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Grow your hair naturally by avoiding these common mistakes

By Tobi Awodipe
13 October 2018   |   3:10 am
We all know hair is very important and women and even some men would go to any length to ensure their natural hair is lush, long and healthy. Because of this, most have fallen prey to all kinds of products and treatments on the market that promised lush, long healthy hair after use. Before considering…

Natural hair

We all know hair is very important and women and even some men would go to any length to ensure their natural hair is lush, long and healthy.

Because of this, most have fallen prey to all kinds of products and treatments on the market that promised lush, long healthy hair after use.

Before considering harsh products that may or may not be good for you, there are some basic things you should avoid as much as possible if you love your natural mane and want to maximize your hair growth.

Heat treatments

Any treatment that uses heat to style hair is bad for you. Things like blow dryers and flat irons literally cook your hair, making it extremely weak and easy to break. You hair can still look good without having to use heat on it.

Harsh chemicals

Make sure the hair products you buy are not full of harsh chemicals.

These days you can get natural and organic hair products that, though may be a bit more expensive, provide a much better alternative to chemical-ridden products.

These chemical products may make your hair look and feel good but over time it destroys your hair.

Be especially careful about hair dyes, chemical relaxers, sulfates-containing products and alcohol-containing products. The extra investment you make on natural products with organic oils is well worth it.

Extensions and tight styles

Most of us are not aware that attachments are not too healthy for the hair and must be used sparingly.

Styles that rely on tightly wrapping your hair is not good, especially for your hair ends.

When stretched or wrapped too tight, hair tends to get weak and can break easily. Also it prevents hair from continuing with its normal growth.

On the other hand, loose braids and other protective styles actually encourage hair to grow faster by protecting your ends from splitting which means less hair has to be trimmed.

Stress

Too much stress has been scientifically proven to be behind hair loss problems such as Telogen effluvium where hair essentially stops growing and begins to fall out and Alopecia areata where hair follicles are attacked by the body’s immune system.

Determining your hair type

To achieve the best results it is important to know your hair type. This will help you in choosing the right products and giving the best care to your hair. There are three general types of black hair.

Kinky hair: this is the hardest hair type to maintain. The reason for this is that it is weak due to fewer cuticle layers available to protect the hair.

Being very fragile, it requires careful handling to prevent breakage or any other kind of damage. Kinky hair tends to have very tight curls and exhibits a lot of shrinkage after a wash.

Curly hair: the curls are looser than in kinky hair and tend to be springy. It is soft and fine making it one of the easiest hair types to style.

Wavy hair: has large curls in waveforms. Not common amongst Nigerians, it tends to be a bit heavy, staying close to the head unlike kinky and curly hair.

It falls between kinky and curly hair when it comes to difficulty in styling. Generally easy to maintain.

To achieve best results, you must be dedicated and consistently stay on top of your hair care to have the best hair possible.

Tight braids, cornrows or ponytails are among the most common culprits responsible for traction alopecia and one of the most effective treatments for it is to stop putting stress on the hair.

Gauge whether your braids are too tight by attempting to raise your eyebrows or move your forehead.

If you can’t, or the movement is difficult, your hairstyle is too tight.

Also avoid bonding or gluing hairpieces onto the hair directly or applying weaves that are too heavy, you are simply damaging your hair this way.

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