Last updated: January 2024
As the saying goes, hair is your crowning glory. Aside from showcasing how you can live up to the trendy hairstyles, it also says a lot about your personality. Voluminous hair gives off a fun vibe while sleek hairstyles radiate a formal and elegant mood.
Doing something new to your hair just gives you satisfaction and control which is liberating. However, in times of an accident when dyeing your hair or an awkward bang cut, you could only wish your hair could grow faster.
According to The American Academy of Dermatology, hair grows around half an inch every month on average.
It is also note-worthy that hair growth would depend on your hair type, age, and if you have specific health conditions. In order to understand how to grow your hair longer, here’s a summary of the science behind your hair growth.
Science Behind Hair Growth
Basically, your hair undergoes a cycle with three phases: anagen, catagen, and telogen. Anagen is the growing stage, where you actively produce hair lasting an average of 1000 days.
After the anagen phase, catagen follows where your hair shifts from active growth to resting phase. This is where growth stops and usually lasts for a few days. Lastly, the telogen phase is where your hair rests until it sheds.
Be reminded that each hair has a separate cycle so when 85% are in their anagen phase, the rest are in telogen phase so it’s normal to shed a hundred hairs daily.
With this, you want to trigger the anagen phase to quickly grow your hair.
Is it possible to grow hair faster?
it is possible to grow hair faster, although results may vary and are largely dependent on individual genetics, as some people may be able to grow their hair faster than others.
To achieve faster hair growth, people can adjust their diet and lifestyle, which includes eating more protein-rich foods, drinking enough water, reducing stress, and maintaining a healthy scalp with the use of natural oils.
Moreover, people can use certain vitamins and minerals such as biotin, iron, and zinc, as well as keratin-based hair products known to promote hair growth.
While it is possible to grow hair faster with these methods, it is important to speak to a doctor or dermatologist before making any lifestyle changes or using certain products that could damage the scalp and hair follicles.
Tips for Growing Your Hair Faster in Malaysia
There are no magical potions that could make your hair longer overnight, so these tips require commitment and patience before you could see the results.
1. Try Hair-Growth Supplements
Hair is made up of protein keratin containing amino acids like serine, cysteine, glycine, glutamic acid, and proline. Collagen and biotin supplements are filled with these amino acids, providing essential nutrients needed to improve hair growth.
Collagen offers multiple hair benefits from increasing the elasticity of your hair strands which leaves them stronger, moisturizing your hair strands by working with hyaluronic acid to rebuild the structure of your skin’s dermis, up to assisting the blood vessels in your dermis to provide better nutrients diffusion to each follicle.
Biotin is another vitamin that plays an important part for the health of your skin, nails, and hair. Lack of biotin may result in hair loss. Adding biotin to your supplements would improve your body’s keratin infrastructure, and influence hair growth especially in areas where hair loss is present.
2. Stimulate Your Scalp with Oil Massage
Keeping a healthy scalp is crucial, especially when you are noticing excessive hair loss. Paying attention if you have an inflamed or irritated scalp can actually help you determine if you are suffering hair loss or thinning due to oxidative stress or scalp conditions like dermatitis.
If your scalp is completely fine, you should try massaging your scalp. Studies support that scalp massages on a daily basis help address hair loss and trigger production of thicker hair.
Massages increase the thickness of your hair as it stretches the cells of hair follicles. It also helps dilate blood vessels underneath your skin which encourages hair growth.
You have options in getting massages, you can do it by yourself by simply using your fingertips to apply medium pressure to your scalp in circular motions across your scalp for five minutes everyday. You can also massage your scalp while washing your hair with shampoo or conditioner.
If you want to upgrade the experience, you can add peppermint or lavender oil mixed with jojoba oil or hair oil and apply it to your scalp. Make sure to distribute the oil throughout your scalp for balanced absorption. If your skin is sensitive, do a patch test before using oils on your scalp.
3. Ensure Moisturized and Hydrated Hair
You might be interchanging moisturization and hydration every now and then but there is actually a huge difference between the two, especially when it comes to hair.
When your hair is hydrated, it should be able to absorb and retain water. Dehydrated hair is very porous and breakable once the water leaves your hair. To know if your hair needs hydrating, you can do a porosity test by placing a loose strand in a glass of water and if it sinks right away, your hair is highly porous.
Moisturized hair mostly focuses on the outer layer of your hair and how it could lock and trap the water your hair absorbed for a long time. It could be hard to differentiate whether your hair needs hydration or moisture but if your hair has split ends, tangles easily, and appears dull, it needs moisture.
Hydration mainly works internally so you can hydrate hair with the proper diet and consume food that has high water content. While, moisturization works externally so you can improve moisture with a healthy hair care routine and mild to no heat-styling tools. Dehydration stops hair growth and damages your hair so keeping your hair hydrated and moisturized would fix dandruff issues and help your hair grow long and strong.
