4 Hair Mistakes To Avoid

I've had natural hair for 2 years now and I've made a lot of mistakes that have cost me some length along the way.. This natural hair journey thing is about learning about your and you have to avoid some habits that could keep you stuck at the same length or make it seem like your hair is growing at a slow pace.

The average growth rate of our hair is about half an inch per month and I learnt the hard way that these habits could ensure that most of this half inch is lost which would make it appear that your hair isn't growing.

When I discovered in June that my hair hadn't retained any length since February (4 months) I was frustrated but it didn't take long for me to discover some of the the mistakes I was making.

1.  Combing Hair Dry

This is a massive no-no and even though I had read countless times that we shouldn't do this I still did this a few times. If I was in a hurry to go somewhere and I didn't want my hair to shrink too much by spritzing it I would just comb it a little but this results in a lot of breakage and split ends even if you use a wide tooth comb.

Another mistake I made was that I got tired of telling the hairdresser not to use those tiny combs  when braiding my hair and she was basically giving me a haircut (slight exaggeration) every month.

 

Say No to these

Once I discovered my hair wasn't retaining any length I started stretching my hair with thread before doing my braids and I didn't let anyone bring that comb near my hair.


2. Being lazy about trimming your hair

If you want to retain as much length as you can your ends need to be trimmed regularly to reduce split ends and single strand knots. I didn't trim my hair for almost 2 years because I kept postponing trimming it and I didn't want to cut too much. I had no choice but to trim over an inch of my hair however, because my ends were so dead and scraggly. I was sad when I saw the hair I trimmed but I have to admit my hair looked and felt much healthier after trimming.

Everyone's hair is different and there is no set time on trimming hair. Some people trim their hair every 6 months and some do it more often or less often. However, the best scissors to use for trimming are shears or a sharp pair of scissors.

3. Moisturising Hair when it's already dry

Don't wait till after your hair has dried after a wash to moisturise it. Whenever I did this my hair wouldn't stay moisturised throughout the week and I would have to keep putting products into it everyday causeing product build up.

Moisturising hair while it's still damp is the best way to keep hair moisturised for days at a time.


4. Really Tight Braids

Doing really tight braids especially at the front of your hair pulls out the strands from the root and causes bumps too. If you don't want to lose your front hair on the long run you have to keep telling whoever is doing your hair not to do it so tight or find somewhere else to get it done. 

You should also try and take note of how long your hair can stay in braids before it starts breaking. I usually don't keep my braids in for more than a month or 5 weeks.


Oyime