SECRETS TO HAVING LONG & HEALTHY HAIR

My hair is gently pulled up into a puff with an extra large elastic and the curls are a result of a chunky twist out, using finger detangling and moisture from the night before. 

When I looked for secrets to growing long hair,  I became obsessed because I felt like the answer wasn't easy to find. The first thing I did was look on YouTube videos to find someones hair care routine that I could try on myself to see results. I have also tried tons of new products and invested a lot of time into teaching myself new ways of handling my hair. After a few years of trial and error, and changing bad habits, I think I found the answer. Surprisingly it was something that kept being repeated on other videos where they give a few tips on how to grow long hair. So here's a few tips that I keep in mind that relate to the secret to having longer healthier hair. Which now is no secret to me.

1. Gentle Handling

I know gentle handling is one of the most important things that I've learned from watching other people handle their long healthy hair. As I watched several videos I noticed that they cared a lot about whether or not a strand would break and I did not have that in me at first but now I see that every strand does count if you want your hair to be full and not appear thin when it's finally at the length that you desire. Gentle handling also ensures you're not creating split ends, meaning you would trim less, which also means you will see your growth results a lot faster.

*How do you handle hair more gently? 

Well the first thing I do when it's time for me to remove tangles, and to also organize my hair, is work in manageable sections. If your hair is thicker you need smaller sections, just don't grab so much hair that you feel like it's a lot. If you're going to use a comb on your natural or relaxed hair you should have the hair already able to run through your fingers first and with some type of lubrication, such as water and oil as needed, to help not create split ends. Then you want to use, not a fine-tooth comb, but a wide-tooth comb starting at the ends of the hair until there is no resistance and slowly working your way up to the root, never forcing the comb through tangles, stop and work it out with your hands.
Caring for your hair gently takes more time even when styling gently you must go slower. You should never rush through your hair because if you break it that's several months of growth for you to grow back that only took one second to snap off.

2. Patience

For most people trying to grow long hair, they already have some hair on their heads but the hair is not being cared for in a way that makes sure it's thriving.
It takes time to build the right hair care routine for your hair and for your lifestyle but once you do this all you need to do is simply wait for more hair to grow while you continue to take care of the hair that you already have. You have to preserve your ends and protect it from things that could make this seem to take forever.
The average growth rate is half an inch per month adding up to 6 inches every year. So that means there is hope for everyone if they're willing to change something this year that could have been holding them back before.

3. Health and Nutrition

The hair strand is made of keratin, like fingernails, and even though the hair is technically not alive and cannot feel, it is still attached to the scalp for a growth cycle that is predetermined by genetics and health. My favorite part of the life cycle is the growth stage. My least favorite part is the shed stage where the hair is released from the scalp and the strand will come out naturally without any force being put upon it. It's like the strand has officially died but a new one will form in that spot and start its life cycle automatically.

A great example to use for a hair strands life and how it is connected to the body is a pregnant woman. When women are pregnant they need to take prenatal vitamins, those vitamins make sure they have enough nutrition for themselves and for the baby but there's also leftover nutrition that goes to the hair. When the mother is pregnant the shed stage in the hair growth cycle is put on hold while the growth stage is continuing which means you will have longer and thicker hair from both extra growth and from not losing as many shed hair.
When the woman gives birth she no longer takes those vitamins and her body gives everything to the baby causing hormones to change within her as well. The hair will then respond by starting the shed cycle and she will seemingly lose a lot of hair during this time but only to balance it back to normal in a way because those hairs that she kept during pregnancy would have already been gone had she not been pregnant. I believe they call this postpartum shedding.

Being pregnant is just an example but if you're not eating right, not drinking enough water, and not exercising then your hair will respond by not getting good nutrition and not staying hydrated and shedding more frequently from lack of blood flow to the scalp. If you don't like taking pills there are gummy vitamins that contain biotin which are great for hair, skin, and nails. If you can find a more potent formula that contain MSM this ingredient will increase the length of your hair growth cycle and also the speed of growth during that time so that you can see more thickness and length. Our body is like a machine and the most important organs get all the nutrition first so Hair, Skin, and Nails simply get leftovers.

