Best tips for growing hair fast?

[carolinewxo]

I have arm pit length hair I want around mid back length..My hair grows the typical 1/2in a month. I straighten it everyday, but it's not as damaged as you would think, it's actually pretty healthy since my hair isn't that wavy to begin with lol.. Are there any good tips you know of for speed-growing? =)

[gthlvrmx]

trim off all and i mean ALL the dead ends, split, damaged hair as much as you can and then protect the ends as if it were your child :) keep it covered and away from brushing against other objects a lot, including fingers to prevent drying and splitting. the breakage is what always slows growth, healthy hair grows faster. i always bun it and don't touch it until night time when i braid it, and my hair stays moisturized for days until the next wash and condition.

[krissykins]

There's a good chance your hair is actually pretty damaged if you flat iron a lot, but it could be hidden by silicones, which coat the hair. Have you clarified your hair to see what it's like in its most natural state?

As for speed growing, there's no hard and fast rules about what works, although a balanced diet, exercise, and good hydration all prove to have positive effects. Some people here have had good results from things like MegaTek and castor oil, so I suggest taking a peek around the forum to see what we have to offer! :)

Welcome to LHC!

ETA: Just wanted to add that it's good if you do use cones when heat styling your hair daily. They also protect from more serious damage from heat.

[Fufu]

To me the best way of growing hair fast is to ignore your hair because by then when u check ur hair, they have grown so long and u never will expect it at all

[Purdy Bear]

Theres lots on the forum you may wish to look up, so here goes:

Monistate cream
MSM supplements
Massage
Black Strap Molasses
Biotin Supplements
Caster Oil
Using a soft baor bristle brush
Iron supplements
Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth or DE

Good nutrtion with plenty of protein, biotin and iron rich foods, and a good water intake for your climate (here in the Uk its 6 cups of water per day or 2 litres).

[mrs_coffee]

As for speed growing, there's no hard and fast rules about what works, although a balanced diet, exercise, and good hydration all prove to have positive effects.

All of the above, plus a good multivitamin and CWC is what has given me the most noticeable growth.

[pepperminttea]

It's worth remembering that even if you're doing everything you can for a fast growth rate, sometimes it is just down to genetics. Sorry to be a doomspell, but. :shrug:

[fluffypuffy]

This is going to sound a little obvious, but sleep, good diet and stress management do WONDERS. When I hopped on the 'basic health maintenance' wagon, I went from around an inch every month to 6 inches in 2.

[Fairlight63]

I have done all of the above & I still only get 1/2" of growth a month. So I say patience & put your hair in a bun out of sight. It will grow if you don't cut it & one day you will have long hair.

[Madora]

Please, back off from the straightening implements!

Growing hair fast, as Pepperminttea said, is a matter of genetics.

You can help keep your hair more healthy by a proper diet, drinking plenty of water, avoiding blowdrying, any harsh chemicals, and not using nylon brushes.

Protect your hair at night by sleeping on a silk pillowcase

Do not wash the daylights out of your hair!

Keep it looking healthy with a 100% pure boar bristle brush

Try and avoid stress, if at all possible

Try taking a multi vitamin or vitamin supplements (but don't overdo it!)

Use a wide tooth comb and detangle before you brush your hair.
Be gentle, detangle your hair, starting at the tips and gradually working up the strands until you reach the scalp.

Do not brush your hair when it is wet. It is at its weakest when wet!

Get small trims every 3 months or so.

Do search and destroy to rid your ends of tiny split ends.

Above all, be patient!

[Firefox7275]

I will third or fourth the good diet, relatively few people meet their government's minimum recommendations for health every day. There is a lot more to a healthy hair than just vitamins, you need to consider minerals, essential fatty acids, protein and total calories. There is a helpful post in the Articles section on nutrition.

[FluffSpider]

It doesn't really matter if your hair isn';t that wavy to begin with... it's not how much you alter it, but in what way. You can have 3a hair and straighten it by running over it once with 200 degrees celsius, or have 1b hair and do the same thing, but the heat will remain the same, and the damage the same. The only variables that matter are: number of passes, temperature, and hair resistance/possible heat protection thingies. You could look into other ways of straightening your hair. I've noticed a herringbone braid straightens out any slight 'waves' in my 1b hair. Also there's wrapping, and probably oter methods as well.

[x0h_bother]

I think you have to figure out for yourself what is holding you back from great hairgrowth. For me it's: nutrition (and anemia), hydration (I don't drink), manipulation of hair (mechanical damage), and flat ironing (heat damage). Good luck!

[jesis]

If you think your hair is healthy while you flat iron, just imagine what it would be like if you didn't! Back off from it for a few weeks, learn to love your natural hair. You will be amazed at how much faster your hair grows just from doing that.

[jojo]

If you want long hair then ditch the straighteners. there might not look like theres damage but your straighteners will be pushing those split ends down and make them less noticeable, dont let them fool you, you will have damage! and if your getting 1/2" now by babying your hair, you may just get faster growth.

