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Contrary to popular belief, hair growth isn't determined by seasonal changes but rather by several factors that can affect hair growth. In this blog, we will guide you through the factors affecting hair growth and where the misconceptions surrounding hair growing faster in the summer come about.
The Factors Affecting Hair Growth
There are a wide range of factors that can lead to slow or fast hair growth. Some of which, are out of your control. However, there are several factors and lifestyle changes that you can make to encourage hair growth.
Genetics
The unfortunate truth is that genetics do play a role in your hair growth, texture and thickness. To manage these factors, there are several steps you can take such as how you style your hair and what products you use.
Health
How healthy you are will largely be reflected in how fast your hair grows. Having conditions such as thyroid imbalances or being deficient in key nutrients can affect how fast your hair grows.
Hormones
Your hormones can affect your hair growth as they are the building blocks for everything functioning in your body. The good news is that you can balance your hormones with a healthy lifestyle and keep your stress levels down.
Nutrition
The key factor in encouraging hair growth is maintaining a healthy, balanced diet. When our bodies are fueled with the right nutrients, we give ourselves the tools to function well. Having a diet that is rich in key vitamins, minerals and sufficient amounts of fats and proteins will support hair health. Staying hydrated also encourages your hair growth as water is vital to all our bodily functions working smoothly. You can also take it a step further by incorporating hair growth vitamins into your hair care routine.
Lifestyle
How your day-to-day looks is also another key determining factor in your hair growing fast. Choosing to smoke or drink, and not have regular exercise can slow down your hair growth as your body’s system isn't supported and is being overloaded with toxins. Here are the lifestyle changes you can take to encourage your hair growth:
Exercise
Exercising a few times a week will encourage your body to metabolize and remove toxins from your body by sweating it out. If you aren't someone who enjoys going to the gym, engaging in other forms of movement such as walking, dancing or playing sports can help you significantly.
Hair Care Routine
There are also hair care practices that you can do to encourage hair growth. For example, using a derma roller on your scalp can help stimulate hair growth as it stimulates the scalp and restores your hair’s natural growth cycle. You can also pair it with a hair growth serum whose restorative nutrients work to support your hair cycle and reduce hair loss.
Limit Heat Styling
Whilst heat styling doesn't determine your hair growth, it does affect your hair and scalp health. Overexposure to heat is drying and causes breakage which leads to your hair snapping and looking lacklustre.
Quality Sleep
Ensuring you get quality sleep can largely affect your hair growth. When we sleep, our body starts its repair and regeneration processes. As hair growth is not paramount to our body's working, our bodies instinctively know to not prioritise it. That is why improving our overall health and getting high-quality sleep is going to do a lot for our hair growth.
Stress
Stress plays a huge part in causing your hair growth to be stunted. This is because it affects our quality of life, hormones and overall health levels. There have been numerous studies done on the negative effects stress has on our bodies. If you want to grow your hair long and fast, make sure to stay on top of your stress levels and relax when you can.
Environmental Factors
External environmental factors such as humidity levels, temperature fluctuations and sunlight exposure can also affect your hair growth and health. For example, being exposed to high temperatures and prolonged sun exposure can lead to your hair drying out and an increase in breakage. To reduce the effects of environmental factors, implementing hydrating products into your hair care routine, such as a hair growth mask, can keep your hair healthy and hydrated.
Does Hair Really Grow Faster in the Summer?
Whether hair grows faster in the summer is a common fact or fiction debate. The belief that hair grows faster in the summer could be attributed to your hair lightening in the sun to appear it has grown as well as your lifestyle changes encouraging hair growth. As discussed above, the key factors affecting your hair growth that are within your control are lifestyle and nutrient intake.
In the summertime, you may be more active, eating healthier, fresher foods and be less stressed as you are on holiday. Whilst your hair may grow faster in the summer due to this, the seasonal change is not the determining factor. Meaning, that if you incorporate the same practices throughout the year you can also encourage hair growth. If you’re still feeling at a loss about hair growth, check out our blog on how to grow hair faster.
How Fast Does Hair Grow in the Summer?
Human hair grows on average about 1.25 cm a month, with lifestyle changes, stress levels and genetics largely determining this growth rate. How quickly your hair moves through the three stages: anagen stage (growth), catagen stage (transition) and telogen stage (rest) is also largely dependent on the mentioned factors above. Therefore, it is difficult to determine how fast your hair grows in the summer as it is largely on an individual basis.
Does Hair Grow Faster in the Summer or Winter?
Unfortunately there has not been sufficient research to determine whether your hair grows faster or slower depending on the seasons. However, as hair growth is largely dependent on the above-listed factors, you can encourage hair growth all year round with the right practices and lifestyle changes.
