Length Retention Tips to Grow and Maintain Type 4B/4C Hair

“Why can't I grow my hair”? “My hair keeps breaking”. “I don't even have shoulder-length hair and I've been natural for years”. "I can't retain the length of my hair"

Being unable to grow and retain type 4 hair past a certain point can be frustrating, and maybe a little discouraging too, before you decide to give up read this article.

This article will cover some actionable tips and suggestions to help you achieve length retention for your type 4B or 4C hair.

No more time to waste, let's get to it.

Tips for type 4 hair length retention

Tip 1: Know your hair characteristics

When you shop for clothes, do you pick any dress because it's beautiful? No, you most likely pick what looks good on you. How do you determine that? You know your body type, colors that match with your skin tone etc., so it's easy to pick what looks good on you. 

Now let's apply that to hair. If you don't know your hair type, porosity, density, and other characteristics you can’t tell what looks good on your hair or what products will work for it. So, if you want to grow or maintain your hair, get intentional. 

Take a good look at your hair, study its pattern, coils, and curls. How does it behave when you use products? How does a particular styling technique affect it? Allow your hair to “speak to you” and listen. 

Read all about hair porosity in this article. 

Tip 2: Find out your genes

While we are at it, this is a good time to mention that genetics also play a role in hair characteristics.

If you come from a long line of women with long and full heads of hair, then there is a high chance of you having similar hair. But this doesn't mean anyone who doesn't have such a history would have bad hair; anyone can grow their hair into an amazing state. It might just take more work to get there. 

It's important to know this, so you prepare your mind to put in the effort as required to help you retain your type 4 hair length. 

Tip 3: Moisturize as necessary

Coils and curls are major characteristics of type 4 hair, so moisturizing can be quite a challenge. This is why Tip 1 should be taken seriously. Once you understand your hair, you will find better ways to moisturize. 

Now, moisture isn't just about adding “water”; for low-porosity hair, you find that water alone is not enough. So, take time to find conditioners (both leave-in and rinse-out), curl and twist creams, gels (that don't dry out your hair), hair butter, and deep conditioners that support hair moisture. 

When your hair is moisturized properly and sealed with the right oils, it tends to break less, which in turn helps you retain length.

Check out these reviews on community-loved hair moisturizers.

Tip 4: No heat styling if possible

You might say: “Using heat makes my hair easy to style'' yes, I get it, but it has downsides. 

Here is the thing with heat styling, every time you use heat on your hair, you dry it out just a little more, you stress your hair strands, over time it accumulates and the result is damaged hair. 

If you can't take out heat styling, some people recommend using a heat protectant before you apply heat. 

Try to minimize heat usage on your hair if you can't stop it altogether. When styling or stretching your hair, using a lower temperature with tools like The Rev Air can help you achieve a nice hairstyle without too much damage. Remember to use a good heat protectant before you use it.  

For 4B/4C naturals who are trying to give up heat usage or want to know how to stretch their hair without heat try: 

1. African threading
2. Using hair bands
3. Chunky twists

Using these methods to stretch your hair doesn't involve heat and they give you your desired results.  On the plus side, these hair stretching methods help you retain hair length.

Tip 5: Don't neglect your scalp

If you want to grow and retain the length of your natural hair, scalp care is important. Hair grows out of your scalp, so you need to ensure your scalp is well taken care of. 

So, how do you take care of your scalp? 

1. Scalp massages: Everybody loves a good massage, it's relaxing. The same applies to your scalp, gently massaging with oil at least 10 minutes every day before bed helps with blood circulation.  Always remember to use oils that your hair likes (this is the point you read Tip 1 again).
2. Scalp treatments: If you notice that your scalp is dry, flaky, or you have serious dandruff, use shampoos, oils and conditioners that are specific to helping you treat these issues.

Tip 6: Take down your protective styles gently

Many people ignore this principle but it's a huge game changer. I'll tell you why. 

Imagine you leave your hair in a protective style for about a month and want to take it down (on average, hair tends to grow about half an inch every month).

