How To: Encourage Hair Growth

It seems everyone wants longer hair, even after having it all chopped off I hear people saying 'I'm growing it out' or 'I'm fed up with having this short hair'. It is difficult to maintain good-looking hair in between styles so people want it to grow out as fast as possible. Realistically there is nothing out there which can make your pixie crop turn into waist-length tresses within a week. However, there is a few tips and techniques to encourage your hair to grow faster and reduce split ends and breakage.

1. Biotin: This is a supplement you can take which makes your hair and nails grow faster and promotes glossier, stronger hair. All you have to do is take one tablet a day. Biotin comes in a variety of different strengths, I take the maximum, which is 10,000mcg.
2. Coconut Oil & Head Massage: Coconut Oil is fabulous for hair and gives your hair and scalp a lot of nutrients to encourage growth. This works best when massaged into the scalp, as the massaging gets the blood flowing and the coconut oil is worked into the scalp. I'd advise to massage it in for 20 minutes before you wash it as a kind of pre-shampoo treatment.
3. Heat Defence: This is vital for healthy hair. Without heat defence hair can get dry and leave you with split or frazzled ends. I apply heat defence religiously after my hair is towel-dried, regardless of whether I'm using heat on it or not.
4. Deep-Conditioning Masque: It's nice to treat your hair occasionally and I'd advise to do a deep conditioning treatment once or twice a week. Put the masque on, wrap in cling film and leave on for a couple of hours. Or even better, sleep in it overnight to get ultra-moisturised hair.
5. Brushing: This is very important in maintaining healthy hair, but a lot of brushes can cause breakage and pull hair out. It is best to brush hair with a wide tooth comb, afro comb, tangle teezer or tangle tamer as they gently remove knots without causing damage.
6. Reduce Heat and Washing: Heat, as everyone knows causes hair damage, you should try to reduce this as much as you can and try to find hair styles which don't require it. Velcro rollers, Flexi-Rods and loose braids can produce lovely hairstyles without causing heat damage. Shampooing hair strips it of its natural oils and leaves it dry and brittle, so if you are washing your hair daily try to reduce it to 2 or 3 times a week. Dry shampoo is a good way to bridge the gap between washes.
7. Trim: I know this seems counter-productive but trimming is an essential part to achieving long, healthy hair. Make sure you get your hair trimmed every 2-3 months and get at least 1cm taken off to maintain split-free ends.

If you have any hair-growing tips leave them in the comments below.

Thanks,

Review: Lush Caca Brun Henna Hair Dye

I have been dying my hair for years, it started with a few bleach highlights pulled through a cap (ouch!) when I was 10 or 11. Since then I have always dyed my hair with colours, bleach, semi-permanents, demi-permanents, veggie dyes, sun-in, lemon juice and anything else I could get my hands on to change the colour of my barnet, as you can see in the picture below...

So, the last 10 years of hair-dying has definitely taken its toll, leaving me with very dry, snapping hair. Also I've noticed in the past year that my hair is getting a lot thinner, especially around the crown area. So in an attempt to ward off chemical-induced male pattern baldness I started looking into healthier hair dying options.

This is where henna comes in. From researching on the internet I found out that henna is meant to be much healthier for your hair than commercial dyes, and definitely healthier than bleach. It is a depositing dye, which means it does wash out eventually, but by repeat applications of henna you can end up with a long lasting colour. Real henna produces a orangey-red colour, however it can be mixed with other natural ingredients such as indigo to produce browns and other colours. Henna also doubles as a protein treatment, leaving the hair a lot stronger, smoother and glossier. Henna is also great for people who have allergies to commercial dyes as it's made out of more natural ingredients.

I'd heard that lush did great hennas for beginners, and as I wasn't not confident enough to mix up my own henna dyes I thought it was for the best to get one of theirs. Lush Caca Brun (£8.25 from Lush) is made up of 35% henna and 65% indigo, to produce a brown hair colour with a reddish hint. The dye comes in a solid block form made up of 6 squares. It also contains other ingredients to condition your hair whilst you dye. The block is a greenish-brown colour and resembles a block of dry mud.

So, I crushed up one block of the henna and mixed it with boiling water, adding it slowly to create a ketchup-like consistency. The mixture has a rather odd smell, which I can only describe as a mixture of cut grass, leaves, coffee and ponds cold cream (what?!) It isn't a particularly pleasant smell, but not unbearable.

I then applied the mixture to my head with a tint brush, and then covered it in a disposable mob cap. The instructions say to leave it on for 1-6 hours, dependant on how dark you want the result, and to wrap it in cling film if you want a more red colour. I didn't particularly want it to be really red, so I left it open, however it started crumbling off, hence why I put on the disposable mob cap. When I have brown hair I like it relatively dark, so I left it on for the maximum amount of time.

After 6 hours of walking around my house looking like a dinner lady I went to rinse it off. Firstly I rinsed out the henna as much as I could, until the water run pretty much clear. I then took a generous amount of conditioner and worked it through my hair massaging it in as if it was a shampoo (I read that shampoo strips the henna out of the hair too much as some of the ingredients need to carry on working for 24 hours). After rinsing out the conditioner and blow drying my hair I was greeted in the mirror with smoother, glossier hair which looks brown indoors, but has a vibrant auburn tint in the sunlight... I LOVE IT! The only negative I have is the rather odd smell of the mixture seemed to vaguely linger in my hair for a couple of days after, which is not too much bother, considering all the good its doing to my hair.

Overall I think this is a great hair-friendly alternative to hair dyes. I will definitely re-purchase, however this wont be very soon as I'm only using 1 block a time, so it will last me ages. Also, I'm thinking about trying out some of their other hennas (Caca Noir).

UPDATE! Results Picture.

Have you tried out Caca Brun or any of the other Lush Hennas? let me know how you've got on with them in the comments below! 

Thanks,

  Cameron :)

Review: Lush Hair Extensions

Lush Hair Extensions have been around since 2006, supplying good quality 100% Remy human hair in a variety of different lengths, colours and volumes. Lush hair extensions sell extensions from 12 inches all the way up to 26 inches, in 25+ colours. They also sell false eyelashes, hair care products and many other accessories.

Last week it was my sisters 16th birthday, and she did what she always does when she gets money and bought herself some new hair extensions! She has tried out many brands and types of extensions from different companies, some cheaper and some more expensive, but always seems to return to Lush Extensions. She ordered the Deluxe Full Head (double wefted) in the colour #18/613 and 18 inches long, for only £56.99. The extensions come in a long plastic wallet with care instructions on the back. Impressed, as always, the extensions are really smooth and thick, without looking 'plasticy' and unnatural.

The extensions come with 1 x 8 inch weft, 2 x 6 inch wefts, 2 x 4 inch wefts , 1 x 3 inch weft and 2 x 2 inch wefts. The clips on the wefts are quite large and sturdy with a rubber back to ensure more grip. I find that these clips are less damaging to the hair than other clips, as they distribute the weight over more hair.

When the extensions are clipped in they blend very well, and the clips are virtually undetectable if clipped in properly. The colour match is spot on and volume of the extensions make the hair look totally natural.

Overall, I think Lush hair extensions is a great company offering affordable great quality hair extensions. They also do a free colour match, all you have to do is send in a picture of your hair and they will advise you on what colour suits you best.

If you have any questions, or you yourself have tried out these extensions before, let me know how you've got on with them in the comments below!
Thanks,
  Cameron :)