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View Full Version : Curly and Wurly hair growth help....



hazelnut
April 16th, 2010, 08:43 PM
Hey guys,
I haven't written anything on these boards in almost 2 months. But I do have a bit of an issue right now.

So today is my weekly wash day. First I oil my hair using either Amla or Coconut oil, let that sit for about 2-3 hours (sometimes overnight), I rinse that out in the shower, use my shampoo bar from Chagrin Valley, rinse, use my Aussie conditioner, rinse, put more conditioner in, comb with my Denman brush and then I'm done. I've been doing this for a little bit over a year now and it's been good up until a few months ago (December). I haven't noticed much hair growth at all and my mother hasn't either. She's getting a tad bit worried about my hair and it's lack of growth, and I'm getting both worried and agitated. I really want to cut this damaged hair off but 1.) it's not long enough and 2.) I don't know where the healthy part stops and the damage begins. :(

I really am at my wits end and I'm thinking about going back to the dreaded flatiron that caused all this unnecessary crap in the first place. I want to see what my curls look and feel like. And I want to grow them to my maximum potential. My mom's family is able to grow long hair and my dad's side (except for his father's side).

I guess what I'm asking is for you guys to please please please help me with my routine. All I want is for my hair to grow. I'll change my entire routine and diet if I have to. Just please help me out here.

Flynn
April 16th, 2010, 09:23 PM
Do you measure?

Are you looking for growth when it's natural and curly?

hazelnut
April 16th, 2010, 09:27 PM
i'm looking for hair growth when it's natural and curly.

Flynn
April 16th, 2010, 09:29 PM
If you're also not stretching and measuring it, is it possible that, with your very curly hair, any actual growth is not showing up when it's natural due to so-called shrinkage?

Copasetic
April 16th, 2010, 09:40 PM
I agree with Flynn. Your hair probably is growing, you just can't see it well. Maybe try measuring your hair when it is stretched once a month.

Athena's Owl
April 16th, 2010, 10:53 PM
your hair is still growing. I just doesn't look longer.

trust me. I went two years looking like my hair hadn't grown much at all, but it *did* steadily get longer. then suddenly, it "dropped." and started looking longer.

today, one day after wash day, my hair looks like it's still almost waist length, but stretched it's nearly classic.

Dreams_in_Pink
April 17th, 2010, 03:04 AM
I know how you feel!! I also feel like my hair isn't growing at all (although i'm slightly wurly) Next time i wash, before i start drying my hair, i'll comb hair back and measure it dripping wet. I think that can give us a better idea about how our hair grew :(

Heidi_234
April 17th, 2010, 04:25 AM
today, one day after wash day, my hair looks like it's still almost waist length, but stretched it's nearly classic.
Argh you're 39" and only waist when naturally curly? That's somewhat disheartening. :no: The bulk of my hair is about midback now when it's curly, and all I want is to have it solidly at hip length curly (and classic when more relaxed).

GlassEyes
April 17th, 2010, 07:39 AM
Welcome to the world of a 3b/c. It happens. :(

However, If you do have damage, you might want to start slowly doing micro trims, depending on how bad it is. I know you probably don't want to lose length, but this way you can slowly rid yourself of it and feel like you aren't.

Also, shampoo bars might not help. They're not actually as gentle as they seem. They're very base where hair is alkaline, and they lift the cuticle--ESPECIALLY bad for curly hair since it lacks one of the barriers that straight and wavy hair has. It might even do it more than SLS, since at least that's an acidic compound, if I remember correctly.

I know from my experience with them that they were hell...though they did make my hair REALLY shiny. But your mileage may vary. There's an article or two on shampoo bars and curly hair on NC. I can look them up for you if you like?

elina333
April 17th, 2010, 07:44 AM
Put your hands up and STEP AWAY FROM THE FLATIRON! :D

Patience, patience, patience... Also, are you sleeping on a satin pillowcase? That has helped me tremendously.

Good luck and happy growing! :pegasus:

nmarie33
April 17th, 2010, 08:28 AM
I'll bet in a few months you'll have enough hair to weigh down your curls and make them loosen up a little...then you might see some more length. Stretch your hair when you measure! All of us curly/wavy people feel your pain, it takes so much longer to make progress. I'm still waiting on curly waist even though I'm solidly there stretched. Seems more like BSL when curly. :(

hazelnut
April 17th, 2010, 01:36 PM
Welcome to the world of a 3b/c. It happens. :(

However, If you do have damage, you might want to start slowly doing micro trims, depending on how bad it is. I know you probably don't want to lose length, but this way you can slowly rid yourself of it and feel like you aren't.

Also, shampoo bars might not help. They're not actually as gentle as they seem. They're very base where hair is alkaline, and they lift the cuticle--ESPECIALLY bad for curly hair since it lacks one of the barriers that straight and wavy hair has. It might even do it more than SLS, since at least that's an acidic compound, if I remember correctly.

I know from my experience with them that they were hell...though they did make my hair REALLY shiny. But your mileage may vary. There's an article or two on shampoo bars and curly hair on NC. I can look them up for you if you like?
Thank you. I would love for you to look that up for me.:)

hazelnut
April 17th, 2010, 01:40 PM
your hair is still growing. I just doesn't look longer.

trust me. I went two years looking like my hair hadn't grown much at all, but it *did* steadily get longer. then suddenly, it "dropped." and started looking longer.

today, one day after wash day, my hair looks like it's still almost waist length, but stretched it's nearly classic.
What did you do to help gain length and keep your hair healthy? Because I swear that my hair looks almost exactly like yours where my hair is healthy.