Beauty, Hair

I’ve always had effortlessly long hair but once I started using birth control (the death shot) and permanent dyes my long beautiful locks started breaking off. In a few years I went from bra strap/mid back length to collarbone/shoulder length. Sooo depressing!

A lot of people blamed the shot and the dye but it was more than that. I simply wasn’t taking care of my hair properly. Once I started doing so my hair flourished. After a year of careful maintenance I’m headed back to where I once was!

And it was pretty easy! My main problem was lack of moisture and too much heat. Before learning the tricks of the trade I was just washing my hair, conditioning for a few minutes and then frying it. Which is fine if you want to be bald eventually. But if you don’t more care is needed.

First, make sure you’re moisturizing your hair on a regular basis. Letting your locks get too dry is a major cause of breakage. To combat this find a nice moisturizer your hair likes and work it into your hair focusing on the ends and then working your way up to the roots.

Then, lock in that moisture! Using an oil (castor, olive, coconut, etc) or a butter (Shea, avacado, etc) repeat the same process you did to moisturize. Oils and butters are great at coating your hair and retaining moisture. Plus they give your locks that perfect shine!

Next, cut out the heat. Ok. Not entirely. But limit it! I prefer to wear my hair straight so I flat iron weekly. Because I just can’t seem to part with my dear beloved flat irons I cut the blow dryer out. It just didn’t make sense to use both so I started air drying. You can too! You can air dry in braids, twists, flexi rods…….whatever! Just make sure you properly detangle first! Air drying not only keeps your from drying out but it also makes your hair thicker, saves time and is much less painful!

Finally, I’d suggest finding a good heat protectant. I never apply heat to my hair without protecting it first! Heat tools are the number one cause of splits. To prevent unnecessary damage try to find a nice silicone based serum. It’ll coat your hair protecting it from absorbing too much heat and it’ll help make your hair more straight! Heat protectants go a long way so you’ll only need a small drop for your entire head. I’ve applied heat protectants to dry hair before but I think they work better when applied damp.

There’s a lot more that helped me retain my growth and I plan to share all my tips with you! Stay tuned!