Growing out your hair is a long, long process. And it seems even longer when you focus on it. But once you get an idea of the long, beautiful locks in your head, it’s hard not to look at the mirror and not wonder whether it grew more or less this month.
You could want long hair for many reasons. Some people just have generally low hair growth rate, some have done a major cut because they have seen it looked good on celebrities – never a good idea, by the way. Most cases, though, the hairdresser didn’t understand what you meant by ‘trim the ends’ and you end up with something closer to a bob than mermaid, healthy hair.
Well, this is when you take control of your hair. It will take a lot of time and it will require more hair care but it will pay off in terms of long, luscious locks.
How long does it take to grow out your hair?
Your hair growth rate per month or year will depend on your genetics, lifestyle and the way you take care of your hair. However, some things remain the same no matter what you do with your hair.
For one, your hair grows about half an inch a month – or 1.5 cm per month – which means 6 inches or about 15 cm a year.
Here are some general growth guidelines:
- For your hair to grow from ear to chin it will take 6 months
- For your hair to grow from chin to neck it will take 3-4 months
- For your hair to grow from neck to shoulder, it will take 3-4 months
- For your hair to grow from shoulder to collarbone, it will take 4 months
- For your hair to grow from collarbone to bra strap length, it will take 12 months
- For your hair to grow from bra strap length to mid-back, it will take 6 months
- For your hair to grow from mid-back to waist, it will take 8 months
After waist length, these hair lengths get more rare and not too many people want them as they are hard to manage. Here is the length chart for those:
- For your hair to grow from waist to hip, it will take 8 months
- From hip to tailbone, it will take 5 months
- From tailbone to classic, it will take 6 months
- From classic to mid-thigh, it will take 6 months
- From mid-thigh to knee length, it will take 10 months
- From knee to calf length, it will take 12 months
- From calf to ankle, it will take 15 months
From this chart, you can calculate how long it will take for your hair to grow out to your desired length. For instance, if you have shoulder length hair and you want it to be waist long, it will take about 30 months. Seems long? It can be – but in the meantime, you have plenty of great lengths to look forward to, and it will be a lot easier once your hair moves past the collarbone – that’s when you’ll have some real length to work with.
How often should I cut my hair?
Cutting your hair seems to be the ultimate tip on hair growth. However, cutting your hair – surprise, surprise – won’t help you grow your hair long. But, it will help your hair grow healthy.
So, understanding how often you should cut your hair is the most important thing you need to know if you want your hair to grow long and healthy.
Here are some general guidelines:
- If your hair is short, but you want to grow it out, then a trim is due every six months for a healthy hair. If you want to maintain it, go fo a trim every four weeks.
- Natural hair grows slowly so you shouldn’t trim more often than every three to four months.
- Chemically treated hair is fragile so it needs a cut every four to eight weeks. You want to remove everything that has been damaged, especially if you want to grow everything out.
Hair care
Growing out your hair takes a lot of work. And keeping up with all of those healthy hair care rules can be a painstaking process. One stylist says this, another one says that and you can’t remember all of them.
Well, you are not alone. But this is precisely why we have created this healthy hair care cheat sheet.
Use dry shampoo rather than washing your hair every day. Washing your hair every day can actually make your growth slow down and in general, even if you are not growing your hair, it can damage your hair. So, try switching your regular shampoo for some healthy dry shampoo and wash your hair only once or twice a week.
Use hair masks before working out. The sweat can actually damage your hair and you should switch up your routine by putting on a mask and then working out and washing after the workout. The heat from the workout will help the mask seal in deeper and your hair will benefit more from it.
Style your bangs right after a shower. Don’t let them air dry as they land, but rather comb them out and blow dry them just gently so that they can later dry properly and look amazing.
Avoid using so much shampoo. Shampooing your hair every day, as mentioned, damages your hair and dries it out. Once or twice a week is best and you can wear low ponytails on days when you feel that your hair is too greasy or go for a dry shampoo.
Don’t dry your hair with a blow dryer, especially on the hot mode. Rather, if you have to dry quickly, dry it with a cold blast. This will make your hair shiny and beautiful, especially if you air dry your hair and then dry it with a few blasts of cold air from your blow dryer.
Don’t use your conditioner on your scalp. Most people make this mistake and end up with greasy strands right after a wash. But it doesn’t have to be like that. The conditioner is meant to be used only on the strands themselves, three to four inches away from your scalp.
Avoid styling it too much. Ditch your curling iron, flat iron, blow dryer and complex hairstyles. You should never tie your hair too tightly, even the braids should be loose and comfortable.
Use a good brush. One brush for everything is a simple approach but not the best one out there. Have one wide tooth comb and then a boar bristle hair brush. Comb your hair after a wash with the comb and then thoroughly with the brush every morning and evening.
Detangle your hair with your fingers to avoid breaking your hair.
Dry your hair with an old cotton t-shirt instead of a towel. It’s more gentle on your hair and it can help your hair suffer less damage.
Growing out your hair tips
So, now that you know something about general hair care, it’s a good idea to dive in a bit deeper into the subject and learn all about potential better hair care regimens that would work for hair growth.
Here’s how to speed up this process naturally:
Trim your hair often to maintain the healthy ends.
Use the conditioner on your ends to help them stay healthy for longer.
Don’t shampoo your hair every day. As mentioned, it can damage your hair.
Rinse your hair with cold water to boost the hair growth. Your hair will liven up and be a lot shinier.
Use your hair masks. You can either purchase your hair masks with various great ingredients or make your own with coconut oil, castor oil, argan oil, almond oil and rosemary oil. These oils have beneficial ingredients that have many fans who have used them and seen plenty of hair growth.
Talk your doctor about getting some hair supplements. They are not a miracle cure but getting more vitamins can certainly be beneficial. Some of the options are prenatal vitamins or biotin.
Brush your hair gently, in the evening and in the morning. Never brush wet hair but rather detangle it with your fingers and comb with a wide tooth comb. Start brushing from your ends and then move slowly to your scalp.
Use a silk pillowcase because it won’t break your hair as much as the regular pillowcase does.
Don’t wrap your hair in the towel. This pulls your hair and damages it while gently tapping the moisture away and wrap it just gently.
Wear gentle hairstyles. Instead of your regular ponytails or topknots, go for the gentle, low ponytails and loose braids that protect your hair and yet not destroy it. Change your hairstyles frequently to help your hair be healthy.
Don’t color or bleach your hair. This causes a lot of damage and your hair growth will slow down by a lot. You won’t even get the regular 6 inches a year.
Let your hair loose. Tight ponytails give your hair a chemical cut and it breaks your hair a lot.
Give up your heat tools. As mentioned, they cause a ton of damage and make your growth rate a lot slower.
References
https://www.quora.com/How-long-does-it-take-to-grow-long-hair
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