10 tips for growing out hair

Hello curlies!

I am currently in the process of growing out my hair, so in this post, I will be giving you my top 10 tips for growing out your hair. Enjoy!

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1. Stop heat styling.

The first thing you need to do is drop the heat tools like flat irons and curling irons! These cause so much damage to the hair & can cause split ends. Instead, let your hair do it's natural thing! You can still dry your hair using a diffuser, but only use as much heat as you need. The lower the heat, the better. If you still need to "fix" a few curls, you can wet them, add a small amount of product, and wrap them around your finger. Then, clip/pin them to keep them in that form until they dry; once they're dry, you can un-clip/pin it and marvel at the fresh curl. ;)

2. Lead a healthy lifestyle.

This plays a pretty big role with the health of your hair! Try your best to maintain a healthy, balanced diet with plenty of protein. Exercise often & try to keep your stress levels low. Also, make sure you get lots of sleep & stay well-hydrated. Your hair (and body!) will benefit greatly from all of this.

3. Prevent damage/breakage.

Try to prevent breakage and damage to your hair by doing these things: use a silk/satin pillowcase, don't brush your hair (instead, to detangle, gently comb your hair with a wide-tooth comb in the shower while your hair is soaked & covered in conditioner), use a microfiber towel, and avoid using products with sulfates.

4. DT/PT.

Do deep treatments and protein treatments as needed to keep the protein & moisture balanced! The level of protein to moisture needed varies for different hair types & individual people, so you'll just have to find out what works for you. :) For deep treatments, I personally recommend using your favorite conditioner combined with some oils like coconut, Argan, or olive oil. For a protein treatment, I recommend a simple gelatin treatment like this one. 

5. Stop cutting your hair!

I know people think you're supposed to cut your hair every 6-8 weeks, but this just isn't true! The only reason you may actually need to get a trim is if you have split ends, in which case, go ahead and get those damaged ends cut off. Other than this, just let your hair grow out and do its thing! I haven't had my hair trimmed in a little over 4 months & have no damage at all. Whenever I spot a split end, I trim it, but other than that, I don't cut it. My hair is doing great!

However: if you have a lot of damage on the ends of your hair, you may need to do a "big chop" to get rid of that damage.

6. Massage your scalp w/ oil.

Take your favorite hair oil (my hair loves coconut & Argan oil, but you can use almost any oil) and gently massage it into your scalp. This will help the blood flow, moisturize your scalp, and encourage growth! This can also help out with dandruff. I like to do this an hour or so before a shower & then wash it out.

7. Go natural!

If you aren't already doing this, consider trying out the curly girl method. This method has greatly improved the health of my hair! Read this post to learn more about the curly girl method.

8. Keep an eye on ingredients.

This goes hand-in-hand with the tip above. Always look at the ingredients of a product before purchasing it! Try to find out what your hair does & doesn't like. This requires some trial-and-error, but once you've found out your hair's preferences, you can use products that you know it will love. Also, remember to avoid silicones & sulfates! This will help it stay happy and healthy.

9. Try hair supplements/vitamins.

There are supplements & vitamins that you can take to help your hair grow. Since I've never personally tried hair supplements or vitamins, I won't recommend a specific brand; just make sure whatever you try has biotin in it. :) As a bonus, hair supplements/vitamins usually help your nails look great as well!

10. Have patience!

Hair takes time to grow. Sure, you can do several things (like the stuff listed above!) to help it along the way, but it will still take time.

Try not to measure it too often; this may end up discouraging you if it isn't growing fast enough for your taste. I'm not saying you shouldn't measure your hair every now-and-then to keep track of your progress; go ahead and measure your hair every month or so (remember to stretch it so it's at its full length)! Just keep in mind that the growth rate of hair can vary greatly among each person.

Thus, my recommendation to you is to try to not be too obsessed with length. Instead, focus more on keeping your hair happy and healthy, and your hair will eventually get longer! The healthier the hair, the better it'll grow.

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I hope these tips will help y'all out with your hair! The picture below shows how much progress my hair has made within about 4 months.

So, what are your hair goals? Do you have any more tips to share? :)

Also, make sure to stay warm this weekend; it's snowing a lot where I am right now!

-CK

P.S. None of the pictures in this post (except for the last one) were taken by me.