We’ve seen this language used in connection to hair products often. “Use this product and your hair will grow faster faster”. But can a product really make your hair grow faster? I would say that the language is a little irresponsible. A single product cannot make your hair grow faster. It’s a holistic approach that makes your hair grow faster. Let’s go through it.

When trying to grow your hair you need to take care of two things:

1. Your scalp – where your hair grows from
2. Your hair – where most people experience breakage, split ends, dryness

Your hair is affected by internal factors and external factors. Internal factors are related to your individual genetics and hormones. External factors address environmental stress (pollution, smoking, UV rays) and general hair habits.

Taking these into account, here are some things to address if your goal is hair growth, or just having healthier hair:

 

A clean and stimulated scalp

The number one place to focus on if you are looking for growth is your scalp. There are countless clinical studies linking your scalp health to the quality of hair.

One such study demonstrated that not only did an “impaired scalp condition lead to impaired hair quality but that the impacts to hair are reversible upon normalization of the scalp condition.”

Any scalp condition whether inflamed, scalp build up, dandruff, dermatitis, oxidative stress (we’ll go through this in more detail later), impacts the quality of your hair.

A clean scalp by shampooing removes dirt, product and oil build up around your follicle so that your hair root is not suffocated. A stimulated scalp with massages and topical oils increases blood flow to help produce stronger hair.

 

Avoid physical damage

Physical damage includes tight ponytails, braids, handling your hair roughly when wet, harsh brushing. Removing these habits will protect the hair that you already have, and reduce your chance of traction alopecia.

When tying your hair opt for silk or satin scrunchies and when sleeping, go for silk or satin pillowcases as they reduce friction against your hair when sleeping.

 

Keep your hair moisturized

Dry hair turns brittle, and brittle hair breaks. Keep your hair moisturized with leave-in conditioners and hair oils suitable for your hair type. Dry hair indicates a raised cuticle (the outermost layer of your hair). When these cuticles are lifted, it means moisture can escape your hair faster.

Don’t skip the conditioner after shampoo, apply a leave-in after your wash routine, and follow up with a very light coating of a daily hair oil until your next wash day.

 

Antioxidants are key

We touched on oxidative stress earlier. Oxidative stress is caused by free radicals and its one the major factors of aging. For our hair this can mean graying and/or thinning (female or male pattern baldness).

A theory called the “free radical theory of aging” was developed in 1956 and it concludes that, over time, our bodies have a harder time fighting free radicals, and that’s where aging comes in.

Free radicals can be produced internally or through your environment, think of pollution, smoke, diet. To fight free radicals, you need to increase antioxidants.

Antioxidants can be found in food, so take a close look at your diet and add in those antioxidant rich foods, and also looking at topical solutions to add antioxidant protection to your scalp.

 

Protective Styling

This tip is specifically for textured hair. It’s a good idea to wear protective styles every now and then. Protective styling has so many benefits including:

• Transitioning between two different hair textures (textured versus straightened),
• Minimizes the daily hair routine reducing tension to your hair.
• Protects your hair from environmental stresses

Your protective style should not feel tight on the scalp, and the style should be switched every few weeks to ensure you are not continuously stressing one part of your scalp.

 

Limit your use of hot tools

Daily use of hot tools (straighteners, curling irons) on your hair is damaging. Give your hair a break sometimes. The reason why heat styling makes your hair smooth is because it breaks the existing structure of your hair to create a new structure. This “new” structure is causing damage to your hair as it’s aggressively manipulating your natural pattern.

We believe your hair is your form of expression, so we have no right to tell you that you should never use hot tools. But daily use should be avoided. And when you do use a hot tool use a heat protectant before to protect your strands.

 

Trim your hair when needed

The only solution for a split end is a scissor. It doesn’t matter what a miracle product tells you, you cannot repair your split ends.

It’s important to chop off very dry hair, single knots and split ends as they can travel up your hair shaft causing more damage.

 

Was this helpful? Let us know in the comments!

 

References

Trüeb RM. Oxidative stress in ageing of hair. Int J Trichology. 2009;1(1):6-14. doi:10.4103/0974-7753.51923

Trüeb RM, Henry JP, Davis MG, Schwartz JR. Scalp Condition Impacts Hair Growth and Retention via Oxidative Stress. Int J Trichology. 2018;10(6):262-270. doi:10.4103/ijt.ijt_57_18

Antonella Tosti MD, James R. Schwartz PhD. Role of scalp health in achieving optimal hair growth and retention.  Volume 43, Issue S1,Special Issue: Reducing hair loss by reducing scalp oxidative stress. https://doi.org/10.1111/ics.12708