by
Chinwe
By Chinwe (pictured above) of Hair and Health
What do Cipriana, Francheska, Geniece and most other long-haired naturals have in common when it comes to regimens? Well, it is no secret that protective styling, low manipulation, minimum heat usage, and washing in sections are generally a must. But what other components of our regimens have helped us to achieve long, healthy hair? Here are four that are generally overlooked:
When it comes to washing our hair, we either do an oil/conditioner treatment prior to shampooing (i.e., pre-poo) or we use conditioner as a shampoo substitute (i.e., co-wash). Why? Because pre-pooing and co-washing help us to avoid the drying effects of shampoo, which can lead to brittle, breaking hair. Additionally, certain pre-poo treatments, like coconut oil, can strengthen the hair and minimize hygral fatigue (i.e., stress on the hair due to water uptake and eventual evaporation). Those of us who do use shampoos generally go for sulfate-free ones, which can further decrease any drying effects. However, even with sulfate-free shampoos, many of us still pre-poo for added protection.
Many long-haired naturals go a year (yes, a year) between trims while a few go six months at the minimum. Some long-haired naturals do not trim at all and just “dust” or do a “search and destroy”. A “dust” involves trimming ¼ inch or less off the ends. Doing a “search and destroy” involves only trimming those strands that have visible split ends. What is the bottom line? Generally, we only trim when our hair absolutely needs it AND we keep our hair fairly healthy so that it does not need one often.
When it comes to staple products, we generally love oils and conditioners, and they do not have to be fancy, expensive brands either! Conditioners help to reduce dryness and breakage. Oils either replenish or seal in moisture, depending on the type. Additionally, oils help to minimize knots and tangles, which can be death to our length retention. Some of us long-haired naturals also love to add oils to our conditioners to provide extra slip for detangling.
When it comes to detangling, we generally use our fingers and/or a wide-tooth, seamless comb. Those of us who use combs usually do so on conditioner-soaked hair and with the K-cutter or a bone (or resin) comb to avoid snagging and ripping. Those of us who finger detangle do so on wet or dry, lubricated hair depending on what works for us. Whether we detangle with our fingers or a wide-tooth, seamless comb depends heavily on our hair texture, density, type, and styling process. What about the brush and thin-tooth comb? Many of us steer clear of them.
Though these are the more common techniques of healthy, long-haired naturals, you will find that a few of us stray from these basics. Ultimately, what works for one individual may not work for another, so learn what works for YOU! Hopefully this can be a guide, but most importantly, keep in mind these three concepts:
Less is more! Keep it simple! And leave your hair alone!
Ladies, what have been your experiences with these practices? Do you have any more to share?
90 Responses
I do all these things and I’m not natural
Yup that’s it! & this has worked all of my 27 yrs of living. I have never had a perm to date???? love my Parents for that but I don’t really trim as recommended. On avg maybe once every 2 years is my method (BSL /avg 14.5 inches).
Now tell us something we don’t know please……
“Lesser known?”
http://onelittleblackdress.com
Michelle@RadiantBrownBeauty,
We have an almost IDENTICAL hair regimen. I shampoo my hair every other week (typically twice per month) and alternate it with co-wash in between (also twice a month). I am a fan of Shea Moisture Restorative shampoo and condition. I colored my hair so it is great for maintaining my moisture, shine, and luster. My hair is also cut in layers (LOL). However, I love them when straight but not so much when my hair is natura (curly) because it looks short in the front. I am pleased to say I regularly follow all of these steps :).
I have to say I buck the co-washing only regimen. I don’t feel it gets the scalp as clean. now that’s not to say that I would use shampoo with sulfates. I alternate shampoo and co-washing weekly to ensure I get my scalp clean. Otherwise, it itches. Shea Moisture Raw Shea shampoo is my shampoo of choice and I alternate it with As I Am Cowash.
Now to grow out these darn layers. I hate them when I straighten my hair annually. They’re only becoming to me when my hair is in it’s naturally curly state.
