The Best Ways to Grow Straight Natural Hair | May 2018

For some reason, a false narrative has spread that highly textured hair is harder to grow. Loads of companies have cashed in on this myth. They sell us miracle biotin pills, fancy masks, massagers, shampoos, conditioners – all with the promise of growing our hair. It seems that there are new “magic hair growth” products launched every day.

 
Please stop wasting your money.
 
It is a proven fact that textured hair grows, and grows fast. In fact, our hair grows out of our heads at half-an-inch every month and there’s nothing that we can do to change that fact. The challenge comes in keeping that hair that grows. Those miracle pills and magic products don’t help with that.
 
The reason that it sometimes seems like our hair isn’t growing is because textured/curly hair is more likely to break. So, our hair is often breaking at the same rate that it’s growing! It tends to be dryer, and more brittle (which is why we talk about the importance of moisturizing so much here at P R E S S E D Blog), making it more susceptible to breakage. Furthermore, each textured hair strand has multiple kinks, and each of these kinks is a stress point where the hair can break off easily if not handled appropriately.
 
So, the secret to growing your textured hair longer, is actually keeping it.
 
Here are three easy steps to maximize your hair growth:
 
1 – GIRL, GET A TRIM!
It seems counterproductive, but the most-recommended way to maximize your natural hair growth is to get rid of any crusty ends. The reason for this is simple: damaged, split ends travel up the hair shaft and result in more damage to your hair, ultimately causing breakage.
 
But don’t run wild with this advice! If you go for a monthly trim, you run the risk of trimming off the same half-inch that you just grew. Some experts recommend getting a trim every 6-8 weeks, but the reality is, that every person is different. The best course of action is to get in touch with your hair. Check it out from time to time and if you see split ends, cut ties with them. If you have no split ends then you are fine—don’t trim.
 
2 – STOP FUSSING WITH IT!
Every time we manipulate our hair we are running the risk of breakage. Even if we aren’t heat styling, all the brushing, braiding, twisting, tying, and touching is making our hair more prone to breakage. Our textured hair is, by nature, more fragile, and should be handled with care.
 
This is not to say “Don’t style your hair”, it’s just a reminder to style it with care. Tying it back tightly day after day is known to cause breakage around the hairline, and heat styling (I’m talking about those daily touch-ups after a blowout) are completely parching to our aging ends.
 
Once your style is done and set for the day stop touching it. Think if it like your face—if you spend all day rubbing your face you are going to have a break out. If you spend all day touching your hair, it’s going to split, break-off, and you won’t maximize your hair-growth.
 
3 – EAT BETTER!
Good hair starts in the kitchen. If you are smart about your food choices, you can literally eat your way to longer hair. Some foods have vitamins and other nutrients in them that actively strengthen, hydrate, and prevent hair loss. Some of these hair healthy foods include:
– Bananas
– Apricots
– Raspberries
– Oats
– Nuts
 
Notice how none of the items on the list are biotin pills? Unless you have a biotin deficiency, you already produce all of the biotin that your body needs. Any extra biotin you ingest will just be excreted as waste instead of absorbed.
 
One more time for the people in the back: Your body probably already produces enough biotin and any extra intake will simply be wasted!
 
We worked hard for our coins, so why would we waste them on buying supplements our body doesn’t need? So, unless your doctor explicitly recommends that you take supplements, the best thing you can do to maximize your hair length is trim your hair as needed, approach your styling routine with care, and eat more hair-healthy foods. Keep an eye out here and on our Instagram page for easy recipes using these hair healthy ingredients!
 
— Charley