There’s no magic hair vitamin, pill, oil or cream that will make your hair grow super long. Nor is there any one thing that will magically make you have healthly hair. Especially natural hair. If I’m being honest, it will take time, education and a really great hair routine in order for your natural hair to flourish.
There are several factors that can affect your natural hair journey, and the healthiness of your hair. If you feel like your hair isn’t growing fast enough, it could be due to heat damage, genetics, hormones, your hair routine, you name it. If you fall into any of these categories, don’t fear, there are sevearl things you can do to help you along the way.
I want to share with you the easy and practical steps that I took to achieve rapid hair growth since going natural. I’ve been natural for 8 years and often get asked about my hair regimen. I didn’t take any hair growth supplements or do anything out of the ordinary. To be honest, I didn’t start off with some super strategic plan, I just took my time and learned as I went a long. What I did worked for me, and I know it will work for you too.
LEARN ABOUT YOUR TEXTURE
I cannot stress this enough. Going natural is not an easy thing to do. Natural hair is very different from relaxed hair. It requires more work, more products and a lot of manipulation and styling to achieve your desired look. Take the time to learn about your hair. Learn how it behaves with different product combinations, different temperatures and in different styles.
CREATE A ROUTINE
I highly recommend that new naturals start with creating a routine. Come up with a wash day. Mine is Sunday. Come up with a styling routine. Here’s what I do. After washing my hair, I allow it to air dry about 80%. I then twist my hair in about 12-15 twists, using the same products and oils each and every time. My results are always the same, because my routine and styling technique is the same.
LESS IS MORE
I mean that. Less manipulation, less tugging, less brushing, less combing. Be very gentle with your hair. The more styles that you do, the more shedding will occur. Try doing styles that don’t require a ton of pulling and tugging. Buns and flat twists are a surefire way to have a cute style without having to style your hair daily.
NIGHT TIME ROUTINE
This one is epic. Creating a night-time routine will lead to a successful morning. Plan your hair style from the night before. Prep your hair from the night before. I wear twistouts 90% of the time. That means that each night before bed, I retwist my hair and sleep with a silk scarf or bonnet. That way, I can keep the style going. Whenever I have gone to bed without prepping my hair, I wake up with dry, tangled hair, which makes it harder to style and requires more work that if I had prepared.
DETANGLE
Yep, that’s right. Finger detangle to be exact. I use my fingers to create 4 sections, and hold each section in place with a hair pin. Doing one section at a time, I spritz with water, and apply conditioner to each section. Once it’s all lathered up, I use my fingers to separate each strand of hair, making sure that the strands are tangle free.
HEAT IS NOT YOUR FRIEND
As a new natural, it’s REALLY IMPORTANT to let your hair grow and flourish without the use of heat. Especially in the beginning stages. You need to allow your hair and curl pattern to form. Using heat will damage your hair very quickly, leaving you with thin, limp hair.
MOISTURIZED HAIR IS HAPPY HAIR
Moisturize often. Seriously. As mentioned in step one, learn your hair. Take the time to examine your hair nightly. Before bed, use your fingers to touch it, and see if it feels dry. If it does, be good to it and add some moisturizer. Not all moisturizers are the same. Some do the job for a few days, while some only do the job for one day. Take the time to experiment with moisturizers to see which one is best for your hair. I currently moisturize every 2-3 days, using cantu beauty leave in conditioning cream.
ONE PRODUCT AT A TIME
There are hundreds of products on the market that promise to make your hair grow long. I beg to differ. Most people (me included) purchase multiple products at once and use them all in one week. Trust me, you will not be able to differentiate between which product works and which one does not. Try using one product at a time for about a week, to see how your hair reacts to it. I don’t think a single product will help you grow long hair. But a combination of the right product, plus regimen, diet and even exercise will do the trick!
LOVE YOUR HAIR
With all of your heart. TLC is key. Just like most plants needs water and sunlight to thrive, your hair needs TLC as well. Take care of it, don’t be aggressive with your hair. The more gentle, the better it will be.
Try these tips and let me know how it goes! I’ve implemented all of these tips and they have worked for me.
After trying all of these tips, if you still feel like your hair isn’t growing at the right speed, I have 2 more bonus tips for you. You can start over. By that I mean cut your hair, cut off any major dead ends or damaged hair. Do a big chop. Lastly, you can book an appointment with your doctor to talk through the issues you are having with your hair.
xo,
Nicky
NICKY ANN 