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4. Stop Heat-Styling
Damage on your hair can be hugely caused by heat styling tools since it breaks the hydrogen bonds in your hair to restyle your hair pattern. If you do this daily, imagine how harsh it is and how much moisture it already took from your hair.
To help your hair revive and get healthy enough to grow, give a break on heat-styling tools. If you do need to use these tools, make sure to apply a heat protectant product on your hair that is appropriate for the heat you would use.
5. Check on Your Antioxidant and Protein Intake
Other nutrients you should check for hair growth are protein and antioxidants since they both play a huge part for hair growth.
Lack of protein in your diet can trigger hair loss. Protein makes up your hair so you should keep track if you are getting enough intake. The advised protein consumption is 0.8 grams per kilogram of your weight.
Antioxidants play a huge role in keeping your hair healthy and growing. It helps you fight off oxidative stress from free radicals, improves hair growth, prevents early graying of hair, and reduces frizziness and split ends.
7. Shift to Chemical-Free Products
If you do not pay attention to the ingredients of the products you’re using and just get what is available to the market, it could pose a problem for your hair. Many commercialized hair products contain sulfate and paraben which are your hair’s enemy.
Sulfates are added to hair products for its cheap cost yet powerful cleaning properties. However, this chemical causes dryness and sometimes irritation to your skin.
Paraben, on the other hand, is used as a preservative to prevent bacteria and mold. High amounts of paraben can mess your hormones and may trigger hair loss.
Thanks to the continuous improvements of cosmetics, a lot of sulfate-free and paraben-free hair products are now wide-spread.
8. Caffeinate Your Hair
This may sound unusual to you but applying coffee to your hair has a lot of benefits. First, since caffeine is a stimulant, it would increase blood circulation to hair follicles which helps prolonging anagen duration. It also aids in retaining moisture to keep your hair shiny and soft.
To caffeinate your hair, you’ll need two to four cups of cool brewed coffee, depending on your hair length. Pour the coffee into a spray bottle. Wash your hair as normal, while still wet, you can start spraying the coffee to your hair. Massage your scalp for a few minutes and put on a shower cap. Rinse your hair with lukewarm water after 20 minutes and pat dry.
These are the tips and tricks you can do to grow your hair longer, stronger, and healthier. However, these are more of a solution for mild hair thinning and hair loss. If you have bald spots or excessive hair shedding, you may want to check on hair treatment and specialized hair growth products.
Hair Treatment for Hair Loss
If your hair loss is caused by an underlying condition like alopecia or male pattern baldness, it is a must to check with your doctor to get the appropriate treatment or medication. To give you an idea of the possible treatments for hair loss, we have listed a few.
Medicine Intake
The first step your doctor would advise is to take proper medication to help treat your hair loss. One of the most common over-the-counter and nonprescription medications you could take is Minoxidil. It comes in liquid, shampoo, and foam forms. Minoxidil widens your hair follicle which lets your hair grow thicker, and also prolongs the anagen phase. It usually takes months before the results become visible.
Therapies
Therapies are more complex and would be adjusted based on your dermatologist’s prescriptions. These usually consist of ointments, creams, and drugs that you would take to reverse the issue causing your hair loss.
Surgery
You may have heard of hair transplant surgery. This is done for men with male pattern baldness where a dermatologist or cosmetic surgeon removes hair follicles from the back of the head and transplants it to a bald spot.
What is the secret to hair growth?
The secret to hair growth is a healthy diet, proper care, and patience. Eating a balanced diet full of vitamins, minerals, healthy fats, and proteins is key to getting the nutrients necessary to promote healthy hair growth.
Moreover, taking the time to deep condition, use protective styles, and avoid tight or excessive heat styling are all important factors in allowing your hair to thrive.
Lastly, it is important to remember that hair growth takes time, so being patient and consistent in your care routine is essential. With a dedication to maintaining a healthy diet and hair care regimen, you can promote healthy, strong hair in no time.
Why is my hair slow to grow?
There can be many reasons why your hair may appear to be growing slowly. Generally, hair grows about an 1/2 inch per month, so any time period shorter than this means the hair appears to be growing slowly.
Age is a major contributing factor to slow hair growth, as many people’s hair will naturally slow down in their later years. Furthermore, such lifestyle factors as nutrition and stress can play a part.
Poor nutrition and high levels of stress can kill hair follicles and cause the hair to slow down or stop growing altogether. In cases of extreme stress, hair may even go into a temporary hibernation mode, only to eventually resume growing after the stress subsides.
Finally, using harsh chemicals like perms, bleaches, and relaxers can weaken the hair, causing it to break off more easily or simply not grow.
Growing Your Hair Faster and Longer
In trying all these tips, it is important to observe first before continuing any substance applied or taken. Your hair requires care internally and externally, and so does your overall health. Make sure to observe any side effects when starting your supplements. Always do a patch test when trying a new product. Lastly, consult with your dermatologist if you are experiencing anything unusual or worsening hair loss.
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