Naptural85 is Hair Goals! Growing Your Natural Hair Long

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I got tired of seeing long and short bits of my straight relaxed hair sprinkled all over my bathroom every time I touched it.  Every single time.

I’d finally reached my limit of frustration.  So I had to to find some answers.

Enter Long Hair Care Forum and Youtube.  Back then, since I worked a corporate job, I could use my lunch hour (or some minutes of down time) to lurk on Long Hair Care Forum.  I found a wealth of information there and I spent lots of time discovering and learning.

I was so excited to find women, black women who had long, beautiful hair.  Because that meant I could have long hair too!  It was possible!

My hair was generally at my shoulders most of the time. It may grow to my bra strap, but then it would end up at my shoulders again.  So I decided I was going to grow my hair long, without a relaxer.  I discovered my relaxer was breaking down my hair, and that coupled with using the blow dryer and then the flat iron every day, it’s no wonder I couldn’t keep my hair on my head.

So over the past 9 years, I have gotten to know my hair.  I think I was drawn so much to Naptural85 because I could tell she wasn’t a product junkie and she used lots of natural, everyday things for her haircare routine, which I did also.  I’ve been following Naptural85 (or Whitney White) since probably 2009.  If you have done any searching online for how to care for natural hair, you’ve definitely come across her.  She’s beautiful and has absolutely gorgeous hair.

You can’t deny that she has some beautiful hair!!! I mean it is amazing.

I have tried many of the styles and techniques Whitney does, and for the life of me it never looks close to hers.

Wash & go’s

A wash and go, on my hair?  It doesn’t matter what products I use, my hair ends up looking like an afro!

It took me a long time to figure that out.  I have to use eco styler gel and shingle if I want to have coils, and it does work.  But by day 2 and 3, it’s an afro.

I be feelin like all that work was in vain!  I mean for what?  Why am I doing all that work, just for it to look like an afro anyway?  Don’t get me wrong though, I do love my afro.

Washing my hair lose

Whitney washes her lose which always looks amazing, and it always makes me wish I could do that.  But I can’t wash my hair lose because no matter what I use to plug my drain, hair gets in and clogs it up.  I wash my hair in twists.

My hair textures

There are different textures all throughout my hair.

My sides and the perimeter of the back are super tight coils.  The middle in the back is super loose clumpy coils.  The right middle is lose clumpy coils, the left middle is non clumpy coils. The front and top is lose clumpy coils, except on the left of my hairline, there is a section of hair that doesn’t coil, it just hangs and is this weird textured patch.

I had to learn that even if folks seem to have a similar texture to mine, my hair is still only mine.

Genetics

Before you drive yourself nuts trying to grow your hair to your backside, take a look around your family.  A lot of hair growth results are based on genetics.  Does anyone in your family have naturally long hair?  Like, anyone at all?  If not, chances are high that you may not grow your hair down to the floor without putting in some serious work.

I’m not saying it’s impossible, as there are lots of things you can do to grow it but you’ll likely have to put in a TON of effort to get unusual results.  You may have to take hair vitamins, barely touch your hair and treat it like the most delicate fibers in existence.

But seriously, how many people in your real life have you seen with hair like Whitney’s?  I know a few people with naturally long hair, but their hair is long with or without a relaxer.  And long hair runs in their family.

3 Questions to Ask yourself

1. How important is it to you to have super long hair?
Exactly how important is it to you to have really super long hair?  If this is something that’s a fleeting thought and you aren’t really passionate about doing it, maybe it’s not that important of a goal for you to achieve.  It may be a better use of your time to place your efforts on a more important goal.

2. How much time and effort are you willing to put into your hair care routine?
Do you really have the passion to dedicate enough time and energy toward caring for you hair?  It takes a great deal of energy to grow your hair to extreme lengths.  Do you have a good amount of time to set aside along with the discipline needed to achieve your hair goals?

3. Do you have a busy lifestyle?
Is your schedule super jam packed with things and places and people?  You may have too busy of a lifestyle to do the hairstyles and have the routine needed to grow your hair as long as you may like.  Many busy women (myself included) opt for braids and weaves or wigs to give them more time in their schedules for other things they may feel are more important.  Some women are able to obtain extreme lengths with these methods, others are not.  You have to decide what’s best for you!

These are all things I had to consider with what I wanted to do with my hair.

I had to come to grips with the fact that my hair will never look like Naptural85’s, and that’s okay!

I’m still learning the best ways to care for it, nurture it and grow it.  It still doesn’t really grow past my bra strap.  Which honestly, that’s the longest it would grow even with a relaxer.  I just have fine hair, and it’s never been very strong.

These days, I’m still dealing with postpartum hair issues.  So I’ve been cutting it and just wearing crochet braids until I’m ready to start working with my hair again.

Where are you on your hair journey?  What things have you had to come to grips with?