How I Grew My Natural Hair With Protective Styling! | Best Protective Styles + Hair Growth Tips

Hey guys welcome back to my channel, I hope you're doing absolutely amazing. Today. Today'S video, as you can tell by the title, is going to be a very long overdue hair update y'all have been asking me like girl. What is going on with your hair girl? We need a hair update girl, give us the hair Deets, so in today's video we're going to be talking all things hair in my hair, specifically so yeah, let's just get right into it. First, I want to start off with a little history now, if you've been on my channel for a while and you've been following my hair Journey for a while. You probably already know this, but in 2020, during the pandemic I was going a little stir crazy and I just decided you know what I want to be a straight natural moving forward and then in 2021 I decided that I just wanted to cut all my hair Off and essentially I cut my hair, I didn't cut it all off. I didn't like big chop or anything. I cut it into a nice blunt Bob and when I tell y'all, I loved that Bob so much when I think back on all the styles that I've ever had with my real hair. Just like not extensions anything like that. Just my actual hair that blunt Bob hands down was my favorite style of all of my life. It just made me feel so grown it made me feel so sexy it just made me feel comfortable and just it just felt like me, so I kept that blunt. Bob for a couple of months, and then I decided that I wanted to grow my hair out, so that leads us to where we are today and essentially I just wanted to kind of like walk you all through the process of growing my hair from blunt Bob To where we are now - and most of that was protective styling, so I kind of just want to talk through my method of protective styling, how I went about protective styling and how we got to where we are today. First off, I just wanted to start out with the Google Wikipedia Webster Marion, Webster definition of what is a protective style for anyone who may not know I'm sure most people do. However, maybe some people don't so Wikipedia says that a protective hairstyle is a hairstyle that keeps the hair tucked away with minimum manipulation from the weather, so that can be braids that can be twists. That can be faux Locs that can be sew-ins. That can be wigs. That can be updos essentially where your ends are sort of like tucked away or hidden from the the weather and the elements. If you will most times this is done with extensions, but that doesn't necessarily mean that a protective style has to have extensions. A lot of people do protective styles without extensions. I personally opt for doing protective styles with extensions, whether it be synthetic hair, human hair, any kind of hair. Just because, when I add extensions protective styles last longer on my hair and the point for me to have a protective style is to go weeks without having to touch my hair and typically that only happens if I actually add some sort of extension, some some sort Of length to it, where it's not just my own hair, how long do I keep my protective styles? I try and keep my protective styles between six to eight weeks. I don't like to do anything less than six weeks on average because I think any less than that. I'M manipulating my hair way too much, and I don't like to go over eight weeks because at that point I feel, like my hair is typically sort of dry. There'S a lot of build up and I need a really really good, deep condition. So that's my sweet spot of like six to eight weeks. The next thing that I want to talk about is how do I care for my hair when it's in a protective style? I think this is very important, because the whole point of a protective style is to retain length to grow your hair. And if you don't do the right things, then your hair will break and it's just gon na be pointless and counterproductive. If you will, when it comes to daily moisturizing of my hair in a protective style, I like to take a DIY concoction solution of half conditioner half water and put it in one of those like Spritz spray bottles like the ones that missed. I personally just love the feeling of a good Mist on my head, but you can use just like a regular spritzing bottle, any kind of leave-in conditioner half of that half of water, putting it in a spray bottle and like spritzing, my hair, either once a day Or a couple times a week just depending on how dry I feel like my hair is and how much moisture I feel like my hair needs, but something else I think is super important is scalp care when it comes to a protective Style. Just because I think a lot of us, we know the the toll that protective styles take on our scalps, but we don't really talk about like how do you care for your scalp in a protective style? We'Ve all experienced itching dryness dandruff, maybe even a little redness or burning from a protective style because hair that is not ours when it's put into our hair, it is likely to impact our scalps. It just is what it is. So I personally like to give my scalp a little extra TLC, a little extra love whenever I'm transitioning into or whether I'm in a protective style, and that is where the sponsor of today's video shea moisture comes in to help us protective style girlies out. So shea moisture actually has two scalp Care Systems, and these two collections are perfect for scalp health, no matter what problems you're experiencing, I personally have struggled with dandruff for as long as I can remember, literally since I was a child and when I have a protective Style in I don't know why, but my scalp just tends to be even more dry and it tends to have a lot more dandruff. So I love that the anti-dandruff collection actually targets and relieves symptoms of dandruff. So, like the flakiness, the itching, the burning, the redness girl, it takes care of all of it because of its ACV and salicylic acid ingredients, but it also helps to hydrate the hair because it does have Vitamin B and Shea Butter ingredients as well. However, if you're not looking for anti-dandruff like me and you're, just looking for something that hydrates your hair and your scalp, they got you too girl. So they have the scalp moisture collection and this collection hydrates the hair and the scalp and leaves your hair and scalp. Eight times more moisturized run and tell that, because I mean eight times eight times so each of the two systems actually includes four items. It includes a pre-wash, a shampoo, a conditioner and then a daily scalp treatment that you can literally apply right to your scalp. Every single day or a couple times a day depending on your personal needs and as you have your protective style, you can make sure that you're treating and helping your scalp literally every single day. I know I can't be the only one who struggles with my scalp. So in the comments below, let me know what your scalp horror stories are, or your scalp journey and click the link in the description box to figure out which shea moisture scalp care system is right