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pure-ablution · 4 months ago

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How I improved my hair thickness & length

Using products for my hair type and learning how to properly apply them

I spent probably a total of about 2 years experimenting with haircare products and application techniques before I found a routine that really worked for me. I figured out my hair type, researched products and ingredients, and went through a long trial-and-error phase, making notes of what worked and what really didn’t. Now, I wash my hair religiously three times a week—any more frequently and my hair over-produces oil to compensate, any less and it ends up lank and lifeless—and I use a mixture of professional-grade products, homemade remedies, and drugstore treatments from abroad. I learnt that my hair craves moisture, doesn’t mind silicones, and although it’s sensitive to proteins, it still needs a protein treatment every now and again for structure, or else it becomes so soft and floppy that I can’t style it at all. I have to foam up my shampoo before I use it and I have to shampoo three times to properly wash it, I brush through my conditioner until it’s thick and foamy and I use the ‘squish to condish’ method for better hydration and absorption, and I make sure to use products created with my hair type in mind for best results.

Only washing in cold, soft water

I adore my hot baths so this was initially a difficult adjustment, but it’s one that made a huge difference to my hair’s shine, softness, and overall health. I wash my hair three times a week in cold (not lukewarm, not freezing) water, and then, if I’m feeling particularly brave or want super-shiny hair, I do a final rinse with ice water. You have to be careful with this last step because you don’t want your scalp itself to be too cold—a cold head can lead to all kinds of health complications—so I try to keep my towels warming whilst I shower, and it’s really not as torturous as it sounds. My university town has pretty hard water and my hometown has the hardest, chalkiest water known to man, and the only thing that really works for me is the ShowerStick. I’ve tried other water softening attachments but they’re just not as effective; the ShowerStick isn’t the most aesthetically pleasing little gadget in the world but it really does work and it’ll be my mainstay for uni and until I can convince my father to install a proper water-softening system in the house. If my hair is really struggling with the water or it’s adjusting after a period back home, then I also sometimes use the Dream Filter from Colour Wow—it’s not enough on its own to combat hard water but it’s a good boost for difficult days.

Avoiding tension on my hair

To avoid follicular damage and breakage—and so to stimulate and maintain growth—it’s important to avoid any kind of tension on the hair, especially at the crown and ends. I enjoy wearing ponytails and other styles that cause tension on my strands but I only wear them now when I’m going out, and I make sure to minimise the amount of time I have them in by doing my hair as late as possible and taking it back out as soon as I get home. Most of the time, I alternate between gentle claw clip styles, banana clips, and a firm (but not too tight) single plait down my back secured with a silk scrunchie. None of these styles are completely non-damaging, if I wore them all the time then I’d likely still see breakage, but by alternating between them (and also varying my parting) then I can change where the tension on my scalp lies and mitigate damage as much as possible.

Strengthening masks and treatments

My hair is very fine and prone to breakage, so I use strengthening masks and treatments to bolster it and increase elasticity where I can. Although my hair is almost virgin—I use depositing masks and zero-lift glazes for colour—I use products intended for colour-treated hair and find that they help tremendously with my hair’s overall strength and texture. I alternate between Olaplex and K18 on an almost-weekly basis, and I use the K-Pak cuticle sealer from Joico immediately after colour treatments. I include a hair mask with almost every wash—my favourites are the Alchemy mask from Oribe, the wheat germ mask from Salerm, and the Fino mask from Shiseido—and I like to add liquid hair treatments, like L’Oréal’s lamellar Wonder Water, Lador’s Fill-Up ampoules, and Salerm’s revitalising ampoules, to boost shine and strengthen my hair’s cuticle and cortex.

Oiling my scalp and hair ends

When I began oiling my scalp, it was a huge turning point for my hair’s growth rate. I’d always had hair that grew quickly but oiling truly made it grow like a weed. I’ve already made a post for my scalp oil recipe, it’s a complex recipe and it’s tailored specifically to my scalp and hair but the ingredients are all linked to hair growth and scalp health and it’s the result of a lot of research and experimentation. I’m not wholly convinced that scalp oiling works for everyone, I think it only really works if you have the natural hair density to support it, and I’ve heard mixed anecdotal reports but it’s worked wonders for my hair and scalp. I oil my scalp twice a week: I brush my hair beforehand and never whilst the oil is in, I warm up the oil to a gentle temperature, I use a little dropper and take my time parting my hair so that my scalp is lightly covered and not soaked in oil, and I wrap my hair up in clingfilm and cover with a steam cap for 2 hours (no longer) before I use a gentle scrub and cold water to wash everything out. This is the method that works best for me and it ensures that the oil can work at its best and be rinsed out without any residue.

