Growing Long Hair the Natural Way

Prior to my BC, I received tons of questions from various people about how I got my hair to grow so long. It was interesting that different people from all walks of life would ask me this question. What I told them was basically whatever routine I was doing at the time. Whether it be scalp massages (which I only rarely did - I kept forgetting:/), or taking supplements (I took a loads of them - religiously), or nothing much (depending on the timeframe - that was pretty much what I did - nothing).

Anyway, I wanted to share some information that I gained while growing my hair out over five years, which took me from a Halle Berry pixie cut to the waist length hair I had before my disaster with a wacko hair stylist(STAY tuned folks - I'll be posting pictures of my hair disaster soon). 

The picture you see to the left is my hair when I wore a texturizer. I had been growing out my hair for about 4 years when this picture was taken.

Disclaimer: I just wanted to point out here that the results I got from doing these things worked for me - and because we are all so different, I can only ask that you keep in mind that what works for me - might not work for you, and vice verse. I'm just sharing this information because it's what I did, and whether or not these things really made a major difference in my ability to grow out my hair is a matter that can only be validated by scientific research, LOL. What I mean is - perhaps these things helped my hair to grow or perhaps I would have gotten the same results without doing these things - I just don't know.

That said, I hope you find this information interesting, and that you use it as you see it being appropriate for your particular hair needs.

Scalp Massages: Doing a scalp massage was something that I had originally decided to try on a daily basis. Unfortunately, it just didn't work out that way, because like many people with busy schedules, I would often forget to do them. I think if I decide to do scalp massages again, I will try to incorporate them just before going to bed and make a real routine of it.

Why do a scalp massage? Well as I understand it, getting blood to your scalp is a sure way of getting much needed nutrients to your hair follicles. Now, when I say massage, I am not talking about rubbing roughly over your scalp or taking your nails and scratching at it - NOT at all.

What I am referring to, when I talk about a scalp massage, is taking the pads of your fingers and placing them on your scalp and gently, but firmly, moving the skin of your scalp over your skull (sounds weird  - I know ^-^).  If you try this right now, you will notice that the skin on your scalp will shift and move slightly when you are doing this, and this is exactly what you want. Rubbing or vigorously disturbing your hair while doing this can actually do more bad than good, particularly if your hair is already in a fragile state. So please be gentle. Remember, treat your hair like fine silk, and it will thank you for it.

There was a research study done a few years back that showed that daily massaging with a particular set of essential oils actually produced hair growth in participants that had had issues  with hair loss.

Here is a condensed version of the research project:

The results of one research study suggests that the essential oils of thyme, rosemary, lavender, and cedarwood mixed with an oil and applied on the areas of hair loss may stimulate hair growth. This double blind, placebo-controlled study enrolled 84 people who massaged either these essential oils or a non-treatment oil into their scalps each night for seven months. Results showed that 44% of people in the treatment group had new hair growth compared to only 15% in the control group. 

The Hair Oil Recipe:

3 drops of essential oil of thyme

3 drops of essential oil of lavender

3 drops of essential oil of rosemary

3 drops of essential oil of cedarwood

1/8 cup of grapeseed oil

1/8 cup of jojoba oil

Mix the ingredients together. Cover your pillow with an old towel. Apply several drops of the mixture to areas of hair loss each night, massaging gently into scalp for 3-5 minutes. Store the oil tightly covered. Do not take internally or near the eye area.

Now,  I personally can tell you that after reading these results, I was quick to go out and buy each and every one of these oils, LOL. I just couldn't wait to get them on my head! But WOW! What a stinch!! Pee-youu!! Talk about pungent! When they say a little goes a long ways - believe it! But for me - smell or no smell, I was determined to try this stuff out and see if it worked. 

Unfortunately, it was a combination of the smell (my husband gave me a wide berth, LOL) and my laziness that kept me from truly evaluating this technique.  However, based on the results of the study - I really do think it's worth trying again. If you have more gumption than me, and you'd like to give it a shot - I say go for it!! You might just find that both the massage and this combination of EO's really do make a difference for you. Word of advice though - make sure you use some geranium or neroli or any sweet smelling EO to freshen this stuff up^-^.

