Jasmine Zik: 5 Tips That Would Make Your Natural Hair Grow

Do you ever wonder why your hair isn’t growing, yet you find it everywhere on the floor or stuck in your comb? The average growth of human hair is 1/2inch per month or 6inches per year. Hindered growth(increase in length) may be as result of 2 primary causes- Shedding and Breakage.

Shedding of hair is a natural process that’s unavoidable. On the average, we shed between 60-100 strands of hair daily. If you’re within this range, don’t panic. it’s normal, it would be replaced. In order for new hair to grow there has to be shedding, yes? But some people experience excessive shedding, sometimes it feels like you’re going bald!

Hair loss (shedding and breakage) can be due to a lot of factors :

Daily activities like combing/brushing hair,washing hair(try doing green/black tea rinses or using aloe vera to minimize shed), packing in ponytails, bad handling of hair(impatiently taking out of protective styles, using wrong tools like narrow tooth comb )lead to hair breakage and hair loss.

Use of Heat (excessive): Chemicals contained in some of our hair products & chemical processes such as dye or relaxers, dries the scalp out, damages hair’s protein structure and in turn weakens the hair shaft which leads to hair breakage, and thus reduce the thickness of your hair. Use sulfate free shampoos & conditioners.

Health Factors:

Physical / Emotional stress
Pregnancy, sometimes during pregnancy but mostly postpartum.
Deficiency in Iron or lack of Vitamins(like Vitamin B), Protein or too much Vit. A
Heredity, Genes or Hormones
Illness/Medication like Lupus, chemotherapy, birth control pills

Before you start panicking, figure out what the cause of the excessive shedding or breakage is (you can go see a doctor). The next step is to grow back or speed up hair growth.

5  Tips to try:

• New Habits: Develop the habit of drinking lots of Water, it has a lot of benefits for your skin too! Eat foods, nuts and fruits that contain protein, vitamins, Iron,antioxidants, fish oil etc-good diet, basically. Exercise!(you don’t necessarily have to go to the gym) . Ensure your scalp is clean; also use apple cider vinegar.
• Moisturize: Don’t forget that moisture comes from water and any product which you use as a moisturizer must contain water. This helps your hair stay healthier, minimize breakage and retain length. Seal with oil.
• Massage scalp(at least every other day): The best oils to use are essential oils.Massaging helps ease tension in the scalp making it easier for blood flow to the scalp for hair growth. A friend once told me to turn my head upside down for a few seconds/minutes and I finally understood why it should work->blood circulation in scalp=hair growth
• Use of supplements: Supplements like vitamins (A,B,C,D), biotin, Iron etc help boost your hair’s health. Be sure to take them along side a proper diet!
• Low manipulative/protective styles: These prevent everyday manipulation of hair which causes breakage and helps in length retention. Don’t leave them in too long! Don’t forget to be patient during detangling.

Be patient with your hair, love it and it’ll grow.