Question about growth rate

[Sarahlabyrinth]

I Googled hair growth rate and it said that average growth is around half an inch per month.

Presumably there are variations on this and I have heard people discussing growth spurts.

I have always thought that hair would grow faster in summer than in winter.

Yet when I began measuring my growth when I joined LHC in July this year, (winter)I was sitting on 20 inches. I measured again tonight and I am now 22inches. I suppose there is no way of knowing if this is a spurt or just normal growth?

(Hope it continues BTW)

What are your growth rates?

[based goddess]

Dyed my hair EXACTLY 1 month ago, so the line of demarcation is clear, and my growth rate is 3/4'' per month, thank GOODNESS, I need it grow as fast as possible.

[jojo]

It's better to look at growth rates annually and this equates to 6" a year for the average person, some months I can get an inch and other months nothing but overal I get 6" a year. Of course there are exceptions were certain individuals get less or more, it's all down to genetics and general health.

[browneyedsusan]

For the past several years, I colored my pixie monthly. It grows 1/2" per month, and my shaved sides showed how desperately I needed the fresh color! :D

[Sophiatrist]

It's better to look at growth rates annually... I am pretty much the same way, I get all depressed if I try to measure it too frequently. Mostly I just look at where it is at anatomically: right now I am someplace past BSL but not quite to where I would call it MBL.

[Anlbe]

My hair grows four inches a year. I highlight my hair every six months so I know it's been like this for years. It's frustratingly slow but I think quite a big reason is that I always cover my head outdoors so I don't get any UV rays on my scalp (which is the thing that makes your hair grow faster in the summer).

[pink.sara]

I mostly grow 1cm a month but will have occasional months of faster growth, usually in summer. For the past 3 years my hair has gained 6 inches a year.

[DancingQueen]

My natural growth rate is 1 cm per month. However, priorin have doubled my growth rate. But I agree it is probably better to take the yearly growth rate instead of the monthly. :)

[EtherealDoll]

I usually grow 2 cm a month but I dye my hair. It used to grow faster before I started dyeing.

[millyaulait]

I think I only really grow half an inch every two months.

Some months I grow nothing, it's annoying so I try to do a lot of 'faster growth' potions & lotions to make up for it. Sometimes it works... sometimes it doesn't.

I definitely agree about measuring the total annually rather than monthly. :)

[vanillabones]

It seems to me a lot of people grow MORE than half an inch a month :/ especially looking at progress pics. Wowzahs. I hope I'm getting half an inch a month.... possibly less. I don't really measure my hair though.

[spidermom]

My growth rate averages out to 2/3 inches per month (7 inches per year if not trimmed), but some months are faster, some are slower, and some months show no appreciable growth at all. Plus I know I'm losing length to breakage by the end of a year, so if there were any way to factor that in, I would probably find that my hair probably grows a little faster than that.

[Zesty]

I think my growth rate is slightly slower than the reported "average." I probably get 4-5 inches a year, about 1/4" in a normal month. When I look at pictures of my own hair it looks like dramatic growth, though, so I think our perceptions from progress pictures based on body landmarks are a little skewed.

[jacqueline101]

I'd say close to an inch is normal.

[hermosamendoza]

I don't know how my hair growth rate is naturally because I had horrible shedding and was balding after having a baby in 2010. So I cut it all off. when I started my LHC membership It was 10 inches long (from how I learned to measure from the hairline to the longest piece in the bake - per a longhair video on youtube)
Now 2 years later it's 21 inches I believe but for the last few months I've been taking prenatals since I'm pregnant again. And I know the mix of pregnancy hormones and vitamins makes hair grow quicker.
But between 2010 and 2012 I had A LOT of trims to keep it growing even. Now I'm in the process of growing out layers/bangs again.

[henné]

1/2" is the average. That is what most sources quote. I don't have a reason to believe otherwise especially since my own hair grows exactly that much :D But honestly, we all should just be grateful for whatever growth we have ...

[julliams]

I measured mine over about two years. You can see all the pics in one of my albums. I took a picture on the same stripey shirt and measured the growth each month using safety pins to mark each month on the tshirt.

I found that I had an average of 5/8 inch each month and that there was no difference between the seasons. I also found that after each trim I would get an inch of growth in the following month but then it would go back to the average again. Some months it appeared that I had less and some more, but I think it was more likely inconsistencies in my photos or measurements rather than my growth rate - I mean, if you tilt your head back even only slightly it will look much longer etc.

The good thing about knowing my growth rate is that I can now predict exactly how long I will be in a certain amount of time and I can also decide how much to cut and when based on whether I'm trying to achieve growth of maintenance.

I think it's a cool thing to know - not really all that important because it's going to happen whether you measure it or not, but cool to know.

[TheWhiteRabbit]

My hair grows painfully slow, between an third and an half of an inch a month :(

[MinderMutsig]

It seems to me a lot of people grow MORE than half an inch a month :/ especially looking at progress pics. Wowzahs. I hope I'm getting half an inch a month.... possibly less. I don't really measure my hair though.I think progress pics can be very misleading!

There's someone on here who started same time as me with the same inches. I am now in the BSL to waist thread and she is in the hip to tailbone thread. However, my hair at 29" is now longer than hers.

She's also only 4'11 or something and I'm 6'.


ETA: My growth is just over 1 cm a month on average but I have a huge stall every summer and a huge growth spurt every winter.

[Mesmerise]

I'd say close to an inch is normal.

It's certainly normal, but definitely not typical ;).

Some lucky folks grow 1" a month (or more!) but it's the exception more than the rule I think.

