Perhaps your barber cut a little too much off during your recent cut. Maybe, you’re just eager to rock a hairstyle other than a crewcut or a buzzcut. No matter what the reason for wanting to grow your hair out fast, you’re now desperate to speed up your hair growth.
We’ll be totally honest with you. There is nothing short of a wig that is going to magically make you sprout long, luscious locks overnight. Luckily, there are plenty of ways to boost hair growth naturally without taking drastic measures.
Here are a few things you need to know about how to grow your hair faster for men:
- Using more conditioner and less shampoo can strengthen hair and make it grow faster
- A healthy diet is key to supplying your body with hair-boosting nutrients
- Avoiding hot showers and leaving hair alone for a while can benefit hair growth
Want to rev up your hair growth? Here’s a few expert tips on how to grow your hair faster for men.
GOT WRINKLES?1. Go Easy on the Shampoo
It doesn’t matter if you’ve found the best men’s shampoo that money can possibly buy. If you’re shampooing your hair every single day, you can pretty much kiss your long hair goals goodbye.
Using shampoo daily will only strip the precious oils from your scalp and weaken your hair. This will eventually lead to split ends, which will travel up your hair shaft and cause hair damage.
To grow hair out faster, limit your shampoo usage to once or twice a week and start using a leave-in conditioner for men instead. A leave-in conditioner will help prevent split ends, moisture-loss and breakage—all things that can slow hair growth.
2. Brush Your Hair—But Not Too Much
Brushing your hair regularly with a gentle hairbrush can help speed up hair growth in several ways. First, it helps distribute your hair’s natural oils all the way to the tips, improving the appearance of your hair.
Second and more importantly, brushing your hair can stimulate blood flow to the scalp, which has been shown to improve the health of hair. In a 2016 study published in Eplasty, nine healthy men who experienced a daily, 4-minute scalp massage saw improved hair thickness after 24 weeks (see claim: “…the scalp massage area showed a significant increase in hair thickness at 24 weeks compared with the initiation point.”)
While the scalp massage didn’t actually speed up hair growth, it did improve hair strength, which can help reduce split ends. Improving the strength of your hair can also help you go longer between haircuts.
3. Eat a Balanced Diet
If you want to grow out an enviable mane, start working on improving your diet. Eating a balanced diet will provide your body with all the hair-boosting vitamins it needs to grow out your hair, such as biotin, folic acid and vitamins A, C, D and E.
Vitamin E in particular has been shown to have several benefits for men, including the potential ability to speed up hair growth. A 2010 study published in Tropical Life Sciences Research found that participants who took 100 mg of mixed tocotrienols (chemicals that belong to the vitamin E family) had increased hair growth compared to those taking the placebo (see claim: “The number of hairs of the volunteers in the tocotrienol supplementation group increased significantly as compared to the placebo group.”)
Take the skin care quiz4. Turn Down the Heat
If you take good care of your skin, then you probably know that hot water isn’t good for it. The same can also be said for your hair, and for similar reasons. Hot water strips the natural oils from your scalp, making it more susceptible to damage and breakage.
Keep in mind that you don’t need to be a total masochist and take cold showers to improve your hair health. In fact, it’s a complete myth that a cold water rinse makes hair shinier and healthier.
Instead, switch to lukewarm showers. A lukewarm shower will help clear away residue from the scalp much better than cold water, allowing hair to grow unimpeded—and thus, faster.
5. Give Your Hair Some Space
Just like the Tinder date who recently ghosted you or your extremely temperamental cat, your hair might just need some alone time. Try to avoid drying your hair with a blow dryer, brushing it straight out of the shower, dyeing it or using harsh styling products with strong chemicals.
The only exception to this rule is if you want to use a little hair oil. A lightweight hair oil with nourishing ingredients can instantly improve the look of your untamed locks while simultaneously strengthening it.
Remember to Be Patient
If you’ve tried all the tricks for growing your hair out faster for men, it might just come down to your genetics. The only thing you can do is to incorporate these tips into your daily hair care routine and be patient. Good luck!
References
Koyama, Taro, et al. “Standardized Scalp Massage Results in Increased Hair Thickness by Inducing Stretching Forces to Dermal Papilla Cells in the Subcutaneous Tissue.” Eplasty, vol. 16, Jan. 2016. PubMed Central, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4740347/.
Beoy, Lim Ai, et al. “Effects of Tocotrienol Supplementation on Hair Growth in Human Volunteers.” Tropical Life Sciences Research, vol. 21, no. 2, Dec. 2010, pp. 91–99.
