How to Grow Mixed Race Hair Long Fast

Welcome to my blog!
So, you have short, possibly dry damaged hair and you want long healthy shiny hair?

But how do you encourage mixed race hair to grow?

Firstly it's important to note that hair growth is genetically determined. As discussed in this post, healthy Caucasian hair rate of growth is around 1-1.25cm per month whereas Afro-Caribbean hair growth is actually a lot slower at around half of that of the rate of growth of Caucasian hair. The most important thing about getting long hair fast is retaining the length you grow, by this I mean minimising   hair loss (split ends/breakage).

Have a look at my newbie series. If you click that link you'll find the first post of my "newbie series" about how to look after your hair. More posts are in the process of  being published which will give details on how to get long, strong healthy hair. Be sure to FOLLOW my blog. Use the bottons on the right so you can find out when I write a new post.

7 easy steps

• Stop using heat or reduce your use of heat. Heat includes hair driers/curlers and straighteners.  Try to only use heat once a week or less.
• Cut off all your dead ends. Although some adverts might say it, you cannot repair split ends and
  damage. CUT IT OFF.
• Use a deep conditioner once a week. This will add moisture or protein to your hair and improve your hair healthy.
• Learn about your hair and its needs. Have a read of this.
• Avoid nasty ingredients in hair products. Things to avoid include: Mineral oil, Alcohol, Sulphates and synthetic colours.
• Be patient. Remember your hair wont grow over night, if you look after your hair you can retain a lot of length and before you know it your hair will be longer and healthier than it has ever been.
• Read through this blog, there are tons and tons of tips :)

It's that simple.

My blog has tons of tips which are updated constantly on how to grow you hair.

Follow my blog for more posts.

Product Haul and Mini Reviews

September Product Haul

So I bought a few products recently to 'stock up' on before university and this is a bit of what I bought. I didn't want to make this an overly long post so i havent reviewed everything in huge details. I will do reviews on a few of them as I go through them. Below is my first impressions of the products.

Lush: R & B Hair Moisturiser

Price: **** 
£10.95 which is a lot but I do feel like it will last a long time because you have to use so little of it. In addition, the natural ingredients make the price worth it for me.

Ingredients: *****
Very natural ingredients. Although I would be worried about using it before heat because the natural oils might fry my hair.

Smell: ***
It's a bit love hate. I find it slightly overbearing but sort of like it at the same time. Although, after using it for a day I dont feel like I smell of it which is good.

Texture/ Colour: ****
Yellowy beighy colour is fine. I really like the texture its smooth and light. Although some may find it a bit greasy if if your hair is thin.

Edit: After using this for several months I love it! 
I use it every night and stil have tons left
****

TIGI - Bed Head: Moisture Maniac
Bought from TK MAXX

Price: **
£7.99 for a 250ml bottle. It works out at £3.20 per 100ml which is a lot IMO. I would not pay the RRP of £12.95 for it

Ingredients: ****
Its first ingredient is water which is the most important thing in a moisturising conditioner of course. There isnt a ton of nasty ingredients either.

Smell: ****
Sweet smelling conditioner

Texture/ Colour: *****
Nice colour and the texture is thick and creamy.

My Hair Care Collection

Over the past year or two I have ended up with a huge collection of hair products and appliances and after a long search for storage for my many products I found these:

They're from TK MAXX and cost about £40 for all three boxes. They're really sturdy and covered in fabric.

In the first box is my Caruso Rollers and steamer. In this post you can see how I use them.

In the second box I have my hair appliances which consist of 3 hair curling wands, GHD straighteners and a hairdryer. I was thinking of doing a post on the appliances and their results some time in the future.

The third box is by far my favorite box, its full of the majority of my hair products. Including salon size non sulphate shampoo, deep conditioner, protein conditioner, reconstructive conditioner, shine spray, serum, hair spray. And much more. At some point I'll do a post on all my conditioners and reviews of them.

What does your hair care collection look like?
Do you have more or less than me?
How do you store it?

The Science of Hair - Part two

Rate of Growth

The rate at which our hair grows in genetically determined. Therefore products/ pills which claim to aid growth tend not to work, therefore I tend to avoid them like the plague. Healthy Caucasian hair rate of growth is around 1-1.25cm per month but research shows that it slows down when hair reaches 27cm (10 inches). Afro-Caribbean hair growth is actually a lot slower at around half of that of the rate of growth of Caucasian hair. Whereas Mongolian hair grows rapidly and exceeds the the growth rate of Caucasians.

Andreaschoice - see more 'hair crushes' here

This does make me question what my rate of growth is, as someone who is half afro-Caribbean and half Caucasian. I would say that may hair does actually grow at 1-125cm per month although it must be different for different people.

Reference:

http://www.hairscientists.org/hair-growth-cycle.htm

The Science of Hair - Part One

Hair and It's Growth Cycle
Just like the the caterpillar undergoes a cycle to become a butterfly the hair undergoes a cycle from life to death. The hair goes through a period of growth (Anagen) then regression (Catagen) resting (Telogen) and shedding (exogen). Therefore hair does not continuously grow.

Anagen

Anagen is the hair growth phase. The root of the hair are diving rapidly adding to the hair shaft. During this phase hair grows abour 1-1.25cm every month. Hair will grow for 2 - 7 years. The amout of time the hair folicle stays in this stage is genetically determined.

Catagen
This stage signals the end of the active growth of hair. This phase lasts for about 2-3 weeks. During this stage we may see narrowing of the hairshaft.

Telogen
This stage lasts around four months, it is the resting stage of the hair folicle.

Exogen
At the end of this stage the hair is shed from the head. Fifty to one-hundred hairs are shed daily a normal scalp.

References:
 http://www.hairscientists.org
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hair_follicle

Porousity

What is it?
As mentioned in this post our hair is porous. This refers to our hairs ability to absorb water/chemicals into the cortex.  Damage to the hair shaft can increase the hair's level of porosity. Too much porosity means we cant retain moisture (which may be why your hair feels dry). 

Porosity is something that many people struggle with, especially if your hair is damaged or curly. My hair in particular has high porosity this means that water can move in and out of it easily. The problem with this is that my hair loses moisture very easily and therefore gets dry and frizzy quickly. 

open cuticles/pores 

How can you tell if your hair is porous?
Do a porosity test! 
Cut a bit of your hair off or use hair that has shed from your head and put it in water. If your hair floats it has normal porosity, if it sinks it has high porosity. 
Personally my ends sink and my roots float suggesting damage to the ends of my hair. 

How to fix it?

1. First option is to use a protein treatment such as Aphogee protein conditioner which can be seen in this post
2. Second option is use an apple cider rinse.

Closed cuticles/pores

Apple cider rinse

Rinsing apple cider vineger helps the PH balance of hair as well as closing cuticle scales. This results in shiner and smoother hair. It's also very cheap!

Mix 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar into 1 cup (250ml) of warm tap water. Rinse this through your hair after shampooing and conditioning.