The Key to Length Retention
Many people often think that their hair is not growing when they don't see their hair lengthening, but much of the time this is not the case. Your hair is constantly growing unless you have something happening underneath your scalp that is causing hair loss. The most likely reason you are not seeing the results of this growth is due to length retention. With that being said, length is not the end-all-be-all, as your hair is beautiful when its both pulled up in its fully shrunken state and when its blown out down your back. Check out these tips below to help with your hair's length retention!
Be patient - don't rush the process.
It takes time for hair to grow, so be patient and give your strands a chance to reach their full potential. On average, hair grows about 0.2 to 0.7 inches per month, which is definitely not overnight. The key is to keeping your hair healthy and hydrated during this time to ensure that this growth is maintained.
Avoid harsh detangling.
Harsh detangling can cause damage to your ends by ripping through strands that are often tangled together at the ends of your hair. A few ways to avoid harsh detangling is to detangle with a gentle detangling brush like the Curl Keeper Flexy Brush or Denman brush. These brushes allow each strand to be gently pulled apart from the ones around it. Another key is to detangle using a slippery medium such as a conditioner or leave-in conditioner prior to your wash. Your hair is at its most fragile when wet, and detangling while its wet even with a conditioner can be hard on the hair. Detangling prior to washing helps to keep the strands more in tact as long as a slipper conditioner like the Doux Sweetest Thing Moisture Mask or the Aunt Jackie's Knot On My Watch Detangling Therapy is used to aid in the process.
Keep up with your ends - don't let split ends continue to split up your strand.
Trimming regularly (this looks different for everyone), may help you to see more length retention in your hair. Split ends can choke and break both strands around them and t heir own strands
Install safe and non-harmful protective styles every so often.
You'll be surprised to see how much length retention you can create when you put your hair in a protective style. Your hair can save significant length as your hair is not being overmanipulated or over managed when it is in its protective style. Things like single braids, crochet styles like passion twists or water wave, or even a simple twist out are all great ways to keep your ends from being damaged and split, allowing your length retention to remain. Wintertime is a great season to implement protective styling as the harsh weather can be tough on natural and curly hair.
Length retention is the key to achieving longer hair. Be patient, take care of your ends, detangle gently and protect your hair when you can to help your hair maintain its length.
