How Fast Does Hair Grow and How To Make It Grow Healthier

How Fast Does Hair Grow and How To Make It Grow Faster

I love talking about hair and helping women achieve their hair goals. Everyday, someone asks me a question about their hair. When it comes to hair growth there are two questions people ask me the most often: (1) how fast does hair grow? (2) what can I do to help my hair grow healthier? I will address these questions in today’s article.

How Fast Does Hair Grow?

Did you know that when you’re born you have the total number of hair follicles on your head that you’ll ever have? On average, most people are born with  about 100,000 hair follicles on their head.  Those follicles grow at about 1/2 inch (1.27 cm) each month which is about 6 inches in a year.

1/2 inch actual size

Visual of what 1/2″ (1.27 cm) looks like

Growing hair healthily take consistency and persistence. Unfortunately, I think many people have unrealistic expectations about how fast their hair should or can grow.

While you can try certain treatments to help your hair grow, remember that hair growth is often affected by other factors that you can and cannot control such as: genetics, hormonal changes, nutrition, stress, trauma, and/or underlying medical conditions. Most importantly, do not compare your rate of growth with others you see on social media. Comparing your hair journey to someone else will leave you frustrated and confused.

What Can I Do To Help My Hair Grow Healthier?

Since your hair grows about 1/2 inch per month, below I want to share with you 5 factors that are important to helping your hair grow healthier.

#1 Nutrition

The body needs a lot of energy to make your hair grow. Missing out on healthy meals and nutrients can affect hair growth. It’s best to get nutrients from your diet, but you can also get them from supplements such as: Omega-3, Zinc, Biotin, Iron, Vitamin C & D. However, I am not a medical doctor so please always consult your doctor before changing your diet or adding supplements.  Also be sure to incorporate some of the 11 “superfoods” into your diet to ensure that you’re not lacking some of the key nutrients for healthy hair growth.

#2 Keep Up with Regular Trims

Trims are an essential part of any healthy hair routine. Environmental factors such as: heat styling, chemicals, and daily maintenance can lead to split ends. If you don’t cut your split ends then they will continue up the hair shaft and cause splits.  Those splits give the appearance of thinner hair and will eventually lead to breakage.  If you heat style your hair you should get trims every 6-8 weeks.  If you don’t apply heat to your hair you should still trim it quarterly.

#3 Protein

Protein can help your hair grow and protect it from some chemical and environmental damage. One great protein treatment for your hair is coconut oil.  Coconut oil does not contain proteins itself but is composed of approximately 50% lauric acid which helps restore and strengthen the protein structure of your hair. It helps reduce protein loss both before and after washing your hair. If you’re not sold on using coconut oil in your hair, then try to add more protein to your diet.

#4 Essential Oils

Studies have shown that some essential oils can increase hair count or at least benefit hair growth. Pumpkin Seed is best for men, while Rosemary and Peppermint have been found to be extremely beneficial for women. Never apply essential oils directly to your skin – you will want to dilute them in your shampoo or with a carrier oil, like jojoba.  You can try the VoiceOfHair PureFix Hair Elixir, which is the perfect blend of all natural essential oils that seal in moisture and help promote growth.

#5 Minimize Heat & Chemicals

Chemicals and heat styling are two factors that can damage hair and even potentially cause hair loss. Protective styles and working to minimize how much damage you cause to your hair can help you grow your hair healthier. Try using products that help you seal in moisture so that your hair will not become brittle and dry while you’re wearing those protective styles!

The Key Takeaways

Just in case you did not have time to read the above information, no worries, I get it, life can be busy. That is why I have included the key takeaways for you to read below at a quick glance. Here is what you need to know about how fast your hair grows and how to help it grow healthier.

  1. Hair typically grows about 1/2 inch per month. So, it is important to have realistic expectations about your hair growth.
  2. Growing your hair in healthy way takes consistency and persistence.
  3. You can help your hair grow in a healthy way with proper nutrition.
  4. You can help your hair grow in healthy way by getting regular trims.
  5. You can help your hair grow in a healthy way through proteins, essential oils, and minimizing heat and chemicals.

This article was originally published on April 11, 2019 and updated on October 13, 2020.

 

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Brandelyn Green is the Founder of VoiceOfHair, a platform to help women of color find the best hair care products, regimens and hairstyles! Since starting VoiceOfHair in 2014 she has grown the social media platform to over 1MM+ on Instagram and Facebook. As a natural who is also a salon goer, she wanted to create a platform where people could find the best products, hairstylists, advice and trends.
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7 Comments

  • Jackie Joned says:

    Thank you for sharing. I want to know is Collagen good to use to grow hair as well? I will be placing my order for you hair products.

  • Anna Pickens says:

    I use to use rogaine and the areas where I used it is now ball once I stopped using it. Can your product help my hair.

  • Lynn says:

    What’s good for alopecia or thinning of the hair from blood pressure medication ?

    • Hello Lynn,
      we do believe our Purefix Elixir will help to stimulate hair growth. This product was formulated to help seal in moisture and stimulate hair growth with all-natural ingredients. Because we do not use any chemicals in our product you will definitely see healthier, stronger hair but only if you use it consistently along with scalp massages. Since hair grows on average ½” per month it’s very difficult to see visible results until you use it for at least 2 months, although we have several customers who see growth sooner. Since alopecia can be caused by different things (traction alopecia, alopecia areata, etc.), results may vary. We can not guarantee a specific result. Feel free to email us at [email protected] if you have any questions!🙂
      https://voiceofhaircare.com/collections/our-products

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