Recently I have been asked quite often about what I do to my hair as it has grown fairly fast and fairly long, and every time I have the same answer. Nothing much. I do not have an extensive hair care regime, and I do not use any specific product to enhance hair growth. Overall, everything I do is quite basic I think. Nevertheless, I sometimes feel that people do not believe me when I say this which is why I thought to share my hair care routine with you and who knows, maybe someone might find it useful, maybe not. Maybe I learn more from you guys (which would be awesome). Here it is.
If you are wondering, yes...it is me in both pictures. The picture above has been taken somewhat 5/6 years ago. For about 10+ years I only had a pixie hair cut, and I absolutely loved it. The reason I cut my hair short was 1. because of Kiera Knightley in Domino (OMG she killed it-for whatever reason, to date, one of my favourite female characters), 2. even when my hair was long, it was very soft, thin and had no actual body to it... It would break very easily and it was just not pretty to look at (unfortunately, I do not have any pictures of my hair before I cut it short). So when I finally decided to do it and I got the courage to go to the hairdresser and chop it off, while cutting chunks, we both realised that I actually had quite a bit of hair. Well...it was too late then lol (kidding I loved chopping it off). Anyway, that was it for me...ever since that first haircut, I loved the fact that I had no more bother with long hair, and it looked pretty cool short and felt healthier. Thus concludes my post, guys- just chop it off. Jokes, definitely not my advice, however, if you are debating it, just do it. Yolo am I right?
It is safe to say that the last time I cut my hair short was in the summer of 2016, and I remember this because I wanted it cut just before starting my Master's. Unfortunately, I was unable to find a picture from then, which is also why I chose the above picture. Since then, for 4 years, my hair has been growing (with the occasional cutting off of the ends) and I had noticed myself it looked healthier than before.
However, the main factor which might be helping is that I have only been dyeing my hair with henna for the last 4 years. It is a natural hair dye based on plants. Yes, henna is also used for tattoos, but it also does wonders for your hair. This is the exact henna hair product I use, but I only stick to the reds and sometimes blonds (depending on how I feel). There is so much I can say about henna, however, this is not the time to digress (as I always do). However, if you do not dye your hair at all, good for you, hope you can stick to it, and I have done a little research for you as well. There seems to be a henna hair treatment which does not colour your hair: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKjqgjcjad0. I cannot say for sure that henna helps my hair grow, however, I can definitely say it makes it so much stronger, thicker, and it gives it a natural shine. My hair feels fuller after I use henna.
In terms of shampoo, I only use a Dr Organic shampoo which I buy from Holland and Barrett, and this I use to help with the itchiness of my scalp. The shampoo is made specifically for itchy scalps, so this definitely has no impact on my hair growth. I have in the last few months been using a conditioner mask from The Body Shop which consists of primarily shea butter. I bought this mask because my hair tends to get very dry, thus it breaks very easily. I needed something to help it regain its moisture (I blame this on the unnecessarily hard water in Essex, but I am not going to rant now). This does not have a direct impact on favouring hair growth, but maybe because the ends break less, my hair seems to grow quicker...? I use this in the shower, I massage my hair and scalp with it for about 5 minutes, then to rinse it out, I use cold water. Not ice cold, I am not SALT, unfortunately, but cold enough to make me want to finish my shower as soon as possible.
After I get out, I towel dry my hair, then I apply a leave-in conditioner which I bought from good old Tesco. It is by Palmer's and an organic, fair trade :), coconut oil-based conditioner, with lots of vitamin E, for dry, damaged or colour-treated hair. I spray this on my hair a few times, with extra sprays at the ends, then I use a bamboo hair comb (bamboo because it does not electrify my hair as the plastic ones do-looks fun, but hurts when the static energy shocks me).
Lastly, I let my hair air dry. I know lots do not agree, but for my hair, air drying is the best way forward. The blow dryer really dries out my hair, and personally I find it destroys the colour and shine as well. In winter, I sometimes blow dry it but then I try as much as possible to use the cold setting on the dryer.
This is it. Overall I would say that when I wash my hair (which I try to keep to only twice/ week as well), the whole process takes about 20-30 minutes (depending on how knotted my hair is when I comb it while wet...). The overall price of the products I use probably comes to about £23. However, please bear in mind I got both my conditioners about 4 months ago and I have just finished my shea butter conditioner, and still have about a quarter of the leave-in conditioner. Thus, I have also saved on my hair care shop I think.
However, my sincere personal opinion is that if you want to get the best out of your hair, look for products which meet the needs of your hair. If it is too dry, look for something to help with that. If it is too soft, or thin, look for products which help it regain strength and so forth. In terms of products, each to their own I suppose, as everyone's hair is so different and unique to them. Hope this helped, and if you would like to know more about henna, why I started using it and why I will vouch for it always and forever, give me a shout :)