The resurgence of women rocking their naturally textured hair is a beautiful thing! But somewhere along the line, many have become more preoccupied with length than with the health of their hair. What they don’t realize is that once you focus more on maintaining its health, length will come. Here are some healthy hair habits you should practice, which will ultimately help you reach any hair length goals you might have.

1. Feed Your Hair

This can’t be stressed enough: healthy hair starts from within. We’re not saying you have to become vegan, but you should include healthy fruits and veggies in your diet and drink lots of water. If you’re someone who has a hard time with vegetables, blending up a fruit and veggie smoothie is an easy and tasty way to get your daily dose. This will give your hair follicles the nutrients needed to help your strands thrive.

2. Take Your Vitamins

A daily supplement like our Advanced Healthy Hair Vitamins will work along with your diet to fill in whatever nutrients you might be lacking and promote healthy hair growth.

3. Be Careful with Heat

As the saying goes, too much of a good thing can be bad for you. Too much heat too often can lead to damage, and eventually your hair won’t revert back to its natural state. Also, too much or improper use of heat can lead to dry, brittle hair, breakage, and split ends. You don’t have to swear off heat for good, but you should be careful with your technique and how much you use. Here are a few tips:

• Use heat tools that have clear settings (not just “on/off”), and use the low or medium settings at most.
• Prepare your hair for heat styling at the cleansing and conditioning stage to make sure it is well hydrated.
• Always use a heat protectant! This will serve as a barrier between your hair tool and your hair to prevent damage.

Mielle’s Mongongo Oil Collection is made to prepare hair for heat styling even before the cleansing and conditioning stage, leaving you with soft, manageable hair. Plus, this collection comes complete with a Thermal & Heat Protectant Spray so you can get a beautiful finish without damage.

4. Cleanse Hair & Scalp Regularly

Yes, healthy hair starts from within, but it also needs a clean, healthy environment from which to grow. A dirty scalp full of buildup can clog pores and follicles and essentially slow down healthy growth. And frankly, dirty hair is just not sanitary!

How often you wash your hair is totally up to you, depending on your daily routine (maybe you work out daily), how much product you use, and so on. The cleansing power of our Mongongo Oil Exfoliating Shampoo gets rid of any build-up on the hair and scalp, but keeps your hair’s natural oils intact.

5. Use Fingertips When Cleansing

Depending on how your scalp feels come wash day, a good scratch might feel really good. But using your fingernails could cause unnecessary damage to the scalp. The pads of your fingers, along with a little pressure, is all you need for a thorough cleanse.

6. Use Sulfate-Free Shampoo

Shampoos containing sulfates strip the hair of its natural moisture. Instead, reach for a moisturizing shampoo like our Babassu Oil Conditioning Sulfate-Free Shampoo to gently cleanse while moisturizing the hair.

7. Deep Condition

Our hair needs help in the moisture department because of the shape of our hair. So, as the final step in your wash routine, follow up with a good deep conditioner to infuse moisture into the hair.

8. Use Deep Conditioner As Directed

Overnight conditioning may be popular, but it’s unnecessary, and it could cause damage to your strands. There’s no need to leave your deep conditioner on for longer than the time period recommended in the directions. Check out our post on deep conditioner to learn more!

9. Gently Detangle From End to Root

Curly and kinky hair needs lots of TLC. When getting the tangles out, start from the very ends, then slowly and gently work your way up to the roots to cut down on breakage.

10. Moisturize & Seal

Continuing the process, applying product to your hair while it’s still damp is the most effective way to retain moisture. Use a leave-in conditioner with your choice of styler, along with an organic hair oil to seal in moisture, to keep your hair healthy, soft, and manageable.

11. Get Regular Trims

Some may find this counteractive to growth, but trimming your hair gets rid of broken and split ends that could lead to more damage. Nipping damage in the bud with a trim about once every season (or as needed) will keep the hair at its healthiest. Explore our blog post on natural hair growth to learn more!

12. Wear Protective Styles

Tucking your hair away in styles that require little to no manipulation for a few days or a few months will help you retain length.

13. Protect the Hair at Night

Keep hair moisturized and less prone to breakage by wrapping it up with a satin or silk scarf or bonnet at night. If you prefer to leave your hair free, a satin pillowcase will do just fine!

14. Massage Your Scalp

A soothing scalp massage every few nights will help stimulate the hair follicles and help with blood flow to the scalp to encourage healthy growth..

15. Don’t Stress

This is easier said than done, but the best thing you can do for your hair is to simply relax. Whether it’s worrying about your hair length or anything else, stress will often show up in our skin as well as our hair. So try to reduce your stress as much as possible.

Once again, the health of your hair is more important than how long it is. Focus on its health and before you even realize it, the length will come!