Olaplex has amassed a loyal following because of its seemingly magical ability to smooth, soften, and strengthen damaged hair. But at $30 for 3.3 ounces, it’s not the most budget-friendly product on the market. Not to worry, though, because TikTok clued us into an easy, inexpensive hack to DIY our Olaplex at home.
Combine flaxseed and water in a pot. The more flaxseed you use, the thicker the gel will be. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring frequently. When it reaches the consistency of egg whites, use a cheesecloth to strain the mixture into a container. Mix in a few drops of mielle organics Rice Water Split End Therapy, The Ordinary Multi-Peptide Serum for Hair Density, CAMILLE ROSE Rejuva-Drops Grow Back Serum. Apply the mixture to hair and leave on for at least 10 minutes. Keep the gel in the fridge for about a week for continued use.
Knotless braids are the rave in today’s hair fashion even though knotless braids have been around since the 2000s.Celebrities like Beyonce, Zendaya, Jhene Aiko, Kelly Rowland, and Keke Palmer, to mention a few, have all rocked this particular hairstyle in all its glory. Traditional box braids are beautiful, but they also demand high maintenance. With knotless braids, there is no such thing: they’re easy to style as well as maintain.
Knotless braids are your typical box braids but without the traditional knot that is started at the base or root of the hair. Unlike traditional braids, which typically add extensions at the root, knotless braids begin with your natural hair and then extensions are fed in further down the braid.
Because knotless braids do not begin with a knot, there’s very little tension on the scalp, thereby lessening the soreness that braids usually have, thereby allowing you to leave the salon headache-free. It’ll prevent tension bumps that occur when the hair follicle is inflamed, which causes a red sore to arise! Another major benefit of knotless braids is that you can style your hair and sleep comfortably straight after the appointment, without any pain!
They Serve as Protective Styles: If you want to take a break from styling your hair while still protecting it, knotless braids are the right choice.
They Are Painless: As I have mentioned before, traditional box braids require a tight hold on the hair roots which causes pain. Knotless braids do not require a tight grip and, as such, are painless.
A Natural Look: Because of how they’re installed, knotless braids give a seamless natural look.
They Are Low Maintenance Styles: Knotless braids only require that you oil your scalp/hair roots at least every three days to prevent dryness.
They Last Long: You can keep them in your hair for as long as you want. However, I advise that you only keep them in, for 4 – 8 weeks.
They’re Easy to Take Out: All you need to do is snip out with scissors where your hair stops on the extension and then begin to loosen the braids.
No Tangles/Knots in Your Hair Afterward: Since knotless braids do not start at the base of your hair, they don’t leave it all tangled up at the roots. So, you don’t lose much hair when you’re taking them out. Hey, there’s a reason they’re called “knotless”. In all, knotless braids don’t damage the hair.
allow me to retain all my new growth and protect the older parts of my hair.
enables me to moisturize my hair and scalp without issue, and cleanse and care for my scalp.
Possibly the only downside of having knotless braids is they don’t necessarily last as long as other braids tend to – four to six weeks. Hair Stylist explains that the longer you leave them in, the more hair damage can occur if they’re not taken care of properly, or if the braids are heavier. It is always a great idea with any hairstyle to give your natural hair a break. If you are someone who braids your hair back-to-back, this can eventually take a toll on your strands and cause breakage or damage
It’s important to take care of them with oils and nightly wrapping.
Another thing to keep in mind is knotless braids take longer to install than other braiding techniques as you’re consistently stopping to add extra hair.
You may love braids but don’t want to add extensions to your hair because of certain reasons best known to you. However, you can still rock braids on your head as though you braided them into your hair. How? Get a braided wig! Braided wigs are easy to wear, and the fun part is you can take them off and put them back on whenever you want! The best part? No one will even notice!
Do you like knotless braids? Ready to join the knotless box braid gang? Let us know in the comments below.
