Getting Rapunzel-like strands is no easy feat—ask any girl who’s gobbled down countless biotin pills and vitamin E supplements only to be greeted with the same lackluster strands. There are a lot of factors that contribute to hair growth (or lack thereof), but one of the most overlooked is physical stimulation—as in, massaging the heck out of your scalp. Turns out giving yourself a scalp massage using some key natural ingredients can help your hair grow faster and in turn make your strands look more Blake Lively–esque. Or there’s the whole egg-yolk-mask thing. Or why not try a hot oil castor oil treatment? There are plenty of natural treatments that will give you the hair of your dreams—all you have to do is look to your kitchen for the necessary supplies.
Curious? Keep scrolling for our five favorite all-natural remedies to answer that perpetual question: How can I make my hair grow faster?
We spend so much time and money piling on the products that it’s easy to forget where hair growth starts: namely, your scalp. A simple way to stimulate hair growth at home is to give yourself a scalp massage—this will increase blood flow to your scalp, enhance the strength of your roots, and help nutrients get to your follicle faster. You can give yourself a scalp massage with dry hair, but adding a nutrient-rich oil to the mix will only double the benefits (just keep it to once a week if you have oily roots). Rosemary oil, in particular, has been used for centuries to stimulate hair growth. It dilates blood vessels and, in turn, stimulates your follicle to produce new growth.
To give yourself a rosemary oil scalp massage, you can simply add a couple of drops to your shampoo—or, dilute it with another oil, like olive or coconut, and apply it directly to your scalp and massage it in.
If your hair breaks before it gets past your shoulders, an egg mask will be your savior. Eggs contain lecithin and protein, which strengthen, nourish, and heal your strands. Plus, their high sulfur content might even help your pesky dandruff problem.
To make the mask, mix two eggs with two tablespoons of olive oil. If the stickiness bothers you, you can add half a cup of water to dilute the mixture. Apply the mask directly to dry, brushed hair, and leave it on for up to thirty minutes. Then, just shampoo and condition as usual for stronger strands.
Castor oil is the unsung hero of the hair world—you might even be tempted to ditch your coconut oil for it after reading this. First of all, castor oil has antifungal and antibacterial properties to help combat scalp infections that prevent your hair from growing. Second, it’s filled with omega-6 fatty acids, vitamin E, proteins, and other nutrients that can penetrate your parched strands and seal your hair shaft to retain moisture. Thirdly, it makes an amazing hot oil treatment—massaging the oil into your roots will help your scalp drink up all of the nutrients and help promote hair growth.
To give yourself a hot oil treatment, massage the oil into your scalp, then apply it all the way to the ends of your strands. Pile your hair on top of your head, cover it with a shower cap, then blast your strands with a blow-dryer for 15 minutes. Feel free to jump in the shower and shampoo and condition as usual—you’ll notice softer strands instantly.
Sure, you can easily pop a hair growth supplement, but honestly, the word’s still out on whether or not they’re an effective way to help your hair grow faster. Plus, they can contain unnecessary large amounts of minerals and vitamins (ahem, biotin) which can actually wreak havoc in other ways (ahem, breakouts). Thus, eating your way to longer hair is actually a smarter, nutritionist-approved way to make your hair grow faster. Vitamins and minerals occurring naturally in foods are easier for your body to utilize, and they’ll naturally deliver a healthier ratio of nutrients—just the way Mother Nature intended.
According to holistic nutritionist and founder of Kore Kitchen Meryl Pritchard, getting plenty of healthy fats like omega-3s can jump-start hair growth. “Healthy fats are essential to hair health since our bodies can’t produce omega-3 fatty acids on their own. Therefore, it’s important to get these fats through our diet: “They nourish hair follicles to give strands that strong, shiny, lustrous glow like in the Pantene Pro-V commercials.” Tempting, right?
We probably don’t need to tell you this, but any hairstylist will tell you the most obvious way to help your hair grow faster is to ditch your routine of hot tools. (Sad, we know.) The good news? Summer has officially arrived, which makes letting your hair air-dry the way nature intended it to is easier than ever. (I’ve personally halved the number of times I dry and style my hair per week and have noticed a significant improvement in the length and health of my hair—and so many people have noticed and commented.)
Feel free to let your strands dry au naturel after showering or pulling yourself out of the water, but we’re partial to this brilliant new spray from IGK which, true to name, speeds up air-dry time, nixes the need for a hair dryer, and imparts lustrous hydration to boot.
Next Up: FYI—These Are the Best Foods for Hair Growth, According to Nutritionists
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