I will be creating a youtube video to go along with this but for now, here is my blog post and some general tips for how to grow long, shiny, thick hair - be it curly or not. I have a few photos attached as well of some times where I straighten my hair, so you can get even more of a feel on how long it is. However the straight hair photos are from a few months ago, so my hair is even longer than that now when straightened. On the left is my hair as of January 11, 2021!
My hair reaches my hips when curly, and when it's straight, or wet, it goes about 2-3 inches beyond my hips.
So here are my tips for achieving real, thick, long, shiny hair, completely naturally. No products, no tricks, and best of all, no frizz for those who are naturally curly, like me.
Tips for achieving healthy hair:
1. Hair and Scalp Health
First, you have to take care of the health of your hair. If it isn't healthy, it won't grow well, and health starts from the scalp - not the tips. While it's important to maintain healthy tips (post coming up on maintaining healthy hair tips) it is a lie that cutting your hair regularly will help it grow. Hair grows from your scalp. So trimming continuously will only make it harder for you to achieve length. If your tips are damaged or you would feel better giving an initial cut, that's fine, but I don't cut my hair more than once a year tops. Hair cutting tips are upcoming too.
For a healthy scalp, you need oils. The photo to the right is completely unedited and unfiltered, this is how shiny my hair really is, and it is not even straightened or treated in any way. In fact I even dried it off a bit with the hair dryer because it was late last night! But I don't recommend using hair dryers at all if possible - hair drying tips also coming up in a separate post!
A healthy scalp needs oils, so your best bet is to learn about essential oils and see which ones work well with your skin. A general recommendation is to use castor oil and rosemary for hair thickness and growth, but I create my own scalp oil, composed of over 10 different essential oils. I apply it almost every night (though I will sometimes go months without applying it more than once a week or so, if I get lazy) and I give myself a scalp massage regularly. sometimes more than once a day!
Takeaway 1: Hair health starts from the scalp. Use essential oils, and routinely apply them to the scalp, and do a scalp massage every day.
2. Apply oils to your actual hair length regularly too
Use things like jojoba oil, or organ oil, and only use this on your hair. Don't use any products: just condition and tame your hair with oils. They will actually absorb into your hair follicle and it will make it look great from the outside, but it is also healing it on the inside.
Growing hair takes time and patience and it won't happen overnight. All those videos on youtube where people claim miraculous growth simply aren't true.
You will see - in my experience - faster growth if you do the inversion method and use a scalp oil, but these "long hair" lengths are not ever achieved after a short time of doing this.
I have been growing my hair out for over three years. I had dry, usually frizzy hair, with barely any shine. It had been bleached blonde, coloured tons of times (from blue to purple to green!) and right before I grew it out, it was butchered by a "professional" who cut my hair into tons of layers.
I can't tell you how much I hated it after this person cut my hair. I never ever go to the hair salon and when I do, she cut it into tons of layers! It took forever to get it even like it is now in this photo:
So It takes time, patience, dedication, and the will to maintain a routine. To achieve long, healthy hair, you need to be willing to be patient and do things that aren't always comfortable. For example, many times, for work, I would keep my hair tied in a bun. It kept it protected and it wasn't exposed to the environment in any way -- and you really don't want your hair exposed to environments such as the Underground, office air, etc. Protective hairstyles are a huge part of ensuring your hair's health - without health, your hair simply won't grow or look shiny, and healthy.
It also feels annoying, to know your hair is long and shiny, but you always have it tied up in a bun - it's like no one gets to see it! But it is worth it, to maintain your hair's health.
Takeaway 2: Use protective hairstyles such as buns and braids as often as possible, and oil your actual hair regularly too - not just your scalp. You should apply oil to your hair everyday.
Hair thickness will come with hair and scalp health. The best way to do this from the inside is by also making sure you are eating the right food. The science is conclusive that plant based diets are the best for human health. Though I know all the ins and outs, such as what you need to do when, and which supplements to take and so on, this post will not go into any of that.
I put thousands of hours and months of my time to read studies, listen to podcasts, watch documentaries, research a million things, in order to understand about the human body and what true health is.
I can only recommend that you do the same thing, and take control of your body's health by eating plant based. Not vegan. Whole foods plant based. My hair health improved drastically, but so did my entire body's health. Remember - your hair is only the reflection of your internal health.
Takeaway 3: Diet is crucial to maintaining a healthy body, immune system, and by extension, it will be cleary visible in your hair's shine and health.
Washing your hair regularly is also a myth - the longer you can go without washing your hair, the better your hair's health will be. Try to wash your hair once a week at the very most. I go 2-3 weeks without washing it, easily, and I am applying oil regularly too. Bear in mind that everyones hair is different. I have naturally "heavier" hair and this works for me. However, you really shouldn't be washing your hair any more than once a week.
This will help your scalp's natural oils work their way down your hair, but it also gives you time to increase your hair's health by adding oils - and using your scalp oil blend (or purchase!).
Also - if you haven't yet, you should switch now to all natural products.
For your body and your hair. You will never, ever, achieve natural, long, healthy and shiny hair if you use chemical based products. If you want to achieve real length, and true health, it will not come in a chemical branded bottle!
I use products such as Faith in Nature, or I purchase Calia Naturals (a foreign expensive brand) when I can afford it. Faith in Nature does work very nicely though and their ingredients are all generally really good. Sukin is another great brand.
Do not buy into advertising or labels, but actually turn the product around and read the back. What is it really made out of? Does it have essential oils? Are the ingredients all vegetable and natural derived? If it isn't, put it down.
Takeaway 4: Wash your hair as little as possible. And use only natural hair products to wash it!
These are my first, introductory tips to getting real, healthy, shiny, thick, and very long hair - naturally. I will be adding detail through separate posts! Because if not, it is too much to take in all at once!
But from this, you should take away these tips: do not trim your hair regularly, eat a healthy, clean diet; use only all natural products (for shampoo, body wash and conditioners), wash your hair as infrequently as possible, use essential oils on your scalp and hair, use protective hairstyles as often as possible (hair buns, braids, etc), and give yourself a scalp massage as often as possible. There is A LOT more to do, and a lot more detail - but this is your great first intro! I hope you've enjoyed
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