Hayley Milliman
While all haircuts grow out with time, there are steps you can take to help your hair grow longer (and healthier) more quickly. In this article, we’ll share some of our favorite tricks for growing out your hair.
The cycle is predictable: You see a cute short haircut on Pinterest and immediately head off to the salon to get it done. You love the cut at first, but one to two months later, you’re texting your friends, bemoaning your short hair and wishing it were long again.
Apply a Weekly Hair Mask
Hair masks can help restore needed moisture and oil to your hair. If you’ve been dyeing your hair or using a lot of heat, you need even more help to repair your hair’s damage.
Hair masks are deep conditioning treatments that you apply to your hair once a week or so. You typically leave a hair mask on for at least ten minutes. Some remain on your hair for as long as several hours or even overnight.
Adding a hair mask into your weekly hair care routine can help your hair grow longer and stronger. Even if you’re not looking to grow out your hair, hair masks can help improve your hair’s texture and strength.
Take a Hair-Boosting Supplement
Your hair isn’t just affected by the treatments you put on top of it. How you feed and care for your body affects your hair, too.
Eating a balanced diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables will help your hair grow longer and healthier. You should also drink a lot of water to help stay hydrated. If you want your hair to grow super long and strong, consider taking a supplement like SugarBearHair or Viviscal. These supplements are specially formulated to give you the nutrients you need to grow your hair.
As always, you should check with a doctor before starting to take any supplement.
Don’t Shampoo Every Time You Shower
If you’re looking to grow your hair, you should cut down on the number of washes you do every week. Try pushing your washes to every other day or even every two or three days.
Shampoo strips your hair, removing natural oils along with dirt and product buildup. You need those natural oils to help your hair grow long and healthy. Start skipping your washes if you want your hair to grow more quickly. If you’re worried about looking greasy between washes, try using a dry shampoo.
Treat Your Hair Right When It’s Wet
Wet hair is vulnerable hair. Your hair is most susceptible to breakage and damage when it’s wet, so it’s extra important to take care of your hair after you get out of the shower.
First, ditch the towel. Wrapping your hair up in a traditional towel is damaging and can cause many of your strands to break off. Instead, gently press the water out of your hair. You can also purchase specialty hair wraps that are easier on your wet hair.
You should also ditch your hairbrush, at least until your hair dries. Brushing wet hair can also cause breakage. If you need to detangle your wet hair, use a comb. Focus on the ends, instead of pulling from your scalp.
Get a Trim
It might sound crazy, but cutting your hair is one of the best ways to help it grow longer.
When you cut your hair, you’re helping it stay fresh and healthy. You’re also removing split ends that might end up breaking off later, causing you to lose length. The longer you wait to cut your hair, the further up your split ends will be, meaning you’ll lose more length every time one breaks.
Ask your stylist to take off about an eighth of an inch every 10 to 12 weeks to keep your hair looking and feeling healthy.
All Good Things Take Time
Remember, time will heal all wounds—and bad haircuts. Growing out your hair will take time, but with these tricks, the process can go faster.
Do you have any hair care tips and tricks that we’ve missed? Let us know in the comments.