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I do all of those. I’m between BSL and MBL(if not already there) and I think the most important of those is pre-pooing, finger detangling, and dusting. I hardly ever trim but I dust a lot because SSKs are still a battle for me. I’ve miraculously achieved length but I still struggle with breakage, even while adhering to all of those. What my journey has shown me so far is that I must continually assess the health of my hair periodically.
I mean stepping back and thinking about how my hair has been fairing, why, and what the next game plan is.
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I just realized this is a recycled post, but still worthy of reading. I’ve had the best luck with this regimen”
1. Prepoo w/deep conditioning treatment mixed with various oils under my steamer each week.
2. Detangle with wide tooth comb and twisting hair in sections prior to washing.
3. Minimal heat and if I do use heat, I use the Moptop Maven method to blowdry my hair.
4. I trim once a year.
5. I wear my hair in twists under a wig ALL winter and since I’m in Michigan, that can be for 6 months. But, I do wash and retwist every week.
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And the use of curl activator might be #5. LoL! Lots of us use old school curl activator aka jheri curl juice! It’s mostly water, aloe and glycerin. And moisturizes and defines curls like nobody’s business. 🙂
I do a dc with an oil mix, shea butter, honey, and sometimes egg. Leave on for 30min-hour, and then wash with my african black soap. I finger detangle and sometimes use a denman? brush while my hair is wet. I havnt had a trim since i let my hair back out in jan and im still kinda confused on how to dust…i saw someone twist their hair and trim the hairs sticking out the twist but is that a good way to do it? Im shoulder length striving for butt length.
I know some naturals are wholly against brushing the hair. But I think brushing has helped my 4b daughter’s hair greatly with length retention. My youngest daughter has bra-strap length hair stretched and she started from a boy short haircut because she had her locs cut off.
Her regimen:
I only brush my daughter’s roots – not through the length of her hair on a daily basis. I only comb on wash day. Her grandmother brushes her natural hair regularly and has hair that naturally rests a little bit below bra-strap unstretched. She told me that her mother taught her to do that because there are pockets of oil in the scalp. Don’t know if that’s scientifically true. Just quoting what she said and it seems to be working for her.
I only comb her hair with a wide-tooth when I shampoo it which is twice a month. Unless she’s been swimming in chlorinated water, I don’t see the need to shampoo more than that. I pre-poo with Aubrey Organics and coconut oil.
I shampoo with whatever sulfate-free shampoo is on sale or whatever I can find a coupon for. Apply conditioner, detangle while her hair is wet with water and conditioner. Rinse out conditioner. Allow to air dry.
I style her hair after shampooing and she keeps that style for at least two weeks.
I mist her hair with water only on a daily basis – no products. Sometimes I use gel on her edges but not often. I moisturize with a leave-in conditioner, a cheapie conditioner, and coconut oil only once a week to avoid product build-up.
Good information here ! My 4a hair isn’t long yet; just about mid neck length if stretched out. I follow all of these practices: I’ve been using WEN Fig since June as a co wash/shampoo but sometimes,to save $$ I will co wash with Trader Joe’s Moisturizing condish…that stuff’s DA BOMB ! Has plenty of slip for easy detangling… & I might add a little baking soda if there’s buildup.I also prepoo with EVCO,ayurvedic oils,or other oils: jojoba, JBCO, avocado,etc.I’ve been doing trims & dusting to get rid of scab hair & now it’s all gone so no more dusting for a long time. For detangling I use a Tangle Teezer, Magic Star Rake, & Ouided Double Detangler. I’ve been using KinkyCurly & Knot Today as my summer staple for past 2 years &
used QhemetBiologics for fall & winter So far so good & I’ve had a lot of growth this summer. Hardly have any breakage on wash day.
