Is it hard to grow long hair? Hair growth is a common desire of many naturals. Some women obsessively measure their results. Many women take Biotin, expecting to see hair growth results more quickly (more about that here).
When I read other natural hair blogs, growing longer hair is constantly mentioned.
When I visit natural hair forums, hair growth is talked about ad nauseam. When I meet new naturals, 90% of them ask me about the hair growth cycle.
Manufacturers are creating "special" hair growth products to capitalize on people's curiosity. Authors are writing books claiming to have secret techniques that will promote hair growth. Some ethnic groups sell their hair in order to capitalize on the never-ending desire of many people to have longer hair.
Kira and I get at least one email a day asking us to provide hair growth techniques. When we recently surveyed our readers, we asked what's the number one thing that you want us to talk about more often.
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Over 85% of our audience said that wanted more hair growth tips. I have said it many times before, but we actually write for our audience.
You may have noticed recently that we are writing about hair growth more often. It's clear that the desire to grow longer hair is a common quest for many naturals.
If growing longer hair is your goal, then you are in the right place.
The truth is that the process to grow long hair can vary for each person and it's really about increasing the number of right things that you do for your hair and reducing the number of wrong things that you do for your hair.
Note: The key phrase in the sentence above is "for your hair". What works for someone else, may not work well for your hair.
Is It Hard to Grow Long Hair?
It's not hard to grow long hair, however, healthy hair growth does not occur immediately. Generally, textured hair grows at roughly a third of an inch per month. This means that the typical head of hair will grow a little under four inches per year.
Depending on your personal genetics, your hair follicles may grow more quickly or more slowly.
Some ethnic groups have a tendency to be above or below the average person's hair growth rate. This means that some ethnic groups have a slower hair growth process than others.
However, since the world has become such a melting pot and considering the theory of miscegenation, I won't dive into norms related to various ethnic groups since the norms are so difficult to apply.
Most people ask about hair growth, but the truth is your hair is always growing (almost) if you study the hair growth cycles. Length retention could be a more important factor for many people and it's often overlooked.
The amount of time required to grow your hair to your desired length can depend on many different things including your hair care routine, the actual growth rate of your hair strands, and your ability to retain a certain length.
Let's assume (for the sake of example) that the measurement from the top of your head to the top of your shoulders is roughly 12 inches.
If you have an average growth rate of a third of an inch per month, it will take three years (or more) with excellent length retention for you to achieve shoulder-length hair. This example assumes that you have recently big chopped (or cut your hair) down to a brush cut (or for your natural hair to reach shoulder length if you're transitioning).
I hope that you are not discouraged after reading about the amount of time you have to invest to really grow long hair.
It's really important that you learn how to properly care for your hair and you will eventually achieve your goals - it may just take time.
If you decide to consistently utilize heat, hair dyes, tight styles, shady growth products, trim too aggressively or perform other activities that could affect your length retention, then you may cause a setback and quite possibly make it even more difficult to reach your hair growth goals.
If you're ready to actually start growing longer hair, click here to learn more about the advanced hair growth techniques that we recommend.
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