While genetics do play a part in how fast your hair grows, you can potentially be making your hair appear to grow slower by not properly taking care of it. It’s not that your type 4 hair won’t grow, it’s more likely you are missing some steps.
Growing up, my whole family struggled on making their hair grow longer and often relied on weaves to get the look they wanted. This made me interested in the natural hair journey.
The biggest thing I learned is the most important part of taking care of your hair is retention and leaving it alone.
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1. You’re not focusing on long-lasting retention.
Sure you want long hair, but keeping those dead ends for that fact won’t do you any good. So go to the salon and get those ends cut when it’s time.
I know how much it sucks to see your hair getting shorter before it gets longer, but it’s worth it.
The second thing you want to do is use protective hairstyles! Your ends should be the area you protect the most because it’s the oldest part of your hair and the most fragile.
Find a few protective styles that you can do. Hair gets longer much faster when you aren’t constantly touching it.
2. Your hair scalp has a ton of build-up from products.
It’s important to use a good clarifying shampoo to remove all the products that you’ve used over time. By not properly cleaning your scalp, you block access to the moisture your hair needs.
Also if you have issues with getting your hair to curl and to stop being so dry, this might be the reason why.
Kinky Curly Come Clean is a clarifying shampoo that doesn’t have sulfates. You should use a clarifying shampoo at least once a month or depending on when you think your hair has too much build-up.
3. You use too many products to try the latest trends.
Do you follow a ton of beauty influencers and buy trending products just because it worked for them? It’s important to follow those who have similar hair to you.
Someone with high porosity hair would need different products than someone with low porosity hair. You should only buy products you think address your hair concern.
Other times you can be using way too many products at the same time that you don’t even know what is working or not. When you try a new product, try it one at a time.
4. Your diet is not healthy enough.
One of the reasons your type 4 hair won’t grow anymore is because you don’t actively meal prep and exercise.
To get longer hair, you have to take care of it by eating and drinking better. You can’t just take care of your hair with products, you also have to take care of your health.
One of the common nutrients that women don’t eat enough is iron.
Other common nutrients for growing your hair:
- Biotin
- Omega-3
- Vitamin A, B, C, E
- Zinc
- Protein
- Folic Acid
You should be making sure you eat less processed food and eat more fruits and vegetables. Smoothies are a great way to mix your daily fruits and vegetables together like apples, kiwi, ginger, and kale.
5. Not using products for your hair porosity.
Most people when starting out with hair growth focus on trending products or what hair type they are like 4a or 4c. The most important thing is knowing what your hair porosity is. Is it high porosity, medium or low porosity?
Low porosity means your hair doesn’t soak in the water and hair products easily like high porosity. If you have low porosity hair, you would have to find products better suited for it. Take this quiz to check your hair porosity.
Related Article:
13 Best Steps for a Low Porosity Curly Hair Routine
6. You don’t protect your hair when you flat iron it.
Once you have heat damage, it takes a long time to repair it and you’ll have to chop it off. Wear some heat protectant when you flat iron your hair.
You don’t want crispy hair that will continue to break off. Also, make sure you don’t flat iron your hair frequently. Take breaks and let your hair breathe.
I don’t use a blow dryer on my hair when I’m drying it. I let it air dry instead and put it in a protective style. The less heat, the better. You can also use a microfiber towel.
7. You’re not patient and don’t take the time to take care of it.
Most of the time it’s not that your type 4 hair won’t grow, it’s that you’re not taking the time to deal with it. For me, I spend hours per week taking care of my hair. It’s not something you can just throw together.
You have to treat your hair like it’s royalty and start seeing it that way too. Your hair isn’t going to grow from your shoulders to down your back overnight, it takes lots of love and patience to grow it.
