How To Grow Your Nape

The nape area is probably the most vulnerable area of our hair. It's always rubbing against clothes and collars and for many people, this area has hair that is finer and more delicate than everywhere else, along with the hairline.

My nape was the reason I started my hair journey in 2008. I didn't care about having long hair, I just wanted to be able to have my nape not look like taco meat even being 1 day post. I did everything wrong that there was to do with at home hair care and consequently, my nape took the brunt of the beating.

This is my starting point in August 2008.

 

And below, March 2010. 

(I've had two haircuts and 2 trims between the first and second pics.)

Now, my nape is the same length as the rest of my hair and I love not having see-throughs. The growth process was a bit slow even during my Megatek stint. Disclosure: Megatek only increased my growth rate, not helped retain it. You must apply healthy practices to keep the hair you grow.

Here are the biggest tips I was thoroughly consistent about over the past year:



1. Applying relaxer last with minimal to no smoothing resulting in a texlax. 
No, it's not that attractive, but it's best for your most delicate areas for you to minimize chemical exposure. My hair quickly grew from taco meat to a big ole chia pet! I loved it!

2. Moisturize and seal. If I didn't do anything else, I applied a creamy moisturizer and sealed with an oil to this area every single night.

3. Minimize manipulation. I understand that its hard to disguise a nape when it's sticking out making the back of your neck look like Sonic the Hedgehog. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt. It's the awkward grow-out phase and you'll have to do what you have to do.

My favorite low-manipulation hair styles included the inverted french braid and Southern Tease bun. The external french braid where the full braid is exposed makes you need to have more tension so I avoided these.

 

Flexirod sets are another great alternative as the busy curls draw your hair up making it appear fuller and distracting anyone from the situation at the back of your neck.

4. Use low-tension. If you must brush, brush lightly and after you've moisturized and sealed your hair. You wouldn't try to drive your car without oil would you? So don't brush your hair without a lubricant.
Also, avoid forcing your nape into elastics, Place your elastic higher on your head and use a hair-friendly bobby pin to secure your nape up. It'll thank you later. If you feel the tension, it's too tight. Go another route.

5. Snip, snip! Last, but not least, you can get a trim or cut. This will rid you of your longer hair and give you the true appearance of fuller hair. After all of the babying I did and grew my nape out, it simply was not humanly possible for it to "catch up". The rest of your hair will continue to grow so your nape is about 5 steps behind.

Check the before and after. I cut, because my "down" styles would not last. They did not hang right due to the lack of shape.

A few weeks after my cut in April.

April 2009

I did not miss my hair one bit after I was able to swing it around and wear whatever style I wanted because it had shape to it and I was not self-conscious about having see-throughs. Of course, this was the last resort, but always keep this option in mind.

Now, my hair is full and I'm very happy about my nape. It feels good to be able to set my nape on the same size rollers as the rest of my hair!

March 2010

:-)

Posted in: Healthy Hair Growth,My hair,Natural Hair,Relaxed Hair