I Don't Think Benign Neglect is Working for Me

[HairFaerie]

I used to pamper my hair & scalp. I would do daily scalp massages with Monistat, rooibos tea or one of my homemade oil concoctions. I would take biotin, hair, skin & nail vitamins, and other supplements good for hair growth. I would do weekly SMTs.

I haven't done any of these for almost two months. I have basically just washed and conditioned it and forgot all about it. I have noticed a HUGE difference.

I used to get 1.5" to 2" growth per month. Now, it seems like it has hardly grown at all. I did get it shaped up at the salon but that has been weeks ago. I used to notice growth in two weeks and by the end of four weeks, it was very noticeable.

I am going to start (as of RIGHT NOW) to continue the regimen that I was doing before and see if I can get great growth results again.

Benign neglect just doesn't seem to be working for me. I think my hair (and scalp) like to be pampered!

Has anyone else made that observation?

[melissa8989]

For sure! Especially if I don't take my vitamins, drink water or eat with it in mind. Protective up dos at night where a must "no hair to speak of atm :("

[spidermom]

Pampering used to be fun for me. Now it's not, so I refuse.

[BeckyAH]

Pampering used to be fun for me. Now it's not, so I refuse.

So. Much. This. I know I'm new at LHC, but years ago I was a member (old boards), and really loved all the fussing about and pampering. At this point, it would be a chore. It's (to me) just hair. It can either thrive with benign neglect or not, but I'm not letting it run my life.

[oktobergoud]

Mmm yeah I think so, sort of. I do still take my vitamins but I don't monistat and all that jazz anymore, and it seems to have stalled. But that could also be this awful weather of the last 6 weeks (it's supposed to be summer but all we get is raaaaain!)
I have to say that I do like benign neglect! Makes me just feel much better and less focused on hair ;)

[HairFaerie]

I am also wondering if it's because maybe I am just a slow grower in the summer. It seems like all winter long I had such great growth then when spring and summer hit....stall.

Maybe it will pick up again in the fall & winter.

I am still going to go back to my pampering because I miss it! I like the feeling of scalp massages. I also do love spritzing essential oil infused distilled water on my hair to make it smell nice! :)

[McFearless]

Benign neglect doesn't work for my scalp if I want growth. I have to use castor oil and monistat 24/7 to get the average monthtly growth of half an inch. My virgin hair can handle my co wash and leave in routine just fine, but the dyed length needs more care.

[Ermine]

I'm actually the opposite. Maybe I just need to change my methods or find a different scalp solution. I've been using monistat for 3 months. At first there was a dramatic change in growth. Now it doesn't seem to do anything. I think my scalp developed tolerance to it and it doesn't have as much effect. So I'm just trying to focus on warding off split ends/damage as long as possible instead of focusing on how long it is at the moment. If I can avoid getting my hair trimmed too much, it will be long before I know it, right?

[Angel_Abby]

It comes and goes in waves for me. Some months I just love primping and pampering my head... some months, its a hassle and overkill. Right now I am in pamper mode. A few months ago, before my massive chop to chin, I was in benign neglect mode.

I don't know what's going to happen as I grow- since I find the chin length VERY flattering, but I miss my braids and buns.

When I am in full benign neglect mode, I love the nothing-ness of no routine. I CO, and bun. Thats it.

Bunning is out at this length, and I am having too much fuin experimenting to put it away just now! :eek:

[Delila]

If you enjoy it, and it produces results, go for it!

I don't have the patience or energy for much of a routine anymore, so I don't bother. Pampering myself in other ways is more fun right now.

[QueenJoey]

I like pampering my hair...to an extent. The thing is, I either forget or I just don't have time to do regular scalp massages and do different things. I like it, but it's just not easy to remember, especially now that I'm taking advanced classes and trying to keep up my grades while participating in the school play. I wish it were as easy as it was when I was on summer break. But since I'm back in school, I'll have to make due with benign neglect.

[catamonica]

I just add olive oil to my shampoo & conditioner. It makes the hair soft. Use horse shampoo. Thats it. Dont want to mess with it to much.

[patienceneeded]

I like all the pampering, but with a 4 year old, a dog, and a full time job I find I don't have the time to be to involved with my hair. Also, I forget. I do deep treatments mostly weekly, but that's easy. I just do the DT after work, cover it and ignore it until I shower before bed. As far as anything else, it's hit or miss. I'm terrible at remembering to take my vitamins, all that stuff. The more I focus on my hair, the more I feel like it will never be long or it's not growing fast enough. It's better for my mental health to treat it well, but mostly leave it alone to do its thing.

