Braids and Cornrows = Long Hair?

 Hey everyone, I have been very busy in my professional lfe because I am on the hunt for my dream job, I will keep you posted on how that goes! Now to the subject at hand, braids and cornrows. When I first decided to grow my hair very long I took several pointers from the crown and glory technique of Robin Woods. I think this is a good technique but not 100% perfect ( no technique is, they all must be tweaked for the individual). That was when my hair was relaxed and I didn't quite fully understand my hair but I acheived good growth.  As a teenager (relaxed) I used to cut my hair into trendy styles such as the "Toni Braxton" and when I wanted my hair to grow back I would put it in crochet braids and six to nine months later "voila" I had hair again. I would leave my crochet braids in forever, and I would use moisturizer near the roots and tie them down at night with a silk scarf. All the girls at school would say "She cut all of her hair off and now it is longer than mine." Their hair appeared as if it wasn't growing because they has not retained any of their growth. Let's go back a little further to my childhood. I had extremely long and thick hair by any standard, my mom kept my hair in cornrows with beads and ponytails, she had a regular wash and trim schedule as well. My hair was enviable. So, I have been reflecting on my long history with braids and cornrows. And now that I am a mother to a daughter and natural I dedcided that braids and cornrows need to be a bigger part of my life if I want very long hair in a relatively short period of time. For the last three weeks, I have been styling my daughters' hair in cornrows with beads and leaving it up for two weeks is the plan. I assure you she has already retained about a 1/2 inch. She has a very good length and she is still only 3. So, I decided to formulate my own regimen with cornrows. It could also be done with box braids. I have been wearing my hair in cornrows and basically treating it the exact same as if it were loose. For example, I am co-washing me and my daughters' hair while in the braids. The obhective with a cornrow/braid regimen in my opinion is "leaving the hair alone" the braids themselves do not make your hair grow but not manipulating your hair can prevent a lot of damage. Plus, if you are natural it helps minimize constant single strand knots, matting and annoying detangling sessions. If you are relaxed you must be sure with ANY braid regimen that your hair is not severely damaged because the braids could cause breakage on fragile hair (especially if you add braiding hair), so make sure your hair is strong before attempting this and use a leave in like Infusium 23 often. Okay, so this set of corrows have been in for 6 days, 8 to go (maybe more). I measured my hair and in three months I will let you know how many inches I have been able to keep on my head. I know that even when I reach my long hair goal of waist length hair that I will continue to braid and cornrow my lengths. Sound interesting to you?