How I Grew My Hair & Healthy Hair Tips

This blog post has been highly requested and it’s all about HAIR! I’ve had a lot of questions about hair lately so I thought it would be best to answer everything ALL in one place. I’ve been sharing some of these tips and products for years and have heard from many of you that they’ve helped tremendously! At the bottom, you'll find other updated blog posts with other questions you've asked. Between this blog and my other hair blog posts, I think I've gotten to every hair question that I've been asked! Okay everything I know about hair… Let’s get into it!

It all adds up…

I first want to say my hair is far from perfect and I definitely have some heat / color damage but I’ve accumulated quite a few tips for healthy hair over the years that I’m excited to share with you! I don’t think it’s possible to attribute hair health to just one thing, so today I’m sharing every little thing that I do and use. These little tips might seem insignificant, but when you add them all up and stay consistent with them, they make a big difference over time!! Of course, everyone’s hair is different and genetics DOES play a huge role in this, but you’ve asked what I do so I’m here to tell you! Okay, let’s dive right in!

ELIMINATE WASHES

I try to only wash my hair about once every three-four days and this has helped my hair tremendously! Over-washing strips your scalp & hair of its natural oils and can actually end up drying out your hair and causing lots of damage, breakage, and dullness. When your scalp is dried out, it will actually produce more oil to overcompensate and it’s this whole vicious cycle. Over time, I’ve trained my scalp to produce less oil by eliminating washes and now, I can’t even believe that I used to wash my hair everyday or even every other day! A lot of you ask how I stretch out my washes when I workout… trust me, it took some time to get used to because I was previously washing my hair after every workout, but it’s possible. Dry shampoo is my best friend. I workout about 4-5x a week and I can still get away with washing my hair only a few times each week. If you wash your hair every day, try every other day for a couple weeks. It will feel weird at first but it’ll get better. Then slowly try to stretch it out by another day or two. Use dry shampoo in between washes and go for other hairstyles when you need to (slick back bun, headband, braid or pony, baseball cap, etc). Another huge bonus to washing my hair less is that I save SO much time! Finding a dry shampoo that you love can take some trial and error but once you do, it really makes a huge difference! Here’s a couple that I’ve been using lately!

SHAMPOO & CONDITIONER

I like to switch up my shampoo and conditioner often and I think it’s good for your hair to do so! Kerastase has been in my rotation for a while and even when I’m trying new products, I always seem to go back to these! Although these products are specifically for blondes, I think this whole brand is AMAZING and they have tons of different hair type options. Non blondes can use these products too! I'm also linking another option that I like for dry, damaged hair as well as a budget friendly option . Kerastase is owned by L’Oreal Paris so I view them both in the same family ;)

HAIR MASKS

There are a few masks that I really like to use after shampooing to add moisture back into my hair. I always leave masks in as long as possible (I’ll shave my legs and wash my face while the mask is doing its thing). Masks are really important if you use a lot of heat or color your hair! If you’re afraid of your hair looking greasy, just apply to the ends of your hair and face framing layers (those tend to get the most heat damage) and avoid the roots. Linking my favorite masks below:

SCALP CARE

Healthy hair starts at the scalp! Your scalp health is very important for hair growth and we have to treat it like the skin on our face (cleanse and hydrate)! If you’re washing your hair and kind of scratch your scalp and notice white product buildup under your nails… you need to clean your scalp! There can be loads of dry shampoo and other product clogging your hair follicles and preventing growth! I like to use this scalp massager to help stimulate hair follicles (which promotes growth) and to break up buildup (from dry shampoo and other products). This pre-wash mask treatment is another great scalp product that helps to detox your scalp without drying it out! This scalp serum also helps to strengthen and thicken hair. I use a few droppers on my scalp after showering!

COLD WATER RINSE

Okay now this one I think I read in a magazine when I was in middle school or something, but I still do it! Not sure how much it actually helps but for the sake of disclosing ALL of my “secrets” I’ll throw this one in. After shampooing and conditioning my hair and right before I’m about to end my shower, I’ll turn the water on cold and let the cold water run through my hair for 20 ish seconds. The idea is that the cold water helps to seal your hair cuticle, making it lay smoothly, and lock in moisture. A smoother hair cuticle will make your hair look more glossy and shiny. Again, who knows if this works but I still do it!

