Five Tips on How to Stimulate Hair Growth
What is hair?
To understand how to stimulate hair growth, let’s first discuss what exactly hair is. Hair is formed from a protein called keratin. Keratin is also a crucial part of what makes up your nails and skin.
There are actually plenty of different types of keratin. In fact, 54 types of keratin are encoded into the human genome and can be produced by the human body. The keratin proteins’ structure and functionality are dependent upon their amino acid chains.
One of keratin’s strengths is that it can’t be dissolved in solvents, acids, alkalines, or even water. This means that when a keratin protein comes into contact with one of the body’s chemicals, its structure usually remains intact.
That being said, keratin relies on water to maintain function and also shape. If you expose it to a high temperature, some of the protein will lose its strength due to the molecular bonds breaking. That’s why, when you use excessive amounts of heat on your hair or frequently use chemical treatments, you might end up damaging your hair.
How does hair grow?
You know what hair is, but do you know how it grows? First, let’s dive into the process of how hair is formed and ultimately appears on your head.
The process begins with your hair root. This is underneath your skin, where your cells band together to create keratin. The root itself is held inside of a tube-like part of the skin known as a follicle.
Your hair grows and pushes its way up from the root and eventually out of the follicle. At this stage, you’ll actually be able to begin to notice your hair growing. This effort is being supported by very small blood vessels that are at the base of each hair follicle—they feed the hair root and allow it to continue growing.
Almost every hair follicle itself is attached to an oil, or sebaceous, gland. As you likely guessed, these glands produce oil, which allows your hair to get that shiny look that may be one of your hair goals. It is possible to have too much oil pumping out of these glands, however, and might contribute to having oily roots.
How to stimulate hair growth
Like we mentioned earlier, stimulating hair growth is not a one-size-fits-all process, and that’s okay! Chances are that it will take a little experimentation to figure out which works for your hair, because it’s unique. That being said, patience is key to helping figure this out.
Avoid washing your hair in boiling hot water
Your hair is fragile, so when you apply extreme heat to it—whether it be while you’re in the shower or when you’re blowdrying it—your hair could be exposed to damage, which is going to have the opposite effect of helping to stimulate hair growth.
Consider using your hair tools on a cooler setting and washing your hair in colder water instead of extremely warm. Rinsing this way can even help you close up your hair’s cuticle and strengthen the follicles before you style it.
Consider taking a supplement to support hair growth
You’ve probably heard of supplements before as a way to buoy your body in regards to overall health and diet. But have you ever considered taking a supplement geared towards stimulating hair growth? If you haven’t, now’s a great time to get started exploring the world of supportive hair supplements.
At Prose, our supplements are customized to your hair. That means that your supplement is uniquely yours and is designed for your needs. We believe everyone’s hair is different, and therefore, the way we treat it should be, too. Prose supplements are also free of synthetic fillers, dyes, coatings, GMOs, and more.
Avoid over-shampooing
Many of us have fallen victim to over-shampooing once or twice and know it can be challenging to find the right routine when it comes to wash day. It can be difficult to figure out how frequently you should shampoo. If you’re noticing that your hair seems more dry or brittle than it usually is, shampooing too frequently might just be the culprit.
Luckily, there are ways that you can make sure your hair smells and feels fresh without subjecting it to an overabundance of shampoo. You can simply use some dry shampoo to achieve a refreshed feeling without subjecting your hair to yet another wash.
Try a scalp massage
Finally, one of our most approachable tactics to help you stimulate your hair growth is to try a scalp massage. You can either do this yourself or have a family member, partner, or roommate help.
Giving yourself—or receiving—a scalp massage can actually have a beneficial impact on stress hormones, blood pressure, and even heart rate. When you give yourself a massage, this allows blood to flow to your scalp, which enhances your roots’ strength. Ultimately, it can help your follicle get the nutrients it needs faster.
There are several different options for how you can complete this massage. You can opt for a dry hair massage, but if you add an oil into the mix, there might be benefits. Adding a hair mask to your routine could make the process even more soothing.
Your hair can grow to great lengths
Depending on the amount of time and energy you want to put into stimulating hair growth, there are several different options that you can choose from. As we mentioned earlier, finding a routine that works for you might take a few tries, but when you do, it will feel well worth it!
Allow Prose to help make your entire hair journey easier with our custom hair care. You’ll notice a difference, and your hair will have nothing but gratitude for you.
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