A lot of people outside the natural hair community find it amusing that we curlies and naturals perform regular length checks on our natural hair.  Some may even think we are a little obsessed with hair growth & hair length…..in which case, they would be………um, right.

When we decided to embrace our natural hair texture, the vast majority of us did not do it because it was a ‘super awesome hair trend’.  No, most of us did it to improve the health of our hair.  We were fed up of thinning hair, traction alopecia, slow growth and the like. We wanted a full head of thick, luscious coils.

I am not so down with the term ‘Length Check’, I prefer the term ‘Health Check’, which is essentially what the process is.  Length aka Health checks are performed on a regular basis to assess not just hair growth, but to see if our hair is retaining any growth because let’s face it, hair that is not retaining growth is NOT healthy.

Just as we care about the health of our bodies, so also do we care about the health of our hair.   Glowing skin, healthy weight, luscious hair – these are all indicators of overall good health.

The length checks can enable us to address any growth retention, breakage, excessive shedding or thinning hair problems and prompt us to make changes to our product usage, hair care techniques or even our diet.

Some may argue that hair loss, thinning & lack lustre hair are all a normal part of the ageing process.  I refuse to accept that!  It is like saying heart problems, diabetes and so on are a normal part of ageing and we should just accept it. Nope, it is not.  It is very possible to stay healthy as you get older, without succumbing to age-related illnesses like diabetes, high blood pressure, osteoporosis and so on. The same logic is applicable to the hair – it is very possible to have lush, healthy hair as you get older.

Don’t believe me?  Take a look of these pics of me & my hair, almost 20 years apart – the hair looks much better now than it did 20 years ago.  Why is that?  Taking care of the hair & using the right products.
MY HAIR20 YEARS AGO

MY HAIR NOW (2012)

So don’t feel embarrassed about performing length checks on your natural hair.  They are vital in ensuring your hair is growing healthy & retaining growth in a healthy manner