Natural African hair is hard to grow because its growth rate is slow, and it experiences frequent breakages.
It is the dream of most women to have long and healthy natural hair.
Learn more about how to grow natural hair from a licensed cosmetologist and best practices from our discussion below.
HOW TO GROW NATURAL HAIR: CLEANSING PRACTICES
We should wash our natural hair regularly, i.e., once or twice in a week, to keep our scalps clean to give the hair follicles a healthy environment to grow healthy hair strands.
Avoid washing it too often because you will deprive its natural nutrients; hence, leaving it looking and feeling extremely dry, and eventually, making having stunted growth.
Besides, we should use the correct products when cleaning our natural hair.
For instance, use a shampoo that is gentle on your hair strands and the scalp.
Then, after shampooing, deep condition it to nourish it and leave it to dry naturally.
If there is a need to use heating tools, then use a heat protectant and set the blow dryer on low temperature.
DAILY HAIR ROUTINE
While we struggle to grow our natural hairs, we should also focus on minimizing its breakage.
The hair strands of an average person grow at the rate of ½ inch per month.
That means, if you lose that amount of hair or more, your hair will appear as if it is not growing.
So, here are some general best practices to take into account.
a) GET REGULAR TRIMS
Natural black hair tends to break easily, which is why; we need to trim it at least once in 3-4 months to get rid of split ends, which are the primary causes of hair breakage.
You can also wear protective hairstyles to protect your hair from damage, hence allowing it to grow smoothly.
b) DETANGLE WITH CARE
Spray some detangling/pre-poo conditioner to your natural hair, let it sit for a few minutes, and then detangle it using a wide tooth comb.
You can alternatively use your fingers.
Comb the strands gently from the roots to the ends, and avoid applying too much force, like pulling the knots.
c) SLEEP HEALTHILY
When we sleep, we tend to make random movements, hence detangling our natural hairs.
For that reason, we should protect our hair by resting our heads on a silk pillowcase rather than cotton, to reduce friction between the case and the hair strands.
We can also braid our hair, or wrap it in a satin-lined headscarf.
HOW TO GROW NATURAL HAIR WITH NUTRITION
Our scalps and hair strands need other oils, apart from the natural ones, to speed up their growth process, soften dry strands, and to make them lustrous.
Castor, olive oil, lavender, and Moroccan oils are the best options.
Keep in mind that regular scalp massage also helps to stimulate natural hair growth through increased blood flow in the scalp area.
Besides, we should also think about what we devour.
The foods that we eat have an impact on the growth of our natural hair and its strength.
We should consume enough fruits and vegetables, or foods rich in vitamins and proteins, to boost hair growth and power, to reduce breakage.
For example, one powerful food you can intake for amazing hair growth benefits is celery juice.
But there are additional benefits other than hair growth.
Celery juice will help with getting you that perfect baby skin and improve your overall body’s health.
There is nothing more prestigious for a woman than having a crown of healthy natural hair.
We should ask ourselves, what does it take my hair to grow faster and longer?
Give it the proper care, and it will not disappoint.
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