1. Castor Oil (especially with essential oils)
2. Scalp Massages
3. Water and Vitamins!
• Castor Oil, especially Jamaican Black Castor Oil (also known as JBCO) is a great way to promote natural and faster hair growth. For those of you suffering from thinning edges or a thinning nape, try rubbing some castor oil on the troubled spots at least 3x per week (or even daily, if you like!) to see some restoration of the damaged hair follicles. Not only will this allow for quicker growth, but hair also tends to grow more thick and full when using castor oil! A great way to enhance this treatment is by mixing castor oil with a few drops of essential oils (seriously, only a few drops as essential oils are so potent that they can actually be damaging if used too generously.) Tea tree oil is especially known for stimulating the hair follicles (giving it that tingling feeling we all love!) and would be a great combination with castor oil to grow hair to fabulous lengths. Just make sure all oils you buy are natural, and not mixed with filler oils like mineral oil, petrolatum, or lanolin! These are essentially just baby oil and Vaseline, which will clog hair pores and prevent growth.
• Another way to stimulate the hair follicles and thus get blood flowing to your scalp is by massaging your scalp (or just the problem areas) for at least 5 minutes per day. This promotes more blood flow than what’s normal to the scalp, which in turn sort of “wakes up” your roots and reminds them to get moving! A nice combination for those of you who are REALLY serious about growing your tresses nice and long is to mix some castor oil with tea tree, and massage it in to the scalp for the previously suggested time frame. However, any scalp oil with natural and/or virgin oils will do nicely.
• Of course, healthy hair growth begins from the inside regardless of what external treatments you’re ritualizing. A nice Women’s Once-a-Day vitamin is a perfect way to start a vitamin regime. But of course, hair is like a plant, and while fertilizing it is good, nothing in this world is going to grow without water. It’s suggested that all pretty girls drink at least 2 liters of water a day. If that seems outrageous to you, start with one liter (think 3 big cups…ish) and work your way up.
• Another great vitamin for women is MSM. It’s a naturally occurring sulfur that can be bought over the counter in most vitamin sections of pharmacies or grocery stores. MSM is marketed toward joint health, but it is one of the main ingredients in Hairfinity and other hair vitamins that aid in the fast hair growth that so many women see after purchasing these (sometimes expensive) name-brand vitamins. MSM not only allows hair to grow more quickly, but it lengthens the growth phase for hair, meaning the amount of time hair usually grows before going in to a “rest” phase is extended, allowing you to see potentially longer hair than you’ve previously experienced. While MSM is said to be less harmful than even water itself, it is not a good idea to begin taking more than 500mg at a time. Start off with low doses for a few weeks and work your way up to perhaps 2,000mg. Other side effects of MSM include shorter periods and less PMS symptoms, clearer skin, and overall body detoxification.
• Biotin is a well-known hair growth aid for many women. It promotes stronger, thicker hair growth, and helps fight dandruff prone scalps. Although biotin can promote healthy skin as well, if not taken by someone who drinks a healthy amount of water per day, it may cause acne or other problems. As long as you stay hydrated, biotin shouldn’t be a problem!
So, as stated before, those are just a few ways to GROW hair faster. If you’re looking for length retention(i.e. your hair grows fast, but also breaks off fast as well), deep conditioning treatments once a week work wonders for nearly all hair types. Keeping hair moisturized is the most effective way to see regular growth and to actually be able to measure it when it happens.
Let us know what works best for you by commenting below!
**Disclaimer: Please ask a doctor before taking ANY new supplements.**
Raven Jahän Joyner
PABPG, President
Styling Soul 