How fast does hair grow Faster and Stronger? Tips to grow hair fast

Do you wonder how fast hair grows? Apparently, there is no one definitive answer to that question. The growth rate of hair can depend on a variety of factors, including genetics, age, and overall health. Still, there are some general trends that can give you a better idea of how fast hair typically grows. So, read on to learn more about the average growth rate for hair and find out what you can do to promote healthy hair growth!

How fast does hair grow Faster and Stronger? Tips to grow hair fast

The most oft-quoted average rate of human hair growth is 6 inches (15 centimeters) per year.

However, the majority of studies measuring the rate of hair growth didn’t take into account the race of study participants. It’s known, for instance, that Caucasian hair differs from Asian and African hair in several ways, e.g., density (how closely hair strands are packed together) and the angle of hair growth.

How fast your hair grows will depend on your:

• age
• specific hair type
• overall health
• other health conditions

Science has discovered a little bit about how hair growth is controlled at the cellular level in the body, but not enough to know how we can directly speed up hair growth. Read on to learn about the science behind hair growth and how to use that knowledge for healthier hair.

First of all, it’s important to note that everyone’s hair growth rate will vary due to many factors—think genes, hormone levels, age, and more. That being said, there is an average rate of hair growth for humans. “Although it may be hard to believe, most people’s hair grows at the rate of half an inch per month,” explains Shab Reslan, a trichologist and Hair Health Expert at HairClub. “This means you will grow about six inches over an entire year.” Because it’s not very much, it’s important to take the best care of your ends every step of the way to keep every little bit of it if you’re trying to grow or maintain your hair.

The average hair growth rate of Asian female participants was nearly 6 inches per year. Comparatively, African female participants’ hair grew 4 inches (10 cm) per year, while Caucasian female participants’ hair grew a little more than 5 inches (13 cm) per year. The hair growth rate of the male participants didn’t significantly differ from that found for women.

Researchers also think that hair grows quicker in the summer due to dietary changes (eating more fruits and vegetables), as well as shifts in hormones and increased exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation.

Cool It Down

Heat styling can break and damage hair. If you often get blow-outs or use a curling or straightening iron or hot comb, your hair may not grow as quickly as you’d like. If you must use heat:

• Spritz on a heat protectant first.
• Use the coolest setting.
• Work quickly so heat touches your hair as little as possible.
• Don’t use it every day.

Let Wet Hair Be

Wet hair is super-stretchy. If you brush it when it’s dripping, you could break strands or damage the cuticle, the shingle-like cells that protect each hair. Using heat tools on very wet hair can create bubbles in the hair shaft, making it extra fragile. If your hair’s straight, let it air-dry, then comb gently with a wide-tooth comb. For textured or curly hair, gently detangle with a wide-tooth comb while it’s damp.

Take Care With Color

Bleach and other chemical hair treatments like permanents weaken your hair, so it’s more likely to break before it grows to your longed-for length.  If you choose a hue not too far from your natural color — say, three shades — you’ll need less damaging peroxide. Always spot-test store-bought dye before applying it to your whole head.

Meds Can Help or Hurt

Minoxidil is an over-the-counter medication that can help you hang on to the hair you have and even regrow some you’ve lost. But you must continue using it to keep up the results. Prescription meds to treat hair loss include spironolactone (Aldactone) and finasteride (Propecia). Hair loss may be a side effect of some medicines, including beta-blockers and amphetamines. Ask your doctor about alternatives if this happens to you.

Get a Trim

How could a haircut help your hair grow? When you get a trim, what comes off is the ends, the weakest parts of the strands. If left as is, those ends could break or split. Split ends can travel up your hair shafts and make your locks even shorter. Just don’t cut too much, if growth is your goal. Your hair grows about 1/2 inch a month, so you might aim for a 1/4-inch trim every 3 months or so.

Stress Less

Serious stress can send hair into a resting phase, skipping the stage that coaxes it to grow. It may put you at higher risk for a condition called alopecia areata, where your own immune system attacks your hair follicles. It could also lead to trichotillomania, a strong urge to pull out your hair. Your hair might grow back when you reduce the stress in your life or find ways to manage it.

Handle With Care

If your hair breaks easily, it needs extra pampering. For example, Black hair tends to be fragile, so pour on the TLC:

Don’t over-wash. Just do it enough to remove product buildup. That might be weekly or every other week.
If you relax your hair, go to a pro. Be sparing with touch-ups. Get them only about every 2-3 months, and only to new hair growth.
Treat your hair to a hot oil treatment every couple of weeks.

