Damn That Damage!
We Have The 411 On Length Retention
"My Hair is not Growing"
Fact Check: Unless you have a
medical condition your hair IS growing! It may be breaking at the
same pace, or even faster than it grows.
Damage is a barrier that will prevent you from seeing hair
growth. Your hair is actually growing all the time, but with damage in the way,
your hair is breaking off at the same rate it is growing, which is why there
will appear to be no growth or progress.
How to fight it?
Fact Check: Once the bonds of the hair is broken or
split they cannot be repaired Many products claiming to fix
split ends, can provide temporary relief from frizz
and flyaways but cannot undo any damage. At the most
these product strengthen hair, & smooth the cuticles,
to prevent further damage. Split ends should always be
trimmed.
You have to slow down the rate at which you damage your hair.
Reduce is the word of choice used because it is impossible to eliminate all
damage. Your hair is damaged to some degree every time you wash it, detangle
it, and even touch it.
Lets Discuss the 4 types of damage that can occur &
how to prevent them
Manipulation of the hair
Even if you are chemical free and you do have a good moisture
routine, damage from manipulation can get in your way. To resolve this issue
you have to be gentle with your hair. Take your time, and use your fingers.
The more you comb, style, or touch your hair you are causing
damage to it. If you have particularly fragile hair, like 4b or 4c hair, this
type of damage is easy to come by.
You might be thinking to yourself, "I am gentle!" Well, if
you are experiencing breakage you are not being gentle enough. If you hear
popping sounds while detangling, or feel any discomfort, your being too
rough.
Taking an additional 10 minutes to detangle with your fingers
will reduce the amount of damage that you experience. Remember you cannot
eliminate damage completely. Taking just a few minutes will pay off in the long
run, you will notice more length retention, and less breakage. How
much manipulation damage will all vary from person to person.
For particularly fragile hair types you will want to keep your
hair in protective and low manipulation hairstyles 70% -80% of the time and
instead of detangling with combs or brushes you may want to try finger combing
instead. Braid Outs, twist outs, palm coils, mini twists, pin tuck and rolls,
puffs, updo's, braids, and buns are just some of the many low Manipulation options.
Is length retention is your current goal? If you are trying to gain length, maintain styles for 2 weeks at a time. This will
help you to hold on to the hair that would have normally broken off had you
worn a style that requires daily styling.
However for some naturals this is not practical, wearing styles
for 2 to 3 weeks at a time may simply be unnecessary. Only you can determine
this.
Nevertheless, even for naturals with looser curls and more
resilient strands protective styles help to protect hair from damage.
Hair Dryness
Dryness of the hair will lead to hair breakage and split ends
which ultimately prevent length retention. You have to have a
good moisture routine if your goal is to have longer hair.
One problem is many people do not know how to effectively
moisturize their hair. If this is you Keep reading!
Let’s first start with defining what a moisturizer actually is!
A moisturizer is a Water based solution. Which means
oils, greases, and butters are not moisturizers, they are sealants, they help to keep moisture in your hair but they are not moisturizers.
So every time you set out to moisturize or LOCO your hair, you
should lightly be misting with water or a water based product first, then
sealing in that moisture with an oil and or butter.
When you moisturize you should moisturize all of your hair, but
you want to pay close attention to the ends of your hair because they get
particularly dry and they are the oldest and most delicate part of your
hair.
You may need to moisturize each day, every other day, or even
once a week. This is all specific to your hair. You will know what works for
you by the look and feel of your hair. Healthy Hair is easier to manage.
Heat Damage
Flat
Iron, Blow Dryer
While heat is a useful tool for giving us gorgeous stretched out
styles, and luxurious deep conditioners, it is also good for sucking the
moisture out of our hair. Does this mean you can never use heat? No it does
not, but if you want healthy long hair you should cut down your usage of heat down
to the bare minimum.
When you frequently use heat, you will also find that you will
have to trim your hair more often, which again results in lack of length
retention.
You also have to keep in mind that you may not have a
consistency in style if you continuously heat style your hair. High
heat will cause permanent straightening of hair strands for some naturals.
If you are transitioning this is why you should avoid flat irons
and hot combs for a few months. You wouldn’t be able to
tell the difference between relaxed hair and the hair that has been permanently
altered from heat damage.
If you must have heat in your regimen do not use it more than
once every 2 to 3 weeks. Try to stretch out the time you use heat as long as
you can! Air dry overnight. Rock twists, and braids instead of blow
drying.
I challenge you to try going 6 months without using heat styling
tools in your hair. You will see a big improvement in your hair’s health.
There a other methods for stretching hair like banding, if you
want stretched out hair.
Chemical Damage
Dye
and Relaxers
Relaxers, Texturizers, and Hair Dyes will all cause some form of
damage to the hair, because of the drastic changes that it does to the hair’s
structure.
If you are a transitioner, you will notice that your relaxer may
even be breaking off on it’s own. This is most likely due to the differences in
the two hair textures that you have on your head, (the curls and bends
represent weak points) and your ends are weathered from time while also being
weakened from the relaxer.
During your transitioning stage, you will want to practice all
of the above: protective styles, no heat, and moisture. As time goes on
you will slowly trim away your relaxed or texturized ends.
Hair dye, especially if you are going to a lighter shade is
drying to the hair. If you decide to permanently color your hair you will have
to be strict with your moisturizing and deep conditioning routine. Otherwise,
your hair will become dry and ultimately break. Be sure to
listen to your hair. Some Curly girls Keep a hair diary.
Damn That Damage Over Time
It
Takes Time
Remember you have to be consistent with good hair care
practices. You cannot use heat daily, constantly manipulate your hair, and then
expect for it to grow just because you slapped some moisturizer on your strands
a few nights.
Give your hair a few months or so of using good hair care in
order to see significantly healthier hair and growth. Progress will not happen
over night. Track your progress with selfies, you'll have a great time looking
back on your styles and phases on your natural hair journey.
Cover It Up
When Pillows Attack
Cotton pillow cases rob your hair of its moisture. Its coarse
fibers are abrasive to your strands. Over time, this can
cause breakage. As you toss and turn, your hair is being attacked.
Cover your hair at night, or use a silk or satin pillow case
to protect your strands.
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