Your hair is more than just a stylistic choice; it’s integral to your identity. So, adding length and volume to your locks can often feel like an endless waiting game. We’ve all seen the ‘hacks to hair growth’ on TikTok, but with so much information available, it’s difficult to know what to believe. This article will give you the complete low-down on hair growth do’s and don’ts, so you’ve got all the information on how to make your hair grow faster.
How To Make Your Hair Grow Faster: Glow-up Guide
Using expert advice, we’ll help you navigate the world of hair growth and decide on the best methods for you. We’ll look at the science behind hair growth and habits you can add to your routine for accelerated growth. We’ll also check out some of the best products for adding length and volume, from hair extensions to growth vitamins. Keep reading for the complete guide to your glow-up.
- How Fast Does Hair Grow?
- Why Is My Hair Not Growing?
- How Long Does It Take For Hair To Grow Back?
- Best Hair Growth Products
- Best Vitamins For Hair Growth
- Best Food For Hair Growth
- Our Top Hair Growth Tips
How Fast Does Hair Grow?
If you’ve recently been on the end of a bad haircut or you’re regretting those bangs you tried out, you’ll be asking yourself one thing: how fast does hair grow? The answer is complicated. Hair growth depends on a wide range of factors, including your diet, race and hormones.
Typically, healthy human hair grows at a rate of 0.35mm a day, just under 13cm a year. However, there’s a huge amount of variation throughout the population, with some being blessed with rapid hair growth and others falling well short of the average rate.
One of the most significant factors influencing hair growth is age. Humans are born with millions of hair follicles all over their bodies, including over one million on their heads. As we age, some of these follicles begin dying off, meaning no hair can grow from them anymore. This is often the reason for thinning hair and baldness with age.
Hormones and wellness also affect hair growth. Pregnant women often experience increased hair growth due to a rise in estrogen. Additionally, those with heightened stress levels are likely to have a reduced rate of hair growth and, in some cases, alopecia/acute hair shedding.
Why Is My Hair Not Growing?
It might often feel like your hair has given up on you and stopped growing. You might notice thinning in a particular area or lopsided growth. While this can be extremely frustrating, it is entirely natural and can be attributed to the hair growth cycle. Each hair follicle will go through three phases during its life:
Anagen: A period of active growth generally lasting up to four years. It is estimated that 90 per cent of the hairs on your head are in the anagen phase at any given time.
Catagen: This is a transition phase when the hair has stopped growing but doesn’t fall out. It typically lasts between four and six weeks.
Telogen: This is a ‘resting phase’ when the hair will fall out. It lasts up to three months.
If you’ve noticed a lack of growth in your hair, it may be that many of your follicles are in the catagen or telogen phase, and normal growth will resume in a matter of months.
Genetics play a big role in the hair growth cycle, as hair loss patterns are often hereditary. The genes for hair loss can be passed down on both sides of the family, so if your parents are experiencing thinning hair, there’s a strong chance you will, too.
How Long Does It Take For Hair To Grow Back?
It’s very common to experience significant hair loss following a period of heightened stress; this is called telogen effluvium. Events such as surgery, childbirth or the loss of a loved one will often induce this phase of temporary hair loss. Typically, it will begin two to three months after the stressful event and can last for up to six months. This phase can continue for years when the stress is ongoing. Hair will begin growing again once it is no longer in the ‘resting’ phase. The growth rate will return to what it was before telogen effluvium and, like before, depends on numerous genetic and lifestyle influences. Healthy hair should grow at a rate of around 13cm a year.
If you’re looking for an immediate solution to stress-induced hair loss, hair extensions and silk closures can help restore your confidence. With the correct hair care, your extensions will help you perfect your look while you wait for your hair to regrow. Be sure to stock up on shampoo for hair extensions and conditioner for hair extensions to keep your locks in tip-top condition.
Best Hair Growth Products
If you’re looking to accelerate your hair growth, you’ll need complete confidence in the products you’re using. But knowing what’s best for you in a highly competitive market can be difficult. So, to help you make sense of it all, we’ve picked out some of our favourite products for healthy and voluminous hair.
Hair Growth Must-Haves:
- Hair Oils: Many essential oils are rumoured to miraculously cure slow-growing hair. However, very few of these claims are supported by science. Both biotin and caffeine have been proven to stimulate hair growth and prevent hair loss. So, by massaging a biotin hair oil into your scalp, you’ll be encouraging strong and healthy hair growth. If you’ve opted for extensions, it’s essential to incorporate oil for hair extensions into your haircare routine.