While my hair isn’t long, it’s long for me. For most of my life, I could grow about a three inch natural — it would never grow beyond that. And as with most AA women of my generation, I abused my hair with relaxers, texturizers and hair coloring. Two years ago, I learned about co-washing, and I’ve been doing it ever since. Right now, my hair is a little longer than shoulder length. Even with that, I suffered quite a bit of hair loss — from the scalp, but no breakage. This has worried me to no end. I regularly condition, use my own hair butter concoction (which I credit my length to) and do not comb my hair much. When not “out” I wear protective styles. Still, I had a lot of hair loss…that is until Garnier Fructis came out with Fall Fight.
It works! Where I would get about 100-200 strand losses with co-washing I now lose only 20 or fewer strands! Using the Fall Fight spray has also minimized loss between cowashes. My hair feels and looks thicker and much healthier.
Don’t get me wrong — I still like to use other conditioners (and I have a drugstore full in my hair closet), my finishing conditioning rinse is the Fall Fight. I intend to stock up just in case lol
Thanks for the hair tips — I love reading the articles and the comments. Peace!
I thought I was the only one who didnt trim my ends so much!!! I do all these!!!! 🙂 and I LOVE CO- WASHING!!!! Thanks for sharing!
+100
I agree 120% with this article!
I always do a pre-shampoo treatments with conditioner/oil before cleansing my hair, I dust my ends about every 3 – 4 months, I finger-detangle exclusively and I use oils for haircare [coconut oil for pre-poos | castor oil for sealing and pre-poos].
I would like to add two more practices — detangling hair before shampooing and washing in two-strand twisted sections. These practices reduce breakage and thus help retain length.
I must say I am very thankful for you gals!!! <3 on my way to my hair goals by going back to basics<3
I love this post, and soooo agree with everything that was written, in fact using these methods have made my hair grow the longest that it has ever been in my life! I thinking keeping ur hands out of hair, conditioning it alot! adding alot of water-which in the summer time I wet it almost every other day sometimes, and use sulfate free -shampoos and pre poo and bam-hair is down to BSL. My goal is to my hips. I admit I struggle with HIH syndrome, but I cover my hair due to religious reasons so that helps with my addiction, and I know longer have my hair dresser trim my hair, cause I feel like hairdressers, don’t know what that means. I now have my mother, dust my hair. So after all the you tubes, and products and advice out there about taking care of natural hair. This post pretty much keepi it’s simple and sums it up!!!
Yeah, I’m definitely going back to co-washing only. Sometimes I think moisturizing shampoos are a myth.
All of these are key points to reaching my hair length goal. My hair almost seems to smile at me after I prepoo/ finger detangle with coconut oil, cowash (using either Tresseme Naturals, Trader Joe’s Tingle Tree, or Suave Tropical Coconut), and deep condition with As I Am deep conditioner. I use Kimmaytube, leave-in recipe and viola!! :-). I am definitely going to try more protective styles with my natural hair to see if it makes a difference. I’m a nail tech and I work at a Salon with 13 stylist. There are only 3 I would let come close to my hair. Scratch that 2. I let one to a twist style on my hair and she did not listen to what I wanted and I came out looking like Snoop Dogg. #fail. Even my 13 yo said “ma, I know you not keeping that in your hair” and it was out with the quickness. However, NONE of them will come near me with scissors. Once hair is cut its cut no putting it back on the head so I will dust and search and destroy like usual and my ends are doing just fine. I have the Poetic Justice braids right now going on week 4 I’m missing my hair something terrible. Maybe another two weeks…. We shall see
I have mid-back length hair. Co-washing makes my hair very limp. As of yet, I can’t figure out why my hair doesn’t like co-washing. I have tried TRESemme Naturals Moisture Conditioner, Hello Hydration…etc. I really believe it’s the alochol.
