The Green House Effect Method is a natural and effective means of boosting hair growth due to the fact that it allows the hair to retain moisture more efficiently. The steam effect created penetrates into the scalp to increase average growth rate. It was started by Meeka, who also started the Real Queens Regimen which involves using all natural products and shampooing the hair once or twice a month for more on this regimen kindly check out the website here. The way to do the green house effect is explained below:
1. Simply apply some oil on the length of your hair however note that this step is optional
2. Put your hair in a bun, ponytail, braids, twists or any other style.
3. Cover your hair with a plastic cap, you can use more than one for extra warmth (and use a scarf over it as well, you can also add an extra scarf or a bonnet) it is best to get enough warmth as possible.
4. Leave your hair covered overnight or leave on for a long period of time. This will create a green house steam effect in your hair.
5. Remove plastic cap and allow your hair to dry naturally on its own or you can try to speed up the process by using a blow dryer on a cool setting. Your hair should feel slightly damp and not wet.
6. Moisturise and seal your hair as usual and style your hair as desired.
For those relaxed ladies who wear their hair straight and want to maintain a straight style. You can start off by wearing a scarf on your head and using the plastic cap over your hair and then adding another scarf.
You can use this method anytime from one – five times a week, it is all about maintaining a healthy balance and finding out what works for you. Please note that you do not need to wash your hair after using this method.
The founder of this technique states that we are not to oil our scalp prior to the ghe as this process is supposed to stimulate the healthy production of sebum to our scalp which nourishes and increases hair growth. However if you choose to use some oil on your scalp you can do so which is what I do sometimes. Please note that it is also recommended that no moisturiser is used on the hair prior to covering it, even oil is optional. This is where this method varies from other methods such as the baggying method.
I have not been as diligent in the ghe method as I could and I need to get on it pronto. This method is an optional part of the Birthday Hair Growth Challenge however it is an excellent way to achieve faster hair growth.
Has anyone tried this method and benefited from it or have you tried other variants of this method? Or is this something you will be willing to try to encourage hair growth? Kindly share.
TONKABELLE,xoxo
Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall – Confucius
ContactLucy Lu
Some say it can prevent growth if done too often as it stops oxygen to ur scalp
What are ur thoughts on this
ADA
hello just joined this blog. i like everything about Ur hair post. I'm a relaxed lady and my hair is due to be relaxed (12 weeks) pls do i need to do anything to my hair before relaxing it or what do i do generally?
Tonkabelle
The Green House Effect cannot prevent the flow of air to your scalp. However it is important that it is not done too often as too much of a good thing is usually harmful.
Tonkabelle
Thank you for joining Ada dear and I truly appreciate your lovely compliment. You can ensure that you do a protein treatment before relaxing your hair, however it should not be done too close to the relaxer day. Leave at least a week apart. The day before relaxing your hair do not scratch your scalp and you may wish to apply an oil or cream to your scalp prior to relaxing your hair. I intend to do a post on this topic asap. Hope this helps 🙂
Anonymous
hi i did the ghe some time ago and the only thing it did is chop off my back hair and masive shedding hvnt recovered frm tht major setback yet
Tonkabelle
I am so sorry about that, I am not sure ghe alone was responsible for this. What procedure did you follow?
Anonymous
I'm going through some shedding using the ghe method and the only thing I do is put the plastic cap on then my usually scarf to tie my hair up with. Idk if I should continue.
Unknown
I got this from the Real Queen website too when I was doing a google search, I used to sleep with a shower cap when I had a curly perm and I noticed my hair needed a re-touch too often,at the time I didn't know what was causing this… Anyway I went natural and my hair is 4c which was always dry I wondered if this was okay practice(sleeping with a shower cap to keep it moisturized through the day) and that's when I stumbled upon GHE. I did everyday for a month and it did wonders!
