Grow Natural Hair Fast w/ Tips for Long Healthy Hair 2021

MNHE is always interested in helping young ladies grow natural hair fast. We cover everything from nutrition down to daily routine to stimulate effective hair growth.

Contents

Drink Plenty of Water

Water assists in providing hair growth. Be it through consumption or by washing our hair using it. I advise you to consume at least 3 liters of water in a day (about 1 gallon) to see some decent hair growth. Why does consuming water assist in hair growth? If we do not drink enough water, then we become dehydrated. Dehydration also harms your hair as it will contribute to hair thinning. So, by drinking enough water, you help strengthen your hair. Water also plays a vital role in cleansing our hair when we wash using it. It is super hydrating when it comes in to contact with our hair, especially when our hair is dry. When it comes to detangling, the process will be much more manageable as our hair will be wet.

Eating well “Nutrition”

It’s interesting how having a balanced diet does not only help contribute to a healthy mind and body but also our hair as well. I think when I began living a healthier lifestyle by mostly consuming whole food (fruits, vegetables, meat), I started seeing the positive effects of this lifestyle change on my hair too. My hair became a lot darker, grew longer (obviously), became thicker, and felt less dry. If you stay consistent with these eating habits, not only will your body thank you but so will your mind, skin, and hair!

Protective Hairstyles

A protective hairstyle is any hairstyle that will keep and protect your ends from anything that can harm it in terms of environmental factors or chemical factors. When you continuously comb your hair, detangle it and blow dry it, you are slowly contributing to unnecessary hair loss. When we do protective hairstyles, we help give our hair a much-needed break from continuous hair manipulation. So, what sorts of hairstyles are considered protective styles? Low manipulation hairstyles are those that can be done daily using just your natural hair. Some of the most popular hairstyles are twists, wigs, cornrows, Bantu knots, and buns, to name a few.

Moisturize

Type 4 hair is considered to be the driest of all hair types. As a result, our hair requires a whole lot of moisture. What can we use to moisturize our hair? Simple, hair moisturizers, conditioners, hair creams, hair kinds of butter, and oils. It’s essential to take note that different natural hair products will provide different results from person to person. This is because although we might have similar hair types, our hair textures might not necessarily be related. This is where hair porosity comes in (topic for another day).

A well-known method of moisturizing one’s hair is using the L.O.C method. This acronym stands for Liquid (leave-in), Oil and Cream method. How these method works is that we hydrate our hair with liquid in the form of water, then seal all that liquid generated from the water with some oil and then lastly applying some kind of cream to provide our hair cuticles with much-needed protection and prevention from moisture loss.

Wash day Routine

A full wash day routine takes time. You need to allocate a significant amount of time in your day for this. How often should one wash their hair? This depends on several factors such as how much products you use, whether your hair is prone to dandruff, whether you suffer from dry and brittle hair? I wash my hair once a week or after every two weeks depending on whether I’m wearing my hair in a protective hairstyle or not, and this wash day routine seems to be working well for me. So what does a full wash day routine consist of?

Prepooing

This is the stage of applying some oil onto your hair before shampooing to protect it from the harshness that might be incurred while shampooing.

Shampooing

This is the process of thoroughly washing your hair to remove dirt that has been built up. Shampooing should be done with great caution because it tends to leave our hair dry; hence why I usually shampoo once a month.

Conditioning

This is typically done after shampooing to assist in a thorough rinse to form a coat that will leave hair looking and feeling smoother.

Deep conditioning

This is done after conditioning. With standard conditioners, we rinse off the product after our next washes, but with deep conditioners, we rinse out the product after a couple of minutes. I usually wait between 20-30 minutes. Deep conditioners relatively work the same as conditioners, except that deep conditioners penetrate our scalps more, leaving our hair healthier and stronger.

Leave-in Conditioners

These are applied after the whole wash day routine. Leave in assists in providing moisture to our hair while also taming frizz and detangling our hair in the process.

Routine

What happens when you start living a healthy lifestyle by exercising then abruptly discontinuing this routine? You gain the weight back, right? Well, the same goes for your natural hair journey. You need to stay consistent with it. Consistency is critical in this hair game because there are so many factors that play a role in making sure that your hair will grow long and healthy.

Time

Most of us become super impatient when it comes to our hair growth. Just because we don’t see the growth with our naked eye does not necessarily mean that the growth. You need to adopt and apply the famous phrase, patience is a virtue. To observe your hair growth, I suggest you begin to measure your hair occasionally. How do you ask? You may do this when it is in its shrunken state or stretched. Hold down a small portion of hair down the middle of your face, your ears and shoulders.

