How do you deal with slow growth?

[Sweet_Decadence]

So i had a wee search for this, but nothing came up that looked too helpful! Sorry if this topics been well covered and I missed it!

I joined this forum a few years ago. Soaked up all the knowledge I could then started babying my hair, wearing it in protected buns and braids. Abolished heat, harsh shampoo, most commercial hair products. The full she-bang and my hair is in great condition for it! So now i need you're help again in the next step of my battle!

However, I'm finding it incredibly difficult to actually grow my hair! I'm lucky to get 1/4" a month and it's just feels so impossibly hopeless. For 2 years I've been battling with my hair never quite reaching BSL, while having aspirations of WL.


My hair is dyed. I bleach my roots every 2-3 months using the lowest volume peroxide i can get. This is probably the only hair sin I have to this date. I don't feel like my hairs badly damaged or anything, or that I'm having any issues retaining length it's just getting the growth from the roots I need.

What, if any, tips or tricks could help me? I'm not looking for a miracle 1" a month or anything(though I wouldn't say no), I just want to give my hair a fighting chance of getting some real length, I really feel like i should have surpassed BSL by now!

[lapis_lazuli]

Are you sure your hair isn't breaking off at the ends? That could be what's stalling your growth if your hair is bleached. If that's not the case, I would encourage you to put it up, (out of sight, out of mind) and occupy yourself with other things. Waiting for hair to grow is like watching for a pot to boil. It doesn't happen. Try not to stress over it. Growth will come at its own pace :)

[Sarahlabyrinth]

There's not much you can do about it apart from keeping yourself as healthy and stress free as you can and hope that the growth will speed up a little.

[restless]

You dont have to reply in the thread itself if you feel like the answers are private, but these are some things that come to mind when I hear about slow growth:

Have you always had slow growth or is this a new problem?
Do you eat well and are you otherwise healthy?
Had some blood tests done lately (like thyroid)?

Good luck, I really hope you´ll find a solution and get the growth rate you wish for :)

[lapis_lazuli]

There's not much you can do about it apart from keeping yourself as healthy and stress free as you can and hope that the growth will speed up a little.

Yes, this! Take good care of yourself and eliminate unnecessary stress. :flower:

[lapushka]

My hair is dyed. I bleach my roots every 2-3 months using the lowest volume peroxide i can get. This is probably the only hair sin I have to this date. I don't feel like my hairs badly damaged or anything, or that I'm having any issues retaining length it's just getting the growth from the roots I need.

What, if any, tips or tricks could help me? I'm not looking for a miracle 1" a month or anything(though I wouldn't say no), I just want to give my hair a fighting chance of getting some real length, I really feel like i should have surpassed BSL by now!

Yeah, bleach will do that to you. It might indeed be breaking off at the ends. Have you checked your hair for white dots? Done an S&D mission and carefully looked at the texture of your hair? There might be terrible damage there. I know bleach does that to you, esp. when you color on top of it. I've been there, trust me, and never got past BSL.

I just went all virgin after a terrible chemical cut & burn, and now I am classic. I don't think you can ask for much more growth than 1/2 inch a month, that is about normal growth. It is slow, but it should progress. If it isn't, not after a long while, then something is up and it is mostly to do with whatever it is you are doing to your hair.

[LongCurlyTress]

So i had a wee search for this, but nothing came up that looked too helpful! Sorry if this topics been well covered and I missed it!

I joined this forum a few years ago. Soaked up all the knowledge I could then started babying my hair, wearing it in protected buns and braids. Abolished heat, harsh shampoo, most commercial hair products. The full she-bang and my hair is in great condition for it! So now i need you're help again in the next step of my battle!

However, I'm finding it incredibly difficult to actually grow my hair! I'm lucky to get 1/4" a month and it's just feels so impossibly hopeless. For 2 years I've been battling with my hair never quite reaching BSL, while having aspirations of WL.


My hair is dyed. I bleach my roots every 2-3 months using the lowest volume peroxide i can get. This is probably the only hair sin I have to this date. I don't feel like my hairs badly damaged or anything, or that I'm having any issues retaining length it's just getting the growth from the roots I need.

