Healthy hair grows at a rate of around 1 cm per month, though the exact rate varies by body area, ethnicity, lifestyle, and the method or reason for hair removal.
Regrowth after hair loss depends on whether the cause can be resolved and reversed. The speed of regrowth after cosmetic hair removal practices depends on how the hair was removed. Regrowth is normally faster after shaving or using depilatory creams compared with waxing and threading.
Read our complete guide to how fast hair grows, what affects growth, and how long regrowth takes after hair loss or hair removal. Here, you’ll discover some of the common causes of hair shedding, as well as proven treatments, regrowth timelines across body areas, and evidence-based ways to get thicker, healthier hair.
Key takeaways
Healthy human scalp hair grows at a rate of approximately 0.33 mm per day, or 0.9 to 1.3 cm (around half an inch) per month [1]. After bone marrow, hair is the fastest-growing tissue in the body.
Each hair grows continuously for between 2 and 7 years, before entering the resting phase of the hair growth cycle. After a few more weeks, the hair sheds to make room for new growth.
The speed of hair growth can vary depending on a few different factors. Let’s take a look at what can stop or slow hair growth.
Body hair grows at a rate of around 0.18 to 0.49 mm per day [2]. The growth phase of body hair is much shorter than for scalp hair, so resting and shedding is more frequent.
Studies show that hair grows at different rates in people of different ethnicities [3]. Asian hair grows fastest, followed by Caucasian hair, with African hair types growing slowest.
Lifestyle factors like diet and stress don’t necessarily affect hair growth speed, but they can disrupt the hair growth cycle and cause premature shedding, making your overall hair appear thinner. For diet, this only tends to happen in the case of clinical nutritional deficiencies [4].
Hair loss can trigger a whole range of emotions, from alarm to anxiety, especially when you’re unsure how long it will take for your hair to grow back. Unfortunately there’s no single answer to this question, as it depends on your unique characteristics, as well as what’s causing your hair to fall out.
To find out how long it’s likely to take for your hair to grow back after hair loss, we discuss the most common types of alopecia, whether it’s possible for your hair to regrow, and how long it typically takes to reverse balding.
Also known as androgenetic alopecia, pattern baldness is a type of hormonal hair loss. It can affect men and women, though it’s much more common in men, and is the most prevalent type of hair loss worldwide [5].
Male pattern baldness and female pattern hair loss are generally irreversible without treatment, so you probably won’t see any regrowth at all, unless you use specific treatments that adjust your hormone levels (such as finasteride or spironolactone).
Alopecia areata is an autoimmune condition in which the white blood cells mistakenly attack the hair follicles. This causes sudden patchy hair loss that typically forms oval-shaped patches on the scalp.
In 30-50% of patients, alopecia areata spontaneously resolves itself without treatment [6]. If this happens, you’ll start to see new growth in the bald spots, and your hair will start to regrow at its normal rate. However, there’s no standard timeframe for spontaneous remission in alopecia areata — some people are affected for many years, while others see regrowth within just a few months.
Stress-related hair loss is normally temporary, and can be associated with bereavement, divorce, surgery, trauma, and other types of significant stress. This type of hair loss is called telogen effluvium.
Telogen effluvium normally resolves itself once your stress levels are under control. At this point, your hair should start to regrow at its normal rate.
Chemotherapy is a known cause of hair loss in patients undergoing this type of cancer treatment. It normally takes around 3 to 6 months for your hair to start regrowing after you finish your course of chemo [7].
Hair regrowth post-chemo may be a different colour or texture to your original hair.
Your scalp health plays a significant role in your hair health. Scalp problems like psoriasis and seborrheic dermatitis can cause hair loss when they become severe or advanced. Hair loss can last until the underlying condition is treated, allowing your hair growth to continue at its normal rate.
During pregnancy, many women notice that their hair becomes thicker. Pregnancy doesn’t make your hair grow faster, but hormonal changes mean more follicles remain in the growth phase for longer, creating visible volume [8].
Unfortunately, that also means that post-partum hair loss is fairly common. It’s normal to see a sudden increase in hair shedding 6 to 24 weeks after giving birth [8-9]. However, one study found that 100% of the 200 postpartum respondents had upright regrowth within 6 to 8 weeks post-delivery, indicating that hair starts to grow back fairly soon after giving birth [9].
Whether you’ve had a bad haircut or overplucked your eyebrows, waiting for your hair to grow back can be a chore. How long it takes to regrow your hair will depend on your normal hair length, but here’s what you can generally expect.
