Hair growth is like a pot of water on the stove. The more you pay attention to it, the longer it takes to do what you want it to. When you’re growing out your hair, those first few inches will feel like the hardest.
Which leaves us with some questions.
Why does hair take so long to grow? How many inches does hair grow in a year? And why does it seem like some people can grow their hair overnight and other people have to wait years to achieve the length they want?
Don’t worry, we have all sorts of hair growth answers for you in today’s post. From scalp health to the biology of hair follicles, this is everything you need to know about the hair growth process.
The Basics of Hair Growth
Let’s start with the simplest answer to these questions. How fast does hair grow? Simple answer? About half an inch over one month. More complicated answer? It depends.
The speed at which human hair grows depends on many factors, including the following three:
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Time of Year: Yes, it’s true. Hair generally grows faster during the summer and slower during the winter.
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Your Age: If you have teenagers and marvel at how quickly their hair grows, you’re not imagining it. Hair growth peaks sometime between fifteen and thirty and tends to slow down afterwards.
- Your Diet: This factor is key. Your nutrition and hydration both play essential roles in healthy hair growth. More on that later.
So while we’d say generally, you can expect your hair to grow about six inches in a year, the truth is that it’s different for everyone. Especially when you consider certain lifestyle and genetic factors which affect hair growth, leading to hair thinning or hair loss. Your stress levels, for example, can totally impact hair health.
Real Talk: Hair Growth Varies
If you’re frustrated by your hair growth rate, it’s possible that you’re dealing with accelerated hair shedding. Why would that happen? Here are three potential causes.
Genetics
It’s no secret that genetics plays a huge role in the hair growth cycle. Androgenetic alopecia, which goes more commonly by male pattern hair loss and female pattern hair loss, is a polygenic condition, meaning that it requires several genetic factors in order to manifest.
While male pattern baldness is more researched, the truth is that this condition affects many women, especially as they age. Bald patches and hair falling out can happen to anyone, regardless of gender.
Sudden Stress
That said, genetics isn’t the only factor that can contribute to hair’s health. Sudden stress from a traumatic event like injury or a physically demanding event like labor can both lead to sudden hair loss. In fact, many people have experienced sudden hair loss related to COVID-19.
When sudden, stressful events occur, our body’s natural hair growth cycle is disrupted and a disproportionate number of hair strands are transitioned from the growth phase (anagen phase) into the resting phase (telogen phase), resulting in their eventual shedding.
Chronic Stress
Stress doesn’t discriminate however, when it comes to hair loss. In addition to sudden trauma causing thinning hair, chronic stress can do damage as well. If you work at a high stress job, have trouble sleeping, or just feel like you can’t catch a break, it’s totally possible that you’ll see your rate of hair growth decrease.
How to Speed Up Your Hair Growth
So if the average hair growth rate is about half an inch per month, you might be wondering if you can speed up the process. Can you make your hair grow? We think so.
Like every other part of your body, your hair follicles, your scalp, and your hair shaft are responsive to your body’s health and wellness. Give your body what it needs to promote healthy hair and you’ll be amazed at what it can do.
Improve Your Nutrition
Our best advice when it comes to hair health is to focus on nutrition. It’s vitally important that you feed your body enough minerals and nutrients every day to support your internal processes. And while a balanced diet is key, we also recommend taking a supplement, to leave no room for doubt on whether your body is getting what it needs.
On that topic, we’ve developed an incredible formula for all hair types, packed with vegan and GMO-free ingredients that help promote hair growth and improve hair health.
There are a lot of products on the market addressing hair health. We see them all the time: A so-called “foolproof topical treatment!” or a “miracle growth drug!” The truth is that these things take time and the best way to support new hair growth is to make sure you’re prioritizing healthier hair, not just longer hair.
Emphasize Wellness
To that end, there are supplemental steps you can take to ensure your body has all the tools it needs to thrive. Mental health is perhaps one of the most important. Make sure you’re taking time for yourself, away from computer and phone screens, to calm down.
We get it. It’s difficult to step away from our responsibilities and stresses, but that time to unwind is so important, for both our peace as well as our ability to be the best moms, dads, daughters, sons, professionals, and friends we want to be.
In addition to destressing, make sure you’re getting enough sleep every night. It really is that important.
Take Care of Your Scalp
There are also some healthy hair habits you can pick up to keep your hair healthy, once it’s already grown past the hair bulb.
For us, strategically cleansing is key. Depending on your hair type, you may want to wash more often or less often, but make sure you’re making a personal choice for your needs. When you’re cleansing, prioritize clearing away build up from hair products and dead skin cells. A scalp brush ahead of a wash can help!
We also recommend easing up on heat-powered hair tools. Too much heat can lead to damaged hair and dry, brittle hair strands. When you do use a blow dryer or straightener, make sure you’re protecting your hair with heat protectant.
Last Thoughts
So, did we answer all your questions? Here’s a recap.
In general hair tends to grow about six inches every year, but how fast hair grows is really dependent on a number of factors, from our lifestyle to our genetics. With the help of a quality supplement, a balanced diet, lots of water, and a dedicated destressing routine, we can help support a healthy scalp and even help hair grow faster.
If you’re desperate for your hair to grow a few inches, we can empathize, we’ve been there. Try to stay patient and give your body a boost with adequate nutrients.
