helpful tips for healthy hair growth.

[samanthajenalyn]

Hi. Ive just joined LHC after looking at this site for a while now. Ive recently discovered that my hair is actually wavy, and not just frizzy. i have about 2a hair right now, but it keeps getting more curly. i joined naturallycurly.com and have went sulfate and cone free! :) two days ago i cut off about three inches of split ends and very badly damaged hair, so now its above my shoulders. my goal is to be waist length, but since my hair grows veryy slow i know this will take a while. i would greatly appreciate it if some of you could give me some tips to keep my hair as healthy as possible, and what i can do to make it grow long :)

[Cassie_]

Hi samanthajenalyn! I have just been granted the ability to post here on LHC, but I have done a lot of reading, and a lot of experimentation with my own here. And that is my best advice to you - read a lot of the information available here, and try the things that sound like they will work for you.

Keeping in mind of course, that everyone's hair is different. So while many swear by CO (conditioner only - meaning no shampoo), there are just as many who feel it does not work for them. Should you brush or comb or fingercomb? Is the Tangle Teezer a miracle at removing tangles, or does it shred your hair? And so on.

I am trying to think if there are any "universal truths," ideas that everyone (or most everyone) agrees on. Here's what I can think of:
- S&D or trim regularly, as split ends will cause more tangling & more damage.
- take a multi-vitamin.
- keeping your hair up with a well-crafted stick or fork will reduce damage.

That's all I can think of, but I am sure others will speak up. (And then I predict someone else will disagree! ;))

[Emanuelle]

Tips for faster growth:
- drink lots of water
- eat healthily and varied, make sure you get a lot of proteins too (hair is made from protein!)
- take vitamins/supplements
- Massage your scalp to increase blood circulation
- massage your scalp with warm Jamaican Black Castor Oil (mixed with carrier oil) (if it's warm it's absorbed better). Jamaican Black castor oil has GREATLY improved the speed of my hairgrowth, it's amazing...

Tips for preventing split ends:
- S&D
- Do not use sulfates or other ingredients that dry your hair out
- No heat
- Do not wear hoods, or rough fabric when you wear your hair down
- Wear your hair up
- Seal your hair (I've had almost zero splits for the last 8 months thanks to sealing!!)
- Sleep on a satin or silk pillowcase (silk is better, but more expensive)

[coconutinsight]

Great tips. Has anyone tried Biotin or fish oil? Do you think it helps on hairgrowth? :)

[Emanuelle]

I use two kinds of supplements and one of them has biotin. I don't use fish oil. I've also heard good things about these two. But I really can't tell you whether it is the biotin that made my hair grow faster, or any other stuff in the pills. I also do everything I said in my previous post to increase hair growth and prevent splitting, so it's hard to tell what really works, though I'm fairly sure about the Jamaican Black castor oil + massage. That was the first thing I tried and I did only that for a while and my growth speed increased from 1 cm a month to 2.5 cm a month (2.5 cm = exactly one inch). By the way, it didn't thin my hair at ALL.

My other supplement has MSM, that also helps to improve hair growth (well that's what I've read and heard a lot!).

[coconutinsight]

Thank you for answering. What is MSM? I'm Portuguese and joined recently so there are many abbreviations I don't understand.

[Emanuelle]

I do not know what it stands for either. On the back of my supplement box it just says ''MSM'' too...

[coconutinsight]

Ok, I will try to find out :) thank you

[Ms. Jaunty]

MSM = Methylsulfonylmethane

Now you know why people just say MSM!

[Emanuelle]

Hahaha! I agree, way easier! Thanks for telling us.

[coconutinsight]

Completely understand :D

[samanthajenalyn]

okay thank you guys for answering! I'll definitely start doing some of these things. I was taking a GMC hair skin and nails vitamin that had biotin in it and i didnt notice very much growth so i stopped taking it, but i'll try it again! what do you suggest to seal my hair with?

[ckriena]

What does S&D stand for?

