Boost Your Growth Retention by Focusing on Strand Strength and Eliminating Confusion

I have been talking about protein a lot lately, maybe it is because I am having protein withdrawal at the moment or the fact that any conversation about hair health cannot be had without the mention of protein.

The strength of your hair strand is very important to retaining the length that you gain. We always say that growing hair whether slow or fast is generally not the issue and if it is proven that your hair is in fact not growing it is something that you and your doctor should seriously be looking at.

If you are a relatively healthy person, chances are your hair is growing but if you are not seeing the length after a few months then you have a problem with retention.

We throw information at you all daily; we have posts on different recipes, moisture, hair styles, best oils*, best conditioners, sulfates – you name it we talk about it. Therefore, we get it if you all are staring at your computer screen ready to scream, “information overload!”

To combat information overload it helps to just focus on one thing at a time when you have one goal which is long hair! Let me use an analogy which works every time so you can see what I mean.

We all at some point in your life maybe even now you may want to lose a couple pounds. The weight loss industry is rich with information, diets, pills, exercise gimmicks and it can all be overwhelming.

But what if you just focused on natural and whole foods. Forget the TV dinners, counting calories and all the ‘stuff’ that come with a complicated plan, your focus can become “If it came off a plant, out of the ground or had a healthy mama, then I will eat it”.

This is much easier than all the drama and you will still meet your goal of weight loss. In this post I am suggesting that you focus on your hair’s strength doing everything you can to promote strong strands in order to boost the potential for maximum length retention.

If you focus on keeping your hair strong then you know at the end of the day you will achieve your goal of healthy long hair and you will also know what is good for your hair and what is bad. So let’s get practical about this so that you can really see what I mean.

What do you need to make your hair strong

1. Protein – For strand structure.

2. Moisture – For strand sustenance.

3. Low manipulation – To reduce strand trauma.

4. Scalp health – The healthier your scalp the stronger your strands, it’s automatic.

Those four things seem simple enough, they all add to the overall strength of your hair, and all will lead to maximum length retention over time.

How to decide on a hair product

If your goal is strand strength, then your primary focus on any product should be the back of the bottle. Does the product have ingredients that promote moisture or protein? Is it filled with ingredients that create slip but add build up?

Some of us are very sensitive to products with man made ingredients like cones that make us think the product has great slip but at the same time stay on the strands for way too long causing more buildup than we need.

If you have your ‘strong hair’ goal in mind when choosing your products, you will know immediately if that product is for you or if it isn’t. Use products that enhance your hair naturally, deep condition with them, and enrich your strands to the point of no return.

How to decide if you should use heat

If you have been at this strength building thing for a while, then you know that your hair can take a little bit of heat, and not just break down on you. But that limit is different for every head of hair.

If your hair is weak, stay away from heat, if your hair is mediocre but you think that with some reinforcements it can take a little heat then do what you need to do to protect your strands.

Deep condition with protein for added strength and use a heat protectant* for sustainability.

How to decide on a style

When deciding on how to style your hair, ask yourself, does this style put stress on my strands making them weak or does this style protect my strands from daily wear and tear?

If your hair is dry brittle and breaking, that is not an indicator for you to put it away in some sexy box braids so that you do not have to deal with it.

Broken hair is weak hair and the weight of box braids will only break your hair much faster than if you never ever considered them in the first place.

Your styles should put the least amount of pressure on your hair strand so that they are not snapping, snatched, breaking or distressed in any way.

How to decide on a chemical process

This one is easy because if you want your hair strand to be at its strongest, then you have to say a resounding NO to any sort of chemical process that breaks down the strand.

It is pretty much a no brainer and can be sad if you wanted to rock a cute color this summer. Oh well, maybe some temporary color with Color Tattoo eye shadow can cure that fetish for you.

Do you need a trim

If you notice your hair tangling for no reason at the ends because they are thinner – aka weaker – then cut them off. Thin split, dry, tangly ends only take away from the overall value of your hair strand so do not keep them around.

With strong strands you will also have some pretty awesome added benefits; your hair will have its own natural shine that will eliminate the need for any glossers or shining products. It will look healthy and fall better when you style your hair.

If you focus on strength alone, you should be ok with every aspect of your regimen, and never be confused again!