The Best Hair Growth Tips for Black Women

If you are a black women, your hair may have a strong curl and tendency towards dryness. It can seem impossible to grow your hair to any length, however hair growth for black women can be easily achieved with a few changes to your styling and hair care routine. By following these tips, you can have the long soft locks you’ve always wanted.

Keep Your Hair Moisturized

This is the most important tip for growing long hair if you’re a black women. Because African hair tends to be curly, moisturizing oils from your roots and scalp take a long time to reach the ends of your hair. This can leave the ends of your hair without a lot of natural protective oils which makes them dry. To keep your hair soft, make sure you use conditioner every time you shower. It’s also a good idea to use a deep conditioning treatment every 2-3 weeks.

Use Extra Oil in Your Hair

Because it can take a long time for your own natural oils to reach the ends of your hair, it’s good to add extra oil to your hair. Try to avoid using petroleum and mineral oils as these can damage the hair over time. Try using castor oil which has been used for hundreds of years to increase the softness and growth of hair. When oiling you hair, try to avoid the scalp area as this will already have enough natural oils and you don’t want your hair to be greasy. Instead focus on the ends and mid-section of your hair.

By: FaceMePLS

Take Hair Growth – Boosting Vitamin

There are some vitamins and minerals available that can help your hair to grow extra-fast. Biotin is considered the best vitamin to boost hair growth. It helps to super-charge the hair cells making them produce new hair faster and is available in a capsule form from most health-food stores or online. Vitamin B6 is another great supplement for hair growth. Women have testosterone too, but if too much reaches the hair follicles, it can make thin and slow new growth. Vitamin B6 stops this from happening.

Protect Your Ends

The tips of your hair receive the least amount of natural protective oils so can be brittle and easily damaged. If you’re trying to grow your hair, you’ll want to protect what you already have. Leaving your hair down can increase the chances of breakage and damage, so try putting your hair up to prevent this.

Wrap Your Hair

If you can, try wrapping your hair for as much of the day as possible. This will help your hair soak in all the oils and nutrients you’ve been giving it. If you can’t wrap your hair during the day, try sleeping in a head scarf. A satin head scarf will not absorb your hair oils like cotton would do.

Use a Protein Treatment

Protein treatments add protein to your hair and fill in any damaged strands. They only improve the look of the hair temporarily, but if used regularly, the can help your hair to grow long over time. Protein treatments are available from your local beauty store or to order online. Make sure the protein treatment you buy has “protein” listed in the first 5 ingredients. This will ensure there is enough protein available to make a difference. Some companies use a tiny amount of protein in their formula and these have hardly any affect.

Eat Healthy

Although junk food is tempting, it does nothing to help your hair growth. Certain foods have been proven to boost your hair-growth ability and are great for nourishing your scalp and hair strands. Salmon, avocados and pumpkin seeds are full of omega-3 fatty acids and protein which help to keep your hair follicles in top condition. Eggs, Greek yoghurt, spinach and lentils are all great sources of protein which are the building blocks of new hair. Blueberries and citrus fruits are a great source of vitamin c which is important for strong, healthy hair. Try and eat as many of these foods as often as you can.

By: Sabine Mondestin

Avoid Using Heat on Your Hair

Using heat to style your hair can dry and brittle and increase the chances of breakage. Allow your hair to air dry if you can. The hot air from dryers can be extremely damaging. Try not to use flat irons or curling irons if possible. These can heat up to 400 degrees Fahrenheit, so you are literally cooking your hair. If you have to use heat on your hair, try to limit it and use it once a week at most.

Don’t Use Hair Dye

The common chemicals in hair dyes have an extremely negative effect on hair and are a major cause of damage. They can damage the hair to a point where it’s slow to grow back. It’s best not to use hair dye at all, but if you need to, try to space hair dyeing sessions as far apart as possible, at least 3 months. This will help to limit the damage to your hair.

Limit Hair Relaxing Sessions

If you have hair relaxing treatments, you’ll already know the damage they can do to your hair. Although they straighten your hair for long periods of time and you may be happy with the results, hair relaxing treatments can prevent hair growth over time. Make sure you only have you hair relaxed once every 3 months at the most. You could also try keeping a natural look instead and this will help your hair grow healthy and long.

Avoid Excess Stress

Stress has been shown to slow hair growth so try to limit stress and anxiety in your life. Stay away from things that stress you and try to incorporate more things that make you happy into your life. Not only will you feel better, but your hair will improve as well.

Hair growth for black women can feel like a long and hard task. It’s true that there’s no quick way to instantly get long and soft hair, but with a few changes to your lifestyle, hair care techniques and some time, you can get the locks you’ve always wanted.