I oil my ends using Shu Uemura’s essence absolue every single night. My hair ends are quite dry by nature and I’ve found that nightly oiling makes a huge difference to my hair’s softness and the rate at which I get split ends. I’ve experimented with lots of different oils, both commercial and homemade formulations, and Shu Uemura’s oil is the best I’ve found for my hair; it’s light, hydrating, and makes my hair soft but never weighs it down or makes it greasy. After I’ve brushed my hair at night, I use between a half and full pump and spread it across my fingers on both hands before I start plaiting my hair, and then use the excess on my ends after I tie the plait off. If I’m oiling my ends after a wash, then I oil twice: once when my hair is 50% dry, and again when it’s about 95% dry.

Regular scalp massage

Scalp massage is so important for hair growth and scalp health; it stimulates blood flow and circulation to the scalp, and can help to encourage clear and healthy follicles. I massage my scalp twice a day for at least five minutes, using my hands, and I use a silicone scalp massager when shampooing. I follow the ‘scalp over skull’ method for my twice-daily manual massages, and although I make sure to massage my whole scalp, I found that my hair’s growth rate increased quite significantly when I began to focus my massage on specific acupoints for circulation and hair health.

Homemade rinses

I love my homemade rinses and I never wash my hair without including a rinse. I have my rinses on a schedule in accordance with my washdays—onion juice on Mondays, ACV on Wednesdays, and watercress & rosemary on Fridays—and I try to use the freshest, cleanest locally-grown produce I possibly can. I use homegrown onions and rosemary, and watercress that I collect from the banks of the river near me, and I’m quite seriously considering making my own apple cider vinegar although I haven’t started that endeavour quite yet. With the rinses, I pour slowly and I’m careful that my whole head is covered, I make sure that my hair is treated from roots to ends, and I rinse out thoroughly with cold water once it’s worked its magic.

Never leaving my hair to air dry

I used to think that air-drying was the healthiest thing I could do for my hair, but it turned out that leaving my hair to air-dry—especially if I went to bed with wet hair, or went outside—was causing terrible dandruff and scalp sensitivity, and blocking my hair growth. I have low-porosity hair, which means that my hair’s outer cuticle is very smooth and tightly sealed, and so it takes a long time to absorb water and then an even longer time to dry again. Leaving stagnant water trapped inside my hair strand was weakening my hair and causing breakage, and when my scalp was damp, it was breeding bacteria and fungal issues (kind of like athlete’s foot for your scalp, which sounds so disgusting!) and blocking my follicles. Now, I squeeze out as much excess water from my hair as possible with microfibre towels, and then blow-dry with my Dyson hairdryer with the ‘gentle air’ attachment and the settings turned to the lowest temperature and gentlest flow. I make sure to baby my hair while it’s wet and in its most vulnerable state—I only comb out tangles with my fingers, a wet brush, or a wide-toothed comb—but I don’t use heat protectant when blow-drying my hair because I find that it’s just not needed when I’m drying it so gently and from a safe distance (6 inches). In fact, I found that heat protectant caused unnecessary build-up when I’m not using high heat and intense tools, and my hair is much healthier and happier now with less damage and and cleaner scalp.

Microfibre and silk for protection

I use only the gentlest fabrics on my hair to ensure that the cuticle lays flat and there’s no risk of damage—I use microfibre towels, and silk satin for practically everything else. Silk satin is the hair’s favourite fabric; it’s smoothing and almost nourishing, and I have silk scrunchies, pillowcases, and bonnets for when I’m sleeping at night. Non-silk satin works in the same way, in that it’s a smooth fabric that protects the hair’s cuticle, but because it’s usually made from synthetic fibres it isn’t breathable, and so your scalp can’t receive proper airflow and is at risk of fungal infection and clogged follicles. Buy the best silk satin that you can afford—mulberry silk is better than other kinds for the purpose of haircare, since it has fine, long fibres and a natural elasticity that lends it to a smooth satin weave, and the closer you can get to 30 momme, the better (any heavier and the silk will have a crisper texture that won’t soften the hair, and any lighter and it won’t offer enough support)—but there’s no need to waste money on ready-made products when you can buy higher quality fabrics and sew the products yourself. Pillowcases, scrunchies, and bonnets are all easy sewing projects and you’ll be able to put your money towards a higher fabric quality instead of paying another brand’s markups and production costs.

Prioritising scalp health

It sounds a bit of a cliché but I really do try to treat my scalp as an extension of my face. The scalp is skin just like the face and body, and I focus on ensuring that my scalp is hydrated, clear of dead skin and infection, and receiving a healthy blood flow. I avoid targeting aerosols at my scalp and use hypochlorous acid over dry shampoo, I exfoliate with gentle scrubs and use a glycolic acid toner once a week, I make sure to brush out products at the end of the day and treat my scalp with rose hydrosol to hydrate and restore pH (scalp pH should be mildly acidic, between 4.5 and 5.5 pH, and I test my hydrosols for this!), and I use oils and massage to stimulate blood flow. Although I don’t use the exact same routine for my scalp as I would for my face or body—no heavy body butters or moisturisers, for example—I try to apply the same philosophy I have for my skin to my scalp, and this way I don’t neglect it or treat it too harshly. The scalp is to hair what soil is to crops, and if you can maintain a nourished and healthy scalp then your hair will grow fast and strong.