What has helped me to save time and money by not using as much water is ….once a month on dry hair, I section wash my hair with a dye bottle that is filled with a shampoo (sulfate-free) and a water spray bottle. First, with my water spray bottle, I spray water onto my scalp then apply the shampoo. Using the dye bottle filled w/ shampoo helps me to really get to the twisted sections of my scalp that are hard to reach. For a deep cleansing, I massage the shampoo into my scalp. Then once my entire scalp is covered w/ shampoo. I proceed to the shower to rinse out the shampoo. My hair strands are able to get clean as the shampoo runs down my hair strands.
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had i not had scissors in hair (sir) syndrome over the last year, i probably would have retained five inches of hair instead of four. lol.
One thing I’ve seen is that most naturals with long hair have a very good health routine; i.e. they take care of their bodies as well. Most long haired naturals I’ve come across have very healthy diets rich in nutrients and exercise consistently. This is almost just as important, if not more, as good hair products and practices IMO.
So true!!!!
I think it was Plato who wrote we learn by doing . No how-to books, writing coruess and workshops can match the value of just putting pen to paper every day, writing with discipline and perseverance in defiance of all the world’s muteness (Nabokov). Good luck to you and write on
Either that, or you could bite the bullet and dust your hair yourself. Naptural85 has a tutorial on YT on how to “trim” your hair, but essentially she is dusting it. I follow that procedure about every 6 months.
i co-wash my hair 2-3 times a week with Suave Naturals conditioner ($1.75 for a 22.5 ounce bottle) and use 100% natural unrefined African shea butter as my leave-in conditioner
i comb my hair with my fingers or a wide-tooth plastic comb ONLY when my hair is WET
i use alcohol-free protein styling gel (the dark brown gel)on my hair and spray water on it almost daily
i do NOT use heat or chemicals on my hair
my hair has been natural for only 17 months & it is already much longer than several people i know whose hair has been natural for 5+ years
also, i never cut/trim my hair
i basically just let my hair be free & grow & i keep it clean, moisturized & do the “wash-n-go” style 90% of the time
my hair is SUPER thick & so far it seems that i retain most (if not all) of my length
How do you you dust your hair especially the back? I recently had a trim and a whole lot of hair was cut , I don’t want to go through that again!
Hey Candice! When I get a “trim” I clearly explain to the stylist that I only want my hair/ends cleaned up. I ask them to show me in the mirror how much they plan on taking off before I allow them to trim. Also inform the stylist that you are “growing” out your hair and wear it “natural” most of the time. I always flat iron my hair before I get my ends clipped. I know this may sound crazy, but I only allow male stylist to clip my ends! LOL..Good luck next time:)
Anastasia, I had to laugh out loud on “but I only allow male stylist to clip my ends”. Women can be so unreasonable with one another sometimes. Personally, I wouldn’t trust anyone to trim my hair except me.
My comment below was meant for your question.
You should read the curly girl method book by lorraine maisey (may have spelled that wrong) in it she shows how to cut curly ends…
Yep! This is exactly what I do for my hair. Each of these pratices are essential for me. Yesterday, for the first time I was actually able to co-wash & install braids (for a braid-out) in about 4 hours, versus 6-8 hours believe it or not, lol.
So not only are these practices essential for hair maintainence(as far as decreasing SSKs, dryness, etc.), but they also save time.
So what is the best thing to do for sweating? I own a dance studio and I sweat almost everyday. I feel like my hair gets funky fast so it needs to be washed. Should I just co-wash it between washes? And how often is too often to wash/co-wash my hair? That may be why it is not growing!!!
Hi Dancin’ Mama
Just thought I’d throw my 2 cents in in hopes that it may help.
I run and/or spin 7 days a week and sweat a ton. For me, using a wide sweatband (either old school terry cloth or something like Lululemon’s band made with super absorbant material) during my workout then removing it and replacing it with a dry one right after and leaving it on for my hair to dry works.
I co wash twice weekly. I sometimes just rinse my hair with water and apply a leave-in if it is feeling like it needs it between co-washes. I use conditioners with water soluble products to avoid build-up, but someimes I do an apple cider vinegar rinse to ensure through cleansing without stripping.
