Thanks for starting this thread OP!
Flowerhair I think we have identical hair. LOL! The texture and length, it looks exactly like mine. I do think you have about 4-5 inches on me though.
I wash my hair like Flowerhair. I just shampoo the scalp, I feel the same way she does in that when I rinse it can take care of the rest.
I currently LOVE HE long term relationship. For now once I am finished washing and conditioning my hair in the shower with light finger combing. I wring it out by hand then towel dry. After that I start at the ends with the HE leave-in treatment. I do a second application starting about halfway up the shafts and down over the ends again. I also use a little at the top of the hair shafts all the way back down to the tips.
After that I use hair grease, either Ultra Sheen or Silk Effects ONLY. I again go over my ends. Then again from midway back over the ends and a little bit on top. I do not like anything on my scalp, but I am willing to try some Indian oils in the near future.
When I color my hair to get rid of white hairs I saturate more grease in it than normal and keep it braided for a few days, it always comes out really soft, but much much straighter. My hair does not hold the curls well unless its the same exact day I washed my hair.
I do not wash often. I go as long as possible, 7-10 days usually. I even tried waterless shampoo but it was a bust. As long as I apply some leave-in and hair grease everyday my hair is fine. I am a bit obsessed with hair grease. I feel like all my hair will break off if I don't use it. I also don't like the volume it gets when I don't use it.
I want to do a henna rinse but have not received it in the mail yet. I am attracted to the premonition that it makes the strands stronger. I recently started some basic hair vitamins and amino acid pills, I'm trying to get past a hump I seemed to have reached and its working. I have about 2-3 inches to hit tail-bone right now.
I always air dry. I do not own a hairdryer. In fact I thought about getting one to straighten my hair easier with the flatiron and three times I took the blow-dryers back. I haven't touched the flat iron either in a few weeks. If the henna / coconut / lime juice thing works I will NEVER touch one again. I never straightened it bone straight anyway, I like big waves.
It's tuff to do roller sets due to length. But when I did straighten it I would get the ends into big rollers at least and some of these side layers I had cut but am now growing out.