If there was ever an ideal time for growing out your hair, it definitely begins as soon as the weather starts to cool off. In the season of hats and hair wraps lies a pristine opportunity to give your locks a few added inches. If this interests you, then look no further! Here are my top five tips for healthy, natural hair growth this winter:
1. Save the split ends and flaunt your natural style.
I honestly cannot over-emphasize the importance of this. It is first on the list for a reason. The best way to grow your hair is to do as little with it as possible in terms of styling. Styling involves heat, and heat is intensely damaging to your hair, scorching away those ends you’re longing so desperately to hold onto. If you’re burning your hair off at one end, all the work put into growing it out of the other renders totally useless. Healthy, substantial hair growth is going to require you to embrace your natural style and let those locks air-dry most days. No matter how daunting that may seem, it will pay off big when you have a head of flowing, radiant, un-broken, and un-fried hair. Long story short: you want your looks to be smoldering, not your split ends ends.
2. Wash your hair less often.
I would honestly recommend cutting your shampoo usage in half, if that’s plausible. That is, if you normally wash your hair everyday, wash it every other. This may cause your hair to feel excessively oily at first, but hold faith that your body will adjust in time. Overusing shampoo is one of the worst things you can do for your hair; it can be drying and damaging when used in surplus. With time and a regular schedule of shampoo every other day (or less), your scalp will start to regulate its production of oil without having to overcompensate for all that goop you’re scrubbing on it! These natural oils are the perfect nourishment for growing hair. You’re also eliminating the use of harsh chemicals, dyes, and artificial ingredients on your skin—a fine initiative for health as much as hair growth.
3. Embrace the scalp massage.
This advice sounds a little strange to the unknowing reader. Believe me, I was apprehensive in the beginning as well. Since you’ll be shampooing less, you may find that oil lingering on your scalp in between washes to be daunting or nasty. Scalp massages are a perfect solution to this. Using your fingertips (not your fingernails), gently massage your scalp in circular motions, working around the roots of your hair, under flowing water during your shower. The point of this is to work all that oil away from your scalp and into the body of your hair, allowing it to better coat your locks for natural moisture and protection. It also rejuvenates your scalp and gently cleanses your hair follicles. Rather than washing oil away, you’ll be getting full use of it!
(So often, this idea rubs people the wrong way. As the result of living in a highly consumerist society and all the mass media surrounding the beauty market, we’re trained to think that oil is a sign of uncleanliness; that it is something disdain, a problem to be solve. This is so not the case—oil is as natural as the pigmentation of your skin, a part of your body same as tears or toenails. It is, simply, your body’s reaction to dryness. It isn’t gross to massage your roots in the shower, I promise!)
4. Halve your shampoo, double your conditioner.
I’ve already advised cutting the number of days you shampoo in half, but does the same apply to conditioner? The answer, my friend, is absolutely not. Condition your hair every single time you shower. Use a leave-in conditioner for added moisture. You should always, always be lathering those ends in something rich and creamy. Your ends receive the least amount of oil from your scalp, leaving them in need of extra help to avoid drying out and breaking off. When you shower, I would recommend letting your conditioner/moisturizer sit on the ends of your hair for at least three minutes (I condition as my first task in the shower, letting it sit while I do all my other business). The longer your conditioner has to soak in, the more you’re preserving your growing hair from future damage, and it will leave your hair feeling ridiculously smooth and soft!
5. Drink more water.
I repeat: Drink. More. Water. You could always stand to drink more. It’s common knowledge that water is vital to your overall health, but it also has crazy benefits pertaining to your physical appearance. Your cells need water to keep their interiors functioning and properly coated, so they don’t dry out and flake off in the form of broken nails or split ends. Having enough water in your system leaves your lips, skin, and hair naturally hydrated and plump. So, drink some more water. Not getting enough water over long periods of time can cause your hair, skin, and nails to become brittle and damaged. Give your hair—and your body—exactly what they need to keep making new cells and doing all the amazing things they do: water.