Shaving removes the visible part of the hair shaft, but it doesn’t affect the root or any of the underlying follicle structure. For this reason, the results of shaving tend to be fairly short-lived.
One study found that hair grew 1 mm the first week after shaving, 3 mm after 2 weeks, and 7 mm after 4 weeks [10].
Waxing typically gives you longer-lasting hair removal compared with shaving. Waxing removes the entire hair shaft, uprooting it from the follicle, as well as removing hair follicle epithelium cells (which are derived from hair follicle stem cells).
However, waxing — and other epilatory hair removal methods — doesn’t remove or damage the hair follicle itself. So while hair removal lasts longer than with shaving, it doesn’t stop hair growth altogether [11].
Hair removal from waxing can last as long as 3 to 4 weeks before regrowth appears. Other epilation methods like sugaring and threading tend to last a similar amount of time, though individual factors can make your hair regrow faster or slower.
Laser hair removal is one of the longest-lasting methods of hair removal, though it’s not permanent. A study found no regrowth within the first week of treatment. By 4 weeks, 1 mm of hair had regrown [10].
A bad haircut can be tough to recover from, especially if it’s drastically different from your normal look. So how long will it take to grow back?
Assuming your hair and scalp are otherwise healthy, your hair grows at the average rate of 1.3 cm per month, and currently skims your jaw, here’s how long you can expect to wait for your hair to grow back to your preferred length:
People with naturally curly or coily hair types can expect it to take longer for their hair to reach these lengths.
Your hair regrowth rate varies somewhat depending on where the affected hair is located on the body. However, it also depends on the reason for hair loss and/or the method of hair removal that was used.
Here’s a rundown of the expected regrowth rates for hair on different areas of the body.
Pubic hair grows at a rate of approximately 6 to 9 mm per month (or 0.3 to 0.2 mm per day) [12]. Depending on the method of pubic hair removal, you can expect to see around 1 cm of growth after 4 to 6 weeks.
One study found that leg hair in women grows approximately 0.17 mm per day in women, and 0.24 mm per day in men [2]. This was the average growth rate of people across four ethnicities (African, Caucasian, Chinese, and North African). Based on this, it takes around 20 days to grow half a centimetre of leg hair for men, and 30 days for women.
This is among the slowest estimates for leg hair growth rate. Other research suggests leg hair can grow up to 1 cm per month [12].
One of the fastest-growing areas on the body, arm hair grows at a rate of approximately 10 mm per month (0.3 mm per day) [12]. So you can expect to see around half a centimetre of growth within two weeks of shaving your arm hair.
Chest hair grows at a rate of around 6.6 mm to 9.6 mm per month [12]. Around 1 cm of chest hair growth is likely within 4 to 6 weeks (it normally takes longer after waxing or sugaring compared with shaving and depilatory creams).
Beard hair is relatively fast-growing. Research estimates hair in the beard area grows around 7.5 mm to 12 mm per month [12].
It’s not usually possible to accelerate hair growth rates beyond your normal speed. Your hair growth cycle is regulated by many different factors, from hormones to innate signalling pathways within your follicles [13]. Products and practices can influence a handful of these factors, but they can’t alter the fundamental speed of your hair growth.
That said, there are things you can do to optimise your hair health and reduce hair breakage that inhibits long hair growth. While these tactics won’t actually speed up your hair growth cycle, they can keep your hair looking and feeling healthy as it grows.
Let’s take a look at the proven effective treatments available to help boost hair growth after hair loss.
Minoxidil is one of the most widely used treatments for hair loss. Topical minoxidil requires twice daily application to the affected areas, and is available over-the-counter in both 2% and 5% concentrations.
Minoxidil works by dilating the blood vessels in the scalp that feed the hair follicles. This allows oxygen and nutrients to flow into the follicles, promoting cell proliferation and hair growth. It can also lengthen the anagen phase of the hair growth cycle, delaying shedding so your hair can grow longer [14].
Minoxidil is proven to help with conditions including pattern baldness, alopecia areata, and telogen effluvium, but there’s no evidence it can improve or accelerate hair growth in those without a hair loss condition [14]. Additionally, if you stop using minoxidil, any benefits will probably stop, sometimes resulting in further hair shedding.
Men with male pattern baldness often see strong results when pairing minoxidil with finasteride. Finasteride is an oral treatment that’s only recommended for tackling male pattern baldness — it doesn’t help with other types of hair loss.
Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy for hair growth involves extracting a small volume of your blood via a needle, then using a centrifuge to separate this into its individual components. The platelet-rich plasma is filtered out and reinjected into your scalp, stimulating cell proliferation in your hair follicles.
PRP therapy has been shown to increase hair density and thickness, but you’ll need several sessions over a few months to see real benefits [15]. You may also need to continue getting PRP treatment regularly to maintain the effects.
While many natural products like essential oils and herbal treatments don’t have much evidence to back their use for hair growth, some can help you grow your hair naturally.
Rosemary oil can be as effective as 2% minoxidil for treating male pattern baldness [16]. Studies suggest using rosemary oil for hair growth on your scalp can help limit the production of dihydrotestosterone, preventing this hormone from miniaturising the hair follicles.
Other effective essential oils for hair growth include:
Always check the evidence before using natural products to treat hair loss or improve growth. Some supplements and treatments are heavily promoted by online ads and influencers, but don’t always have the scientific support to back their use.
Caffeine has a stimulant effect on your hair when applied topically [17]. Using a caffeine shampoo for hair growth regularly may help boost hair growth, with studies finding consistently positive responses from patients using caffeine shampoos to manage hair loss [18].
Ketoconazole shampoos like Nizoral can also help treat hair loss. While ketoconazole shampoo is primarily used to treat fungal scalp infections, research suggests it can produce similar results to 2% minoxidil in people with pattern baldness [19].
Optimising your diet for healthy hair and making other lifestyle changes could help promote hair growth, depending on your current habits. Here are some proven ways to improve your hair health by making certain lifestyle adjustments:
If your hair growth has halted after hair loss, we can help. The Wimpole Clinic is an award-winning hair transplant clinic with headquarters in London and clinics all over the UK. With a team of qualified trichologists, expert surgeons, and friendly patient advisors, we’re here to help you find the best treatment for your hair loss.
Book a consultation at your closest clinic location to find out more about our hair restoration services.
Discover more about hair regrowth rates and how to get hair to grow back in these frequently asked questions.
The ‘big 3’ is a trio of hair loss treatments often used together to tackle male pattern baldness. It consists of minoxidil, finasteride, and ketoconazole.
Some users swap ketoconazole out for other effective complementary treatments, such as microneedling.
Without a trichological exam, the only way to tell if your hair is growing back is to check your bald areas for short, fluffy, or frizzy hairs. Hairs that are getting thicker and longer over time indicate new growth.
It’s easy to confuse new growth with hair breakage, so it’s important to check your bald spots every few weeks to monitor any changes. Check out these hair growth tips from experts for more information.
Slow but consistent hair growth is normally due to breakage at the ends of your hair. Damaging styling practices (like bleaching or relaxing your hair) can cause the ends to break off. This makes it seem like your hair isn’t getting any longer, when in fact it’s still growing at its normal rate.
Minimising harsh styling and protecting your hair from damage can prevent this, helping it grow thicker and longer. Learn more about treating and repairing damaged hair.
In some cases, new hair growth takes on a different texture or even colour following a period of hair loss. One study found this affected people with chemotherapy-related hair loss; the hair sometimes grew back curlier, lighter, or thinner than it was prior to treatment [23]. It’s also been noted in people with alopecia areata [24].
It’s unclear why exactly this happens. It may be due to changes in the follicle triggered by aggressive medical treatment [25]. Hormones, the immune system, and follicle stem cells may also influence the texture and appearance of post-hair loss regrowth [24].
Wimpole Clinic Services:
Hair Transplants, Beard Transplants & Eyebrow Transplants.
Talk to a specialist
Dr Fotis Garagounis (GMC 7634327) is a highly experienced hair restoration doctor whose skill and precision are reflected in the consistently strong results he achieves for his patients. With more than 18 years of experience and over 2,500 hair restoration cases to date, he has helped patients across Europe and the UK restore natural density and long-term confidence.
He graduated from Sofia University of Medical Sciences in 2001 before completing his specialisation in ophthalmology at Larissa General Hospital, where he also contributed to two European studies on glaucoma.
Alongside his specialist training, Dr Garagounis developed a strong commitment to hair transplantation and has spent nearly two decades refining his expertise in both FUE and FUT STRIP techniques. His work in Greece, Cyprus and London has given him extensive international experience, and he is known for his preference for Manual FUE. He performs all graft extractions himself to ensure precision, graft integrity and patient safety.
Dr Garagounis holds full medical licences in Greece, Cyprus and the United Kingdom. He is an associate member of the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery.