Heatless or infrared styling

I love having styled hair and I could never have brush-and-go hair. My bouncy curls and blowouts are a signature of mine and a huge part of my look and identity, and I achieve them almost wholly through heatless styling. I’ve experimented a lot and I’ll probably continue to experiment (Victoria Casalino on TikTok is an inspiration to me and a driving force behind many an impulsive buy) but most of the time nowadays I use silk heatless curlers in various sizes to create and maintain my curls. If a style I have in mind calls for heat styling then I try to keep it to infrared styling; infrared hair tools penetrate deeper and heat the hair more evenly from the inside out, so less heat is used and there’s less risk of burning and damaging the outer cuticle. I really like the infrared thermal brush from Bondi Boost—it creates a blowout style without the same level of tension and heat damage as a traditional blowout, and my hair feels smooth and supple after using it. Of course, sometimes I do use traditional hot tools and I always make sure to drench my hair in a high-quality heat protectant whenever using hot tools, infrared or otherwise, but I try to minimise heat styling as much as I possibly can; I’d estimate that I use heatless styling techniques almost every day, infrared styling 2–3 times each month, and traditional hot tools less than once a month, and only ever for special occasions.

A healthy diet with supplements

Diet is absolutely key for hair growth; malnutrition causes excess hair shedding and in extreme cases permanent hair loss, and I myself experienced increased shedding and overall thinner hair density when I was losing weight. Currently, I try to eat a balanced diet of fresh, local, seasonal produce with an emphasis on fruit and vegetables, fats, and proteins, and my hair definitely thanks me for it. Alongside a balanced diet, I also take supplements specifically for hair health: collagen alone hugely helped with growing my baby hairs, zinc strengthens my hair significantly, and I drink a blend of bamboo, nettle, and horsetail tea every day for an extra dose of silicone.

Laser and high frequency treatments

Taking to high-tech devices isn’t something I’d suggest for a first step when it comes to haircare, but laser and HF helped so so much when I felt as though my hair’s health had plateaued. Laser is much more effective than LED therapy for hair growth, and after researching my options I bought the Hairmax Ultima 12 when it was on sale. It’s like a comb and can be used on the whole scalp or just to spot-treat, and I use it three times weekly for the 8 minutes recommend. I also bought a high-frequency comb that uses both argon and neon gases, and I use this on the days when I’m not using the Hairmax—it can dry my scalp out a bit, so I make sure to apply hydrosol afterwards, but I’ve found that it helps a lot with keeping my scalp clean and clear. There isn’t a huge amount of formal research on either laser therapy or high frequency therapy for hair growth, although there’s a little bit more on the former than on the latter, but I looked at the technology and anecdotal reports and decided to try a combination of the two. It definitely worked for me and was a huge leap forward for my hair’s density and growth rate, but I’d be hesitant to say that it would work in exactly the same way for everyone; one technology might work better than the other for you, or you might find that it simply doesn’t work at all, or has unwanted effects.

Genetics and lifestyle

Of course, at the end of the day, I also have to take my genetics and my lifestyle into account when it comes to the condition of my hair. I’m lucky with my hair’s genetics—both my parents have thick, dense hair that’s showing no signs of thinning with age, and I’ve always had dense, fast-growing hair since childhood. However, unlike my parents, my hair strands are fine (that is to say, although the number of hairs on my head is very high, the hair strands themselves are thin and fine, not thick and coarse) and delicate, prone to breakage, and I lost quite a lot of hair after a period of extreme stress in my life. My goal was to restore my hair’s health and density after going through a lot of excess shedding and hair loss, and to increase my hair’s growth rate, which was already quick but I wanted it to be quicker. It was a long and difficult journey but I’m not going to pretend that I had terrible hair genetics to begin with; my hair journey was much more a question of restoring and improving my hair rather than totally changing and transforming it.

I also have a very healthy lifestyle now wherein I prioritise lots of sleep, low-impact exercise, and nutrition. My stress levels are very low and my body is hydrated, nourished and in good shape, so my hair is able to grow in the best possible environment. If you have a stressful lifestyle with poor nutrition and little sleep, then no amount of scalp oiling and massage is going to make a truly significant difference to your hair; health for any part of your body starts from the inside, and the things I’ve outlined above were comparatively small improvements and garnishes on top of a huge lifestyle overhaul, and only worked as well as they did for me because I was committed to a holistically healthy lifestyle.

#beauty #haircare #routine #how-to

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