Length retention is perhaps one of the most common natural hair journey goals – second only to having healthy hair and scalp. It’s why it can be so frustrating when you feel like your hair won’t grow no matter what you do. Well, Zara’s here to help!
She’s sharing some pretty solid advice on why your natural hair won’t grow – or at least why it might seem like your natural hair is not growing. AND, she’s helping out with some very effective ways in which you can change up your hair care routine to see the growth you are hoping to achieve. JUMP RIGHT INTO THE VIDEO to find out what they are!
Keep scrolling and reading, however, if you’d like a sneak peek at what Zara covers in the video. We’ve also included links to some very useful related and informative content here on CurlyNikki. Enjoy!
Why your hair doesn’t seem to grow
Before we get started, let’s show some love for Zara’s long, wavy wig and flawless makeup – girl’s poppin’! Wearing her wig as a protective style is actually quite relevant to what Zara covers in the video – as you will see…
Right off the bat, Zara reminds us that unless we have suffered some kind of trauma or have an underlying medical condition that affects hair growth – our hair is, in fact, growing all the time. Human hair grows an average of about half an inch. That’s around 6 inches per year.
Why don’t we see all of that growth in our regular length checks? Why does our hair seem to be stuck at the same length for years? Well, the big problem is we’re not retaining all of that lovely length over time. The main culprit for that, of course, is excessive breakage and there are several reasons for that happening.
How we can counter those causes, save our natural hair from excessive breakage, and achieve the desired length retention is what Zara covers in the video.
BTW, Zara gives us her own comprehensive, “full-bodied” definition of length retention as:
The ability (or lack of ability) to keep the ends of one’s hair intact and healthy as new hair grows from the scalp. When hair is intact, it is void of splitting/budding ends, and other hair ills that lead to the hair snapping/breaking off
Related articles:
- Thinking of Using a Wig as A Protective Style? Here Are 7 Awesome Reasons to Go for It!
- Natural Hair Care: Protecting Natural Hair Under a Wig – 12 Fantastic Tips
How to achieve the hair growth you are after
The points Zara shares come from her own experience with stagnant hair growth and hitting those dreaded hair growth plateaus.
She also had a critical turning point in her natural hair journey when she suffered major heat damage to her natural hair that had previously been thriving.
She chose not to big chop for the sake of length retention and learned some very valuable insights from that experience.
She was able to perfect her own natural haircare routine while becoming more knowledgeable about how hair grows, how different haircare product ingredients treat her hair, the importance of scalp care, and the best ways to style her natural hair.
Here are the eight points Zara covers in the video:
- Stop overmanipulating your hair. Over-manipulation tops Zara’s list as the main thing that robs us of precious length as we try to grow long hair, leaving us frustrated that our hair won’t grow. It causes your hair to lose moisture, weaken, split, and break.
- Deep condition and moisturize your hair. This is key for moisture retention and minimizing split ends. Zara recommends both pre-pooing with oil and hair steaming to aid deep conditioning.
- Use heavy sealants. Zara LOVES hair grease for moisturizing her ends and preventing breakage. Other options for her are shea butter, cocoa butter, carrot oil, almond oil, and lanolin.
- Tuck your ends away. Friction causes wear and tear, splitting and breakage, and loss of length.
- Trim weathered ends. Left unchecked, split ends will continue to split up the hair shaft, leading to greater loss of length. Zara also explains why she is so very much into micro-trimming – hear about it in the video!
- Use henna and/or cassia. Zara gushes over how using henna has transformed her fine-to-medium strands, making them stronger and much more resistant to breakage.
- Protective style. Various protective styles can help with tucking away your ends, moisture retention, and limiting manipulation of your strands.
- Pray. Believing in your goal of growing long, healthy natural hair, praying for it, and manifesting it through positivity rounds out Zara’s list.
Related articles featuring Zara’s videos:
- Heat DESTROYED My Type 4 Natural Hair!! | EfikZara
- Natural Hair Care Routine: The No. 1 Wash Day SUPERFOOD for Hair Growth | EfikZara
- 7 (Simple) Reasons Why Your Protective Styles Don’t Grow Long Hair | EfikZara
- Hair Grease for 3 Years on My Natural Type 4 Hair | EfikZara
Ready to get all the details from Zara on how you can ensure length retention when your natural hair won’t grow? Let’s get to the video!
The ONE Reason Your Natural Hair Won’t GROW
A young woman of many talents, Zara (popularly known as EfikZara) is a professional violinist and composer. Aside from her primary career, Zara is a cinematographer with more than 17 years of experience. She is also a passionate healthy hair advocate with over 12 years of experience caring for her natural hair and the natural hair of her loved ones.
Get more hair and beauty tips from Zara on CurlyNikki, HERE!
What steps do you take to ensure length retention for your natural hair? Let us know!
