Wearing different protective styles is one of the best ways to retain length and help your natural hair grow long.
When your hair is worn out, meaning your ends are exposed, it is more prone to breakage because…
- Your hair exposed to the elements (extreme heat, cold, etc.)
- Combing and manipulating causes wear and tear
- Your ends can get snagged on your clothing
All these things can cause dryness and your ends to split or get weak, which ultimately results in breakage and prevents you from retaining and gaining length.
Protective Styles vs. Low-Manipulation Styles
The biggest difference between these two styles is protective styles keep the ends tucked away. Low-manipulation styles may have the ends exposed but they don’t require combing or lots of manipulation.
The picture below is an example of a protective style I wore when I was transitioning.
This isn’t the best example because I have bangs and my ends are exposed in the front, but the majority of my ends are tucked away. (Watch how I created this flat twist hairstyle.)
Another example of a protective style would be a bun with all your hair pulled back and tucked under.
So basically any hairstyle that has your ends tucked away is a protective hairstyle.
The next picture is a low-manipulation style. I tend to wear more of these than protective styles simply due to preference.
Hairstyles like twists, rod sets, coils, or any hairstyle that doesn’t need to be combed or manipulated, but the ends are still exposed, would be a low-manipulation hairstyle.
Both of these kinds of hairstyles are great for retaining and gaining length with transitioning or natural hair, but protective styles are the best — especially during the winter.
So if you live in a climate that gets extremely cold, your best bet is to moisturize and seal your hair and wear as many protective styles as you can.
This is so long so sorry. Hi I’m 17 and as long as I could remember I have always had long hair. In second grade I got my first perm and over time I would get a perm and then go several months without but my hair was still long and healthy because at the time my cousin braided my hair with no extensions. That to me helped but 5 grade year my hair seemed to be shorter so my grandma had a professional stylist do my hair and perm and it was actually growing! But that summer I stopped going to her got braids to my scalp that seemed to take out all my hair and left the back of my hair severely damaged and left my hair just above my shoulders. Since then starting in middle school I got my hair braided regularly with extensions no perm and now I’m in highschool and I now know how to deal with my natura hair. Its grown but not to the length I aimed for. Right now it seems to be upper back to shoulder length but I can hardly tell cause I never straighten it. The problem is its not long as I thought it should be and I’m thinking about not getting braids until I reach a certain length and I was wondering could you tell me what I’m doing wrong. As of starting this summer I’ve started using olive oil coconut oil and castor oil on my hair and I do the l..o.c method on my hair every two days while separating it into four parts and plating the parts and pinning. I only wash my hair every other week or 2 and deep condition too. Is this the right style and method I should be using or do I need to do something else because I’m completely lost.
Hello,
I have been struggling to retain length for four years. My ends always break…I am in my senior year of college and it is getting very frustrating. Since it is about to fall, I was thinking about doing box braids or a sew-in..then again I could always just get a blow out on my hair per the usual (I typically get three a year, around the same time I dye my hair). What do you suggest?
Hi Ashley
I recently had to cut 5 inches of my hair in April and it was frustrating because my hair was as long as it’s ever been.
But I let my ends go too long without getting trimmed so I ended up in “repair mode”. Now I dust my ends (take a smidgen off) every month. The other suggestion is to wear more protective styles so your ends are hidden and not exposed to the elements.
The dye is also probably drying your hair off and causing weaker ends. Do you deep condition regularly? You should especially do it before the dye treatment.
Yay! Thanks for the tips and for suggesting those hair style. Will definitely try them. Good job!
I’m starting to transition! The back of my head is tappered so its a lil harder to mange. Any tips on how I can style?
Hi Alex
I had the same problem and after my transition that ended up being my softest texture. It may be scab hair from relaxing but it will grow out. What I did is where rod sets with really tiny rods so the curls would last. The smaller you do them, the better. I have an article on rod sets here https://napturallycurly.com/2010/11/how-to-make-a-rod-set-last/
I am wondering since my hair is half and half will the twist stay with me still having straight ends. I am 9 months in my transition, it’s hard and i’m debating whether I should perm my hair or continue to try the natural hair process. Just looking for more insight.
Do you ever try perm rodding your ends? That will help them curl. The smaller the better.
hiiii. First of all thank u soo much for your help 🙂 iv recently come across this hair oil called kuza ; indian hemp.have u heard of it? Is it good for our hair? Thank uuuu
What would you consider a break in between braiding. I ask this because I love braids but I usually don’t go pass 2-3 weeks with them, so how long should I wait before getting them back in?
I was going to say a few weeks. And be sure to deep condition your hair really well in between too.
I’m thinking about getting individual braids done with human hair for the fall/winter. I am transitioning, is this a good or bad thing to do.
Thanks,
It’s fine as long as you give your hair a break in between getting it re-done and braided again.