GROWING MY NATURAL HAIR HAD ALWAYS BEEN A STRUGGLE FOR ME DURING MY LATE TEENS AND EARLY 20S, I HONESTLY NEVER THOUGHT IN A MILLION YEARS THAT MY HAIR COULD GROW PAST MY SHOULDERS.
It wasn’t until I embarked on my natural hair journey and changed my whole haircare mindset that I realised I was actually stunting my hairs ability to grow! All of the things that aren’t going to boost hair growth were a part of my lifestyle and hair care (if you can call it care ) regimen.
WAYS TO STUNT HAIR GROWTH:
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Using heat (straighteners, curlers, blowdryers)
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Chemicals (Relaxers, perms, Brazilian blow outs)
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Drying ingredients in products
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Poor diet
WAYS TO ENCOURAGE HAIR GROWTH:
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Drinking more water
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Stop using heat
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Massaging the scalp
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Hot oil treatments (adding drips of tea tree, mint or peppermint oil)
My favourite essential oils to include in scalp treatments
Peppermint Oil
Tea Tree Oil
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Rice water rinses
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Moisturising natural products
My favourite moisturising hair products
Boucleme Curl Cream
SheaMoisture JBCO Leave-In
Mielle Organics Avocado Milk
Camille Rose Naturals Curl Love
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Deep conditioning weekly
My favourite deep conditioners
Camille Rose Naturals Lavender Quench Deep Conditioner
SheaMoisture JBCO Treatment Masque
Noughty To The Rescue Hair Mask
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Healthy diet
Now those are some ways to guarantee an improvement in hair growth but I also wanted to share with you what has worked for ME personally and maybe you can give it a go for yourself!
I cut dairy and meat out of my diet 2 years ago and since then my hairs health has gone sky high! I noticed a huge difference in the way my body feels, I’m much lighter, my skin feels like it can breathe and my hair is thicker and longer (it just grows so fast!).
The second change I made is low manipulation! I no longer experiment with different up-dos and bantu knots, Curlformers and so on. I like to keep my styling real simple! I usually stick to a wash and go then leading to a high or low bun (depending on the mood!). This has meant less friction, pulling, snaging and breakage leading me to retain hair length and strength.
The final change I made was introducing scalp massages into my hair care routine. I use the O So Curly shampoo brush when washing my hair to really get rid of any dandruff, dead skin or product build up that may be stunting my growth and use it again when performing hot oil scalp treatments which are great for getting the blood flowing and encouraging your follicles to grow!
RECAP OF HAIR GROWTH BOOTING TIPS:
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Regular deep conditioning
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Scalp massages
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Healthier diet
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Drinking lots of water
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Low manipulation
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No heat/chemicals
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Natural ingredients
Patience is a must and you may not see results straight away, allow yourself at least 3 months and take monthly length checks to document your progress.
If all else fails you can introduce some supplements that encourage growth like biotin or vitamins designed specifically for hair growth. I myself trialled the CURLS liquid hair growth vitamin a few years ago and saw fast growth within 3 months.
Always consult with your Dr beforehand and I wish you luck on your hair growth journey!