For the past five months I’ve been wearing my 6 inch natural hair in a puff mostly because it’s cheaper than getting braid extensions and braids don’t last for me ( after two weeks they look really old).
My question is, am I hampering length retention by constantly wearing the puff? Every night I have to put my hair in large braids so that it doesn’t shrink.
Thanks,
Vanessa
Hello Vanessa! Thanks for reaching out to me : ). As for your question I would have to say yes and no.
Here is why:
Hair worn out is not going to retain length has quickly as hair that is worn in protective hairstyles the majority of the time.
This is because when your hair is out it is more prone to tangles. Your strands will have a habit of wrapping themselves around each other. The ends of your hair get dried out more easily because it is exposed to the environment. So in most cases especially if you have kinky textured hair, your hair will not retain as fast as someone who wears protective styles 90% of the time.
However, this does not mean that you have to retire your puff if you do not want to.
Some of us prefer low manipulation styles like the puff because they are easier to do and maybe like me you love the look of big full hair. Your hair can still grow at a good rate because the puff does not put a lot of stress or strain on your hair manipulation wise. It’s entirely possible to grow hair without being a protective style fanatic.
If you choose low manipulation styles over protective styles here are some things to consider:
- You will have to moisture more often (most likely every day).
- Make sure when you moisturize your hair pay extra special attention to your ends so they don’t dry out.
- Avoid brushes when you can; to smooth your style down try a good moisturizing gel and a scarf.
- Instead of braiding your hair every night to avoid shrinkage try pineappling and then fluffing out in the morning this will be less time consuming for you and less stressful on your hair.
I actually prefer to wear the puff a lot too Vanessa, it’s so simple and I love the volume. Will you grow hair as fast as if you protective styled all the time? Perhaps not, depending on your texture. But I wouldn’t consider this “hampering” your growth as you can still grow your hair if you properly moisturize and keep the manipulation of your hair low.
I hope I have helped to answer your question. Blessings on your Natural Journey!
Love,
Ariane
Thank you so much. You answered my question and also gave a lot of practical advice.
Glad to hear! 🙂
Thank you ladies so much for asking this question and giving such a detailed response. I’m 7 months post big chop and I love wearing an afro, in fact I wear it everyday but like you said I have to retwist it everynight because it’s still not long enough to pineapple. Can you suggest another method to decrease the amount of manipulation? I have a minor panic attack everynight when I see how much hair breaks off with finger detangling. Thank you in advance.