Growing tricks + hair envy

[DancingQueen]

I just wanted to tell you guys that I have a serious case of hair envy. Everyone in here seems to have amazing hair. Gimme some. :p

All right, I know my hair grows abnormally slow, but I have seen plenty of you guys growing from chin to tailbone in like 4 years or so. How do you guys grow your hair that fast? I have been growing my hair from chin since december 2009, and I am still only a bit past APL. Spill your secrets :D

[Avital88]

i think its a combination of genetics,good handling and a healthy lifestyle...
But as you see i put genetics first,some peoples hair just grows faster than others.

[Anabell]

scalp massage, maybe? it stimulate the blood flow in the scalp.
It's took me from collar bone to waist like... 4 years, but one of them was with regular trims by hairdresser, so I guess it slow down a little in the first year...

[DinaAG]

healthy food and good amount of water always a good help

[jeanniet]

I'm sorry to say that hair pretty much just grows the way it grows. Your hair is curly, so the growth probably seems extra slow to you, but it may simply just be that you have slower than average growth. I started growing from chin about the same time you did, and my hair is longer than yours, but I honestly can't say that I've done anything special to achieve that growth. The good news is that your hair is growing, and every year that you let it grow, it will be longer than the year before. :)

[Anabell]

scalp massage, maybe? it stimulate the blood flow in the scalp.
It's took me from collar bone to waist like... 4 years, but one of them was with regular trims by hairdresser, so I guess it slow down a little in the first year...
Also it's obvious that there factors that you can control (like genetics), but you can focus on the ones you can.

I accidentally post this respond twice. how do I delete it?

[itdontmatter48]

Hibiscus is know to grow hair, maybe you could find some products with lots of that in it.

[neko_kawaii]

Genetics. My mother's hair grows slowly like yours. It takes patience.

[lapushka]

No or a minimum amount of trimming. That's all in my case (normal growth taken into account).

[Sarahlabyrinth]

I do think genetics would be the main factor here.
However, scalp massage, a good diet and exercise and minimal to no trims (if possible) would all help too. Oh, and mustn't forget the put-it-up-and-forget-it routine.

[dulce]

I find if I do cardio daily and follow a higher protein diet mine grows faster.The months I didn't do daily cardio I saw a slower growth.

[akilina]

I should not complain, as I do get atleast a half inch a month. That is entirely "normal" so atleast I grow at a normal enough rate ;( However, I desperately wish for faster growth. I think that is one of the #1 questions.

I totally envy those who get 3/4 of an inch..or an inch a month, or MORE...assuming that they are being truthful (I know almost everyone is :])
I have also tried everything..Monistat, rooibos tea, massage, castor oil, vitamins, everything else..lol.
Basically..no matter what, I am stuck with this 1/2 inch. Any of those I listed hardly gave me more growth..maybe 1/8 of an inch if that.

I have implemented NO TRIMS! :D I have been so good this month..Not once did scissors come near my hair. I plan for no trims until January at least. Then if I even need one it will just be a small microtrim.
I do still take my supplements though. Not for growth but just better health.

Last year I tried out "Viviscal" supplements and S+C. Hated the s/c but I actually loved the supplements. I still have the s/c and use the c in my DT's because it is incredibly protein-ey.

They tell you to take two a day, but I only took one. I got 3/4 of an inch that month..and surprise surprise...one day I came home from work to find that my dog had strategically POPPED OUT every single one of those pills and ATE THEM. My plan was to only take one a day so I could get two months worth out of what I had bought. I didn't buy again...I was too pissed. They were spendy but I do think they worked.

[Silverbrumby]

Genetics and not doing anything to slow growth like handling roughly, bad food, smoking etc. Looking at your album I see an improvement in the hemline even as you grow. You hair looks thicker and healthier than before. So keep on keeping on. My hair is puttering along as well and in no hurry to get to a proper BSL

[Silverbrumby]

I find if I do cardio daily and follow a higher protein diet mine grows faster.The months I didn't do daily cardio I saw a slower growth.

(pulls out her step and puts on the step video) :p

Man, so out of shape!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brm_GnQnETk&feature=related

[DancingQueen]

Hmm, I did just join a gym today, maybe that will speed up the growth a bit. :p And I invested n a hair scissor too, just a cheap one to start with. I am on a very tight budget, so it will be cheaper to cut my own hair. I did have three 5 cm cuts during the growing out, so maybe it isn't so bad.

I guess my genetics is not that great. Kind of wired though, I think my moms hair grows an inch every month.

[jeanniet]

Three 5 cm cuts is nearly 6"! I do regular microtrims, but I doubt I've cut off anywhere near that much. Most of the time more than 1/2" isn't really necessary. You may find that trimming about 1/4" every couple of months is enough, and you'll get more growth overall.

[Vanille_]

No trimming and benign neglect have helped the most for me.

[SugarPlumDreams]

Those three 5 cm (6") cuts are equal to just about one year's growth (if one averages .5" per month). I reckon you'd be about BSL without the trims.

[MrsGuther]

Genetics, minimal trimming, no bleaching, no flat iron, and generally just try to take good care of it! Oh, and patience!

