how-to // grow your hair out

Getting your hair cut is an exciting change of appearance. Growing your hair out is a whole different transition. I am currently in the process of growing mine out. Looking at this picture you'd think I'm at the beginning of my hair journey. Oh no, my dear readers. It's been almost a year. Let's take a quick look into the past with a before & after picture:

(The reason I'm grimacing is because of how moody/emo the before picture is. Get it together, past me.)

The point is my hair was short. Buzzed, in fact. Now I'm in the process of transitioning from short to long. It's a weird process, & here's what I've learned so far:

Trim Yo' Mullet // The most trying part of growing your hair is resisting the urge to cut it. There is, however, one crucial part of your hair that you'll have to trim: the mullet. This is something I didn't learn until a few months ago. Three inches of hair growth looks good up top, but three inches of hair growth on the back of your neck is not good. Trim the back until the length on the top of your head reaches the length on the back, then you can grow the whole thing out together. 

Tie That Mess Up // Growing your hair out requires some creativity. There are lots of weird transitional periods that simply are not attractive, & the best option is just to tie your hair back. If your hair is too short to tie back in one ponytail, give pigtails a go. If you're not the pigtail type, try french braiding your bangs off of your face. 

Hair Clips Are Your Friends // If you're in a transitional stage where hair ties just aren't cutting it, use hair clips. They will take all your wonky lengths of hair & pull them back, & no one will ever be the wiser. As I'm writing right now I've got about three hair clips & a whole mess of bobby pins holding my mane back. 

Be Good To Your Locks // While your waiting for your hair to grow, be nice to it. Slather it up in conditioner on a regular basis. Use coconut oil or rosemary oil treatments. If you want to dye it, use temporary dye. If your hair starts developing split ends, get a trim (I know this seems counterproductive, but split ends will continue to split all the way up the strands of your hair, & if you don't cut them off, you'll just end up damaging your entire mop). Be nice to your hair if you want it to stick around.

Be Patient // Wait, wait, wait. This is the least involved step but the one I have the hardest time with. Growing your hair out will make you want to chop it all off, but try & stay focused on the end goal. In the meantime, get creative, & embrace your locks. If that's not working, at least you can put a hat on.

Stay strong, my wonky-haired ladies!

Also thank you to all of my readers who take time to visit the blog - we reached 50,000 hits yesterday! You guys are simply the best.

xoxo,
-m.e.


Related // If you're having a bad hair day, distract from your 'do by wearing some funky gold earrings.