8 Ways to Grow Your HAIR Faster

Do you want to grow your hair faster?

It’s a known fact of life: Girls are always changing their hair. They grow it out for years, just to realize that they want their hair to be short. After a week of short hair, they realize that they miss their long hair and start the cycle all over again. Actually, in today’s world of the “Justin Bieber Hairstyle,” a lot of guys are even trying to grow their hair faster.

Well, personally, my hair is still recovering up from a bad haircut. It was basically chopped into a mullet and has never fully recovered. Because I want to grow my hair long faster, like you, and I am sick of putting in my extensions every day, I am going to teach you ways that will legitimately help your hair grow faster.

1. Try To Keep Your Hair From Damaging

The first thing you can do to help grow your hair faster is to eliminate sources of damage.

Just so you know, I am the *queen* of damaged hair.

I can’t even count how many times I have colored my hair black, just to bleach it back to platinum blonde again, and back and forth.

The last time that I colored my hair platinum blonde, I committed to keeping it that way. I try to go as long as possible in between hair colors to give it time to heal. People ask me all the time how my hair is so healthy, soft and shiny, even though I bleach it. I am constantly reconditioning it in between colors. I really like the It’s a 10 Miracle Hair Masque. When I am at home, doing chores, I’ll put some conditioner in my hair, put a plastic bag around it, and leave it. Sometimes, I will even sleep with it in my hair. I also try to keep my flat-iron use minimal. If you do flat-iron your hair every day, do use a protectant /conditioning spray, like the HealthySexyHair “Soya Want Flat Hair Flat Iron Spray”, which infuses your hair with protein as you use it. I also use protein shampoo/conditioner often. Dumb Blonde by Bedhead is my favorite. Keep in mind that your hair needs more than just protein. I live in Nevada, where there is usually about 0% humidity, so every once in a while I use a Moisturizing Shampoo. My favorite is Bedhead Urban Antidotes Recovery Level 2. To read more about keeping bleached hair healthy, click here. You’ll never be able to grow your hair faster, if you are creating constant breakage. Okay, now that we understand how vital it is to keep your hair healthy…

2. Trim Your Hair Every 6 Weeks

A lot of people don’t think cutting your hair will help it grow faster. And although, it doesn’t make it grow faster, it will eliminate split ends, which could lead to shorter hair. The best analogy I have ever heard, is to think of your hair like a piece of rope. When rope starts to fray, you have to burn the piece that is frayed, or else it will continue to fray further up the rope. If you have split ends, and you don’t trim them, they may continue to split further up your hair, causing breakage. Breakage means shorter hair. We can’t have that if we are trying to grow it out faster.

You don’t have to cut a lot of hair off. Just be very sure to express to your hair stylist that you only want to trim the tips of your hair because you are trying to grow it out, and want the split ends cut off. Also be sure to let them know not to cut off more than a quarter/half-inch. The better communication you give to your stylist, the better he/she can understand what you want and deliver it to you.

3. Take Vitamins

You probably always hear that prenatal vitamins make your hair grow faster. I have researched that topic a lot in the past, and it turns out that an abundance of hormones produced while pregnant is what really makes your hair grow, not the prenatal vitamins.

Here is a hair lesson: For normal people, at any given time, 90% of their hair is in the growth phase, while the other 10% is in a resting phase. This is why your hair grows uneven after a haircut. After the resting phase, your hair follicle prepares for the shedding phase. It is normal for anyone to lose about 50-100 hair strands per day.

The increased level of estrogen present in pregnant women causes ALL of your hair to stay in it’s growing phase. Therefore, you are not losing any hair (which gives the impression that your hair is growing faster). Hair texture and color have also been noted to change during pregnancy. Now keep in mind, before you rush out to get pregnant, that pregnant women lose a TON of hair after they have a baby. This is because the estrogen level drops back down to normal, and they shed all of the hair that they didn’t lose while they were pregnant.

So even if prenatal vitamins are a bust, there are still other vitamins that help your hair grow faster. Vitamins rich in B-complex are known to help your hair grow a great deal. Vitamin B-complex contains biotin, folic acid and insositol which help rotate the growth cycle of your hair quicker than it did before. There is even vitamin B-complex shampoo that is said to help your hair grow faster. It is said that flax-seed oil, vitamin E, and vitamin A all also help grow your hair faster. Personally, I have used the Nioxin Vitamins that are designed for growing hair, and also “hair, skin and nails” pills, and have seen positive effects with both of them.