Basically I got my mom to plait my hair, I'm not sure what the plaits are called, african threading I think it's called,(I'm south african), every night I sprayed my hair with glycerin and water mix, put the shower cap on follwed by a scarf and in the morning take it off and let my hair breathe. My hair grew so much. I have a comparison picture, pity I cant post it
Unknown
I got this from the Real Queen website too when I was doing a google search, I used to sleep with a shower cap when I had a curly perm and I noticed my hair needed a re-touch too often,at the time I didn't know what was causing this… Anyway I went natural and my hair is 4c which was always dry I wondered if this was okay practice(sleeping with a shower cap to keep it moisturized through the day) and that's when I stumbled upon GHE. I did everyday for a month and it did wonders!
Basically I got my mom to plait my hair, I'm not sure what the plaits are called, african threading I think it's called,(I'm south african), every night I sprayed my hair with glycerin and water mix, put the shower cap on follwed by a scarf and in the morning take it off and let my hair breathe. My hair grew so much. I have a comparison picture, pity I cant post it
MIZSCORPIO
I am going to try until the end of the year (2013) I have been natural for almost 2 years! I am just looking for additional length.
MIZSCORPIO
I am trying the GHE right now. Will let you know how everything turned out in 60 days!
Janna F
Hi. I just learned about the ghe for hair today. I normally use the loc method for moisture, as i can never seem to moisturize enough. I had already added curl milk before i found this blog, but decided to still give it a try. Wish me luck!
Anonymous
Can this be done on damp hair that had just been washed?
TaSchema Hopkins
I have been doing this for the past month and I love my results, moisture being retained AMAZING!!! I have seen a 1/2 inch of growth to my edges which is great for me being my edges are always short. I am looking forward to seeing more results in the coming months. My hair grows in sections so I know it won't show even results but any growth is a plus. I use a castor oil with tea tree oil to help sooth the itching, for me itching is good means growth is on the way wish I had known about this 4 years ago I would have way more hair now lol.
Anonymous
The results are wonderful for the ghe. My sides have grown in massively. I'm glad I found out about it. It saves a lot of time and I live in Las Vegas and my hair is now thriving in this dry weather. I have coily 3c hair and it requires a lot of moisture and this does the trick!
Bianca Ward
Wow this is exactly what i have been looking for, you have helped me heaps Thank you so much this is going to help me alot <3
Anonymous
This method is also known as the "Baggy Method" which I first learned of almost 10 years ago from Chicoro on Fotki. She has a book called the "Grow It Method". I think her hair is amazing. By following her method I acheived great results as well. I just found out that it is also called the Green House Effect. Regardless of what name it goes by, this method does work.
You should check out Chicoro:
http://members.fotki.com/Chicoro123/about
http://www.youtube.com/user/MsChicoro?feature=watch
Anonymous
I've been doing this for years but I would always oil my scalp wit coconut oil and brush my hair really good(like a hundred brushes lol) and then tie it at night.Something must have worked because my hair is down my back and thicker
Anonymous
the Baggy Method and the Greenhouse Effect Method are not one and the same, they both just so happen to use plastic caps/bags in their routines. The Baggy Method is great to use when you want to pre-poo and does not specify what products can and cannot be used for best results. many people simply suggest what works best for them when they're doing it.
But with the Greenhouse Effect Method you MUST use all natural products, avoid putting any oils or moisturizers directly on your scalp (to prevent product buildup/ itchiness), and are encouraged to implement it AT LEAST 5 days out of the week.
So, the major difference between the Baggy Method and the GHE Method is that GHE is very specific with what should and should not be used on your hair, and how. It fits easily into the CG (Curly Girl) Method AND the LOC (Liquid Oil Cream) Method – which are both very simplistic regimens that stress the use of all natural products. unlike with the Baggy Method, where you can use whatever products that suit your preference. With GHE you can go as long as you want to (I've even heard of some women leaving their caps on throughout the day, under weaves, over their extensions at night, and so forth) without having to worry about breakage, developing mold, or over-moisturizing. And it works because it encourages your hairs natural oils to come forth, promoting growth and moisture retention.
just wanted to make it clear that they are not the same.
