Today we will be delving into some light science to talk about ways to support healthy and rapid hair growth. If I could find the secret ingredient to making your hair grow faster and turn it into some sort of pill or goo, I would be the richest and most loved woman on the planet, next to Oprah. The truth is, it is much more complicated than that.
There are many variables that contribute to healthy and rapid cell division or ‘mitosis.’ Mitosis is when your cells split apart and form new cells, or regenerate. These regenerating cells are the building blocks of the protein that make up our hair. To ensure rapid and healthy mitosis, the first ingredient is healthy circulation.
For the systems of your body to run smoothly, you need a steady circulation of blood. Your blood is what distributes oxygen to all your organs, allowing the ‘breath of life’ to infuse every part of your body. Cells, like every living organism, need oxygen to generate. Are you following me?
On the most basic level, the best ways to ensure healthy circulation throughout the body are to get plenty of exercise and eat a healthy diet. ( Here is my recipe for juicing for faster hair growth). Once you have that part down, you are ready for 2nd ingredient for optimizing healthy and rapid hair growth.
Fact. Cells divide faster when they are heated and/or stimulated. This is valuable and undervalued information when we are talking about hair growth. Although you can not get your hair to grow inches overnight by putting a hot water bottle under your pillow while you sleep, you can help stimulate mitosis on your own head by using the magic of heat and friction together. What are the best ways to stimulate your hair with heat and friction?……Drum roll please……..
1. Brushing. It is proven that tension stimulates cell regeneration. In the same way that cross-fibrous massage helps to heal torn ligaments, brushing your hair creates stimulation and tension in your hair follicles, where mitosis happens. You will see your hair grow more rapidly if you brush your hair daily. Yet another reason to brush your hair! Check out this article for some info on my favorite hairbrush ever made:)
2. Heat+scalp massage=Optimal conditions for healthy hair growth. When you combine the stimulation of massage with the warmth of hot oil, you get a powerful punch of growth support. Here is how to do it.
Heat a teaspoon of Coconut Oil in the microwave or in a double boiler until it is fully melted. Let it cool until it is warm to the touch, then add a couple of drops of Organic Rosemary Essential Oil.
Give your scalp a vigorous hot-oil massage with your fingers for 5 minutes. Then, soak a medium sized towel in hot water, wring it out and wrap it around your head. Keep it there for 10 minutes.
Remove the towel, and finish with a thorough brushing to pull the oil down into your ends. Then ShamPHree out the oil, using nice warm water. Do this once a week. I promise you will see results. And, you will feel like the queen of self-love.
3. Circulation-inducing foods and remedies. Some foods promote circulation throughout the entire body when eaten. These foods include oranges, ginger, dark chocolate, cayenne pepper, and sunflower seeds. Here is an article on the subject.
There are many powerful herbs that increase circulation when applied topically. The best herbs to increase blood flow are cayenne pepper, rosemary, ginger, and cinnamon. Here is a list of all my favorite herbs for hair and beauty. You can easily make herbal infusions to use on your scalp in your own kitchen. My favorite way to infuse herbs for my hair and scalp is to make hair tea and use it as a rinse.
Another great way to use herbs to stimulate hair growth is to make infused scalp oil. To do this, get a small dropper bottle and fill it half way with your herbs, and then top it off with your favorite light oil. I like to use olive oil for infusions. Put the top on the bottle and then let it sit in a warm place for a couple days. Use it in your hot oil scalp massage!
Along with circulation stimulating foods and remedies, it is very important to make sure you are getting plenty of antioxidants in your diet, because this increases general efficiancy within the systems of body. Loading up on antioxidants keeps everything running smoother, in general. Horsetail is a plant that is literally packed full of silica, which is Nature’s most powerful antioxidant. Horsetail tea has been used for thousands of years as an antioxidant and hair growth stimulant. Drink up!
4. Drink plenty of water. Filtered water. This one is a no-brainer. Staying hydrated optimizes your body’s performance on all levels. Filtered water is better. And Alkalized water is the best. If I could afford a Kangan water machine I would go for it because the water it churns out is amazing. Until then, I drink my filtered water with a splash of Apple Cider Vinegar to help alkalize my body and increase absorption.
5. Protection and regular trims. If you want long healthy hair, it is important to protect it and treat it nicely. This means protecting your hair while you sleep, adopting a less-is-more hair care routine (like ShamPHree! 🙂 , and getting regular trims. Does your hair grow faster if you trim it? No. It doesn’t. But your ends will split and break at the same rate that your hair grows after it reaches a certain length, if you don’t trim the split ends off regularly. So it is fair to say that your hair grows longer and healthier with regular trims. Get a regular trim every 8 weeks. I do mine myself…..Here is how.
Part of protecting your hair is avoiding certain ingredients in your hair care routine. Most important ingredient to avoid, if you ask me, is silicone. Once upon a time, silicone was the golden child of hair product ingredients. When processed into a nano-particle, silicone coats the hair and fills in gaps where the hair shaft is damaged, rendering a perfectly smooth and shiny hair strand. This is a nice short-term fix. In the long term, silicone seals out moisture, making hair brittle and dry and dull. Yuck. Look for silicone on the back of all your product bottles. Ditch ’em if you see it in the ingredient list. Dimethicone too, while we are on the subject. And basically anything that ends in ‘icone’
If you crave the silicone effect, my favorite natural alternative is the lovely Argan skin and hair oil from Maijan.
This wraps up my advice for making your hair grow faster. If these tips don’t work, well I’ll be darned. They will work.
Do you have any tips or ingredients to add to my list? I’d love to hear them! Grow hair, Grow!!!
Need some more help growing out your hair? Check this post out!
xo, HTHG
