Tips for getting your hair to grow really long
Don't shampoo every time you shower.
Long hair is a great, classic, and versatile look but getting super-long hair isn’t always easy. With a little care, however, you can get the hair you want.
Below are a few tips from a celebrity hair stylist, Mark Townsend, on how to grow your hair.
1. Remember that it can’t grow overnight. “Hair typically only grows about a quarter of an inch to a half an inch a month,” he said. “And that’s only if it is super-healthy and doesn’t have a ton of split ends.” The bottom line: Practice patience.
2. Ironically, scissors are your friend. Although getting regular trims to snip splits won’t make your hair actually grow faster, it will keep tips looking healthy and prevent splits from working their way up strands, requiring you to chop hair off more often. “If you wait so long that splits are causing your hair to break off high up on the strand, your hair will actually be shorter than if you get consistent trims,” Mark said. He suggested asking your stylist to take about an eighth of an inch off every 10 to 12 weeks to prevent extreme split ends before they start.
3. Use conditioner every time you shampoo. “If your hair is wet, you have to condition it,” Mark said. “Over time, from colouring and heat styling, strands start to get thinner at the tip. Conditioner helps replace the lipids and proteins inside the hair shaft, as well as seal the cuticle to help prevent more damage from happening so that you can get your hair to grow longer and look healthier,” he said.
4. And don’t shampoo every time you shower. “It’s shocking to me how many women skip conditioner when showering, which is the worst thing you can do for your hair — especially when you’re trying to grow it long — and it’s actually shampoo that you should be skipping as much as possible,” Mark said. Here’s why: The purpose of shampoo is to wash away dirt and product build-up, but it can also take essential natural oils that keep strands soft and healthy along with it. When you really do need shampoo, be gentler on your hair by only lathering up at your scalp and then simply letting the suds slide down strands, hitting the rest of the hair as the water rinses it away.
5. Do a cold-water rinse at the end of each shower. “This really does help to grow hair and keep long hair healthy for longer,” said Mark. “Cold water smooths the outer layer of hair, helping to prevent moisture loss, snags and heat damage. You only need to endure the cold water for a few seconds, but this one extra step can make a huge difference over time.”
6. Apply an oil or mask treatment weekly. Hair that touches your shoulders or beyond can be several years old and most likely needs more TLC than normal conditioner. Mark suggested using moisture-based masks and oils weekly. “I make a natural oil treatment and give it to all of my clients to use pre-shampoo,” he said. His easy recipe: 250ml of unrefined coconut oil mixed with 15ml each of almond, macadamia, and jojoba oils. Because oils can leave a residue on hair, he says to apply it to damp hair, leave it on for 10 minutes, then shampoo and condition like normal. “These oils are able to fill strands up with fatty acids and then, when rinsed out, using regular shampoo helps seal them inside hair,” he continued, adding that Kate Bosworth, Diane Kruger, and Ashley and Mary Kate Olsen are fans. Not into DIY? Try an oil-based hair treatment instead.
7. Consider trying hair-boosting supplements. Your body requires many vital nutrients to create new hair, from ample protein to a slew of essential minerals. So take a look at your diet – because while eating a balanced diet helps, you may not be getting the proper amount of all the hair-building nutrients needed to create healthy hair that can grow super-long and withstand damage. “I take Viviscal Extra Strength and biotin tablets every day and tell my clients to do so as well – especially if they want to grow their hair and make it healthier as soon as it comes out of the follicle.” Before starting to take supplements, it’s best to check in with your doctor to make sure that you take the right amounts and that they won’t interact with any medications you’re currently taking.
8. Brush your hair like it’s spun from gold. Constant brushing can cause physical harm to your hair. “When you detangle wet hair, be sure to start from the tips and work your way up. We often tend to work from the scalp down, but that just brings small tangles into one large knot and can cause you to lose a lot of hair,” explained Mrk. He also suggests reaching for the Sheila Stotts Natural Boar Bristle Brush, as boar bristle brushes are good for distributing your scalp’s natural oils down your hair and being extra-gentle on strands too.
9. Ditch your cotton pillowcase. Townsend recommends switching to a silk or satin fabric, because it has a softer surface that won’t cause friction the way that regularly woven cotton does. That way, you’ll wake up with fewer tangles.
10. Never, ever wrap your hair in a massive towel again. What could be so bad about putting hair in your super-soft bath towel? A lot. “It causes so much breakage,” Mark said. “Your hair gets caught in all the woven fibres and since most women tend to wrap it too tightly around their faces, all those tiny, fragile strands around your face are more prone to break.” Opt for the super-thin and soft microfibre hair towels instead (like Aquis microfibre hair towel), which are totally OK to wrap into a turban.
11. Move your ponytail placement. It’s an easy move that can help maintain the integrity of your hair, which means it’ll continue to grow out strong and damage-free.
12. If you have bleached (or dry, super-fragile) hair, skip putting it up with a hair tie at all. One ponytail – one! – can give you what stylists refer to as a ‘chemical cut’. This is where your hair literally breaks off at the point where the elastic is wrapped around your hair to hold it into place. Instead, if you’re looking to work-out and want your hair off your neck, gently twist your hair into a bun and clip it with a tiny claw clip, bobby pin, or larger pin.
13. Give your hair a break when it comes to hot tools, chemical relaxers, or any other tool or service that causes a lot of damage to your hair. The healthier your hair is, the longer it will grow.
Source: https://www.cosmopolitan.com and https://www.wikihow.com.
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