Why Dirty Hair Grows Faster

Over the years I have had many women approach me and share how their hair seems to grow faster when it is “dirty”.  They share stories of their grandmothers or moms  telling them about growing dandruff, and washing hair as little as possible.  Yet their hair seemed to flourish and grow under those conditions.

Now before you swear off hair washing and shampoo please listen up. DIRT does NOT make hair grow.  In actuality there were several factors that contributed to what seemed to be faster hair growth when these women were shampooing less.

1) Low manipulation– To put it simply if you’re not messing with your hair it’s not going to break or fall out as much.  By washing less these women were manipulating their hair less. This can easily be accomplished by wearing styles that don’t require a great deal of combing and brushing like braid outs or protective styles like updos and twists.

2)  Less heat– I also noticed that when women share these stories with me most of them are not flat ironing, blowdrying etc… in between the infrequent washing.  Putting less heat on the hair is leading to less damage and therefore less breakage. You can easily minimize heat use to achieve similar results.  I only use direct heat a couple times a year on my hair.

3) More Oil– It has been my observation that many women with afro textured hair find that it thrives when using oil.  I like to seal my hair with oil after moisturizing.  When these women are washing less they are stripping the hair of oil less frequently.  Try cowashing or using a mild shampoo instead.

Now please, do not go around with smelly hair saying that MsLala told you to stop washing your hair.  It is a myth that dirt makes hair grow. Hopefully it is clear now that it is not the actual dirtiness of the hair that is making it grow but other factors.  A CLEAN scalp is healthy and will lead to healthy hair.  Keeping your hair and scalp dirty can lead to other problems including excess dandruff, dry scalp, itchiness, and a host of other things.

Check back for our upcoming articles that focus on proper Scalp Care!

 

Tags: natural hair care, natural hair growth, natural hair tips, scalp care