5 REASONS YOU AREN’T RETAINING LENGTH

I often hear people complaining that “oh my hair doesn’t grow”, “what can I do to make my hair grow?”, “my hair stays at one length” etc etc. Well there’s a reason for that! Your hair DOES grow! You just aren’t retaining the new length and it’s important to figure out why…

Stress is one of the main causes for hair loss. If something traumatic has happened to you recently or you are going through a hard time, that may be why your hair is falling out. Stress can also manifest in other ways e.g. weight gain/loss, bad skin, headaches etc (I know that when I’m very stressed, I break out like crazy). This is usually something out of our control but do try to take it easy and do things to ease your stress, such as meditation, yoga, exercise, therapy, writing in a journal etc.

If your hair is dry, it will break off – it’s really as simple as that! Unfortunately, our hair is naturally dry (that’s just the way it is!) so you have to ensure you add moisture. In my opinion, MOISTURE is the number one (and only) rule for natural hair hence why I’m always going on about deep conditioning. Dryness can be caused by a number of factors, such as the environment, bad products, weather or just pure laziness lol. It is your hair so it is up to you to make sure you moisturise your hair.

3. DRY ENDS

I know that this may seem the same as the previous points but this is very important so I felt it needed a point of its own. MOISTURISE AND SEAL YOUR ENDS! The ends of your hair are the driest parts of your hair (think about it, those ends are probably years old if you have slightly longer hair) so if you don’t moisturise them, they will break off. In addition, because of the curly/kinky texture of our hair, the sebum (the oils the scalp produces) can’t travel down the hair strand to the ends because it gets stuck in all the kinks and curls. This is why I’m such an advocate for protective styling because it keeps your ends moisturised and tucked away. Also, be careful of your ends rubbing up against your clothes.

TREAT YOUR HAIR WITH CARE!! If you have to write that on your mirror in lipstick, do so! Think about it, if you are constantly dry combing, tugging, pulling and generally mistreating your hair, it’s gonna get weak and it will break off. Despite the way it looks and feels, natural hair is very delicate and it really isn’t as strong as it looks. Therefore, you have to look after it and treat it like a newborn baby. I always tell people: don’t do your hair when you’re angry/upset/frustrated/irritated – you’ll take that anger out on your hair lol! Just throw on a scarf/hat or put it in a bun and handle it when you’ve calmed down.

5. POOR DIET
I know I’ve mentioned this before but you are what you eat! This is why it’s so important to try to maintain a healthy diet. If you eat junk all day everyday, your hair is likely to be very weak and unhealthy. You need to have a balanced diet containing lots of fruits and vegetables in order to get all the vitamins you need. If you’re not sure you’re getting all the nutrients required, you should take a multivitamin (I personally take a multivitamin and a cod liver oil tablet everyday). And DRINK WATER! If you’re not drinking enough water, your hair will 100% be dry as a bone. I make sure to drink at least 2 litres of water per day. Healthy hair starts from the inside, people! (If you’re curious about what sort of food to eat to promote healthy hair, pop back to my post on food from a few weeks ago).

Now, I’m not saying that these are ALL the reasons you’re not retaining length but these are some of the most common reasons that people don’t retain length. Take care of your hair and it will grow! It’s really that simple, guys!

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Tara xXx