MICROFIBER TOWEL

After washing my hair, always always always dry it with a microfiber towel. A standard bath towel is way too heavy and harsh on your hair! I even pack them with me when I travel because once you start using microfiber, you won’t want to go back! If you forget a towel like this while traveling, use a t-shirt to dry your hair and avoid hotel towels and normal bath towels at all costs. The friction they cause on your strands can lead to breakage and frizz. I’ll link the towels I have, but really any microfiber towel is better than a bath towel!

WET BRUSH & DETANGLER

After letting the microfiber towel absorb as much water as possible, it’s time to brush. When my hair is wet, I never touch it with any other brush other than a Wet Brush. I like to spray a little leave-in conditioner or detangler in my hair and then gently brush the strands from the bottom to the top. If you have a knot to work through, spray a little detangler onto the strands and gently work through with the wet brush. Hair is very delicate when it’s wet, so be gentle! This one is also a heat protection which is a bonus!!!

AIR DRY/ LESS HEAT

After brushing out your wet hair, take your microfiber towel and squeeze out any excess water from your hair (be gentle!). If possible, let your hair air dry as much as you can before blow drying. If you can skip blow drying altogether, great!! But even if you can only let your hair air dry for the first 50%, that’s better than drying it when it’s soaking wet. Your hair is at its most delicate state when it’s wet, so at least try to let it air dry as much as you can before touching it with a blow dryer. I’ve been using the Dyson Airwrap lately to blow dry my hair- it’s crazy expensive, but it does protect your hair from extreme heat. I’ll link it below and also include a few other blow dryers that I’ve used and really like.. Even with the Dyson, I still try to air dry as much as possible.

HEAT PROTECTANT

Heat protectants are an absolute must and I totally notice a difference when I’m not using them. When I first brush out my hair, I use my leave in conditioner spray & scalp serum that I mentioned earlier. Then I use my blow dry cream and finish with my favorite oil! I’ll link everything below and you can also watch this video here to see my process!

HOW I SLEEP

Sleeping with a silk pillowcase not only helps your skin, but it also prevents hair damage, split ends, and creasing caused by regular cotton pillowcases! Think of all the tossing and turning that happens when you sleep- a silk pillowcase removes all of that friction and prevents breakage and frizz.If you’re not sleeping on a silk pillowcase, you are missing out on better hair!!!!!! This has 100% made a difference in how my hair looks in the short term (literally the next day it looks better), but also long term, it helps prevent breakage from friction! Now that my hair is longer, like to put it up in a loose, high pony on top of my head while I sleep and use a silk scrunchy to keep it out of my way when I sleep. The combo of the pillowcase and high pony has really helped my hair look better when I wake up and even helps my curls last longer throughout the week.

HAIR TIES

Another huge game changer has been my Gimme Hair Ties. They’re seamless and don’t rip out your hair. Elastic hair ties are one of the biggest culprits for breakage and split ends! I wear the long fit for my workouts and absolutely love them. I never wear hair ties with glue on them anymore. I also like these little silk scrunchies for around the house, sleeping, or just pulling my hair back quickly but not so much for working out.

TAKE A BREAK FROM HEAT

I know, I know, most of us unfortunately do not have the luxury of beautifully air-dried hair, but even cutting back on the amount of heat that you’re putting on your hair will do wonders for the strength and health of your hair! If your hair is extremely damaged, adding heat is just going to make it worse. Once you get your hair to a healthier place, you can add heat back in and it’ll be able to withstand it better. Try to think twice before curling or straightening. Maybe go 1-2 days of the week with no heat. Try a low pony, a braid, a headband, hat, slicked back bun or pony. There are so many cute heatless hairstyles and if your goal is healthy hair, heat is definitely not helping!

