This post will deal with *drumroll* INCREASING HAIR-GROWTH. Ahh, the one thing we all want to do, and the one thing we have no scientifically supported method of doing. Except, reducing damage to the hair, which makes it break off less, of course. But that doesn’t make the hair growth speed increase, you’re just preserving more of the hair.
Anyway, I’ve been lurking around the Hair Science thread on the LHC forum (started by the amazing meteor, I’m so impressed with all the info she has gathered). One section of the thread links to scientific articles that deal with factors which increase hair-growth, and I thought I’d write something up on it, to make sense of it for myself. And share it here, of course, because I know there are more people than myself who find reading scientific articles daunting, no matter how interesting the topic is.
Preserving hair
Numero uno: the hair grows from the scalp, but it breaks off at the ends - so protect your ends. This won't increase your growth, but you'll maintain more of it. Oil them, bun them, quit heat, whatever. Just protect them!
Nutrients
You must eat enough protein, vitamins, nutrients, bla bla bla. The usual boring stuff, but it must be said. Eat well, and your hair grows at its natural speed. If you're eating poorly or have some sort of illness, that can hamper your growth. If you're just eating poorly, switch up your diet. If your lacking hair growth is due to poor absorption of vitamins and nutrients because of an illness, talk to your doctor. In this case vitamin supplements may help. Vitamins for hair growth generally don't do much if you're not lacking in some nutrient.
Increasing blood flow to your scalp
An increased blood flow to your scalp will spur your follicles into action. There are many methods out there that may, or may not, work. Examples are the inverse head massage method and daily head massage. Other things that increase blood flow is heat - part of the reason why you may see a growth spurt during summer. Increasing your exercise may also make your blood flow and hair grow. Some essential oils, such as rose, lavender, and peppermint, are also said to increase blood flow.
Cleansing your follicles
Especially if you're suffering from SD, dandruff, eczema, or other scalp problems, your follicles could be clogged up and hampering growth. For example rose and tea tree essential oils are known anti-bacterials that can help you both with your scalp issues and your hair growth. Anti-dandruff ingredients, especially piroctone olamine and ketoconazole have been scientifically proven to help people with dandruff increase both the thickness and growth speed of their hair (I wrote a bit about my own experiment with piroctone olamine here). Other ingredients, such as micozanole (which is commonly found in products for vaginal fungi) have anecdotally shown to increase hair growth. This isn't scientifically proven, but interestingly micozanole and ketoconazole are two related substances. So who knows? If you already have a healthy scalp, there's no science that says that cleansing your follicles with special ingredients other than a regular shampoo or what-have-you will increase your growth. Personally, I'm trying things out anyway!
Castor oil
This one deserves it's own section simply because it's a very common hair growth treatment, but also because I haven't seen any exact reasons why it works. It's said to "stimulate follicles" and whatnot. But, how, that's another question. Apparently it's good for dandruff, so I'm wondering if it might have some anti-bacterial properties. Either way, I find castor oil to be relatively easy to get a hold of, relatively cheap, and relatively easy to apply. Personally I mix it with sunflower seed oil and peppermint oil and let it sit for awhile before I wash my hair. Castor oil has a very thick consistency, so I prefer to mix it with other oils to make application easier.
~ Siv
Preserving hair
Numero uno: the hair grows from the scalp, but it breaks off at the ends - so protect your ends. This won't increase your growth, but you'll maintain more of it. Oil them, bun them, quit heat, whatever. Just protect them!
Nutrients
You must eat enough protein, vitamins, nutrients, bla bla bla. The usual boring stuff, but it must be said. Eat well, and your hair grows at its natural speed. If you're eating poorly or have some sort of illness, that can hamper your growth. If you're just eating poorly, switch up your diet. If your lacking hair growth is due to poor absorption of vitamins and nutrients because of an illness, talk to your doctor. In this case vitamin supplements may help. Vitamins for hair growth generally don't do much if you're not lacking in some nutrient.
Increasing blood flow to your scalp
An increased blood flow to your scalp will spur your follicles into action. There are many methods out there that may, or may not, work. Examples are the inverse head massage method and daily head massage. Other things that increase blood flow is heat - part of the reason why you may see a growth spurt during summer. Increasing your exercise may also make your blood flow and hair grow. Some essential oils, such as rose, lavender, and peppermint, are also said to increase blood flow.
Cleansing your follicles
Especially if you're suffering from SD, dandruff, eczema, or other scalp problems, your follicles could be clogged up and hampering growth. For example rose and tea tree essential oils are known anti-bacterials that can help you both with your scalp issues and your hair growth. Anti-dandruff ingredients, especially piroctone olamine and ketoconazole have been scientifically proven to help people with dandruff increase both the thickness and growth speed of their hair (I wrote a bit about my own experiment with piroctone olamine here). Other ingredients, such as micozanole (which is commonly found in products for vaginal fungi) have anecdotally shown to increase hair growth. This isn't scientifically proven, but interestingly micozanole and ketoconazole are two related substances. So who knows? If you already have a healthy scalp, there's no science that says that cleansing your follicles with special ingredients other than a regular shampoo or what-have-you will increase your growth. Personally, I'm trying things out anyway!
Castor oil
This one deserves it's own section simply because it's a very common hair growth treatment, but also because I haven't seen any exact reasons why it works. It's said to "stimulate follicles" and whatnot. But, how, that's another question. Apparently it's good for dandruff, so I'm wondering if it might have some anti-bacterial properties. Either way, I find castor oil to be relatively easy to get a hold of, relatively cheap, and relatively easy to apply. Personally I mix it with sunflower seed oil and peppermint oil and let it sit for awhile before I wash my hair. Castor oil has a very thick consistency, so I prefer to mix it with other oils to make application easier.
~ Siv
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