Supplements for Increased Hair Growth

I have officially been on a no heat + (semi) protective styling stint since July. This is because when I straighten again in December I want to see progress. While retention is a big factor in the outcome, there are some things we can do to affect growth. We already discussed some of the things we can do to promote growth and in fact, increase your growth rate. Today, I am zooming in on the world of supplements to divulge those I take to positively affect hair growth.

 

 

Top 7 Ways to Speed up Hair Growth

Many, if not most, articles are focused on length retention rather than hair growth and rightly so, since hair grows as long as you are healthy. Hair typically grows at a rate of 1/2 inch per month, but that's just an average. So if your rate is much lower and you want to speed it up, listen up!

 

 

 

Are Scalp Massages Overrated?

Ever since I started my hair journey, I've heard that scalp massages will speed up hair growth. The explanation they give is that it stimulates the scalp, encouraging blood-flow and increased nutrients to that area.

Inversion Method - take 2

I have tried the inversion method before, but not completely. Because while it appears simple - massage scalp with oil, invert, rinse - I just find that in actuality, it's a hassle for me.

Oil mix + cayenne pepper for inversion method

Underneath it All - Protective Styling (Wig) Regimen

One of the things I love most about wigs for protective styling is the fact that I have access to my hair. I am still very much able to execute my hair care routine while protective styling with them, unlike with sew-ins and to some degree braids.

Current protective stlye

This is a rundown of my routine during the periods I spend wearing wigs.

Ooops I Did it Again - Long Term Protective Style {Prep}

Since my last long-term protective style session, I wore my hair loose for 3 weeks and now I'm at it again.

Lightly blown-out hair

A few days ago I prepared for another 6-week run. Here's how:

Asian Persuasion - Black vs Japanese hair (care)

I ride the train to work every morning. This morning I took note of a young lady who at about a year or so ago had neck length hair. However, today her hair is just about BSL heading to MBL. Now, I live in Japan so of course this lady is not black but Japanese. So it got me thinking...what are the differences between our hair. I know (or atleast I think I know lol) that she doesn't spend her Friday nights pre-pooing so she can wash, deep condition, tea rinse, towel/ air dry and then protective style.

We already know that the shape of the follicles has a lot to do with the structure and appearance of our hair and that in turn affects the strength and hence length retention. Asians tend to have round follicles producing straight hair which is easily lubricated by sebum, while African descendants have flat follicles which result in kinky, curly/ coily hair. There are two major issues here 

1. sebum doesn't travel as freely, causing dryness and 
2. the kinks which form at the turn of each curl or coil represent a point of weakness, making black people's hair vulnerable to breakage.
   
   But that's not what this post is about. We can't change nature and biology, but there are some things we can do.

What can we learn from our Asian (Japanese) counterparts?

Upside Down You're Turning Me - Inversion method

Now call me crazy, but I tried this bad boy a few weeks ago! I had previously seen this method circulating on the net but for whatever reason, I didn't pay it much attention. About a month ago, I read a post in which Yahya of Pocahontas Haircare Secrets spoke about this method and her successes using it. At this point, I thought well it's only 28 minutes of my week, if it works great, if not oh well.

The Heat is on - Greenhouse Effect

In my post about the dryness I have been experiencing, I said that I will employ this technique to infuse moisture into my strands. But can it also be used as a growth aid? What is this technique all about?

Greenhouse Effect

Well remember, in science class we learnt that this is the natural process by which the atmosphere traps some of the Sun's energy, warming the Earth enough to support life (and obviously growth).

Many also use this technique to grow plants and now, you guessed it, we use it to grow our hair (no surprise there! lol).