??? I'm african american and bangladeshi american and my hair is out of control! I've managed to keep my hair natural during the summer months (its straight and fluffy) yet my curls are never defined. During the colder months, i flat iron my hair, but it gets so damaged. My hair is about to the center of my back but i want to grow it much longer so you can see the difference when its curly, yet it seems to grow only to a point! i've tried everything to stop it from breaking. any advice on how to make it grow?????? thanks!!!! ;D

Why do you flat iron your hair in the winter?  That is probably what is causing the damage.

I don't have any suggestions for making your hair grow, other than to eat healthy.  However, preventing damage is something we might have a few ideas for you.

From what I read, your type of hair is probably very dry.  Breakage can occur when the hair strand has lost all of its moisture and it becomes brittle.  The dryness can be the result of product useage (chemical processes such as straightening/relaxing, coloring, or perms), heated appliances (blow dryers, curling irons, flat irons), or just extremely dry air.  Adding moisture back to your hair can be done with conditioners and oils applied to dry or damp hair.  You might even try eliminating shampoos entirely (they might be too harsh for your hair).  Most conditioners have enough cleaning agents in them to be used alone to clean your hair.

There are a number of threads around here that discuss CO (conditioner only) washing, you might want to check them out and give it a try.

Stop ironing! stop that and the difference in health for your hair will be noticeable immediately
Maybe you could try some oiling to the ends too, jojoba oil is the most widely used around here, I think.
But EVOO is very good too, they say.
I use an Indian Amla hair oil with jasmine scent. Divine. But you need something more nurishing for the time being I guess.
Stop ironing, that's step Nr 1. imho

Hi, Starrynight.  While I am caucasian american, I too have curly hair that can lack definition.  In fact, until recently I believed that the top layer of my hair had no curl.  I got the Curly Girl book by Lorraine Massey and all that changed.  By using her methods I can now sport beautiful wavy/curly hair from top to bottom.
Curly hair is naturally dryer than straight hair.  Unless you are doing something to counter the more drying effects of using a straight iron your curls are thirsty!!
There's lots of good stuff on this board, but I personally found the most help from the Curly Girl book.
Good Luck!

Hi Starrynight!  I understand what you mean about your hair not seeming to grow.  My hair used to get ratty and have a ton of splits well before mid back and I'd end up trimming it, even though I desperately wanted long hair.  

I started using hot oil treatments on my hair, and that kept the splits from spreading upward.  I still think I must have hit a spot of practically no growth for whatever reason because I spent 3 years at essentially the same length.  Now, luckily I've reached hip length and only have splits on the very tip of the hair strands.  

I would recommend starting with deep conditioning treatments.  Mix a couple tablespoons olive oil, with an equal amount of honey.  Heat the honey for a few seconds in the microwave and the 2 should mix together pretty well.  Put that on the length of your hair, and sit with a warm towel or a shower cap for 30 minutes or so.  Then shampoo out as normal.  As your hair gets more moisture in it, the olive oil will probably end up being too heavy and hard to rinse out.  But I like this as a starting point because you probably have the ingredients on hand.  

Stick around and read the boards and you'll get a lot of ideas on what to do to bring out your curls.  By next winter your hair will be in better condition to handle the straight iron occaisonally, but you may love your curls so much you'd rather leave it natural.   ;)

wow, thanks for the advice everyone! i really appreciate it. and yeah, i do know that i need to stop flat ironing my hair (can't help it sometimes :)

Starrynight!  I am biracial (African American and Italian) and I know where you are coming from about the hair breakage.  You should try the CURLS products.  They will even out your hair and define your curls.  See the website @ www.curls.biz

The best advice I can give you is just STOP FIGHTING YOUR HAIR! The straightening iron will RUIN your hair! Slowly.. put it down!!

Don't fight your curls.. Just start taking *really* good care of your hair.. try some good deep hair treatments ( I like joico K-Pak or Pantene Deep fortifying treatment) and try some good vitamins .. you can find hair/skin/nails vitamins at cvs or walgreens.

A good website to check out is naturallycurly.com

Hey waiting4longlocks,

good suggestions....I also take good vitamins from cvs and walgreens too!  I take these hair/skin/nail vitamins called, "Nature's Bounty."  I also take Hair Formula37's as well.  I'm trying to take as many vitamins as I can to make my hair grow faster and longer, and they all are really working wonders for my hair growth too.

Blondie35