In this video, I give you my top 5 professional tips for HEALTHY hair growth. No magic. No gimmicks. These tips are focused on adjustments you can make into habits for the long-run to get consistent improvement and sustainable results!
How much hair you grow, the texture, density, pattern and the rate that hair comes in is genetic and internal health related. There is nothing that will alter your DNA, but how much hair you retain on this side of your scalp and the overall health of it is where you see gains. So instead of focusing on how you make your hair grow faster, I want you to change your perspective to length retention.
Tip #1 – You have to take care of your scalp.
Scalp health is critical to healthy hair growth. If you are having scalp issues such as flaking, excessive itchiness, redness, rapid hair loss or thinning, I want you to know that is not normal and there are things you can do to relieve or completely eliminate those symptoms. The only way to do that however is with proper diagnosis – see a dermatologist.
Oil will not resolve a scalp disorder, it will only make it worse by causing more imbalance to your scalp’s pH, which will lead to excessive shedding and hair fall.
If you have an itch scalp regularly, it’s likely due to your routine, meaning you need to wash more often, or you are allowing your hair to be wet too long and it’s causing fungal growth. If you keep hair wet for hours, sleep with wet hair, wet your hair to slick it into a bun over and over you are creating the perfect breeding ground for fungus, and it will be itchy. If you sweat when working out, dry those roots with a blow dryer when you’re done. Don’t go to bed with wet hair, sit under a hooded dryer.
The best thing you can do for your scalp is keep it clean. Regularly washing your hair is usually the answer to most issues. That is where you are able to remove build up in your follicles and hydrate your scalp to keep the pH balanced so you can produce healthy sebum throughout which will aid in healthier growth.
My Scalp Clarifier is specifically designed to do just that. With weekly use, you are giving your scalp a balanced, gentle exfoliating cleanse that will restore, hydrate and relieve symptoms like itching, flaking and dryness.
Tip #2 – Your strands need a balance of protein and moisture to prevent breakage.
The name of the game is length retention. That’s what you can control and improve. As I was formulating MoKnowsHair Collection, this concern was the focal point which led me to create the Elasticity Restoring Treatment.
This treatment was made specifically to address the most pressing concern for all hair types - breakage. The lipid barrier or cuticle layer of your hair is responsible for trapping moisture inside strands. When that layer is damaged, you lose moisture quickly after washing, resulting in single strand knots, tangles, split ends, and excessive frizzy curls that won’t define.
With weekly use of this deep conditioning treatment, the cortex, the inner section of your strand, is replenished with moisturizing, nourishing and repairing ingredients and the cuticle, the outer layer, is repaired to trap it all in giving you hair that holds on more moisture, breaks less and retains more length.
You can’t just use it a couple times and expect a miracle… you need to make it a weekly habit. Once you get your protein-moisture balance in check, you should notice that you don’t need as much cut from your ends when you get trims and that is how you will get the length and fullness you want.
Tip #3 – Your water source could be holding you back from the healthy hair, scalp and skin you want.
Depending on where you live, there could be a range of contaminants and mineral deposits that can negatively impact your hair and skin. Too much calcium, rust and other debris can find its way into your tap water impeding your products from working to their highest potential.
The water you see listed as a first ingredient on your cosmetics has been filtered in some way, it’s not tap water. All the ingredients in a formulation are balanced against that clean water. If your water source contains too much of some conflicting mineral or substance, it can cause the formula to not perform as intended leaving you with lots of build-up, flaking, dryness, brittle hair, itchy scalp, acne or enlarged pores.
If your hair and skin are constantly dry or your styling products aren’t holding, defining and keeping your hair the way you want, your hair is always frizzy or feels hard, you have constant breakouts on your face or body, you should consider getting water filters for your bathroom sink and shower.
Here are filters I have installed and love on mine:
Filter Baby makes sink and shower filters in a range of colors and are lab certified to remove 99.9% of chlorine, chloramine and contaminants as small as 0.000001mm. Your skin will be more clear and radiant and your hair will be more moisturized and able to absorb products better making it healthier overall!
Use code moknowshair at checkout to get $10 off your order (even during sales)!
AquaBliss Revitalizing Shower Filter is a high-output multi-stage sediment shower filter made of redox media, calcium sulfite, activated carbon and ceramic beads to deliver maximum water filtration to neutralize odors, balance pH levels and infuse beneficial minerals into your skin, nails and hair.
Tip #4 – Your internal, physical health directly impacts the health of your hair.
There are several internal health conditions that can cause your scalp to itch, be inflamed, or shed hair profusely to the point of thinning and cause severe sebum production or flaking. These include, but are not limited to hypertension, thyroid disorders, iron and vitamin D deficiencies, dermatitis, dandruff, eczema, and autoimmune diseases.
If you have not been to the doctor in the last 9 to 12 months and had a full physical with blood work, you should do that ASAP. If you are on medication for a health condition, one of the side-affects can be scalp and hair issues. You will need to consult your physician about alternative medications where the those side-affects can be reduced.
Drastic changes to your hair and scalp are your body’s emergency alert system going off to tell you to get checked out because something’s wrong. You cannot use products and oils and other DIY mixtures to resolve an internal health issue. Get off the internet and go to the doctor!
Also, if you do not drink enough water, at least a half your body weight in ounces per day, eat a nutrient dense diet that isn’t full of fast food, fat and sugar, manage your stress, get plenty of rest and exercise regularly, you are prohibiting your body from producing healthy hair in the growth cycle – no product is going to be able to combat your bad habits.
Improving your internal health can rejuvenate your hair growth cycle. When you are not healthy, your body is going to prioritize your vital organs first. Your body will slow down your hair growth cycle time to reallocate resources to the systems of the body that are keeping you alive. You have to prioritize your overall bodily health!
Tip# 5 – You need to clean and disinfect your hair tools and accessories.
If you use the same brush and comb and clips over and over and they haven’t been cleaned with clarifying shampoo and disinfected with barbicide, you could be depositing bacteria into your scalp which can lead to fungal infection, itchiness and eventually hair loss. If you are wearing the same bonnet or scarf every night for a week or more without washing, same thing - transfer of bacteria.
In conclusion...
When it comes to healthy hair and length retention, there is no magic, no miracle tonics – it’s all about consistency and habits. Taking care of your health, using properly formulated products, committing to a regular washday schedule, getting trims at least once a quarter and managing external factors like cleaning your tools and filtering water sources are going to give you results that are sustainable.
All of these things work together and your refusal to do them is keeping you from the hair you want. There are no shortcuts – the results you are looking for are in the work you are trying to avoid and habit changes you are refusing to make.
Let’s make 2025 the year you stop looking for quick fixes and you focus on breaking bad habits and building healthier ones and of course, I am here to help you along the way!
