The Crown And Glory Method Created By Robin Woods Will Give You Maximum Growth Retention

I recently read about The Crown And Glory Method on a pretty popular natural hair website, and found it quite interesting. Before I get into what makes it interesting, let me first tell you what it is. Basically it is a way to get maximum growth potential from your hair whether relaxed or natural, using braids or twists.

The gist of it is that you leave your hair braided or twisted for a period of time, and then take down the braids for about two weeks to give your actual hair a break, and then it’s back to braids again.

Here is what I found interesting: personally, I did not think this was ‘a method’. I know of women who do this quite often, but they probably had no idea that it was a ‘thing’. When you look at the back story of Robin Woods, you won’t find much, but she was also responsible for creating the Grow Afro Hair Long Hair products.

Her business no longer exists, due to bad press and an ‘F’ rating at the Better Business Bureau, so she tried to get traction with her products by coining the Crown and Glory Method. Her idea was you would use her product, while following the method. So without further ado, let’s get into the details:

Cleansing

There is an old wives tale, or some kind of crazy idea that you should not cleanse your hair while it is braided, but we are here to tell you that that idea is pretty much nuts, and could not be further from the truth.

You might not be cleansing your braids daily, or every three days, but you have to have some cleanse routine in mind when you lock your hair away for 8 weeks. We say use diluted sulfate free shampoo* and wash your hair in sections to make it easier.

I do not wear extensions* often, but when I did, I co-washed and cleansed, remembering that my hair was still in there, and needed care. Spray your braids liberally, and cleanse in a downward motion, allowing the water to do the bulk of your washing, so that you can get rid of buildup, oils*, and toxins. Wash out all the shampoo, and condition as normal.

Conditioning

Conditioning is pretty simple when you are in braids – for one, you can condition daily using a variety of products that are built for conditioning your hair. Mostly any leave-in will do, but when you have braids, you tend to avoid creamy conditioners, and focus on liquid ones like Infusium 23.

In a spray bottle, you can always build your own conditioner mix by adding what you like to your spray bottle, along with water, and spray your hair liberally daily. When you have braids, you can even deep condition or steam your hair as well. Braided hair is one of the best times to give your actual hair what it needs, as it rests from manipulation.

The Crown and Glory Method also states that your braids should not be too tight, so as not to cause tension on your edges. It also recommends that you sleep on a satin pillow case at night to keep your hair from drying out.

What the method may have missed

Protein – Before you wear any kind of braided or twisted style, you want to do a protein treatment to get your hair strong, before putting in your braids. When you take down your braids, your hair will be relatively weak from the constant moisture and being locked up for that long. We recommend doing a protein treatment when you take down your hair, and remove all the shed hair.

Overall, just from the limited information that I saw on this method, it is a pretty simple way to care for your hair, while in a protective style. I hate to say it’s old news, because many of us still have questions about how to deal with our hair before, during, and after a protective style.

For some of us who have been braiding for a while, we are kind of aware of how to care for our hair, and follow some of these very techniques. The truth is, if you are trying to push products, it does help to coin something or to educate people on how to care for their hair. If you cannot do that, then you have no business selling hair products in the first place.

If you want to try to retain as much length as possible, this might just be a great alternative for you, especially if you do not mind wearing braids and twists for a majority of the time. There is no doubt that your hair will grow – if you are not touching your hair, you will without a doubt retain length. This gives the Crown and Glory Method legitimacy in its own right, but it isn’t reinventing the wheel.

Have you ever heard of the Crown and Glory Method?