If you have read my articles here on NaturallyCurly (or my blog posts“>, you know that I cut my hair last month. And now I am doing everything in my power to re-grow it longer, stronger and healthier than it was before. Sadly, there are no magic potions or pills (or I would have them by now!”> but there are a few things I am doing to help the process as much as I can. On average, hair grows between a half inch and inch per month depending, so I want to maximize my growth potential. A lot of these things I have already been doing for years to help with growth. Read on for more.
No more bleach!
Bleach is what got my hair screwed up in the first place! A hard lesson learned: it’s damaging and terrible and even if you do everything else right like I did, it can still potentially mess your hair up. Right now I am trying to re-grow out my natural color which I have not seen since 2003ish. Though I don’t love my natural color, the less chemicals on my hair the better off i will be. With this I hope I stay as strong because between my roots, ammonia free color and still bleached very ends my hair color right now is certainly not the best.
No heat tools.
This will be especially easy since the weather is getting warmer. Aside from not touching flat or curling irons, which I so rarely used to begin with, I won’t even be diffusing or blow drying until maybe November? Even then I will be trying to let my hair air dry as much as possible. Air drying is so much better on the hair and it’s what I try to do 99% of the time anyway.
Viviscal.
I LOVE these hair supplements. I have been taking them twice a day since December and have no plan to stop. I don’t have any adverse effects and believe it is helping my hair grow. Viviscal.com says they are “Scientifically formulated hair vitamin supplements for hair loss with the exclusive marine complex AminoMar®. These hair vitamin supplements for women help to nourish thinning hair and promote existing healthy hair growth from within.*”
Drinking 2 cups of Bamboo Leaf Tea daily.
I love tea so this is so easy for me. I touched upon why Bamboo is excellent for hair growth in my recent article.
Eating a hair healthy diet.
What you eat on the inside shows up on the outside and I am a big believer of enhancing beauty from the inside out. Lately I have been very focused on a hair healthy diet which includes lean protein (chicken, turkey”>, lentils, eggs, nuts (especially brazil nuts”>, fish (especially salmon”>, leafy greens, greek yogurt, fruits and more. I believe it is helping my hair grow in nicely and a bonus is I think I dropped a few pounds.
Drink a gallon of water a day.
I do this for my overall health, and it certainly helps aid in having nice hair.
Scalp Oil Blends and Pre pooing with coconut oil.
Before I wash my hair–which lately has been 3 times a week–I will go to sleep with an essential oil blend on my scalp and coconut oil through my lengths. My favorite essential oil hair growth blend as of lately has been the Carol’s Daughter Lisa’s Hair Elixir. I also like the Wild Growth Oil from Sally Beauty Supply. When I apply the oils I massage my hair for anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes to help boost circulation and encourage healthy growth.Deep conditioning treatments.
Something else I have been doing for years. I deep treat just about every time I wash. Once every other week I make sure it is a repairing protein treatment, like Ouidad’s Deep Treatment Curl Restoration Therapy to help repair and prevent damage. Other favorite not-as-intense deep conditioners I like are just about all of the Shea Moisture (I tend to mix them all together”>, Briogeo Don’t Despair, Repair!, Ouidad Melt Down Extreme, Living Proof Restore, Carol’s Daughter Monoi, Devacurl Heaven in Hair and Original Moxie Intense Quench Deep Conditioner. I also will use my Huetiful Hair Steamer with my deep treatments sometimes.
Protecting hair when I am out in the sun.
Sun exposure can actually break down the hair the way it does damage to the skin! When I am out in the sun if I am not covered in a hat or cute bandana I use a protective product with UV protection such as the Ouidad Sun Shield Spray or any of the Verb products since they all contain UV protection inside!
Using Monoi Oil.
Even since researching about this ingredient, I have been hooked. Sometimes I mix pure Monoi oil in with my sealer or stylers, or I’ll use product likes that contain this wonderful ingredient such as items from the Carol’s Daughter Monoi line or Shea Moisture Tahitian Noni & Monoi line.
Co-washing and sulfate free shampoos.
I like alternating between co-washing and sulfate free shampoos. While some curlies just rely on co-wash, I like a good sulfate free shampoo to help rid my hair of styling products, sweat from work outs and gross toxins from the environment. Briogeo Be Gentle Be Kind is one of my favorite co-washes and the Design Essentials Quinoa & Bamboo Shampoo is a current sulfate free favorite.
Sleeping on satin.
Whether it is on a satin pillowcase or in a satin bonnet–my boyfriend is used to it by now–I make sure to protect my hair at night by sleeping on satin. If my hair feels extra dry at night I also moisturize it with the Shea Moisture Anti-Breakage Strengthening Mist.
Those are just some of the ways I protect and am taking care of my hair health so it can re-grow longer and stronger than before. Please subscribe to my blog to follow my on my hair growth journey at my blog, Diane Mary Beauty.
