One of the most frustrating things about growing out your hair is…well…not seeing any growth. This could be due to factors you can’t control, such as genetics not allowing your hair to grow past a certain length. Because you can’t control that, the best way to avoid disappointment is having realistic expectations. The good news is that a lot of the time, our lack of hair growth has to do with something we’re doing wrong, which means that it can be fixed. Things you are doing wrong may include:
TOO MUCH HEAT
Heat just might be a naturalista’s worst enemy. Unfortunately, heat is required to achieve some of our favorite styles, so we find it hard to avoid. I personally get A LOT of sew-ins with leave out and straightening it frequently was a necessity, especially because of the humidity where I was going to school. I don’t ever flat iron my whole head, but there are a lot of women who do and all I can say is: the less heat, the better. Watch how much healthier your hair becomes when you take away heat.
Manipulating Your Hair
Speaking of protective styles, manipulating your hair too much causes frizziness and dryness, which leads to breakage. While heat may be your worst enemy, protective styles just might be ONE of your best friends. The key is to choose the RIGHT protective style, one that keeps the amount of heat required to little or none and will allow you to let your hair grow in peace.
Not Enough Moisture
Naturally curly hair=naturally DRY hair. Our hair requires LOTS of moisture in order for it to remain healthy. I’m talking about DAILY moisture. But simply putting moisturizer in your hair won’t do the trick. Try following the LOC method (leave-in/oil/cream) and watch how much better your hair feels and your curls look.
Not Trimming Enough
YOU MUST TRIM YOUR HAIR REGULARLY. Allowing split ends to remain because you don’t want your hair to look shorter is counterproductive. You have to trim your hair in order for it to grow. I would say that trimming your every couple of months or after you take out a protective style is best. Remember that the goal is to get rid of dead ends and that trimming too much is unnecessary. Trim only when needed.
Not Drinking Enough Water
Not drinking enough water is the source of MANY problems, and lack of hair growth is one of them. In order to grow long and healthy hair, you should drink about 2 liters of water a day. As if you needed another reason to drink water, your hair won’t grow if you’re dehydrated.
If you want to see a difference in your hair growth, try changing some of these things. If you want to see a major difference, try changing ALL of these things.
