While there are many serums and leave-in treatments out there that claim to prevent split ends, the truth is, they don't completely protect your hair, but only work to minimize the damage. If you're trying to grow your hair longer, you have to stay away from heat as much as possible. That means no blow-drying, no curling irons, no flat irons, etc. Excessive usage can cause split ends and dry, brittle hair that will constantly break off and deter hair growth.
Hair that is constantly straightened chemically or with heat appliances= Ugly Damaged Hair
Also, stay away from hair dyes and bleach. I learned this the hard way when I went through my "I want to be a brunette" stage and dyed my hair every month. Here's a picture from 2009.
Eventually it wore down my hair so much that it kept breaking off and getting thinner so I had to chop it all off to chin length last year. I also ended up dying it back to my natural color, which is very dark brown. Here's a picture of my hair from May 2010.
So short ha? :(
Since then it's been about ten months and my hair grew about 6 inches. Here's a recent picture taken a couple weeks ago.
Not too bad. And that's with trims when I felt like I needed it. It's a lot healthier now that I haven't dyed my hair in almost a year. Also, a lot thicker. My husband said it looked like a mullet before because a lot of it fell out from the bleaching lol.
Anywho, back to the growing part yes? Give up the bleach, lessen flat ironing. Three times a week MAXIMUM if you want your hair to grow! And always use a heat protectant when you straighten. Deep condition once a week, and when you feel you need it, trim your ends. Depending on how damaged your hair is, you don't need to trim it every month, because hair only grows an average of half an inch a month, thus trimming it every month would defeat the purpose of retaining any length.
And on days when you do go natural, if you have wavy hair like me, you might want to invest in a good curl enhancing spray. I fell in love with John Frieda's Dream Curls Curl Perfecter Spray:
It runs around 5 bucks a bottle, but works really well to give you those effortless beach waves that so many women try to achieve with a curling iron. I used to hate my wavy hair before but after I discovered this product I was able to work with it. Right after you get out of the shower, squeeze out your hair of excess water, then spray about 5 or 6 times or more if your hair is thicker and longer, comb it through with a wide tooth comb, than add your favorite hair serum and comb through once more. Let your hair air dry and voila! Instant beach wave model lol.
Keep in mind it works best on wet hair. I tried it on dry hair and it made it crunchy. Also, this doesn't really work on people who have stick straight hair. Wavy or curly haired people only. Lastly, I can't swear by it because I've only been doing it for a month, but try taking a multivitamin. My mother-in-law bought me a bottle for hair, skin, and nails, by sound body but there are plenty out there for you to choose from. I also heard that taking prenatal pills help as well, but I've yet to try it. Personally, I don't think it makes your hair grow faster, it just gives your body the vitamins it needs to keep your hair strong and healthy so it can grow.
That's pretty much it. I will wait another few months before posting an updated picture of my hair. Till then, best of luck and happy hair growing! :-P