Take Care With Extensions and Braids

Wearing extensions or a weave might seem like a handy shortcut to the long locks you crave. But don’t wear them for more than 2-3 months at a time. And never pull them out yourself. It can harm your hair and scalp. If it hurts when your hair is styled into extensions, braids, weaves, or cornrows, they’re too tight and will damage your hair. Ask for a redo.

Get Into Condition(er)

Use conditioner every time you shampoo. It not only helps your hair behave and look better, it strengthens it and shields it from the sun’s harmful UV rays. If you have fine hair, apply it to just the bottom of your hair to avoid weighing it down. For Black hair, coat the tips well to nourish those fragile ends.

Don’t Lose Weight Too Fast

When you want to shed pounds, make sure your hair doesn’t go with them. Just as stress can trigger hair loss, so can sudden weight loss. For example, if you don’t get enough protein, your body will use what it can get — and hair growth is low priority. When your nutrition returns to normal, it’ll grow back. But it’s much better for you,  and your hair, to follow a healthy, slower-paced diet plan.

Don’t Be Deficient

There’s no supplement proven to make hair grow faster. But if you’re short on certain nutrients, it can affect your hair. Low iron causes anemia, which can trigger hair loss. Vitamins B and D factor big in healthy hair. So do zinc, omega-3 fatty acids, and the B vitamin biotin. Your doctor can test you for deficiencies. Ask them whether you should take a multivitamin or supplement and how much.

Sleep on Satin

Crisp cotton linens feel good against your skin, but they might not be the best choice if you have fragile hair. Some people swear by wearing a satin bonnet to bed or sleeping on satin pillowcases. That won’t make hair grow faster, but it may reduce friction, frizz, and breakage. It feels luxurious, too.

Give Yourself a Massage

A few small studies have indicated that regular head massages might help hair grow  in thicker. We need more research on this. But massages are known to help ease stress, and stress can contribute to hair loss. Besides, they feel great. Try a scalp massaging tool. Or gently press, stretch, and pinch your own scalp for several minutes each day.

Consider Microneedling

Microneedling uses a roller with hundreds of fine needles to make tiny punctures in your scalp. It’s shown promise in helping people with hair loss, especially when used with other treatments like minoxidil. Scientists think it helps the medications penetrate your skin. You can buy microneedling kits over the counter, but it’s safer to see a dermatologist. Microneedling is complicated and can even make some conditions worse.

How to make your hair grow stronger

Hair is made up of keratin and dead skin cells. While there’s no direct method to make your hair grow faster overnight, there are steps you can take to keep your hair healthy and long. Talk to your doctor before trying supplements such as biotin, keratin, or other nutritional supplements. They may interact with medications and cause unintended side effects.

1. Keep up with vitamins and nutrients

While many companies promote vitamins or supplements for hair growth, they don’t always directly affect hair length. But the body does require a lot of energy to make your hair grow. Missing out on balanced meals and nutrients can affect hair growth.

It’s best to get your vitamins and nutrients from your diet, but supplements you may be interested in include:

Vitamin or nutrient	Does it work?	Studies
omega-3 and 6	may work	In a studyTrusted Source of 120 healthy females, the group who took omega-3 and -6 supplements had less hair loss and improved hair density.
zinc	may only affect those with a zinc deficiency	Zinc deficiencyTrusted Source plays a role in hair loss.
B-5 and biotin	no evidence that it works for people who are not biotin deficient	A study that looked at oral supplements containing biotin and zinc found that they helped decreased hair shedding and improved hair quality and strength.
vitamin C	anecdotal evidence	The antioxidant effects of vitamin C may help prevent oxidative stress that causes hair to gray and thin out.
iron	may only work if you have an iron deficiency	Insufficient evidence for the relationship between iron deficiency and hair loss.
vitamin D	may only work if you have alopecia, or hair loss	One study found that people with alopecia had vitamin D deficiencies.

2. Apply essential oils

Put a few drops of into your shampoo or dilute it with jojoba oil. One study showed that pumpkin seed increases hair count for men with hair loss by 40 percent.

