How to Grow Healthy Hair

Are you doing what it takes for healthy hair?

For as long as I can remember, people always told me I had so much hair and super thick hair. Which yes, I do, and I agree with them. But, it was not until I began to actually care for my hair and listen to my body that I truly noticed my hair change and grow at its full potential.

Why do we always want what we don’t have?

Let’s be honest, we have all been there at some point.

“My hair is dry."

"My hair never grows."

"My hair did not used to be this thin.” etc.

In this post I am going to give you my top 6 tips on how you can grow and maintain healthy, shiny hair.

Remember that if healthy hair is what you are seeking, it will take good effort from you.

• Time

• Consistency

• Product investments

• Hair care routine

• Professional guidance

First, let me give you some history here on my hair’s journey. As I mentioned above, yes, I have always had think and long hair. Yet, my hair strands are fine and get damaged easily and break. Like many people, I always thought hairstylists were only trying to sell us products without us really needing them.

After becoming a hairstylist myself, I realized how important quality products are. We as professionals only want to help you achieve your dream hair. At the end of the day, that is also what you want yourself right?

What does healthy hair mean?

Healthy hair is that hair that has a natural sheen to it. You know that hair that looks freshly cut, no split ends and no dryness? That hair that when you brush, you get natural shed but no breakage? The hair that reflects light and always looks rich in color? That is healthy hair.

what is natural shed?

Naturally, we shed 50-100 hairs a day. Wow, sounds like a lot. But, did you know we are all born with anywhere between 80,000-150,000 hair follicles on our head? So shedding 50-100 strands of hair a day is nothing. Shedding is not the same as breakage or hair loss.

6 tips for thicker , healthier hair

1. Not washing my hair everyday

When I was younger, my mom used to have us wash our hair every night. That is what I was used to. After becoming a hairstylist and learning how drying it was for our hair and scalp, I made the change.

My hair gets very oily, and I hate not having clean hair. However, for the health of our scalp and hair, we need to train our scalp to not produce so much oil. We do that by minimizing the washes. You do not have to make that drastic change right away. Begin by washing every other day, and then every third day until you reach your desired amount of time between washes.

2. Blow-drying

Blow drying my hair every time I wash my hair has not only helped my hair be healthier but it is also one of the main things that helps my hair not get oily as quick. Blow drying your hair helps to not let the products you just applied on your hair sit on your scalp and cause build up. Additionally, wet hair is so fragile meaning that if you leave it wet and let it air dry, you increase the chances of it breaking or getting split ends.

Try blow drying your hair instead of air drying and you will notice a difference. It adds like an extra 1-2 days to your clean hair depending on how oily your scalp is. Also, many products are actually heat activated which is why hair looks so shiny, smooth, and voluminous after a blow dry. (Blow dry on medium heat setting)

3. Vitamins

This is my little secret. I began taking women’s multivitamins because my doctor recommended them when I turned 21. Not thinking anything of it, I began taking them until I was 23 because they could not hurt right?

After 4 months of taking them consistently every night, I noticed it. I was putting my hair up for the gym one evening and I noticed my ponytail felt different. I looked at my temple area knowing I was very fine there and had tons of baby hairs. Not exaggerating, I noticed a significant difference in my baby hair length and the thickness in my temple area.

I wish I could have taken pictures, but again, I was not expecting that to happen. Ask your doctor on what vitamins they recommend!

4. Quality products

Again, we think that hairstylists only do it for sales. But that is not true, at least not the ones with a true passion for haircare. Now, it took me a while to make the change to quality products because I thought it was all talk. But let me tell you, when I did .. I DID NOT go back. Not only did I realize what I was using on my scalp was not healthy at all, I also realized why my hair was always feeling so oily!

Get this, my dad used my shampoo one time when he ran out of his and LOVED IT. That says a lot.

5. Diet

One day, I made a decision to get into the gym and make it a lifestyle for myself. With that, came better food choices. I did not drastically change my diet nor am I strict with it. I am a lot more aware with that I consume and make sure I have a balanced diet throughout the day.

Hair is 80% protein and when I began my fitness journey, my protein increased a lot. I know protein had a big impact in my hair changes as well. Listen to your body and learn what works for YOU.

6. Haircuts/ Trims

Many of us get to the point where we know we are in need of a haircut, but we do not want to cut our hair because it’s finally long. We have many split ends, and it is dry, but it is LONG.

Did you know that to maintain healthy, thick hair, we should be trimming our hair every 2-3 months. Yes, I know, it makes it sound like cutting it that often will never let it grow. However, haircuts are essential to growing long and thick hair. How is hair supposed to grow when it is dry and has split ends if it is going to constantly break?

That is why it seems like our hair is not growing, because it is breaking! Cutting off the dry and split ends is what will keep your hair strong enough to finally grow past that length where it normally “stops”. Hair does not necessarily stop growing, there is more to it than that.

Where to start?

After reading this blog you may be wondering “so where do I even start?”.

Begin by analyzing what your current hair care routine looks like. Are you washing your hair too often? When is the last time you treated yourself to a haircut? Are you eating a well balanced diet or taking supplements? Are you investing in quality products for your hair?

Begin by implementing one of the 6 tips and see how your hair reacts to it. Overtime, add another of the tips I have listed until you have tried them all and decided which ones work for you. Beginning slowly will help with building habits and staying consistent.

Remember, you will not see results right away so be sure to give it some time for your body to show you what is working and what is not. Everyone is different.