Believe it or not, our hair is always growing. On average, our strands grow approximately half an inch a month, or six inches a year give or take. There are various factors that can affect the rate of hair growth you experience as well as the amount of length you retain. Some of these factors include genetics and your hair care habits. In this list, we have complied 5 habits that may be hurting your hair growth and affecting the amount of length you retain.
Here are 5 habits that may be hurting your hair growth:
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1) You don’t drink enough water or consume primarily healthful foods
One of the first habits that may be hurting your hair growth are your eating habits. If we aren’t taking good care of ourselves on the inside, this can have a negative impact on the outside – your hair included. If you don’t drink enough water on a regular basis, it can create a dehydrating effect on your strands and lead to excessive dryness and brittleness. This can in turn make your strands more susceptible to breakage. In addition, if you find that you normally consume empty calorie junk foods and not enough healthful foods, this too can have an adverse effect on your strands.
We need healthful, nutrient-dense foods to supply our body (and hair) with various essential vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients to keep it functioning normally. A few of those nutrients that are especially beneficial for hair growth include protein, certain vitamins and minerals, biotin, and more. Nutrients from our foods help to give your strands the nourishment they need to stay strong and keep growing. All in all, try to make sure you are getting enough water, protein, and other key nutrients in your diet to help you stay healthy and steadily promote hair growth.
Click here to see a list of foods that can help to encourage hair growth:
2) You rush through the detangling process
Another habit that could be potentially stunting your hair growth is if you are frequently rushing through your detangling process. If you habitually rush through the detangling process, you may cause excess breakage and impair the amount of length you retain. When you hastily comb through your strands you can tear / rip through them, causing them to snap and break off. To add, combing through your hair incautiously can create mid-shaft splits and split ends as a result of the breakage.
Nonetheless, in the effort to retain length, try to be patient and gentle when detangling to help keep your strands strong and in tact. Work in sections and lather each section with a conditioning product to help loosen tangles and allow your detangling tool to more easily glide through your strands. Finger detangling is another beneficial alternative that can help you to retain length and reduce breakage.
3) You often go days without moisturizing your hair
If you often go days without applying any form of moisture to your strands, this could be a reason why you aren’t seeing as much hair growth. Just like a flower, your hair needs water to grow. Our strands need moisture to continue growing and hold strength. Without adequate moisture, your strands can shrivel up and become dry and brittle. This leaves them prone to breakage and thus can inhibit length retention.
A good way to ensure you are adequately applying and retaining moisture throughout your hair is by using the L.C.O. or L.O.C. methods. The L.C.O. and L.O.C. methods involve the use of a cream, an oil, and a liquid or leave-in. The letters of each acronym differ based on the order in which you choose to apply your moisture sealants. Deep conditioning weekly can also benefit your strands as far as retaining moisture, strength, and length. Regardless, keeping your strands hydrated will encourage healthier strands that are less susceptible to breakage.
4) You trim your hair too often
How often you trim your hair could be another one of the habits that may be hurting your hair growth. For instance, if you go for a trim every month and your stylist cuts off half an inch or an inch, this could be creating the appearance of hair that isn’t growing as each time you do experience hair growth, it is being cut off. On the other hand, if you do not get your hair trimmed when necessary, the health of your ends can begin to deteriorate, leading to thin, see-through and split ends.
Ultimately, this will result in more hair having to be cut off when you do go for a trim, possibly stunting your progress. A good aim is to get your hair trimmed when needed. There are a few telltale signs your ends will show when they are in need of a trim. You can also try the search and destroy method on your ends to help keep split ends and single strand knots at bay.
Click here to see a few signs your ends are in need of a trim:
5) You are constantly manipulating your hair
Sometimes, we see the most hair growth when we simply just leave our hair alone and let it be. If you are constantly manipulating your hair – combing, styling, etc., this could be affecting the amount of length you retain. Over-manipulating your strands can lead to excess breakage and other issues.
Seek to give your strands a break from time to time to lessen tension and stress on your strands and scalp. Protective styles are a great way to reduce manipulation on your hair and retain length. In addition, try to make the effort to always be gentle with your strands when styling, detangling, and more, to aid in retaining hair growth.
Do you have any other tips or products that have helped you with hair growth? Share it in the comments down below!