Avoid applying essential oils directly to your skin. You can dilute the oil with a few drops of essential oil per ounce of carrier oil. Two other oils that may help include rosemary and peppermint oil. While the trials have been animal studies, results suggest that these oils may benefit hair growth.

You can also mix these essential oils with other carrier oils that prevent hair damage, such as:

• coconut
• sunflower
• mineral
• castor

3. Try topical ointments

Topical ointments are generally for people experiencing hair loss. They may help your hair grow. Studies show that these products are effective in treating alopecia, or hair loss, and promoting hair growth:

• topical melatonin reduces hair loss and increases hair density
• topical minoxidil 5 percent slows hair loss
• Propecia
• ketoconazole shampoo

4. Take keratin supplements

There aren’t many studies on the effects of protein, keratin, and vitamins on hair health. One study looked at a product that had 500 milligrams of keratin and other vitamins and minerals. The group that took the supplement showed:

• 12.5 percent reduction in hair loss
• 5.9 percent improved in hair strength
• improved hair brightness and luster

5. Use protein

Protein helps your hair grow and protect it from chemical and environmental damage. If you style or apply heat to your hair often, using a protein treatment can protect your hair. You can purchase these online or use coconut oil at home. Coconut oil helps reduce protein lost both before and after washing hair.

Too much protein can affect your kidneys. It may also cause your hair to become brittle, although this is rare. It’s best to get protein from your diet and not supplements. You can get protein from vegetables, nuts, yogurt, and other foods.

6. Caffeinate your follicles
Studies are still new on the effects of caffeine on hair growth, but a cell study found that caffeine may have growth-promoting effects on hair. Using hair products with caffeine, like this shampoo by AB Crew, as an ingredient may help.

What might be preventing someone from growing longer, stronger hair?

If your hair is weaker and more brittle compared to previous years, then it’s safe to assume that there might be an imbalance or deficiency in your body, resulting in malnourished hair, according to Reslan. “Reasons behind such effects include hormonal and thyroid imbalances, medications, diet, and inflammation from stress,” she says. “It’s important to look at your hair in a holistic manner, meaning a full 360 perspective involving your health, wellbeing, and daily hair routine.”

Trichologist-approved hair growth products

With so many hair growth products on the market, it is difficult to discern which pick is best for your hair. “I suggest a regimen that includes the right shampoo, conditioner, and topical treatment,” says Reslan. “I recommend the new EXT Stimul8 Shampoo and Conditioner set, as well as the EXT Acceler8 Booster. This trifecta will ensure that you’re cleansing the scalp sufficiently in order for the topical to penetrate post-shower, plus conditioning your ends to help protect and strengthen your hair.”

What factors can affect hair growth?

There are a few factors that can affect hair growth, including:

• genetics or family history of hair loss
• hormonal changes
• lack of nutrition
• medications
• stress
• trauma that damages follicles
• other diseases or conditions

It’s also important to note that if you are experiencing unexplained and severe hair loss, you should schedule a checkup with your doctor, as certain illnesses and health conditions can cause hair loss.

Hair growth during and after pregnancy

Women who are pregnant may feel that their hair is actually growing faster. And women who have just had a baby may feel like they are losing their hair at a faster rate than normal. This is because during pregnancy, the hormone estrogen actually causes a woman to have a higher ratio of hair follicles in the growing phase. After the baby is born, hair follicles return to the “resting” phase, making it appear as if they are shedding hair.

The bottom line

Most of the factors that control hair growth are out of our day-to-day control. The best step you can take is to prevent hair loss and thinning due to poor nutrition. Be sure to eat a balanced diet and stay hydrated. Check in with your doctor if you feel that you are experiencing significant hair loss.

Can you make your hair grow faster?

“Yes, although you shouldn’t expect it to grow overnight. Hair growth takes time, and while you don’t have much control over how fast it will grow, you do have control over the health of your hair and scalp—both of which are key factors to helping your hair grow in stronger and healthier,” says Pierre.

Building off the three stages we discussed earlier, when it comes to speeding up your hair growth, you’ll want to focus your attention on the hairs that are in the anagen phase.

As a quick refresher, “Anagen is the stage where the strand of hair is actively growing. In terms of [facilitating] faster hair growth, you want to focus on keeping a healthy hair environment for the strands of hair that are in this phase. This will help promote healthy hair from the very root and extend the amount of time that each hair spends in the growth stage,” explains Pierre.

Do you have any specific tips on how I can speed up hair growth?