[Jenny31557]

Search and destroy Lol It's when you go through your hair section by section looking at the individual strands and cutting any split ends. It's great for when you don't want to lose length by trimming the ends so you just cut the splits. :)

[samanthajenalyn]

i've heard that coconut oil could help with hair growth. has anyone used it and experienced growth?

[Skade]

Thank you for answering. What is MSM? I'm Portuguese and joined recently so there are many abbreviations I don't understand.


I do not know what it stands for either. On the back of my supplement box it just says ''MSM'' too...

MSM (Methylsulfonylmethane) is a sulfur compound. It has become popular to take as a nutrition supplement but you can also get it naturally through green vegetables and fruit. It´s notably constituent of collagen that make up the cartilage, tendons, connective tissue, bone, skin, hair and nails.

[alexis917]

Tips that worked really well for me:

*FYI, I have 1c hair. It's really coarse, thick (think, iii), and these tips might not be the best for all hair types.

I wear my hair up or in braids every day. I shower at night because it takes my hair until the following afternoon to dry,
and this retains moisture, calms frizz, and makes my hair shiny and soft! But if you have baby-fine fragile hair, wet/damp styling and lots of elastics might be bad for you.
Some people get a lot of breakage from stuff that's hair friendly on my end. Like ordinary fabric hair ties. So be careful with that!

I also like olive oil a lot. Oiling your hair seals in moisture. Olive oil is thick and pretty heavy, but works fine for me.
If you have thinner hair, you might want to consider a lighter oil. Like grapeseed, jojoba, or almond oil.
Coconut oil is really popular around here, though!

Lastly, this works for everyone- sometimes the most expensive product isn't the best.
I love VO5 shampoo (strawberries and cream, woohoo!), and it's only about a dollar. Same for the conditioner.
Also, stuff that works for "everyone" might not work for you.
Some people hate coconut oil. Some people skip washes like it's nothing. Going without a shampoo made my scalp itchy, and I got bad dandruff!
So I wash daily. Happy scalp, happy hair, right?

Welcome to the forum, too!

[Kay Hughes]

Just read the comment about biotin; I have been taking it for 3 weeks now and already I have .5 inch of growth!! Impressed!

[Skade]

i've heard that coconut oil could help with hair growth. has anyone used it and experienced growth?

I have used it, as have many people here. I have never experienced any extra growth because of it. It may help growing healthy hair though, because its good nutritional values, such as the lauric acid, vitamin E, vitamin K, minerals, polyphenols etc. Lauric acid is a fatty acid triglyceride, medium chain, which have the additional advantageous feature of being formed into monolaurin in the human or animal body. Monolaurin is an antiviral, antibacterial, and antiprotozoal monoglyceride by the body to counteract viruses and bacteria of different kinds.

[Leeloo]

Coconut oil is great to protect your hair from loosing moisture and from mechanical damage. I use coconut oil as a pre-poo treatment, but it seems to put a lot of protein in my hair though, so it feels a little dry afterwards.

[Skade]

By the way, my response about coconut oil was referring to internal use, if you mean external use. It is good for moisture. But for extra growth castor oil would be more effective. If you can stand the sticky feeling. I lost my patience with it after one week. :)

[samanthajenalyn]

By the way, my response about coconut oil was referring to internal use, if you mean external use. It is good for moisture. But for extra growth castor oil would be more effective. If you can stand the sticky feeling. I lost my patience with it after one week. :)

thanks! I think i have come castor oil at my house. how did you use it on your hair exactly?

[samanthajenalyn]

Coconut oil is great to protect your hair from loosing moisture and from mechanical damage. I use coconut oil as a pre-poo treatment, but it seems to put a lot of protein in my hair though, so it feels a little dry afterwards.

how would you use it to seal in moisture? sorry im very new to this, and i have no idea about using oils on my hair lol.

[Leeloo]

I’m pretty new here myself. Welcome! My hair ends always felt dry about an hour after wash. After watching/reading hair care videos/posts here on LHC I noticed that you can use oil to seal the moisture in your hair if you wait till it’s damp after wash and then apply a very small amount of oil on the length. It seems to keep that moisture in for a couple of days.

[Skade]

thanks! I think i have come castor oil at my house. how did you use it on your hair exactly?

