Let's Talk Natural Hair: My Top 5 Tips On Retaining Length!

 Many have wondered what I do to my hair to make it grow and there are some things I want to clear up.  As long as you have healthy hair follicles, your hair is always growing, but the question is are you retaining the length? Many people think that their hair isn't growing but in reality, their hair is growing it's just breaking off at the same time. The major key is very simple, love your hair and your hair will love you back! 

Tip 1: Clean Scalp!
Who said that dirt grows your hair again? Growing up, I have heard many myths and dirt growing your hair is definitely one of them! In order to retain length, I make sure my scalp is squeaky clean because a clean scalp encourages healthy hair growth. Plus, who doesn't like their hair to smell good?

Tip 2: NO HEAT!!
When first going natural, I loved the idea of straightening my hair to see how long it was- I was curious. Like the saying goes, curiosity killed the cat but in this case, curiosity killed my hair. I straightened my hair for my one year anniversary and I quickly learned what heat damage was. My curls were loosened and damaged; cutting away the damage is the only way to get rid of it. So, I cut my heat damaged hair and since then I have not used heat ever again!

Tip 3: Deep condition, deep condition, DEEP CONDITION!!
 Curly hair is naturally dry and needs moisture in order to thrive! So I make sure to deep condition my hair every time I wash it. Deep conditioning not only aids in adding moisture to my hair but it also helps in adding the nutrients my hair needs so that it is shiny and stronger than ever!

Tip 4: Avoid tension hairstyles!
In the beginning of my hair journey, I wore all types of extension hairstyles; box braids, Senegalese twists, sew-ins- you name it! In result of me wearing those styles, my hairline began to recede. I became familiar with traction alopecia very quickly. The hair around my hairline began to grow back once I stopped putting tension on my hair. 

Tip 5: Low manipulative styles are KEY!
Say what you want, but I like to keep things simple by letting my hair do what it wants! It's a reason why my go-to style is the twist-out. The twist-out is a very simple style and it lasts for awhile so that I don't have to constantly have my hands in my hair! When my twist-out style gets old, I just throw my hair up in a puff and I'm good to go! I will say it again, low manipulation is key!!

I hope these tips were helpful to those who are considering going natural, new to being natural, or those who are already natural. We can all learn things from each other, so what are your natural hair tips? Feel free to comment below, share, and also follow my blog  if these tips were helpful to you or may be helpful to someone you know! Until next time! -Keke