Fortunately, in the vast majority of cases, you can eventually grow the damaged hair out as long as the follicle itself has been preserved. The most common causes of damage are below. Damaged hair can still grow eventually, but routine damage can result in negative consequences for your hair.
Breakage is one of the most common causes behind your hair not growing. If your hair is breaking off just as fast as it grows, then it's impossible to gain length. Lots of common habits can be contributing to your hair breakage. Let's take a look below.
Using products that are designed to nourish the scalp and hair can definitely speed up this process, but on average you'd be looking at six months to a year to fully see a difference in your hair's condition.
Split ends are a sign that your hair has been weakened from chemicals and exposure to heat, wind, and sun, Blaisure adds. Trimming is the best way to keep ends from fraying and causing further damage.
If you damage your hair follicles after an injury, they can repair themselves and your hair will grow back. It could take up to four years before you see new hair growth out of damaged hair follicles, depending on the severity of your injury.
Take an inch-wide section of hair between two fingers and gently pull them down the hair, right to the ends. Concentrate on the texture: does it feel smooth all the way down? If you feel an uneven surface, with kinks and sections that snap off under tension, these are damaged hair warning signs.
Basically, if you don't have a trim, your split ends will run riot and likely split further up the shaft eventually snapping and making your hair short, which stops it from growing long. This way, your hair can continue to grow healthily from your roots, but the ends won't fray and snap shorter.
"If you don't cut your hair, it may appear to stop growing," said Vitale. This is because as the ends get older and split, those splits begin to travel up the hair and cause breakage. So those with long hair may feel like it stays the same length, due to the ends breaking at a similar point."
Unhealthy hair usually has a rough texture, lack of shininess and luster, have split ends, lack of moisture and elasticity even after treatment and easily broken. Damaged hair will also get tangled up and result in knots due to hair dryness.
Hair myth: regularly trimming the ends does not stimulate hair growth. And the answer is: no! Regularly cutting the ends of your hair does not make it grow faster. However, it does make your hair seem thicker, as well as healthier and shinier.
Your Hair "Stops Growing."
"By not cutting your hair, you are actually risking the length rather than letting it grow," says Bivona. It seems counterintuitive, but by frequently trimming your hair, you'll prevent breakage by removing the dead, fragile ends.
Harsh shampoo, hair treatments, styling products, and excessive brushing contribute the most to poor hair health. However, other culprits include: overconsumption of alcohol. low-calorie and crash diets.
Damaged Hair
Collins agrees, suggesting a trim every eight weeks if your hair is chemically damaged, especially fine, or frayed at the ends. More frequent haircuts can help prevent over-drying and breakage.
When I asked them to explain the logistics, they broke it down like this: Shaving your head will help remove damaged hair that has been affected by heat styling or coloring. However, "[a shaved head] will not affect the hair shaft or growth cycle," Sadick says. In fact, hair grows from within.
The way that sleep affects your body's natural hormones is probably the most important part of preventing hair loss. Your body produces a hormone called melatonin. This hormone helps your body regulate your sleep cycle, and it also has been shown to increase hair growth.
Hair usually grows an average of ½” per month, which can vary slightly depending on genetics, climate and your diet. The act of cutting your hair will not change the rate in which your hair grows. Your hair follicles located in your scalp are what control the rate of growth.
Whether they've over done it with hair bleach, heat styling or simply suffer with persistently dry ends, a salon hair repair treatment that actually works is sure to put the bounce back in their step. Chemically and heat damaged hair not only looks bad, but is difficult to style, too.
An obvious solution: an updo or ponytail will generally hide most breakage, provided you've got a few bobby pins on hand. A loose, messy bun will serve you well, as a look that's meant to be disheveled won't be thrown off by a few errant strands.
Protein treatments are the best salon hair treatments for damaged hair. Many women choose them for restoring their dry brittle hair and boosting its growth. Protein helps to prevent breakage and reinforce the structure of the hair strand by filling in weak and damaged areas.
Get a Deep Conditioning Treatment
Getting a good deep conditioning treatment once a week will nourish your hair and restore its natural shine. If you have very dry hair, doing a hot oil treatment once a month will help moisturize it. Wash your hair, dry it with a towel and apply your favorite hair oil.
Damaged hair has less elasticity and is prone to breakage and splitting. Split ends are absolutely not repairable and are very challenging to conceal, especially when there are a lot. Another downside to split ends? If they're not removed, the strand will split even farther, faster and unevenly as the hair grows.