To achieve maximum growth; eat a healthy diet, keep hydrated, exercize, oiling ends, silk pillow cases, keep it bunned, use hair friendly toys-no metal bits, wide wooden comb, BBB and lots and lots of patience! but above all ditch all heat!

[Anje]

Minimize damage. Less damage means less breakage means more length.
Wear hair up (part of minimizing damage, but worth reiterating).
Make sure hair gets what it needs in terms of moisture and perhaps protein to keep it soft, flexible, and strong.
Keep healthy. Good diet, exercise, sleep, water, and deal with health problems because they tend to affect hair.

Minimizing damage is the one that you can do a lot with. Preventing tangles helps. So does not ripping a comb/brush through and not using one that breaks your hair. Minimizing heat styling is a biggy, as the damage is cumulative. Another biggie is preventing chemical damage, such as from bleach/peroxide, ammonia, and perms/relaxers.

ETA: One more... To maximize hair growth, don't cut off healthy hair. Sounds obvious, but I've heard too many stories of people who can't grow their hair and visit a salon every month for a cut.

[NJoy]

This is going to sound a little obvious, but sleep, good diet and stress management do WONDERS. When I hopped on the 'basic health maintenance' wagon, I went from around an inch every month to 6 inches in 2.

:disbelief What the?! 6 inches in 2 months??? :thud: You just got a new stalker. Headed to your profile now. Feel free to share more info please. :D

[Kristamommyx3]

I agree with the other posters, drink water, get enough sleep, etc. But, if you are still in school, the peer pressure to have perfect air every day can be hard to deny. You could make a promise to yourself that for all of summer vacation, unless you are going somewhere special, you will BABY your hair. All summer you will ever use a blowdryer, straighten it or swim in salt or chlorine water with ought first showering in fresh water. Do a weekly deep conditioning, and wear it up as much as possible. Get a good multivitamin and take every day. If you follow these "rules" all summer, you should see a huge difference in your hair by the time vacation is over!

[Kristamommyx3]

Darn IPad auto spell! Lol. P.s. I live in FL too, and my hair always grows faster during our hot summer months, so take advantage!

[jojo]

This is going to sound a little obvious, but sleep, good diet and stress management do WONDERS. When I hopped on the 'basic health maintenance' wagon, I went from around an inch every month to 6 inches in 2.

I find this a little hard to believe, 6" is the average persons yearly growth! not to sound rude but it does sound a bit exadurated IMHO

[dulce]

adding extra biotin plus oiling snags and using my fingers to detangle instead of a comb[less tearing],also washing hair in shower upright not my old way of upside down hair[also less tangles]-but 1 noticed in the 3 months of starting biotin my hair went from 1/2 inch per month growth to over 1 inch per month of growth-

[spidermom]

Be so busy with other things that time seems to fly by.

[fluffypuffy]

I find this a little hard to believe, 6" is the average persons yearly growth! not to sound rude but it does sound a bit exadurated IMHO
I know it sounds completely ridiculous but I actually had my stylist measure my hair when I got back from my trip (had way too much hair chopped before I left, and noticed significant growth by the time I got home) and she confirmed. I have no idea how to explain the random growth spurt, and my hair certainly doesn't regularly grow at that pace, but it did.

[twopoints]

6 inches in two months? Is that even possible?

[Anje]

6 inches in two months? Is that even possible?
Mine did about 4 inches in 5 weeks once (though this was long before I measured). I happened to be on a trip as a short-term exchange student at that time, and it was freakishly longer by the time I returned home. Which was weird, because I was not trying to grow my hair.

[Firefox7275]

I know it sounds completely ridiculous but I actually had my stylist measure my hair when I got back from my trip (had way too much hair chopped before I left, and noticed significant growth by the time I got home) and she confirmed. I have no idea how to explain the random growth spurt, and my hair certainly doesn't regularly grow at that pace, but it did.

What else were you doing on this trip? Just eating better and exercising?


Mine did about 4 inches in 5 weeks once (though this was long before I measured). I happened to be on a trip as a short-term exchange student at that time, and it was freakishly longer by the time I returned home. Which was weird, because I was not trying to grow my hair.

Now there are two of you, I want to book a trip away!! :p

[RachieBaby]

What else were you doing on this trip? Just eating better and exercising?



Now there are two of you, I want to book a trip away!! :p

Im going on holiday to Corfu for a week in June! I really really hope this happens to my hair hahaha! *Crosses fingers*

[Mrspuddinhead]

One of the biggest ones would be to lay off the heating implements just as madora suggested. I've done the same and I use a deep conditioner once every two weeks to help nourish my ends and I've noticed a big difference. Sadly there is no remedy, just patience, love, and time.

[fluffypuffy]

I find this a little hard to believe, 6" is the average persons yearly growth! not to sound rude but it does sound a bit exadurated IMHO


:disbelief What the?! 6 inches in 2 months??? :thud: You just got a new stalker. Headed to your profile now. Feel free to share more info please. :D


What else were you doing on this trip? Just eating better and exercising?



