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Here are six things to consider
Moisture
Because naturally curly hair twists and bends, it’s much harder for the natural oil, sebum, to travel the entire length of the hair shaft from root to tip than it is for someone with straight hair. So curly girls need some help. When you shampoo, always use a sulfate-free shampoo so that you aren’t stripping your hair of the beneficial oils that your scalp naturally secretes. On wash day, while your hair is slightly damp, apply a leave-in conditioner and then an oil or butter to seal it all in, giving special attention to the ends since it’s the oldest part of the hair. Hair that is properly moisturized will have healthy elasticity and will be less likely to break, thereby allowing you to retain what you grow.
Your Diet
Are you eating healthy foods and drinking plenty of water? Hair is composed of protein and moisture and if you aren’t consuming it, then your hair isn’t getting it either. It all begins on the inside. A balanced diet that includes fruits, vegetables, and healthy proteins will help your hair thrive.
Overuse of Heat
To much heat on your hair leads to dryness, and dryness leads to breakage. If you use a blow dryer with a diffuser to dry your curls, then make sure that the heat setting and airspeed are both set to low. If you can avoid it, don’t flat iron your hair. Some curly girls just can’t get away from a desire to see their hair straight, even though, let’s face it, it looks better curly.If you have to straighten your hair, then apply a heat protectant to minimize the damage.
Over-Manipulation
Are your hands always in your hair? I understand that this is a hard habit to break, but over manipulation of your hair will cause it to break. Some curly girls unconsciously twirl their hair with their fingers and then they wonder why that part of their hair always seems to be shorter than the rest. The less you touch your hair, the better.
Wrapping it At Night
To protect your curls from breaking while you sleep, I recommend wrapping your hair with a silk or satin scarf. Sleeping on a satin pillowcase also does the trick if you don’t like sleeping with a wrapped head. You may think your pillowcase is harmless but a cotton pillowcase can snag and pull at your hair. Plus, the cotton will suck the moisture right out of your hair.
The Reality of Genetics
There comes a point when your beautiful curly hair has grown as long as it will grow. The length that your hair will grow is determined by the amount of time that a hair follicle will grow a hair before a new hair starts growing in and pushes out the old hair. This length of time is usually determined by genetics and it is different for everyone. Most people’s hair will grow for between 18-60 months. Since hair grows at a rate of about 1/2 an inch a month, then if your hair follicles produce a new hair every 18 months then your hair will grow to about nine inches. If your genetics dictate that your hair will grow for 60 months before a new hair is created, then your hair will grow to about 30 inches long. Due to this continual process of growing new hair, it is natural to shed about 100 hairs a day. As far as I know, there is nothing that you can do to change this. If you inherited hair that only grows for 18 months, please take consolation in the fact that at least you inherited curly hair, which is, of course, the best kind of hair.