How to grow 4c hair FAST | Type 4 Hair Growth
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Last Updated on February 24, 2026 by Tiffany
I always thought my hair wasn’t growing because it was 4c and that looser curls would grow but mine wouldn’t. Little did I know t hat I was so wrong. There is no spell on the Earth for all hair types to grow except for 4c. On this haircare journey, I’ve learned how to grow 4c hair, and fast at that!
All it takes is a little love and a whole lot of patience. Taking the time to understand what my hair likes and what methods and products it prefers is what truly helped my hair to finally grow past chin length. If I could do it, so can you! Let’s dive into how to make our 4c hair grow long and healthy.
What is My Porosity?
The porosity of your hair is basically how it allows moisture into your strands and how easy or hard it might be. People with high porosity have hair that accepts moisture easily but it loses that moisture just as quickly.
While it might seem nice to have hair that accepts moisture asap, as soon as it leaves the strands can become frizzy and brittle. When looking for the products best for you, I believe hair porosity is one of the most important determining factors.
If someone else has 4a or even 3b hair, you may be using the same products if you share hair porosity. High porosity often times requires thicker products while low porosity can get by using a bit of a thinner cream. I always do the LCO (liquid, cream, oil) method and seal the moisture in with blue magic hair grease.
Low porosity hair almost repels water. If you’ve seen videos of people on social media swimming at the beach with their afro and they walk out looking as if their hair is almost dry- that’s low porosity.
My hair used to be low porosity as a child, but after back to back knotless braids for nearly 5 years, my hair sadly switched to high porosity. It is important to note that not all high porosity hair is damaged and not all low porosity is healthy.
However, high porosity can often times be obtained from damage- heat, environment over manipulation excessive drying, you name it. After months of low manipulation, moisture, and weekly condition treatments, my hair is finally leaning more towards medium porosity. The goal is to finally get it to medium porosity and keep it healthy.
A few years ago I noticed that all the products my hair used to accept, were all of a sudden being rejected. My hair basically only allowed one leave in conditioner. This had me so confused, frustrated and upset!
For years, I would get upset and cry out that my 4c hair was unmanageable, didn’t listen, and no products would work in my hair. Little did I know that my hair porosity changed thus the products I needed to use also changed!
Moral of the story, many other Black women with 4c hair have most likely also been through the same as me. Try different methods, be patient, and figure out what works for your hair. Breathe, we got this sis.
What is my Density?- How to grow 4c Hair
When people try to claim other hair types grow longer than 4c hair (which is not at all true or science backed) I say density is one of the only things genetics can determine. That and your coil/curl pattern and thickness of a single strand.
Hair density is how many strands are on your scalp per square inch. So, two girls with 4c hair can have waist length hair, but different density types.
A lot of girlies nowadays are posting online about how they’re sad they have fine, thin 4c hair. While there may not be much to do to change your density or thickness of strand, you can style your hair to make it appear fuller!
During this natural hair journey it’s important to love your hair in all its forms, lengths, and health. The more you love your hair, the more you are willing to take care of it so it can grow healthy.
The Hair Growth Tips
Now that we’ve defined porosity and density, let’s get into the hair growth tips! Before we start, I want to say to it is important to remain open-minded to advice. Always try different methods to find out what works best for you.
What works for me might not work for you and vice versa. With that being said, let’s get this show on the road!
Are you lacking in Vitamins?- How to grow 4c Hair
One of the biggest reasons that your 4C hair might give the appearance that it is not growing is vitamin deficiencies. Vitamin D and iron are two of the largest culprits that cause hair loss and/or hair thinning in women.
Many women don’t know they need nearly 2x as much iron as men, especially around the time they’re menstruating. Vitamin D is also something people with darker skin who live in cold climates suffer a lot- it has even affected me!
An easy fix to this is taking iron pills or consuming more iron rich food like cream of wheat, spinach, or lentils. Increasing my iron has made a huge difference in my hair growth and health. My hair is thicker, healthier, and less brittle.
Because I (sadly) live somewhere the sun does not shine bright everyday, I do supplement vitamin d as well. Try to look for multi vitamins that contain iron and vitamin to say extra money.
Mary Ruth’s is actually a vitamin I’ve been taking everyday that has made my hair grow uncontrollably fast! It is a very expensive vitamin, but worth it for my body and hair health.
Wash your hair weekly! (or more!)- How to grow 4c Hair
Who else has fallen for the ruse that type 4 hair should only be washed 1-2 times per month? I know I surely did. I didn’t even realise how wrong this was until I got a curly cut in Brazil. As soon as I sat down in the chair, the stylist could tell how damaged and thirsty my hair was.
