The full version of this ebook is at: http://www.nenonatural.com/freeinfo.html

1. How To Grow Long,
Healthy Natural Hair
Condensed Guide
Heather Katsonga-Woodward
www.NenoNatural.com

2. How To Grow Long, Healthy Hair
Get the full version of this book at:
NenoNatural.com/FreeInfo
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2

3. The Hair Rule
Since I started managing natural hair in early 2011 I
have learnt that there is only one rule:
You are the
QUEEN of YOUR
KINKS, CURLS & COILS
Any tips you hear from anybody are suggestive;
you can try them, but if they don’t work for you,
ditch them!
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4. Table of Contents – Of Full
Version
Introduction..............................4
Hair Types.................................5
Growth Potential .....................6
Maximum Hair Growth………....7
1. Detangling.............................8
2. Wash & Condition................11
3. Chemicals to Avoid..............16
4. Moisturizing Dry Hair.........21
5. Stimulating Growth........ ....31
6. Heat and Your Hair............34
7. Nutrition..............................38
8. Combing and Handling…...42
9. Sleeping...............................45
10. Hair Styles for Length.......48
11. Braiding...............................50
12. Weather..............................53
13. Frizz Control......................55
14. Trimming………………….…….61
15. Building A Regimen…..……65
16. Products……………….….………71
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Neno Natural’s
Hair Growth Stimulator
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5. Introduction
 In March 2011 I encountered severe hair breakage for no apparent
reason.
 I got scared, stopped relaxing my hair and decided to transition to
natural hair.
 18 months later, I could tie my hair all in one place and
importantly, it looked healthy.
 Here, I share everything I learnt about growing long, healthy hair.
18 months natural
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6. Hair Types
 Natural hair comes in four main "types”: 1, 2, 3 and 4.
 Type 1 is completely straight hair. It doesn’t have any subsets.
 Most black people have type 4 hair. This can be further broken
down into: 4a, 4b, 4c. Some have more loosely curled 3C hair.
 The type in itself does not matter. What does matter is
the impact of type on how the hair should be handled.
 All type 4 hair is very curly/kinky but type 4C is the
most kinky and most vulnerable to breakage.
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7. Growth Potential
 If you have very kinky hair, treat it with great care and reverence.
 Kinky, curly and coily hair is a little more prone to breakage than
straight hair because the bonds in hair are slightly weaker at the
“bend” points.
 Any harsh treatment or harsh chemicals will lead to breakage and
will result in less retention of hair length.
 On average, hair grows a maximum of 0.5 inches per month. You
can expect 3 to 5 inches of growth per year (after trimming).
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8. Maximum Hair Growth
 Hair does not grow forever.
 On average the growth cycle is 4 to 7 years. This limit is set by
genetics and cannot be changed.
 The growth cycle can be as short as 1 year and as long as 10 years!
 If your growth rate is 4 inches/year and your genetic limit is 5 years
the maximum you can achieve is 20 inches of hair (before trims).
 If you have fast hair growth of 6 inches/year but your cycle is only
one year, your hair will not grow beyond 6 inches.
 A little less with trims to keep the ends neat.
Almost 3 years natural
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9. 1. DETANGLING
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10. Detangling
 Detangling is the one crucial stage of
natural hair management that does not
exist when you have relaxed hair.
 Detangling tips:
o Only detangle moist plasticized hair.
o Finger-detangle first.
o Use a wide-tooth comb not a rattail comb.
Neno Natural’s
Wide Tooth Combs
Now available on Amazon!
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11. 2. WASH & CONDITION
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12. Wash & Condition
 Kinky, curly and coily hair is very
vulnerable to dryness.
 A wash every 7 to 10 days with a gentle,
sulfate-free shampoo is enough.
 Co-washing in-between shampoo days is
great if you want to wash more often.
 The longer your hair gets, the less often
you need to wash it because hair tangles
become a big issue and
the dry hair problem worsens.
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13. 3. CHEMICALS TO AVOID
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14. Chemicals to Avoid
 The only way to verify the quality of a
product is to read the label and understand
the ingredients.
 Some ingredients dry out and tangle hair.
 Some ingredients are bad for co-wash only
regimens.
 Don’t fall for marketing gimmicks.
 You’ll normally get better quality from
companies dedicated to natural hair rather
than relaxed hair manufacturers
monetizing the “natural” opportunity.
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15. 4. MOISTURIZING DRY HAIR:
NO MORE DRY HAIR!
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16. Moisturizing Dry Hair: Water
 Water is the supreme
moisturiser.
 DEEP condition weekly
with a proper deep
conditioner to replenish
hair.
 Use pH balanced
products.
 Seal hair moisture in
Spray bottles
using the LOC or LCO
method.
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17. 5. STIMULATING GROWTH
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18. Stimulating Hair Growth
 Use essential oils to
stimulate hair growth.
 Great essential oils for
hair include:
o Cedarwood
o Lavender
o Rosemary
o Thyme
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19. 6. HEAT AND YOUR HAIR
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20. Going Heat Free
 Use heat cautiously.
 Heat damaged hair loses it’s
kinky, curly form.
 Heat damage is not reversible
and will ultimately have to be
cut off because the straight
strands won’t blend with your
kinks and curls.
 Excessive heat use is likely to
also lead to increased rates of
hair breakage.
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21. 7. NUTRITION
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22. Nutrition
 A healthy diet is key to growing
long, healthy hair.
 A nutritional supplement will
help but it won’t make up for
an atrocious diet.
 A supplement will normally
make more difference in winter
when it’s hard to get enough
vitamin-D.
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23. 8. COMBING AND HANDLING
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24. Dry Hair HATES Combs!
 Avoid combing dry hair,
it’s likely to break.
 …but wet hair is also
weaker than dry hair.
 Damp / well moisturized
hair is best suited to
combing for naturally
kinky or curly hair.
 Finger detangle before
using any combs or
brushes.
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25. 9. SLEEPING
25

