Do you dream of having long, strong, and lustrous hair? A lot of us do. The truth is we can achieve our healthy hair goals as long as we understand the science of hair and we take proper care of it. Let’s get into the three stages of hair growth!

1. The Anagen Phase

This is the phase where your hair is consistently growing. It typically lasts three to five years; keep in mind, your diet plays a huge role in determining how long this growth phase will last. The healthier you eat, the longer you will experience healthy hair growth. Each month, your hair should be growing around half an inch, resulting in about six inches per year. Of course, it’s your responsibility to keep your ends intact so you can retain most of the length.  

2. The Catagen Phase

This is a very short transition phase, lasting for about two to three weeks. During this period, hair growth slows down and the follicles shrink. 

3. The Telogen Phase

The telogen phase, also known as the resting phase lasts around three months. Your hair is literally resting, it’s not growing but it also isn’t falling out. The exogen stage is sort of an extension of the telogen phase; this is when your old hairs start shedding, allowing for new hair to grow.

Now that we’ve covered the three phases of the hair growth cycle, we can finally address the “my hair doesn’t grow” comment. Sis, your hair definitely grows a lot because the growth phase lasts three to five years. So why aren’t you seeing length? Here are the main reason why 🡣

1. You’re clogging the hair follicles

Source: Essence

The use of heavy oils and butters on the scalp are not only unnecessary but it also interferes with your hair growth. Did you know that your scalp produces its own oil called sebum? Forget about the myth “black women don’t have oil coming from their scalp” because we definitely do! The issue is that we believe we don’t so we decide to use heavy oils, butters, and greases on our scalp which is a big no no. Just think about it, if you’re constantly using all these heavy products on your scalp, the natural oil will not be able to come out because the hair follicles will be blocked. With that being said, stop using heavy oils and butters on the scalp; use those for length retention only. If you want to put an oil or butter on your scalp, make sure to use something lightweight like our  No Shae'd™ Hair, Scalp & Beard Butter.

2. You’re allowing your hair to get matted and tangled

Source: “Where Beautiful You Shines Through” 

Combing and brushing your hair will not cause damage, as long as you do it gently. It’s actually very important to comb and brush your hair on a regular basis because 50-100 hairs shed daily. So imagine going several days, weeks, or even months without combing through your hair, the hair that’s supposed to fall out doesn’t get a chance to so that results in tangles, which can lead to breakage. Looking for a nice product to use for detangling and combing out your hair? Check out the Mu-Moisture Leave-In Conditioner & Detangling Mist.

3. You ‘re not keeping up with your trims 

Source: Pinterest

You have to cut off those split ends if you want long, healthy hair. One thing about split ends is that they cannot be repaired, you can only get rid of them by trimming them. It’s very important to develop a maintenance routine for your ends to ensure that they remain healthy. We recommend trimming your ends every 8-12 weeks because when you stay on top of it, you won’t even need to trim much hair off; sometimes you’ll just be dusting your ends. We know plenty of naturals who advocate for trimming the ends once a year and we’re not here to judge, do whatever pleases you. Just keep in mind that trimming every 3-4 months will result in you cutting less hair off and retaining more length.