Long hair without protective styles!? (type 4 video)

[blackgothicdoll]

https://youtu.be/fiDo009Pf1U

Is she a unicorn or is this possible?

My hypothesis is the amount of gel she uses shields her hair from friction from her clothing. I do agree with her keeping her hair stretched though, that's very important.

[lapushka]

I've seen more of these vids. Amber Ansah does wash and goes a lot as well and she's a tighter curl pattern as well. There's PowerInYourCurl, there's lots of people if you search on wash n go.

[blackgothicdoll]

I've seen more of these vids. Amber Ansah does wash and goes a lot as well and she's a tighter curl pattern as well. There's PowerInYourCurl, there's lots of people if you search on wash n go.

I've never been impressed with the length of people who do only wash-and-goes though. I think PowerInYourCurl recently cut from TBL to MBL? So I couldn't use her as an example either. Also I'm pretty sure she kept her hair bunned most of the time when she was most successful with retaining length. But this girl has hair almost to her thigh so...that's pretty impressive IMO. I've only seen three other type 4s with hair that long: 22nd Century Natural, the one girl who keeps her hair in twists all the day (so sorry I forget her name!) and HerLucidSky who's on Fotki but not YouTube. Her hair is close to knee, and she wears braidouts but still wears buns a lot too.

[JennGalt]

Indigenous Strandz is a type 4 at ~FTL (she’s past classic at any rate). She recently did a twist out, but her preferred style is twists.

[blackgothicdoll]

Indigenous Strandz is a type 4 at ~FTL (she’s past classic at any rate). She recently did a twist out, but her preferred style is twists.

Thanks, that's who I was thinking of. She was giving me anxiety from that twistout at the end of two weeks, I was really afraid she'd cause damage and tangles. Twists seem to really work best for her.

[Ylva]

I'm definitely not a type 4, but I got this hair without any protective styles, just loose and most of all a plain English braid:

https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=32990&d=1534022862

I did WC and WCC. No leave-ins. Also, my hair was bleach damaged as well, so I imagine it would have looked better being fully virgin. I hadn't had a haircut for about 5 months at that point.

[JennGalt]

That is encouraging and very beautiful, Ylva :) I worry if I leave my hair down. Like a few days ago: I took my hair down due to a headache and put it back up soon after. Of course, in the short time it was down, my dog tried to lick it, it got caught under my elbow, and my husband made several attempts to massage my neck through it; so perhaps I wasn’t being paranoid :lol:

Lydia Tefera is 3c/4a according to her. She was HL stretched at her last length check video, but I can’t recall how long ago that was. She mostly does wash and goes, which shrink up to SL-CBL.

[lapushka]

Lydia Tefera is 3c/4a according to her. She was HL stretched at her last length check video, but I can’t recall how long ago that was. She mostly does wash and goes, which shrink up to SL-CBL.

I love to watch that girl; been a while since she last posted. I'll have to check my feed. :)

Gorgeous curl pattern and her curls are so buttery soft every time.

I just watched this, it is a twist out, but it's the Pantene Gold series and it looks darn promising; didn't want to keep it from you. In fact it popped up late last night, needed to share!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6NJ_rnJo2M&t=0s

[LadyCelestina]

I think a lot of it is the shrinkage. I'm not very knowledgeable about type 4 hair, so forgive me if I'm wrong. Just from my experience, I only seriously felt a need to wear my hair up at around BCL stretched - hip unstretched. That's when it started to tangle and damage, if worn down.

Obviously the ends of her hair are old, but if shrinkage brings her to BSL or WL, there's less opportunities for mechanical damage, vs. if it were worn down when straight at midthigh. Not sure if I make sense?

[lapushka]

This just popped up on my feed. Wash n go on tightly coily hair. It is quite short, though.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PHwPYRJl3s

But I just *love* the way she uses regular products!

[lithostoic]

Some people just have really strong hair!