What, if any, tips or tricks could help me? I'm not looking for a miracle 1" a month or anything(though I wouldn't say no), I just want to give my hair a fighting chance of getting some real length, I really feel like i should have surpassed BSL by now!

If you really want your hair to grow, stop all dye and bleach and see what happens. ;) I bet you will be pleasantly surprised. Just saying....;) Eat protein, drink lots of water, massage your scalp and your hair will grow! ;) Good luck!

[Sweet_Decadence]

Thank you for the advice! I've always appreciated how grounded and real everyone is here, and doesn't try to push snake oil on me. I'm a bit disappointed that there doesnt seem to be anyway to give my growth rate a wee boost though I must admit though the notion of letting my hair go virgin terrifys me somewhat! My bright hair is like an extension of my soul.


Are you sure your hair isn't breaking off at the ends?

Yeah, I'm fairly certain! When I get hair come away, I'll usually inspect it t. Usually its a full root-to-tip shed hair, rather than a broke piece, If that makes sense! It was a problem I used too have back before I started using the LHC way of hair care a few years ago.


You dont have to reply in the thread itself if you feel like the answers are private, but these are some things that come to mind when I hear about slow growth:

Have you always had slow growth or is this a new problem?
Do you eat well and are you otherwise healthy?
Had some blood tests done lately (like thyroid)?

Good luck, I really hope you´ll find a solution and get the growth rate you wish for

My mum has thyroid issues. So far, as far as I'm aware, I don't but I've never been tested for such issues!


Yeah, bleach will do that to you. It might indeed be breaking off at the ends. Have you checked your hair for white dots? Done an S&D mission and carefully looked at the texture of your hair? There might be terrible damage there. I know bleach does that to you, esp. when you color on top of it. I've been there, trust me, and never got past BSL.

I just went all virgin after a terrible chemical cut & burn, and now I am classic. I don't think you can ask for much more growth than 1/2 inch a month, that is about normal growth. It is slow, but it should progress. If it isn't, not after a long while, then something is up and it is mostly to do with whatever it is you are doing to your hair.

I'm so careful with my hair because it is so delicate and I do indeed bleach it but my hairs pretty healthy and I don't suffer from much breakage. I'm not, personally very concerned that the bleach is causing the problems, unless it can have some effect in the scalp preventing/slowing down the growth from the root that I'm not aware of.

[lapushka]

My mum has thyroid issues. So far, as far as I'm aware, I don't but I've never been tested for such issues!

(...)

I'm so careful with my hair because it is so delicate and I do indeed bleach it but my hairs pretty healthy and I don't suffer from much breakage. I'm not, personally very concerned that the bleach is causing the problems, unless it can have some effect in the scalp preventing/slowing down the growth from the root that I'm not aware of.

I'd definitely get that blood test done!

Well you are putting straight up chemicals on your scalp. :shrug: And it will be stronger if your hair is darker, because you'll have a stronger bleach percentage on your head. Judging from your avatar you are quite light (so bleaching a lot).

As far as the ends being OK. Your hair *will* be more brittle due to the bleach, whether you like it or not or think your hair is healthy (it is not the same as untreated hair).

[lapis_lazuli]

It's good you're not noticing too much breakage. I'd also suggest getting blood work done just in case... :flower:
Seconding what Lapushka has said again... your hair is definitely more prone to breakage due to the bleaching. It's just the effect of this chemical.

[Llama]

If you are bleaching your roots every 2-3 months then your hair is definitely growing (since you have roots and all). If your hair truly isn't getting longer then it must be breaking off at the ends. Try brushing your hair over a blanket or some material that contrasts with your hair color and see if a lot of little broken bits of hair have fallen onto it once you are done brushing.

[lapushka]

Yes, you have to judge your growth by the root area. If that exceeds what you're seeing at the ends, then it *is* breaking off.

[AJNinami]

First I would get your thyroid checked, then I would look at how you are bleaching your roots. If you are putting bleach directly on the scalp it will damage your scalp and slow down your growth considerably (I had this happen to me). Not only will it do that, but it will also soak into the scalp and bleach inside the pores making it look like your hair is growing much slower than it is. Guy Tang is a hair stylist that I watch for the gorgeous colors, and in one of his videos he mentions that as bleach mixes it will expand, especially on the scalp with the added body heat. This means that you can put it on hair away from from the scalp but it will still travel down extremely close to the scalp. The actual distance away that you can place it depends on how much your bleach expands.

