My hair recently. How long can I grow?

Bonjour!

It feels like I last posted a lifetime ago. Having been MIA for two years, I've had more than enough time to reach my length goal of armpit length but, in reality, I've become addicted to blunt ends and have been getting my hair cut into a chin-length bob every 2-3 months.

I pretty much stopped blogging because I had nothing new to report on my hair... until now!

After a few years of wearing a bob (recent pic above), I've decided I want to grow my hair again. Feeling a bit out of practice I decided to revisit my blog to get some tips on what used to help me.

Growing and maintaining healthy hair takes research, time and effort. Here are 3 questions to ask yourself before starting a hair journey.

What are the best vitamins for hair growth?

Many people incorporate supplements into their regime to encourage faster, thicker or healthier hair growth. With so many multivitamins and potions promising miracle results, how do you decide what's best for you?

The results you receive from vitamins is dependent on many factors, including whether you have a vitamin deficiency and how the vitamin interacts with another. in your body. I've decided to start taking biotin and MSM, but no vitamin comes without its risks so do your research first!

What is biotin?

This water-soluble B Vitamin is popular choice. Also known as Vitamin H, biotin occurs naturally in foods like fish, eggs and soy beans. While there's limited scientific evidence, many report thicker, faster growing hair while taking biotin, but they also report acne breakouts! You can read some reviews on biotin for hair growth here.

What is MSM?

Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) is a naturally occurring compound found in the body. It's often taken to maintain bone health and reduce joint pain because of its sulfur content, which is important for forming connective tissues. Sulfur is also a key component for growing healthy hair and nails, thus MSM has also been said to encourage faster hair growth, although many report unwanted growth all over the body! It's also believed that MSM lengthens the anagen (growing) phase of the hair growth cycle, helping you achieve longer lengths.

How should you style your hair?

A key to retaining length is maintaining healthy ends. Heat styling, tight hairbands, and over manipulation are just three ways to cause breakage and reach an early length plataeu.

Protective styles and low manipulation styles such as braids, buns or any 'do that keeps your ends from being exposed, are a great way to maintain your length.

Hairstyles such as braid-outs and twist-outs are super cute and heat-free. Check out my experience with curlformers and pincurls; two styles I'll definitely be revisiting on my hair journey!

Harsh weather, daily styling and even hair rubbing against your shoulders can damage your locks, so planning your styles to protect your strands is a wise move.

Heatless pincurls

What are the best hair care products?

Products and technique go hand in hand, so pairing your arsenal of products with healthy practices is the key to success.

It's a good idea to establish a set of go-to products that work for your hair:

Shampoos

A sulfate-free shampoo will gently cleanse the hair without stripping it. Shea Moisture has an entire line of sulfate-free shampoos, and they smell delicious. Organic Root Stimulator Olive Oil Sulfate Free Shampoo leaves my hair feeling super silky and detangled. Creme of Nature Argan Oil Shampoo is another gentle cleanser with lots of slip - perfect for transitioning hair that gets tangled easily! There are loads to choose from, so have fun finding the right one for you!

Conditioners

A moisturising conditioner will help keep hair elastic and hydrated, while a good protein conditioner will add strength to your stands. I've been using Organic Root Olive Oil Replenishing Conditioner, which strikes a balance between the two; it's been a staple of mine for over 10 years!

Moisturiser

Keep hair supple with a daily moisturiser (my favourite is African Pride Olive Miracle). The consistency of your chosen moisturiser should depend on your hair type. Thicker, thirstier or natural hair may benefit from a heavier butter, while relaxed or finer hair may prefer a lighter product. Cantu Argan Oil Leave-In Conditioning Cream is another of my favourites; a little goes a long way and it keeps hair soft and moisturised, plus it smells lovely!

Oils

Oils are a great way to nourish the hair and add shine to your strands. As oils don't contain water they can't moisturise the hair, but you might benefit from a hot oil treatment before shampooing, or you can try adding oils to your conditioner to boost its effect.

I love using argan oil as it doesn't leave my fine hair greasy or stringy. Castor oil is a popular choice and many people report thicker new growth after applying it to the scalp. Coconut oil is also great for its antibacterial and anti-fungal properties, and olive oil is rich in nutrients to nourish your locks.