for you. Next, let's talk a little bit about some of my favorite protective styles, because I've had a lot, but there are a couple that definitely like rise to the occasion when it comes to just like really good protective styles. For me personally, first and for foremost my Ryan Destiny inspired braids fam, I mean, I literally can't even say how much I loved those braids and I will be running them back this year for sure I don't know what it is about them. I just feel like they fit my face: they fit my style, they fit my vibe, they fit my personality. All of my friends and family were like there's just something about those braids that are just so you and I was just like. I know the next protective style that I really like is like a half cornrow half individual in the back, mainly because it relieves a lot of the tension on the front of my hair. The front third of my hair, this section in the front and then also on the sides, just tends to be a lot less dense than the rest of my hair, so with having cornrows in the front instead of individuals in the front, It just relieves a lot Of that tension, it's not like individual braids pulling out individual pieces of hair, if that makes any sense so yeah. That'S why I really like that style, not so much the look of it just how well it does for like the density of the front of my hair, knowing that the front she does what she wants to do, sometimes she's, sick and full other times she's like I I barely want to be here, I'm just here, so I don't get fined. You know the third protective style that I absolutely love baby. In my traditional sew-in, I hadn't had a traditional sew in since college, so as soon as she installed it, it's like. I was transported back to 2012., I was in college. I was doing Hood rack things with my friends like it just gave me the urge to go out and be like 20 again. It was just such a fun style and also look no protective style. Does it like a traditional sew-in, especially when your extensions blend really well, with your leave out, I mean it's unmatched, it truly is unmatched. I will say, as we all know, the leave out be getting fried and died. I mean it is what it is it just. It wasn't the best on my leave out, but that's to be expected the rest of my hair, thriving, I mean amazing. Whatever was under the sew-in pure gold, it was mostly just the leave out that wasn't great. So I will say for the next time I do a sew in. I will definitely have my extensions in the curly State and I'll just twist out my leave out so that way, I'm not having to put heat on it. Just because it's just not the best thing for my hair, however, the look chef's kiss the rest of my hair, chef's, kiss it'd just be that leave out and my last favorite protective style is just the alternative to my sew in which is my custom made closure. Wig and it's like a full wig, none of my hair is left out. All of my hair is cornrowed under and I will say of all the protective styles. This one has done wonders for my hair and my hair growth, because it's all underneath the wig. All my hair is underneath all my hair is protected, but just like a good bra at the end of the day, you take that thing off you, let your scalp breathe and you just feel so free, certainly the best protective style for the health of my hair, Especially the front of my hair next, you may be wondering what do I do in between protective styles, when I'm exiting a protective style, I will of course take the extensions out. I will remove any shed hair. I will detangle it and I will go to my stylist and I mean immediately expeditiously literally. I typically take out my protective styles. The day before I have my appointment with my stylist. What I love about going to my stylist right after a protective style, is that she's literally able to look at my hair and tell me how a protective style impacted my hair. So, for example, coming out of my wig, she was like girl. The front of your hair is so full because I literally was doing nothing to it. There was no tension. There was literally, it was just thriving versus when I came out of my sew in she was like yeah girl. This, this leave out is looking a little silky. We gon na see if it reverts back. You know so she's able to give me a full synopsis of how a protective style impacted my hair and then from there she's able to actually do the things that are necessary in that moment. So whether it's deep conditioning steaming trimming giving me a special treatment, she will do exactly what my hair needs post, protect, active style. Typically, the schedule I try and stick to is have a protective style for two months go to her at the beginning of that. Third month get my treatment get my trim get whatever it is, and then I will leave my hair in a silk press for four weeks. Then I will transition back into a protective style. Keep that for two months I eat eight weeks and then go back to my stylist. So essentially, honestly, I get my hair straight and probably four times a year, not that often and outside of that my hair is in some sort of protective style, and that is my very simple but effective protective style like schedule. Last but not least, what is next for me and my natural hair Journey, because at the end of the day, I don't think that natural hair Journeys are linear. I think they're up they're down. You have different goals at different times right now, I'm just in a very like experiment, tentative phase with my hair. I don't have goals for my hair right now, I'm just kind of like whatever I want to do with it. I want to do with it and if one day I decide to big chop it back all off and grow it back out to be like it's true natural 4C texture, hair. Then I'll do that. I don't know I'm just in a very experimentative like non-committal phase of of my natural hair Journey right now and yeah, I'm honestly, 50 50 about cutting it back into a blunt Bob or continuing to grow it out. Those are kind of my options. I don't know what I'm going to decide. I will likely make a decision by the summer time, but let me know what y'all think I should do. Should I cut it back into a blunt Bob. Shall I grow it out I'll show y'all the length of it. The front is just up because I've had this silk press for like two weeks and I've been working out so she's old, the roots are wanting to revert back, so I had to like pull it up just to look decent today, but the back is almost bra. Strapling, so I could keep growing it out and see how we can get to that bra, strap length because, like I don't know, if y'all can see, but it's pretty long, it's pretty long. Should I cut it, should I keep growing it? Definitely let me know your thoughts in the comments. Also, if you have any questions about any of my protective styles, let me know in the comments: that's really it for my hair Journey thus far, and let me know, should I cut it, should I grow it? What should I do? Let me know, let me know, because I kind of really want to get it anyways. I hope this was helpful and I will see y'all in my next video peace.