A lot of Ghanaian girls are rocking the natural hair look and honestly, they have every reason to. It’s the best representation of our identity as Africans. It also keeps the hair more healthy and growing in its natural form.

But not every girl goes natural because of their r Africanness. Some do because their relaxed hair was weak and breaking from the use of hair relaxers.  But,  the relaxer is not always to blame for this. Relaxed hair can be just as beautiful and long as natural hair if you actually pay some attention to it.

So, for the ladies out there who are still keeping relaxed hair,  here are five tips on how to grow your chemically altered hair long and healthy;

1. Minimize your use

Minimize potential relaxer damage by limiting relaxer sessions to three to four times a year. Before a relaxer session, protect your scalp and already relaxed hair with a heavy natural oil such as castor oil to weaken the chemical strength of the relaxer.

2. Moisturize

Ladies the key to flawless hair is moisture! If your hair is not properly moisturized, it may become brittle, dry and prone to breakage.

3. Seal

Don’t forget to seal in all that moisture with a natural oil such as olive oil so it does not evaporate into thin air!

4. Trim your hair

Of course, we all want longer hair, but regularly trimming your hair to get rid of weak ends actually helps your hair grow longer. Why? Because damage from the weak ends could travel up to the roots over time.

5. Deep condition

Regular deep conditioning with natural or chemical products loads your hair with lots of nutrients that nourish and strengthen your relaxed hair.

This article is written by Abigail. She is the founder of Mirror effects and Artistry.  makeup and fashion account