TIPS FOR GROWING HEALTHY, STRONG HAIR

2) Eat right – We’ve all heard the saying ‘you are what you eat’. If you eat healthy, your hair will be healthy and strong. I’m not saying you can’t have long hair on an unhealthy diet but your hair probably won’t be very healthy. Again, eating healthy is good for your overall health. Try to have a balanced diet, with lots of fruit, vegetables and protein (your hair is made up mostly of protein).

3) Deep condition – Please please please deep condition your hair! It is soooo important!! Deep conditioners are moisturisers that are applied to the hair for usually a minimum of 30 minutes, making your hair softer, stronger and more manageable. My hair completely changed when I started deep conditioning. You should aim to deep condition at least once a week to maintain soft, healthy hair. Of course, this may not be possible for many so deep condition as often as you can. You can buy deep conditioners at many stores or you can make your own. (I will do a whole post on deep conditioning, soon, including recipes for DIY deep conditioners).

Deep conditioners

4) Trim your hair when necessary – Now this might be a bit of controversial one. Many different people say different things when it comes to trimming hair. When I had relaxed hair, I stuck to the conventional trim every 6 weeks or so. But now that my hair is natural, I only properly trim my hair twice or three times a year (depending on the condition of my hair). I do this because my ends are a lot stronger and healthier than when I had relaxed hair, partly because I don’t use chemicals or heat on my hair. My advice is to pay attention to your hair. If you notice that your ends are damaged and stringy, CUT THEM OFF. There’s no point hanging on to damaged, unattractive hair.

5) Minimal heat – Heat is one of the worst things for your hair. It can quite literally burn your hair and damage the cuticle, leading to heat damage, which usually has to be cut off. I personally only straighten my hair once or twice a year. I noticed that when I reduced the heat I was using, my hair got so much thicker. If you must use heat, PLEASE use heat protectant.

KEEP TO A MINIMUM!!

6) Use the correct products – Finding the correct products for your hair is so important. There’s no point using a product that doesn’t work for you just because your friend used it and it worked for her. Everyone’s hair is different. Fair enough, try different products out; whenever you use a new product, observe your hair and see if it worked or not. If it didn’t work for you, don’t use it again.

7) Protective styling – Protective styles are any styles in which the hair is up and protected from the elements. These styles usually entail your ends being tucked away to protect them from rubbing up against your clothes, being exposed to wind etc. Protective styling includes buns, wigs, braids, cornrows etc. As long as the style is low manipulation, it counts as a protective style. (Another full post to come!)

8) Moisturise and seal – Please moisturise your hair!! You can only get moisture from water-based products (products that have water/aqua in their top 5 ingredients). OILS DO NOT MOISTURISE YOUR HAIR! Oils simply seal the moisture into your hair, therefore you should follow a water-based moisturiser with an oil to seal the moisture in. Without sealing, the moisture is likely to quickly evaporate from your hair, leaving your hair dry.

9) Detangling – Detangling your hair is necessary if you want to avoid having a bird’s nest on your hair. You should detangle with a wide-tooth comb or, better yet, your fingers. I noticed a lot less breakage and shedding when I started using my fingers to detangle my hair – of course, finger detangling is more time-consuming so feel free to use a comb. Just make sure to start from the bottom and work your way up to the roots. You should detangle your hair when wet and soaked in conditioner.

10) BE PATIENT! – This is the one everyone hates to hear lol! But you have to be patient. Your hair will grow. It just takes a while sometimes but it will grow. You just have to focus on looking after it so that you can retain your length.

Tara xXx