5 tips on how to grow your hair long

First of all, it is important to know that on average hair grows about 15 centimetres a year that is 6 inches a year. Some people can retain this length and even more and some others much less. There are a number of reasons why you may not be able to retain this growth, it could be due to your genetics or to the fact that your hair is breaking at a much faster rate than it is growing. Except, of cause its genetics or due to an unhealthy scalp, the following tips will help you retain as much length as you can.

Stay away from Heat

Now, if you are into straightening your hair with a flat iron a lot, you may want to put a

break on that. Heat can be a major source of damage and staying away from it for a while can help you retain lengths that you previously were unable to. It's not only flat irons that cause damage mind you, it could be blow dryers and other heat tools as well. Try stretching out the amount of times you use heat on your hair or eliminate it entirely for a while. If you must use heat on your hair, then protect the strands of your hair using a heat protection serum or spray and do not skip a deep conditioning prior to heat manipulation. If you hair is damaged or thin then try to stay away from heat entirely.

Moisture and protein treatments

It is very important for your hair to get the moisture that it needs. A deep conditioning once every week will help keep your tresses healthy and beautiful. Especially for curly hairs and black hair textures, it is important to keep deep conditioning as a priority in the hair care routine. Once in a month or so doing a protein treatment can be beneficial. This treatment could be as simple as making a DIY hair mask with 2 egg yokes and a carrier oil such as virgin coconut oil. Always follow a protein treatment with a moisturizing treatment.

Protein treatments can be tricky in the sense that it is difficult to know when you need one. However, a good indication that you may need a protein treatment is when, despite the deep conditioning, your hair feels limp, stringy or sticky. In this case you may want to plan a protein treatment a few times to get your hair back on track. On the other hand, if after deep conditioning your hair feels coarse, dry and brittle. You should check the ingredients in your conditioner. It may be that your conditioner contains proteins which is causing this. You should either switch products or make a DIY moisture mask with ingredients containing less protein.

Stimulate your scalp

Stimulating the scalp is a great way to get your hair growing. You can do this by giving yourself a daily scalp massage. You can also do this by adding a few drops of essential oils like tea tree or mint to your shampoo or conditioner. Doing an oil treatment mixed with a few drops of essential oil can be very stimulating as well. And really, why wouldn't massage your scalp? It's nice, you get the blood circulating and your strands growing.

Protective styles

One essential way of retaining length is by leaving your hair alone. To keep the manipulations to a minimal, you can opt for protective styles. For example, braiding your hair can be a protective style. Many black people are familiar with protective styles since it is part of their culture and also because black hair tends to be more fragile than Caucasian hair textures.

However, Protective styles can be beneficial for everybody. Not combing and stressing your hair for a few weeks can help you retain length, especially if it is done often. Two things you should keep in mind with protective styles is that one, you should not keep the protective style in too long and two, make sure that the braids or what ever protective style is not tight when they are being made.

Seal in the moisture

For those with dry hair and for many black hair textures, you may need to have a leave in conditioner and oil. Hair that is super dry will tend to still need moisture aside from the deep conditioning every week. Some people may need to wet their hair every day, put in a leave-in conditioner and seal it with an oil. Others may only need a light oil, such as coconut oil, almond oil or jojoba oil or heavier oils such as castor oil or Shea-butter to seal in moisture.

You may prefer to just wet your hair with water from a spray bottle and rub oils to the ends of your hair to keep it moisturized. Whichever method you choose will help you retain length. The essential thing here is that you are keeping your older strands moisturized as these tend to easily break off.