Growing your hair? Why you could be waiting longer than you thought…
During the 16 years we’ve been fitting hair extensions in Manchester, one of the biggest gripes we hear from new clients is that their hair just won’t grow. So, if you’re frustrated with how long it’s taking to grow your tresses, read on, you might just find out why.
Do you feel like you’ve been growing your hair for ages, but it just isn’t getting any longer? After months and months, when you gather all your hair together and measure it against (take your pick here) your chin, collar bone, boobs, it’s just not moving? It’s like it just won’t grow past a certain point, no matter how long you wait. If your hair is coloured, you’ll know it’s growing – if it wasn’t, you wouldn’t need to touch your roots up. So why, if it’s growing, isn’t it getting any longer?
Why won’t my hair grow?
I hate to be the one that breaks it to you, but just because your hair’s growing (and take my word for it, it is), it may never get any longer. There are lots of reasons why you might never end up with Rapunzel like locks, at our specialist hair extensions salon in Manchester, we’ve seen it all. Could any of these apply to you?
Lightened/over processed hair
If you have your hair lightened, no matter how carefully, the condition will be affected. Lightening hair affects the porosity – it’ll suck up all that gorgeous moisture when you condition it, but just as quickly the moisture will be released, leaving your hair (especially the ends) dry, weak and prone to breakage. If you have a root shadow, or a darker colour in between your foils, the damage will be worse. Not only will your regrowth need to be touched up, you’ll also need to have the darker tint stripped out from time to time. This cycle of overlapping bleach and colour will eventually dry out and damage even the strongest hair.
This client had tried to grow her hair for ages but couldn’t. Our hair extensions helped her to grow her natural hair.
You also need to make sure you visit a hair stylist that cares about the quality of their work and the condition of your hair. Too many hair stylists prioritise their own needs above those of their clients. They use harsh, cheap, fast acting products to speed the process up, so that they can fit
more appointments in and earn more money. Obviously, they must make a living but surely that shouldn’t mean your hair suffers, right? Cheap services mean cheap results and it’ll be the condition of your hair that pays the price in the end.
Hair extensions can be a great addition to help you grow out damaged hair. What’s more, lighter tones in your natural hair can be emphasized with hair extensions. This means that you don’t need to have so much of your own hair lightened to get the lighter result you want.
This client had tried to grow her hair for ages but couldn’t. Our hair extensions helped her to grow her natural hair.
Poor washing technique
If you don’t know how to care for your hair, or you don’t spend the time needed, your hair will suffer the consequences. Give your hair a good comb through before you wash it – it’s less damaging to deal with any tangles in dry hair than wet. Not washing and rinsing thoroughly can lead to product build up. Your hair will become dry, heavy and unmanageable, prone to breakage and snapping. Don’t use too much shampoo and always wash twice, making sure you rinse thoroughly. And don’t be tempted to leave conditioner in your hair, it won’t make it soft and silky, it’ll have the opposite effect and make it dry and heavy. Rubbing your wet hair with a towel is another big no no, it’ll damage the cuticle layer, weakening the structure of the hair, leaving it prone to frizz and breakage.
Heated tools
We love styling our hair extensions, but did you know that using straighteners, tongs, wands, etc that are too hot can PERMANENTLY damage your hair? Heated tools should be set to a max temperature of 185 degrees. For this reason, we only use GHD heated tools in the salon and can’t recommend them highly enough. To find out more about the science behind this, see the work they do in their lab. That said, even when using the best, safest heated tools, it’s important not to overuse them. You also need to make sure you use heat protection. We love L’Oréal colour 10 in 1 for coloured hair. Not only does it protect against heat damage, it helps reduce colour fade too. For Virgin hair L’Oréal Mythic Oil, used alongside L’Oréal Constructor are a great combo. And, as with all L’Oréal Professional products, they smell amazing!
Styling
Take a moment to think about what you might expose your hair to everyday – friction, brushing, washing, sunlight, chemicals, pollution, etc, etc. Can you think of any other fibre that withstands that amount of handling and abuse? if you don’t give your hair lots of TLC, it’s not surprising it can become damaged . Aggressive combing, brushing and rubbing, especially when wet will damage the ends, causing them to break off. Even what you use to tie your hair up could be causing breakage. Try to limit how much you handle your hair, especially when it’s wet. Take your time when combing and brushing, always starting at the ends. And, why not try a silk pillowcase? We recommend them to our hair extensions clients, they help reduce friction, keeping your hair smoother, meaning less brushing and styling.
The hair growth cycle
If none of the above apply to you, chances are your lack of length is down to your hair growth cycle. This is going to get a bit sciency but bear with me and it’ll make sense in the end.
There are 3 main stages in the hair growth cycle, anagen, catagen and telogen. Your hair goes through a continuous cycle of growing, resting and shedding – the average person loses 100-150 hairs that have gone through these stages every day. When it comes to what length your hair will grow to though, it’s only the anagen stage we’re interested in.
The anagen stage (growing phase) usually lasts for 2-6 years. It’s this stage that determines what length you can grow your hair to. Hair grows at around 1cm each month. How long your anagen stage lasts dictates how long you’ll be able to grow your hair. If you have a long anagen phase, and it’s in good condition, your hair will reach longer lengths before it sheds than it will if you have a short anagen phase. Unfortunately, your hair growth cycle is down to genetics. And, while you can’t choose your family, you can choose your hair extensions!
So, what now??
Hair extensions are a great way of getting the hair you want, fast! What’s more, with our hair extensions, your hair will continue to grow, undamaged, while you’re wearing them. We have lots of clients who use our hair extensions to get the results they want until their natural hair has caught up.
Call us on 01612582015 to book a free, no obligation consultation. We can answer any questions you have about hair extensions and even apply a couple free of charge. This will give you a chance to go away and get a feel for them before you decide if you’d like to book in.
We love to hear from you! Is there another reason you’re looking at hair extensions in Manchester? Please leave your feedback and comments and let us know if you have any other questions.
There are lots of other reasons your hair might not be growing – lifestyle, diet, medication, poor health. We’re not qualified to comment on these and recommend that you speak to your doctor if you are worried about anything.
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