Anonymous
are you keeping your hair moisturized? ghe method alone doesn't substitute a regular hair care regimen.
Alyssa Thomas
I have extremely dry hair and have been trying to get my hair healthy so it can grow. My hair is very thick but short because it sheds all the time. So hopefully this will help get me on the right track
Jeanelle-Nelly Gedeon
GHE is the first method I have found that gives me guaranteed results. Since starting this my hair is healthy and very rarely breaks off. My hair has also grown a lot, to the point that I notice, not just other people. I never know when my hair has grown because it is so slow. However this has pushed my growth and retention to the max. I do GHE 2 days straight, changing the cap once (I bought 100 plastic caps) and then washing on the third day because it gets funky under there lol. I then let my hair dry and then back under the cap for two days. After that I flat iron and wear this for a few days, and start the process all over again. I am only able to do this so often because I am at home recovering from surgery. When I am at work I sometimes wear my cap under a wig….but only in cold weather.
I love ghe and will continue as part of my regimen.
I use almond oil mainly, but any oil will do. I have also used carrot oil, castor oil and olive oil. I also sometimes put shea moisture DC on ( either the she butter one or the anti breakage one) first, I concentrate it on my ends and this works amazingly. I make sure to do a protein cowash when I wet my hair also.
I have been doing this for nearly 3 months and I noticed growth and health benefits within two weeks. My hair went from shoulder length to grazing apl and my dry edges and crown are now moisturised and growing along with the rest of my hair. My nape hair, which was a problem when I was relaxed is growing at a ridiculous rate, much faster than the rest of my hair.
GHE works for sure
april white
I do this 4 nights a week, IT WORKS. I'm not sure if my hair is growing faster, but I have retained length. I was shoulder length when I started (Aug. 2013) and now I'm 4" away from waist length
Unknown
I literally have two plastic bags on my hair now!
Oyinda
Sorry this comment is so long �� I hope you read it though.
Hi,
I have natural hair and I can tell you that the GHE works wonders. With my last protective style, I used acv to clean my scalp without diluting it or rinsing it off after. In retrospect, I see how silly that was. After I took down the hair, I had massive shedding. I was almost crying as I was washing my hair. Thing is I have really full hair so people didn't really notice but I could tell how much hair I lost.
Two days later, I got an oil mix from a friend( Afro Pelo http://afropelo.blogspot.com.ng). It's got castor oil, melted Shea butter, melted cocoa butter, coconut oil, some other oils and some vitamins). Aaaanyway, she advised me to try the ghe with the mix and I did that about 8 times in two weeks.
The results were uh-mazimg!! My hair stayed moisturised all day everyday. I had it in twists up until two days to wash day and the hair just stayed bouncy. If not for my edges, I coulda forgotten that I had had a run-in with acv. Wash day was awesome too!! After shampooing, before my dc, I couldn't keep my hands off my hair. It was just so soft and it had so much slip. I couldn't believe it was the same nearly damaged hair. The shedding had basically stopped and my hair was all bouncy and whatnot. And all I did was the ghe with the Afro Pelo oil mix.
Absolutely amazing.
Unknown
Hey
I am Indian.. I generally use two table spoons of coconut oil and two table spoons of castor oil on my hair. Warm it up first then apply it onto hair and scalp. I then tie my hair with a plastic bag. I have been doing this for 3 weeks now and it has made my hair so much more healthy, thick and longer.
Also using two eggs and two table spoons of olive oil mixed then applied to hair helps for the growth. Do it only once a month.
Note that it does smell bad but is brilliant for hair growth and strength.
Anonymous
yes i done the ghe method for 1 month gain 1 inch. so i decided to do natural mini braids. i do it 5 days m-f and on the weekend i leave it cover for two days straight. omg 1/2 inch in 2 weeks.and my hair is 4b.i have 13 1/2 inches now. fully nature.i need 9 more inches to go. but it does work.
La Verne Hughes
I've done the ghe method for over 30 years because I am prone to eczema on my scalp. I just didn't call it the 'greenhouse effect'.