Curl Talk: How to Grow Long Curly Hair

Me and my hair have an adversarial relationship. That's the way its always been. My “Nemesis” (aka these locks of mine) literally has a mind of it’s own.

For instance, every time I’m ready to take scissors to my hair, it’ll suddenly decide it wants to cooperate and it lives to see another day. Once again it’s been pulling the same Jedi mind tricks with me.

Ever since returning from Europe last spring I’ve been considering getting an Ari Westphal style haircut. It was torture trying to properly care for these curls while on the road. I suffered many a bad hair day during that two month long Eurotour, thankfully I survived without too much embarrassment. 

But last week, after wearing my hair in twists and buns for the past 5 months, I actually wore my hair out and was shocked to find that my hair is now waist length (when I stretch it, not when curly). Not only is it longer than it’s been since I was about 9 years old, it’s looking pretty healthy too! 

So, if you’re on the precipice of chopping but not quite sold on going short here are my top 3 tips for growing long, curly hair:

1. Deep condition

Strange as this may sound, it’s true. Prior to 6 months ago I hardly ever, very close to NEVER, deep conditioned my hair. I just didn't want to be bothered. I’ll tell ya, it makes a huge difference. For a good 3 months (until I ran out of deep conditioner) I did this every time I washed and even sat under the dryer for 20-30 minutes so the conditioner could really work its magic. I’m so proud of myself!

 

2. Leave it alone

For those of you who really enjoy rocking different hairstyles this will probably be difficult, but for me this has been super easy, because the last thing I want to do is fuss with my hair.

As I mentioned, for the past 5 months I’ve worn my hair in twists and a bun. I do believe the only time it’s been out was the day after Christmas when I went wine tasting. The very next day it was back in twists!

I wasn’t doing this with the intention of growing my hair but I know the minimal manipulation has been a big contributing factor in its growth. For the record, I stopped using heat on my hair over 2 years ago. I don’t even diffuse it nowadays.

3. Don't over wash

Do you follow the once a week rule? So did I. For some reason, unbeknownst to me, I’ve switched to washing once every two weeks. Since I use minimal product in my hair and don’t spend much time styling it I’m able to stretch out the time between washes.

The thing with my curls is that they get super dry which results in split ends and breakage. Extending the time between washes means that my hair is staying moisturized with my hairs natural oils instead of washing them away every week.

To cut or not to cut?

Funny thing is I wasn’t trying to grow my hair. My goal was to have healthier hair, which is why I started with the deep conditioning and another reason why I wanted to cut it.

As of now the cut is off and the goal to get waist length hair (when curly) is on! I hope I don’t jinx myself by setting this goal. I’ll be sharing my progress, more curly hair care tips as well as how to care for your curls when on the road in future Curl Talk posts.

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Curly girls, leave a comment with your top curly hair care tips!