For the first time, I met someone who specialised in 4c hair and she told me she could see how damaged my hair was. After telling the stylist I only wash my hair twice a month, she informed me I was doing it all wrong.
I was told that moving forward I should expect to wash my hair once a week (at LEAST) and that twice or even three times is better!
I’ve been washing my hair 1-2 times per week for the past few months now and my hair is so healthy. Needless to say, my hair has never grown this fast or been this happy in my life!
Think about it, if you wash your hair once a month that is only 12 times per year. 12 times to have a clean scalp, 12 times your hair can properly breath, 12 times dust, lint, and dirt will be washed off. A dirty scalp is NOT a healthy scalp and it surely doesn’t make your hair grow faster. Let’s try to change this narrative babes.
No more tight knotless braids!
Yes, they’re cute. They’re low manipulation and easy. Yes, you can just wake up and walk out the door without doing anything to your hair. But knotless braids are absolutely not a protective hairstyle and they end up being extremely damaging to 4c hair.
Once I realized the horrible damage knotless braids did to my strands (and my edges!) I had to let them go. Knotless braids add extreme amounts of tension and weight to one single strand of hair. This causes it to become weaker and more brittle.
True protective styles typically do not include added synthetic hair. Many reports have shown that the synthetic braiding hair we love so much have chemical carcinogens and can cause serious illness in the future. Instead of knotless braids, it can be considered to do mini braids without any added extensions.
Green Tea Rinses- How to grow 4c Hair
These magical rinses have absolutely changed my life for the better! Green tea contains the ability to block DHT, a chemical that causes excessive hair shedding. Let’s set the record straight, the average human sheds about 50-100 strands of hair a day.
However, lots of people may shed even more hair than that due to many different reasons. I have been using green tea rinses for the past 3-4 months and the difference in how much I’ve shed is astronomical!
Along with one liter of boiling water, I combine two green tea bags, one teaspoon of moringa, and one teaspoon of nettle. I allow this to sit overnight and use it the next day when I wash my hair.
Right after shampooing and before conditioner, I pour the cooled, strained green tea all over my scalp. Massaging it into my scalp for about 2-3 minutes, I then apply my conditioner and let it sit for about 5 minutes. End done deal and watch the shedding decrease like magic!
Eat LOTS of protein!
Stop sleeping on protein, like for real! Since I have been getting at least 70 grams of protein a day, my skin and hair have been so healthy! Did you know that our hair is actually made out of protein?
A large portion of our strands consist of keratin. If we don’t consume enough protein in our diet, our hair can become extremely dry, brittle, and break off.
Get your protein in sis, check out all the well seasoned high protein plant based recipes on the blog here!
Figure out a low maintenance/manipulation routine- How to grow 4c Hair
Most of the time, my hair stays in mini twists until my next washday. This is the best method of what allows my hair to best retain length.
They’re easy to install, can last 1-2 weeks (or even more), and have helped my hair retain insane amounts of length! Because this style is extremely low maintenance, I’m not touching my hair every single day, it can prevent breakage.
Not to mention, my hair is already done everyday, no worries about styling or bad hair days. I simply give my hair a simple 2-3 minute oil massage and I’m done!
Prioritize length retention
One of the main reasons why type 4 hair can have the appearance of not growing is poor length retention. All humans’ hair grows 1/2 an inch per month, including Black women’s hair! However, if hair is breaking off at that same rate, it will look like it hasn’t grown.
Constant manipulation in the form of over styling, heat, constant combing and knotless braids are just a few styles that can prevent length retention. I personally experienced this when I first went natural in high school.
I was touching my afro every single day, detangling every, and over manipulating my hair. It was such a sad moment when I went to get my hair straightened and not only did my hair not seem longer, it was inches shorter.
As mentioned before, to avoid breakage and properly retain length, I keep my hair in mini twists for 1 week minimum.
In between those times, I will either wear a cute scarf or a half wig style so no leave out is exposed.Wearing my hair in mini twists and not touching it until the next wash day has proven to be the best method for my personal length retention!
Oil Scalp Massages- How to grow 4c Hair
Babyyyyyyyyyyyy. When I tell you these daily oil scalp massages have been helping my scalp, I mean it. Massaging the scalp with your fingers or a massage brush helps to stimulate the hair follicles which can help growth.
When I was younger I feel like I definitely afraid of really getting into my scalp. I would just apply the oil, rub it in for a few seconds, and head out of there. Now, I give myself daily scalp massages, especially problem areas like my edges and nape!
I make sure to massage for about 2-3 minutes with a high quality oil and it has helped my hair health so much. Learn how to make my easy, homemade hair growth rosemary oil here!
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