Do I need to increase blood flow to the scalp for better growth?

Hair growth is surprisingly slow at around an inch every few months, around 6 inches in total over the year. This growth rate, of course, varies from one person to another with various things affecting it such as nutrition, stress and illness.

Hair growth goes through a growth cycle: a period of growth is followed by a period of rest and then shedding or falling out. If you have experienced hair loss or want your hair to grow faster, there is a school of thought that suggests there may be a few remedies for encouraging and promoting hair growth.

Massaging Your Scalp: Does it Work?

Studies suggest that massaging the scalp helps to stimulate and promote hair growth [1, 2]. The massaging of the hair follicles is thought to encourage blood to the base of the hair, a process that many believe could help hair to grow faster.

Nourishing your Scalp and Hair Follicles

It is not a ‘cure-all’ by any stretch of the imagination but quite often, factors such as stress, modern living, centrally heated homes and the chemicals in shampoos and some conditioners can lead to a dry, tight scalp. Just like the skin on the rest of your body, your scalp will benefit from being nourished and moisturised.

And this, in turn, encourages blood to nourish and support the hair follicle. Using a blend of essential oils for hair growth such as cedarwood, rosemary and peppermint massaged into your scalp can not only be relaxing but nourishing and warming for the scalp too.

Gently Does It

Whether you are trying to thicken your hair with lots of new growth or are encouraging your hair to grow quicker, being too vigorous in attempting to encourage a rush of blood to your scalp can be lead to damage.

Be wary of using shop-bought head massages and be gentle with other therapies such as Indian head massages too.

Does it Really Work?

By keeping your scalp nourished and moisturised, as well as regular, gentle head massages, the blood is encouraged to circulate around the scalp which can be helpful in encouraging your hair to grow through the growth cycle.

The inversion method has also become more popular in recent years, despite the lack of evidence to suggest that it works [3]. The inversion method involves hanging your head upside down to increase blood flow to the scalp.

It may not be the cure for hair loss, but encouraging blood to hair follicles and scalp can be beneficial for your hair health. Here at the Wimpole Clinic we’re always happy to speak to you about your specific issues. Why not ask our trichologists for more advice?

Sources:

1. Standardized Scalp Massage Results in Increased Hair Thickness by Inducing Stretching Forces to Dermal Papilla Cells in the Subcutaneous Tissue
2. Self-Assessments of Standardized Scalp Massages for Androgenic Alopecia: Survey Results
3. The Inversion Method for Hair Growth: Does It Actually Work?