[joskimo]

My dd is 4 and her hair is still on the short side. I take really good care of her hair but each week when I do it, I lose some curls in the tub and lose a few in the brush out. Her hair is very dry so I use CD hair butter or hair milk when I do her hair weekly and add spray during the week to keep her braids moist. Does different types of AA hair grow slower? I'd thought all hair grew at like 1/2 inch per month, but the attached pic of her and my older daughter at Xmas shows that her hair is not as long as I've seen other AA children at her age. Is there something more I should be doing?

[mom2behappy]

Just like all aa peoples hair is not the same texture some aa people hair does not grow....

[keekee1006]

I agree with Mom2be not all AA people have hair that grows quickly or long. Keep treating her hair the way you do now and try CD Healthy Hair cream.Just use the Healthy Hair cream about once a week as a leave in conditioner, it worked great in my 3 year old goddaughter's hair and helped grow back a bald spot that she had (one of her braids had got stuck in her Aunt's bracelet and was accidently yanked out). The hair that she losses when you wash or brush her hair is normal as long as it's not a large amount of hair lost. Everyday our hair sheds but when it's braided you don't see it until it's combed out once a week so it may look like she's losing hair but she's not. I hope this helps.

[joskimo]

thanks for the information, I love my daughter's hair and I'm work so hard at it, I wanted to make sure the lack of length wasn't something I was causing.

[leatherette]

This may be totally off the mark, but have you thought about how you are styling her hair? When I braid my daughter's hair, it looks a lot longer, because braids seem to "hold" better, and when I just twist it, the twists spring up more, and her hair looks a lot shorter. I have been thinking her hair isn't as long as it used to be, but I realize that I am doing twists more often because I think they are easier to do and undo.

Tomorrow is hair day....maybe I will braid this time!

L.

[joskimo]

yeah I've noticed some do's make her hair look much longer - still though it seems shorter then some gals I see. I'm trying not to worry about it because it seems pretty healthy.

[oceanica]

I know this is an old thread, but how is your dd's hair doing?
I recently heard somebody saying "I took her to the hairdresser and they added a little length".... I don't know what it means but maybe the girls you are seeing have some sort of extension?

[BethanyB]

My DD's hair is slow growing too. Her hair is not long. It appears to be pretty healthy too. I just think some kids hair grows slower than others.

When I have my daughters hair braided, I sometimes ask them to add a little hair to make the style long enough to put up out of her face. That just means they braid in some extra hair to make it longer.

[Sleeplvr]

All hair grows at a similar rate unless there is a medical condition or nutritional deficiency. Genetics decides the texture and whether it's thin or thick but care has a major impact on how long it gets. AA hair is fragile and you have to find a routine that works for that particular head of hair.

Is the hair moisturized? hair that is dry and brittle breaks off.

What type of sheets do you use? Some people use satin pillowcases to keep hair from being dried out by cotton or flannel sheets. If you use cotton... use higher thread counts that are silkier. Flannel will suck all the moisture out of hair.

What type of styling implements do you use? Boar bristle brushes are best for distributing natural oils. Other brushes need to be evaluated on a case by case basis... some may damage the hair. Use a comb that is appropriate for the texture.

Some types of hair can handle more manipulation than others. Hair that can't handle a lot of manipulation requires a protective style.