I massaged it in, putting it on both hair and scalp and kept it on for an hour or two. You can keep it on for as long as you feel like but at least 30 min. The first time I used only castor oil. But after that I used 50/50 with castor and another oil, like olive or almond for example, you can take whatever you have at home. Mixing the castor oil with another oil makes it easier to apply and rinse, since it is a very sticky oil. Good luck!

[Cassie_]

how would you use it to seal in moisture? sorry im very new to this, and i have no idea about using oils on my hair lol.


I’m pretty new here myself. Welcome! My hair ends always felt dry about an hour after wash. After watching/reading hair care videos/posts here on LHC I noticed that you can use oil to seal the moisture in your hair if you wait till it’s damp after wash and then apply a very small amount of oil on the length. It seems to keep that moisture in for a couple of days.

Many use a small amount of oil on the length to seal in moisture. I personally have a difficult time doing that without my hair looking greasy, so I just apply to the bottom 6" or so of my hair to protect the ends. (Actually, first I apply some leave-in conditioner to the bottom 3", and then I use argan oil on the bottom 6".)

[lapushka]

Hi. Ive just joined LHC after looking at this site for a while now. Ive recently discovered that my hair is actually wavy, and not just frizzy. i have about 2a hair right now, but it keeps getting more curly. i joined naturallycurly.com and have went sulfate and cone free! :) two days ago i cut off about three inches of split ends and very badly damaged hair, so now its above my shoulders. my goal is to be waist length, but since my hair grows veryy slow i know this will take a while. i would greatly appreciate it if some of you could give me some tips to keep my hair as healthy as possible, and what i can do to make it grow long :)

I'm 2a too, and I don't exactly follow the Curly Girl method to a T. We do shampoo around here, because with my oily scalp, it's a necessity. The biggest thing, though, is to not comb or brush, that is what has helped me the most. And no, my hair doesn't get tangled or knotty because of it. It's combed and brushed right before a wash, and combed right after, when it's damp and freshly out of the towel. Then the rest of the week: no brushing, no combing. It's super duper nice for the wave pattern!

[samanthajenalyn]

thanks! I found some olive oil earlier and used it on the ends of my damp hair. i only thought i used a little bit, but my hair is still very oily at the bottom. i'll try again tomorrow :)

[samanthajenalyn]

I'm 2a too, and I don't exactly follow the Curly Girl method to a T. We do shampoo around here, because with my oily scalp, it's a necessity. The biggest thing, though, is to not comb or brush, that is what has helped me the most. And no, my hair doesn't get tangled or knotty because of it. It's combed and brushed right before a wash, and combed right after, when it's damp and freshly out of the towel. Then the rest of the week: no brushing, no combing. It's super duper nice for the wave pattern!
my hairs been oily my whole life too, but as soon as i stopped using shampoo and cowashed only, my hair isnt so oily anymore. although i do cowash almost every other day. but thanks! i never brush my hair anymore. but i do have to comb or fingercomb every morning when i wake up because its such a mess!

[coconutinsight]

Wow, that's great :D !

[~honeyflower~]

Just a tip about the coconut oil, when you are washing out the oil make sure to use plenty of conditioner to avoid the dreaded greasy hair. Remember a little, goes a long way! I like to use 1 teaspoon on my bsl hair, but feel free to adjust depending on your length.

[lapushka]

my hairs been oily my whole life too, but as soon as i stopped using shampoo and cowashed only, my hair isnt so oily anymore. although i do cowash almost every other day. but thanks! i never brush my hair anymore. but i do have to comb or fingercomb every morning when i wake up because its such a mess!

Tried CO as well, but sadly it was a no-go for me (didn't cleanse enough). I really do need the harsher cleansers, even in shampoos. But it's so great it works for you!

[anitaberlusconi]

i love it !!! the tips for preventing split ends!! :eek: Thanks a lot

[samanthajenalyn]

yes thanks for all of these tips! :) & i tried the olive oil again this morning and my hair has been so soft. i cant believe its taken me this long to try using oil on my hair! lol.