Hair follows a predictable growth cycle, with the average person's locks growing about half an inch per month, according to the American Academy of Dermatology. As you get older, your hair is likely to grow a bit more slowly. Various factors can interfere with the growth cycle and make it harder for your hair to reach the length you want. A few lifestyle steps can help you maximize your hair's growth potential.
Protein
The main ingredient of hair is protein -- specifically, a protein called keratin. A diet with too little protein can cause thinning of the hair or slow growth. And "the converse is true," according to HairBoutique.com. a hair, fashion and beauty informational website. "If you eat a protein-rich diet it will often result in improved hair growth." A few examples of foods with significant protein content are peanut butter, low-fat milk, cheddar cheese, chicken breast and broccoli.
Gentle Handling
Although your hair is not technically alive, it will still benefit from tender loving care. Avoid hot water, hot blow dryers and other stressful hair-care tools. Too-frequent use of chemical treatments, including dyes, bleaches, straightening products and permanent waves, can cause the hair to become weak and break, undermining your efforts to grow it out.
Lifestyle
Overall healthy living may yield not only a healthy body, but also healthy, faster-growing hair. HairBoutique.com suggests avoiding tobacco, caffeine and carbonated sodas as well as foods that are high in fat or sugar. Getting enough sleep and avoiding stress or, if that is not possible, practicing relaxation techniques, are also beneficial to hair growth.
Supplements
A wide variety of supplemental products, generally taken in tablet or capsule form, can be useful in promoting hair growth. Some good choices are vitamin B complex, vitamin B6, vitamin C with bioflavonoids, vitamin E and beta carotene. Also potentially helpful are magnesium, sulfur, zinc, silica and flaxseed oil.
Medications
If you are experiencing hair loss, several FDA-approved treatments offer hope of growing at least some hair back, according to the Mayo Clinic. The new hair, though, may never be as thick or long as what you had before. The options are minoxidil, an over-the-counter topical treatment sold under the brand name Rogaine; finasteride, a pill for men that is sold under the name Propecia; cortisone injections into the scalp; and anthralin, a topical product sold as Dritho-Scalp that is typically used for the skin condition psoriasis but may stimulate new hair growth as well.
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