My ends (the last 2-3 in of hair) always have a light coating of argan oil, no matter what.
My hair feels and smells clean, has no scalp issues and is retaining length and moisture very well from this regimen.
Keep moving!! HTH
Thanks! I recently bbought a bottle of that not so inexpensive argan oil but I have not used it much. I guess I need to start using it more. I was afraid I was rinsing/washing/co-washing too much. Do you mind sharing what kind of conditioner you use? I have started using redken smooth down butter treat because I can leave some on my hair and I noticed that it is not as dry.
i tend to wash my hair several times a week, and in my opinion so long as you’re not getting breakage it’s okay to do it as often as you wish.
I see no differences in hair length in women who use cheap vs expensive products. How well you care for your hair will aide length retention
Great post. Also have to remember no matter how steadfast you are in your regimen, you must have patience. It will take time whatever you do!
I have arm pit length natural hair (is that considered “long”?) and do all of these practices except for co-wash. I have issues with my scalp so I have to use a medicated shampoo on my scalp at least once a week. For my hair though, I use sulfate free shampoos and make sure to DC to combat the drying affects that the medicated shampoo may have.
I notices that a lot of the people who are product junkies and like to spend a ridiculous amount of money on the latest/greatest/expensive hair products usually have mediocre, short to medium length hair. I splurge from time to time, but I mainly use cheap stuff and my hair is thick, growing, moisturized, and looking good and I’m always getting compliments.
No.your hair is short
I have the same length almost BSL, but not quite yet and I do not consider my hair short mid length yes short no. I do not co wash simply because I have never nor will I ever leave my house with wet hair no matter the season.. this is how I was raised and it is what works for me. I keep it simple as well and actually now wash and DC every other week due to time and I am having good retention. So to each her own and you truly have to find what works for you and not judge your hair or your regimes based on others.
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Your comment about co-washing = leaving the house with wet hair tells me that you do not understand what co-washing is. It is simply washing the hair with conditioner/s only instead of shampoo. When that process is done you carry on as usual….whether drying, styling, twisting, combing etc. Hope that clarifies
I do totally understand, but most people that I know who co- wash also constantly wear w&g. So, yes it can be done and then dried, but that isnt what I normally see…..
I feel you! I’m not a wash and go naturalista either…can’t do it. I practiced co-washing but my life is too busy now to do this extra step so I section my hair, clip it with the butterfly clips and only cleanse my scalp. I deep condition afterwards. I do this every two weeks. I agree with Nubia, you have to do what works for you and as long as I deep condition I’m good to go.
I co-wash and I never do wash-n-gos. I just cowash once a week in place of shampooing.
APL is not short, stop it.
+1
Arm pit length is short????? Since when????
Oops, replied too soon hahahaha anyway, +2!!!!!
Lol, i think she was being sarcastic!
Some naturals become product junkies because they want to experiment and find products that work for them. And there are also people with long hair who have found their staple products but just want to try other products. Is that a crime?
not really but most of the women who frequent beauty supply stores have the most godawful hair. it’s an observation.
@goyta, now because of you, I will have to stalk the ladies shopping at Sallys.
I experience a lot of breakage when I wash my hair. Those SSKs get me before and after a wash and condition. So i’m gonna try and wash in sections. I can’t wrap my brain around prepooing. You’re producing more product buildup when the goal is to clean the hair from product buildup. idk. When I did try it, i didn’t notice anything better then when I didn’t do it. Maybe I need another concoction. being natural=mad (product) scientist…lol.
Prepooing works for me because my hair is extremely thirsty. I prepoo to protect my hair from the harsh effects of the shampoo. If I shampoo without prepooing then my hair tangles up a looot.
after a while preepooing does build up so what you can do is use a clrifying shampoo once a month or bimonthly….that way you can start fresh
The great thing about pre-pooing with coconut oil is that it has the ability to penetrate your hair shaft and help prevent hygral fatigue.
