7 Length Retention Mistakes That Stop You at Shoulder Length
Growing longer hair doesn’t have to be all trial & error and seemingly inaccessible for those of us with natural hair. Especially, fine natural hair. When you know how to retain natural hair length and with proper care, It can be within reach, completely achievable, and even guaranteed!
I spent many years stuck at shoulder length. Every now and then my hair would appear to approach crossing that thresh-hold. Then, I ended up trimming it because of how uneven it seemed to grow.
If it wasn’t the uneven growth, it was something else (for example: excess tangles)
It took many years for me to pinpoint all of the ways my length retention was being affected and I’ve narrowed it down to seven causes.
Natural hair growth vs Length retention
When your hair doesn’t appear to be growing, it’s important to identify if you are having a problem with your natural hair growth cycle. The other identifier would be if you are having a problem with retaining the length you grow.
Both will affect your ability to grow long hair and they are closely related.
Hair growth is the sprouting of new hair from the hair follicles through the scalp. Healthy hair growth occurs as new cells are produced in the bulb of the hair follicle, pushing the older cells upwards through the follicle to grow a longer strand of hair.
Length retention is connected to hair growth. It is influenced by factors that protect the hair strands from breaking off and getting excess split ends. When you retain length, you do what’s necessary to make sure that as your hair grows, it doesn’t break off at such a rate that it actually gets longer over time.
Once you identify which of these is the cause (the root cause) of your seemingly stagnant hair growth, you can start isolating the causes behind the root cause.
For example, the root cause of one person’s hair seems to be that it’s not gaining in length because the problem is a lack of hair growth. But the cause of their hair growth being stunted is a clogged scalp.
So, you see the cause is a problem with hair growth. And, the cause FOR that lack of hair growth is a clogged scalp. It could also be not having a healthy scalp.
I know that sounds a bit wordy but I hope it makes sense.
Doing all the things to retain length
By now if I’ve peaked your interest, you’ve probably done all the things you know of (or have heard of) to retain length but without much success. This could include (but is likely not limited to):
- Using leave-in conditioner to moisturize your hair ❌
- Using a wide-tooth comb as the only way to detangle on wash day ❌
- Mixing deep conditioners to try and give your hair access to more ingredients for healthier hair ❌
- Deep conditioning for hours on end ❌
By the way, these are not the mistakes listed in the handbook. They are just things that are common for people to do to try and retain length. Only, they are either done incorrectly or incompletely.
I’m no stranger to natural hair mistakes. The good thing is I’ve been natural for so long that all my trial and error experiences set the stage for me to help save you time figuring it all out!
Eliminate the frustration to retain your natural hair length
It be incredibly frustrating to do all that you know to do to grow longer hair and not see results.
However, the best part about discovering why your hair appears to be staying at the same length is you’ll get rid of the frustration and be able to start or stop doing what’s necessary to reach your length goals. You just need to know what to do.
You need hair routines that help you to retain more length. And, no getting regular trims is not one of them. Allow me to share with you a free guide that will help you to start better protecting the ends of your hair. regardless of your hair type, this guide has tips for you.
Let’s discuss the free Length Retention Mistakes Handbook I created to help ladies with natural hair figure out the best way to grow longer natural hair through retaining the length that is grown.
The tips I share in this resource address the challenges that naturals face with retaining length. However, they are also useful for helping to build a hair regimen when you are new to the whole natural game.
Here’s more info about my free “Length Retention Mistakes Handbook”
The Length Retention Mistakes handbook is a 15 page guide. It’s assembled in a manner that makes it a quick and easy read.
You’ll be able to read this handbook in 10 minutes or less. Then, you’ll be able to refer back to it again and again as needed for your curly hair care. The handbook address a number of topics including:
- Doing protective styles
- Protein treatments
- Hair Damage and more…
A Guide for All Types of Natural Hair
The 7 keys I share in this guide are not difficult to implement. Anyone with a kink, a coil or a curl can following the tips to start seeing their hair grow. It doesn’t mater if you’re a new natural, a natural with 4 c hair or even transitioning to natural hair.
Also, as it relates to length retention, porosity is not a factor in what is shared. The 7 mistakes mentioned in this guide are for those low porosity, normal porosity and even high porosity hair.
The foundation of growing long hair is being able to retain the length you grow. Hair growth secretes aside, everyone’s hair grows unless there’s some sort of healthy factor interfering with the growth process.
When you start using the keys in this length retention handbook, you’re going to become that natural hair girl (or guy) who reaches their hair goals with far less effort.
Because, while the ends are the oldest section of your hair shaft, with proper hair practices, you’ll be able to maintain your hair health and support your fragile ends.
In the free Length Retention Mistakes Handbook, you are going to discover:
- The biggest mistake you are making in your hair journey
- The culprits of hair breakage and dry hair (specifically the ends of your hair)
- Guidelines to effective protective styling and how to best do the most common protective styles
The final but no less important key is going to help you master keeping tangles and knots at bay.
Did I mention this resource is FREE?
To download it now just click here: Length Retention Mistakes Handbook
Oh no! I have been using leave-in conditioner as a moisturizer and usually skip using water beforbeforehande hand,,,,,i need to get a spray bottle and use water and add the leave in afterwards.
it’s not the worst thing you can do. Leave in conditioner also has water in it (typically)