Many of us that start our natural hair journey expect our hair is supposed to grow faster and longer within months, when in reality that is not the case at all. A woman’s hair growth is about half an inch per month, while a man’s average hair growth is about an inch per month. The myth that many of us fall for is that we can actually make out hair grow faster than that rate. In actuality we can only encourage hair growth and retain the length we’ve acquired, NOT grow it faster than it does on its own.
Although many of us are hitting those yearly growth goals, there is a large number of naturals who are struggling to meet their own personal length goals. You may be at a stagnant point in your hair journey. The hair doesn’t seem to be actually growing or if so; at an extremely slow rate. Why?
Hair Care
Hair care is vital to hair growth, from setting up a personal hair regiment to using the right products for your porosity, density, texture, and curl pattern.
Yes, it is a lot to analyze, but with simple research and experimenting, you are sure to figure your hair down to the follicle it springs out of. This is the first step to creating a near perfect regiment, now you can eliminate the products that don’t benefit your hair.
Creating a routine regiment gives you a personal experience with your hair every time, learning how your curls react to certain oils and tools. During this time, you’ll also familiarize yourself with your scalp, which is the most important part of any hair care regiment and the key to hair growth. Knowing what oils, creams, and leave-ins stimulate and penetrates the scalp versus what just sits on top can be the solution to why your hair may not be growing at the average rate. So, set aside a day just for you and your hair and make friends with it.
After finding what you like, begin to pay close attention to not only the amount you use of your product but how you apply it. Racking product in small sections of your hair can distribute the product to cover each strand. Massaging your scalp with your hands or a scalp massager while shampooing or deep conditioning can stimulate hair growth. This all falls under hair care, it not just about slapping oil on your coils and expecting your hair to figure out the rest. You must aid your hair in more ways than you think.
Styles
Styling your hair in certain ways can also be another reason why your hair isn’t growing at a healthy rate. High ponytails and puffs, tight protective styles, heavily glued down frontals, can stop hair growth and even weaken the strands causing breakage. Breakage is the leading cause to slow hair growth in the natural hair community. It’s not that your hair isn’t growing, it is, you’re just breaking off the growth without even realizing.
Length Retention
As stated previously, breakage is the leading cause to slow or no sign of hair growth. Your curls may be growing at the same rate that they’re breaking off. When you shower, shedding is expected and even healthy in moderate portions, but if you see your drain filled with large amounts of strands after detangling or you feel your hair easily snapping when brushing through them, then your hair is weak. Maintaining length is another key to noticing hair growth.
Retaining the length and health you encourage with your new hair care regiment is the last step to reaching your length goal. So, trim your ends whenever YOU feel necessary whether that be once every 3 months, 6 months, or a year. Oil not only the scalp but the shaft and ends of the hair as they are oldest and weakest part of the hair. Try to deep condition once or twice a week and cleanse the hair bi-weekly to get rid of buildup which can also stomp hair growth.
The secret to hair growth is all centered around how well you care for your scalp, hair, and body. Healthy eating and drinking water is also a MAJOR key to hair growth and life! Natural hair can and will grow long with the proper attention and maintenance.