Does any product actually make hair grow faster?

[goldcopperbrown]

I'm a bit dubious since I can't take biotin (causes pimples) and I want faster growing hair. I take gotu kola and horsetail, as well as evening primrose oil. But I want to grow my hair another 8 inches and I've really NEVER been able to get past 26" (then again, I was also dying it at the time, so all things considered...yeah)

So right now I:
1.) Take the aforementioned supplements
2.) use phyto shampoo/conditioner for damaged hair (silicone free, mostly natural) as well as amla dabur oil and coconut oil (no mineral oil base)
3.) Sleep on a satin pillowcase
4.) Don't heat style except on rare occasions
5.) never dye my hair (haven't in 2 years)

What else can I do?! Is there any truth behind certain products, like Nioxin or head and shoulders, or Nisim FAST, making hair grow faster?

[Sharysa]

Do you braid/bun your hair to keep it protected as well? You stopped dyeing your hair and vitamin-wise you seem fine, so the other half of the battle would be protecting your length and trimming off split ends when you need to. (NOT THE SAME as getting a trim to even out or freshen up your ends.)

I braid my hair most of the time and I've only S&Ded my split ends for at least a year, and I haven't needed to trim my hemline at all. However, my hair is really coarse and thick, so it may or may not be enough for your hair. Plus it seems to grow in mostly blunt, so I've only needed to even out about 1-2 errant locks of hair.

Also, do you oil your hair? For me, sweet-almond oil locks in moisture and keeps my hair from getting brittle.

[goldcopperbrown]

Do you braid/bun your hair to keep it protected as well? You stopped dyeing your hair and vitamin-wise you seem fine, so the other half of the battle would be protecting your length and trimming off split ends when you need to. (NOT THE SAME as getting a trim to even out or freshen up your ends.)

I braid my hair most of the time and I've only S&Ded my split ends for at least a year, and I haven't needed to trim my hemline at all. However, my hair is really coarse and thick, so it may or may not be enough for your hair. Plus it seems to grow in mostly blunt, so I've only needed to even out about 1-2 errant locks of hair.

Also, do you oil your hair? For me, sweet-almond oil locks in moisture and keeps my hair from getting brittle.


I get trims only when I absolutely have to and I always tell them to take off as little as possible. Hairdressers always seem to want to cut my hair so short!

What do you mean by oiling your hair? I wear hair oil at night sometimes, or even sometimes during the day, but I don't use it as a styling agent or anything because my hair is straight/fine and looks really bad oiled unless it's in a bun...then it looks bad still but at least neat, lol

[meteor]

Head massages increase blood circulation and can make your hair grow a bit faster or even alleviate alopecia in some patients.

I think if you want your hair to grow to your genetic potential, you simply need to keep your body and scalp healthy. For example, if you optimize your diet and heal any scalp issues (many people ignore scalp problems until they become visible), you might notice that your hair is growing faster and fuller, but it's not going to be something incredible, just healthier.

For example, very often hair-growth promoting herbs, oils and products, like Monistat, are, in actuality, just anti-fungal, anti-bacterial products, so they are fixing your scalp health and, by proxy, increase your hair growth.

[Sharysa]

Sorry about not clarifying. I use oil as a leave-in after my shower, yes.

But since your hair is fine, you might want to use oil as a pre-shower rinse--comb oil through your hair about twenty minutes before a wash, then rinse it out and wash as usual.

Generally, fine/straight-haired people do better with pre-shower oiling, while coarse/wavy-haired people do better with leave-ins. However, different oils work differently--if you're using something like coconut or olive oil, those are REALLY heavy and usually not suitable for fine hair. Sweet-almond is a lot lighter.

[goldcopperbrown]

Sorry about not clarifying. I use oil as a leave-in after my shower, yes.

But since your hair is fine, you might want to use oil as a pre-shower rinse--comb oil through your hair about twenty minutes before a wash, then rinse it out and wash as usual.

Generally, fine/straight-haired people do better with pre-shower oiling, while coarse/wavy-haired people do better with leave-ins. However, different oils work differently--if you're using something like coconut or olive oil, those are REALLY heavy and usually not suitable for fine hair. Sweet-almond is a lot lighter.

Thanks, that's perfect clarification. What about castor oil worn on the scalp overnight?

[goldcopperbrown]

Head massages increase blood circulation and can make your hair grow a bit faster or even alleviate alopecia in some patients.

I think if you want your hair to grow to your genetic potential, you simply need to keep your body and scalp healthy. For example, if you optimize your diet and heal any scalp issues (many people ignore scalp problems until they become visible), you might notice that your hair is growing faster and fuller, but it's not going to be something incredible, just healthier.

For example, very often hair-growth promoting herbs, oils and products, like Monistat, are, in actuality, just anti-fungal, anti-bacterial products, so they are fixing your scalp health and, by proxy, increase your hair growth.

Interesting. I do think my hair legitimately just grows slowly, in addition to having damage. Which monistat product is recommended and for how long would I use it?

[akilina]

Unfortunately not...you Sound like you're making all the right moves. I'm not very on board with supplements anymore..I prefer to get it from my nutrition. Make sure you are eating a clean well balanced diet, lots of water, exercise.

My mom does this medifast thing...the main key is low carb and very high protein. When she's diligent she gets serious growth. About 3/4 inch a month and sometimes more. Not that i agree with these "diet" meal plans but the idea is protein. She's already got fast growth as is but it's just insane how fast it grows.

