Hello lovelies and welcome back and I hope you are doing well. In today’s post, I will be sharing tips on how to grow relaxed hair long and healthy
These relaxed hair care tips I’m about to share with you ladies are the same steps that helped me to grow my relaxed hair to waist length in 4 years (2011- 2015) and they are the same tips I would be using this year to grow my hair from neck length to full armpit length. I recently went back to relaxers after big chopping in September 2020 after 10 months of transitioning to natural hair.
So grab a cup of coffee, tea, or something…and let’s dive in
This post contains affiliate links, we earn a commission when you purchase through these links at no additional cost to you.
Table of Contents
Can A Relaxed Hair Grow?
The simple straightforward answer to this is YES relaxed hair can still grow. Our hair growth rate is not dependent on how we process our hair but rather on genetics. So irrespective of the relaxers your hair can still grow. However, relaxed hair is unique because it is not in its natural state. When we get relaxers, they straighten our hair by breaking the disulfide bonds in the hair shaft and so relaxed hair most times is highly porous and prone to breakage. So it needs special care to see and retain the hair you grow.
So yes relaxed hair can grow long and healthy. So let’s get into the tips to help you grow your relaxed hair and really retain that length you so desire.
Would You Rather Watch?
1. Understand Your Hair Growth Rate
This is the first thing to know when you are just starting out on a healthy hair growth journey whether to just past shoulder length or waist length whatever your hair goal is for the year. On average, we grow about half an inch a month. So when you know this You can be realistic with your expectations and not get disappointed when you don’t grow as much as you would expect.
2. Know Your Hair Porosity Type
Understanding your hair porosity is also important to growing your relaxed hair long and thicker. Hair porosity is the ability of your hair to absorb and retain moisture. The cuticle which is the outermost layer of our hair shaft determines our hair porosity type. And for us relaxed ladies our hair gets damaged during the relaxer process lifting the cuticle and making it highly porous.
Your hair porosity determines the kind ofhair products you get and how u apply these products
Relaxed hair like any processed hair is very dry. Due to the straightening process, the ability of the hair to retain moisture has been compromised. So you would need to infuse this moisture in yourself if you want to grow and retain length.
Firstly, you would need to moisturize and seal your hair regularly to prevent it from getting dry and breaking off. You would want to moisturize with a water-based moisturizer and seal in the moisture with oil to prevent the moisture from drying out.
Another way you can keep your hair moisturized is by deep conditioning your hair weekly with a moisturizing deep conditioner and alternating with a protein deep conditioner to maintain a moisture and protein balance.
4. Put Your Hair in Low Manipulation/ Protective Styles
Low manipulation styles are styles that allow your hair to rest from constant handling. While protective styles are styles that prevent your hair from rubbing on your fabric, they also protect the hair from harsh weather elements. These terms are sometimes used interchangeably. Low manipulation styles include my current favorite Flexi rod sets, buns, Bantu knots, braid outs, and twist outs. While protective styles are styles like braid extensions, faux locks, wigs, and weaves.
Remember protective styles can do more harm than good if your hair is not cared for while in these styles.
5. Protect your hair at night
With relaxed hair, you definitely don’t want to go to bed at night without protection from the friction that occurs as you roll and turn while you sleep. Our relaxed hair is fragile and should be “babied “.So sleeping on a satin pillowcase or covering your hair with a silk or satin bonnet is essential at night.
6. Stretch Your Relaxers
Stretching relaxers means different things to different people. To some people, it means not relaxing your hair at the recommended 6weeks as the box relaxers say. To some, it’s relaxing once to twice a year.
I say do what is best for your hair. But you definitely want to give your hair a substantial amount of time to rest between relaxer treatments. With the average 0.5inches of hair we grow per month, you would want to grow about 1-1.5inches of new growth before you relax your hair so when you apply your relaxers, they are only applied to the new growth without over-processing the previously relaxed hair.
7. Avoid Over- Processing Your Hair
To grow relaxed hair long and healthy, you need to avoid over-processing your hair. It’s a terrible way to straighten your hair and it can only lead to dry and brittle hair.
Growing up, the hairstylist would apply relaxers to previously relaxed hair in order to give you a proper relaxed hair look. This is literally the worst thing you can do to your relaxed hair. Relaxers permanently straighten our hair so repeating the process is just causing more damage to the hair. No wonder most of us had hair that was stuck at the same length for years.
8. Avoid Excessive Heat Styling
Whether you are relaxed, transitioning, or natural, using too much heat too often always damages your hair. Excessive use of heat denatures the keratin in our hair. This is the protein that strengthened the hair and when the hair loses its integrity, it is prone to dryness and breakage which we don’t want.
Whenever it is convenient try air-drying your hair on wash days. If you must use heat, it’s always advisable to leave it to at most 1-2 times a month. and when you do, use it at moderate heat settings and base your hair with a heat protectant serum.
9. Handle Your Hair With Care
Our hair is our glory and should be treated as such. We need to always handle our hair with care. When combing your relaxed hair using a wide-tooth comb is best. When you comb your hair, detangle from the tips of your hair and work your way up. It also helps to work with your hair in sections so it’s easy to handle each section and apply hair care products.
10. Scalp Care
Hair grows from the scalp so our scalp health is super important. You want to cleanse your scalp regularly with a sulfate-free shampoo that will get rid of dirt and unclog the pores without stripping the scalp and hair of their natural moisture.
Another way to keep your hair healthy is to apply scalp stimulating oils to the scalp to keep them moisturized. You could also throw in a scalp massage 2-3 times a week for an added hair growth boost.
Bonus Tip
Trim those ends sis. The ends of our hair are not just the oldest parts of our hair, they are also the most exposed parts and so rub off on clothes and are exposed to the elements leaving them prone to forming splits. These splits can travel up the shaft of the hair and lead to mid-shaft breakage. Trimming your ends nips this in the bud and can markedly reduce breakage.
I hope these tips help you on your relaxed hair journey. See you on the next one
I’m Dr Janet, a medical doctor, blogger, Youtuber and a mother to two awesome kids. I help women achieve their natural hair, skincare and health goals.
Glad to have you here
xoxo
I’m Dr Janet, a medical doctor, blogger, Youtuber and a mother to two awesome kids. I help women achieve their natural hair, skincare and health goals.
Glad to have you here
xoxo