[Madora]

Benign neglect has been working for me for years. But if pampering helps your hair, then go for it!

[pepperminttea]

I don't know what's going to happen as I grow- since I find the chin length VERY flattering, but I miss my braids and buns.

Off topic, but you could keep face framing layers at chin, to give a similar effect, and keep the rest longer for braids and buns. :)

[Desideira]

I use to be a ahir product junkie, find and search all new things i could try with my hair.
lately I am becoming more and more lazy about my hair.

I am just not enjoying it as much as I did. I now find it dufficult for me to do treatment once a week and leave it for na hour. I just use very nourishing mask and sampoos but i try to do evethign qucik and I feel imaptient to wait. I feel that my hair is becoming more heavy and someties if i wear it up for long it give me headeches:(

[ingvild]

I don't really know if pampering works for my hair because I'm way too lazy to mix up potions for my head and do scalp massages and do fancy rinces. :D I mean, I take a multi and fish oil every day, but it is just as much for the rest of my body as it is for my hair. Sometimes I want to try something like castor oil, but then I think "eh. Do I really want to?" the answer is usually no. :p

[Aveyronnaise]

I feel like I have a good balance right now but I'm not really interested in doing more. I've even been hemming and hawing about doing henndigo because I am lazy but - I think I am going to go for it soon because we are in a heat wave.
I just do like one deep castor oil treatment per week over night for my scalp . Then vinegar rinses after washing , but that doesn't feel like too much . Those things are really more for my scalp than my hair though .

[Mesmerise]

I think the point with benign neglect is to just sort of forget about your hair for awhile and let it grow! If you're actively focussed on getting your hair to grow faster, and to see a measurable difference, then benign neglect probably isn't for you :).

I tend to fluctuate a bit between benign neglect and putting in extra effort. Although, I have been routinely taking vitamins!!

I bought a tube of Daktarin the other day, so I've also started trying the Monistat thing to see if I can get a bit of growth speed!! This'd be great because I've chopped so much off and it needs so much more cut off!

[Raiscake]

I'm far too lazy to do all that! Oiling my hair after I wash it every three days is more than enough pampering for me. I get really tired after work, so I just wanna get my washing and oiling over with so I can relax and unwind. I so use a deep treatment once a week, but that's pretty easy. I just replace my condish with it in the shower.

I use to be high-maintenance with my hair with lots of products, but I find that less is more with my hair. Benign neglect works great for my current lifestyle.

[Ligeia_13]

I use to be a ahir product junkie, find and search all new things i could try with my hair.
lately I am becoming more and more lazy about my hair.

I am just not enjoying it as much as I did. I now find it dufficult for me to do treatment once a week and leave it for na hour. I just use very nourishing mask and sampoos but i try to do evethign qucik and I feel imaptient to wait. I feel that my hair is becoming more heavy and someties if i wear it up for long it give me headeches:(


I hear you. I think the novelty is wearing off. I know that no matter what I do, nothing is going to make my hair grown drastically so I may as well just be patient and forget about it for a while.

And my hair is just a little over apl and its SO heavy in the shower when its all wet. I can see myself growing to bsl if I can and then maintaning there out of frustration. :p

[Nymph]

I loved the pampering and everything up to a certain length, after a while it got so annoying to work around that I just went to benign neglect. That said, it grows slowlier than it did when I was putting more effort into it.

[wtchmel]

I'm (after a decade on these type of boards) a neglecter. I've noticed that my hair does amazing if i just leave it alone. Of course i haven't done anything to it in so long who really knows! I can't/won't do the measuring thing, because for me, a watched pot never boils and i start to obsess lol.
i say do whatever works for you.

[Lianna]

If I want a little bit more than average growth I gotta do something about it. Which for me is applying castor oil, keeping my hair moisturized and detangled (at least most of the time).

[Audrey Horne]

I know for a fact that it doesn't work for me. I had almost a year of total neglect: my hair barely grew and I had major scalp problems. It looks less than spectacular whenever I neglect. Now I pamper my hair even when I'm lazy, busy or sick. I mean I do at least something like leave-ins and deep oiling before washing. I wish I could get away with neglect but I just can't.

