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HairFanson
September 17th, 2015, 12:43 PM
I am currently almost waist, and trying to get to hip-ish.

I'm seeing all these posts for nutritional supplements that are *needed* to grow to extreme lengths, but I am wondering about it.

Hair and Nails are made of the same material. I have natural long (3/4 inch) fingernails that do not bend or chip or have any occlusions what so ever.
If nails are healthy, strong, and grow really fast, THEN can I assume I am okay with my nutrition?

Are there other things I can do to facilitate hair growth??

Arctic
September 17th, 2015, 12:53 PM
There are many schools of thought about these things. If you get enough nutrients (and your body is able to absorb them), then supplementing isn't going to help your hair.

Yes nails tell a great bit of our health, but on many people nails and hair are not as interconnected that it could seem they are. There are people with amazing, strong, long, fast growing nails, and slow growing, not very strong hair. And vice versa and everything in between.

There are many methods that people try here to speed up hair growth. Some feel some of them work and some feel they are at the best plasebo. You'll have to read around, and if you feel inclined, try some of them and see for yourself.

Just try to experiment with only one thing at a time, so you will know whether or not it works.


Welcome and have fun!

Belle Paix
September 17th, 2015, 01:04 PM
Welcome!! There are no magic bullets to get long hair. It's half genetics, and half of everything else :).
Use the search function; there are a TON of useful topics on here to provide plenty of info. If I were to tell you what works for me, it may be opposite of what works for someone else.
I use Viviscal, drink plenty of water, eat plenty of protein, and try to get my sleep.
Care-wise, I don't ever (or extremely rarely) use heat. No rubberbands. I use a hair salve that I love, and only use wide-tooth combs. All of this is info I've picked up from lurking on this site. There truly is a wealth of information on here!

Anje
September 17th, 2015, 01:32 PM
I don't think they're needed. At least, they aren't for me.

My hair is roughly to my thumbs at the moment. I think that's about classic length, but it's kinda hard to get a good look at it! I don't take ANY supplements. I'm a stressed-out PhD student freaking out about writing a dissertation right now and wasting time on my forum instead. I eat WAY more fast food than I should, and rather than exercising I spend about 2 hours a day in my car. My fingernails were OK, but I went on a polishing-them kick for a couple weeks and now they're falling apart -- I ought to know by now that polish and my fingernails are not friends. My hair is growing just fine, looks healthy, and is getting THICKER than it has been since I started measuring back when I joined this site.

The biggest things for growing good hair are to be healthy and to not be destructive toward your hair. The not being destructive takes some practice and often some habit changes. For me, keeping it braided or bunned instead of ponytailed makes a big difference. Combing or brushing gently rather than ripping through tangles does too. So does making sure I use a conditioner that keeps it moisturized and soft, and changing things up if it starts to have problems.

Being healthy happens to be easy for me, despite the fact that I'm abusing my body a bit right now. I don't have any problems with anemia, I'm eating plenty of protein, I generally have paid attention to making sure I'm not skimping on macronutrients. My thyroid appears to be fully functional. If you have issues with any of that, it's a good idea to try to resolve it for your overall health, and your hair will follow. :)

Nique1202
September 17th, 2015, 01:41 PM
If you're eating a balanced diet with lots of different foods, then chances are you don't need any supplements for hair growth. The best thing you can do to facilitate length gain is to protect the length and ends from damage, because basically anything that touches your hair may cause damage over time, from thread-covered hair elastics and car headrests right down to the way you detangle or brush your hair. Also, don't ignore your scalp or hair's reactions. If you try a new product for a few washes and you get increased shedding or too oily or too dry of a scalp or if your hair feels AT ALL weird (crunchy, mushy, anything at all, mine squeaks at the ends when I fingercomb if I need to clarify for example) don't keep trying because someone said it was better. Keeping your scalp happy is the best way to ensure that new growth is happy too.

HairFanson
September 17th, 2015, 03:24 PM
Great advice guys! Thank you!

I am trying to make myself wear it up more, but in all honesty- I hate wearing my hair up! It drives me nuts, and all the little baby hairs sticking out just put me over the edge. So I wear my hair down a lot. I never brush, only comb, and in general my hair is in pretty good shape, but I am concerned about having it down all the time when it gets longer and in the way. I haven't had it that long since high school, and I remember it getting caught in the screws of my chairs at school <ouch>, so this might change in time! LOL

Doreen
September 17th, 2015, 09:32 PM
Oh my gosh, I had the same experience with those evil chair screws! :justy:

For a while, I always was one of those people who never wore her hair up, just preferred how it looked down so that it framed my face.
When I got to hip/tbl I started trying a braid every now and then, and now at kl I wear it up basically all the time when I'm out and about. Since hair grows fairly slowly, I think it was a pretty smooth transition for me to gradually phase out the days of wearing it down over the course of ~4 years.

