Does Trimming Your Hair Really Make it Grow Faster?

Your hair stylist may have told you that you should come in for a trim every six weeks or so. If you're trying to grow your hair long, that may seem like a bad idea. However, your stylist is right. Getting a regular trim can keep your hair healthier, allowing it to grow longer without breaking. One thing it won't do, however, is make your hair literally grow faster.

Hair Growth

Hair grows about a 1/2 inch per month whether you cut it or not. There isn't much you can do to speed up your hair's growth rate. It might grow a little faster in the summer, though that has nothing to do with scissors, only hormones, which can speed hair growth a little, notes "Good Housekeeping."

Split Ends

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A strand of hair has multiple layers. The outer layer, or cuticle, is made of overlapping scales that protect the delicate inner cortex like armor. When the cuticle becomes damaged, the fibers of the cortex unravel, and your hair splits lengthwise -- resulting in a split end. When the end of a hair strand splits, it can continue to travel upwards, eventually causing your hair to break off.

Fighting Split Ends

If you keep your hair moisturized and treat it gently, it's less likely to develop split ends. Once they appear, you can mend them temporarily with a leave-in conditioner such as a silicone or beeswax product. However, this is just a temporary fix. To truly stop split ends from spreading, you need to cut off the damaged length of your hair strands 1.

Considerations

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Although having your hair trimmed regularly is a good idea in theory, in practice you should be careful to not have too much hair cut off. It will seem like your hair isn't growing if you have it trimmed regularly and your stylist is cutting off exactly what has grown since your last trim -- or more than your last trim. When you go in for a haircut, make sure your stylist cuts off less length than you've recently grown, if you are trying to grow your hair longer.

Recommendation

There really isn't much you can do to make your hair grow faster, and haircuts only influence the rate of breakage and the healthy appearance of your locks. Go in for a trim before your hair begins to look too shaggy or frizzy, and it will make your hair gain length faster than if you weren't having haircuts.