Have you ever wondered why someone who has been natural for less time than you has achieved considerably MORE hair growth than you? The difference is often protective styling. Protective styling is simply wearing your hair "up" in a style that doesn't expose the fragile ends of your hair, and doesn't require daily manipulation. This includes styles like braids, twists, weaves, wigs, and buns (with each style having its own pros and cons ofcourse).This pic shows the protective style (a bun) I used to rock before I cut my hair. I'm rocking the hell out of those waves, huh? Can you believe this lady at my job asked me if I put all of those waves in my hair one by one with a curling iron? She was dead serious! LOL! Anyhoo, people also used to ask why I never wore my hair down. I tried to explain that if I didn't wear my hair up to protect it, I wouldn't have all that hair to begin with. Protective styling does take commitment. It can often be monotonous and quite frankly a pain in the tooshy. But no pain, no gain, Toots! Believe me, it can be the difference between waist length hair or still having a teeny weeny afro even 5 years after you're big chop-a-roo. Are you routinely wearing protective styles that promote growth?