[kidari]

I have bad genes for some things but good genes for hair I think. You win some and lose some I guess? My hair grows so fast and is super strong but nails are the opposite; they grow slow and are so thin and weak and split and break. However I have learned a thing or two by now and one of my secrets are slowly experimenting until you find things that work for you. Eating wholesome, nutritious foods, drinking lots of water, avoiding bad foods, etc and regular consistent exercise or an active lifestyle are the two main components I've found as well. Also, I focus on scalp as much as I pay attention to my ends. I used to wash daily but I feel like I wash my hair the "proper" way and ensure a scalp massage with each wash, etc. so even with the daily shampooing my hair was healthy and grew fast. Now, I don't use shampoo daily, but I always make sure my scalp gets treated even something so simple as changing my updo or simply putting it down so that my scalp doesn't have any sore spots. At least one a day I will make parts and spray rosewater into the scalp or purified water with several drops of rosemary essential oil. Any time my ends are like velcro and make it difficult for me to comb out/style/handle I will just trim a couple mm without hesitation.

[maborosi]

Good diet, plenty of hydration, exercise, and massages and vitamins can help the hair reach its full growing potential.

~maborosi~

[Mongor]

I have used Biotin for my scalp hurting from time to time and i herd that works really well for hair growth. I have to say my hair grows pretty fast either way without drugs and i don't know if that is a no no to mention drugs on this forum? Also i have to agree on the scalp stimulation for blood flow. I have recently started reading into BBB and to my understanding this helps growth through stimulation so maybe that will help some.

[torrilin]

I just wanted to tell you guys that I have a serious case of hair envy. Everyone in here seems to have amazing hair. Gimme some. :p

All right, I know my hair grows abnormally slow, but I have seen plenty of you guys growing from chin to tailbone in like 4 years or so. How do you guys grow your hair that fast? I have been growing my hair from chin since december 2009, and I am still only a bit past APL. Spill your secrets :D

Genetics. Over the course of a year of no trims, I grew somewhere around 9-12" (I'm terrible about remembering to measure), so my growth rate was much higher than the average 0.5" per month. My hair is straightish, I really like updos, and my handling isn't too bad, so even in the worst case scenario, most years I'd be looking at 9" of growth and it all shows.

There really isn't anything else. I don't use vitamins beyond the vitamin D supplements I require because I tend to get deficient. I don't eat some fancy diet, or do anything unusual with my routine. Just my hair grows like a weed, and that means keeping it trimmed to some set length is a pain in the neck. Most people in my family have a similar growth pattern.

Given how often it pops up as a topic, if there really *was* something that worked... we'd know and there'd be a pinned thread all about it.

Thing is, most of the time I don't really pay attention to how fast my hair grows. It grows whether I pay attention and measure or when I'm in total ignore mode. And ignore mode is easier and less annoying.

[dragonfly90]

I have used Biotin for my scalp hurting from time to time and i herd that works really well for hair growth. I have to say my hair grows pretty fast either way without drugs and i don't know if that is a no no to mention drugs on this forum? Also i have to agree on the scalp stimulation for blood flow. I have recently started reading into BBB and to my understanding this helps growth through stimulation so maybe that will help some.

Biotin like the vitamin? That's not a drug.

[Madora]

Genes, first and formost
Healthy diet with plenty of water and moderate exercise

Buckets and more buckets of patience

Trimming every 3 months. S and D weekly with SHARP scissors!

Detangling with a comb gently and slowly! Emphasis on slowly!

Staying away from harmful things: blow frying/bleach/dyes/elastics with metal in them, harsh shampoos and conditioners

Remembering that "Less is more". The more stuff you put on your hair, the faster it becomes dirty. Oils attract dirt and lint and whatever else is in the air. Use them sparingly!

Wear your hair up to protect it. A silk pillowcase can improve your hair greatly.

Daily gentle scalp massage (while bending down) can also assist in helping you grow lovely, healthy hair.

And above all, a healthy scalp is a pre requisite for healthy hair.

[Dang3rousB3auty]

Back when I didn't care about my hair..it grew so much faster haha. Well, not really I just didn't stress over the length so before I knew it I had seem to grow a lot. I don't think there is much you can do to make it faster except vitamins, healthy food and maybe scalp massages. I grow about .5 inches from what I can tell from measuring the last 2 months. Better then no growth!

[Nae]

Some of the ones that hit the big milestones such as waist/hip/classic faster may just be quite a bit shorter than you are.

[lunalocks]

Some of us do grow more slowly. I have gained only about 2 inches in the past year as I need to trim routinely to keep a good hemline. I do know that I grow faster when I do vigorous exercise 3x a week. I haven't been able to do that for the past 9 months due to injuries and I can tell my growth was faster during the years I did (but that was before keeping track of growth). Good care, and patience are my current practices.

[Sisgoldenhair65]

Some of the ones that hit the big milestones such as waist/hip/classic faster may just be quite a bit shorter than you are.

This is totally me. I feel like such a cheater because I am at waist at 25". I'm 5' and short waisted. :rolleyes:

[CurlyCurves]

Genetics. And looking after it helps your retain the length you grow. And no regular trims, obviously.

