“i thought that washing my natural hair more often would give me more growth. when i had a twa i washed daily and my hair flourished. now that my hair is shoulder length when stretched, i am down to washing weekly. i thought it would go like this: i’d have a clean scalp and my hair would grow with out any impeding issues like a dirty scalp that clogged my pores. however, i think that washing my hair every week is breaking it off. i co-wash, but still this is not what i was hoping would happen! am i imagining this? – anonymous

no, it’s possible you are NOT imagining that washing too much is breaking off your hair. you have the basic concept right, a clean head of hair and a clean scalp means more growth. why? washing clears away dust, dirt and oils that accumulate on your scalp during the week. clearing away this “dirt” means no clogging of pores which could also impede growth. also, the massage you give your scalp when washing increases blood circulation to the scalp and blood is what feeds you the root of the hair shaft itself encouraging your hair to grow. lastly, and the most obvious reason washing weekly is great for growth is the moisture that water provides. this moisture helps to keep your hair pliable and less prone to breakage so that you can keep the hair you already have.

but since you asked about breakage, let’s address why washing once a week could be breaking your hair off and it’s such a simple reason, you may have just over looked it.

the culprit in your breakage is probably your technique. the way you wash and detangle your hair could be the reason your hair is breaking. if you are too rough with your hair, don’t take time to detangle, use harsh shampoos and or conditioners you could be breaking your hair off unknowingly.

my hair does best when i wash it every two weeks and just run water over it and rinse my scalp ever week in between. so every seven days, my hair is either washed or has a water rinse done not to mention the twice a week water and olive oil mist i do to it to keep it supple. when i was washing my hair weekly, i was loosing more hair and i noticed that was happening because i was “detangling” my hair too much with a brush and or shower comb. i finger detangle the week i wet my hair with water only and i use a paddle brush during a wash week. this cut back on breakage drastically because i cut down on my manipulation.

there are no hard rules that you have to follow but you could try cutting back on the washing and seeing if that helps. or you could also try really taking your time to detangle your hair. a good detangling session for me is about an hour and a half and i do this on wash days in front of the tv, a good show and with my hair wet and covered in conditioner. i can’t do this every week. my patience runs thin and i start to speed up the process which means being prone to breaking off my hair by being rougher. i wash every two weeks and my hair is still growing and my scalp is still healthy. do what works for you and play with your manipulation technique. there are not rules that you have to wash your hair every week. your hair will tell you what it wants. listen to it.

what say you ladies? if your hair is longer than shoulder length, do you wash your hair ever week? have you switch to less washing and manipulation to retain length?

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at what point do you consider hair to be long? is it when one’s hair grazes the top of the shoulders that you consider it long or is it the moment it officially passes shoulder length? i’ve heard my relaxed friends say shoulder and my natural friends say arm pit length but even then, some naturals scoff at the idea that arm pit length is anything close to long. i used to think that arm pit length was long, but the longer my hair gets, the more inclined i am to say that arm pit length is medium length hair and bra strap is the beginning of long hair.

or wait, do i have that backwards? maybe arm pit length hair is long and bra strap length hair is just longer hair. when i was relaxed, i think i probably would have thought that hair longer than shoulder was long, but now, i don’t think so. i think that shoulder length hair is the beginning of medium length hair which stops at arm pit length and then goes to…you know what? it does not even matter to me anymore (i don’t even remember the last time i really pondered this), but i was recently posed this question so i though i’d share this question with you especially since i can’t even seem to find a group of naturals who can agree where long hair even starts (which just may mean, i’m not the only one who does not think or even care about length this way).

so what say you? at what length do you consider hair long? and at what length do you consider it to be medium length?

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ah yes, you’ve probably noticed that at any moment you can reach into your hair and if you are meticulous like i am, which it sounds like you are, feel short hairs in some places. if you are not battling breakage right now, i’m also talking to you. if you are battling breakage please read this.

if your hair overall is healthy, then don’t worry, what you could possibly be feeling the new hair that is growing in after your shed hair fell out (be sure to learn the difference between hair shedding and breaking).

hair grows in cycles called the anagen, the telogen and the catagen cycles. the anagen is the first phase with new hair growing in the hair bulb and can last anywhere from 2-6 years.

the catagen is the following phase when hair stops growing because the cell division stopped – this is also what some call terminal or end length. the telogen is the final phase and the phase where your hair starts to shed – not breaks – and falls out of the hair folicle with the bulb attached. after telogen the hair growth process repeats itself.

hair grows at a speed of roughly .5 inches or 1.25 centimeters per month totally about 6 inches or 15 centimeters per year. over time and with older age the speed of growth might slow down to as little as 0.1 inch or 0.25 cm a month. so if you are wondering, waist-length hair will have take about seven years to grow.

on average, hair growth is just cell division. the new hair cell pushes the hair forward out of your hair folicle which in turns makes it longer since new hair is added at the root. on average, there are about 100,000 hairs on a healthy scalp of hair and we loose about 100 hairs per day, normally.

the hairs on an adult scalp do not grow in unison like they do when we are being formed in the womb. they are “out of cycle” with each other hence, why you can feel some of your new hair growing in. if they were in cycle we’d all experience temporary baldness from time to time. really, can you image all of your hair going into the telogen phase at the same time?!

i recently noticed that i had some shedding in the top of my head and a few months later i could feel the new hairs growing in. i also have “hands in hair” disease so i notice any small changes with my hair or scalp. so don’t fret, you could possibly be feeling some new hairs grow in. but note that it should not be many hair either. i’ve only seen a about two to three hairs near each other that are of a similar length. anything more than that then you could possibly have breakage on your hands.

are you aware of your hair’s shedding and hair regrowth cycles?

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