Don’t believe the lies! Your natural hair can grow and retain length, but you just have to be proactive about making it happen. Natural hair comes in all sorts of thickness, curl sizes, and densities, and while your hair care journey won’t look identical to the next person beside you, what’s most important is how you take steps to care for your own hair. 

Whether you’re new to the natural hair community or you’ve been natural for years now, it’s always nice to have a refresher on hair maintenance tips to promote hair growth. So, if you’ve made it your goal to take better care of your natural hair while encouraging hair growth, discover these five tips to incorporate into your routine! 

Now, there are different school of thoughts on the best way to care for natural hair. Personally, I say to do what works and to keep it simple. The simpler your you routine is, the more likely you will stick with it. My goal here is to share simple tips that has worked for me thus far, keeping in mind that I am constantly try new ways to improve my routine.

I will share my most recently hair routine with you in another post, but the steps below are what I have done in the past to grow my hair.

1. Pre-poo your hair. 

Have you ever gotten in the shower to wash and detangle your hair, and then you end up with clumps of knotted hair on the floor? That’s your cue that it’s time to pre-poo. Pre-pooing or pre-shampooing is the process of applying a treatment to the hair before you shampoo. This method helps condition your hair, protects it from shampoos that strip it, and makes it easier to detangle.

I have used oils to pre-poo, such as castor or almond oil, but you can also use a bit of conditioner if you would like to avoid raw oils in your routine altogether. So if you feel like you are losing your length to tangles and knots, try this method the next time you wash your hair and watch how your wash day becomes 10x easier!

2. Drink more water. 

Drinking more water seems like it’s the fix for everything, but it really works! Moisturizing your hair from the inside out will help give your hair the minerals and vitamins it needs. So up your water intake if you hope to promote hair growth and maintain hydrated natural hair. I think this is a step that is often overlooked – we want hydrated hair, but don’t think about the body holistically. 

3. Opt for low manipulation hairstyles. 

If you’re pulling your hair up into a top knot every day or doing other high manipulation styles, it’s time to dial it back. Our hair especially does not need or even like to be excessively styled, and doing so can lead to breakage and damage to your hair. Instead, refrain from over-styling your hair and choose styles that require less maintenance, like mini twists, a low puff, flat twists, or even wash and gos. Your edges will thank you as well! Check out a quick low manipulation style you can do below: 

4. Don’t skip on deep conditioners. 

 Hydrated hair is healthy hair, so do yourself a favor and treat your hair to a deep conditioner treatment at least once a month, depending on your hair porosity. Deep conditioners help soften your hair, help melt away tangles and make your curls pop!

5. Treat yourself to a scalp massage.

Giving yourself a scalp massage isn’t just a fantastic form of self-care, but it helps promote hair growth, too! Scalp massages help increase blood circulation to the hair follicles, thus encouraging growth. My secret tip for incorporating massages into my routine is giving my scalp a good rubdown when applying a pre-poo to my hair. I always say to take the time to care for yourself – it really is the little things that yield big results. 

6. Be consistent.

It goes without saying that you need to be consistent with your hair care in order to see results. If you goal is hydration, you should be consistently washing, hydrating and moisturizing your hair. If your goal is length, then you should do low manipulations styles as we discussed earlier. Either way, being consistent with your routine is key.

That’s it for today! Try these tips out for yourself, and watch as your hair thank you in increased health and length! 

What are some ways that you maintain your natural hair?