Cleopatra was right! Legend has it that the Egyptian empress bathed in milk to keep her skin and hair looking, well, like a queen. Containing protein, amino acids, vitamin B12, iron, and zinc, milk can do wonders for your dull and brittle hair. Since your consumption of milk is limited to your morning coffee, and you can’t go filling bathtubs with milk, there’s another way to treat your tresses with milk…hair masks!
We have three DIY hair mask recipes made with milk and other hair-loving ingredients that you can try out and get healthy and flawless hair…
Milk + Honey
In the Bible, milk and honey represent prosperity in the Promised Land.
The solution to all your hair woes is in this one hair mask. A popular homemade remedy, the mixture of milk and honey works like a charm. Antibacterial honey fights scalp infection, excess oil, and dryness while milk makes your hair soft and smooth. Mix two tablespoons of honey into one cup of raw milk and mix well. Apply this mixture onto hair and leave it be for 20 minutes. Rinse with lukewarm water and repeat weekly.
Milk + Banana
Dry hair got you down? Make yourself a banana milkshake! No, we aren’t kidding. Blend one ripe banana and half cup milk for an ultimate dry hair solution. Milk and banana are both extremely moisturizing and will nourish your mane from root to tip. Apply this mask on your hair and leave it on for half an hour before washing it off with a mild shampoo. Repeat this twice a week for soft and luscious hair.
Milk + Eggs
Eggs are the shine-boosting ingredient you’ve been missing from your hair care routine. Combine it with nutrient-rich milk, and you’ve got yourself the perfect recipe for silky and lustrous tresses. Break two eggs in a bowl, add half a cup of milk, and whisk. Add some lemon drops and mix well. Apply the mask on your hair and let it stay for 30-40 minutes. Wash with a sweet-smelling shampoo. Do this once a week for naturally glossy hair.
StayUniquee. Merry Curly. Maryam Hampton. BeYoutifully Natural. Seun Okimi. Eugenia Kelcy. Natural Academia.Yinka Naturalista. Believe me, I could go on and on, but for the sake of time and space, those are 8 naturalists on YouTube who have some pretty long hair (most of ’em are Type 4 hair too). I thought that shouting them out would be a great way to intro this because, if one of your new year’s desires is to have the longest ponytail ever come Christmas time, those women can inspire you—right along with some tips that I’ve got down below.
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I won’t lie to y’all. Genetics play a valid role in how long our hair gets and how fast it gets there. Yet if you’re someone who thinks that you can’t get longer tresses than you’ve ever had because your hair simply doesn’t grow, that’s a bald-faced lie. It grows. Somewhere around a one-half inch and an inch a month, to be exact. You’ve just got to make sure that you do all that you can to retain your inches. That’s where these tips come in.
If your deepest desire is to keep as much new growth as possible, apply the following 10 suggestions and watch how close to your goal you get by around this time next year.
1. Take the “Less Is More” Approach
When I first began my length retention journey, I would spend hours a week on YouTube, listening to what different naturalists would put in their hair to get the inches that they had. I got so excited that I purchased 4-5 tubs of Blue Magic, right out the gate. Unfortunately, using it more than to seal my ends every once in a while ended up being way too heavy for my hair (although some folks have been thriving with it). Anyway, after spending more money than I ever thought I would on a bunch of other products that are still in both of my bathroom cabinets, the thought crossed my mind to simplify and see if that would be my best bet. It was. Hands down.
I’m not even going to get into the specific products that worked for me vs. the ones that didn’t because it doesn’t matter. All of us are unique, so it is different strokes for different folks. What I will say is clogging up your hair follicles and weighing down your strands with tons of stuff is gonna probably do more harm than good. So, get to know your hair type and texture, try a few things that are branded for those two things specifically and wait at least a month to see how it all turns out. In the long run, you’ll probably come to realize what I did—that less (product) is more when it comes to hair growth.
2. Boost Your Collagen Intake
If you want your hair to thrive, it needs protein. Something that a lot of people don’t realize is collagen is one of the most abundant forms of protein that there is. The reason why it’s so good for your tresses is that, for one thing, your hair is made up of mostly protein (keratin). Also, collagen provides your hair with the amino acids that are necessary to build protein. Also, collagen fights off free radicals at the root (your hair follicles) and, as a bonus, it can slow down hair thinning and greying as well. This is why it’s wise to eat foods that contain a good amount of collagen. Some of those include fish, chicken, berries, citrus fruits, red bell peppers, tomatoes, and bone broth. If you’d like, you can also take a collagen supplement.