- Hair Growth Shampoo And Conditioner: Many modern formulations for shampoos and conditioners feature ingredients specifically targeting hair growth. PH-balanced products are best at stimulating growth as they lack the chemicals in many shampoos and conditioners that will damage your hair.
- Hair Growth Treatments And Masks: Regular masking can make a world of difference in promoting growth. Serums with ingredients like tea tree oil promote a healthy scalp environment, stimulating growth.
Best Vitamins For Hair Growth
Vitamins provide all kinds of benefits for your hair. They help in cell growth, prevent damage, keep it from greying prematurely, and nourish the follicles to stimulate growth. Each vitamin has the potential to benefit your hair in a different way, but here are some of the most crucial if you’re looking for accelerated growth:
Vitamins To Boost Growth
- Biotin: Also known as vitamin B7, biotin stimulates the production of keratin, a protein that helps form hair. It’s found in many foods, including eggs, fish, nuts and sweet potatoes. Alternatively, biotin gummies can help adults get their recommended intake of 30 micrograms.
- Vitamin A: Hair cells are the fastest-growing part of the body, and vitamin A fuels them. After absorbing vitamin A, the body produces sebum, an oily substance that moisturises the scalp and keeps hair follicles healthy. To get more vitamin A, you’ll need to consume foods high in beta-carotene. This includes pumpkins, carrots, spinach, and kale.
- Vitamin D: Deficiencies in vitamin D can lead to many hair loss conditions, so it’s important to maintain a healthy level in your system. Vitamin D is found in fortified foods like bread and cereal, but you can also get it by being out in the sun.
- Iron: Your body uses iron to fuel the production of haemoglobin, a protein found in red blood cells that helps deliver oxygen around the body. As a result, a lack of it can lead to hair loss. The recommended daily iron intake is 45 milligrams, which can be obtained through foods like red meat and lentils.
- Zinc: Zinc promotes hair growth and ensures the oil glands surrounding hair follicles work well. Zinc deficiencies are common in people who drink excessive alcohol, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or have Crohn’s disease. Zinc is found in foods like beef, spinach, and lentils.
Best Food For Hair Growth
It’s often forgotten that diet plays a crucial role in hair health, so nutritional adjustments can prove massively beneficial in promoting hair growth. The right foods provide all the vitamins and minerals necessary to add volume and length to hair.
Any diet intended to promote hair growth should include eggs. They’re an excellent protein and biotin source, meaning your hair will be healthy and voluminous. They’re also packed with zinc, making them one of the best foods for optimal hair growth.
Additionally, berries are loaded with compounds that boost hair growth. They’re full of antioxidants that help protect hair follicles and reduce the amount of damage to your hair over time. 150 grams of strawberries will provide you with all the vitamin C you need daily.
Finally, spinach is a real superfood if your goal is a healthy head of hair. It’s loaded with beneficial nutrients like folate, iron, and vitamins A and C. All of these are essential for hair growth. However, make sure you don’t go overboard, as too much vitamin A can have an adverse effect and has been linked to hair loss.
Our Top Hair Growth Tips
It’s clear that if you’re going for the Rapunzel look, you’ve got to put in the work. From getting enough of the right vitamins to following a growth-specific haircare routine, there are plenty of ways to improve your hair’s health and length. You can also implement plenty of lifestyle habits to encourage growth.
One of these positive habits is increasing the frequency of your trims. Although it might sound counterintuitive, regular haircuts remove split ends and encourage healthy hair to grow in its place. Removing damaged hair allows for faster growth and gives the image of fuller, healthier-looking hair.
If your hair is frizzy and knotted when you wake up each morning, it might be worth switching to a silk pillowcase. Your hair is put through a tough time each night in your sleep, but a silk pillowcase will help keep your hair smooth and tangle-free as it’s far less abrasive than cotton.
Alternatively, if you’ve noticed a sudden change in your hair’s health, it might be worth getting a health screening. This will allow you to replenish any vitamins and minerals you may be lacking, and it’s also a great way to stay on top of your overall health. Your hair is an excellent indicator of your holistic health, so it’s always worth paying attention to how it feels.
Time To Glow
Now that you have all the information you need regarding hair growth, it’s time to act on what you’ve learned and level up your hair. From natural hair extensions to biotin gummies, you’ll find everything you need to encourage hair growth at Regal Envy. So, what are you waiting for? You’re glow-up starts now!
