Why isn't my hair growing!

[Shona]

I am quite new here so maybe i have not given my hair enough time to grow, but I feel my hair isn't growing at the same rate everyone else's is! My routine is:

Baby shampoo every second day,
Coconut oil every second day
Two braids at night to keep my hair from getting damaged at night.
I air dry, i use no heat on my hair, no chemicals, i use a wide tooth comb and am very gentle with my hair.i BBB most nights very gently. i wear my hair up during the day in a bun and i S&D once a week, and only ever find 6 or 7 split ends, but my hair still feels quite dry and it isn't shiny at all. Since i started lurking (July) my hair has gone from being 22inch to being 22.5 inch.(which is APL on me) So does anyone know why my hair isn't growing? Is it just down to genetics? Help!

[theflummox]

Actually, I think baby shampoo might be harsher than adult shampoo. It's gentle on eyes because it has a higher PH, but this means it will open up the hair cuticle, which is generally not good for your hair. Don't quote me on that though.

[irishlady]

Hello :)

It could be the baby shampoo? I have seen other members comment that it in fact makes their hair drier than regular shampoo does, because it's more alkaline or something due to babies having different scalps to adults.

It's trial and error really. I find that for me personally, while I can get away with shampoo only every now and then, I use the CWC method most of the time, which consists of conditioner, shampooing the scalp and smoothing the suds through the ends a bit, then conditioner once more.

I see that you have fine hair, so if you find that conditioner makes your hair go a bit limp, you could try just letting some soak into your hair for a bit before shampooing your scalp, and see how that goes.

Another alternative is shampoo bars, Chagrin Valley bars are apparently very good, and I don't think you'd neccesarily have to use a conditioner with them. I currently use the ones from Lush, which are great value for money, and there are lots of different kids depending on your hair type, just be careful not to choose one with too many sulfates in it. A personal favourite of mine is Jumping Juniper :)

Good luck!

[lizdini]

Is there a reason you use baby shampoo? If not maybe try another shampoo and see if that helps. Has your hair always grown at this rate? If not then maybe look try whatever you were doing the last time your hair grew, or if that fails maybe check with your doc. Sometimes hair can act as an early warning system. Either way, good luck!:D

[Shona]

Thank you for your imput irishlady (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/member.php?u=28198)! Ah, and here i was thinking baby shampoo would be the anwer to my short, seemingly non-growing hair. I have heard a couple of times people speaking of the Lush shampoo bars on here. I guess anything is worth a try! I do have fine hair, and it does get greasy quite fast, so i will the Lush bars will work for me.

[Shona]

lizdini: I thought baby shampoo was meant to be quite good for your hair, i've seen quite a few people kicking about here saying they use it. So i thought i would give it a go, and yes my hair has always growen very very slow, but now my hair care is getting better i sort of expected it to speed up. oh how wrong i was!

[knoxkatie]

It could be your diet. I took very good care of my hair for about a year, but still didn't grow that much. About 2 months ago I started adding protein with vitamins and supplements in it to my morning smoothies and eating cereal fortified with iron and I have noticed what I feel like is a significant change in my growth rate.

[knoxkatie]

^^ I would just like to add this might especially be true if you are a small person. I have always been small and had a smaller appetite than other girls so I finally discovered that I need to make the most out of what I eat.

[Debra83]

Vitamins might help speed up your growth.

[Intransigentia]

Another possibility is, hair doesn't always grow at the same rate. Some people get what seems like nothing for months, and then will have a ridiculous growth spurt and get excited, then stall out again - for no apparent reason.

[Rocket22]

Well you have gained 1/2" so even though that may not be lightning speed it's gaining. Also you may be more of a winter grower? I had no idea about this but learned about it from here. I noticed my hair seemed like it grew more over the winter than the summer. This was very new to me because I had always heard hair grows more in the summer. Also because you are new you probably are just starting to track these things so I'm sure you will learn all kinds of stuff about your hair :)

You know I didn't even check where you live so just do opposite of now grower. :)

[Anje]

Are you using conditioner? Most folks need it, at least on their ends. It won't make your hair grow, but it could reduce breakage, if that's contributing. It'll also help with the dryness. Switching to a normal shampoo rather than something so harsh on your hair as baby shampoo might also help.

[Shona]

I am very short (5') but i feel as though diet is up to scratch so i hope it's not the culprit. I am on some medication short term which means i'm not aloud to take certain vitamins! Could anyone suggest some good hair growing vitamins? I wish there was another obvious reason my hair doesn't grow fast, but mother at my age had waist long hair...no there is hope! Thank everyone for your comments.

[MrsGuther]

Another possibility is, hair doesn't always grow at the same rate. Some people get what seems like nothing for months, and then will have a ridiculous growth spurt and get excited, then stall out again - for no apparent reason.

I agree with this ^^^. Maybe you are just in a growth stall. I would try switching to a different shampoo, maybe adding some multi-vitamins and protein to your diet and see if that makes a difference too. Happy growing to you!

[MrsGuther]

I am very short (5') but i feel as though diet is up to scratch so i hope it's not the culprit. I am on some medication short term which means i'm not aloud to take certain vitamins! Could anyone suggest some good hair growing vitamins? I wish there was another obvious reason my hair doesn't grow fast, but mother at my age had waist long hair...no there is hope! Thank everyone for your comments.

Prenatal vitamins are good for hair growth. Biotin, MSM, and zinc are also supposed to be good for hair growth from what I've heard.