How Did I Grow My Hair? 10 Simple Steps!

As many of you know, I grew my hair from nape length to bra stap length (so that's approximately from 7"to 17", or from 17.5cm to 42.5cm). And as I mentioned in my Black Hair Can't Grow post, people often ask how I've gotten my hair so long.

So here it is, finally!

My hair in its Dominican blowout fabulousness, circa 2010

Here are 10 major things I do to grow my hair:

1. I no longer wear micro braids (the extra small braids) with hair extensions. 
Wearing braids that were too tight & too small were killing my hairline. So I said "forget this!" and boycotted the braiding hairstyle completely, for the first 3 years of my hair journey. But now I'll wear only big braids/twists with extensions.


2. I wash my hair once every 2-3 weeks (I used to wash once a week, but my schedule is now way too busy for that). 
When dirt buildups up on your scalp, it'll clog your scalp's pores and won't allow for the hair to grow freely from the scalp. So a clean scalp is a must if you want long, healthy hair.


3. Immediately after every wash I deep condition my hair. 
Deep conditioning simply means that I put the conditioner on my head, cover my hair with a shower cap, and allow it to sit for 15mins-1hr before rinsing it out. This allows the conditioner to penetrate my hair strands thoroughly, which keeps my hair better moisturized until my next wash day.


4. I NEVER comb my hair with a small tooth comb when I'm trying to de-tangle! 
I only use rubber base brushes or wide tooth combs... or my fingers. :-)


5. And speaking of de-tangling, I NEVER tear through knots in my hair. If you're hearing snap, crackle, pop! sounds, then you are being way too harsh, girl! Those sounds are the sounds of your hair breaking. And the more your hair breaks, the less length you can keep on your head (because all those hair strands you pulled out will be on the floor, abi?). So take it easy; be gentle with your hair.



Your hair is going to grow regardless, so the aim of the game is to maintain a clean scalp & to keep the hair you already have well moisturized, so that it won't keep breaking off. All right, I'm going to pause here (just so this post doesn't turn into a whole book). One step at a time, ladies!

This is not my hair regimen/routine, per se though (which I'm currently re-vamping, but will share details of that soon). 

How Did I Grow My Hair? (Part 2) is coming too, so stick around. 

In the meantime, my question to you all is, are you doing any of these steps listed above? 

If not, try them and let me know if they work for you. 

Happy Tress Growing,

Many Hair

My New Hair Resolutions

It doesn't have to be New Years to draft new (or renewed) resolutions for yourself--hair resolutions, of course!

Ladies, if you don't have hair goals, and a concrete hair regimen (at least at the beginning of your hair journey) to guide you, you most likely will not see significant improvement in your hair's health.

Here are my current hair goals:

1. Increase moisture levels of my hair
    How to achieve this: Moisturize my hair every 2-3 days (or as needed) using the LOC  method
    How I know I've achieved this: My hair will stay softer for more days in a row, in between wash days

2. Strengthen my hair
   How to achieve this: Do a protein treatment once a month
   How I know I've achieved this: I would have reduced the amount of breakage I get, which means I'll see fewer strands of hair in my hands & on the bathroom floor when I'm de-tangling my hair

3. Learn more ways to style my hair
    How to achieve this: Wear my hair out for more than 1 week in a year (lol)
    How I know I've achieved this: I would have increased the number of go-to hairstyles that I know how to do on my own



That's it. 3 goals only. I like to keep my life simple.

So, what are some of your hair goals? What are some of the things you'd like to improve about your hair?

Hero's Hair of the Night

I was getting ready to go to the club for a friend's birthday party, and I was one day away from my hair wash day. I knew I didn't want to do anything elaborate with my hair, since I would take the hairstyle down the next morning for washing.

So I whipped out a wig, of course (anyone who knows me knows that wigs are staple Hair Hero weapons of mass fabulousness for me).

But I decided to do something a little different with my wig this time.

Ready? 

Here it is...

This style took me about 10mins to put together. The bun is an old lace wig (which I almost threw away, but thank goodness I didn't. What it do, boo!).

I've discovered another go-to style, yay!

YOU can achieve this look too! More details of that coming soon. 

Thanks for reading. 

再見! Good bye for now!

Tips for Transitioners

There’s no need for a lengthy introduction for this post. The title is pretty much self-explanatory.

Transitioners: Ladies who stop perming (chemically relaxing) their hair in order to rock their hair’s natural curl pattern. Shakin’ what their mamas gave them, au naturale!