Again, the most important factor in helping your hair grow faster is keeping your scalp healthy during the anagen phase. One simple way to do this is to use a gentle shampoo.

“Your scalp is a sensitive environment, so you want to avoid using products that contain harsh ingredients (like sulfates) which can strip natural oils. Instead, find a non-drying shampoo that will cleanse your hair and scalp, which will help reduce the amount of environmental buildup (i.e., dirt, excessive oil and sweat) and subsequent inflammation that can occur on your scalp,” says Pierre.

What about hair growth supplements or treatments?

Ah, you may want to save your money on those hair gummies you were targeted on Instagram. According to Dr. King, currently, the only over-the-counter treatment that has scientifically been proven to work is Minoxidil (the active ingredient found in Rogaine).

As she explains: “Minoxidil is the most proven over-the-counter option, and it works for both men and women. It’s a potassium channel opener, causing hyperpolarization of cell membranes. Theoretically, by widening blood vessels and opening potassium channels, it allows more oxygen, blood and nutrients to reach the follicles, which can encourage growth.”

What about essential oils? Do any of them promote hair growth?

The science is still limited. “We need bigger, better studies in order to properly evaluate whether or not these ingredients may help with hair growth,” says King.

Still, there are limited studies (and plenty of anecdotal claims) that there are some essential oils that could be promising, which include:

Rosemary Oil: “A 2015 study compared rosemary oil to minoxidil for hair growth and at 6 months, both groups saw significant increases in hair growth.  This effect could be due to rosemary oil’s enhancement of micro capillary perfusion.”
Pumpkin Seed Oil: “Pumpkin seed oil has been shown to block the action of 5-alpha reductase, an enzyme that converts testosterone to DHT. This is thought to be why oral pumpkin seed oil may help decrease hair loss in androgenetic alopecia, but we need more data.”

Castor Oil: Perhaps the most touted hair growth oil on the Internet, King explains that while castor oil has been shown in a study to increase hair luster (aka shine), there are no studies (as of writing) that show that castor oil directly causes hair growth. (TL;DR: As long as it doesn’t irritate your skin, there isn’t much risk to trying it.)

And though it’s not an essential oil, honorable mention goes to ginseng root. “This is another ingredient to look for because ginseng stimulates scalp microcirculation and helps to inhibit the production of DHT, the main hormone responsible for androgenetic hair loss,” says King.

She recommends Collective Laborities Activating Serum because it has ginseng root as well as burdock root, which helps control dandruff because of its antifungal and anti-inflammatory properties, and malabar kino bark, which also has antifungal properties.

Remember what Pierre said earlier about keeping the environment of your hair (aka the scalp) healthy.

Are there any other things I can do to encourage hair growth?

Pierre is a proponent of scalp massages. “Not only do they feel amazing, but they help circulate blood and nutrients to the hair follicles, which can strengthen the hair and stimulate growth,” she says. You can try adding a few drops of one of the aforementioned oils to your shampoo before use—or apply it directly to your scalp, taking the time to really work it in.

Another thing to keep in mind is your diet and lifestyle habits. “Focus on having a healthy diet full of vitamin-packed foods (i.e., healthy fats, protein, iron and vitamin A) that will give your body the important nutrients needed for stimulating hair growth,” says Pierre.

King agrees adding that you want to try to minimize stress wherever possible and develop some techniques that can help with managing stress—be it regular exercise, meditating or scheduling Kikis with your friends—because stress can trigger the end of anagen phase.

King also stresses the importance of protecting the hair that’s already there. “Once a hair reaches beyond the surface of the scalp, it is physiologically dead. Because of this it cannot be nourished and can only be preserved, so you want to follow a hair care regimen that allows the protective layer, or cuticle, to remain intact for as long as possible to decrease breakage and drying out of the hair strands,” she explains.

This means steering clear of “shampoos with harsh detergents” (i.e. sulfates) and “gels or sprays that contain drying ingredients like alcohol.” Instead, you want to keep your strands moisturized with conditioners, creams or oils to decrease the risk of damage. “Glycerin based styling products are good for keeping the hair hydrated,” she adds.

Pierre’s parting advice is to be mindful of how often you heat style your hair. “Your blow dryer, straighter, or curling wand can cause some serious damage to healthy hair over time. As much as possible, scale back on the heat. And when you are using a hot tool, make sure you use a hair protectant beforehand.”