Hello everybody!
It is one of those things most of us females strive for: luscious, thick locks. Over the years, I have seen so many different hair tips, and I have tried and tested numerous techniques. Some worked, some didn't, and here I want to share with you the ones that I found the most useful!
1. Use a Wooden Hair Brush
Plastic Hairbrushes can be harsh on your hair and cause split ends. The reason I use a wooden brush on my head is firstly, it's gentler on your scalp (and it feels amazing!). Secondly, the wooden bristles will absorb any oils in your hair every time you brush with it, meaning that every time you brush your hair the oil re-distribute through the strands. You can buy one here.
2. Cool Water
We all know that heat is damaging to your hair, but showering under hot water does the same damage. There's nothing better after a cold, rainy day than standing under hot water, however it does a lot of damage to your strands.
If you wash your hair under lukewarm/cool water: the oils in your hair won't be stripped away and your scalp won't burn. It is important to look after your scalp because your hair won't grow if your scalp is unhealthy. It would also be good to consider using a scalp scrub once in a while to avoid build-up of skin and dirt.
3. Use a T-Shirt as a Towel
Got an old T-shirt that you don't wear anymore? Use it as a Hair Towel!
Normal towels have loose fibres which your hair can rub against and cause split ends. If you use a T-Shirt you can reduce your hair's breakage significantly, thus helping it grow a lot healthier.
4. Protective Hairstyles
If you constantly wear your hair in a tight bobble, over time it will put a lot of strain on your hair and it will cause hair to come out. On the other hand, wearing it down- especially at night- causes the same problem as with using a towel. Hair gets caught in the fibres of your pillow/ clothes and can cause breakage. If you don't feel like you'd be comfortable sleeping with your hair up: you can buy a satin or silk pillowcase. As the fibres are densely packed, it won't damage your hair.
Protective hairstyles can be anything from a braid to a bun, essentially any hairstyle that keeps the ends of your hair protected. I also like to rub oil into my ends before I braid it, keeping it hydrated and shiny. You can find a tutorial for a nighttime braid here.
5. Argan Oil
Argan oil is a great moisturiser for your hair and can add shine too. You can use it in several different ways:
- Add into a spray bottle and spritz over dry hair in the morning and comb it through
- Rub into the ends of your hair after having a shower
- Comb lightly into your hair before braiding it at night
6. Use a Hair Mask once a Week
Using a hair mask once a week can help to prevent the loss of essential nutrients reaching your scalp. Although it says on most packaging to apply after shampoo, I personally apply it to my dry hair 10 minutes before I get into the shower and then shampoo and condition the ends as normal. The reason I do this is I always find if I use it after shampoo, it is very difficult to rinse out, and my hair ends up greasy. Also, applying a mask straight onto dry hair really helps the moisture soak into your strands!
7. Biotin or Vitamin B12
I take Biotin tablets to help my hair and my nails to grow healthier. If you don't want to buy tablets then you can also eat some vitamin rich foods such as:
- Mackerel
- All Bran
- Beef
- Eggs
8. Massage your Scalp
As I said before, you can't grow healthy hair without a healthy scalp. Massaging your scalp can help to stimulate blood flow to your hair follicles and promote hair to grow. You can coerce a loved one into a relaxing head rub, or failing that, buy a head massager fairly cheap from amazon: click here to have a look.
9. Avoid Heat
This is a major point if you want your hair to grow thick and healthy. Heat is the main cause of damage to your delicate locks and should be avoided wherever possible. If you absolutely need to use heat; always apply a heat protection spray first.
If you like to curl your hair, there are a few options which you can do without using heat:
Headband Curls:
This method of curling can be done within 5- 10 minutes and I can say from experience that these curls last amazingly!
Twist Braids:
If you find the headband curls a little TOO curly; this method might suit you better as you can adjust how tight you make your curls with this method.
Both of these curling Methods can be found by clicking here.
10. Don't wash your Hair too much!
You might be thinking that this is really disgusting, but honestly, washing your hair every day is one of the worst things you can do if you want a thick, glossy mane. When you wash your hair, you strip it of all the essential oils which keep it healthy and shiny- therefore drying out your hair. This is why conditioner is so important to use.
If you wash your hair every day, it doesn't give your body chance to reproduce those natural oils, and in turn this can lead to dry and wiry hair. Ideally you want to be waiting 3-4 days between washes, this makes sure that your hair is getting all the nutrients it needs to grow healthy and thicker. If you find this difficult to do, or think your hair will be too greasy; work your way up to it.
For example start off by washing it every other day, then after a few weeks add a day onto that. Your body will adapt. And as an extra help, invest in some dry shampoo to help you through that last day or so.
After reading these handy tips I hope you'll be well on your way to long, thick and healthy hair!