How I Grew my hair longer by caring for it Myself

4C Natural Hair stuck at Shoulder length? Here is why

Natural hair stuck at shoulder length or a certain length like forever or rather stagnated, let’s talk about that cos I’ve been there too.

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All through highschool I had short hair because school rules. I started growing out my hair right after and boy oh boy the hair grew until we got to a plateau, shoulder length for a long minute. Did I have a routine? Ofcourse I did, wash and straighten with heat every month and comb daily. That was it, see a problem there? I hope you do.

I dreaded heat but still used it monthly, struggled through it until I decided I can’t take the heat anymore. And that queens is how I began caring for this hair by myself, best decision I ever made.

Why your hair stuck at shoulder length or a certain length

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Related post; My hair care journey.

Now, let’s get back to the plateau hair stage where you feel like you’re doing the most but your hair isn’t thanking you for it. But are you doing the right or wrong most? There are a few reasons why your hair feels stagnated/ been at shoulder length for long and that’s what this post is about.

Why your Hair Stuck at Shoulder length/ won’t Grow past a certain length.

Consistent healthy routine.

A hair care routine can make or break your hair and just because you have a consistent hair routine it doesn’t mean it is a healthy one. As I mentioned earlier, I had a routine, was consistent but my hair was stuck at shoulder length because the routine wasn’t healthy; using heat but never conditioning, daily combing, sleeping on cotton pillowcases, holding hair in a messy bun or pony, zero moisturizing and the unhealthy list goes on and on.

How do you know if your hair care routine is healthy? Is your hair healthy, strong, growing, your edges flourishing, you don’t complain of steel wool hard hair etc, well congratulations your routine is working for your mane. A routine is basically how you care for your hair and how often you wash, deep condition, trim, moisturize etc.

Why natural hair won't grow past shoulder length
4C hair stuck at shoulder length

Don’t have a routine yet? Well, I got you on all that and more. I do have a post on how my routine looks like, a simple and healthy routine you can follow and a detailed routine guide on our payhip store.

Breakage.

This is a huge one, I see people on social media complaining of breakage on a daily which shouldn’t be the case. First there’s a difference between shed hair and breakage, breakage happens at any part of your length while shedding happens at the root, has a whitish bulb at one of the ends & is as long as your hair unlike hair from breakage which is shorter.

Breakage is one of the reasons why your hair has been at shoulder length for the longest time because it means you aren’t retaining length from your growth. Your hair is breaking because you don’t have a consistent healthy routine, not moisturizing properly, excessive brushing, your hair is damaged etc.

Related posts;

Must know causes of breakage
How to minimize breakage/ stop severe breakage.

Magic growth products

How I hate seeing those adverts on products that will grow your hair overnight/ in a week that use pictures of naturals with long hair and healthy routines. If magic growth products did work we all would have manes sweeping the floor but do we? If you’re constantly using magic growth products and every DIY growth product out here and expecting your hair to grow past shoulder length, that’s where you’re going wrong. Magic growth products don’t work.

Related posts;

Must have products and tools

Moisturizing products you need.

Why your hair won't grow past shoulder length
Shoulder length hair

Constantly trimming.

I know you ought to get rid of damaged and split ends but don’t obsess over it to a point of trimming monthly or weekly. I mean, how are you supposed to see length if you’re always trimming? Unless you’re transitioning to natural and have to trim the damaged ends as you grow out your hair, keep scissors off your hair.

Related posts;

Wrong hair practices and tools.

How you care for your hair & the tools you use too matters. Wrong hair practices range from combing dry hair, holding your hair too tight, using a fine tooth to comb your hair, wearing styles that cause strain on your scalp and so on.

Adopt healthy hair care practices that will strengthen your hair, help with length retention, regrowing edges and wearing styles that protect your hair. Be gentle with your hair, love it and it will love you back.

Related post;

Can your hair grow past shoulder length? Yes it can, It is possible as long as you have a consistent healthy hair care routine, adopt healthy hair care practices, pay attention to your hair needs and use the right products and tools.

Thank you for reading, share with everyone and support my blog here.

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Valerie Kinoti

Valerie Kinoti has loved all things hair since she was 8 and always dreamt of having long hair. Decades later she is living the long hair dream and sharing all tips, tricks she has learned over the years.

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