4. Eliminate factors that impede hair growth

Keep in mind, that every thing you put in your body comes out through your hair. Different types of medications cause different reactions to your hair. Sometimes, medications will cause a color or perm to not take, and also some can make your hair fall out. Your hair will not grow faster if you are constantly losing hair. Common types of medications that cause hair loss are Acne medications, antibiotics, antidepressants, birth control, anti-clotting pills, cholesterol lowering, drugs that suppress the immune system, epilepsy drugs, drugs used in breast cancer, high-blood pressure medications, hormone replacement, mood stabilizers, steroids, weight-loss drugs and thyroid medications. It does depend on what dosage you take and how sensitive you are to them. I don’t know much about the health industry, so I would recommend talking to a doctor about what you take.

Now medications are a hard thing to deal with because many of us need our drugs. But another thing to keep in mind is that if you are unhealthy, so is your hair. Eating healthier food, drinking a lot of water, not smoking/drinking alcohol are all factors that play a part in hair growth.

Another big problem is stress. Stress does a number of horrific things to your body but can also trigger hair loss. It’s easier said than done sometimes, but try to de-stress if you want your hair to grow faster.

5. Stimulate your scalp

There’s an old wives tale that states if you brush your hair 100 times every night before you go to sleep, it will make your hair grow faster. Not only is that not true, but brushing your hair is actually bad for your hair. The bristles get caught in small tangles and usually rip hair out, creating our enemy: breakage. When your hair is wet, you should comb it with a wide-tooth comb to help eliminate breakage.

There is something called “Scientific Brushing” that is said to help grow hair faster though. It is vital that you use a natural bristle brush and remember, you are brushing it against your scalp, not your hair. You brush all around your hairline first, then you brush in 1/2 inch subsections throughout your scalp. When you brush, do a rolling motion. The bristles stimulate and bring blood flow to your scalp, which encourages hair to grow faster. Do this before you shampoo your hair. I would also comb it first to make sure there are no tangles. Scientific brushing can also help with dandruff.

When you shampoo your hair, really massage your scalp. This does the same thing as the scientific brushing. Sometimes, it’s even better to shampoo your hair twice so you get a better lather. I would spend a few minutes massaging your scalp. Not only does it help, but it also feels good!

6. Nioxin / Invati

Working in the hair industry, I have heard a ton of good things about Nioxin. In fact, I had one client that specifically told me that it was so weird because hair was growing so much, and she had a lot of new growth. She couldn’t figure out why it was growing. I asked her what she used. She said “Nioxin”. I told her that Nioxin is formulated to make your hair grow and she didn’t even know that. Now she’s hooked on it for life. She will buy another bottle before she even runs out, so she never has to go without it. It works by detoxifying your scalp, removing and neutralizing toxins, cleaning out the pores, and reducing scalp inflammation. It also cleanses hormones from the hair follicle that causes male pattern baldness.

It’s a controversial topic if Nioxin actually works or not to make hair grow faster. The answer is it works differently on everyone. I’ve heard people say that they’ve used it for months upon months and seen no difference. I also know people who swear by it. It is not known if it actually makes your hair grow faster or just stops you from losing hair. Either way, I believe it works, and the fact that it keeps your scalp healthy, can’t hurt. I know that the best results are seen when the cleanser, scalp therapy conditioner, and the scalp treatment (which you spray on after you get out of the shower) are all used. I recommend a starter kit like this one. I also know that it takes a few months to start seeing noticeable results. I have heard people say that they think Nioxin dries their hair out, but my own personal experience is that it makes my hair feel very soft and hydrated when I use it.

Yesterday, it was brought to my attention that there is a new product similar to Nioxin, made by Aveda, called Invati. I can’t really tell you anything about it, but it is supposed to work well, and Aveda is at trustworthy name, so I would expect it to be good.

7. Eat a lot of protein

I know someone who is getting a gastrointestinal bypass real soon. The doctors instructed her that she needs to eat a lot of protein before, and after the surgery. The doctor told her that all the extra protein will make her hair grow faster. It makes sense, right? Hair is composed of 80% protein. If your body is not getting enough protein, it may not have enough to give your hair follicles, and therefore your hair will grow slower.

8. Rogaine

If all else fails, there is always Rogaine. Rogaine is the only FDA approved, over-the-counter topical medication that is actually proved to make your hair grow faster. Minoxidil is the active ingredient in Rogaine, and exactly how it works is unproven. It was originally a drug used to treat high blood pressure, but it turns out that it works better for growing hair than keeping blood pressure down. A 16 week study showed that 85% of people using it correctly experienced new hair growth. Only mild side-effects have been reported, including scalp irritation and itching. I say its worth a shot!

Read more about hair at my blog: http://www.holleewoodhair.org

8 Ways to Grow Your HAIR Faster by Hollee Eckenrode