Back in June 2014, I decided to cut off my waist-length natural hair in favor of a short and edgy cut, the mohawk. It was shocking to most and exciting for me to have super short hair for a period of time in my life. The next two years, I had so much fun playing with clippers, getting my hair shaved, going blond and finally going for a curly pixie cut.
I started growing my hair back in June 2016. When I got my pixie cut and the longest part of my hair was about an inch in length. This was the first time I was growing my hair with my products to help maintain my hair growth journey. I was also a vegetarian and was eating a lot healthier than I had in the past. I started the Wonder Curl line when my hair was already about shoulder length; so this time was going to be a great chance to see how my hair would look as it grew out.
Now that I’m 2 ½ years into growing my hair out, I hear a lot of comments about how fast my hair grew. When you’re the one growing the hair, you don’t really notice it until you look back at pictures. I never measured the length of my hair or did a length check before.
What is my secret to growing hair fast? According to the experts, hair grows about ½ an inch per month on average. Asian hair tends to grow faster while African hair grows the slowest. Genetics plays a big part, but diet and lifestyle can also be a factor when it comes to growing your natural hair.
All of this is anecdotal, but I have noticed that once I changed my eating habits and went completely plant-based 2 years ago (March 2017); that my hair was shedding less and was growing much fuller. My hairline got thicker and people started commenting on how my hair grew so fast.
I decided to take a ruler to my hair to measure how long it was. Since hair on average grows ½ inch per month; then in one year I should have about 6 inches of hair, I had about 7 inches of hair. At the same time, I was only trimming my hair once per year and each trim took off around an inch of dead ends.
It is important to note that I make it a point to eat as diverse a meal as possible. My diet consists of; beans, greens, mushrooms, potatoes, berries, quinoa, flax, hemp seeds and more, but those are the staples of my diet. Depending on the season, I add more types of fruits and root vegetables.
Whenever someone asks me if my products will make their hair grow; my answer is always ‘No’ and no products will make your hair grow faster. What my products will do is maintain what you have already grown. If you want to grow thick hair, then you have to make sure you are including certain vitamins and minerals in your diet. To learn more, you can read our blog post, “Vitamins for longer, thicker hair”.
Getting plenty of plants in your diet is paramount to growing long and healthy hair. When it comes to our bodies and nutrients, our hair, skin, and nails get it last. So, if you notice your nails are weak; your skin is breaking out, then most likely, your hair will be weak as well. When you’re getting the 7 servings of fruits and vegetables per day, especially different types, then you are more likely to notice a change in your hair.
If you want to learn more about my diet, you can check out my website, scarlettrocourt.com. To learn more about healthy hair tips, check out these blog posts:
Hair tips to grow long natural hair.
What hair vitamins are best for growing long natural hair?
Why isn't my hair growing? Causes of and preventing breakage.