Hair grows an average of 6 inches a year, so whilst you won’t become Rapunzel in the space of a week, you can retain around an eighth to a quarter of an inch of new weekly growth by following these simple steps.

Short hair has the benefit of looking good with little effort whilst longer hair lends itself to a wider variety of different styles. There are benefits to any length and it's up to you how long you want to grow your hair.

Here are simple steps you can take each day this week to build (or enhance) a healthy hair care regime.

Monday: Moisturise & Seal

Ensuring your hair is moisturised & sealed will prevent your hair from being dry, brittle and breakage prone. We recommend the LOC method, if this doesn't work for you then start with a water based moisturising cream or spray and lightweight oil blend today and continue through the week. 

Tuesday: Protect your ends  

Your ends are your hair’s elders. What do you show the elders in your life? Generally more respect right? The same applies with your ends! The oldest part of your hair  requires more attention, patience and care. Today try out a style that requires you to tuck away your ends such as a bun or roll & tuck style. Check out our style page for inspiration!

Wednesday: Embrace a low manipulation approach 

Constantly fiddling with your hair can lead to breakage. Try keeping your protective style from Tuesday in for a few days. Cotton pillows can break your hair and dry it out during the night so sleep with a silk scarf or satin bonnet to maintain your style and retain moisture.

Thursday: Try finger combing

Step away from the hard bristle brushes and fine toothed combs. These are the enemy of healthy hair. Today, finger detangle instead. When combing through a section of hair it's easy to yank knots apart without even realising. Finger detangling reduces the number of split ends and knots.

Simply coat your fingers in oil and work through sections of your  hair, starting at the ends and working up to the roots. Once a section is detangled, you can twist or braid it for a new look. You’re most likely to be gentle with your hands because you can easily feel for knots and tangles to undo them with care. 

Friday: Keep the use of heat minimal 

Step away from the blowdryer! If you want a new style that won’t damage your hair forget the blowout and try a braid out or twist out instead.  

Saturday: Book a trim 

As tempting as it may be, holding on to split ends to retain length will just make your hair look messy and frazzled. Damaged ends are more likely to knot and tangle making hair care tedious. It's best to trim hair dry so that your natural curl is easier to follow but wet cuts can work too. You don't need to straighten before your trim so only do so if you want to, not because you’ve been told you have to. Don’t have a good hairdresser? Try Natural Gloe or Ziuzo, some of the top salons we work with.

Sunday: Snap it!

After all that hard work it is time for a selfie! It's helpful to keep a record of your hair growth through pictures as sometimes it’s hard for us to see progress. Being able to compare pictures will show you just how much your hair is growing.

Repeat these steps next week (replacing the trim with a wash and pamper session) and compare snaps to see your progress.

Did you see a difference from following these steps? Share your Sunday snaps with us using #AfrocenchixHairChallenge on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

More articles:

5 Things You Need to Know About Natural Hair

3 Easy Tips for Working Out with Natural Hair 

Top 5 Black Panther Natural Hair Moments