Genes

This is a hair growth factor that is often overlooked by people who want to grow long hair. You can follow the best hair regimen out there, but ultimately, our genes will, of course, play a significant role in making sure that we achieve our desired lengths. Like many other people, I have fallen victim to looking at well-known influencers with long natural hair and wishing that my hair would grow as long or as thick as theirs.

In certain situations, you find women who have a great hair regimen but whose hair won’t grow as long as they hoped it would because, at the end of the day, our genes will be the final exact measurement of hair growth because such factors are generally hereditary.

Trim/ Cut Ends

You find many people who do not like trimming/cutting their ends because it will take them a step back from trying to achieve some length. However, this is working against them because if anything, dead ends will make it even harder for you to grow your hair because the longer you leave the ends, the more damage they will cause. Dead ends slowly work their way up to our healthy strands, wreaking havoc and ultimately causing us to cut a much more significant chunk of our hair. This being something that could’ve been easily avoided had we decided to trim/cut our ends sooner. How often should you trim cut your ends? This depends on several factors. Six months usually is how long people go without trimming or shaving their ends. I say you know it’s time for you to trim/cut those ends.

Firstly, you struggle to run your comb through your ends when detangling.
Secondly, you’ve moisturized your ends, but they still feel dry afterward.
Thirdly, your ends are uneven.
Fourthly, you do a cute protective hairstyle, but that hairstyle does not achieve a definition that you were expecting to see.

Faster Growth

The common misconception is that our hair does not grow as long or as fast as other races or ethnicity. This is not true at all ladies. In reality, the problem that we face is the ability to retain the length once it grows. On average, hair no matter the race will grow about 1/2″ a month give or take a few mm (millimeters). When black men or women grow their hair with locs in a matter of 3-4 years their dreads are down their back. Over the years we have been uneducated on the things that are necessary to grow natural hair long and healthy. African American hair does grow and can be just as long as any other with the proper TLC. Today we will cover some of the common misconceptions about Healthy Hair Growth

Does Weave Make Your Hair Grow Faster?

NO!!!! When the weave is properly installed and cared for extensions will help your hair grow and flourish. If braids are applied to small and too tight around the hairline yes it can cause extensive irreversible damage, but when applied properly braids can allow your hair to relax and grow without the added daily stress from styling. Have you ever wondered why your leave-out is always more damaged and shorter than the rest of your hair?

This is not because the weave has damaged it but because you have installed hair that is so vastly different from your natural hair texture that it requires a lot of styling and high heat daily. This is what caused the breakage, not the weave itself. Try to find a better match for your hair or tuck it all away! The weave may also seem as though it breaks your hair because it is not being properly cleaned. Do not wear extensions of any kind over a long period of time without properly cleansing your scalp. It is very likely that you may develop a scalp fungus or clog your follicles. When this happens your follicle will widen to allow the pass of oxygen and scalp sebum. when this happens it will lead to excess shedding resulting in a thinning of your hair. SO DONT FORGET ABOUT YOUR SCALP HEALTH!

Will A Perm Stunt Growth

The rate at which your hair grows is determined by biological functions within the body. No external factors will affect the rate at which your natural hair grows. Perms, however, can damage the scalp and hair strand. When perms cause a chemical burn of the scalp that area must heal itself. This process can completely damage that hair follicle where it will not grow at all anymore, widen the follicle to where the hair sheds, or create a scab over the follicle that will not allow any further growth until that scab is removed. But the rate at which your hair grows will remain the same.

Perms

Perms will damage the hair follicle YES, unfortunately, this is TRUE! All hair has sulfide bonds. Wavy, curly, and kinky hair have sulfide and hydrogen bonds that are further apart of one end side of the hair shaft and closer together on the opposite side of the hair shaft. This is what results in the curliness of the hair (see picture) While bone straight hair will have the sulfide bonds evenly distributed (see picture). A perm will break these bonds which results in the straight appearance by allowing the strand to relax and lay straight (hence the term relaxer!). Where each bond was broken that hair strand has been making weaker (think of it as a week link in a chain) and that area is now pronto breakage!

De-Tangling

4C hair is prone to tangles and knots. To remove these, we generally detangle our hair because not only will it make our hair more manageable but, it will also save us unwanted hair loss. Hair loss is also caused by us not properly combing or brushing out our hair. As a result, it is imperative to bear in mind that your ends are the oldest hair on your head, which means that they are more sensitive and prone to breakage.

So what does a thorough detangling consist of?

