HOW TO STRETCH YOUR HAIR: 3 TIPS TO MAXIMIZE HAIR GROWTH
FROM THE BIG CHOP TO BIG HAIR!
For those of you wondering “why won’t my hair grow past a certain length?” make sure you read this post. If you are a naturalista, like myself, then this post is for you! Do you have relaxed hair? Cool, this post is for you too. In fact, these three tips will benefit any hair type…as long as you are trying to increase the length of your hair. So keep scrolling!
What Is Stretching?
Stretching (in the natural hair care world) refers to the technique of controlling hair shrinkage without applying heat. For the sake of this post, that is not the stretching in which I am referring to. In this case, I am referring to the length of time I wear one protective hairstyle before I uninstall the style and wash my hair. Basically, stretching is how long I wear a protective style to avoid hair shedding and for length retention. Now let’s move on to my three tips.
Be Gentle
This one sounds like a no-brainer but let me tell you how important it is to be gentle with your hair. From combing, to brushing, to detangling, washing, blow drying, as well as braiding, you have to use care and finesse when handling any type of hair. How do you expect your hair to grow long when you (or your stylist) is snatching, man-handling, and tearing away at your luscious tresses?
I have the 4c hair type, and it is thick and coarse and voluminous. I have always had thick hair that was difficult to manage. On top of that, I cut off all of my permed hair and started over naturally in 2016, which has made it even more challenging to handle my hair. However, I have learned that with my natural hair I must always keep it moisturized with conditioning products and ALWAYS wet my hair with water prior to combing through it. I NEVER comb through my hair in it’s dry state, ONLY when it’s wet, but remember, this is the rule of thumb for natural hair (relaxed hair should be combed when dry, not when wet). I use wide-tooth combs specialized for thick/coarse hair and I comb my hair from the ends and work my way back up to the roots.
Does your stylist fight your hair when combing through it? Do you comb your hair starting from the ends or do you start at the roots and then realize your comb is full of heaps of ripped-out hair? OMG! You would be surprised how many people are unaware of this basic rule, but that’s another story!
Less Is More
The key to avoiding hair breakage and retaining hair length is wearing your hair in protective styles as often as possible. Have you ever known a woman who always seems to wear weaves, wigs, or extensions only to discover that she has a head full of healthy and long hair? Well that woman is me! I am a firm believer in wearing protective styles to maintain healthy hair. It’s a simple formula: the less you manipulate your hair, the better it grows.
Additionally, it is important to keep in mind that your hair does not like stress. Stress refers to hairstyles that are really tight or cause damage to your hair strands or hair follicles. A few examples include: hair that is braided way too tight, wigs and frontals that are applied with strong-hold adhesives, or extensions that are sewn in too tightly.
For the sake of my readers, it would be erroneous of me to identify poor examples of protective hairstyles without highlighting a few ideal examples. I have a few solid options that have worked really well for me over the years. My absolute favorite protective styles are box plaits and twists! Mine are always done with super long extensions which provides me with many versatile styling options. Another popular protective style that I use is the sew-in weave method. Lastly, I sometimes braid my hair back into cornrows and protect my hair by wearing glueless wigs or u-part wigs.
I have two stylists that I trust with my hair and I use them 100% of the time based on the type of protective style I am getting. One stylist installs all of my box braids and twists while the other stylist installs all of my sew-ins and hair extensions. Since I know how to corn-row my own hair, I apply those braids myself when I am going to “stretch” my hair by wearing wigs. Do you stretch your hair? If the answer is no, then you may want to reconsider. Keeping reading to learn more.
Dirty Hair Grows
This final tip works really well for me but it always stirs up controversy. Throughout my hair journey I have come to learn that my hair grows faster when it is dirty. Ewwwww! I know, it sounds awful but it’s true. Let me put it this way. Keep in mind my two previous tips to maximize hair growth: 1.) You must be gentle and 2.) You must wear protective hairstyles to avoid hair shedding and hair loss. Well isn’t it obvious? The only way to do both of these is to allow your hair to remain dirty while you wear the protective hair style. So let’s back things up for a second and talk about how long you should stretch your hair while protecting it.
Since the birth of my son, I have been practicing to stretch my hair for a period of three months at a time. Sometimes I stretch longer but the average is roughly three months which equates to four protective hairstyles for the year, more or less. Now before you jump to conclusions let me explain my do’s and don’t for stretching. I DO cleanse (or rinse, whatever word you prefer) my hair periodically within the three month stretch by soaking my scalp in a mixture of warm water and apple cider vinegar. Sometimes I incorporate a co-wash product if my hair is extra dirty or greasy. I DO cleanse my plaits, twists, or sew-in weave extensions throughout my stretch to prevent chemical build-up, matting and dullness. I DO NOT uninstall the protective hairstyle to wash my hair until I have completed my stretch.
Once I have concluded my three month stretch, I “gently” uninstall the protective style and “gently” detangle my hair. Next, I shampoo and perform a deep conditioning treatment followed by “gently” detangling and drying before moving on to the next protective style. I follow this cycle of stretching and washing for roughly twelve weeks at a time. Each time I stretch I notice significant hair growth. So I know it works. My next goal is to try and stretch for four months, so stick around my blog to find out how it goes.
What was your longest stretch? What techniques work for you in your hair growth journey?
XOXO – Sophie
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