Why Hair Fails to Grow and how to Help it Thrive

Breakage

Hair grows at an average rate of half an inch every month. That means, the average person's hair grows about 6 inches every year.  If your hair is not receiving the care it needs and is breaking off at the same rate as it is growing, it will stay the same length all year until you change your hair habits. Some habits that be contributing to brittle hair and breakage include: 

OVER-PROCESSING 

Whether you’re getting your hair dyed, using relaxers, getting fresh highlights, or even an old-school perm, over processing hair leads to major breakage. Exposing your hair to chemicals strips it of its natural oils, while synthetic dyes lift up the outer cuticle causing damage to the hair strands. To put it simply, a healthy hair cuticle lays flat making hair look smooth and shiny, while a lifted damaged cuticle causes hair to become dull, brittle, and frizzy. Ultimately, over-processing leads to split ends and breakage making it virtually impossible for hair to get past a certain length.

AGGRESSIVELY STYLING YOUR HAIR

How you handle your hair can greatly affect the quality of your mane and ultimately the ability for your hair to grow out. If you are too aggressive, using uncovered elastics or fighting with your curly or coarse hair, you may be contributing to the breakage. 

Split Ends

We've all had to deal with split ends, which are literally ends of hair that have split in two, (sometimes even three) due to the hair not receiving enough nutrients to live a long and healthy life. As a result, the split in the hair goes up higher and higher, resulting in the ends breaking off. So, although your hair may be growing from the root, it is simultaneously breaking off from the bottom, making it seem like your hair is just stuck at a certain length.

Once split ends occur, it is not possible to undo them. The only thing you can do is cut those suckers off and prevent them in the future. Leaving split ends in your hair will just cause them to split further, leading to more hair breakage, and a vicious cycle of no hair growth.

To prevent split ends and hair breakage, avoid bleaching your hair or over-processing it, as it can lead to dry hair. Avoid towel-drying your hair harshly and let your hair air-dry instead. As well, brush your hair gently from bottom to top when detangling, and use proper fabric or silk covered hair elastics. 

Genetics

Sometimes, hair growth and health is just dependant on genetics. Everyone has a cycle of hair growth specific to them. Hair stops growing once a certain amount of time has passed, not once it reaches a certain length. Therefore, once the hair has reached the end of its growth cycle, it will no longer grow and will either break off, shed, or be cut off at the hairdresser. Each hair strand has its own growth cycle, which is why we typically have different lengths of hair strands throughout our head. This cycle can last anywhere from two to six years, and no matter how well you treat your hair, cannot be extended simply due to your DNA.

Age

Just like your genetics, your age may also be the reason why your hair just won't grow. A lifetime of heat styling, processing, bleaching, dyeing, and a less than ideal diet may all contribute to your hair weakening as you get older. So, that six year cycle we talked about now becomes a two-year cycle, making the hair thinner, as well as unable to grow past a certain point. In addition to this, as you get older, the scalp begins to produce less oil leading to coarser, dryer hair and hair that is more prone to split ends and breakage. To combat this, we recommend massaging your scalp every night to stimulate the hair follicles and blood flow, which in turns may lead to more growth.