8 Reasons You Are Still Not Retaining Length

by Petra

Yes, you read the blog, yes you do protective styles, yes you finger detangle but its 2014 you have been natural since 2008 and your hair is still neck length when at full shrinkage and just barely past your arm pits stretched. You watch youtube and sexysassy987 has waist length hair now and you both started your hair journeys at the same time.

Aw come on don’t act like you don’t do that, we know you count those months and tell yourself, well technically you did your big chop in November of 08 and she did hers in June of 08, so you really started in 09 and she had a head start.

Listen, comparison is normal, we are constantly in competition even when we do not want to be. We have to consciously tell ourselves that we arent in a race, not with Sassy, not even with ourselves quite frankly.
On BHI we get the same question over and over, it goes a little something like this, “Hey can you help me, I am doing everything I can to grow my hair and I just don’t see any progress, signed 16 and desperate!”

My first thought is, what does “everything” mean? The first thing you need to stop is the “everything”, but without hammering that too much the truth is we cant tell you what you are doing wrong specifically because as much as we would want to be there with you during wash day we just cant. But what we can do is create a list, a list of things that you just might be doing that may just be causing you not to the retain length that you should. Lets get started!

1. You still think products ‘grow’ your hair
It isnt about product guys, its about ingredients! You know what, I did that too once upon a time, I remember once taking three bottles of half used products and mixing them together to create a product that was to me, perfect. I knew the ingredients of all three, it was a light gel, first ingredient water, a light hold cream, first ingredient water and a bottle of pure unadulterated olive oil.

I mixed all three in the bottle that had the least amount of product in it, slapped a label on it and called it “Petra”. Yes Petra, which means that this bottle is my stuff that I will be using as my moisturizer and nobody else in the house with hair better touch it.

But as time went on I realized that products do not grow your hair, products maintain your strands from breaking off and leaving you for greener pastures.

Do I endorse certain lines? Of course I’ve got my favorites just like everybody else but it isn’t because of the brand or what that pretty girl said on the commercial, its because I like the stuff that’s in it, I know how to use it to my advantage and the stuff has my strands singing Amazing Grace even when nobody died! Your hair needs water to maintain itself , and oil to maintain the water, its that simple!

2. You never deep condition with heat
Yes you will see posts that say, deep conditioning with heat isn’t necessary, in theory that might be true in some cases or for some people, but if your hair is constantly dry, constantly brittle why in the world would you think that particular titbit applies to you? Go to the library or grab your kindle and get yourself a 20 minute read while you sit under the dryer with a plastic cap on and hydrate those curls.

We have a ton of hydrating tools on the market these days, steamers, over head and hand held and you also have your good old rickety dryer that still works. If you do not have a fancy plastic caps, get the Walmart bag you have thrown down on the floor in the pantry that your mom told you 50-100 times to throw away. No excuses, you need to deep condition your hair with heat, weekly!



3. You are doing too much 
Cherry Lola treatment, bentonite clay, rhassoul clay, not to mention Sassy just put some sweet potatoes in her hair last week. Girl you better eat them potatoes!! Don’t get fancy before you get basic. I am not saying these things aren’t great for your hair, but when you are having progress trouble, you have to strip it all away and get down to basics. Moisture, protein, cleanse repeat.

Your hair is a fiber so if its breaking, you lack moisture or you are stripping your moisture away somehow. If your hair is weak and mushy, you lack protein, if you need protein, get an egg which is the most basic protein you can find in your kitchen, crack it open and give your hair some strength.

4. You are styling way too many times
You sometimes have an obsession with expectations, you want your hair to stretch but not too much, you want it to be curly but not to revert to it’s natural kinks, you want it look thick and long even though its short, you want your edges laid with every so called baby hair in place though you are 30 years old with not a baby hair in sight, that’s none of my business tho. So you find yourself having to restyle it daily to achieve all of this. Seriously!?

Your curls are rebellious, so stretching is definitely necessary to prevent tangles but one detangling and stretching  session a week is more than enough.

If you want healing and progress you have to give your hair a break and stop trying to make it submit to your “i’m so fancy” demands. Let that thing breath and if you can’t bear the sight of it doing its thing, wear a protective style while you nurse it back to health.

5. You are unrealistic
Some of us have very slow growth rates, so your hair is not going to grow as fast as Sassy’s, but it is growing so be patient, get a hobby that doesn’t involve a tape measure every month. If you have a slow growth rate then you have to wear more protective styles, they will change the game for you.

Oh and please trim your hair, forget about the notion that trimming your hair sets you back. The truth is you might have already had a setback that a trim could have fixed, and trimming prevents more than you realize.

6. You aren’t studying
Education is everything when you want to get better at something. For example if you want to lose weight you do some research find the best plan for you and stick with it. Constantly educate yourself about hair care and build a plan that you will and must stick with no matter what.

It is ok to ask questions but know that your favorite hair forum or hair guru will not be the one to care for your hair for you, so get to reading.

7. You have scalp issues but haven’t seen a doctor
Girl if your scalp is irritated constantly and you have no idea why, do not just go out and buy every essential oil under the sun, see a professional. These things don’t always pan out, we know that but it helps to seek help because maybe a doctor might have the answer. If your scalp isn’t happy, your hair will not be happy, it is the source of all things related to growth.

8. You aren’t consistent
When you have your plan stick to it, no changes, no switching products that are working fine for you on a whim. If you can find a replacement for water then by all means switch it out otherwise keep it simple. Some women have regimens that are only tweaked as their hair grows, they stick with what works right now, a great low stress process.

Well there you have it, 8 reasons you might not be retaining length, if you have covered all these things and you are still having trouble then just contact us in the forum, we will gladly take a stab at your issue