Hair Sucker!

Is there anybody else out there who feels that their hair is indeed getting longer slowly but that it will never be long enough?!
That is how I feel at the moment.

This was my hair in November.

This is my hair now.

There is no doubt that my hair is growing but no matter how much it grows, I'm always yearning for that inch or two more.

I read here  that hair has an individual predestined length. Argh, like many of you I expect, I do worry how short my natural hair is destined to be. However, there may be a little light at the end of the tunnel as your hair may effectively go on a hair lengthening strike because it is suffering damage and does not have what it would need or like to reach it's potential. So it seems we may have a predestined length longer then the shorter one that we fear and there could be some things we can do to make it grow longer. Ooohhhh, oh yes!

So I'm going to do all that I can to grow my hair over the next six months. I love extensions but at the same time, I want to flaunt that dream barnet of my own. So yet again, I'm going to concentrate my efforts into getting my ole hair very long, thick and swingy.

It might be sad but I have wiled away several hours recently working through whatever results from a Google et al search for 'grow hair long'.

Well, forget the prince and the happy ever after in the fairytales that people normally fall for, I'm more of a sucker for the hair myths and the products that promise miracles.

There are so many theories (some contradicting) and products out there. Minimise heat, maximise heat. avoid warm water. Baby shampoo, special hair oils (anybody tried Mira, I am tempted) , scalp massages and through cleansing, special supplements, special hair bands, special pillow cases and a whole lot more.

At the moment, I seem to have a little bit of a routine going.

- I have been taking two Phytophanere tablets every morning. These tablets claim to provide all things good for beautiful and healthy hair and nails.
With my hair, I am trying so many things to make a difference that it is hard to be sure what is working and what is not but I have just ordered a second bottle of these as my hair in general seems healthier and I am absolutely certain they are making a difference to my nails (my nail care habits are otherwise as sloppy as ever), my nails are not just ok but very strong, thery are also looking very white. I'm sure that it is these tablets and am just hoping that they are working similar magic on my hair.

- I have also been taking a multivitamin every day because, I guess, it makes sense that if your body is lacking nutrients then it is going to prioritise which part of your body gets all the good stuff and I'm guessing my body's top priority would not be my barnet. Therefore I'm trying to pack in as much good stuff as I can.

-I'm trying to eat well too. Lots of vegetables, superfoods and water so that there is plenty of the good stuff to go around.
I have been eating green beans most days. Beans are a great source of protein and like yogurt (which I already adore) is supposed to work wonders in hair growth if consumed regularly. Green beans also contains silcia which I know is something I always look for in my supplements for nails and hair. It prevents hair loss. Obviously my hair will grow quicker if it is shredding less.
To be honest, it seems almost all of the foods in my Superfood regime (spinach, kale, salmon, pumpkin seeds) will promote healthier hair. I guess this goes back to the similar reasoning that I gave for multivitamins. One habit I'm sticking to is a sprinkle of seeds and nuts on most of my meals each day. It is amazing the nutritional benefits, these little foods are supposed to have.

- Obviously I'm trying to minimise the heat and pressure on my hair but well, what can I say other then I always use a heat protector. . !

- I have been using a hair treatment every time that I wash my hair. I have tried quite a few. Recently, I have enjoyed the Lee Stafford Hair Growth Treatment (which smells divine and is meant to fertlise the hair follicles to make hair grow faster and reach its maximum potential length), the Lush H'Suan Wen Hua and the VO5 oils. I've also used Aussie in the past.

- For the last year or so, I have tried to choose my shampoos and conditioners carefully. I have found some that are a bit more blah then others and some that I really like but nothing I've really loved enough to keep me loyal.
Until very recently, I was using a Moroccan Oil Moisture Repair Shampoo and Conditioner. My hair did take to these more expensive products but it has also took to cheaper products. I found that the Body Shop Banana Shampoo and Conditioner made my hair just as soft, shiny and healthy.

Although I have found products that seem to promote happy, healthy hair. I am not sure if any of them have actually boosted hair growth but I have high hopes for the wash product combination, I am now using. It is the Deep Moisturising Mane n Tail Shampoo and Conditioner products.

These Mane n Tail products have a quirky back story (hence the strange packaging) in that the products were orginally formulated for horse hair and have now been reformulated to work with human hair. There are claims (there are lots of reviews here and here. Here is a video review on You Tube.) that this stuff makes your hair grow and grow quickly. There are various rumours about it being the choice of some hairtastic celebrities. It is actually quite reasonably priced (I brought mine here) and as you can see, the bottles are huge. So I'm giving them a shot.
I have been using these products for about two weeks. I usually shampoo my hair two or three times with the shampoo and on the last shampoo, I really work it in and give it about five minutes before rinsing out. I also do a hair treatment of choice and condition with the MT. Again, I leave the conditioner for about 1-2 minutes before rinsing.
My initial thoughts are that actually using the MT products feels horrible.  As I wash, my hair feels very dry and heavy (Note: I would be reluctant to use the MT combo without adding in a hair conditioning treatment). It always feels no matter how much I rinse that there is product and tangles still there.
However, once my hair is dry (which seems to happen quicker with this product), I'm relieved to find that my hair is very managable, soft and healthy looking. There is certainly no sign of product residue.
I actually really like the final result and am happy to keep using the products. I have squinted at my hair now and again and yes, indeed, have thought my hair is already growing visibly longer but in reality, I think the ends are just looking a little healthier but I will try to take some photos when I wash my hair and lets see what happens.

So again fingers crossed that I finally get there. Hmm, going back to my last frownies post, it seems I want less lines and more hair. That seems like a fair deal to me! Not too much to ask, is it?!

Have you any more hair growth tips or recommendations for me? I would love to hear them.

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