Some people use monistat (yes you read that right) and experience huge growth, but I don't use it. I tried it and got nothing. I see no point. I know it's really hard but I'm trying to just enjoy the growth process. I changed my attitude about a year so and it's going very well. Another is just wearing it up and forgetting about it.

I liked castor oil for my scalp...it gave me serious new growth but not faster growth. Spraying rooibos tea on my scalp (when I had the time) several times a day gave me ridiculous fast growth at first but by the end of the month it evened out. In the end I only got 1/8 inch more.

Those shampoos can be extremely drying...and no ones really reported fast growth at all in my reading of threads here. I tried viviscal and the supplements gave me 3/4 in a month but its too expensive and then my lovely dog popped every single one of those pills out of the foil and ate them all...smh. -_- you could always get those supplements though on their own..it was like...vitamin c, cherry acerola, amino mar complex (marine mix like fishy sea stuff) and I think horsetail...

[chen bao jun]

I can verify that my hair grows faster when I get more cardio exercise (2-3 hours walking per week) and also when I drink more water.

[Panth]

I'm a bit dubious since I can't take biotin (causes pimples) and I want faster growing hair. I take gotu kola and horsetail, as well as evening primrose oil. But I want to grow my hair another 8 inches and I've really NEVER been able to get past 26" (then again, I was also dying it at the time, so all things considered...yeah)

So right now I:
1.) Take the aforementioned supplements
2.) use phyto shampoo/conditioner for damaged hair (silicone free, mostly natural) as well as amla dabur oil and coconut oil (no mineral oil base)
3.) Sleep on a satin pillowcase
4.) Don't heat style except on rare occasions
5.) never dye my hair (haven't in 2 years)

What else can I do?! Is there any truth behind certain products, like Nioxin or head and shoulders, or Nisim FAST, making hair grow faster?

1) IMO, supplements will not do anything unless you are deficient and, in that case, you are far better off if you improve your diet rather than trying a quick-fix pill.
2) I don't know much about those products, but whether the oils are a good or a bad thing will very much depend on your hair's preferences and how you are using the oils.
3) Satin pillowcase will help reduce breakage a bit, but won't increase growth.
4) Cutting the heat styling is a great plan, but again it reduces damage not increases growth.
5) Ditto for not dyeing (though deposit-only dyes, and some semi (but NOT demi) permentant dyes can be ok).

I have never heard anyone claim that Nioxin or Head & Shoulders increases growth - quite the opposite - those are really quite harsh shampoos and can cause a lot of damage. They shouldn't be used unless you actually have dandruff that needs treating.

IMO, there is nothing that will make hair grow faster (other than improving your heath and fitness, if you are the typical Westerner). However, you can reduce your breakage/damage. Some options you haven't mentioned:
- damage-reducing detangling, i.e. carefully and gently from the bottom up by either fingercombing or using a wide-toothed comb, try not to use a brush and certainly do not detangle with a boar bristle brush or use a brush with ball-tipped bristles
- damage-reducing hairstyles, i.e.
- no teasing / backcombing
- no hairspray / gel
- no high-tension hairstyles (if it hurts or you hear hairs "pop" then it's too tight and you are in danger of causing traction alopecia if you do this regularly)
- containing the hair or, even better, containing it and keeping it off the nape of the neck (to reduce rubbing against clothes and furniture, particularly if you sit a lot)

As for trimming - it varies. For some people, the hair splits rarely or splits but the splits don't travel up the hair shaft. In these people the amount of hair lost by trimming is usually greater than the amount that would be lost from splitting/wear in the absence of a trim. However, in some people the splits travel up the hair shaft and/or cause masses of tangling which propagates more damage, more splits, more tangling, etc. In these people microtrimming will actually result in a greater net hair length gain as the amount of hair lost by trimming is less than the amount which would otherwise be lost from splitting/wear. Of course, if trimming you should ensure you use very sharp scissors which are dedicated for hair use.

[goldcopperbrown]

I can verify that my hair grows faster when I get more cardio exercise (2-3 hours walking per week) and also when I drink more water.

I walk 10 hours per week XD Yep, not a typo...hopefully that helps somewhat!

[catamonica]

I tried Mane & Tail horse shampoo. After years of no growth. It grew fourteen Inches. It doesn't work for everybody. You can get it at wall mart, in the pet section or grocery stores. Or order it online.

[jacqueline101]

Monistat helped mine.

[Teufelchen]

Get enough protein in your diet.
This is the only thing that really helps, if you don't have any other deficiencies.

Hair is mainly keratin, a protein made by your body. In order to make it, the body neads a steady suply of enough protein. How much you exactly need depends on your lifestyle and body composition. But enough protein really helps with hair growth rate. :)

The other things deal more with minimizing damage.

[LAG93]

I tried Mane & Tail horse shampoo. After years of no growth. It grew fourteen Inches. It doesn't work for everybody. You can get it at wall mart, in the pet section or grocery stores. Or order it online.
I've also been using mane and tail original shampoo and conditioner. My advice when using this shampoo: don't use it every time you wash, it is harsh. But I absolutely love the conditioner. I've been using the shampoo and conditioner for about ohh two months now alternating with other gentler shampoos like tresemme naturals, which has sulfates but less so than most shampoos. I've gotten an inch and a half of growth in these two months, where normally I'd only get maybe three quarters of an inch in two months, so I think it works reasonably well. It does dry out my hair if I use it on my length, so I try to just use it on my scalp and mid shaft, and I condition my whole head including scalp and roots, I think that is the key with this line.