How to Grow Longer Stronger Hair
While we’re all aware that your hair is influenced by your genetics, this doesn’t excuse you from taking proper care. If you want longer stronger hair, there are many things you can do to take advantage of or even overcome your natural biology.
Styling
Heat
For some people choosing between long hair and straight hair may be necessary. The damage that heat does to your hair increases breakage and split ends dramatically. I’d encourage you to wear your hair natural if you can, but I understand the allure of the styling tools. To make up for this I rotate seasons.
For example, during the summer I often wear my hair natural (it would get messed up by the pool or the beach anyway) and then style it during the rest of the year. This gives my hair a nice needed break from heat damage.
If you’re concerned about how your natural hair looks, I often take a shower before bed and then put my hair in tight dutch or french braids (Not too tight since your hair is more elastic and prone to breakage when wet). Then your hair will dry into a nice crimped beach wave for the next day without any heat. But if you must style it, these are my tips for protecting your hair:
- The most obvious answer is to use a heat protectant spray. These coat the hair cuticle to diminish drying out and are helpful for any kind of heat damage.
- A less obvious answer, but nonetheless helpful is to style according to your hair. For example, my hair holds straight for about 8 hours, meaning I have to re-straighten it every morning. However, it will hold curls for just short of a week. So, I hardly straighten it, to lessen the amount of heat damage, without compromising the style. Bonus: curls are much more forgiving than straight hair when it comes to moisture, or sleeping on them because they can change the way they curl without affecting the overall style whereas straight hair can’t hide such flaws. I curl my hair only at night because I prefer the looser slightly used looking curls as opposed to tight ringlets. On the other hand, if your hair is more straight than curly, it would most likely stay straight than retain curls. Style according to what lasts the longest and ditch the daily heat damage.
- Use a lower heat setting, the highest really isn’t necessary. I use the lowest on my curling wand which works well even on my thick hair.
Color
Bleaching your hair is another great way to promote breakage. If you lighten your hair, limit how much or how often you lift your color. If you want to lighten, as I do, I would recommend doing highlights rather than full color.
I even opt for the partial highlight rather than the full because not only is it cheaper, but it only puts color on the outside layers that people will see. My hairdresser also highlights the under part so the highlights show in the back if you wear your hair up, but we skip the middle sections that no one sees to keep it as healthy as possible. This helps give that sunkissed glow without all the damage.
When it comes to how often to re-highlight or touch up, I stick to twice a year. If you chose the partial highlight option you’ll also have the ease of growing out the roots. They will blend much better than had you done full color or even a full highlight, and it’s much cheaper than getting the roots touched up every month.
Also, if you ever decided to stop getting highlights or want to ease the root line, a nice balayage will make a seamless transition back to your natural color. It’s cheaper, less maintenance, and most of all healthier.
The last thing I have to say about color is don’t do it yourself. I know you think you found a great Youtube or Pinterest DIY, but there’s just as many or more fails to be found. Box dyes are so difficult to lift and don’t get me started on the bleaching accidents. Especially if you’re blonde, go to a professional to avoid orange hair or having it break off.
Yes, it’s much more expensive but I’ve given you ways to cut on costs, so opt for the partial highlight to keep it healthy. You don’t want to pay for it in the end after a home dye turned wrong, the repair will cost more than if you had gone to the salon in the first place.
Routine
Shower
Your shower routine has a huge impact on your hair. I’ve found that most people shower too often. Your hair’s natural oils need to be brushed to the ends to keep enough moisture and prevent breakage. When you use shampoo, you strip away these natural oils. For this reason, shampoo should be concentrated on your scalp and not on the ends of your hair.
How often you shower comes down to how much oil your scalp naturally produces. The more oily, the more often you’ll need to shower. However, people tend to use that as an excuse to shower every day, which is hardly good for anyone. Personally, I wash my hair 1-2 times a week. Limit washing your hair until it’s necessary. When it comes to oil distribution, the longer you wait between shampooing, the better.
Conditioner, on the other hand, is essentially the opposite of shampoo, with a moisturizing effect. Conditioner should only go on the ends of your hair, where your hair is most dry. In addition to conditioner, I use a leave in conditioner after I wash my hair, which also helps detangle without excessive brushing that would increase breakage.
My favorite leave-in conditioner is the Garnier Fructis Leave-In Conditioning Cream. I also use a Biosilk therapy oil that I absolutely love. The Moroccan Gold Series treatment mask and leave in spray mask are two others in my line up. I put these products in after showering and then most importantly let my hair air dry. Your blowdryer is probably the easiest heat you can cut out of your routine. Unless you use it for styling, let your hair air dry and save it the damage.
Cut
Contrary to what you may think, cutting your hair can actually help it grow longer. By periodically cutting the split ends you nip them in the bud. Otherwise, they may begin to tear up the shaft of the hair and cause more breakage. How often you need a trim depends on the rest of your hair care routine. The dryer your hair is, the more often you will have to cut it.
On the topic of split ends, never pick at them. You only tear them worse and allow the break to travel upwards. Rather, a habit of mine that allows me to go longer between trims is that I maintain them myself. While I’m sitting watching TV, I use small eyebrow scissors to cut my split ends right above the break. This helps keep them at bay, and my hairdresser is always impressed with how healthy the ends are.
Overall Health
When it comes to your hair, your general health will play a huge part. Whereas all my other tips help you grow longer hair by protecting the ends, this can actually affect the growth at the root. If you have a poor diet or are under a lot of stress, it will take a toll on your entire body.
A good reference for your hair health is your skin health. Your hair and skin are similar in that they contain Keratinocytes. These produce the protein keratin which is a structural component in your hair, skin, and nails. If your skin does poorly when you eat a certain food or have a certain lifestyle, your hair will mimic this result because you are impacting both. So, if you notice your skin takes a turn for the worst, evaluate your choices in reference also to your hair.
So, if you want to have healthy hair a great start is to eat well, reduce stress, and stay hydrated. You can also go farther such as taking keratin or collagen supplements. I take a supplement called Hair Skin Nails to give my hair that extra boost of essential proteins.
The Solution
None of the things I’ve listed above will magically grow your hair. However, if you integrate these habits into your daily routine you will ultimately have longer hair, or hair that seems to grow faster because it is not being broken off faster than it grows. These habits have worked well for me, and I constantly get questions about my hair. Give them a try let me know how they work for you!
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