In an effort to improve my health I started taking a great deal of supplements that I knew I needed (Iron, calcium, zinc, b-100, probiotics, vitamin C, etc.) and my hair jumped from normal rate to about an inch per month depending on my stress levels and eating habits. You could be having a deficiency in something you need. How fast do your nails grow? When they do grow out, do they look healthy without white spots, brittleness, and discoloration?

If truly nothing is wrong and you are treating your hair perfectly and it's still that slow you may just have an extremely slow growth rate. My friend has this problem and has been trying to grow her hair out for years with no luck, although she doesn't treat it nicely she treats it better than the average woman.

[chen bao jun]

A person doesn't always notice breakage. I'm also guessing your hair is breaking off due to bleaching. It is really REALLY hard to grow longer hair while doing chemical processes.

It is possible though. I refer you to this thread
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=21256

If your hair actually 'only' grows 1/4 a month, you are in the normal range. People always quote the 1/2 inch, but that's an average. It means there are those who grow 3/4 inch a month and those who grow 1/4. Actually the range is larger than that. Normal for some people is an inch or more--and some grow less that 1/4.

I grow 1/4 inch a month. that's it.

BUt in the three and a half years I've been on LHC, my hair has grown longer. I've got about 7 inches more. All kinds of people who joined with me have got waist length hair or longer and I don't (and plus mine looks shorter because it curls and has shrinkage).

However, I've got 7 inches more.

]When I'm not comparing myself to others, that's something.

If I can hang in there 3 1/2 more years, I will be at waist, which is more than my original goal. I was only hoping to get to brastrap, which I have done.

And maybe I can make it a little faster, as I've been trimming, only once a year, and not much, but trimming. I think that account for the missing 2 inches. (You know. 3 x 3=9, not 7) I don't NEED to trim, as I don't have split ends at all. I am going to stop and see what happens.

We will see.

i hope you figure it out.

[slynr]

If you are growing 1/4 per inch and you are stuck at a certain length it is either breaking or you are trimming too much:) Growth rate varies and there is no magic bullet to increase growth unfortunately. Of there was something I think we would all do it!!

[Daydreamer.]

Hmmm...maybe eating a little more protein? I ate peanut butter daily in the past and it helped a little.

[veryhairyfairy]

I don't think a single bleach process would cause you to stall from breakage at 'only' BSL so I have two ideas:

1. Are you wearing your hair up fairly often? (and are you doing more than 1 style?) A lot of people get growth stalls/breakage at around BSL because this is where a lot of mechanical damage from chair-backs, purse straps, etc shows up.

2. Who's trimming your hair? If you're trimming your own hair, how much and how often do you trim? If you see a stylist, how often do you see her and how much does he or she take each time?
You might be accidentally maintaining at around BSL if you get your hair trimmed 'too often' for your growth speed; you could also just be cutting/getting too much cut each time.


Lastly, things that have helped me achieve the best growth I can get:
Eat more protein, take a multivitamin, drink water, and exercise more often
(and get that thyroid checked! Untreated hypothyroidism can cause your hair to grow very slowly and it could be growing out very fragile, as well- and that's just the superficial damage!)

[Brunettebybirth]

I dyed my hair blonde for years and it grew at a snails pace. About two years ago, I decided to embrace my natural color and quit bleaching it. It was then that my growth noticeably sped up a little bit.

[LongCurlyTress]

I don't think a single bleach process would cause you to stall from breakage at 'only' BSL so I have two ideas:

1. Are you wearing your hair up fairly often? (and are you doing more than 1 style?) A lot of people get growth stalls/breakage at around BSL because this is where a lot of mechanical damage from chair-backs, purse straps, etc shows up.

2. Who's trimming your hair? If you're trimming your own hair, how much and how often do you trim? If you see a stylist, how often do you see her and how much does he or she take each time?
You might be accidentally maintaining at around BSL if you get your hair trimmed 'too often' for your growth speed; you could also just be cutting/getting too much cut each time.