1/2" a month seems about right to me "average" anyway. Some will get more, others will get less. I think I get about 1/2" a month.

[Alva]

For me it really differs. In winter and fall my hair grows much faster than in summer. Wintertimes I can get around an inch, at summer sometimes not even half an inch in a whole month. Next to that, since I have been measuring my growth since 2004 already, I have noticed that it also depends on what length my hair is. It goes high speed from 27-31 inches, but from 31 to 33.5 inches is like a pain. And it sometimes takes me ages to pass by. From 34-38 it goes much faster again. So it is a combination of those two that influence mine. Luckily we are heading towards fall again, and I am soon around 33.5 inches, so I am hoping for a full speed time again :D

[Ml001]

My hair has always grown fast however I never measured until I started reading this forum (didn't know anyone measured hair, haha). I have discovered it grows an average of 1 1/4" per month. I did experience a growth spurt in early summer, however it then did not grow much and in the end the monthly average was the same. I don't know how frequently I get the growth spurts compared to steady growth - I generally don't measure often, maybe once or twice a month. I like to just go by what I see or feel (the point where it is brushing against my arm) but my hair is wavy and some days looks longer or shorter than other days so I do like to have the 'fully stretched' numbers to track progress, too. :)

[ladylowtide]

I get .66" per month. Averaged out from a years growth.

[BlazingHeart]

I average 14-15" per year, but my hair definitely grows faster than average. It's fast enough that non-long-hairs comment on how fast my hair has grown.

~Blaze

[firevegan]

If I really try to make my hair grow an inch a month, I really can get it to. but lately I haven't been willing to try. One month I had it grow just a little over an inch when scrubbing sulfer into my scalp 20 days out of the month and then I achieved another full inch with henna.. If I dye it, my hair doesn't grow at all but hey maybe that's just me.

[firevegan]

Wow blazingheart what is your hair care routine? Do you scrub your scalp a lot?

[Quahatundightu]

I get about 1/4" a month.

[jojo]

I think progress pics can be very misleading!

There's someone on here who started same time as me with the same inches. I am now in the BSL to waist thread and she is in the hip to tailbone thread. However, my hair at 29" is now longer than hers.

She's also only 4'11 or something and I'm 6'.


ETA: My growth is just over 1 cm a month on average but I have a huge stall every summer and a huge growth spurt every winter.

Yeah this too is a factor, hip on a shorter person is probably only bsl on me and although photos can be a good guide, sometimes hunched shoulders and heads tipped back a bit can make people look longer than they really are too!

[jojo]

If I really try to make my hair grow an inch a month, I really can get it to. but lately I haven't been willing to try. One month I had it grow just a little over an inch when scrubbing sulfer into my scalp 20 days out of the month and then I achieved another full inch with henna.. If I dye it, my hair doesn't grow at all but hey maybe that's just me.

How do you " make" your hair grow an inch if you really try? Hair grows regardless, what do you do to make it grow an inch??? Henna doesn't cause quicker hair growth and scrubbing your scalp would surely cause damage??? I'm not doubting you but I find it hard to believe that you can make hair grow quicker if you really try, it doesnt make sense to me:confused:

Hair grows from the roots, you say henna made it grow an inch with henna in a month but got nothing with a chemical dye, I don't get that?

[SilverDoe]

How do you " make" your hair grow an inch if you really try? Hair grows regardless, what do you do to make it grow an inch??? Henna doesn't cause quicker hair growth and scrubbing your scalp would surely cause damage??? I'm not doubting you but I find it hard to believe that you can make hair grow quicker if you really try, it doesnt make sense to me:confused:

Hair grows from the roots, you say henna made it grow an inch with henna in a month but got nothing with a chemical dye, I don't get that?

Chemical dyes are known for stalling growth, causing shedding & even damaging the follicles themselves.

I know for a fact that I have an increased growth rate with henna, as do many others. It's really beneficial for my scalp.
But this is only vs permanent chemical dyes, I don't know if henna makes it grow faster than not dyeing it at all.

There is a sulfur thread somewhere, it supposedly increases hair growth for some.
Same with scalp massages & BB brushing, especially upside down as this increases the circulation to the scalp, and therefore nutrition reaching the follicles.
Though I myself get more shedding with so much manipulation. But yes, I also increased my growth rate both with a high protein diet, exercise & different care routine like henna.

[Vampyria]

I'm still growing out dye, but when demarcation line was more visible I could measure it. It was 1,3 cm, so little less than 3/4 and more than 1/2 of an inch a month. When I was taking BC pills, I had a month without growth I think.

[lmfbs]

My hair grows just under an inch a month on average. I get about 11 inches per year, more if I'm healthy, less if I'm stressed. Until I started caring for my hair, I never realised how much I was losing to breakage.

Re henna - I wonder if it works similar to monistat? Supposedly it's supposed to act as an anti-fungal agent, so it's reasonable to assume that it might have the same effect.

[catamonica]

Since I have been wearing it up, it's grown. About 1/2 inch a month.

[browneyedsusan]

*snip*
Re henna - I wonder if it works similar to monistat? Supposedly it's supposed to act as an anti-fungal agent, so it's reasonable to assume that it might have the same effect.

It's possible, but since most of us henna once a month or even less frequently, it probably isn't a regular enough scalp dosing doesn't help growth much. I used to use box dyes, and still had the same growth rate--1/2" per month. The henna does make my hair feel stronger and thicker. I don't whether it really is or not, because I've not had enough hair to tell until recently!;)