What will ACTUALLY help my hair grow?

[saltedcaramelanything]

After years of too much bleach, heat styling, etc I've started noticing my hair is breaking quite a lot.

I'm taking biotin. But is there anything out there that will actually make a difference in helping my hair grow longer & fuller?

@BatshitCrazyWoman

I take Hair Gain gummies, plus a multi vitamin and mineral, and vitamin D. I use Michael Van Clarke's Lifesaver regularly. My hair is growing fast, so are my nails. My hair was in dreadful condition as I went a long time without getting it cut during the various lockdowns. I've been doing this for about 2 and a half months, and can see lots of new baby hairs and it's in better condition. My hairdresser is impressed!

Lifesaver is my favourite hair product ever

I believe I’ve “tried everything” for hair growth. I’m a fellow blonde and have really fine and thin hair. During lockdown I really concentrated on looking after my hair and noticed a huge difference for the first time in my life. Olaplex number 3 atleast once per week (pricey but I swear by it), take a good multivitamin (I found Wellwoman great for my hair), and sadly lay off the bleach and any heat. Try and only wash your hair twice a week max. Dry shampoo will be your best friend if you usually wash it a lot more, but your hair will slowly adjust. Have regular trims depending on how quick your hair grows as this really helps to strengthen/thicken it. Bobbles- use the invisibobbles (I think they’re called), or silk bobbles, and be really gentle with your hair when you brush it daily. Don’t get me wrong I still have thin/fine hair, I suppose it’s genetics, but it’s so much healthy since really focusing on looking after it.

Also swap to a sulphate free shampoo and conditioner. This is a must. I also take high strength omega 3 like others have mentioned.

Sea Kelp, get it from Holland &Barrett. Take two tablets each morning your hair and nails will start growing at a noticable rate. I've taken it for years and notice the reduction in growth when I stop, especially with my nails.

All that worked for me was cutting it as short as possible and so getting rid of all the wispy layers etc that I'd had put in over time. Then regular tiny trims, avoiding dye and deep conditioning. I looked awful for 9 months or so (thankfully we lived in Canada at the time and I did it in autumn so for most of that I was able to legitimately wear a hat, and it took a full 3 years to get it as long as I wanted it, but it worked when nothing else had.

@littlelordfuckleroy @BatshitCrazyWoman Which Lifesaver product? The pre-wash treatment? Or the whole set?

[quote saltedcaramelanything]**@littlelordfuckleroy* @BatshitCrazyWoman* Which Lifesaver product? The pre-wash treatment? Or the whole set?[/quote]
I wasn't keen on the shampoo or ordinary conditioner, but the Lifesaver pre wash treatment is excellent.

[quote saltedcaramelanything]**@littlelordfuckleroy* @BatshitCrazyWoman* Which Lifesaver product? The pre-wash treatment? Or the whole set?[/quote]
Pre-wash, and I use the UV leave in all the time. I use it to style, and generally throughout the week when I want to moisturise the ends. It's amazingly lightweight while somehow really moisturising.

I don't use silicone in any shampoo or conditioner. Never tried the Michael Van Clarke s&c

In short, no.

Castor oil

scalp massage, vitamin b complex with biotin, leave castor oil on overnight before washing (it's greasy!) once or twice a week, scalp massage (increases blood flow to the scalp and follicles, lower your stress levels, use alpecin or similar shampoo once or twice a week....

Scalp massager (I have a cheap one from Amazon, it does the trick) and a salycilic acid shampoo. I think if your scalp and follicles are in decent nick they are primed to grow healthy hair. I also use Elasticizer, I know it's about 95% castor oil but it's just easier to use than neat castor oil. If you like it you can buy huge bottles from QVC online for a decent price.

The main thing is decent supplements though. You're probably deficient in something but figuring out what it is can be very trial and error. I took Sea Kelp for a little while but it's not advised to take it constantly because it's basically iodine. It did work, but weirdly my hair regrowth was very dark for a few months. Speak to your GP if you want to try that one as I think there can be some contraindications.

Can anyone recommend a good but inexpensive sulphate-free shampoo?

Or is it silicone?

Minoxil
A healthy diet
Some people swear by rice water

My derm prescribes hair growth treatments that have worked for people I know - topical meds

@disconnected101

Or is it silicone?

Shea moisture are silicone and sulphate free. Around £10 each BUT I only have to wash my hair every 4 days now (after getting used to going silicone free)

I asked the hairdresser today this question, she said basically no, the vitamins etc don't help unless you're deficient in them as your body would just get rid of the extra. Just have a decent diet and essentially not putting a load of crap on your hair

Also some people have a terminal length apparently so it will never get any longer than a certain length, mine never ever gets longer than just below my collar bone, I know it's growing as I get roots but it must just snap off 😕

Thanks so much -Olaplex is fantastic! Have been using it since seeing on here snd my hair looks much better.

@MrsJackWhicher

Watching with interest! Neil a few month ago I have thick shiny long hair. Then I lost 13 kilos in weight over 2months (not illness, just pretty much stopped eating and drinking alcohol) All good tillI noticed how much thinner my hair had got, specifically at the back-only explanation was the weight loss snd have since heard that is a thing. Now eating healthily with supplements and hoping will recover.

Exactly the same problem here; dropped 26kg and my hair has pretty much been forceably ejected! I used to have a massive head of hair, really really thick. I think I've lost at least half of it if not more, started about 3 months after the weight loss and it's slowly tapering off (I think) 3 months after it started.

The only blessing is it's definitely still growing (roots providing a useful measuring stick!) but I'm going to have to get it cut a fair bit I think to try and make it look less straggly.