Here is the truth: there are no magic cures or overnight fixes to make your hair grow faster! Everyone is going to want to sell you the magic pill, but the reality is that growing your hair long takes time and commitment. The good news is that there are ways to speed up the process and I’m here to help you with some real, practical steps you can take to lush your locks and love your longer hair in no time. Read on to learn 10 best tips to make your hair grow faster!
The fact is we have been prioritizing the wrong things altogether and this is why we’ve seen poor results! I invite you to to shift your focus from longer hair to healthier hair, because the healthier our hair is the faster and better it will grow! I’ve listed 10 practical things you can start to do today to take better care of your hair so you can grow long, healthy hair with ease!
1. Healthy hair begins with good nutrition
While our genetics play a large role in what hair type we will have and how fast it will grow, poor diet and lifestyle will negatively effect our hair (and everything else). Before thinking about aesthetics, we should focus inward. It’s vitally important to eat a balanced diet with adequate protein (plant or animal based), exercise regularly and take vitamins. This is the fundamental truth about a beautiful life (and beautiful hair), and this is where it should start for all of us on our journey.
2. Be extra gentle when your hair is wet
When our hair is wet, it is more elastic, meaning it won’t snap back if it’s pulled in the same way it does when it’s dry. We need to take extra precaution when our hair is wet, using either a wide tooth comb from the bottom up, or a wet brush. Vigorous brushing is the fastest way to cause irreparable damage, and as we have established, if our hair is damaged it will never grow long and strong!
If you find your hair is very knotty when wet, you can gently comb it in the shower or bath with conditioner in your hair and that will make it much easier to comb out after your bath. You can also use a leave in conditioner on towel dried hair. Brushing your hair when dry before shampooing also helps reduce knottiness.
3. Shampooing every day is not good for your hair!
Our scalp produces natural oils called Sebum which protects and moisturizes our skin and hair. When we shampoo too frequently the sebum is stripped from the scalp, leaving the hair dry and brittle. I suggest shampooing your hair a maximum of twice a week and to use a high quality dry shampoo if needed between washes. I love Oribe Gold Lust Dry Shampoo. It is cruelty free, light and smells incredible.
When using dry shampoo be sure to hold the bottle around 20cm from your scalp, separate your hair into sections and spray on your scalp section by section. If the dry shampoo looks white on your scalp, you are too close or you have used too much. It should feel light and clean and a bottle should last you well over six months. For this reason it is absolutely worth investing in a premium product.
4. Use Sulfate Free products
Sulfate (SLS or Sodium Laurel Sulfate) is a cleaning agent used in household detergents and shampoo to create lather and remove oil and dirt. Sulfate Free products will always be more gentle on your hair and as a bonus are also less likely to strip your hair from color or keratin if you use either.
Most natural, high quality hair products will be sulfate free but best to check the label when you buy. There are many sustainable brands to choose from but one of my favorite eco-friendly brands is Davines. Their products are SLS-free, vegan and their packaging is made from food grade, reusable materials.
5. Take care of split ends immediately
We’ve all heard (and resisted) the age old, counterintuitive advice: ‘When growing hair it is important to have regular trims.’ I personally don’t agree with this advice as a blanket rule. What I will say is, how regularly you will need to trim entirely depends on the quality of your hair. If your hair is healthy, ie: you don’t chemically treat it, you don’t style with heat regularly and you don’t have split ends, you can trim much less frequently.
If your hair is dry and damaged, you want to focus on improving the condition before growing it out. By ignoring the root of the problem (see what I did there?) you won’t be able to successfully grow your hair. This means frequent trimming and deep treatments to improve the condition before you can really grow it out. And don’t forget the heat protector when you heat style!
6. Sleep with a silk pillowcase
The literal definition of beauty sleep, silk pillowcases have been proven to keep your hair smooth and hydrated. Cotton is more absorbent than silk and tends to soak up the moisture from our hair and skin. By contrast silk leaves the moisture where we need it most.
The smooth texture of the silk also prevents our hair from tangling and frizzing which ultimately means less brushing. And honestly, who doesn’t want to sleep on a silk pillow? Glamour darling.
7. Avoid hair ties that snag
Elastic hair ties are to be avoided at all costs, they get caught and tear our hair causing terrible damage. With so many different hair ties on the market, the general rule of thumb is the softer the better. So for all you 80’s and 90’s babes out there (show of hands!) scrunchies are really the best choice. The fluffy fabric is gentle on your hair and obviously look amazing too.
Another alternative for hair ties are scarves. There are many ways to tie a scarf that look chic and are gentle on our hair. I plan on doing a tutorial on different scarf ties (along with other tutorials in the works!) so if you would like to see this tutorial please do drop a comment in the box below. I’m always happy to hear your hair questions and concerns and I’ll do my best to help!
8. Avoid heat styling, and if you can’t, use a heat protector
Regular heat styling is possibly the most common cause of hair damage, especially when done incorrectly. The first thing we must do when heat styling is use a good heat protector. This is fundamental and should not be skipped!
A high quality hairdryer will dry your hair faster, therefore reducing heat exposure. Cheaper hairdryers tend to be slower and much too hot, so they can burn your hair without drying it fast enough. When it comes to flat irons, ceramic is better. The heat on the plate is more evenly distributed and it heats the hair shaft from the inside out.
9. Cold rinse your hair after shampooing
When our hair is wet, our cuticles are softer and more fragile. A cold rinse at the end of your bath or shower will close the cuticles and pores. This retains moisture, so your hair will be smoother, shinier and stronger. The cold waters will stimulate the blood flow which is essential for hair growth!
Cold water is beneficial not only to our hair but to our skin too, reducing redness and creating a healthy glow. So if you can tolerate the cold water, cool it right down for the last couple of minutes. Consider the chill a vigorous, energizing wake up call with benefits!
10. Love yourself!!
The final point I want to raise here is a simple one, that is to practice self love and self compassion always. We have a tendency to focus our energy on what we don’t have and what we don’t look like. This is simply a distraction from what really matters.
You are beautiful, you are unique and while beauty is important and self care is vital, once we focus inward, and this brings us full circle to the first point, once we love ourselves and care for ourselves truly, our hair will grow and our skin will glow and our smile will shine and most of all we will feel beautiful, inside and out.