3. Stay Hydrated
Our bodies are made up of more than 60 percent water, so of course, we need to consume a lot of it daily. Unfortunately, 75 percent of Americans are chronically dehydrated which can lead to all sorts of health issues. If you’re wondering if you could be among that number, check out “10 Overlooked Signs That You’re Dehydrated“. As far as your hair goes, a sign that it could use some extra hydration from the inside out is if your strands feel dry and brittle, no matter what you do or if your scalp dry.
In the quest to have long hair, a lot of people overlook very simple steps. When it comes to making sure that your hair is moisturized, it’s not going to matter how many moisture-rich products you use if your system is begging for water on the inside. So, make sure that you get no less than eight glasses a day. Your hair will thank you with every sip.
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4. Take a Vitamin B12 Supplement
A vitamin deficiency that is pretty prevalent within the Black community isVitamin B12. What are some signs that you could be low in it? You’re irritable. You have low energy. Your vision is blurry. You have unexplainable shortness of breath. You’re constipated. You sense that your muscles are weak. Your tongue feels “slicker” than usual. There’s a random numbing or tingling feeling throughout your body. You’ve got memory loss. Your hair follicles are dormant.
Since Vitamin B12 is something that helps to keep your iron in good condition, when you don’t have enough of it in your system, it can weaken the blood supply to your hair follicles which can result in weak follicles, hair thinning and even hair loss. This is why it’s also a good idea to take a Vitamin B12 supplement and to also eat foods that are loaded with this particular nutrient. Some of those include fortified cereals, salmon, eggs, Greek yogurt and beef.
5. Wash Your Scalp More than Your Hair
A huge mistake that folks make when it comes to washing day is focusing a ton on their actual hair more than their scalp. The reason why this is a no-no is that your scalp is the foundation of your hair. If you don’t get all of the gunk and build-up off of it, ultimately, your hair isn’t going to thrive. Not only that but I once read an article that said, a part of the reason why it seems that white women have more success with length retention is they shampoo their hair more often which means their scalp gets massaged more in the process.
First up—white women’s hair doesn’t grow faster. Their hair is straighter (so it appears that way), it’s naturally oily (which makes it harder to break) and we experience more shrinkage (by a country mile). Second, I didn’t just say all of that so that you would up your wash day frequency (more than once a week can rob your hair of the little natural oil that it has). However, it is a good idea to detox your scalp once every 4-6 weeks. Massage your scalp at least once a week (all you need is to warm up a carrier oil like jojoba or avocado, put a few drops of lavender in it and then use your fingertips to rub your scalp for 5-10 minutes), and to put more emphasis on washing your scalp than your hair. The key is to get your scalp clean so that your follicles are healthy; your hair doesn’t need that “squeaky feeling”, tho. The cleanser that drips down from your scalp is more than enough.
6. Rinse Hair in Cool Water
It feels divine to let hot water run down your hair and scalp, but it’s not the best thing for your hair’s progress. It’s because hot (or even super warm) water can end up drying out your hair and causing frizz. So, how can you avoid all of this? By actually rinsing your hair in cool water after your deep condition it (because you do that every wash day so that it’s extra moisturized, right?). Cool water is what will help to seal your hair’s cuticles while closing the pores on your scalp too.
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7. Dust More than Trim
Is there anything more annoying thanuneven hair growth? When you want to get your hair down your back, probably not. The thing is, having one side of your hair that is thicker and grows faster is pretty normal, for two reasons. One reason is that the left vs. the right side of our bodies is not identical. This is why one of your feet or breasts may be bigger than the other. The other reason is that we tend to give one side of our hair more stress than the other when it comes to things like constantly sleeping on one side, parting our hair on one side—stuff like that.