[jel]

Some of the ones that hit the big milestones such as waist/hip/classic faster may just be quite a bit shorter than you are.

Indeed! It took me 5 years to hit tailbone, starting from barely shoulder length, but I'm 5'10".

I experimented with a variety of "growth enhancers", such as monistat, diatomaceous earth and cayenne pepper. What really worked for me, though, was not trimming. I wanted to keep all the growth I could get!

[jacqueline101]

I'd say genetics vitamins and over all health of the person are the main three. A few others would be condition of the hair.

[mary*rose]

I would suggest good health, hair care (plenty of help around here for that), and minimal trims.

I have an interesting story, though. A girl asked me once how often I cut my hair, and I told her I got an inch trimmed off every six months. And she gave me this funny look like that was wrong and said you're supposed to get trims every six weeks. But it works for me, so why should I have to follow what the magazines say?

[battles]

I think distance between milestones and genetics. I went from chin to nearly APL in a year without doing anything that special, and I'm 5'2.

[justgreen]

I think I went from 2008-2010 with no trims. I was between hairdressers and even after finding an excellent colorist (still with her) I was afraid to let her trim my hair. She's trimmed it twice now, once every 10 months or so. I have excellent growth. I attribute diet and lots of water to my growth. I have extreme health problems and still my hair rewards me with growing. Even with root bleaching every 4-6 weeks, my hair grows.

When I first began my long hair journey here, I think I noticed the growth more after keeping it in up-do's most of the time.

[catamonica]

My hair was just past midback since high school. It wouldn't grow. I tried horse shampoo from wall mart in 2009. By 2010 it grew to waist. Then I had a two year stall. November 2011. I started wearing it up. It grew to hip. My hair grows slow to. So I know just how you feel.

[melusine963]

Technically speaking my hair grows a lot faster than I realise. It's taken me about six years to get from BSL to TB, but I could have got there twice as fast if I didn't have to constantly cut off half my annual growth to get rid of old damage. Now the damage is mostly gone, I still need to keep cutting to thicken up my ends and get rid of my noticeable taper.

All I can do for now is to take good care of my hair (updos, oiling, and gentle treatment), and hopefully keep any new damage to a minimum. I'm sure it'll take another two or three years before I have TB hair I'm truly happy with.

[MaryMarx]

I have a really bad hair envy too, and that includes your hair! :)
Right now, I believe I have the worst hair on this site, and it feels like I'll never reach my goal. :(

[YumiYume]

This genetic talk made me remember that I think my mothers terminal lenth is waist with really thinned out ends. she never coloured it or heat styled it, streched washes and kept it braided.. she have had it like that as long as I remember. didnt cut it either, it just stayed that way

that is also the longest I've ever had, even like child before I cut it al off as a tenager. before It got chopped off in april it was like that to, what if I never can get it longer :( and my bleched-damaged hair keeps breaking off and split -_-

I have no growing tip, I did start to take hair vitamins a month ago and hope for the best, seems like theyr helping, else my growth is slower than "normal" rates. and I really envy a lot of hair here, and I would love to have classic blunt wavy U-hemline =/

[DancingQueen]

This genetic talk made me remember that I think my mothers terminal lenth is waist with really thinned out ends. she never coloured it or heat styled it, streched washes and kept it braided.. she have had it like that as long as I remember. didnt cut it either, it just stayed that way

that is also the longest I've ever had, even like child before I cut it al off as a tenager. before It got chopped off in april it was like that to, what if I never can get it longer :( and my bleched-damaged hair keeps breaking off and split -_-

I have no growing tip, I did start to take hair vitamins a month ago and hope for the best, seems like theyr helping, else my growth is slower than "normal" rates. and I really envy a lot of hair here, and I would love to have classic blunt wavy U-hemline =/

Well, I might not be the smartest one on this board (hence the thread :) ) But I think the reason might be, that she didn't cut it, and kept it braided. First off, most peoples hair needs to be trimmed once in a while to keep a thick hemline. Also, if she put the elastic band on her ends every day, it will eventually wear and tear her ends. I know this happens if I braid my hair too much.

If it is worth anything, I always thought your hair looks gorgeous in your avatar. :)

[YumiYume]

Well, I might not be the smartest one on this board (hence the thread :) ) But I think the reason might be, that she didn't cut it, and kept it braided. First off, most peoples hair needs to be trimmed once in a while to keep a thick hemline. Also, if she put the elastic band on her ends every day, it will eventually wear and tear her ends. I know this happens if I braid my hair too much.

If it is worth anything, I always thought your hair looks gorgeous in your avatar. :)


well you do sound to have a good point :)!

I use to keep my hair braided over my shoulder with a hairfriendly hairtie .. maby I should learn to variate -_-

aww! thank you :D, and you know what, From the first time I saw your avatar I envied your perfectly wavy hair ;)!
My colour now is not like my avatar any longer, the orange from the bleach is al faded away so its like this in daylight:

http://i397.photobucket.com/albums/pp57/YumiYume/zombie-tree.jpg ,

but I am not going to change picture until I reach BSL :P hopefully at christmas :)
sorry for big pic thought it was smaller =/.