Posted by Dalilah,

Posted by Dalilah,

1. Drink More Water I know, I know, water can taste boring and it's not quite as exciting as a smoothie, or a Coke, but drinking more water will help to keep you hydrated. Our bodies are 70%+ water and without it regular bodily functions begin to suffer, including hair growth. Try what I do, every monring before sitting down to get work done I fill a jug with water and only drink that until lunch time. After lunch I'll allow myself one cup of tea, after which i'm back on the water wagon.

2. Massage Your Scalp Massaging the scalp will stimulate blood flow towards your hair follicles. More blood to the follicles equals more food to the hair, which in turn triggers more growth. So do not understimate the power of this free and easy method to boost growth. If you can't motivate yourself to massage your head, ask someone to do it for you! Husband? Child? Friend? The aunt that came to visit from abroad but has for some reason not left yet? You have plently of people to reach out to; dont be shy!

3. Rosemary or Lavender Essential Oils Essential oils are one of the most tried and tested natural methods of encouraging growth. Rosemary and Lavender are amongst the most populare essential oils for this, as well as clary sage. They are believed to encourage cellular metabolism, promoting estrogen balance and preventing thickening in the membrane tissue around the hair follicle that can result in hair loss. Essential oils should always be diluted for safety purposes.

4. Castor oil So many people swear by castor oil. it is known for rapid hair growth and has been used medicinally for over 4,000 years.Try rub it on thinning edges and into the scalp to encourage growth. You could argule that the rubbing is stimulating blood flow and that the oil has nothing to do with it. But if someone told me they tried somethig and achieved results, I know myself - I'd have to try it too to find out.

5. Extra virgin avocado oil One of my favourites. It is packed with more monosaturated fatty acids than extra virgin olive oil and is full of phytosterols and high levels of antioxidants like vitamin E. This beautiful oil combines three easily absorbed nutrients that have been individually recommended for stimulating hair growth. It nourishes and strengthens hair strands, and protects them from damage.

6. BONUS - Keep a hair journal! Most of the time we have a perception that our hair is not growing. Don't let yourself fall into this assumption. If your hair is coily like mine you will soon realise that actually your hair grows about 1cm a month, but because its so twisted (literally) it hides inside itself and doesn't appear to come out until you straighten it and think, woah! where has that length been all my life! Keep a journal to document your products and experiences with them so that you know how your hair responds to these variables, and so that you can then make future decisions based on what you've leanred. I use all of the ingredients listed above in the first product I formulated -VINTAGE. Read this blog post to learn more on how your hair grows and the growth cycle. Have you tried any of the above methods? Did you experience positive results or have different methods to share with us? Please do so in our comments section below, we'd love to hear your stories. Happy Hair Hugging! x

Posted by Dalilah,

I get this question often from my readers and I thought it was worth writing a blog piece on it. First I'd like to thank you for reaching out to me. It means a lot that you feel you can talk to me. Unfortunately I also have to apologise as I wish I had the answers for you; I am not a medical professional and therefore recommend that you seek a medical professional's advice. Alopecia can be triggered by many things and there is a lot that remains unconfirmed in research. Therefore giving tips and advice on how to re-grow bald spots or thinning hair that is a result of a type of alopecia isn't something I am able to do. Alternatively, what I can do is what I do best, which is give you genral advice on hair growth and retention. One of you mentioned in your questions to me that you have long, light brown hair and that you’re 32. I don’t believe these factors have a significant impact on length retention in genral. Usually, blonde hair is finer and more prone to breakage than brown hair, I don’t know if that then means we can then assume that light brown hair is finer and more prone to breakage than dark/black hair. How does your hair grow? There are definitely other genetic factors other than hair colour that determine how fast or slow hair grows. Does being 32 affect the growth of, or your numbers of hair? Not in itself no. We are genetically pre-programmed to grow our hair to a particular length and there are 3 phases in the hair growth cycle: 1. Anagen (the growth phase) 2. Catagen (a short resting phase) 3. Telogen (the shedding phase that can result in the hair releasing over a period of time) According to research, the anagen phase can be anything between 2 to 6 years,and it is this phase that will determine the maximum length your hair can and will achieve. A number one tip I’d give to anyone who wanted to retain their hair is low manipulation. The more we mess with our hair the weaker it gets, so try styles that aren’t high maintenance, use protective styling methods to keep your hair in as strong as possible. If you want to try and regrow thinning hair or a patch of hair that is simply no more, have a read of this blog on How to Stimulte Hair Growth.

You want to avoid the Kardashian moment; Avoid styles that pull the front of the hair backward increasing the risk of a receding hair-line. This includes avoiding super-tight ponytails, using skinny hairbands (the kind that look like rubberbands) that stretch and when contracting trap hair strands in between its knots. This creates what we call ouchness.

I also recommend avoiding wearing braids or weaves, but if you do wear them then try to ensure that any artificial hair that is added to the front of your hairline is not so thick or so heavy that it pulls your hair down and off. You’ll find that you will start to get that hair that resembles a twisted jumper/cardigan thread. Eventually it gets so heavy that it falls off and this can pull your hair from the root, potentially causing long term damage to your hair follicles, and compromising the prospect of future growth. Do you suffer from any kind of alopecia? Have you got any advice for people out there going through the same thing as you? Please share your experiences in our comments section below. Happy Hair Hugging! x

Posted by Dalilah,

If you keep adding moisture to your hair and you find that it is always breaking it may be due to your hair’s porosity. But before we address that, it’s important to make sure you’re using a proper moisturiser. Any product that is water-based or has coconut oil (as one of the first 3 – 5 ingredients) should be able to give you a good amount of moisture. If you are moisturising with oils then you are not moisturising your hair; oil is a barrier, moisturisers penetrate. If you have a low level of hair porosity this means that your hair does not easily absorb moisture due to the smooth and closed up nature of your hairshaft/cuticle layer. To test this put a strand of your hair in a glass of water for a few minutes; if it floats your hair has low porosity, if it sinks, your hair has high porosity.

Posted by Dalilah,

The short answer to this question is yes. The long answer is that I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who has experienced 0% breakage. I'd imagine that their hair would have to be at a level of perfect moisture 100% of the time and experiencing no friction, ever. In theory it is possible, but I don’t have any statistics on the reality of the situation to share with you, so don’t be disheartened if like me you feel that you haven't been successful in achieving this just yet. It's a great goal to aim for though!

Hair Strand Ready to Break

To answer this question properly let’s first be clear on the definition. There is a difference between hair breakage and hair shedding. When hair breaks it does so because it is very weak. This can usually be a result of heat/chemical damage. This can also be a result of poor hair care practices, causing it to break off before the end of its hair cycle. When hair sheds however, it is because your hair strand's cycle has come to an end. This and is absolutely normal, we all naturally shed between 50 and 100 strands of hair a day. If like me you cover your hair, then when you take your scarf off at the end of the day, you may see all your suicide strands in one go. This can be overwhelming, but if you don't cover your hair, and you leave your hair out loose, you may not even notice it falling off your shoulders throughout the day.

Hair Brush Full of Shedding Hair

I was on the underground the other day and there was a gentleman next to me who was reading his book. All of a sudden a young lady’s hair strand floated onto it; he didn’t even look alarmed. He just brushed it off and continued reading. And the young girl from who’s head it fell, didn’t even notice, maybe because she had hundreds spare? Hair that we shed is often followed by a new hair in it's place. New hair is always good news! (when it is on our scalp). So this is reassuring. Do you know anyone who has 0% breakage? How did they achieve it? Please leave your answers in our comments section elow, I'd love to know the details of their hair care routine. Happy Hair Hugging! x