While you would think that the remedy may be to constantly cut the “thriving side” so that it will catch up with the “weaker” one, that is actually gonna be more counterproductive than not. Your best bet would be to focus on dusting (lightly trimming) your ends (you can watch videos on how to do that here, here and here) and then keeping your hair in a protective style so that you don’t even have to think about it. Then, once the weaker side has made some real progress, you can get a trim to even things out. Make sense?
8. Remember That Protein Is Essential
Again, your hair is made up of protein, so it needs a lot of it to remain healthy and strong. Aside from what I already shared about getting more collagen into your system, something else that you should do is eat other foods that are high in protein. Meat is an automatic protein booster. If meat’s not your thing, check out “Vegetarian Or Vegan? Check Out These High Protein Foods.” for a list of other options.
Speaking of protein, it’s also really important that you give yourself a protein treatment, about every six weeks. It’s what will help to improve your hair’s elasticity so that it can endure more of the styling and manipulation that you do. A lot of people notice more breakage than they should because they miss this small-yet-impactful step. I hit on this specifically in “10 Things Your Natural Hair Needs In The Winter“.
9. Leave Permanent Dye Alone
There used to be a time when you couldn’t guess what color my hair was going to be on a pretty much weekly basis. Now that I know how detrimental hair dye and chemical relaxers are, especially to our health (“our” meaning Black women), I tend to use hair wax or a semi-permanent alternative (henna is a pretty good one too). Besides, if you are serious about gaining ½-1″ of growth each month, permanent hair color is gonna be your ultimate nemesis. The main reason why is because the ammonia in hair dye strips your tresses of their natural pigment (to deposit the color) which can make your hair brittle as all get out. And if your hair keeps breaking off, you’ll never reach your hair goals.
I know for some of you, it sucks to even think about going without dye. But sometimes we’ve gotta make sacrifices for the greater goal. Bottom line, color, or inches? In 2021, which one is it gonna be?
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10. Use Saw Palmetto Oil
If there’s a new oil that you’d like to try on your hair, my vote is sawed palmetto. It has a great reputation for preventing and even restoring hair loss because it blocks an androgen known as DHT from developing in our bodies. Why does that matter? Because DHT plays a direct role in hair loss. Saw palmetto also has a pretty good reputation for increasing hair density too. Not only that but it’s an oil that can decrease inflammation, treat urinary tract infections, and can regulate your man’s testosterone levels too. For internal health benefits, it’s probably best to consume it as a supplement (like maybe aliquid extract) or intea form. If you want it to be the main oil that you use for those scalp massages that we already talked about, a cool place to purchase some is righthere.
11. Apply Extreme TLC to Your Ends
One more time for those in the back. Again, a myth that you need to make sure to debunk for the rest of your life is your hair doesn’t grow. That is a damn lie. If you are living, your hair is growing. The reason why a lot of us don’t see proof of this is that our ends break off as fast as our roots grow. The way to prevent this from (further) happening to you is to treat the ends of your hair like you would a newborn baby in the sense that you choose to treat them oh so very gently. Seal them on wash day. Try and keep your hair in a protective style (even if that’s a wig) most days of the week. Wrap your hair up in a silk or satin scarf (or bonnet) at night (friction is your hair’s enemy too). Let straggly ends go. When your hair is out, keep your hands out of it. Simple things like this will keep your ends about as fresh as your roots.
12. Stick with What Works
Out of all of what I said, the main thing to remember when it comes to achieving hair growth is you’ve got to be as patient with the process as possible. The reality is, growing out your hair is a lot like baking some cookies—if you keep watching the oven or your roots, it’s going to seem like nothing is happening. However, if you cultivate a routine, stick with it and try and leave your hair alone as much as possible ( that doesn’t mean to stop moisturizing and washing your hair), by June you could have 4-6 inches, and by December…at least double that!
Alright. Let me get off of here and nurture these braids I’ve got so that I can walk the talk, chile. Let’s all check back in around the holidays to see how things have been going. Can’t wait to see you flipping your hair back. Whew, girl. #wink
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