All of us women in the natural hair community have become obsessed with our hair at one point or another. Some have stressed about achieving the perfect twist out, some were hoping their curl pattern would be like another's and others have set waist length and beyond goals for their dream hair BUT pictured above is my older BROTHER. He is not a member of the Long Hair Care Forum, he does not own a Huetiful Hair steamer, he does not deep condition his hair alternating moisture and protein packs lol He is a man and has a very simple and low maintenance system.
He simply washes his hair, not on a weekly or biweekly basis but when needed and then gets it braided. He leaves the braids in until they look ragedy lol and starts all over. I can assure you he isn't mixing up henna paste to strengthen his mane, using a shower comb or sleeping on a satin pillow case at night. Low maintenance is the key! It is so easy to get caught up buying the next big natural hair care product on the market and wanting to try this that and the third. I can attest to that because this is how long my hair was in high school before I went off to college and started experimenting with color & perms. o-0 When I had a low budget & low maintenance regimen it consisted of Queen Helene cholesterol, mayo & egg treatments with a plastic grocery bag because my hair no longer fit in the regular bags, weekly hot comb on the stove straghtening and my coveted high bun. That's it! I didn't get my hair blown out every week at the Dominican's and there was no magic secret to my hair growth. I simply didn't comb it very much and it stayed in a bun for the most part with my ends protected. I did this out of pure laziness and not as a protective style lol
I have since abandoned the weekly and often daily maintenance of twist outs and braid outs sported during the start of my transition. It just didn't seem time efficient nor low maintenance at all. Right now I am wearing my hair in a blow out and steaming it on the weekends. I think I like this much better and although 'heat' is the devil to natural curlies, I don't believe low heat will kill my new growth curls. After all when my hair was it's longest I was applying heat on a weekly basis with no problem in the breakage department.
So needless to say if you are on a #longhairdon'tcare journey just take a cue from the men. As you can see it doesn't take magic or all that fancy equipment to grow thick, long and healthy hair. Most importantly find what works for you and stick to it. You may need to log out of all the buzz on the net, save yourself a few bucks and wasted time experimenting with the latest craze.
Happy Hair Growth Lovelies!
"Love for Self, Love for Health ™" Lipstick Diva