[angelfell]

I stopped taking vitamins and such because when I quit my full-time job to go to college, I couldn't afford them anymore :p. I probably can now, however I must admit I haven't noticed a huge difference. The only difference I have noticed is I'm shedding more.. which sucks, but it doesn't seem like I'm going bald so I guess that's alright :p.

[MrsGuther]

My hair seems to grow at about the same rate no matter what I do to it (or what I neglect to do). Not that I'm complaining though- my hair grows about 3/4 an inch per month. Not bad I guess. Lately I just keep my hair up all the time, scalp massages at least once a day, and no fancy oils or anything.

[teal]

I don't really have much time for anything but benign neglect. Discovering no-poo and stretching washes was probably the best thing that ever happened to my hair routine... it looks good for longer periods of time now. Lately I've been making a monumental effort to do nice things for my hair, which means one treatment every 7-10 days or so.. heh.

That said, benign neglect does seem to agree with me (thank goodness!). I do take vitamins and did before LHC, which is probably why my hair is in reasonable shape and grows reasonably quickly despite the stress and intermittently poor diet. I just added some B vitamins including Biotin to that, so hopefully that helps.

[Moor_tu_lyfe]

I am also wondering if it's because maybe I am just a slow grower in the summer. It seems like all winter long I had such great growth then when spring and summer hit....stall.

Maybe it will pick up again in the fall & winter.

I am still going to go back to my pampering because I miss it! I like the feeling of scalp massages. I also do love spritzing essential oil infused distilled water on my hair to make it smell nice! :)

I've found mine to be the opposite- little growth in the winter, most growth in the summer (unfortunately this is also true for the rest of my body hair :blueeek:).

My hair use to thrive on (sometimes not so) benign neglect when using 'cones etc, but in my laziness/current chemical phobia, I'm trying to go WO washing. Just coming out of the otter in an oilslick stage (I hope) but have noticed amazing hair growth (or maybe the oil was pulling my hair down to feel longer??) Also, with damaged hair, benign neglect and WO washing DIDN'T work, so just chopped 3 to 4 inches off, with the long term goal of healthy, fuss free hair!!! :pray:

Why did I wan't to do WO washing so much???:confused:

[jojo]

My hair appeared to grow quicker when shorter and I hardly see growth these days. Longer hair takes longer to show growth. Patience is the best practice to follow, it works every time. Continue to condition regulary and ignore it, it takes time but it works. Hair grows.

[HairFaerie]

Well, I got back to "pampering" my hair and it seems I am noticing much more growth now!

I have been doing Monistat (generic 4%) two/three times per week. On the days I don't apply that, I use a special oil concoction that I created for scalp massages. I also have two kinds of "scalp stimulator" sprays from the health food store that I use on some days. Also, I use rooibos tea on my scalp (in a spray bottle, spritzed on). But, every day my scalp gets massaged with something or another!

Also, I made an AWESOME hair mist! I used distilled water, tea tree shea butter & argan oil (just a little of each oil). I spray it on my hair wet if I am going to blow dry it. If I don't blow dry, I wait until my hair is dry, then I spritz it on an it is INCREDIBLE! It's not too oily and it makes my hair so soft and shiny! I love it!

So, I don't think I will going back to benign neglect for awhile.

Like jojo said, after you hair gets a lot longer, it's harder to notice growth. So, while my hair is shorter, I am going to pamper away until it gets to BSL or so.

:)

[Mrspuddinhead]

I'm a busy stay at home mama. Between school, cooking, homework, laundry, kids, and fiance, and baby sitting etc, etc..... I don't have the time to pamper my hair and for me benign neglect is the way to go. I simply shampoo and condition with my .88 cent VO5 which my hair just loves, S&D when needed, mayonnaise treatment every two weeks, and no heat. My hair goes back into a simple loose, either low or high pony every day. That's it! Plan and simple.

[luxepiggy]

For me, it's a case of diminishing marginal returns. My pre-LHC routine (S&C daily, blow dry on high) couldn't even be called benign neglect . . . just straight negligence, perhaps :rolleyes: At the time I think my hair was probably at around 75% of its potential.

Now I've settled on a routine that could probably be considered benign neglect: CO every 2-3 days, blow dry on low with a thermal protectant, sleep on a silk pillow case. Once a month I use a conditioning treatment masque. At this point, my hair is hovering around 90-95% of its potential; if I were to go all out with the pampering and such, I would get some incremental improvement, but it just isn't worth the extra effort for such a small change in my hair's overall appearance.