Growing Your Hair Long? 4 Things You Already Know and Need to Trust Me On

Why Your Hair Isn’t Getting Longer—Even Though It’s Growing

“I’m trying to grow my hair out, but it seems to be getting worse and worse. This isn’t what I imagined.”

I hear this all the time behind the chair.

You can see the new growth at your roots, but your ends keep looking thinner, weaker and more damaged. You’ve been patiently waiting for longer hair, yet it feels like you are getting nowhere.

Here is what is most likely happening:

Your hair is growing, but it is breaking off faster than it grows.

Growing long hair is not only about how quickly your hair grows from your scalp. It is about how much of that length you can actually keep.

You Cannot Go Longer Than 12 Weeks Between Haircuts

This does not mean you need a major haircut every 12 weeks.

It means your ends need to be dusted.

When split ends are left alone, they do not repair themselves. The split continues traveling farther up the hair strand until the hair eventually breaks.

Then, instead of removing the smallest amount possible, we have to cut off even more to get the hair healthy again.

I know it can feel completely backward to cut your hair when you are trying to grow it, but regularly dusting the ends is how we prevent you from losing more length later.

If your goal is long, healthy hair, you cannot wait six months or a year between trims and expect your ends to survive.

Twelve weeks is the maximum.

Check Every Product for Protein

Protein is hiding in far more hair products than most women realize.

Check your shampoo. Check your conditioner. Check your masks, leave-ins, styling products and anything else you regularly put on your hair.

When protein is layered through multiple products and used repeatedly, it can leave the hair feeling dry, hard and brittle. Instead of bending, the hair begins snapping—and once again, it breaks off faster than it grows.

This is one of the first things I look at when a client tells me she is doing everything she can to grow her hair but her ends continue breaking.

She may think her hair needs another “repair” product when she is actually overloading it with more protein.

This is why I want to see every product you use—not only your shampoo and conditioner. Your entire routine matters.

Heat Protection Is a Must

If heat touches your hair, heat protection needs to touch it first.

This includes your blow-dryer, flat iron, curling iron and any other hot tool.

Heat damage is cumulative. You may not notice a dramatic difference after using a hot tool once, but repeatedly styling unprotected hair eventually shows up as dryness, split ends and breakage.

You cannot say that growing your hair is the goal while repeatedly exposing it to high heat without protecting it.

Heat protection is not optional.

I use and recommend the Goldie Locks Signature Serum because it provides heat protection up to 450°F while also helping reduce breakage, smooth the hair and keep the ends feeling soft and polished.

That does not mean I want you using every tool at 450°F. It means your hair has an added layer of protection when heat styling is part of your routine.

Your Hair Is Growing—Let’s Help You Keep It

If you see new growth at your roots, growth probably isn’t the problem.

Your ends are telling us what is happening.

When the bottom of your hair looks thin, see-through or broken, we need to stop focusing only on making it grow faster and start protecting the length you already have.

That means:

• Dusting your ends at least every 12 weeks

• Checking every product for protein

• Using heat protection every single time

These three changes can make the difference between hair that continues breaking at the same length and hair that finally becomes longer, fuller and healthier.

If you are trying to grow your hair but it keeps getting thinner or breaking, bring me every product you currently use. I’ll help you figure out what is working, what may be working against you and what your hair actually needs.

Call or text me at 239-288-8518 to create a plan for your healthiest, longest hair.

About Michelle

I’m Michelle Mahn, a Fort Myers hairstylist with more than 20 years of experience behind the chair. I specialize in luxury hair extensions, blonding, long hair and customized color transformations.

My goal is not only to give you beautiful hair in the salon. I want to teach you how to protect your investment and keep your hair looking its best between appointments.