Hello, LV here! It’s been a while since my last post and I’m sure you may be asking what the heck I mean by the title of this post.   I get a lot of people asking me about hair growth and what I did to get my hair to grow.  This question usually results in me with a blank face without a lot of advice.  Why?  Because, with all of the natural hair care advice and websites available out there, I didn’t think people would believe me if I told them my routine.  Second, I never really knew how to explain my hair growth.   However, I think I’ve finally come up with an answer…sometimes the key to hair growth may be to just leave it alone.  Leave it alone?  Let me break down my hair routine…

1. I wash my hair…wait for it…once a month.  Yes, you heard me…I wash my hair once a month.  Why?  Well I didn’t intend to vary my wash routine.  I’m a stay-at-home, home school mom of two children.  We participate in a lot of activities within our city.  Between soccer practice/ games, gymnastics, guitar practices/recitals, speech classes, drama classes, home school classes at various museums in town and field trips…my hair often takes a backseat.  Who has time to worry about hair?  Heck, I’m lucky to fit in a wash once a month, because even that’s pushing it.
2. After washing my hair, I braid it using just Coconut Oil.  I have other hair products, but Coconut Oil has become my staple allowing me to leave most of my other products behind.  I usually braid my hair into about 15 braids.  I use sponge rollers (with satin) to curl up the ends.
3. I allow these braids to stay in my hair for maybe a day or two, just to make sure the braided texture really sets in.  I then remove the braids for a braid-out.  My braid-outs last for about two weeks and I wear them for at least that long.
4. When my braid-out starts looking bad and/or feeling dry, I re-moisten my hair and re braid it.  Removing these braids results in another two week braid-out.
5. After the next two weeks of braid-outs, it’s time for a wash.  I use Apple Cidar Vinegar (mixed with water in a spray bottle) to give my scalp a pre-wash treatment.  I then wash my hair using a sulfate free shampoo.  I’m currently using Creme of Nature Professional Shampoo and Conditioner (orange bottle) , but I am not attached to any particular brand of shampoo.  While I am washing my hair, I detangle it using a cheap conditioner (usually Suave).  After my hair is shampooed and detangled…I braid it and the routine starts all over for me.

So, what can I conclude about my routine?  Well, I did a 2nd BC in 2009…three years later, my hair has grown longer than it has ever been in my life.  I contribute it to the lack of manipulation.  Washing my hair once a month means that I’m forced to detangle it less.  With the braid-outs, I’m also not combing my hair much.  I run a comb through my hair two times a month.  Ha!  Can you believe it?

Now, before anyone reading this decides to drastically change up their routine…I am not a hair care expert.  In fact, most hair care experts would probably frown at my routine and be amazed that I have any hair at all.  However, I had to do what fits my lifestyle.  Does my hair feel or smell dirty with a once a month wash…no, no more than it would if I wore it braided for a month. Would my routine work for others?  Maybe, maybe not, but I do believe that the less you manipulate your hair, the more chances you give it to grow.  But, I won’t say anything else…let me share some pictures showing my hair growth…

 My 2nd BC in August 2009

Here’s a stretched braid-out from a few days ago.  (I plan on sharing this stretching technique in a a video soon!)

This is my hair growth between August 2009 and December 2012 (3 years).  My hair has grown much longer after my 2nd BC than it did after 4 years after my first BC.  The only thing that has changed is that I’ve gotten lazy with styling and don’t experiment as much