Do Extensions Really Help Your Hair Grow Faster?

A lot of people think that wearing extensions (braids) or even weave makes their hair grow faster.

This is not true at all.

It only seems that your hair is growing faster because you are not combing or manipulating your hair.  As a result you have less breakage so you RETAIN more length.

In other words, your ends aren’t breaking off as much as they do when your hair is out.

It’s also a psychological thing.

Your hair has been tucked away for so long that when you take your extensions or weave out, your length is definitely more noticeable.

Remember, hair growth is internal and takes place inside the scalp.  Braids, weaves, etc. are external and cannot have any effect on how your hair is growing out of your follicles.

Maintaining Your Hair While Wearing Extensions

We tend to neglect our hair when it’s in extensions, but it’s important to continually moisturize, condition and shampoo your hair regularly so when you take out your extensions, you don’t lose the length you’ve gained.

If you’re wearing braids, try to shampoo your hair at least once per week. If you are concerned about your extensions getting fuzzy wear a stocking cap when you shampoo.

1. Fill an applicator bottle with 1 part water and 1 part shampoo.  Pour the mixture on your hair and gently massage it into your scalp through the stocking cap.
2. Rinse the shampoo out (follow up with a conditioner if you wish) and wring the excess water out of your braids.
3. Tie your braids down with a scarf that allows your hair to still breath so it can dry.

The scarf will help flatten any fly-aways and keep your braids from looking so frizzy.

As far as products go, try to find braid shampoos and conditioners, but you can also use your regular products if you wish.  Just make sure you rinse your hair thoroughly as products can get trapped in the extensions.

What REALLY Makes Your Hair Grow

If you want your natural hair to grow long and healthy, you want to do things that affect your body internally such as eating lots of fruits and vegetables, drinking water, eating healthy fats (omega 3s, olive oil, etc.)  Read this article for more hair growth tips.

Extensions will definitely help you retain length, but they are not a miracle for hair growth.