Word of caution about EO's.:Not all EO's are safe to use while pregnant, and they can also cause a problem if you happen to have any other medical issues, such as high blood pressure, for example. My sincere suggestion is that you do some additonal research before you try this, just be sure that these EO's are safe for you. This website seemed to provide so very good information about the safety of EO's, http://www.naturesgift.com/warnings.htm - but I suggest you not stop there - keep researching until you are comfortable that the EO's you are using will not cause you any contraindications. Ok - I'm off my soapbox;).

Supplements: I was a supplement junkie, LOL. My personal favorites were: Ultra Hair Plus, Evening Primrose, Inositol, Biotin, and horsetail rush.

I took the recommended dosage listed on each bottle, every day. I did this religiously - rarely missing a dose. What I found was that my hair consistently grew about a half inch every month, which is actually pretty average. So, even taking all these pills, I was still getting just the average growth rate. Though I do not know for sure, my gut tells me that had I not been taking these supplements, I might not have consistently gained that half inch every month. So in my mind, I think taking those pills was definitely worth it.  I am now taking prenatal pills, but when the time is right, I will go back to taking my beloved supplements again.

A word of caution about supplements.: Though they are normally pretty safe, there are certain vitamins that are not easier excreted from your body. A good example would be iron, which can build up in your system if you take more than the recommended amount. Having this kind of build up can cause problems, some of which could be serious. This is why it is important that if you decide to use supplements that you read your labels carefully, and know just how much of a certain vitamin you are taking. 

Doing Nothing:  Doing nothing is, well,  pretty much self explanatory, LOL.  There were times when benign neglect seemed to help my hair grow faster than  when I gave it loads of attention. I would simply wash and condition it, add a little coconut oil to seal, and then tuck it away and forget about it. Seemed like my hair really flourishing during those times - hmmm...go figure:).

All in all I think I've sufficiently provided you with a basic overview of the things I did to help my hair grow. Even though I had a texturizer at the time, these are things that can still be tried now that my hair is natural. In fact, I anticipate that my results will be even more pronounced because my hair is natural and therefore free of chemicals, making it  - in my opinion, healthier.

One thing that I have to add here, because I think it's hugely important to hair growth is retention. The fact that I protected my ends as if they were fine silk or delicate lace made a big difference in my progress. I would tuck them away at every opportunity, wearing updos month after month, and only wearing my hair down for special occasions - boring, I know - but it made a difference. The thing is - you can do scalp massages and take vitmins until the martians land on Mount Krumpet, but if you are not protecting your ends and they start to split - then you will have a major problem, and chances are you won't see the growth that you have been wanting.

You may find that your hair gets to a certain length and it just doesn't seem to want to grow any further. I say that this has to do with damaged ends. If your hair isn't growing past a certain point - I suggest you check your ends to see if you have an issue with major split ends. If you do -  then forget it - don't try to salvage them, because you can't - they are split and using products that claim to mend split ends will only delay your progress. You can NOT repair split ends. The only thing you can do is cut them and start fresh. This is also why periodic trimming is beneficial, because even if your hair looks great and it's growing superbly, you really should "dust" (only taking a tiny bit off the ends) your ends just to maintain their health. From my own personal experience I can tell you that doing this will really keep split ends at bay.

People often ask me if I think genes have anything to do with it. And honestly, I do think genes have something to do with how well or how quickly a person will be able to grow out their hair. I hesitate to give genes TOO much credit though because -  just because your mom or grandma might not have hair down to their hips, it does not necessarily mean you can't. You just have to be diligent, and treat your hair kindly. If your mom or grandmother do not have long hair, you might want to look at why. Is it really because their hair won't grow - or is it because they don't know how to care for it, are they perming it to death or dying it time after time. Using the hottest setting on their curling iron? Are they getting their ends trimmed or just leaving their ends to fend for themselves?  Genes do play a role in hair growth, but it is definitely not the only factor.

A lot of different things that go into growing out hair, but there is no secret spell or potion that will do it. You just have to be open to investigating and studying, and most importantly pampering your hair.  Recognize that your hair is capable of doing what it does - relish in that - and let it do it's thing. You may just find that your hair is capable of doing much more than you ever thought it could;)

Ciao!!