[H o n є y ❤]

I'm sure you can. You would need to minimize ssks & tangles as much as you can and definitely definitely get those trims. And for some people, wash n goes provides the optimal amount of moisture.

[JennGalt]

I think a lot of it is the shrinkage. I'm not very knowledgeable about type 4 hair, so forgive me if I'm wrong. Just from my experience, I only seriously felt a need to wear my hair up at around BCL stretched - hip unstretched. That's when it started to tangle and damage, if worn down.

Obviously the ends of her hair are old, but if shrinkage brings her to BSL or WL, there's less opportunities for mechanical damage, vs. if it were worn down when straight at midthigh. Not sure if I make sense?

Many type 4s need to wear their hair in some sort of protective style all the time simply because there is more risk of tangling, matting, and ssks than there is with a looser curl pattern. Depending on the person and the hair goals, anything longer than a TWA might require keeping the hair stretched and protected. I’ve got two sections of type 4 hair behind my ears that wouldn’t get any longer than SL until I found a way to keep them stretched without a flatiron. My more tightly textured hair needed to be put up long before the looser textures did, but since most of my textures are mixed together throughout my head (and because varying shrinkage looks ragged) I just keep it all somewhat stretched and bunned. I’ve also noticed my loosest texture (the wavy wurly stuff mostly at my nape) is by far the most resistant to damage, which makes me think people with tighter textures might need to worry about mechanical damage sooner than others.

(I don’t recommend having a variety of hair textures. It’s a pain.)

[LadyCelestina]

Many type 4s need to wear their hair in some sort of protective style all the time simply because there is more risk of tangling, matting, and ssks than there is with a looser curl pattern. Depending on the person and the hair goals, anything longer than a TWA might require keeping the hair stretched and protected. I’ve got two sections of type 4 hair behind my ears that wouldn’t get any longer than SL until I found a way to keep them stretched without a flatiron. My more tightly textured hair needed to be put up long before the looser textures did, but since most of my textures are mixed together throughout my head (and because varying shrinkage looks ragged) I just keep it all somewhat stretched and bunned. I’ve also noticed my loosest texture (the wavy wurly stuff mostly at my nape) is by far the most resistant to damage, which makes me think people with tighter textures might need to worry about mechanical damage sooner than others.

(I don’t recommend having a variety of hair textures. It’s a pain.)

Makes sense, thanks for explaining. She did say that she wears it stretched, so it's likely a combination of things + having somewhat resilient or non-tangley hair in the first place.

[AutobotsAttack]

I really think it has nothing to do with the specific type of protective style, wether or not people do them. It comes down to manipulation, and how much of it you subject your hair two. Earthly Ram in the video handles her hair almost identically to Indigenous Strandz, and I handle my hair very similarly to theirs. Both of those Youtubers rarely let a comb or brush touch their hair. They both separate with their hands in a downward motion, as do I. And from the looks of it, they both have somewhat fine textured hair, regardless of what type it is. And I think that’s the real key to them retaining longer lengths.

Amber Anash and Ebony’s Curly TV, while they use hair tools like combs or brushes, they too have a certain frequency concerning how much manipulation they subject their hair to. And it seems to be on the low side.

Only reason I don’t agree with Earthly Ram in the video is due to the fact that there’s women with Afro textured hair who have completely opposite regimens with hair longer than hers. Yes, the frequent washing ensures maximum moisture levels, but it’s the manipulation that also greatly determines how much of that growth will stay intact and be retained.

It all boils down to technique. Technique, Technique, Technique.

[meteor]

I had long hair with and without protective styling, the latter being easier (though it does take some time to figure out and some tools), since my hair is very thick and tangle-prone. I think protective styling helps manage hair in situations like sports, etc, where containment is helpful for reducing tangles and the risk of hair catching on things.
Also, once hair is in a protective style, I don't have to touch it with any products or combs, which I really like - saves time and energy. :)