I can hear you now, "I knew it"!!! Did you ever wonder "how is cutting my hair going to make it grow?" Well before you go and cuss out every stylists that has ever trimmed your hair pump your breaks....lol. Technically trimming your hair will not MAKE your hair grow, this is true. However getting regular trims will allow you to retain length. The hair never really "stop" growing. What we don't understand is what happens to the hair after it has exited the follicle dictates a lot as far as length.
My years as a hair stylist have shown me that there are so many ins and outs to loosing your hair or experiencing slow growth. I've seen hair thrive and I've seen hair suffer. I've tried different things to bring hair back to life, from radical to "back to the basics". What I have found is a great majority of my clients with growth issues just need good old fashion TLC! Crazy right....they just need to simply take care of it. I've been told that I have "growing hands" for many years. Truthfully it's not my hands, it's me knowing that it is necessary to put hair in an environment that will allow it to grow. I believe the most underrated step to hair growth is getting a regular trim. You would be surprised at how the hair reacts to routine trims. It also makes it easier for the stylist to produce when it come to hair styling. Have you ever tried to get the hair to hold curls needing a trim, how did that work out for you? And it wasn't the stylist fault, bad ends do not behave in any situation so take that bad review down. I've had clients sit in my chair express their frustration with slow growth. The first thing I ask is "when was your last trim?" A lot of times I don't have to go any further than that. If their trim was more than 3 months prior then we are having a discussion. If the hair is breaking as fast as it's growing then it's going to appear that it has stopped growing. We have to get those splitting ends off ASAP, yes all of them!
So many women literally run from getting a trim. It is so crazy when it comes to our hair the first thing we say is "I want my hair to grow long!" When we are being told what it takes to grow the hair we want no parts of it. When a trim is recommended stylists get that "I will do it the next time response. There are things the hair likes and things the hair does not like. To create an environment for growth pay attention to the following...
Get regular trims, every 2 - 3 months but a good stylists can help when deciding a good schedule for your particular hair. Regular trimmed hair should only need to be "dusted" each trim time. Cutting the hair is only necessary when a significant amount of time has passed.
Steer clear of tight styles such as braids and weaves. There is nothing wrong with getting your hair braided or getting the hair weaved for protective styling, however when you are in pain then that is your scalp way of telling you something is terribly wrong. Click here for good quality bundles for weave styles. In colder months protective styles are a great option.
Be mindful of the chemicals we apply to our hair and scalp, leave it to the professionals. When applying chemicals to the the scalp and hair, sometimes you can burn your scalp without even knowing it. I'm not talking about the obvious burn that shows up during the process or a couple of days after. I am talking about no physical sign then the follicle damage show up years later. It's best to leave it to the professionals to ensure you chemical service is being done correctly. And please stop getting color on hair with split ends. This is never a good option or look, your current split ends will now split even more and at a faster rate.
Keep the hair and scalp clean, sorry dirty hair does not grow faster. Sorry to bust up the myth but dirty hair does nothing for growth. And stop co-washing...it's like taking a bath in lotion, get off YouTube!
Hair is very fragile when wet so handle with care. Detangle the hair when wet and start from the ends and move your way up to the roots for best results.
Supplements are also a great way to get your hair off to a great start when looking to retain length. Now supplements do not grow the hair either however what they will do is make the hair stronger as it develops in the follicle so when it reaches the surface it can stand up to the everyday styling and chemical services. It's also less likely to split as much on the ends which means....you will be getting your hair dusted with your regular trims and not cut allowing you to keep more length. Click here for the supplements that I have my clients use. I have seen them work wonders with a great majority of my clients hair. I stand by them, they produce results when used on a consistent bases.
So there you have it, trims do not grow your hair but they sure do help you retain your length. Continue to receive your trims no matter what YouTube has told you, they are very necessary for the health of your hair. Find a stylist that understands the difference between a trim and a cut, this is important as well. Now don't go in there after not receiving a trim after a year asking for a trim, chick you are going to need a cut, trust me! But after that with the proper care and routine trims, dusting should be all you need going forward
And one last thing before I close out this post. If you wear your hair in it's natural state, then you are going to need a blow out and soft press before your trim. I know I know, I've heard it all before, "I don't want heat on my hair"!! Well guess what, there is not way an accurate trim can be done on a head full of kinky hair. I've seen the results of that and it's ugly...real ugly. The hair needs be stretched so you can actually see the ends. If a stylists is trying to trim your wet fro RUN like Forrest Gump did when the braces came off his legs. I guarantee you as she attempts to stretch the hair half of it's going to curl back down to the scalp before the the shears can get to it. Use wisdom even if your stylist doesn't. The stylists at Elliptical Naturals will be more than happy to assist you with this.
Until next time...Happy hair growing!
Dana