FREQUENT TRIMS

When you’re growing out your hair it can be tempting to skip the trims but it is so crucial for the ongoing health of your hair to get regular trims. I get my hair trimmed every 2-3 months just depending on how my ends are feeling. I ask for a light dusting just to clean up the ends without taking too much length off. I also ask for more of a blunt cut across the bottom- I feel like this makes my hair look thicker, fuller, and healthier. People always comment on how fresh my ends look and I swear it’s just a visual trick from the blunt cut. I also just do a really soft trim to my face framing layers and any other layers throughout my hair. I don’t have a ton of layers throughout my hair, just a few longer, soft layers that blend in nicely.

VITAMINS / SUPPLEMENTS / DIET

OKAY I’m putting this one towards the end because I feel like this is the magic “quick fix” that everyone wants! Like I mentioned earlier, there are so many things that contribute to hair growth and I don’t think ignoring all of the other steps just taking a vitamin will help your hair grow! I try to take a more comprehensive approach when it comes to hair health and my theory is that all of the little things you do add up! Your diet & water consumption also have a huge impact on your hair health (hair, nails, skin, all the things!). That said, there are a handful of vitamins and supplements that I take that I definitely think have helped my hair grow. Some are specifically for hair, and some are just for overall health which inevitably helps your hair. I take Athletic Greens, fish oil, and a probiotic. I’ve also been taking Nutrafol for the past 3 months and have definitely noticed less hair falling out. About a year ago I took the Prose pills and saw a huge difference in my hair and nail growth! I’m not currently taking that one, but definitely recommend!

PRODUCTS FOR SHINE

The other question I get is- how is your hair so shiny?! Again, I think all of these things contribute to shiny hair (the silk pillowcase, the microfiber towel, washing your hair less to you don’t dry it out, etc), but there are a few products that can add some extra shine.. again, don’t overdo it because you don’t want to weigh your hair down or make it look to oily! I’ve been loving this Kerastase oil for the past few years and it definitely gives your hair that extra shine. I use it on wet and dry hair and I find that it’s not too greasy at all! Dry shampoo is meant to absorb excess oil, but I don’t want my hair to look dull or dry, so I always add some oil l to my hair to avoid the dry, chalky look. I think this is one of the top contributors to the shine that a lot of you ask about! I’ll link a few other favorites below!

A few final notes on hair health & growth:

Growing hair takes time so I recommend giving these tips a full 6 months before you make a judgement but if you feel like you’ve been trying all of these things for years and still aren’t seeing results, here’s a few things to think about. If you’re frequently lightening your hair to a color much lighter than your natural color, it might be time to switch it up. I’m no expert on hair color, but I’d have to assume if you’re naturally a brunette and you’re consistently bleaching your hair and wondering why you can’t seem to grow it past a certain point, you’ve got some things to reconsider. If you’ve had the same hairstylist coloring your hair for years and your hair won’t grow past a certain point and it’s weak and damaged… it might be time to see a new hairstylist and come up with a better plan. I’m not saying you can’t ever color your hair, but maybe go for a less extreme color change and give your hair a break for a bit. Again I’m not an expert and I’ll talk more about my hair color in the linked post but just something to think about. Another thing to consider is seeing a functional medicine doctor or hormone or thyroid specialist. If you’ve tried ALL the things and your hair is thinning, falling out, and just feels weak, it could be signs of an underlying issue. Hormone changes, low thyroid, vitamin deficiencies, gut health issues, Covid, (and other things that I probably don’t even know about) can all show themselves in your hair. I personally noticed I was losing a lot of hair in the shower a few months back and at the same time my functional medicine doctor ran labs on me and noticed my thyroid was low. Everything is connected and there’s no magical shampoo that can fix what’s going on inside your body! Last thing I’ll say again is that genetics definitely plays a role in your hair (and I would like to thank my parents for passing some good hair genes to me)… BUT you can still take your good genes and throw them in the trash if you aren’t taking care of your hair. My hair has not always been as healthy as it is now but like I’ve said, all of these little things add up and I hope that they can help you too!