If you’re tracking your hair growth, you may wonder how long it may take to see specific results. For example, how long does hair grow in 6 months?
How fast your hair grows depends on factors such as genetics, age, gender, and hormones [1]. This can make it challenging to work out exactly how fast your hair will grow, but there are ways to make it grow faster. In this article, we’ll explore:
Hair grows faster than any other natural tissue in your body. According to The Trichological Society, the average rate of hair growth is 0.5 cm–1.7 cm per month, depending on your ethnicity [1].
Over 6 months, this means the average person’s hair growth ranges from 3 cm to 10.2 cm. This fits with the American Academy of Dermatology’s broad estimate that hair grows around 6 inches a year (3 inches in 6 months), which would be 7.62 cm in 6 months.
Hair grows out of small, tube-like structures in your skin called hair follicles, and there are thousands of these on your scalp. Each strand of hair on your scalp grows in four main stages:
Most hair follicles are in the anagen phase, which lasts longest. Around 10–15% of all hairs on the body are in the telogen phase at any given time [2].
Hair on other parts of your body goes through the same four stages as scalp hair, but the cycle is shorter. Body areas with long hair (such as the scalp) have a longer anagen phase, while areas with short hair (such as a woman’s upper lip) have short anagen and longer telogen phases [3].
For example, the anagen growth phase of a woman’s upper lip is around 16 weeks, catagen is 1 week, and telogen is 6 weeks [3].
The average rate of hair growth varies so much because many factors affect it. These include genetics, age, gender, lifestyle factors, and nutrient deficiencies.
Genetics relating to ethnicity affect the rate at which your hair grows. A 2016 study [4] measured hair growth rates in just over 2000 young adults. Researchers found:
These differences are quite noticeable. The slowest and fastest average hair growth rates in the study were:
Researchers highlighted that Asian hair will be almost 5 cm longer after one year of growth than African hair.
While ethnicity-based genetics have a big impact on hair growth, individual genetic traits within the same ethnic groups also affect hair growth.
Some people have genes for hair that grows faster or slower than average. Genetics and hair loss are interlinked — your genes may play a role in determining whether you develop male or female pattern baldness [5], which affects hair growth rates [6]. Hereditary hair loss is also affected by many other factors, including lifestyle, diet, and medical conditions.
Your hair growth starts to slow down as a young adult. Research suggests hair growth rate starts to decrease slightly (by 0.4 cm a year) when you reach 26 years old, regardless of scalp area and gender [4].
The Trichological Society states that fastest hair growth occurs between ages 15–30 and slows down from age 40–50. However, this does not apply to facial hair. Men over 50 years old tend to have faster-growing beards [1].
A 2015 study measured nearly 60,000 hairs from Caucasian subjects. 24,609 were from people without hair loss conditions, and 35,156 were from people experiencing hair loss. Researchers found women without hair loss generally had faster hair growth rates than men without hair loss [6].
This difference may become more obvious as people get older. People affected by androgenetic alopecia tend to have slower hair growth rates [6], and this condition affects more men than women. 85% of men and 50% of women are affected by pattern hair loss by the time they’re 50 [7-8].
Many lifestyle factors can affect how fast your hair grows. These include:
Hair loss conditions, medical conditions, and medical treatment for conditions can all interfere with your hair growth rate. Some types of alopecia that can make your hair grow more slowly or stop it growing altogether include:
Some other medical conditions, like thyroid disorders, can also cause thyroid-related hair loss [15]. Medications such as chemotherapy can cause hair loss, which tends to resolve once treatment is discontinued.
If you’re experiencing hair loss or slow-growing hair, several treatments may make your hair grow faster. These include:
If you’re struggling to get your hair to grow, it’s time to book an appointment with a trichologist. These hair doctors can complete a comprehensive assessment to get to the root cause of why your hair is falling out.
Their assessment may include diagnostic trichology tests, such as blood tests for hair loss or a hair pull test. They’ll then work with you to create a treatment plan to get your hair growth back on track.
You may even be a candidate for a natural-looking hair transplant. We work with some of the best hair transplant surgeons in the UK, who deliver such realistic results that it’s possible to get a hair transplant without anyone knowing.
Ready to get your hair growing at a healthy rate? Find your nearest clinic location and book a consultation today.
The fastest average hair growth would equal 10.2 cm (around 4.02 inches) in 6 months [1]. So only those with exceptionally fast-growing hair will be able to grow 4 inches of hair in 6 months naturally. You may experience faster growth with some hair growth treatments.
Treatments such as hair loss medication, low-level laser therapy and PRP hair treatment can help you get longer, thicker hair in less time. These treatments work by extending your hair’s growth phase or stimulating regrowth from dormant follicles, rather than directly speeding up hair growth (although there is some evidence that treatments like Finasteride may indirectly make hair grow faster [22]).
However, these treatments create the impression of faster hair growth. Taking good care of your hair by avoiding excessive heat styling and harsh chemical treatments can prevent hair breakage, helping you get long hair faster.
Hairstyles can’t directly make your hair grow faster. But avoiding updos like very tight ponytails, buns, or braids can protect your hair follicles from damage, so they can keep producing healthy hair.
Scalp hair tends to grow faster than hair on other parts of your body. Scalp hair spends years in the anagen (growth) phase, while body hair has shorter growth cycles and may only spend a few weeks growing before it enters the resting phase.
Dry hair usually still grows from the root at the same rate as normal hair, but it may take more time to grow long, if it grows long at all. Dry hair is more prone to breakage, so it’s more likely to break off before it reaches your target length.
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