How to Make Your Hair Grow Faster

Hair doesn’t grow overnight, but it also shouldn’t feel like it’s stuck. If you’ve been taking care of it and still not seeing progress, it’s worth asking what might be getting in the way. Look up how to grow your hair faster, and you’ll find a long list of advice—some helpful, a lot of it not. The challenge isn’t a lack of information; it’s figuring out what actually works and what’s just noise.

That’s where expert guidance can make all the difference. According to Dr. Sam Ellis, a board-certified dermatologist in California, healthy hair growth comes down to how your follicles function, your overall health, and how you care for the hair that’s already growing. “You’re born with all of the hair follicles you will ever have,” she explains. So it’s not about producing more—it’s about giving the ones you have the right environment to thrive and making sure you’re not unintentionally working against them.

How to Grow Your Hair Faster

Here’s a clear breakdown of what really helps—and what doesn’t—when your goal is longer, healthier hair.

Start with Nutrition That Supports Growth

What you eat has more to do with your hair than you might think. Hair isn’t essential to survival, so if your body’s short on fuel, it’ll prioritize your vital organs first—hair, skin, and nails get whatever’s left. “If you’re malnourished or missing certain nutrients, your hair is not going to grow its best,” Dr. Ellis says.

Focus on protein (which makes up the structure of your hair), healthy fats, and key nutrients like biotin, zinc, iron, and vitamins A, C, and D. Dr. Ellis adds, “The best way to get these vitamins and nutrients is through a well-rounded diet, but supplements can play a role here too.”

She specifically recommends Nutrafol and Viviscal. “These two supplements have clinical trials showing successful hair growth when taking them for six months or more,” she says. No need to grab random bottles off the shelf—stick to formulas that are actually backed by science.

Keep Your Scalp Healthy—It’s Where Growth Begins

If your scalp isn’t healthy, your hair won’t be either. Think of it as the soil your hair grows from. “Keeping your scalp clean and moisturized is really important,” says Dr. Ellis. If it’s itchy, flaky, or irritated, that’s a sign it’s not functioning at its best, and your hair growth may pay the price.

To support a healthier scalp, she suggests pre-wash treatments to clear buildup. She suggests Briogeo Scalp Revival Detox Spray. It blends lactic acid, salicylic acid, and gluconolactone to help lift away product residue and dead skin.

Treat the Strands Well

It’s not just about how your hair grows—it’s about how long it lasts once it does. Breakage can cancel out months of growth, so keeping the ends healthy is key. “If you don’t maintain the health of your hair as it grows away from your scalp,” Dr. Ellis explains, “you’re going to be more prone to the hair creating split ends or breaking off.” Minimize heat styling where you can. And when you do use hot tools, always protect your strands. 

As for conditioner, don’t skip it. “You need conditioner to coat your hair and to keep it supple and soft,” she explains. It prevents your hair from feeling rough or looking dull, and helps reduce breakage. Her favorites include Oribe’s Gold Lust Conditioner and Virtue’s Restorative Treatment Mask.

Trim Strategically

Here’s a myth that needs correcting: trimming your hair doesn’t make it grow faster. What it does do is help you keep what you’ve already grown. “If you freshen up the ends, they are less likely to create split ends and break off prematurely,” says Dr. Ellis.

It doesn’t take much. A small trim every couple of months can prevent damage from traveling up the strand, which helps preserve thickness and length over time.

Protect and Strengthen with Targeted Products

When your hair is already prone to dryness, breakage, or damage from color and styling, certain treatments can make a huge difference. Leave-in bond repair masks are worth the investment if you’re trying to protect your hair from within. 

And if your ends tend to feel dry or brittle between washes, hair oil can step in to help.  There are a variety of hair oils that are lightweight, never greasy, and easy to apply from mid-length down to the ends—just avoid your roots if they’re already oily.

Medical Options for Stubborn Hair Growth

If you’re dealing with hair thinning or shedding that goes beyond everyday breakage, there are medical treatments that may help. One of the most well-known is minoxidil, sold over-the-counter as Rogaine. “There are medications like minoxidil that can help with hair growth,” Dr. Ellis notes.

Prescription options also exist, such as finasteride (used mostly in men and post-menopausal women) and spironolactone for women with hormonal imbalances like PCOS. “There’s also a topical medication called latanoprost,” she adds. Originally used in lash growth serums, it has shown promise when applied to the scalp.

Some dermatologists even work with compounding pharmacies to create custom blends—topical formulas that combine multiple medications into one.

Explore In-Clinic Treatments If Needed

In some cases, more advanced treatments might be worth considering. PRP (platelet-rich plasma) therapy is one of them. This therapy involves drawing your blood, centrifuging it, and separating out the platelet-rich plasma. Then the separated plasma is injected back into the scalp. These growth factors can help stimulate new hair.

Microneedling is another option. When performed on the scalp, it creates tiny entry points that allow treatments like PRP or topical formulas to penetrate more deeply. And for a non-invasive at-home approach, low-level laser therapy (LLLT) can be surprisingly effective.