I've been on and off trying to grow my hair for the past 3 years but only really started getting the hang of it this year. I wasn't giving my hair enough water, was using heat to stretch it to become more manageable and I was breaking my ends off because I was also combing it while dry. This was severely hampering my hair journey.
Not to mention all the experimentation with different hair oils from gunky thick JBO, to Argan Oil to Jojoba oil. I just stick to raw, organic coconut oil now. It's light, penetrating and seems to slow down the loss of protein in the strands which maintains strength..
I also realise that I wasnt paying attention to the protein balance of my hair and I now do a protein treatment once a month and lightly spritz with protein spray if I notice my ends are a bit weak. My hair is quite naturally fine, soft and curly and so managing the strength of the strands is my main priority,
I'm never good with styling my hair though even though I've seen some amazing tutorials on youtube. I wear my hair constantly in twists and wear a wig or twist out if I want a bit more variety. My hair is just short of APL and it's between 4a and 4b.