With summer fast approaching it looks like everyone around me is wanting to grow their hair long. With long hair comes super cute styles, including braids, buns, curls and different ponytail styles. The big question to long hair is; how does one grow long hair quickly and healthily?
I hear all the time, as a hairstylist, that people think their hair can only grow to a certain length and then it just stops. This is not true. Your hair is constantly growing, otherwise, how would you have roots that need to be colored? The thing is your hair will start to break at the bottom for many different reasons; including heat damage or roughness in general on the area.
Heres some tips that I have learned over the years of doing hair.
1. Leave your hair alone. For summer and hot weather try air drying your hair is key. (You can still dry your roots to give volume. This will also help you not get greasy as quick.) I know not everyone loves the style your hair brings when air dried and I have styling ideas for you if you continue on.
2. Less heat = healthy hair. If you want curls the wand is the best option. This is because your hair is not stuck in the middle of two hot surfaces. It is wrapped around leaving lots of your hair off the hot metal. Wands have a reputation of leaving the curls in longer. So you won't need curl every day plus loose beach waves are all the rage right now. The next day or two days after curl look will make you look effortless for spring and summer.
3. Cut your hair! If you are trying to grow your hair out you will need to cut the split ends off. This might mean 2 inches if you are starting off or maybe you just need a dusting to get the little ends ready. I would suggest cutting every 8 to 12 weeks during your grow out stage.
4. The ends of your hair are very fragile. Treat them gently. I never put the ends on the wand or any other heat to not damage them any further.
5. Use the products your stylist suggests. They do your hair and you trust them to cut or color it so why would you not trust their product suggestions? The products they suggest do NOT have wax that will build up and hurt your hair. Heat protectant is a must if you are styling. I also suggest a leave-in product to ensure health.
6. Brushes: a detangling brush such a “The Wet Brush” is an absolute must for after the shower to help you not hurt or break your hair off. I usually use a leave-in product during this step. A nylon bristle bore brush is also key for brushing at your root area.
7. Dry shampoo = your new best friend! Stop washing your hair every day. Your hair and scalp need the oils. It takes some time to train your hair but you can do it I promise. I wash my hair anyway from every 4-6 days. I used to wash every other day but trained to this point. To train; do it one day longer at a time. So start every other day then keep there about a week then move on to every 2 days and do that for a week and so on.
8. Stimulate the follicles. Brush your scalp at night and in the shower. Stimulating is the best way to activate the growth process. The nylon boar bristle brush is ideal for this part.
9. Vitamins are very helpful. Biotin is the natural protein in the hair so if you wanted to get straight biotin you can. I use “Nature’s Bounty: Hair, Skin, & Nails Gummies.” I take two a day and noticed the difference in about 4 weeks. (Note that these work amazing but they do not just focus on the hair on your head. You will need to shave more often now!)
10. My last suggestion is extensions. This might seem like the quick way out but to me, this was the way I was about to grow my hair out from shoulder length to past my chest. Tape in extensions acts as a sandwich that protected my hair from the heat of a stying tool and held the style much longer. This option with the steps above got my hair to where I wanted in less than a year.
With all of these steps, I wish you great success in your growing out process! Let me know if you are doing all of this already or are ready to make the first step! You can book your hair trim with me or come get the best products for your hair here.
So happy to be able to help you ladies out!