4. Moisture Protein balance

If your hair feels dry to the touch this could be a normal result with your texture. Or it could be lack of moisture or even improper use of products. If you have any texture in your hair at all then your hair will naturally be drier than straight hair. This is because the hair has a structure that has an outer layer called cuticles that are kind of like shingles on a roof and overlap each other. They play a very important part in a healthy hair care regimen and a damaged cuticle layer can never truly be repaired, so be careful with hard brushes and tiny combs.
A straight hair strand has flat shingles all the way down which trap the moisture into the center of the hair strand for longer periods of time. Curly hair bends a lot and so the cuticle is more raised at each curl bend allowing water to flow in and out easily causing our hair to lose moisture in the atmosphere quicker. It's not a bad thing it's just a curly hair thing that must be considered when building a regimen.

Left:Healthy Cuticle. Middle:Raised Cuticle. Right:Damaged Cuticle

Try using moisturizing shampoo to gently cleanse your curls and kinks and use a Moisturizing Conditioner. After you rinse your conditioner out you should then apply your leave in and your favorite hair oil to lock in moisture better.  Then you may air dry or blow dry if you have to but wait until 1 hour of air-drying with stretched hair either in twists or a bun to encourage that moisture to really stay. Be very careful not to apply heavy things directly onto the scalp. It will clog your pores, cause irritation, and could slow your growth.

The cuticle on your hair responds to pH balances, such as that found in a perm, which causes the cuticle to raise allowing it to penetrate the strand easily. (Note: A perm will go inside your strands to break down the natural protein bond and remove your texture permanently. So it is best to do a protein treatment after a relaxer to make sure your hair is back strong again otherwise you will see more breakage from it).

Cuticles also respond to temperature and using heat will allow your strands to raise their cuticle up, allowing moisture to get in and out easily. And the opposite happens with cold, your hair strand cuticle will close themselves as a response. This can be good if you are trying to lock in moisture after a great deep conditioner so make sure you do a cool rinse.

If you apply deep conditioner and your hair still feels dry afterward, next time try putting your deep conditioner on and then cover your hair with plastic and apply some type of heat to it. If you don't have a hot conditioning cap or a hooded dryer that's okay you can just wet a towel and microwave it or boil it and wrap it around your head. You will feel the difference if you can truly get moisture inside of your hair strand on a regular basis but if you do too much deep moisturizing with your hair it will feel soggy and mushy and will be easy to break as well so that's where protein comes in.

Protein treatments are used as a temporary bandage to cover and strengthen weak areas on a hair strand to make it less prone to breakage. They should not be used on a weekly basis but more so on a bi-monthly routine and depending on when your hair really needs it. After a protein treatment your hair will feel stronger and possibly feel thicker but this feeling is temporary as you continue moisturizing it will become softer. And people love to have soft hair but strength will really help keep it on your head so you need the right balance of both.


*How do I know if a treatment is moisturizing or strengthening?

You must build a knowledge for the ingredients on the back of your products and also read the front label to see if it says the words moisturizing or strengthening. You also don't want this treatment to have a quick rinse out. For a long lasting effect you want something that actually says deep conditioner on the label and that it is designed to penetrate the hair over a time span of at least 15 minutes. If it says 5 minutes on it, then it is not a deep conditioner.

Well I hope these long healthy hair secrets did not disappoint you and I hope they help you to open your eyes in a different way when you see your hair strand. If you want to feel your cuticle layer on your hair all you have to do is take one strand and run your finger down, it should feel smooth and take that same Strand and try to run your finger the opposite way up the strand and it should feel rough because you will be going against the hair's natural cuticle direction. Pretty cool right?

Well when I take care of my hair I know that more hair is already growing and that is the type of Peace of Mind you need to have during your journey. Know that it is growing and that you just need to find ways to preserve that length that you grew on a daily basis.

Being consistent with your hair is also an important tip because just think about deep conditioning your hair, yes the moisture is in your hair for now but that's temporary. When your hair feels really dry you have to repeat deep conditioning, repeat washing, and repeat moisturizing with leave ins, oils and water...with repetition you will see your results all year round.

If you ask the right questions and search for the answers you will find it. When I wanted to know how to grow hair I didn't stop until I knew everything I needed to be successful. It all has to start with you loving your hair and when people see it they will love it too, they will see that it is not neglected. Even if it's not the texture you wanted to have you cannot change your genetics but you can change your perspective on curly hair textures. Having permed hair is not for all hair textures because of individual strand thickness. Some hair simply cannot handle it and it is never good for the scalp in any case. So don't feel pressured to grow your hair natural and don't feel pressured to relax your hair with a perm either. No one should control what's on your head except for you. Become the master of your hair care.

If you have anything to share feel free to do so in the comments below.