Check out the article, mad scientist 🙂
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11413497
I’m a natural who still shampoos, I use Dr. Bronners peppermint soap.
When I first started my transition, I co-washed but I cannot find the time anymore! The motto of “keep it simple and leave it alone” does not work for me because I have to twist my hair every other day or else I will look a hot mess!
A pre-poo that has worked really well for me goes as follows:
about 1/2 a cup of regular sour cream
2 or 3 tbsp. of your conditioner
2 or 3 tbsp. of honey
1 egg
2 or 3 tbsp. of whole milk
Leave it on your hair for 30 min. to an hour before you shampoo. It protects your hair from the shampooing process(if you use a sulfate shampoo) and leaves your hair very soft.
Thanks Jareca!
Like this post!
I agree with what these ladies are saying and doing.
I cowash 2x per week with cheapie condish, because I work out every day and don’t want sweat build up.
I DC once a week (prior to second cowash) and henna once a month.
I use pure argan oil (or a coconut/argan oil combo) on the ends after each cowash and application of a leave-in.
I dust my ends every 4-6 months to prevent knots and splits.
I use my fingers 80% of the time for ‘combing’.
I use no heat whatsoever.
I have seen the health of my hair improve significantly and length retention has been great. This process is very easy and my ends never feel dry.
Why do I feel like its hopeless to finger comb my hair? It’s 3c but gets really really tangled when I wake up so I wet my hair practically every day
Glad I’m doing three out of the four things (co-washing, finger detangling & using sulfate free conditioner and oil) bring on the long hair! 🙂
Using those cheap conditioners has always been a plus for me, I have never felt that I have to use expensive conditioners in order to achieve maximum results. Also the use of oils, recently I have noticed with the increase in using oils on my ends (castor oil or olive oil) my hair is now free from single strand knots.
Thank you!! I love them all, but I am just starting to build up a regimen and now I love to co-wash, but with what? I noticed that some cheap conditioners that some naturals use (Aussie, Dove) have alcohol in it and was curious as to what would work that doesn’t have any harsh chemicals in it. Right now, I’m using Africa’s Best Conditioner, can you recommend some quality conditioners that aren’t expensive?
There is a difference between the type of alcohols listed in ingredients. Some are drying but the ones used in conditioners are fatty alcohols which moisturizes the hair. For example, cetyl alcohol, stearyl alcohol etc. These are not harsh chemicals.
Have you tried Trader Joes Spa conditioner? The conditioners I use to co-wash: Giovanni Direct Leave-In, Aubry Organics,Trader Joes($2.99) and Shea Moisture Restorative. I pre-poo with %100 pure coconut oil and Shea Moisture’s anti breakage mask left on for 1/2 hour or more. I tried this once over night and my hair was like BUTTTAHH!After all is said and done, I go in with my BEE MINE products.
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Tresemme naturals.
I started with Suave Naturals now I use mostly V05 Moisture Milks less than a dollar at Wal-Mart.
I’m also someone with long, natural hair. I trim my hair about once a year mostly because I get split ends so soon after trimming that doing it everytime they show up seems futile (I have alot of hair but very thin strands). I have notices that my split ends reach a sort of equilibrium after a while lol. I wash once a week and put totally raw jamaican castor oil bought from the market in my hair for a couple of hourse before shampooing.
By the way, thanks for posting! 🙂
I wish this was posted months ago! Before, I was convinced my hair hated coconut oil and many other ingredients, and blamed them for drying my hair out. My hair absolutely loves coconut oil now that I FINALLY stopped washing it so much. Also, I’m already noticing some great results from doing a pre-poo after only starting a week ago. I’m also beginning to wonder if many think they are protein sensitive because their hair gets brittle when using a protein based conditioner after they SHAMPOO. Think about it, protein makes the hair stronger, so if this occurs after your hair has been stripped of its’ natural oil, it’s easy to think you are protein sensitive. My hair is 4C.
OOOh Michaelle, Thanks for that tip about protein. Makes so much sense.