Now do some soul searching, how do you take it down? In a hurry? When it's dry? Do you apply conditioner or oil to make it easy to take down? 

Aha! You see where there's a problem. 

So, instead of retaining that half-inch, added from leaving your hair in your protective style, you lose it and also lose the hair already on your head because you didn't pay attention to the takedown process. 

To retain the hair length you gain, pay attention to how you take down your protective style.

Tip 7: Detangle properly to retain length

Another game changer in retaining hair length for type 4 hair. 

How do you detangle your hair?

Do you spritz water from your spray bottle and then go in with a comb or detangling brush? Not a great practice. 

One thing to know about detangling, it's one of the times when type 4 hair is especially vulnerable to breakage, that's why you need to understandyour coils or curls, that way you can detangle properly. 

So how do you do it right? 

1. Use a pre-poo or rinse-out conditioner (can mix with water and add to a spray bottle) with good slip. A product with good slip will make it easier for your fingers (I like this method) or detangling brush to pass through your hair strands easily. You can work through hair knots easily without breaking and snapping your hair strands. 
2. Try okra gel. Okra gel is a great detangler, and the best part is it also helps with curl definition. If you can't afford a good conditioner with slip, this is an easy DIY detangler to try. 

Check out these recommended products with good slip from product reviews.

How to detangle type 4 hair with okra gel

1. Depending on your hair volume, get about 8-15 okra. 
2. Wash and chop into bits (it doesn't have to be finely chopped)
3. Add to a pot of water and boil for about 10-12 minutes. You'd notice the water changes to green and becomes slimy. 
4. Use a sieve or fine cloth to strain as much okra gel from the boiled okra. Allow to cool and go ahead to use it on your hair.

How to detangle type 4 hair with aloe vera gel

1. Cut the leaf from the Aloe vera plant. Rinse the leaf under water, let the leaf sit in water for 10 min to allow yellow liquid to run out. 
2. Remove leaf, trim spiky sides, cut the top layer of the plant skin, scrape the gel from the leaf into a blender.  
3. Add a couple of tablespoons of water to the aloe extract and blend. Strain the mixture using cheesecloth, applying pressure and squeezing out as much gel as possible. 
4. Pour the extract into a spray bottle.  Part your hair into sections, spray the extract onto the scalp and hair and gently detangle hair.
5. Feel free to add an oil (e.g. olive oil or avocado oil) to aid in detangling.  Any remaining gel can be used for a scalp massage. 
6. After the hair is fully detangled, proceed to wash with shampoo.  Or feel free to sit with a plastic cap for 10-15 minutes before shampooing.

Tip 8: Avoid over-manipulation

A friend of mine will always say, the best way to allow your hair to grow is to “Leave it alone!”. 

If you think about it, it makes sense. If you keep tugging and pulling at your hair every day, over time you notice hair loss caused by tension and stress.  But, there are coily naturals who wear their hair out every day, you'd find that they give extra care to their hair so it doesn't suffer from stress. 

This tip is mainly for 4B/4C naturals who wear high-manipulation hairstyles or very tight braids.

“Where did my edges go?!!”  We’ve all been there. You made braids for the summer, took them down, and later discovered that your edges abandoned you. Knotless braids or finding a braider that you trust is key to keeping your hair on your head.   

Let’s all make sure our “protective styles” are truly serving their purpose. The tension from these styles could cause your hair to pull from the root, defeating the purpose of length retention. 

Tip 9: Eat right for maximum length retention and growth

Your hair is what you eat. Even with good genes, over time, if you don't feed properly, it'll show in your hair. So, eat more greens, and foods like salmon and mackerel rich in omega-3 fatty acids should be part of your meal. 

If you like avocado hair masks and the like incorporate them into your food. Almonds, eggs, and berries give your body the nutrients it needs to nourish your hair from within. 

Wrapping Up

Growing type 4 hair and retaining its length can be quite a ride but with intentionality, patience and consistency you're closer to achieving your hair length goals.

You shouldn't go through the hair length retention journey alone. Join The Hair Talk community and get the support you need from other HairTalkers who are on the same journey as you.