Ask Vann: Hair Growth Tips For Relaxed Hair

Pursuit of Nappiness: Ask Vann Column

Send your questions for Vann Cosmetics to answer by commenting below or email pursuitofnappingess@gmail.com subject ‘Ask Vann.’ You can even tweet us at @PursuitofNappi| @VannCosmetics #AskVann

 Rene (Pasadena, California):

 My question is what is the best way to grow out hair that has been treated with chemicals so it does not tangle and break? Would like suggestions on products as well.

Vann Cosmetics:

This is an interesting question, because most times I get inquiries from women who

want to eventually wear their hair in its natural state.

I am a huge advocate for women of color to wear their hair in whichever style they

feel comfortable. I get that many women would rather keep their hair relaxed, and

that is totally fine.

I don’t care what ethnicity or hair type you have. All women of color are capable of

maintaining hair length. The chemical make up of all hair types are the same. We

differ in how we maintain our hair growth.

Disclaimer: If you are using chemicals on your hair, be sure to seek professional help

when applying a relaxer. You will experience hair and scalp damage, if you do not

apply the product correctly. You can experience temporary, or even permanent hair

loss.

Here are my top 3 hair growth tips for women with relaxed hair:

1. Protective Styles:

Especially since the weather is beginning to change, it is important to start thinking

about protective styles. The purpose of a protective style is to hide your ends, or get

your hair off of your shoulders. Your hair is more likely to experience breakage if

you expose it to the environment too often. If you have relaxed hair, check out these

hairstyles:

I wear this style a lot when I straighten my hair.

This is my favorite style for relaxed or natural hair. It’s so simple to do, and very

fashionable.

Braids are such a neat style. You can even increase the number of braids you want to

do.

2. Protein Treatments and Keratin Treatments

Remember when using relaxers, you are breaking and restructuring disulfide bonds

in every single hair strand. This can cause major hair damage, and will cause your

hair to break. It is extremely important that you include a monthly protein

treatment in your hair regimen to combat the potential damage. My favorite is the

Aphogee 2-Step Protein treatment.

3. Leave your hair alone

This may sound too easy, but if you just leave your hair alone, you are more likely to

see growth. If you are always touching it, playing in it, measuring it, styling it,

putting heat on it, or applying a new cream you read about, you will probably start

to break your hair strands little by little. The more you manipulate your hair, the

more hair breakage you will experience. Think of hair growth as watching paint dry,

or a plant grow. If just let your hair do its thing, you will be surprised at how fast it

grows!

Send your questions for Vann Cosmetics to answer by commenting below or email pursuitofnappingess@gmail.com subject ‘Ask Vann.’ You can even tweet us at @PursuitofNappi| @VannCosmetics #AskVann

 Gavanne Davis is the CEO and Founder of Vann Cosmetics, LLC., which is a cosmetic consulting company that assist accounts in launching cosmetic lines, brand management, and drafting formulas. You can contact her at Gavanne@VannCosmetics.com or visit her website at www.VannCosmetics.com.