How to make your hair grow faster

Many factors, external and internal, affect hair growth, including age, stress, hormonal changes, and over-styling can impact the health of our hair.

Or you just had an experiment with cutting your hair short but after a short while, you start missing your long locks.

This is what happened to me when I was growing out my natural hair colour.

My hair grows pretty fast, but I wanted faster if you know what I mean?

As a hair specialist for over 30 years, it happens that I know a thing or two about how we can support our hair to grow faster, both through food and supplements and with external treatments.

Here are 8 super easy ways to help your hair get its groove back.   

Ways to Nourish Your Hair on the Inside  

 Healthy fats

Healthy fats are beneficial for your skin, nails, and hair, especially Omega 3 fatty acids (found in flax and chia seeds, fish and fish oil, walnuts, and basil) are all good for keeping your hair strong, shiny, and growing well.  If your diet is not reach with such foods, you might want to supplement.

 Vitamin D

Research on vitamin d and hair loss has linked lower vitamin D levels with decreased hair growth and loss. Unfortunately, about 40% of the world population especially in the western world, is running low on this nutrient, so it’s important to make sure to get enough sunshine!

As for food: organ meats, egg yolks, tuna, and salmon are all good vitamin D sources. If you’re vegan, you’ll probably want to supplement, as some mushrooms, fortified cereals, and juices are the only non-animal food sources.

 Biotin

Keratin is a protein that makes up your skin, hair, and nails, and biotin (a B vitamin) can help support it. If you experience hair breakage, slow growth, or loss, give a biotin supplement a try. 

You can also get biotin in your diet by eating chocolate, egg yolks, nuts, pork, or organ meats—but experts recommend not exceeding 2.5 mg of biotin per day

Spicy foods

This may be a surprising fact but capsaicin, the compound that makes peppers spicy, has also been shown to promote hair growth. So go ahead and pile on the cayenne. All peppers have capsaicin, even bell peppers—just a smaller amount. 

Now let's see what you can do to nourish hair on the outside:

 Take care of your scalp

Keeping your scalp in good shape will help your hair grow healthier and faster because that’s where the follicles are that contain the hair roots.

And yet often we forget to treat our scalp as we treat our skin. I would here highlight scalp exfoliation for removal of the build-up and opening of pores. Then follow with a few minutes of a scalp massage to increase blood flow and circulation for the ultimate healthy growth.

Tip: The easiest way to do this is to add a teaspoon of baking soda to your second shampooing or opt for a ready-made scalp exfoliation product offered in the stores.

 Stinging nettle products

Not only does stinging nettle help in combating hair loss, but it also helps in hair regrowth. Nettle leaves are rich in silica and sulfur, minimizing hair breakage and thinning while also regenerating hair follicles.

Nettle can inhibit the formation of DHT

Studies show that nettle extract (leaves and roots) has the ability to block dihydrotestosterone (DHT), a hormone produced by testosterone that, when overproduced, can cause significant hair thinning and hair loss.

 Rosemary essential oil

Rosemary essential oil can help stimulate healthy, thick hair. This oil can speed up the process of cell turnover and growth, which can work as a natural remedy to growing thicker hair. Since it is an anti-inflammatory, it is used for preventing hair loss, as well as regrowth.

Science rosemary oil for hair and my personal experience together both strongly suggest the essential oil does protect against hair loss, particularly that related to male or female pattern baldness.

 Hair treatments

We often pay more attention to our skin than hair and scalp, and a healthy nourished scalp grows beautiful hair.

I am a big fan of DIY hot oil treatments for hair, but if you are more in favor of salon treatments, ask your stylist to recommend one that suits your hair.

Here is a recipe for an easy homemade oil treatment I recommend for stimulating hair growth:

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp castor oil

3 drops of rosemary essential

Massage into the scalp and hair, wrap with a warm towel, and leave in for 30-60 minutes. Wash your hair as usual and additionally, you can rinse with 1L of nettle tea to add on the benefits.

Post below any comments or questions you might have on this topic.

With Love, Jasmina