There is a misconception that black hair doesn’t grow; and because of this, most people think they must settle for short, fragile and sometimes, unruly hair. You must adopt a great haircare regime to keep your hair healthy. This will enable it to grow without breaking.
The fact that you need to relax your hair every two months is sign enough that it grows. The problem is that many people have struggles retaining the length. Whether relaxed or natural, hair grows at the same rate; it just looks shorter when it has not been straightened.
By: Keletso Modisakeng
Factors that slow down the growth process
- Your genetic predispositions.
- Unhealthy diet.
- Chemical hair treatments, such as relaxing and colouring, make the hair fragile and prone to breakage.
- Some types of medication.
- Severe illness or an unexpected life event could cause your body to go into a state of alarm, leading to stress. This makes the body to produce a natural hormone called cortisol. This hormone restricts the blood flow to the hair follicle, which slows down hair growth.
Healthy hair
- Live a healthy lifestyle to help your hair grow.
- Include sufficient exercising (a minimum of three days a week) and a balanced diet rich in protein, calcium and fibre to have a healthy head of hair.
- Drink multivitamins and supplements.
- Give your head regular massages with products that contain natural oils, such as olive oil, to help relieve stress, soothe the scalp and speed up blood circulation to the surface. This helps with hair growth.
- Give your hair a trim to get rid of split ends as they cause further damage. The damaged hair needs to be cut off to allow the healthy hair to grow and thicken.
