Q: Hi Sarah and Sherine. I’m on a mission to grow my hair long and healthy this year, and take a break from the bleach. What should I be doing? – Molly
Sarah: As an (un)natural blonde, I’m well acquainted with the lure of bleach and the trail of broken, fried strands it leaves in its wake. But lucky for you, your current hair journey is one I trod myself a couple years ago, under the guidance of my beloved hairdresser, Richi Grisillo from Academie Salon (who also happens to be Australian Hairdresser of the Year). So I feel well-equipped to hold your hand through this.
First, let’s address your colour. Do you still want to have a semblance of blonde? You might want to consider what the internet is currently dubbing recession blonde, which up until recently, has been my greatest hair hack: a lived-in blonde with blended, grown-out roots. Richi gave me this hair colour before I went travelling for a year, and my brief to him was: “it has to last six months.”.
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Take these notes, as offered by Richi, to your hairdresser: “Ask for a strategic placement of blonde to frame the face. This will create the highlight and give you maximum impact around your face, neck and décolletage – where it’s most noticeable.” He also suggests going for a colour closer to your natural hair so it blends well at the roots.
Now, to get your hair healthy. The way bleach works is by stripping the melanin (pigment) from the hair strands. Naturally, this process is harsh on your hair and changes its structure, making it dry, brittle and porous. This then makes the hair more susceptible to heat damage and breakage. All of which is to say, if you’re going to reverse the damage, you need to focus on doing the opposite: hydrating, repairing and protecting.
Luckily, we’re deep in a scalp care era and literally everyone has a line of products to help promote growth. For your expectations, you should understand that these mostly work by extending the life cycle of your hair strands and preventing hair loss, and by strengthening (in some cases thickening) the ones you have. You don’t just suddenly grow hair where none existed.
That said, one of our friends had severe postpartum hair loss and rated these Aéde Power Activist Hair Growth Supplements. I have also used the Typebea G1 Overnight Boositng Peptide Hair Serum religiously and loved how lightweight it was on my fine hair. I didn’t think it was doing much, until my hairdresser showed me all the new growth, so yeah, it works.
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Sherine: Okay, that’s Sarah on what you can do if you’re taking a bleach breather. But what if your hair is naturally fine? I’m one of six girls and four of us have really thick, lush and long hair. The other two have hair that looks limp and sparse if it grows past our shoulders. I’m one of those sisters. My ponytails are pathetic. In this case, as Sarah noted, it’s a gene thing; you can’t grow a new hair out of a follicle that’s not there, or is dead.
Think of over-plucked eyebrows and how many of us (me) resorted to eyebrow tattooing to rectify our tweezer sins of the ’90s. And as Sarah said, most of these ‘hair growth products’ on the market work by extending the growth (anagen) phase of the hair cycle, and may help shorten the resting (telogen) phase. Those kinds of products, and my tips below, can help the hair you have to stay in place longer, so that it feels like you have more.
Start in the shower
Swap out your coloured hair shampoo and conditioner for ones that focus on hydration, and back this up with a hydrating mask once a week. Look for ingredients like hyaluronic acid and botanical butters and oils (I really rate this entire Loreal Paris Hyaluron range.). Seen those funny looking scalp massage tools around with the little silicone spikes? Aside from feeling nice on your head, these can help stimulate blood flow to the scalp, creating a healthy environment for hair to grow.
Don’t brush when wet
Hair is the most fragile when it’s wet. The extra elasticity means it can overstretch and break, so you have to coddle it a bit. Ideally, wait until it’s dry to brush, or if you must go there, use a wide tooth comb and detangler to minimise pulling. Note: this doesn’t apply to curly hair because that hair structure is different – it’s actually easier to comb curly hair when wet. Just make sure you keep it hydrated so there’s minimal pull.
Send your hot tools on vacay
If your goal is hair health, you need to reel back the external stress you’re putting on it, and one of those things is heat styling because, let’s be honest, I know you don’t use a thermal protectant every time. Maybe this is your time to get into air-drying? (Sarah is currently into this one, I have yet to figure out how to make it work with my own hair texture.).
Balance your diet
Regardless of your hair type, to give your hair its best shot at reaching its full potential, it’s important to make sure you’re not deficient in iron, zinc and biotin, and that you’re consuming enough vitamins, minerals, omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants and proteins. It’s a good idea to speak with your health professional to get this sorted.
For more on hair growth tips, try this.
This article How to grow your hair longer, faster, according to beauty editors appeared first on Fashion Journal.
2025-04-15 12:01:00
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