The best ways to make your hair grow faster
Having shiny, lustrous hair that grows fast is the dream of many Indian women. There are many myths floating around faster hair growth on the web and we have left no stone unturned when it comes to trying a quick hack here and an easy hack there. However, we would like to assert that there is no one magic bullet that helps your hair grow faster. Just like you need to take care of your face, skin, body to make them look good, you need to take care of your hair for it to be healthy. Make no mistake about it – growing hair is essentially healthy hair.
How does hair grow?
Hair is a stratified squamous keratinized epithelium made of multi-layered flat cells whose rope-like filaments provide structure and strength to the hair shaft. The protein called keratin makes up hair and stimulates hair growth.
According to the American Academy of Dermatology, hair grows out of little pockets in your skin, called follicles. Here’s how it happens:
- Your hair begins growing from a root in the bottom of the follicle. The root is made up of cells of protein.
- Blood from the blood vessels in your scalp feeds the root, which creates more cells and makes the hair grow.
- The hair gets pushed up through the skin as it grows, passing an oil gland along the way. The oil gland adds oil to the hair and keeps it shiny and soft. It can make it greasy, too. That’s why you need to wash your hair.
The hair dies by the time it is long enough to poke out through the skin. Yes, hair is dead. That’s why it doesn’t hurt to get a haircut.
Some follicles stop growing hair as you get older. This happens more in some people than in others. That’s why some people get thinner hair when they get older, or go bald.
While it is true that your genetic makeup has a say in the quantity and the quality of your hair, it is always possible to do better. Let’s see a few tips that help stimulate your hair growth.
- Have a nutritious diet
You probably heard of dieters complaining that they are experiencing a spurt in hair fall ever since they resorted to restrictive dieting. It is because hair requires nutrition just like other parts of your body. Restrictive dieting decreases the nutrients available for normal hair growth. So, your best bet is a regular, balanced diet that is rich in protein content.
Specific vitamins, minerals, and fatty acids are especially important for your overall health and also play a key role in providing your body with the energy needed for hair growth. They include:
- Biotin
- Vitamin C
- Vitamin D
- Vitamin E
- Zinc
- Iron
- Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids
So, make sure to add a lot of proteins, vitamins, and minerals to your diet which can be found in eggs, green leafy veggies, fish, nuts, chickpeas, etc.
2) Massage your scalp
You probably heard of oil massages and other scalp massages already. There is some truth to the reliability of scalp massages stimulating hair growth. The benefits of a scalp massage for hair growth centers on the nature and behavior of your hair follicles. Each hair on your head starts its life within a follicle, located just beneath the skin on your scalp.
According to research, scalp massage increases hair thickness by stretching the cells of hair follicles. This, in turn, stimulates the follicles to produce thicker hair. It’s also thought that a scalp massage may help dilate blood vessels beneath the skin, thereby encouraging hair growth.
Using essential oils like coconut oil, lavender oil, and rosemary oil can help infuse the goodness of these oils and give a nutritional boost to your scalp, not to mention the rich, aromatic fragrance they leave behind.
Hair serums are used to control frizz, set hairstyles, and protect the hair from environmental aggressors. While oils provide nourishment to the scalp, serums work on the surface level. You can consider them as quick fixes.
3) Use hair masks to boost the nutrition profile
Dry, frizzy hair is a recipe for hair disaster. It results in the breaking of the hair, which is the flipside of reduced hair growth. So, any steps you can take to reduce hair breakage will automatically bolster your hair growth.
If you ever have to experience this, try to apply an egg mask for an intensive protein hair treatment that immediately acts as a fillip to your hair growth. Egg yolk is rich in protein, biotin, vitamins, fatty acids, and vitamins like A, D, and E. These nutrients promote hair growth and prevent hair fall. Olive oil is the other ingredient of this mask, which strengthens and softens your hair. Also know Skincare.
Egg yolk is combined with various ingredients like almonds, bananas, curd, olive oil, etc. to create an egg mask. Note, however, that each egg mask has a different purpose, and research carefully on what suits your hair predicament.
However, sometimes these masks can leave a pungent smell on your hair. So, if you want to get rid of those smells then you can use hair care products while taking baths like Schwarzkopf shampoo and conditioner. They will not only help in hair growth but also any kind of smell and dandruff.
4) Avoid styling and coloring your hair frequently
The heat from curling irons, hairdryers, and straighteners can damage your hair and cause breakage. We are not asking you to avoid them altogether, but use them sparingly and let the natural bounciness of your hair show instead.
Hair coloring also involves chemical treatment of hair, so limit it by all means.
Remember, the flipside of good hair growth is preventing hair fall and styling products often induce hair breakage and hair fall. If your hair texture is very thin, keep away from styling products completely.
If you’ve already colored your hair then the use of a few hair care products like Bed Head shampoo and conditioner can help to rectify the damage as much as possible and support your hair growth.
