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Home • Growth

How to Get Your Hair Past "That" Length

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How to Get Your Hair Past "That" Length
By Nikki Walton · Updated July 27, 2015
Photo of Bianca Alexa

Have you ever experienced a hair growth plateau? It’s when your hair can’t seem to grow past a certain length: be it neck length, arm pit length, bra strap length etc. This is probably due to some practices (or lack thereof”> in your natural hair care regimen. If you are currently at a growth plateau, you’ll probably find that hair growth isn’t the problem: retaining length is (your hair may be breaking off as fast as it’s growing”>. It’s also possible that your hair isn’t growing as full or as rapidly as it could depending on how well you take care of your hair. It’s tough to come to terms with the fact that your hair isn’t prospering, but once you take steps to address the issue(s”>, you’ll be well on your way to longer hair at its healthiest.

Assess the problem

What is causing your hair to stay at one length? There are a number of poor hair habits that could be the culprit; here are a few to start with:

  • Over-manipulation can cause dryness, shedding, and breakage
  • Rough handling of the hair – combing too hard, detangling improperly etc.
  • Moisture overload reduces elasticity and therefore weakens the hair
  • Protein overload results in brittle hair that breaks easily
  • Defective styling instead of protective styling – not properly maintaining the hair during and after installing a protective style, leaving the protective style in for too long
  • Misuse/overuse of hair tools such as combs, brushes, bobby pins, etc.
  • Overuse of heat styling
  • Using the wrong products for your hair type
  • Using harsh chemicals – coloring/dyeing the hair (almost always causes dryness/breakage to Type 4 hair, especially when it isn’t maintained properly with regular conditioning treatments”>
  • Not trimming often enough
  • Not following healthy hair practices such as deep conditioning, detangling properly, and moisturizing and sealing

The list may not end here, but these are some of the more common ones to give you an idea of where you may be going wrong at. Once you know the problem, you can eliminate it and take steps to get your hair back on track. If the issue is heat or color, don’t be tempted to go back. Do whatever is necessary for the health of your hair, it’ll be worth it in the long run.

Trim it

When you’re at a growth plateau, it’s likely that starting with a fresh trim will benefit your hair tremendously. You don’t want to try nursing damaged hair back to health. (Trust me, I’ve tried it myself”>. If you’re uncomfortable with losing length, you can protective style until your hair grows back or simply trim gradually. Once you have the damaged hair out of the way, you can focus on preserving and growing your healthy hair.

Take pictures

Now that you know the problem and have cut away any damage, you’re ready to start with a clean slate. Take pictures! I cannot stress how important this is. When you don’t have a way to document your hair growth, you will feel like it’s going nowhere. But when you have pictures to look back on every milestone, you can really tell if you’re getting it right. 6 months or a year from now, you’ll be able to see that you are finally on your way to getting past your growth plateau.

Put it away

For Type 4 hair, protective styling is almost always a bulletproof method in regards to retaining length. When long term protective styling, some things to remember are:

  • Never leave the style in for longer than 4-6 weeks
  • Moisturize and oil your scalp while you have the style installed
  • When you take the style out, remove any shed hair before wetting the hair. If you don’t, you’ll have a knotted, tangled mess on your hands and you will lose hair.
  • Give your hair a break for at least 1-2 weeks in between styles.

You can also do short term protective styles like buns or goddess braids which give you the freedom to wash your hair when desired. (When bunning, be sure not to bun too tightly and to switch up the placement of your bun every few days to keep the hair from breaking off in that area”>.

Go on a hair challenge

Article continues after video.

When your hair has you in a funk, one of the best things to do is to go on a hair challenge. It’ll keep you from cutting all of your hair off on a whim because of sheer frustration. And it’ll give you something to look forward to and work towards. Mentally record and/or write down your goals and strive to achieve them. For example, I am currently on a 6-month no heat/protective styling challenge with my hair. For the first month, I’ve been co-washing my hair every three days and keeping it in buns. I flat ironed prior to the challenge and took pictures and I plan on flat ironing at the end of the challenge to see my growth.

Get inspired

Check out other naturals whose length your aspire to have. It’s not to make you feel bad or down about your own hair, but to give you something to look forward to. Some of my personal favorites on Instagram are @hey_curlie, @chronicurls,@chigirlmakeup and @simplybiancaalexa.

Learn your hair

While you’re working on getting past your growth plateau, make sure you utilize this time to learn your hair if you haven’t already. Try new products if you need to and discover whether or not your hair likes them. I used to wear box braids all of the time and having my hair out now while wearing buns has really given me time to learn my hair. I know what areas are drier than others and what areas have tighter curls than others. I’ve found products my hair said “eh” to and products that it absolutely loved. I have a regimen that works for me and my hair and I’m sticking to it because I’ve seen prosperous results.

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You can and you will get past this growth plateau. This is not the end for your hair. You may be having some trouble now, but if you follow these steps, you’ll be able to get your hair where you want it to be. Have patience, show your hair love, and watch it grow.