Michaelle, I learned last year that protein should be followed with a moisturizing conditioner (I use a DC). Game changer. Now, I’m constantly trying to get those who think they are protein sensitive to try it again the right way if I suspect, based on their complaints, that they are over-conditioned. I just wonder why most protein conditioners/reconstructors don’t indicate that they should be followed by something moisturizing to restore suppleness!! Maybe fewer of us would think we were protein sensitive and avoid protein unnecessarily and to our hair’s detriment!!
Anywho, I also wanted to agree with all of these!! I follow all of the above techniques!!
1. I pre-poo every wash day with either Aubrey GPB or Honeysuckle Rose mixed with Vatika oil (up until about 4 months ago, I just used Vatika oil). I use a no-sulfate shampoo (DevaCare No Poo).
2. I do Search & Destroys on wash day. Generally, I only got my hair trimmed twice a year. But, I went 14 months this last go around. I got a small trim that wasn’t the best in April of this year and then had it fixed and got a real cut in June b/c I wanted the bad trim job fixed and layers around my face.
3. I love Herbal Essences Hello Hydration as my detangling and post henna conditioner and I can get a huge 1 L (33 oz.) bottle for about $6. I also love EVOO and JBCO, which aren’t bad. I don’t think spend more than $10 on any one staple/HG product anymore. I use a couple of DCs and conditioners that range from $12-$16, but not often.
4. Finger detangling all the way. I went about a year without using anything else. But, lately, I’ve been experimenting with a shampoo brush to do a final smoothing/detangling once I’m out of the shower have applied my leave-in with a finger detangle. I’m not doing it every wash day and I’ve only done it twice so far. I think I’ll reserve it for times when I’ve been getting knotted shed hair in the past wash days and want to make sure that I’m removing as much shed hair as possible. Or, if I’m trying to get a really smooth braid or twist out.
Shelli
(The pic is from this past Thursday. I don’t know the last time I used a brush, but I decided to use a paddle brush to brush out my hair which was very stretched from a braid-out that had frizzed up horribly in the humidity.)
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I’ll just point out about the last pic that it’s thinner at the bottom because I have layers and the crown is the curliest hair on my head, whereas the nape is almost straight :/. So, it shrinks at different rates and always gives an “interesting” rear view. *lol*
Shelli
Hairscapades, I agree with you 100%. My hair is looking so healthy now that I pree-poo and deep condition. Just like you said, so many naturals are probably not protein sensitive as they think.
Hairscapades,
Your hair is gorgeous. It looks very healthy, too.
Thank you Valeria!!
I thought I was the only one who didnt trim all the time. Whew glad to know im not the only one!
No problem Lindy!
Yes yes :-):-) i do all that..patiently waiting for length like a woman in wwII yearning for a lover to come back from war *sigh*
“O dear lover, how I yearn for thee..”
I absolutely love this reply 🙂
Lol.. I got carried away a bit 🙂
+1 🙂
MY SENTIMENTS EXACTLY!!!!
🙂
+2!
This sounds like my regimen. Cowashing with inexpensive conditioners, oils, detangling with wide tooth combs, and rarely trimming or dusting is my m.o. I used to trim more however since I rarely apply heat i’ts been more like every 6 months. I try to oil and truly take care of the ends of my hair. I also leave conditioner on my hair and make sure that the ends dry with conditioner as well. When I do go to get a flat iron the stylist rarely trims much off and my hair tends to maintain a healthy look and length. I’m not big on protective styling like twists and braids, however my hair has continued to grow with the above mentioned practices.
[img]https://bglh-marketplace.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/barbnaturallyspeakingingreeninset.jpg[/img]
Thank you for continuing the publication of this great site. You teach me, make me smile, and affirm the so-called unconventional beauty practices I was taught and practice such as the “4 Lesser-known Practices of Naturals with Long Hair.” Do tell, everybody!
Hey, hope you dont mind me asking, your name? Are you African?