You have to make sure that you always work on damp hair or apply some conditioners or moisturizers. Why because this will loosen all the tangles to facilitate in an easier detangle. Always start by finger detangling. Our fingers are our most trusted combs because they can feel what combs can’t. Use a wide-tooth comb as this will help loosen the tangles without being too harsh on your hair. Begin to detangle from your ends. Like I said before, this is your oldest hair so you have to treat it like you would with anything old, by handling with care. So start detangling from your ends then to your roots. Don’t force the comb through severe tangles. I know I’m guilty of doing this on numerous occasions. It takes a long time to detangle, and it can become tedious but trust me if you want some length retention, don’t force combs through natural hair sew ins.

Best Vitamins And Foods For Natural Hair Growth

We hear to eat right time and time again, but I don’t think we really get it until it actually hits you. You might ask what does it mean by hit you. You might have that feeling now

Fatigue
Poor Balance
Brittle Hair
Hair loss
Dry scalp

Unfortunately, those are simply some of them. I discussed one of the main factors in the previous post of dry scalp and hair growth is what you eat.Even though so many people told me to eat healthily I didn’t realize until boom it happened to me. I couldn’t understand why I was fatigue and hair not being what it used to be. Until I got my yearly checkup and I went to the doctor and saw that my vitamin D, iron and had all the signs of vitamin deficiency. Because I had a vitamin deficiency it affected

Decrease my hair growth
Dry hair
Suffered from hair loss (more hair in my comb that needed to be and dry hair.

I saw the effects it had on me so I had to research what foods and vitamins help with hair growth and overall health of my hair.Even though I can’t control things like the genetics of my hair growth what I do have control over is what I eat.Hopefully, through my experience, this can help you start eating the right foods or take vitamins that have these ingredients in it.Consult with your doctor about vitamins because the overload of some vitamins can have side effects. Usually, a multivitamin will suffice because it will give you what you need at the correct amount of dosage.But the vitamins where you get individually might be too much so if you buy each vitamin individually please do check with your doctor first. So, let’s get into the ingredient first. Now some of these can be eaten and used as a hair mask as well.

Healthy Foods

1. Salmon:

Salmon has Vitamin D, Omega 3’s and Protein which helps promote hair growth by keeping your scalp healthy

2. Eggs:

It has a great amount of protein and biotin which both help with promoting hair growth. Eggs can also be used as a mask because of the amount of protein it has in it. Even a simple mix of eggs and olive oil will give your hair the protein and moisture that it needs.

3. Greek Yogurt:

Yogurt can also be used in your hair (plain greek yogurt) that has zinc, potassium, B12, and probiotic cultures which can be beneficial for hair growth. Yogurt also has a protein that helps with nourishment for proper hair growth and health. It also has lactic acid that can help with cleaning the scalp and clearing dead skin cells so your hair can be grown without anything blocking it. A nice hair mask mix is 2 eggs and mixes the white portion with half of the plain yogurt to make a hydrating moisture mask.

4. Avocados:

Avocados are a nutrient booster for consuming and to use in your hair mask. Avocado is a fatty acid has a great amount of Vitamin E helps protect skin and scalp from oxidative stress and damage. Avocado also can be used within a hair mask such as avocado, aloe vera, honey and coconut oil which can be applied after the hair is shampooed. If you want to do a simple mix of Avocado and coconut oil to give a simple mask after you shampoo.

5. Sweet Potatoes:

sweet potatoes have a great amount of beta-cartone and Vitamin A which helps with creating sebum and help with thicker hair and increase the rate of hair growth.

6. Sunflower Seeds & nuts:

Nuts help with health benefits for hair growth reduces inflammation and lowers risk of heart disease

7. Spinach:

High levels of iron and folate that prevents hair loss. Iron helps red blood cells carry oxygen through the body to help with growth and repair of your hair

Vitamins

1. B complex:

B complex helps hair grow faster and healthier. It helps to reduce hair loss.

2. Biotin:

Biotin is vital because it helps with protecting the color of your hair, enhances elasticity, and increases hair growth. A lack of this vitamin can cause hair dermatitis, hair loss, and itching.

3. Niacin:

Niacin helps to feed hair follicles by increasing the blood circulation to help with hair growth

4. Vitamin A:

Vitamin A helps with your hair producing its natural hair oils (sebum). It helps with moisturizing the scalp to keep it vibrant and healthy

5. Vitamin C:

Vitamin C has strong antioxidant properties that can protect your hair against damage. This vitamin also helps produce collagen that can prevent the hair from becoming brittle. Additionally, it strengthens the hair shaft and follicle that helps the hair grow faster

6. Vitamin E:

Vitamin E is an antioxidant that helps protect skin and scalp. Additionally, it can help repair damage to the scalp which can slow and prevent hair growth.

7. Omega 3’s:

Omega3’s helps with reducing hair loss and increased hair growth in women with thinning hair. These vitamins and foods will make your hair healthy and grow. Have you had problems with vitamin deficiency?