If you’re transitioning and you need a little help, check out these tips:

      1. If you want to cut it all off at once (doing the “big chop”), then go ahead. But you             actually don’t have to go bald (or almost bald) in order to go natural. You can wear           your hair in a variety of styles while you grow out your relaxer, and just trim the              relaxed ends little by little over a period of time.

      2. Please do NOT fry your natural hair with a flat iron (hair straightener) or blow                   dryer, in efforts to get it straight and blend it with your relaxed ends. That would            cause major breakage…and when irrevocable breakage occurs, you might as well cut          it all off. (Refer to #1)

      3. Beware of the line of demarcation! This is basically the point where your natural               roots meet your straight ends.

Source: A Hair Story

      4. Don’t dye your hair during your transitioning process. Chemical dyes cause our hair             to be drier than usual, which may increase chances of having breakage. And during           your transition, your hair is already fragile, especially at the “line of demarcation”             (See #3)

      5. Find a nice balance between giving your hair enough protein vs. moisture. Use                  protein conditioners once or twice a month, and deep condition your hair with a              moisturizing deep conditioner once a week (or once every two weeks). But pay                attention to how your hair reacts to the way you treat it: if it’s dry and breaks                  easily, then you need moisture; if it’s too mushy and weak, then you need protein            to strengthen it.

       6. Use hairstyles such as bantu knots, roller sets, wigs & sew-in weaves to disguise the           difference in textures on your head so that you can still look cute as you go through           this ugly duckling phase (Hey, I’m just keeping it real).

       7. Find a good detangler. Conditioners that have bihentrium menthosulfate are really            useful, because this ingredient serves as a detangling agent. So check the label of              that conditioner you’re looking to buy and see if bihentrium menthosulfate is                    there. The closer to the top of the ingredient list it is, the larger the amount of it            that’s present in the conditioner, and the better it is for you.

        8. Deep conditioning is your friend, girl! It’ll help you manage the two textures more             easily by making your hair feel soft and prevent breakage. Get to know it!

Hero Hero Bonus: Living in Nigeria (or in hot, humid climate)? Try to limit your hair's exposure to the sun during this transitioning phase, because excessive heat exposure will cause more dryness that you bargained for. If you go for protective styles that hide your hair during most of the transition, it'll make the process a lot easier. So opt for braids (but DON'T make them too small, too tight, nor keep them in too long, abeg!) or weave-ons (again, not too tight, and don't wear them too for too long). 

Congrats if you have decided to go natural; it takes courage and patience to do so. If you’re still debating whether or not to go natural, be sure you do your research, and make sure to keep an open mind.

Until next time!

Winning! Coconut Oil Has Really Helped My Hair (& Nails)

For someone who used spent most of her early life using only Dax/Lanolin and Blue Magic grease on her hair, I’m definitely playing by a different set of rules nowadays. 

Coconut oil is the TRUTH, ya’ll! 

Source: My Blessed Life

Tell your mama, share it with your friends, and introduce it to your pikin (your “children”). 

I love coconut oil, because it’s so versatile; if I could write a song about it, I would! 

By the way, I only use pure/extra virgin coconut oil. The purer, the better. 

Benefits of Coconut Oil for Me:

• Strengthens AND moisturizes my hair
• Strengthens my nails 

How I Use Coconut Oil:

• As a "pre-poo" (pre-shampoo) treatment
• As a deep conditioner

The pre-poo is a process that I do before I wash my hair where I coat my hair strands and my scalp with coconut oil or a mix of oils. This helps to keep my hair moisturized, even while the shampoo is cleansing my hair. It prevents my hair from feeling hard and dry after the shampoo process.

How it Works:

• As a pre-poo (hair): Coconut oil is the only natural oil that has been scientifically proven to penetrate the hair shaft. Because of its ovalene molecular structure, coconut oil, if it sits on the hair long enough (a few hours or overnight is best), its molecules can twist and turn and maneuver their way past the hair cuticles and into the inner parts of our hair strands, blessing the hair with moisture from the inside out (Amen, oh!). 

Source: Black Girl Long Hair

       Other popular oils such as olive oil, castor oil, and grease/petroleum jelly/petrolatum        have molecules that are way too big to penetrate the openings in our hair shaft, and          therefore just sit on TOP of the hair without giving the hair the thorough moisture            that it needs below the hair’s surface. So even when your hair is so greasy that you          can lean on a chair and leave a grease spot (I've done that before--so embarrassing!),        but the hair still feels hard/rough to to the touch, this is why. That oil or grease you          put on your hair is only disguising the fact that your hair is dry, dry, crunchy dry! 

