15 Hair growth tips for a healthy natural hair

Hey guys. 

Finally, I bring you a post that I've so wanted to write for ages. Maybe because I thought back then that  every hair blog should have hair growth tips yeah? This is an article that has taken me so much time to compile I should say because I didn't want to dish out tips that would be totally ineffective. So after searching and researching; brainstorming and experimenting; I'm happy to bring to you not 5, not 10 but 15 totally proven ways to grow a healthy natural hair.

 Before we get into it,  I have to say that hair does not grow overnight. It takes time, consistency and the right methods to grow hair. And like I always say, having a healthy hair should be your primary focus as opposed to length. A healthy hair will definitely grow.
Now that we have all that settled, let's get right into our hair saving tips.

Tip 1: natural hair regimen 
Most of us ignore this but it is really important. A hair regimen is like a step by step procedure that should be followed in every phase of your hair journey. It entails what product you use, when to use them, how frequently you use them.
Having a hair regimen helps you to know what your hair likes and dislikes. It also helps you to find out what is the key product making your hair grow, it helps you monitor your hair's progress. So,  tip one is to make sure you have a hair regimen that you follow strictly.

Tip 2: moisturising 
Moisture is VERY important for our hair growth. If you fail to moisturize, it's like planting a seed, supplying frequently with manure and other stuff plants need to grow but choosing not to water it.
 Our hair cannot thrive on dry scalp. So,  we need to spritz with water frequently. Don't overdo it, just enough to make sure the hair is moisturized.
 If you're like me that forgets to spray frequently, I'll suggest you keep a spray bottle in handy at a location where you see it frequently. I keep mine on my reading table, so when I read (which I do frequently as a student), I go spritz spritz spritz.

Tip 3: deep conditioning
Deep conditioner is a type of conditioner. It is very necessary for hair growth. Most girls that have healthy and beautiful hair never skip out on deep conditioners. I'll suggest you deep condition once or twice a month.

Tip 4: protective styling
Protective styling has remained a controversial issue. Some girls recommend it, others speak strongly against it. While there are pros and cons to protective styling, there are several questions we need to ask ourselves before installing protective styles
*will it protect my tips from the elements?
*will it affect my edges?
*how long will it be installed?
*will I be able to moisturize my hair in the protective style?
Answering this question will help you determine if you should carry your hair in protective styles and what types of protective style you should carry.
The question I'm sure some of you might be thinking is 'why then is protective styling part of my tips? '  Well,  some people's hair thrive well on protective styles while some don't.

A girl I met in school sometime ago told me that her hair never saw the light of day for no more than a few hours before she had it in another protective style. She was always going from one style to another and from another to another. According to her, her hair is doing so much better than it was when she rarely had it in a protective style. So, if your hair loves protective styling, then by all means install it. If not, don't stress it.

Tip 5: know your hair porosity
Hair porosity helps you determine what products are good for your hair and what products to avoid. Hair porosity also helps you choose the right products to buy. For example, my hair doesn't well with heavy butters and creams because it is a low porosity hair. It usually prefers light oils like coconut oil and olive oil. If I were to use a heavy butter, I would have to dilute it with oil.  On the other hand, high porosity hair thrives on the same heavy butters and creams.

Tip 6: hot oil treatment 
This should be included in your natural hair regimen. Most people do this when they feel their hair has lost its shine and is looking dull and gritty. Hot oil for hair is a mixture containing varieties of oil such as coconut, avocado, olive, grape seed, Jamaican black castor oil, argan etc. The mixture should be warmed and applied on hair focusing on the tips, they are the oldest and are more exposed. Put on a plastic wrap for 30 minutes then shampoo and condition the normal way. This should be done once or twice a month.

Tip 7: snip snip snip
I know y'all are wondering if I've gone quite mad. I mean we are supposed to retain all that length right? Affirmative. Trimming helps to maintain all that length. How? I'll tell you. Split ends are the most often cause of hair breakage. Split ends are often noticed at the ends of the hair. Once the ends are split, they travel up the shaft of the hair resulting in hair breakage. The more you allow the split to sit, the farther it travels up the hair strand, the more the hair breaks. So, trimming is not at all contradictory.

Tip 8: scalp massage 
This entails using your fingers to massage your scalp thorough to stimulate blood flow. It can be done in two ways: while standing or inversion method ie bending at the waist with you head facing the ground. The inversion method is said to be most effective for stimulating hair growth. You can do this as frequent as once a day or at least twice a week.

Tip 9: exercise 
A lot of naturalists swear by this tip. I'm personally trying it out. I'll make sure to give you the results. It makes sense though. Exercising helps to increase blood flow to the body; the scalp included. Increasing in blood flow to the scalp greatly helps hair growth. So put on those running shoes and sweat it out!

Tip 10: monitoring the product you use closely
It is not right to use a product blindly. If you get a new body lotion and then notice you have skin reaction after using it. Won't you discontinue it's use?  I'm sure you would. Whenever we use products, we should monitor our hair closely to determine if it likes the product or is reacting adversely to it. Check for hair breakage, hair shine,  dry scalp, itchy scalp etc. If your hair likes the product, by all means continue with it. If it doesn't then stop using it.

Tip 11: satin bonnet or satin pillowcase or both! 
Okay girls, it's time to ditch that cotton pillowcase for a satin one. Cotton soaks up hair nutrients and oils. When you go to bed with your hair directly on your cotton pillow, you are just transferring the nutrients from your hair to your pillow!  I have a strong feeling that your hair needs the nutrients than your pillowcase does. Try to get a satin scarf or replace the cotton pillowcase with satin ones.

Tip 12: what do you have in that food? 
Pay attention to what you take in. Your diet should consist of a lot proteins examples eggs, beans; vitamins and minerals found in vegetables and fruits. Hair is made up of mainly proteins. Hence, protein in our diet increases the chances of our hair growth. Alternatively, take vitamins supplements especially biotin. Remember to drinks lots of water. Your hydration level is bound to show on your hair.

Tip 13: shampooing 
It is totally advisable to shampoo less often. Try not to shampoo everyday. I know those who exercise daily need to shampoo more frequently than others but try to get a type of shampoo that is not harsh such as sulfate free and silicon free shampoos.
A quick tip is to prepoo. This is also known as prepping. It is done to prepare the hair for shampoo. It prevents the hair from being stripped off of natural hair oils during shampooing. So if you like to shampoo often, I'd urge you to prepoo.

Tip 14: avoid too much heat styling
Blow dryers, flat irons, curly irons, hot rollers, all in the long run weakens the hair shaft, leads to hair breakage, causes thinness of hair and permanent breakage. Air drying is the best way to dry your hair.

Tip 15: detangling before combing or brushing 
Before combing or brushing your hair, detangle gently with your fingers. This helps to reduce the amount of single strand knots that pops up during combing and causes hair breakage.

Extra tip: Love your hair for what it is. It becomes an issue when we see other girls who we feel have fuller and longer hair than we do and then we start to compare theirs with ours. I used to do this initially but I stopped. What I do instead is to ask them what products they use, their hair regimen and what works for them. It's actually good to allow their hair journey to motivate you but then if we begin to compare, we would not see anything good in our own hair. At the end of the day, our hair suffers the consequences.
I hope you all enjoyed reading this post as much as I enjoyed writing it. Make sure to leave a comment below,  subscribe and share because if you liked it, your friend might too.
Stay healthy, stay strong and #staynatural