Here at the Hair Training Lab site, we have seen it all. When it comes to hair growth it can feel like it’s taking forever especially if you just had a haircut that you regret and you can’t wait for your hair to grow back. While there’s always extensions, there are many people who can’t afford the price tag or the upkeep that comes with them.
Hair growth can be split into 2 parts:
The first part is your inner terrain which consists of the nutrition that you intake, how your body synthesizes it, and your genetic growth potential, meaning how fast your hair grows naturally.
The second part has to do with your outer terrain and what you are doing and using to help keep the hair gains that you have grown from breaking off.
Goal = Long Strong Fabulous Shiny Hair
How to get there
Everybody grows here at different rates but the average rate is 1/2 inch per month.
There are so many people who think their hair grows slow but when they would come into the salon with root outgrowth, I showed them that it does grow, but seems like it’s growing slow from the length perspective.
Why?
If someone’s length doesn’t seem to be growing but their roots tell a different story, the number one cause is that they aren’t taking care of their hair in the best possible way. This is when I would dive deep into the daily habits that could make or break your hair growth.
Here are the 5 things you’ve got to stop doing right away if you want your hair to grow long and stay long.
1. Stop blow drying without a heat protectant
Always put a heat protection on your hair after you wash. Even if you did not blowdry your hair. Why? Because you might use a curling iron on it tomorrow or you might use a blow dryer on it later tonight to touch it up. When it comes to heat protection, ingredients matter.
How many people think that if they put oil on their hair that that’s enough to protect it. Certain oils have different heat points and if you put one on that doesn’t have a higher heat point and then you use a hot tool over it you can “cook your hair”.
Some hate protectants are sticky and people end up not using them because they don’t want that feel in their hair. Some can be greasy so people avoid them because they don’t want their hair to be weighed down.
For fine hair types: The most ideal heat protectants are ones that have a very light mist, easily distribute in the hair and do not weigh the hair down. This is my favorite one, you shake it up-and-down before you spray, it’s very light and you cannot feel residue on your hair.
For medium to course hair types: The above spray is excellent, or if you prefer a smooth gliding frizz tamer, this glossy nectar is wonderful.
2. Stop skipping the scalp massage
We’ve all heard of scalp massages. If you have ever had your hair washed by a pro, you know how good it feels to get your hair washed by someone else. That’s because there are hundreds of nerve endings in our head. Not only does it feel good, but it increases blood flow to the scalp and the follicles. Blood brings nutrients and oxygen to every area in your body, and you want your blood to flow and not be stagnant.
Hair growth begins in the scalp and one of the best ways to increase blood flow there is to do either or both of these methods:
Dry scalp massage: At night using a dry scalp brush to gently massage your scalp multiple times in all areas, focusing more on the scalp and not the length of your hair. We like this brush for a dry scalp brush (Hair Training Lab referral link: use our PRO code HHT1034 at checkout to save $5 if you wish),
Wet scalp massage: When washing your hair, do a massage in the shower with a wet scalp massage brush. Use it to work the cleansing product through your scalp. This feels amazing. We like this brush for a wet scalp brush (If you wish to save, our reader’s first purchase at our Hair Training Lab link will say you were referred by HairTrainingLab20 and this will save you 20%).
These are gamechangers. Daily scalp stimulation can go a long way in supporting hair growth.
3. Stop forgetting to take your hair nutrients
Nutrition is one of the most powerful things you can do to make sure that your hair is healthy. Not only does it good nutrition help your body, but a healthy head of hair reflects a healthy body. This includes all types of vitamins and minerals. But when it comes to taking something like a hair supplement, you want to make sure that you’re not just loading up on synthetic vitamins. You want to make sure that you’re getting a lot of fruits and vegetables in your diet. Here are a few things you can include for hair growth.
- Nettle – abundant in silica (a mineral that helps the body build connective tissue and strengthen hair) we like it in the form of a tea (Hair Training Lab referral link)
- Sweet potatoes – rich in beta carotene (this nutrient turns into vitamin A in the body and supports the hair follicle stem cells to induce the growth phase) we like to make sweet potato fries.
- Spinach – contains vitamin C (which is a key nutrient in supporting collagen synthesis) you can also take a tincture of you don’t like eating spinach or even use it topically on the scalp. Here is the tincture that we like (Hair Training Lab referral link)
- Broccoli or even better, Broccoli Sprouts– This amazing cruciferous vegetable has a compound in it called sulforaphane (which is even more concentrated in its sprouts), that has been studied to show that it may help with hair loss and less hair loss is more hair gained! If you don’t like to eat broccoli, you can take a sulforaphane supplement like this one here (Hair Training Lab referral link) Read more about broccoli for hair here.
If you are taking a hair vitamin, look to see if it has synthetic vitamins and minerals, and if so, is time to make a switch to a supplement that includes whole foods; the body knows how to utilize them better.
These are the hair supplements that I like the best because they are vegan whole food nutrition. (Hair Training Lab referral link plus code to save is IAMAWESOME)
These supplements include some very powerful herbs like He Shou Wu (used in China for centuries to promote good hair and even combat grays), Horsetail which is abundant in silica, kelp which is a natural way to get your iodine (many women are deficient in this mineral), the nutrient MSM which is a sulfur (can help with hair growth) and so many others. All of the ingredients in this supplement are really good for hair growth/health support.
4. Stop washing your hair every day
Overly washing your hair with detergents can create problems with your scalp microbiome. If healthy hair starts at the root, you want your scalp ecosystem to be in tip top shape. Washing your hair can rinse off all of the healthy microbes that your scalp needs to be the perfect foundation for long hair.
This is where a good Hair Training method can come into play.
What is Hair Training?
This is when you train your hair to have less oil by washing it less. Over time your scalp acclimates to stop producing as much oil, and you don’t feel the need to wash your hair every day.
Which leads me into the final and most important thing you should stop doing…
5. Stop using shampoo
What? Yes I said it. Typical shampoos have detergents and surfactants in them that are very harsh on the skin. They create dryness and they can disrupt your scalp ecosystem. Shampoo tends to dry people’s hair out, big time and the dryer your hair is, the more it breaks. Also, the more you wash your hair with shampoo, for example if you wash your hair every day, the more your scalp becomes a grease pit because you’re training it to produce more oil to reach homeostasis.
Why is that?
Because your scalp is trying to compensate for the lack of oil that it needs. Your scalp hair oil is called sebum and it’s really healthy for your hair. It fortifies your hair when it gets brushed through to the ends and helps your precious hair stay strong and healthy.
So how can you keep your hair clean without using shampoo?
One way is to shampoo less like in the last step utilizing a Hair Training Protocol.
If you just don’t think you can handle the hair training and you are somebody who likes to wash every day, or even if you want to train your hair but you want a better option to wash your hair with, you can use New Wash, which is by far my favorite way to wash your hair. It has the ability to wash the dirt off your hair but not strip the healthy moisturizing natural oils. So, you end up with a really clean head of hair, and a nice healthy scalp that is the perfect foundation for healthy hair growth, and excellent for retaining that length. Win/Win.
Now that you know the 5 things you can change in your routine to get long healthy hair, which one will you try first? Will you stop using shampoo often and start Hair Training? Will you change to New Wash? Will you get your hair nutrition in check? Will you start doing scalp massages? Maybe you’ll start with a heat protectant.
–Clean Hair Guru
