Whether you got a chop that you regret just a little or you’ve decided to try out a longer style, growing out your hair requires a lot of patience. It can be a *long* process (pun intended) and careful attention needs to be paid to your strands, particularly the ends! When you decide to grow out your hair, it’s time to step up your haircare routine and make a few adjustments. After all, you don’t want to grow out damaged, unhealthy locks. Here are our best tips for keeping your ends healthy as your hair goes through the growth process.

Treat your ends gently

It’s time to start treating your ends as if they’re made of gold! Avoid any products that contain harsh chemicals or ingredients and ensure you are always gentle when brushing. Even when it comes to shampooing and conditioning, be gentle with your ends and avoid scrubbing them (instead focus on scrubbing your scalp). Avoid using elastic hair ties on the ends as they cause friction that could lead to breakage.

Avoid heat styling

It goes without saying – excessive use of heat tools on your hair can cause major damage, breakage and dehydration. The result? Hair that’s less than healthy. If you are growing your hair out, the healthier its condition, the better. Even though hair grows from our scalp, if your ends are damaged, you will only end up having to cut them off as the damage climbs higher up the hair shaft (ruining all of your hard work!). To keep your locks healthy and happy, stick to heatless hairstyles and air drying. This doesn’t mean you have to avoid heat styling altogether, just minimise it as much as possible. When heat styling is necessary, always use a heat protectant!

Commit to regular trims

We know, we know – no one who is growing out their hair likes to hear the word trim! But when it comes to keeping your ends healthy during the growth process, trims are necessary. Avoiding trims will only lead to dry and split ends, causing breakage and ultimately shorter hair. Every eight weeks or so, it’s a great idea to book in for a ‘micro-trim’ which is essentially a trim that’s so small, you will struggle to see the hair on the floor. The result? Healthy ends and happy hair.

Sleep on silk

A cotton pillowcase will only serve to suck all of the moisture out of your hair as you sleep. Dry hair is much more susceptible to damage, making it harder to keep your locks healthy as you grow your hair out. Investing in a silk pillowcase can do wonders for your hair, particularly your ends. Not only does it help your strands to retain moisture, it also helps to reduce friction. Plus, you’ll wake with less frizz!