26. Sleeping
 Twist your hair before bed to avoid matted,
tangled hair.
 To prevent breakage from friction with
your pillow/mattress sleep on a satin
pillowcase or with a satin cap on your head.
 Cotton pillowcase are not ideal for natural
hair – too much friction.
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27. 10. HAIR STYLES FOR LENGTH
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28. Hair Styles For Length
 Protective hairstyles will help you to retain
more hair length.
 Protective styles are hair styles that involve
pulling your hair up so it doesn’t rub
against clothing and (ideally) hides the hair
ends, e.g. braids or updos.
 Protective styles are most critical when the
weather is bad, i.e. extremely hot, very
cold, windy or raining.
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29. 11. BRAIDING
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30. Braiding To Grow Hair
 Thin or heavy braids will pull out your hair,
avoid them.
 Braid hair when it is at its strongest not
when it is already weak and damaged.
 Don’t neglect your hair whilst it’s braided.
 Wash and deep condition braided hair
weekly and moisturize it too!
 Try not to keep braids in for over 8 to 9
weeks.
 Give hair a break between extensions
– at least two weeks before rebraiding.
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31. 12. WEATHER
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32. Weather
 During winter wear hats and scarves when
you are outside. This is the single best
thing you can do for your hair during
winter months.
 When you are on a long-haul flight take a
hat or even better, your satin night cap,
onto the plane with you!
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33. 13. FRIZZ CONTROL!
33

34. Frizz Control
 Don't rub or ruffle your
hair dry:
o Pat dry with a cotton
shirt or microfiber
towel.
o Or squeeze water
gently down your hair.
Section hair to make
this squeezing
(just over a year natural)
easier.
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35. 14. TRIMMING
35

36. How To Trim Natural Hair
•
•
When to do it: on wash day.
What type of scissors to use: very sharp ones.
•
How to do it:
o
o
o
•
http://youtu.be/BzfShdBPjKI
After you have rinsed out both shampoo and conditioner, apply your leave-in
conditioner or moisturizer.
Using a wide-tooth comb make sure your hair is well detangled before you twist
it for air drying.
Twist your whole head. Once twisted trim the end of each twist.
Will your hair be even? It will be even enough.
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37. 15. BUILDING A REGIMEN
37

38. Other People’s Regimens
 To help you formulate your own regimen,
check out regimens of other naturals at:
o NenoNatural.com/queens
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39. 16. PRODUCTS
39

40. Products
 Commercial products recommended by
Neno Natural Facebook fans are at:
o NenoNatural.com/Products
 Struggling to find good products? Make
your own: NenoNatural.com/TV
These products
do not
exist, they’re my
fantasy!
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41. Welcome to Neno Natural
And thanks for being a supporter!
You’ll see this guy in some of my YouTube videos – he’s my biggest fan
and husband – watches every single video I make, reads every blog.
Harry
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Heather
41

42. How To Grow Long, Healthy Hair
Get the full version of this book at:
NenoNatural.com/FreeInfo
The full version
is longer and
has more
content on
each page.
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42