Is it possible to make your hair grow longer?

[ISaySteadyOn]

Because mine seems to have stalled at a little below my shoulders and I wish it would grow more.

Does anyone know? If it isn't possible, I will accept that but if it is, how?

It's reached as stage where the growth isn't noticeable.
Eat healthily and treat your hair kindly.

Do you have it trimmed regularly? I find that seems to prompt mine a bit strangely enough.

Thanks 😊. That's helpful to know.

I have not been to the hairdresser for years cos I loathe mirrors but DH did the DC during lockdown. He could probably do a decent trim if I asked him.

Hair has a natural growth process. There is usually a set amount of time a hair will grow for before falling out. This can be impacted a bit by vitamin deficiency, stress or external factors but every bodies hair length is finite. Yours might stop at shoulder length, somebody else's at bum length, somebody else could grow it to their feet. We are all different.

People who don't shave their legs don't end up with leg hair that's 3 foot long do they? That's because the maximum it will grow is about an inch or so, its never going to reach 3 feet.

@Namerchanger42

Do you have it trimmed regularly? I find that seems to prompt mine a bit strangely enough.

There really isn’t anything you can do to the ends of your hair eg cutting it that will affect what goes on inside your scalp.

Hair is dead as soon as it’s through your scalp.

It may be a perception thing though. When hair is cut the ends are blunt but over time the ends taper, narrow and thin through wear.

The PP is right. Your hair will only grow so long and it’s very individual. So it’s possible you’re at max length already.

1. make sure the hair is best quality it can be by the time it comes through your scalp (nutrition etc)
2. minimise breakage (heat, chemicals incl. dye, friction such as tying with elastic)
3. keep it neat and in good condition at the bottom - reduce heat and friction, use masques/ conditioner/ keep well trimmed

I used a caffeine shampoo called alpecin, that helped a lot. But I know it hasn't worked for others so worth a try but not a guarantee.

Look at your diet. Is it varied, is it healthy, rich in plant foods, enough protein, etc? An iron supplement can help. Eggs and almonds are rich in biotin, which is recommended for growth by trichologists. Seafood for zinc, etc. As well as finding ways I can eat eggs, most days I take an iron supplement which has biotin in it, and do find it helps my hair and nails. A couple of years ago, my hair was only able to grow a certain length, now it is really long.

For my entire life until age 30 my hair grew slowly then stopped just at my shoulders. I always wanted long hair but nothing worked! Then I went vegan at 30 and now the cursed stuff wouldn’t stop growing! It now gets way too long

In summary, for me it was diet related. I changed nothing else in my diet but cutting out dairy and eggs (was already veggie and didn’t even change recipes, junk food intake etc.). Used same shampoos etc.

Be careful what you wish for though

It’s a myth/old wives tale that trimming it makes it grow. It’s important not to have split ends but if you don’t you’d just be losing length for absolutely no reason.

How are your iron/ferritin levels?

Do you colour/bleach/use chemicals on your hair?

Does it break off? Do you use a lot of heat?

Do everything you can to minimise damage. Air dry if you can most of the time.

Castor oil products do seem to genuinely work. Vitamins containing biotin do too. Try some of those, and actually just a good multivitamin as well and do a scalp massage with castor oil once a week (you can leave it on overnight sleeping in a shower cap then rinse out/shampoo as normal next day). Make sure your diet contains plenty of fruit, vegetables, proteins and good fats. If iron is low new hair won’t grow so treat that if need be.

That's all really helpful. I don't really do much with my hair except a general wash and brush. It's only lately I have been thinking about it.
I am vegetarian so fruit and veg not a problem but I will check about iron not just for my hair but in general.

If you are veggie then make sure that you eat lots of protein and good fats (avocado, nuts, seeds etc). Seeds in general are great for that sort of thing, sprinkle some on porridge/cereal/yogurt or have seeded oatcakes or hummus.

It’s good you don’t fry or bleach your hair etc. The only other thing I can think is to make sure you don’t brush when wet.

Mane and tail horse shampoo. Get it on Amazon. Works a treat.

Oh. I forgot! Also B12.

You can get mane and tail in Sainsbury’s now! I haven’t tried it mind.

My hair is longer than it’s ever been. This must somehow be connected to the pandemic. I’ve never been a styler so maybe it’s washing it less, or not travelling into heavily polluted London and sitting in an AC office all day.

I thought hair had a determined length per individual. My hair is coloured, I don't particularly look after it but I tend to air dry. Mine grows quite fast I gained about 4 inches over the first lockdown, had some chopped off over summer but I need another cut. Over the years I've noticed my hair grows pretty fast to a certain length & then slows right down.

Lee Stafford does a mask in the hair grow range ,that you massage into your scalp that has good reviews , my dd has just started looking into the benefits of rice water for hair growth and shine.

I find it helps to take comparison photos, at the same time each month. I think once your hair passes your shoulders then any growth seems less obvious.

My hair is nearly bra strap length and I'm trying really hard to grow it out, but I could swear it hasn't grown at all since the summer (despite not having it cut since then). Then I look back at the month by month pictures and it's actually grown a noticeable amount each time.

So I would try that, take some multivitamins and iron (might not help but can't hurt) and get your hair trimmed as infrequently as possible.

This works wonders for me

www.boots.com/lee-stafford-hair-growth-treatment-pink-200ml-10081217?cm_mmc=bmm-buk-google-ppc--PLAs--(GB:Whoop!)+Lee+Stafford-_-(GB:Whoop!)+Boots+Shopping+-+Category+-+Beauty+-+Mobile&gclid=Cj0KCQiAtqL-BRC0ARIsAF4K3WFBtHssVwurd3u_ATFkfpuKNd2kEQ57DSC2SDl9jAcqu1MdJnoc0S8aAkw1EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

My hair is to my waist. To be honest I don't do anything special. I use lots of conditioner, drink water, take vitamins, occasional hair mask. But I think it's just pot luck

Realistically though, how can a product you put on your hair make it grow longer? I can understand it making the hair you do have softer/smoother/stronger so that it doesn't break off but if someone doesn't use bleach or heat, their hair shouldn't really be in a bad condition anyway, no?

I'd be interested in the science behind these products and whether they are just another marketing ploy.

My hair never grew beyond shoulder length and I thought it was my limit. I stopped using heat, dye and keratin treatments for 3 years and 'started from scratch' cutting off my damaged hair. My hair is now waist-length which I never thought possible! But if it's to look nice, I have to use heat, etc, again which is annoying!

In your case, as you don't seem to damage your hair in any way and eat well, it may just be that you've reached your limit.

Thanks everyone. Lots to think about.

That Lee Stafford in the bright pink pot ...

I LOVE the smell of that stuff. I could actually roll about in it every day of my life and not get fed up with it. I would like a body spray in that smell.

BUT although i bought and used it for a good couple of years it did bugger all for the length of my hair. Further more it did pretty much bugger all for my hair at all. Left it a bit dry in fact. But oh the smell .......

I now use Kerastase which is £££ and smells lovely and my hair is in the best condition it has been for years. Still wont grow past the length it always stops at though (between shoulder blade and bra strap). I've finally accepted it.

Should add i take vitamins by the handful daily and have done for about 30 years.