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HOW TO GROW LONG NATURAL HAIR(Zambian girl diaries)

Thembi M Fletcher
Oct 25, 2017
4 min read

Currently trying out the Ultimate Originals Therapy, Tea Tree Stimulating Growth Oil

I made a few changes with my hair last week. I gave it a much needed protein treatment and straightened it a few days later. I absolutely loved how it turned out and so bringing you a hair post this week seemed like the appropriate thing to do. before I continue with the post I would like to give a huge shout out to my husband who's been working tirelessly to ensure that everything is in place especially with the blog. He usually does all the dirty work of finding great locations to shoot and also does the shooting himself. I really wouldn't be able to bring you posts every week without him; so I am truly grateful for his love and massive support. But anyway, in spite of our shooting day being extremely windy, and my waves unraveling, the pictures did not turn out half bad, and I definitely felt like a princess in this lovely polka dot maxi dress that I raided from my sister in law's closet.

I am confident that most of you are aware of the misconception about African American hair or African hair which are both commonly referred to as natural hair; not being able to grow past a certain length. Growing up in Zambia, the belief of most people including myself, was that our hair only had the potential to get long if it was chemically treated. So we were inclined to relax our hair the first chance we got in hopes of making our strands look sleeker and more presentable. The fact is that very few women embraced their natural hair and considered it beautiful.....

I had natural hair for most of my childhood, because the schools I attended didn't allow their students to chemically treat their hair. Like most girls my age, I didn't think highly of my hair in it's natural state, and wanted it to be straight and sleek. So I relaxed as soon as I graduated from high school. And of course my hair didn't turn out like I had hoped, and it certainly didn't grow as long as I wanted it to. Going natural the second time around allowed me to discover new possibilities about natural hair that I had never thought possible. Seeing natural hair bloggers/vloggers on YouTube had me in awe of the beautiful textures and versatile hairstyles that one could do with non-relaxed hair. The long hair that these women had was unbelievable; it burst my little bubble of misconceptions. So now, let's get to the question at hand; how do you grow your natural strands?

From my experience, I can tell you that the notion that most people have about African hair only being able to grow slightly past the neck-bone is all bologne(a myth). I understand that genetics play a major role in determining the texture of ones hair and how fast it grows. But in reality, all hair types have the potential to grow as long as we would like them to, and this is where care comes into play.

"What products do I need to use on my natural hair to make it grow?" I get asked this question most of the time; and of course my answer is always experiment if you are a first timer. I tried all kinds of products in the natural hair line in the first couple of months of going natural; this was the only way for me to discover what truly worked and helped in maintaining the health of my mane. But more importantly, it wasn't so much the type of products I used, but rather, the practices that I implemented in keeping my hair healthy. Locking moisture in helped to keep my strands hydrated, hence, they grew rapidly. I adopted what is known as the L.O.C method to help achieve this. L.O.C simply stands for Liquid, Oil, and Cream. So whenever, I wash my hair or decide to style it, I go by taking these three steps. Use water to help as your liquid base to help open up your cuticles and shaft of your hair so that it can easily absorb the oil that follows thereafter. For oil, my go to products are Organic Coconut-Oil or Hemp Seed Oil. These oils have done wonders in helping my hair retain moisture and length in the long run. For creams, I personally prefer the Cantu Curling Cream or conditioners by OGX because they are light weight and do not make my hair frizzy. I am aware that other women who are also natural use completely different products and have managed to achieve the same or even better results, and I have no problem with that. So when it comes to products, I have recommendations but do not claim that they are the standard.

My biggest lesson has been working towards consistency. Over the past five years, I have not been as consistent in taking of my hair as I should, and I have definitely reaped the fruit of my labor. I've gone through major setbacks such as breakage, split-ends, dryness, thinning to mention a few, because I did not feel the need to do certain practices consistently. But I am glad that by making better changes, I have managed to retain some pretty good length. So if there is any advice that I need to give you, it's that consistency is the key to success...........

I am going to end today's post by encouraging you to be patient because patience is one of the most important virtues that we need to practice in order to achieve the success that we desire. Like I said earlier, it took me five years to get my hair to grow this long and so your expectation shouldn't be that your hair is going to grow overnight. But, instead of focusing on the length, focus on the journey, and celebrate every milestone. This will make the process a lot easier and will certainly make it more enjoyable.....

XOXO