Long hair is viewed as a wonderful luxury in the modern era in many cultures. Is this not amazing!
Being able to get hair that long is an absolute labor of love and hate. My hair is 29″ long. Here are my secrets to getting long, strong hair fast.
1.Deep Conditioning those end at least once a week.
As your hair grows out you will have to increase the intensity and duration of those hair masks. Until my hair got down past my shoulder blades, a quick 5 minute shower mask was enough to keep my ends moisturized. I was in grad school and money was tiiiight so I used a lot of masks from Sally’s Beauty.
Shea Moisture Strengthen and Restore Treatment Masque
Proclaim Intense Hydrating Mask Packette – I’m a fan of one off packettes because I don’t get lots of water in the pots. Lots of Argan oil which is a heavier oil and my porous hair really responds to it. Here is the full sized pot.
Hask – Henna and Placenta Mask Full of awesome things for your hair, proteins, hyaluronic acid, not vegan though. The placenta extract is taken from cow placenta but oh man does it work. And it’s under $3. Hask is also the same company who makes those wine inspired conditioning packettes that I adore.
Once my hair got closer to the mid-back/bra strap region (which even you want to call it), I began to use an overnight mask, hair oils, and leave-in creams for my ends. You’ll figure out where your driest areas are and target those areas with your leave-in creme of choice. For me it’s a patch along the nape of my neck largely because I spend far to much time with my hair dryer in that region and I play with it throughout the day stretching the hair. When looking for an overnight mask look for a heavy cream for example a shea butter or mango butter based conditioner.
I’m liking Sephora’s hair masks but they’re expensive for the amount of product you get. So I use As I Am Hydration Elation with the Sephora Hair Sleeping Mask otherwise I’d need 3 of the sephora hair mask and at $6 each, that’s harsh price tag for a single use. The hydration elation smells amazing and when my cap falls off in the night it doesn’t create an oil slick on my pillow case. Also using a product like Olaplex No 3 (there’s several on the market now but Olaplex is definitely the name everyone knows) will help maintain your hairs integrity as it continues to grow out, especially if you have color treated or bleached hair.
2. Skip hair washing every day
Use dry shampoos. Batiste is a cult favorite but I’ve always felt like it makes my hair feel gummy. Instead I use Klorane’s Dry Shampoo Non-Aerosol. You just squeeze the bottle gently across your hairline, rub it in, let it set for a few seconds, then brush out your style. It provides lift and it by far and away my favorite dry shampoo on the market. I like it better than the Klorane aerosol dry shampoo. You can also go to your favorite store and get some arrowroot powder. Look for something that’s very finely milled though.
3. Keep that Leave-in Conditioner on those locks
Once your hair is past your shoulders you should be using a leave-in conditioner. If you’re on day two, spraying those ends when they feel dry with a spray type leave-in conditioner is best.
Pravana’s Nevo Intense Leave-In Treatment is very light weight. Honestly, there isn’t much intensity going on there, but for a day two leave-in treatment it does the trick without weighing your hair down. If you have fine hair, this would be perfect for you.
It’s a 10 which is at Ulta is really good too but honestly I use Generic Value from Sally’s. It’s just as good and half the price. It’s doesn’t look flashy on IG stories though.
If you’re fresh out of the shower, use a cream type instead if you blow dry your hair. The oils in the leave-in will distribute really well into the hair shaft because of the heat from blow drying your hair (set to medium heat, medium air speed). If you air dry your hair, your roots will likely be a little extra oily especially if you use a leave-in that’s heavier with butters and castor oil. Right now I’m only using Shea Moisture’s Strengthen and Restore Leave-In Conditioner. It does have shea butter and castor oil in it because my hair is so long I do need that extra moisturizing power. I’ve needed this strong of a leave in since my hair was midback/bra strap length.
4. Don’t skip meals and consider taking a multi-vitamin and collagen supplement.
Your hair needs something to grow from. If you’re vegetarian and especially if you’re vegan you will have to pay very close attention to your nutritional intake in order to maximize your hair growth. One of the first signs of malnutrition in humans is hair falling out, breaking, or thinning. You don’t need a daily supplement geared towards hair, skin, and nail growth there’s nothing super special in the formula. Biotin is obviously important but the amount in a lot of those specially designed vitamins isn’t absorbed and exits the body as expensive pee. Another supplement to consider is iron. Many women under the age of 40 can actually benefit from an iron supplement. I’m not a huge red meat eater and I take one twice a week called FerroFood. It’s freeze dried organ meat in a gelatin pill. Sounds disgusting but I don’t taste it at all.
5. Don’t forget to head to your hairdresser for regular trims.
While growing your hair out you still need to get those ends trimmed. No matter how much you deep condition and moisturize daily, no matter how perfect your nutrition split ends are going to happen. I see mine ever 3 months or so. I’m still growing mine out. I’m not stopping until I hit my butt so if anyone wants to start shipping me deep conditioning masks now………I need to stockpile.
6. Secure those tresses at night.
As you roll around at night, your hair will knot. I put my hair in a simple braid at night (my g-gma taught me that trick and she had hair down to the floor). Some of my POC friends put their hair up in a rag. I’ve also put my hair up in bun on top of my head. Anything to keep those ends from knotting up at night.
When you go to break up those knots in the morning, more than likely you’ll rip at your hair and cause split ends and breakage from stretching the hair.
There is zero quick fix short of extensions to get fast hair growth. I don’t know how many pins on Pinterest I’ve seen that promise ‘Do this and your hair will grow 7 inches in 1 week’. That’s crap. Hair doesn’t grow much faster than 1 inch per month. It’s taken me 3 years to get my hair to it’s 29″ length. A few setbacks from bleaching meant I have 2-3 inches of hair chopped off a few times. In the summer your hair grows it’s fastest. So if you’re considering growing your hair out right now is an amazing time to start. Like I said it’s love hair for sure.