• As a deep conditioner (hair): Coconut oil has a bit of protein in it. That being said, you can be assured that it’ll give your hair strands some strength it needs to withstand your constant combing, twisting, relaxing, plaiting, weaving, etc. 

• As a moisturizer & strengthener (nails): The health of my nails, cuticles and the skin around my nails has improved dramatically since I started rubbing coconut oil on my hands. And as long as I’m using is regularly, I don’t get blisters, dry patches, or hang nails on my fingers. And my nails (which usually don’t grow passed a certainly length) are now longer than they have been in years. Simply massage a small dab of coconut oil on the tips of your fingers every night before bed. 

• As a skin moisturizer: Recently, I added coconut oil to a bottle of skin lotion. And what a brilliant idea, if I do say so myself. I was pretty much ready to throw that lotion away (it was a brand I was trying for the first time, and it was not moisturizing enough for my dry skin). But now that I’ve added coconut oil to it, the remixed formula keeps my skin feeling soft and supple all day long. Winning! So ladies, before you throw away that cheap lotion that didn’t work for you, try adding the oil first. 

Bonus Tip: Live in Nigeria? Check out Daytona Pharmacy in Lekki (Lagos), or order online from Natural Nigerian for some coconut oil

For those of you who have had experience with using coconut oil, do you like it?

And to those of you who haven’t used coconut oil before, does this info encourage you to try it out? 

Let me know!

Black Hair Can't Grow

Black hair can’t grow. For simplicity, let’s assume that “black” equals tightly coiled,“wooly,” afro-like hair. This is by far one of the biggest myths out there. My hair at its longest reached 16inches (that’s about 1inch, or 2.5centimeters, passed my bra strap).  Oh, and I’m Black. African. Nigerian, to be precise. I'm 100% Black, Nigerian with tightly coiled, “wooly,” afro-like hair (that’s clarification for those who want to claim that some Nigerians are mixed with other races, which may be true, but I'm not. I'm all Black, baby!) During my university years, my close friends dubbed me with the nickname Many Hair because of my long and thick afro halo that I used to wear around campus. Picture a Boondocks character with tall, skinny legs; that was me. My hair attracted so much attention that on one occasion, I nearly felt like slouching in my seat to allow the poor girl behind me to see the board during Chemistry class. People often stared as I strolled passed, wondering silently—and in the case of some bold individuals, aloud—what would possess me to wear my natural hair out, and whether it was all mine.

"How did you get your hair so long?" I’d often get asked.

I used to shrug my shoulders, because quite frankly, I didn't know--my mama did my hair! Most of the time growing up I wore my hair in box braids (with hair extensions--"Bob Marley" as my sister and I used to call it). In my final years of university the “natural hair movement” was reborn, which encourages Black women to embrace their natural texture (chemical-relaxer-free), to nurture it and learn how to style it. Now we’ve gotten used to seeing Black women rocking all kinds of curls and coils. And though my hair’s “afro-ness” is still quite shocking to some, most people are more intrigued by its length than anything else.

Let’s quickly get back to that “Black hair can’t grow” myth. It’s not only myth, it’s a gimmick. Millions of companies around the world play on (and make mega bucks from) the notion that Black hair cannot grow passed shoulder length; that Black hair's "wooly" nature needs to be relaxed into straight silkiness, and that Black hair is simply unmanageable. As a result we, Black women, buy hundreds of ounces of hair extensions, chemical relaxers, wigs, and "magic" products to add length, volume, and bounce (sadly, in vain sometimes) to our hair, rather than truly discovering the beauty of our own our crown and glory (our hair).

Growing up, I wasn’t that interested in how or what was being done to my tresses. Granted, I had always been proud of it, but I never actually took time to take care of it by myself. It wasn't until I entered university that I really took ownership of my hair and discovered its true beauty and potential for growth.

Black hair CAN grow.

In 2009 I began my healthy hair journey, shortly after a horrific session at the beauty salon where a scissors-happy stylist cut off way more hair than I had requested for what was supposed to be a trim. My ultimate goal on this journey is to learn how to love my hair, even on its bad days, and how to achieve thick, healthy waist-length hair. Yes, I said it! I was able to grow my hair from chin-length to bra strap length; why stop now?

I love busting stereotypes! And perhaps I can change the minds of many and their assumptions regarding Black beauty. And by the way, Black hair can grow passed shoulder length whether your hair is chemically relaxed ("permed") or natural. I simply prefer to stay natural, but I’ve seen both work. So come along with me! I hope my trials, experiences, and challenges can help you, too, grow healthy, LONG, beautiful tresses.