professionally done. Photos are on my blog here:
http://goingnaturaltransitioningtonaturalhair.com/diy-fail-havana-twists/

Washing them is simple. I use a knee high as shown in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2e1k_wB3zTM&feature=youtu.be

The takedown can take forever!!
I was using a safety pin to remove them as shown in this video but now I'm just cutting the ends. http://youtu.be/HWmlvtXDZOs

I drink mostly water, workout and I've been drinking green smoothies since mid July. I normally have them reinstalled after 2 -3 weeks but this last time I had them reinstalled after only a few days due to a work trip. I had my hair trimmed, twice, in May due to suspected heat damage from a blow out so I'm hoping to at least see 3.5 inches of growth by December. My goal is BSL.

I've hovered around APL for years because I refused to protective style for extensive periods of time. My go to style was always a twist out or wash & go.

Havana twists are working well for me. I spray them with my braid spray/hair strengthener combo daily and wash them every week or two.

Thank you. You have beautiful hair and your shrinkage is outrageous. The before and after of your BKT treatment looked like two different heads of hair!

 

[naturalmanenyc]

Gr8ness83;20457131

Crazy, right! My hair shrinks like 50%. A coworker (White male) asked me last week how I get my hair to do those things. He's seen me with a shrunken wash & go and now long twists. He may think the twists are my real hair though.

Thank you. You have beautiful hair and your shrinkage is outrageous. The before and after of your BKT treatment looked like two different heads of hair!

 

[MzSwift]

PSing was my savior!! I alternated between extension braids/twists and wigs so that I wouldn't get bored with one style. Iwould rock each style for 3-4 weeks at a time. It was cool b/c I did my hair myself so my extensions were cheap (using $1 kanekalon hair) and I rocked synthetic pixie cut wigs purchased online.

I PS'd like that from 2009-2012 and saw great results - certainly not on PREmedicalz's level or anything, LoL, but good for me. I've never had long hair and PSing helped me go from ceasar cut bald in 2009 to BSB in 2012. Then when I felt my hair was long enough, I ditched the wigs/extensions and rocked mini braids back to back through 2013 for about 3-4 weeks at a time.


June 2009

April 2013

 

[bajandoc86]

tiffers which wigs do you rock? I am thinking that while doing this residency programme I need to seriously PS. I don't do ish with my hair these days, and I really got setback since July last yr cause I did not have any time or energy to devote to caring for my hair.

Only the last month I have been doing a wig regimen…but without the wigs. LOL. I kept my hair in medium sized braids, under my satin cap + op theatre scrub cap( when I head to work). I STAY under a cap 24/7. And my hair feels so nice and moisturised…she likes being left alone.

So…I want to get a wig or two, preferably kinky textured wig.

 

[tiffers]

tiffers which wigs do you rock? I am thinking that while doing this residency programme I need to seriously PS. I don't do ish with my hair these days, and I really got setback since July last yr cause I did not have any time or energy to devote to caring for my hair.

Only the last month I have been doing a wig regimen…but without the wigs. LOL. I kept my hair in medium sized braids, under my satin cap + op theatre scrub cap( when I head to work). I STAY under a cap 24/7. And my hair feels so nice and moisturised…she likes being left alone.

So…I want to get a wig or two, preferably kinky textured wig.

Tooooo funny bajandoc86!

I wear my lovely lover, La Jay I've looked at other wigs, but I just can't part from La Jay. I get her from Amazon for about $20-25.

 

[bajandoc86]

tiffers Thank you luv!

Our hair type looks VERY similar…so Imma head over to your update thread to see what yur reggie was like. My head has mostly fine strands…except the ones are the crown which are thick strands, but behave cray cray. No curl pattern there whatsoever and it frizzes like crazy.

 

[havilland]

I think if you have a hard core goal, ps is the way to go.

I grew out my bonelaxed hair in a year with ps.

I grew out damage in a year with ps.

I transitioned in two years with ps and NO big chop. Preserved my length and didn't have to big chop


It takes dedication. But if you stay focused on your goal and not "being cute", ps is the way to go.

I wore a weave or bun for a year (or two when transitioning to natural) in all my protective style phases. Yes. It's boring. Yes. You get sick of it. YES. IT'S WORTH IT.

 

[tiffers]

bajandoc86 #jealous Lemme get some of those thick strands. Share the thickness love.

 

[JosieLynn]

I ps'd for a year and it helped my hair tons. I got to BSL finally after seeming to hit a rut. Ended up getting like 3 in cut last December and growing it back in half the time, so I'm going to try and PS for another year hopefully, to reach waist length soon

 

[Eiano]

That was 2 1/2 years I believe.
Underneath my hair was in little box plaits. I washed/DC/light protein treatment every 2 weeks at the time I think. Sometimes DC every week. Just depends. Wigs can be drying so I had to soak my hair in moisturizer before plaitting. That's why I needed the light protein treatment so often.

What are some good wigs to use?
I've been wearing a weave but I'm worried about my edges.
What made you choose wigs over weaves?

 

[Stormy]

Great thread!! @Gr8ness83

Yes, I'm FINALLY getting results! I started with a shaved head like
MzSwift (my hair idol). Once I got to CL/SL my hair seemed to be stuck in a rut. I swear I saw NO growth for a good 8 months or so. And I thought I was PSing long term. I'd wear my little two-stranded twists or cornrows off and on like one to two months on, two months off, but I don't think I was doing it right. I guess I should also mention that I'm going through perimenopause which may have something to do with it.

Finally in March of this year I decided to do my PSing back-to-back and when I did a length check this month I saw more length (I'm edging past the shoulder now) and a lot of thickness that I never saw before! A lot of stubborn layers grew longer too. This time I only left my hair out for a week. It's twisted back up now and I plan to keep doing this at least until next summer. I'm gonna look for this thread again when I reach my goal of APL and post pics.

If things keep going well I may just shoot for BSL.

 

[ronie]

I ve been refusing to long term PS, but I realized that it is the only thing missing from my regimen to reach my goal. I'm currently wearing my first PS (Havana twists), and I was thinking of removing them this week (less than 3 week old). This thread is giving me the motivation to keep them in another 2 weeks and keep PSing as I promised myself to.

 

[Sosa]

I protective style...I guess. I twist my hair up in medium-sized twists and rock a bun with it during the day, satin scarf at night. I think I retain better like this. But my bun gets heavy when it is moisturized (I am natural 4a/b bsl-mbl) and was starting to thin my edges. So now I do a couple flattwists at the front then twist the rest.

To be honest, it's more of not wanting to deal with my hair on a daily basis than protective style. Protective style is so easy, and is best for the...erm..lazy folks like me. .

I need to find nice styles and be more creative tho. If I have an event, I flat iron because I don't know how else to do something cute/pretty .

 

[greenandchic]

PSing preserves my hair from weather and clothing. I am a low average grower so retention is key for me.

My biggest challenge is being more creative with my styles. Buns do get dull after a while (and I only wear my hair out 1-4 days out of the year).

 

[lux10023]

i too wear wigsss---and the progress has been great--bald head to apl 2.5 yrs...my only issue is my hair line--its at a 8 outta 10....i baby it and castor oil it up and its fine but it could be a 10...anyhoooo PS is the way to go as my hair likes to be left alone...when i get to bsl i will wear my hair out but you have to stay committed to PS if you want the growth

once you find 1-3 styles that you can rotate proactively you'll be fine....you have to also understand your moisture and protein balance and please detangle thoroughlyyy--i think ppl can lose all of their growth and healthy hair from a bad detangling session...wheww!!!