Basically, what I would say is, don't worry about wearing it up more often. As long as you are taking care of your hair otherwise, wearing it down is not the worst vice you could have. Enjoy it while you can -- and I really think that if you stop at hip, you should still be able to wear it down a decent amount the days (50%-70%+?). Maybe not the windy or snowy ones though ;)

If you really do want to try to get used to having it up, maybe each week on a certain day you could try a new updo or braid style to figure out what you prefer.

restless
September 18th, 2015, 02:39 AM
The biggest things for growing good hair are to be healthy and to not be destructive toward your hair.

This.

Eat well, sleep well and be good to your hair- keep it moisturized and avoid mechanical damage, heat and harsh dyes if possible. Thats pretty much it. I honestly dont think anyone should stuff themselves full of vitamin pills or the like unless a doctor has stated they need it, because the body itself can handle those things perfectly fine with a balanced diet and a daily dose of sunrays.

Regarding the dislike for keeping hair up, there are a lot of people here who feel the same way :) (actually, theres a thread about it in the first page on the mane board right now). My tips would be to browse youtube for updos inspiration and to get some cute or fascinating hairtoys a la sticks and forks from ex etsy and start easily by wearing it up just every once in a while. YouŽll probably get used to it and learn to see the positive things about it and you can try to tame those babyhairs with some aloe vera or a drip of oil. Nobodys forcing you to wear it up though; if you cannot stand it, then wear it down and enjoy it! Ive read about people here who still wear it down daily even at extreme lengths, so its possible for some. I would assume its harder to keep it damage free in the long run and there would be a need for trims more often though.

Okay, enough rambling already :) Have fun during your hair journey and welcome to the forum!

lapushka
September 18th, 2015, 04:18 PM
I take a multivitamin, but this is mainly because some meds I am taking deplete the body of some important vitamins. Not so much for my hair, or nail health. Just for my overall health.

If you are overall healthy, then there is *no* need to supplement. Your hair will not grow faster because of it, no it won't.

Just try and measure your hair, and get to know your growth frequency, so you can start to establish what is normal for you.

lunalocks
September 18th, 2015, 06:14 PM
I never thought I would achieve waist and when I did I discovered LHC. To that point I wore my hair in a french braid or loose nearly every day. I eat well, take a general supplement plus vit D for the dark Winters here and iron and SL B12 due to genetic intrinsic factor deficiency. I added B complex vitamins. I spent a year getting trims at hip due to previous "pony tail while aerobic dancing" damage. Then I stopped trimming, just s and d weekly, and catnip soaks instead of condish. But the biggest change of all was wearing it up 99% of the time. That is how I grew 7 inches the first year and how I am now past classic.

Once you reach TB the hair really starts to get in the way. Once you reach classic, you sit on your hair if it is down. That can't be good for fragile ends that are at least 5 years old. Even with having it up most of the time, including at night, after 2 years of no trims I have started trimming again to snip off those super runner hairs. Eat well. Protect your hair. Those are the 2 secrets. There is a third one too: decrease the stress in your life.

cathair
September 18th, 2015, 06:41 PM
There are many schools of thought about these things. If you get enough nutrients (and your body is able to absorb them), then supplementing isn't going to help your hair.

Yes nails tell a great bit of our health, but on many people nails and hair are not as interconnected that it could seem they are. There are people with amazing, strong, long, fast growing nails, and slow growing, not very strong hair. And vice versa and everything in between.

There are many methods that people try here to speed up hair growth. Some feel some of them work and some feel they are at the best plasebo. You'll have to read around, and if you feel inclined, try some of them and see for yourself.

Just try to experiment with only one thing at a time, so you will know whether or not it works.


Welcome and have fun!

Yup, my nails grow like weeds and they are very tough, but my hair not so much.

Doubt you need the supplements unless you are deficient anyway.

endlessly
September 18th, 2015, 08:44 PM
My advice? Schedule an appointment with your doctor first to have your levels checked and if they advise a supplement, then you should take one, but never trust the advice of strangers when it comes to nutrition - they don't know your medical history and can potentially cause more harm than good.

Personally, I have rather brittle nails that really don't grow without snapping easily, but I have very thick, ridiculously strong hair that grows like a weed. Basically, don't trust the health of one as being an indicator of health for the other.

I've been told quite frequently that I need to take a lot of supplements because I'm a vegetarian, but according to my doctor, my levels are exactly where they need to be. Growing hair has never been a problem for me and honestly, if it's meant to grow, then it will grow - just be patient and take care of yourself.