How to Grow Out Your Hair

Growing your hair out can be a lengthy process, but following this guide on how to grow hair long can help get you there. Read on for a few healthy ways to make your hair grow faster and longer:

 

Brush your hair often

Giving your hair a few quick strokes before bed is beneficial to your hair and scalp's overall health. Starting at the scalp, use a boar bristle brush to distribute your scalp's natural, healthy oils evenly throughout your hair. Bonus: This simple step each night also helps increase circulation and blood flow, which promotes a healthier scalp.

 

Go for regular micro-trims

When you go for a "dusting"—taking off just an eighth of an inch—versus a standard trim, you’ll barely see hair on the floor. A carefully calibrated shearing preserves length while getting rid of split ends caused by environmental damage, such as physical stress or hot tools. If left for too long, split ends can work their way higher up the hair's shaft. If you wait too long between trims, you'll end up having to take off more length in the end. In order to keep hair healthy, most pros recommend at least three dustings a year.

Deep condition weekly

The key to answering “how to grow my hair fast,” for all hair types is a weekly deep-conditioning treatment, such as The Renewal Mask—but especially if hair is fine, curly, or color-treated.


As hair gets longer in length, the tips are more prone to damage, and the natural oils that keep hair shiny and smooth are more likely to be depleted. It's helpful to keep hair soft and conditioned at the tips to support the ends as hair grows longer.

 

Use the right towel, the right way

Are you still using a bath towel on your hair? The combo of twisting, tension, and fabric-rubbing on super-fragile wet hair is not great for hair growth. Try swapping your usual towel for a gentler microfiber hair towel (no rubbing, just blotting)—preventing harmful breakage and promoting healthy growth. It’s great for all hair types, and if you have curls, you can replicate the cotton T-shirt popping method with it as well.

 

Brush mindfully

When you brush your hair, do so intentionally. Only brush your hair gently when needed, and make sure you have an extra gentle brush for detangling. Whether you're brushing, combing, or detangling, always start from the ends and work your way up to avoid breakage and split ends.

 

Show your scalp some love

One easy hair growth tip you can try right this second is to massage your scalp. Scalp massages can boost mood and relieve any stress that might have a negative impact on the hair-growth cycle. Plus it can stimulate blood flow (again, promoting healthy growth).


Start at the front of your scalp and work your way back with “gentle yet firm and consistent pressure.” You can also give your scalp some extra love by massaging in the shower using a cleansing scalp scrub. This will remove dead skin cells and promote a healthy, hydrated scalp.

 

Keep conditioning

One of the most important tips for how to grow out hair is moisture. A hair-growth journey is an excellent excuse to treat yourself to a quality leave-in conditioner. The added moisture helps the hair shaft, improving elasticity and strength over time, which means less breakage and more length retention overall.

 

Shampoo with intention

How often you shampoo your hair can impact your hair's health, depending on your hair type. Shampooing your hair [only] two to three times a week allows your natural oils to work their magic on your hair, allowing it to hydrate and repair between washes. If you need a little boost to give your hair extra shine, volume, and absorb greasy roots, a dry shampoo is the perfect solution.

Let it be

One of the best pieces of advice around how to grow your hair is: Beyond gentle brushing, try to leave your hair natural as much as humanly possible. That means cutting down on hair-drying, flat-ironing, curling, chemically straightening, dyeing, teasing, and baking it in the sun. The less you alter it and mess with it, the more it can truly thrive on its own.

Sleep on silk

Encouraging your hair to grow to impressive lengths means treating it like the delicate fiber it is, and sleeping on silk pillowcases is a great way to cut down on tangles, breakage, and damage. This can help preserve all your hard work. Silk pillowcases feel soft, luxurious and are better for your skin, too.