How to get my hair to grow?!

[MsPretty31]

Im wondering if I can have some tips on how to grow my hair longer (probably to my waist). Ive NEVER had hair grow longer than BSL. Someone told me that some people just cant grow their hair that length (genetics):confused:
Im hoping maybe if I have some good tips, I can seriously try. Let me know! Thanks in advance!:D

[Anje]

Without knowing anything about your hair or hair history, it's hard to give specific help. The really general stuff though:

1) Use conditioner. Most folks need it, because by the time hair is getting to that length, the ends are pretty old. If your scalp's not fond of conditioner, put it on your length only.

2) Start wearing your hair up in buns or in braids that come forward over your shoulder. Protect your hair from chairs, car doors, purse straps, and such. A lot of folks get stuck around BSL and it seems like that's the point where it gets pinched and rubbed between their backs and chairs all the time. Protect it.

3) Keep heat styling, perms, and bleaching to the minimum level you feel acceptable. These are all damaging and make it more difficult to have long healthy hair.

It's relatively unusual to find someone (especially a younger female) who doesn't have the genes to get their hair at least to hip length. Certainly there are people whose hair doesn't grow very long, but most people who can't grow their hair are suffering from damage rather than genetics.

[StephanieB]

Waist length is within most people's genetics.
The longer lengths (past tailbone or classic) require a particular special genetic make-up.

Pamper your hair.
Detangle it carefully, treat it so it won't tangle.
Contain it to avoid tangling or catching on things and splitting, etc.
Don't use things that cause hair breakage.
Don't treat it in manners that cause hair breakage.
It's easier by far to pamper and grow hair that's not chemically treated and damaged.


Honestly, what you're asking is for us to teach you everything on LHC in one post or thread
Hang around and read a lot. :)

[pinchbeck]

I will add a few more ideas which you may or may not already be doing: eat a balanced diet, avoid heating tools that cause the hair to split and break off, avoid big trims and replace by dusting your ends to keep 'em in tip top shape, consider supplements if approved by your doctor such as Biotin, MSM, and other supplements recommended for hair growth which can be found in many forums, avoid harsh surfactants in your shampoo (sulfates), avoid silicones in your conditioner and hair products (causes buildup and breakage after time), avoid colouring your hair and try to wash it every couple of day instead of daily.

If I come up with more ideas, they will be added later! Have fun growth on you hair journey.

[MsPretty31]

stephanie-- That makes sense.. too reading I will go :D
Ange - What specifically do you want to know about my hair history?
~ Ive been very mean to my hair as far as chemicals. Ive used hair dye, bleach, etc.. (but now I will only use Henna).
~ My hair is wavy/curly somewhat
~ My hair feels DRY on the ends (probably damage but I want that fixed!!)
~ It Frizzes very easily.
Let me know what else! :--)

[MsPretty31]

Thanks Pinchback! :-)

[celebriangel]

stephanie-- That makes sense.. too reading I will go :D
Ange - What specifically do you want to know about my hair history?
~ Ive been very mean to my hair as far as chemicals. Ive used hair dye, bleach, etc.. (but now I will only use Henna).
~ My hair is wavy/curly somewhat
~ My hair feels DRY on the ends (probably damage but I want that fixed!!)
~ It Frizzes very easily.
Let me know what else! :--)

You cannot fix damage, only grow it out. The dye, bleach and heat styling you have done is causing your hair to break off once it reaches BSL. You need to start treating your hair gently - learn to detangle properly, slowly and gently, using a wide-tooth comb and starting at the bottom. Don't blow dry, straighten or curl your hair - pat it dry with a towel (don't ruffle!) and allow it to airdry. Wear your hair up using hair-friendly tools such as hairsticks and metal-free elastics as much as possible. Braid your hair during the night to prevent tangles.

Find a wash method that suits you - there are a variety of options discussed everywhere on LHC. This may take a bit of experimentation, but you can start off by trying CWC (search for this - there are instructions elsewhere).

Find a leave-in that suits you. Most of us on here prefer using oils and natural leave-ins as opposed to most commercial ones, because commercial leave-ins are full of cones which do little for the hair's condition (though they do protect it) and build up and get nasty very quickly.

[Anje]

Well, being nicer with hair regarding heat and chemicals will definitely help it to grow longer, in the long run. In the meantime, until you can trim off the damage, you should baby the length all the more.

For dry angry ends, my usual advice is usually to clarify the ends, then do a moisture treatment like an SMT.

*To clarify, the easiest method is to get a sulfate-laden "clarifying" shampoo. Use it full strength on your hair all the way down to the ends, and consider washing twice. This is a drying process, so you want to do it infrequently, but it gets off anything that might be blocking moisture to your ends.

*The SMT instructions are here. (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=128) If you lack the supplies, though, you can get pretty far by mixing your favorite conditioner with a bit of honey, molasses, or pancake syrup, and let your hair soak in it for an hour or so. Rinse thoroughly, and you should find your hair softer and happier than it was before.

[spidermom]

AND have patience. It takes years to get long hair. Years and years and years.

[Madora]

Suggestions:

Trim off damaged ends and keep them trimmed every 3 months
Do S & D (Search and Destroy) for any splits

Eat healthy, drink plenty of water, exercise moderately

Avoid blow frying, chemicals, hot curlers, straightening.

Use hair friendly clips/barrettes/elastics (no metal)

Do not wash the life out of your hair. Once a week is enough.

When shampooing, do it gently, with your fingerpads. Do not moosh your hair on top of your head like a mop.