Lastly, things that have helped me achieve the best growth I can get:
Eat more protein, take a multivitamin, drink water, and exercise more often
(and get that thyroid checked! Untreated hypothyroidism can cause your hair to grow very slowly and it could be growing out very fragile, as well- and that's just the superficial damage!)

All great advice!! ;)

[Mirabele]

i get about 1/4 inch pr month too. i do believe it is not slow but normal rate. you can sure read here about people who have better rates, but in the real life i believe 1/4 is quite common.
it is mostly genetic, i believe, but if you are here on LHC and read all suggestions and baby your length and ends, you are basically already doing what you can in order to not loose that 1/4 at your ends every month
i do understand it may seem slow, but i personally try to think that it is a progress anyway and see it as a positive thing. i try not to compare myself to others, no point in that. i compare my hair today to my hair lets say a year ago/before LHC . i used to loose all the lentgh due to breakage before LHC and my hair was all the time at APL. It seem to get much better now so i am excited whether i will reach BSL or even more :)
i do believe my hair grows a bit faster now that i stopped bleaching, but it may only seem this way be because i pay more attention to it now.

[chen bao jun]

]i get about 1/4 inch pr month too. i do believe it is not slow but normal rate. you can sure read here about people who have better rates, but in the real life i believe 1/4 is quite common.[/B]
it is mostly genetic, i believe, but if you are here on LHC and read all suggestions and baby your length and ends, you are basically already doing what you can in order to not loose that 1/4 at your ends every month
i do understand it may seem slow, but i personally try to think that it is a progress anyway and see it as a positive thing. i try not to compare myself to others, no point in that. i compare my hair today to my hair lets say a year ago/before LHC . i used to loose all the lentgh due to breakage before LHC and my hair was all the time at APL. It seem to get much better now so i am excited whether i will reach BSL or even more :)
i do believe my hair grows a bit faster now that i stopped bleaching, but it may only seem this way be because i pay more attention to it now.

You are a wise woman.


And hair does hate to be bleached. some few people have stronger hair and can get away with it, but how rare is it to see bleached hair of any length?
If someone HAS to be blonde, which I know some people do, then that thread that I linked to "Bottle Blonde Grows Long" has tips and tricks, because you have to realize you will need tips and tricks, since hair hates chemicals, scalps hate chemicals, that's just how it is and you can't wish it wasn't so, you have to make accomodations for this fact.

[Silverbrumby]

I like the color you have on your hair but it's got to be causing issues if it's not a one off bleach job and is done on a regular basis. When I was hairdressing years ago there was a couple of ways to stop a little of the damage.

Only bleach the roots and leave the length. When they put it on your roots and say "oh, we'll just comb it through at the end" say no. The bleach makes your hair weak and repeated applications even if it's just a minute on your ends will cause breakage and more damage.

Combing the bleach through adds insult to injury. Your hair is weakened and now they are using a comb to cause a lot of damage dragging that thick gloop through to the ends.

If you must bleach then only the roots and have them wash it out and not comb it through. Then maybe think about doing a protein treatment once a month but lots and lots of moisture between.

No heat on hair. No flat irons and no straightening. Wear the hair up in protective styles most of the time or as much as you can stand it.

Do inversion scalp massages once a day. See if it speeds up your growth.

I think when it comes right down to it you need to wear the hair you love. For you that's your bright bleached hair. Maybe, just maybe look into hair extensions for that added length when you want it. Here is a great you tube gal for doing them. She makes it look easy but as you can see from the videos she can't seem to grow her bleached hair too long as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9-tZ4xTKtI

[AmyBeth]

OP, I'm sure that your soul goes much deeper than the color of your hair! There is no question that if your roots need color, you must be losing length on the ends, either through breakage or trimming any gains in length. Trim less if you can. I also barely grew 1/4 inch per month, but I believe that very careful handling plus quick daily scalp massages increased my growth rate to a little over 1/4 inch and I just recently passed classic, so it can be done, even if it takes what seems like a very long time. If you want it, you have to be patient like all of us.