Thinking of a New Do? Tips for a Smoother Transition during Grow Out
These long, gray months of winter in the Northwest can leave a girl feeling a bit pensive, musing over the true meaning of life, world peace, and how to grow out your hairstyle gracefully. Well, ok, maybe not in that order, but certainly the hairstyle is up on that priority list.
Whether you are growing out from a short style to longer, going back to your natural color, or transitioning from straightening to naturally curly, each of these situations presents its own challenges and can have some pretty frustrating transitional stages. We have some tips to make that transition a bit smoother.
Going from short to long?
- Hydrate, Hydrate! Avoid those brittle, old looking strands from taking over you (hopefully) long, luscious new do. Since you won’t be cutting as often, help your hair to retain elasticity with good conditioning and minimize heat styling.
- Trim it up! People tend to assume that growing out your hair style means no cutting at all. But you can avoid the awkward yucks with teeny, tiny trims to maintain a more useable definition. Just a quarter inch is enough to cut off the damaged hair and nurture along minimal shaping
- Accessorize! During those most difficult to avoid transitions, learn to depend on clips, scarves, and up dos to add style and hide the transition. You may just find this the most fun part of the grow out!
- Nourish YOU! What goes in must come out, right? Well, at least when it comes to skin and hair, the quality of nutrients and supplements on a daily basis go a long way in improving your hair cells for a healthier looking and faster grow out.
Going back to your natural color?
- Tint back! Have your stylist apply a “filler” color to replace missing hair pigments. This is either a semi or demi-permanent color. This may take multiple appointments over the course of months depending on how much different your colored hair is from your natural color.
- Low down! Add in either low lights or highlights to blend back to your natural color
- Do a Demi! Demi-permanent color, that is. This will not fully cover gray and help make the transition smoother.
Going natural curls after relaxers?
- Do a big chop! This is cold turkey for cutting off all or most of the chemically relaxed hair to a super short cut and letting the curly hair grow in. You will need to trim often at first to get rid of those final, relaxed ends.
- Protein and H2o are the way to go! A good diet will have a noted impact on how well your hair grows. Pure, straight water and at minimum, 5 oz. of protein per day. Also consider protein treatments such as egg, mayo, or avocado masks, and coconut oil.
- Moisturize! Use heat protectants and leave in conditioners to beat the frizz on those days when detangling gets tougher.
- Just say no to heat! Heat damage from straighteners can cause damage to your new, natural hair before much has grown in. Be kind!
- Slumber shield! Tie your hair up in a scarf or bonnet for protection while you slumber.
Regardless of why you are growing out your hair, learn to embrace the change as you contemplate the new direction you are going, and who knows, you may just find a happy medium along the way and stay there a while.
Featured photo source: Pixabay.com.