Dilute your shampoo and your conditioner. You don't need a lot of lather when you shampoo.

Wear your hair up to protect delicate ends. Learn how to lace braid.

Use a silk pillowcase to protect your ends.

Use a pure bbb to brush your hair and ALWAYS detangle with a wide tooth COMB FIRST!

Bend at the waist, bring all hair in front of you so that it falls like a curtain, and gently begin to detangle by taking a SMALL, THIN, section of hair in your hand. Start at the ends of the section and gently comb down a few inches. Move up the same section and
comb down again. Repeat until you reach the top of the section. Take another small, thin section and repeat. Continue in this way until All hair has been detangled.

THEN take your brush and brush slowly from nape to forehead.
Follow EACH motion of the brush with the palm of your other hand. This cuts down on static.

The number of strokes you use is up to you. Just try and be consistent every day.

The best time for brushing is in the morning, right after you get up.

After you have completed brushing, while still bent at the waist, part your hair from nape to forehead so that you have two sections.

Grab the section on the left with your left hand and the section on the right with your right hand. Stand erect.

Take the hair in the right hand and gently place over the right shoulder and release it so that it falls down your back. Do the same with the left side. Style as desired.

The more control you have over your hair (whether detangling, brushing, shampooing, drying) the less tangles you'll have.

And speaking of tangles, use your fingers, not the comb, to untangle. If the tangle is tight, spritz with water or a tiny bit of oil to loosen it.

Your diet (and genetics) have more to do with achieving length than any product). You might also want to look into vitamin supplements.

Lastly, pin up inspirational long haired pictures..or maybe keep a hair diary.

And as someone said above have buckets of patience! On average, hair grows 6 inches per year.

Good luck!

[MsPretty31]

This is a pic of my hair, but it looks longer due to the chair. :)
Thanks everyone! keep the suggestions coming!
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh20/OctoberKisses08/IMG_20110830_155636.jpg

[MsPretty31]

A more accurate pic of length..... but this pic makes me look BIGGER than what I am. Grrrrrr. Oh well. :-)
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh20/OctoberKisses08/IMG_20110830_155823.jpg

[torrilin]

From the pictures, it looks like you're potentially a *lot* wavier than the pictures are showing.

Heat styling damages your hair's curl potential and increases frizz. Lots of the combing and brushing methods straight hair types use damage curl and increase frizz. For some women, frequent washing can damage their curls and increase frizz too. If you're interested in maximum curl and minimum frizz, you'd go a different route in your haircare explorations than someone interested in a straight and sleek look, or someone interested in pure length.

I'd start off by reading the article Ursula's Standard Newbie Advice (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=39). The only thing I'd personally add to her advice is if you can possibly stand it... I wouldn't even change your shampoo routine for the first month. If you're planning to stop dye or heat styling, do those first. And even there, if you can stand to stop just one thing... go one at a time.

See, hair grows slowly. Average growth is around a half inch a month. So say you stop heat styling this month. It would take 4-6 MONTHS to have enough hair that's never been heat styled that you could really notice the difference and evaluate it. And for most people, it'd take another year to have enough hair that they could chop off the damage and not be back to a pixie cut.

Since your hair can get to BSL despite all the stuff you're describing as "mean", it is pretty sturdy hair. So you don't need to be in a tearing hurry to change everything. You've got time to think about what you want, and what kind of effort you want to put in.

[Áine]

If you oil and protect your ends, wear it up all the time for the next year, you'll be surprised to find how much change you can have. It'll be tickling near your waist if it isn't there already by this time next year with average growth.

Baby those ends though! That's what will take you to further lengths.

[cheshire90]

patience is a virtue

[luvlaughlin]

I would say try not to use heat, don't wash every day, put your hair up most of the time and make sure that your eating a good healthy diet with all the vitamins and minerals your body needs. You can also supplement with a good multi that has a hair nails and skin formula (extra biotin, etc).

[spidermom]

I'm a fan of trimming; it keeps the ends on the thicker side.

[pinchbeck]

It looks like some answers repeat themselves. Some of us answer without reading others' posts. Hopefully, I am not doing the same below since I skimmed over the answers. lol

I will also add to the list that using a seamless wide toothed comb will keep your hair healthy. Ensure you comb from the bottom of your hair upward taking your hair in sections.

When it comes to your hemline, it is up to you to decide whether you want them to be blunt or if you want them to fairytale. Both look beautiful and can be maintained.

[alwayssmiling]

I'm another fan of regular trimming. Lots of us use this method to self trim. I like to do it myself because I can take just a few millimetres at a time as and when rather than go into the salon and have more taken off than I have grown since my last visit.

http://feyeselftrim.livejournal.com/

Your colour is beautiful, and upto the last couple of inches it looks healthy and shiney. You have a nice wave pattern and not much visible frizz. Your hair looks just like my daughters which stopped at waist. I gave it a trim at the beginning of summer which took her to just below brastrap. Its 6 weeks on its back to waist and looking really healthy. Have you tried CO washing and using leave in conditioner, do you do light oiling at all?

[prairiegirl]

I can identify with you, my hair too grows verrrry slowly and seems to want to stay at BSL... but I think your hair is just lovely! :)

[kdaniels8811]

My hair was at BSL for many years until I found this forum and grew to waist within a year! So just start reading and learn. Benign neglect and coconut oil saved my broken, chemically damaged hair. But do try one thing at a time to learn what your hair likes and dislikes. So much to learn and so many fun things to try! Welcome to LHC!