Now there are two of you, I want to book a trip away!! :p

Pretty much. Stuffing myself with good food all the time (there are evidently no sources of junk food in the mountainous regions of Ecuador ;) ) getting work in, 8-10 hours of sleep, good weather, and lots of fun. I think the fact that I wasn't stressing out massively as usual had a big impact.

[celebriangel]

Please, please back away from the straighteners - your hair is a lovely, tidy, gently wave - why would you want stick-straight hair pasted to your head? gentle waves suit most people better then straighteners. Give your hair a chance - with proper care, your waves will be lovely.

My hair is *very* resistant - even when treated roughly, with tearing brushing, harsh washes and no damage protection it grew to waist happily, and has endured multiple dyes with no trouble (no bleach, but that's just horrific). However. Straightening *ruined* the last 5 inches - even though I only did it about once a week.

Is that your natural hair colour? Straightening over highlighted/lightened hair is a recipe for disaster. I'm sorry for being so, er, forceful, but really don't want you to end up with inches of damage you will have to chop off. Everyone I know who straightens their hair has hair no longer than BSL and has to get all the damage cut off every few months.

I'd also be careful with all the chemical suggestions - all of them are good, but monistat, for example, *can* have some unpleasant side-effects, as well as causing more shedding once you stop using it, and mega-dosing on biotin (that is, taking much more than is in a normal multivitamin) is as unwise as mega-dosing on anything else. So please do some reading on here before you decide to do anything like that.

Castor oil has worked well for me, though it is a bit of a challenge to get it out! it also causes a *slight* darkening of the bits I put it on, I think, though I hear this goes away if you stop for a bit.

[Bast]

Vacations for me = growth spurt, as well. Even eating less healthy than I do at home. It's the lack of stress and having fun, me thinks.

And I'm just going to parrot what somebody else has written in the past, here.

Go to the library, and walk to the A's. Check out the first 7 books on the shelf. Read a book a day. Return to the library and check out the next 7 books on the shelf. Repeat, and see how long your hair has grown by the time you reach the end.

But before taking any supplements, please please please do your research. While there haven't been scientific reports of harmful overdoses, there also haven't been scientific reports of helpful overdoses, either, and anecdotal evidence has shown some pretty scary things, as well as some not-so-scary things. Talk to your doctor before deciding to megadose.

[pixi_stix]

6 inches in two months? Is that even possible?
I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen a male friends hair after spending 8 weeks in Cyprus. He went from just past his collar to AP

[racrane]

I agree with what everyone has said. I'll also say that I was anemic last year without even knowing it and my hair was terrible, dry and yucky. I decided to "fix" it by straightening it and my hair got worse. Once I realized the problem was my iron deficiency, my health improved and so did my hair. I found that (amazingly) I didn't need to straighten it. I know most girls love to straighten their hair but do you want straight hair or long hair? You'll have to decide. But really try to eat healthy. It does wonders. My hair looks and feels better - isn't amazingly long, but much healthier.

[Avital88]

I agree that you should quit the flatiron.. If you do that everyday its impossible to not have any damage.I remember my own hair last year,i thought it was healthy,then i stopped the flat ironing and i have actually double the hair i used to have plus its growing like weeds now! So i would suggest to just try it for 2 or 3 months and you will see the difference.

[torrilin]

I have arm pit length hair I want around mid back length..My hair grows the typical 1/2in a month. I straighten it everyday, but it's not as damaged as you would think, it's actually pretty healthy since my hair isn't that wavy to begin with lol.. Are there any good tips you know of for speed-growing? =)

Um, why are you using a straightener every day when your hair is 1c? That doesn't make a damn bit of sense, because 1c is well... pretty damn straight. Both 1b and 1c will have pretty much every bit of wave fall out just from a good brushing.

As far as speed-growing... I have no useful suggestions. Your natural growth rate is largely due to genetics. You can wreck it by eating badly, indulging in excessively damaging hair habits, being a giant stressball, and in general treating your body badly. Pretty much anything you do to your hair will cause damage, so that key word of "excessively" matters a lot. My hair is fine, slippery, and pretty stubborn. Perms and pretty much any heat treatment will just fall out, unless the treatment is so strong as to nearly melt my hair. BAD scene. Everyone's hair is a little different, so there are LHC members who have perms or use heat all the time and have no problems. It all depends on what your particular hair will tolerate.

[dulce]

since adding biotin-it did really help but have read some posters warnings about long term safety 1 have sadly quit it-hair will grow-it is not worth it to me to risk future problemsjust thought 1 should mention that after 1 encouraged it-

[bellawave]

Gentle scalp massage. Gets the blood flowing to your follicles. :)

[vaughner]

Don't use your flat iron as much. I used to be addicted to straightening but now I only do it twice a month maximum. Use heat protectants when you do straighten. The best advice I've heard is just to leave it alone as much as possible and trim when you feel you need to.