My Black Hair Journey

Question: Can you please tell me your method of how you grew your hair, and how long it took, because i want to regrow my hair naturally, thank you.

Answer: Hi. My method began when I realized that the problem wasn’t that my hair wasn’t growing, it was breaking off. So instead of focusing on how to help it grow, because it was already growing, I decided to focus on how not to break off my hair. Then I started analyzing all of the things that I was doing to take care of my hair. I looked at how I washed it, styled it, what products I used on it, etc. I looked at whether or not my hair was breaking when I handled it, and I changed my routines to work with my hair so that it stopped breaking off.

For example, my old hair washing routine would be:

1. Take down hair
2. Wet hair, apply shampoo, scrub scalp, rinse
3. Repeat step 2
4. Apply conditioner, rinse
5. Towel dry, then comb through hair

Realizing that I needed to make some changes, I decided to look at the products I was using. I’ve never really been a product junkie. When I was younger I would use whatever my mother bought, then when I got married I used my husband’s brand (St. Ives), and later on I decided to go more natural, and started using a natural liquid castile soap as my shampoo. During this time I had noticed that my hair was never really soft, but I didn’t think about it too much. It wasn’t until I started really taking a look at my hair care practices, that I decided to change my method, and change my hair products. I tried different natural shampoos (Jason’s, Nature’s Gate) but none of them really worked out for me. So I formulated my own brand (Northwest Scents™) which has made the difference for me in how my hair feels and how easy it is to work with.

Then I looked at my hair washing and conditioning method. My old method caused hair breakage due to the type of shampoo I was using, and because I would comb through my hair after I was done washing and conditioning it. I discovered that the best time to comb through natural, textured black hair is when the hair is wet and has something it in that allows a comb to pass through easily (like a rich natural conditioner).

Now my hair washing routine is:

1. Take down hair
2. Section into braids.
3. Wet hair, and wash each braid individually.
4. Condition each braid individually.
5. While hair is still wet, in braids, and with conditioner in it, detangle each braid individually.

Even though my new routine is more work, it isn’t as much work as it looks like, and it is easier on my hair. This has resulted in reducing hair breakage, which has resulted in hair growth. I talk more about my routine, and other things that I do in my book – Twelve Steps For Growing Black Hair.

As far as a time frame, once I started using my new method, I saw a difference in 30 days. It wasn’t a huge difference, because hair only grows 1/4″ to 1/2″ a month. But I still saw a difference. I could tell that my hair was getting longer because I could see a little bit of growth. I also wasn’t loosing as much hair as before. It took longer to see a dramatic difference because I still had some things to change. I loosened up my hairstyle and I stopped using brushes. This has helped my hair to grow back along my hairline where I had lost some hair.