Skip to main content

Dear 1BlessedNatural: My Hair is Still Not Growing After Protective Styling





Q: Dear 1BlessedNatural, 

I wear protective styles, but my natural hair is still not growing. What could I be doing wrong?
 
A: It is a popular misconception that if you wear your hair in protective styles, it will automatically grow. While, part of that is true...It will grow, but you might not retain length if you don't take care of your hair. You have to care for it before, during, and after protective styling.

Before you install a protective style, be sure your hair is in good condition . Ask yourself these questions:

1. Are my ends healthy? If they are damaged, you may need to trim them before installing a protective style. An exception to this rule would be if you trim your hair while it is in twists, like I do.


2. Is my hair dry? I like to wash, deep condition, moisturize, and seal (with an oil) my hair before installing any protective style. 

3. How long will I keep my protective style? It is a good idea to take breaks between styles to let your hair and scalp rest. I don't like to keep my styles in for longer than 1 1/2 months. 

When I wear individual braids with extensions, I spray my hair with a braid spray almost daily. I also wash and deep condition it every 2 weeks.

It is very important to keep your hair moisturized when you are doing braids, twists, or faux locs, especially when there is hair added. I've used both human and synthetic hair for braids, and synthetic hair can be a lot harsher on your strands and cause them to dry out. If you're wearing an updo, you can mix water, moisturizer, and an oil in a spray bottle and apply it to your hair.

If you are wearing braids or twists, apply a conditioner to them after washing. You can also apply a leave-in conditioner, moisturizer, and light oil (with your fingers). Start doing this, and you should see a big difference in your hair. Give your hair some TLC after you remove your protective style as well.

Also, please remember the average person loses about 100 strands or more per day. When your hair is in a protective, there is no place for the loose hair to go. Because of this, you may see a large amount of hair when you're combing for the first time after removing your protective style. Many people are alarmed by this, but you can check one thing. If the strands are the length of your hair, then it is probably due to shedding. If the hair is in tiny short pieces, you could be experiencing breakage.


If you have a question about natural hair, send it to 1BlessedNatural[at]gmail[dot]com. Please type Dear 1BlessedNatural in the subject line. 


Related Articles: Poetic Justice Inspired Braids: Bun Maintenance
                            After Protective Styling for a Long Period of Time
                            Protective Styling Break: Puff with Bang Style 

Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Aborigines and Melanesians: Naturally Blonde Hair and Dark Skin

Melanesia: Solomon Island girls (photo courtesy of the -cropped-Flickr- Australian Civil-Military Centre http://www.acmc.gov.au/ ) Naturally blonde hair is often associated with white or Caucasian people. However, there are groups of dark skin people who have naturally blonde hair also. Some of these groups include the Aboriginal Australians (Aborigines) and the Melanesians. I love this fact because it goes against the idea that one group or culture must look a certain way or stay in a certain category.  The Aborigines have dark skin. Some of them also have blonde hair which tends to be straight, but can be curly. Scientists first believed they were descendants of Eurasians. In 2011, scientists found evidence against the theory from a sample of natural hair. The sample of hair, which was said to be more than 100 years old, helped scientists determine that Aborigines were descendants of Africans. The New York Times confirmed this finding: "The Abo...
Read more

Sheryl Underwood Wears Natural Hair and Apologizes on The Talk

1BlessedNatural: Sheryl Underwood Wears Natural Hair and Apologizes on The Talk (photo cred: CBS/The Talk) Yesterday, comedian and talk show host, Sheryl Underwood wore her natural hair onstage of the talk show, The Talk. She received a round of applause, and Sharon Osbourne commented that her Teenie Weenie Afro (TWA) was gorgeous. Underwood explained to her fellow co-hosts and audience that she'd done something wrong 2 years ago when she spoke against the actions of Heidi Klum for keeping her sons' Afro hair in a bag as a keepsake. She said the hair was "nasty." Underwood received backlash for her words, especially from the Black community. They were viewed as examples of self-hatred among other things. On Monday's episode of The Talk Sheryl Underwood apologized a second time for her 2013 statement by saying this: I made some statements that were not only wrong, they hurt our community. When I say, "our community," I mean Black ...
Read more

Priscilla Shirer Shares Her Natural Hair Story and Tips on IG Live!

Actress and minister of Going Beyond Ministries Priscilla Shirer shared her natural hair story and secrets on IG Live today. After receiving numerous questions about her long thick natural hair, she decided it was time to do a video. Shirer said, "I've decided that sometimes, to a woman, hair = ministry." Shirer started getting a perm at about 13 years old. During previous years, her mother would use the hot comb to straighten her hair. When Shirer was 24 years old, she noticed a circular patch of hair that had broken off on the side of her head. After she visited a doctor and they plucked a few strands from different parts of her hair, the doctor concluded that Shirer's hair was growing in healthy. However, it was something that she was doing to her hair that was making it break off. As a result, her doctor told her to stop relaxing her hair for 6 months. While driving home, Shirer had a breakthrough. She originally had no intention of following the doctor...
Read more