10 Habits That Promote Longer, Stronger Hair

Hair grows about half an inch a month, and almost nothing you buy will change that number. What you can change is how much of that growth you keep. Length is a retention problem, not a speed problem.

The ten habits

1. Massage the scalp for sixty seconds

Do it while the oil or conditioner is on. It increases circulation at the follicle and, just as usefully, makes you notice tender spots early.

2. Detangle from the ends up

Starting at the root drags every knot down the strand and snaps it. Work in sections, from the bottom, on damp conditioned hair.

3. Stop washing on a schedule

Wash when your scalp tells you to, not when the calendar does. For most textured hair that is weekly; for fine oily hair it may be every other day.

4. Use lukewarm water

Hot water strips the barrier and roughens the cuticle. Warm is enough to lift product.

5. Protect the ends at night

Satin or silk, on your head or under it. Cotton wicks moisture out and creates friction all night.

6. Alternate moisture and protein

Too much of either causes breakage — mushy and limp on one side, brittle and snapping on the other. Rotate.

7. Loosen the style

If it hurts when it goes in, it is too tight. Pain at the hairline is the first stage of traction alopecia.

8. Trim on damage, not on a timetable

Cutting healthy ends every eight weeks does not make hair grow faster. Cut when the ends are actually splitting.

9. Feed the follicle

Iron, protein, vitamin D and ferritin levels show up in your hair before they show up anywhere else. If shedding is sudden, a blood test is more useful than a serum.

10. Give it three months

A follicle takes roughly twelve weeks to show the effect of any change. Most people quit at week four.

What to expect

Reduced shedding by week four. Less breakage in the comb by week eight. Visible fullness somewhere between weeks eight and twelve. If nothing has changed after four consistent months, the problem is more likely medical than cosmetic, and that is worth a conversation with a doctor.