What do you do when you hit a plateau?


This article was written by Kanisha of BlackNaps.org and published on CurlyNikki.

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Home • Beauty

The Boom of K-Beauty Blush And Why It’s Everywhere

From K-pop to Cottagecore, BeautyCon examines global blush trends and their connected popularity.
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The Boom of K-Beauty Blush And Why It’s Everywhere
The Chosunilbo JNS/Imazins via Getty Images)
By Cierra Black · Updated December 19, 2024

K-Beauty trends have dominated the feeds, cosmetic counters, and online moodboards for the past few years. At the same time, blush is having its moment, with looks such as sunset blush, blush contouring, and cottage-core makeup doing rounds across beauty circles worldwide.

Makeup artists in the global editorial sphere, such as Chinese MUA Valentina Li whose work can be seen on the cover of W Korea, have used blush and bright pigments to color outside the lines, so to speak. Meanwhile in the States, cottage-core and strawberry makeup blush trends were gaining traction in tandem, as well as sunset blush and bright under eyes through American creators such as Alissa Janay and Naezrah. The culmination of the two developments results in one of many techniques of interest for international beauty lovers: the undereye blush trend.

The particular way soft pink blush is placed under the eyes and across the apples of the cheeks is a growing technique born out of K-beauty circles, through the rise in influence of K-pop groups such as Aespa and NewJeans. A slight evolution from the Aegyo Sal K-Beauty technique that accentuates the under eye for a youthful look, this lifting blush trend shares more similarities with Western blush placements, and therefore may speak to its global traction.

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A post shared by 조은비 | Jo Eun Bee (@biyaaaa)

While the practice existed amongst many Korean MUAs (namely Jo Eun Bee, MUA to many K-pop stars and actresses), its large-scale popularity cemented by 2022, around the time global sensation NewJeans debuted and took off. Bee’s utilization of Clinique’s Cheek Pop blush sent the internet into a frenzy and prompted the trend that Sharon Lee, Korean American beauty and cultural creator, believes harnesses a key aspect to K-pop’s allure. 

As far as the late 2010s to 2020s are concerned, K-pop groups have commanded the global zeitgeist. Consider: Aespa’s Coachella 2022 performance, NewJeans’ historic performance at Lollapalooza 2023, BLACKPINK’s global sold out tour, highly visible collaborations with Western artists such as Selena Gomez and Megan Thee Stallion, and fashion and beauty ambassadorships with the likes of Chanel — the influence is undeniable. Everyone is talking about them, everyone loves them, and everyone wants their look. 

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A post shared by 조은비 | Jo Eun Bee (@biyaaaa)

Lee believes a large element of the K-pop beauty influence is its stars’ ability to balance both cute and sexy aesthetics, as executed through traditional and editorial influences. 

Article continues after video.

“We’re definitely seeing the Hallyu in action,” she explains, across cultural elements including language, food, film, beauty, and music. Hallyu, or “Korean Wave,” which originated in the 1990s refers to the circulation and acceptance of Korean culture globally. 

“I feel like global audiences are hypnotized by Korean dramas, K-pop, K-food, K-beauty, and anything that’s a vessel for Korean culture because Koreans have a way of making people and things aesthetically pleasing. We deeply care about outward beauty as a society. In Korean culture, beauty means success.”

She speaks to Korean culture’s affinity for the cutesy, girl next door vibe, as exemplified by K-pop girl groups, in relation to the way these groups are adapting for global audiences. With global popularity increasing, many K-pop stars are opting for a more “editorial” look, which helps to balance the more innocent and conservative aesthetic with an edgier, yet elevated twist. The blend of Korean and global beauty standards results in the popularity of a fun and flushed approach to blush application. 

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A post shared by 조은비 | Jo Eun Bee (@biyaaaa)

Of note, is the influential “soft bunny aesthetic” which also adapts a high blush placement to emulate rounded bunny-like cheeks. While this cutesy aesthetic pulls from many influences including Japanese culture, its reach was expanded by NewJeans, whose utilization of bunny motifs is almost synonymous with their brand.

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“I’ve been seeing bunnies EVERYWHERE—Sandy Liang, New Jeans, hip hop artists wearing bunny hats, etc. All this peaking in 2023, aka the year of the rabbit, is also funny and probably connected,” Lee contemplates. “I think the soft bunny fashion trend is a response to folks finding the softer life ideal, especially post-COVID with recent economic turmoil and political upheaval.” This plausible correlation sits in the same conversation of the cottagecore trend which rose in the U.S. for similar reasons.

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A post shared by 조은비 | Jo Eun Bee (@biyaaaa)


Today, the K-beauty blush trend has positioned many K-beauty makeup brands to take center stage alongside Western brands that historically have dominated global markets. Korean brands such as AOU Cosmetics (helmed by Jo Eun Bee), JSM Beauty, Hince, and Fwee to name a few, are excellent places to start if you’re interested in trying the rosy blush look for yourself.

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