I use to look at womens hair and wonder how they did it. I would always get the same answer…  oh its natural.. its in my genes… uhh.. no its not.. Now that I have been able to retain my length through my current practices, I know that the oh its natural and I cant get the same results is Oscar Meyer BOLOGNA!

1. Growing your hair is not always the problem. The problem is retaining what you’ve grown. If your hair has been stalling at the same length for months or years, your hair is breaking off. More specifically, it’s breaking off at the same rate it is growing out. For example: If your hair is 5 inches long and grows and 1 inch a month but, breaks 1 inch a month (probably little 1/4 inch pieces at a time), your hair will stay 5 inches month after month.

2. The Health of your scalp is the health of your hair.  If you do not water your yard how do you expect the grass to grow.  A healthy yard equals healthy grass? (Weird connection right.. but it works ok!) If you do not take care of your scalp then you can’t expect your hair to grow.  Many times we take lots of care of our hair but we forget that it does not grow at the ends… it grows from the ROOT!

3. Trim off all damaged, scraggly ends. If you are confident in your own skills, you can trim your hair yourself but, going to a professional for this cut would ensure all the damaged weak hair is cut off. Even if you’re 100% natural, if your ends are breaking, your ends are probably weak and a trim will get rid of split and weathered ends. It’s easier to maintain healthy ends, weak ends will look thin and get weaker over time.

4. Establish a solid hair regimen. This can take up to a month or 2 to establish but, it’s worth it. Find out how often you need to shampoo, condition and deep condition your hair. How long does your hair stay moisturized?  By the end of the month you should have a regimen that looks similar to this (fitting your hair needs of course, this is just an example):

5. Scalp Oil Massage. What!? Dr. Oz says this so much along with Ayurveda (Ahh-Your-Vay-Duhh).  Why? Because it works… does anyone realize why we get our hair weave and wigs from India? BECAUSE THEY KNOW HOW TO GROW IT THATS WHY!!!! He states that the hair follicles must have circulation for hair growth stimulation and this is widely known throughout India where they have WONDERFUL hair.  In order for our hair to grow we must stimulate the follicles.

Also, Dry African American hair “WILL NOT GROW”!  Im going to say it again… DRY  AFRICAN AMERICAN HAIR WILL NOT GROW!  So, if you are looking for growth and you are keeping your hair dry and brittle, Good Luck.  For hair that is growing and healthy you must keep your hair oiled and moisturized regularly.  Products I use are ORS (Organic Root Stimulator) Olive Oil Replenishing Pack and Keravada’s Kera1010 for severe hair breakage, shedding and other scalp conditions.

Regimen:

Detangle 1x a week on damp hair.

Alternate protein and moisturizing conditioner every other week.
Deep Condition 2x a month

Use spray leave-in, cream moisturizer and seal ends 2x a week.

6. Be consistent. Once you find out what works stick to the same regimen week after week. You can switch up products but, research them first and switch products only AFTER you’ve learned your hair. Learn what ingredients your hair likes and then venture out of your box.

7. Low manipulation. I have to say most women who are able to retain almost all of their length are very low manipulation. Most stick to twist outs, braid outs, protective styles, buns, etc. Remember the more you comb and pull your hair, the more damage you’re doing to it. It’s like wearing and washing the same clothes every week, over time they will get raggedy, same with your hair. When you’re trying to grow out your hair, you want it to be as healthy as it can be to avoid unnecessary trims and breakage due to weak over manipulated ends (that’s what breaks off).

That’s it! That’s all! I promise you every woman I have come across who is trying to grow out their hair, comes to these same 5 conclusions.

Try it and then let me know how much hair you grows 6-12 months.