How to Actually Grow Longer Hair

In brief

To grow longer hair, stop the ends breaking. Growth speed is set at the follicle, and almost nothing you buy changes it. The length you see is the part that survives. Start with two habits: detangle gently from the ends up, and cut the friction your hair takes against the pillow at night.

If a section of your hair already feels solid and your fingers cannot get into it, the habits below come too late for that part. Keep it dry tonight and put nothing on it.

By Vitalii Prisacari, VTCT Skills Level 3 Diploma in Women's Hairdressing, including the Level 4 Hair and Scalp unit, State Registered Graduate Hairdresser, founder of Matted Hair London. Helped 1,000+ people since 2020. Reviewed September 2026.

The maths nobody sells you

Every head grows 12 to 15 cm a year. Most hair still stays at the same length for years, because the ends break at the same rate the roots produce, and the two cancel out without you seeing it. A strand has to survive years untouched to reach your waist.

Where length actually dies

Hair loses length at the ends, and the cause I see most often in my Catford studio is rough detangling. A brush forced through a knot does it. So does raking dry curls, or starting every stroke at the root. Friction wears the same spots every day: a cotton pillowcase at night, a coat collar or a bag strap that always sits on the same shoulder.

Heat and bleach make strands brittle, so rough handling and friction break them sooner. Tight styles snap hair at the tension line and thin the hairline. Split ends that are left alone travel upward: a small split becomes a much longer break with time.

The retention system, in order of payoff

1. Detangle gently every one to two days, ends first, fingers before tools, so shed hair leaves before it tangles and no attached hair snaps on a knot.
2. Sleep on a silk or satin pillowcase, or put your hair in a loose plait before bed. Cotton rubs against the same ends for a whole night. In my study of what causes matting, sleep friction and fabric damage were the cause in 4% of all my clients since 2020.
3. Keep the ends moisturised. The oldest few centimetres are the driest and snap first (American Academy of Dermatology). Dry ends look frizzy and papery before they break, and a leave-in or light cream on the ends daily costs ten seconds.
4. Loosen the styles. If a ponytail leaves a dent, the band is pulling hard enough to break hair and strain the hairline.
5. Wash with slip: use conditioner or a detangler every wash, work through the tangles while it is in, and never towel-scrub.
6. Dust the ends every 8 to 12 weeks. Trimming off the split millimetres removes less length than the splits would take on their own.

What does not grow hair, honestly

Growth oils, supplements and scalp brushing do not make hair grow faster. Oils cannot speed the follicle. At best they seal the ends and cut breakage. At worst, heavy oils glue shed hair into tangles, and in my case records that gluing is how some of the worst mats begin.

Coconut oil sets solid below about 24 °C, so in a cool room it holds shed hair in place and cements the knot it sits in. If that has already happened, put nothing more on it and read how to detangle severely matted hair.

Gummies and supplements only help if you have the deficiency they replace, so ask your GP whether a blood test is worth doing before you buy them. Scalp brushing spreads oil along the hair. It does not change how fast hair grows. Ten days of growth is a few millimetres at most, whatever the bottle says.

Protective and low-manipulation styling, used honestly

Styles that tuck the ends away, such as braids, twists and buns worn loose, do retain length, because they cut daily friction and handling. They only work if the style goes in without tension and the hair is moisturised while it is in. When it comes out, take it down slowly and pick the shed hair out dry, before any water touches it.

A style left in too long holds the shed hair that would have fallen out, and that hair locks into the new growth at the root. In my case files at Matted Hair London, overstayed styles are a steady source of the severe matting I restore.

Retention by hair type

Hair type | Where length is lost | What keeps it

Fine | Friction and elastics, and heavy creams that drag fine strands into each other | Silk pillowcase, soft scrunchies and the lightest products

Curly | Dry handling, when curls are raked through without slip | Detangling damp, with conditioner, in sections

Coily and afro | Each bend in the strand is a potential breakage point, so the gap between growth and visible length is widest | Slip, sections, satin at night and low-manipulation stretches. More in how to detangle afro and 4C hair

Bleached | Rough handling, friction and heat, which break bleach-weakened strands sooner than unbleached hair | Less heat first, then bond-repair treatments and the gentlest detangling you can manage

Track it or you will quit

Retention progress is invisible week to week, which is why people abandon routines that are working. Photograph the same view every month, in the same shirt and the same light: the back of your head, against a marked point such as bra-strap or shoulder-blade level. After six months, put the first photo next to the latest.

Now and then, count what is left on your brush. Full-length hairs with a root tip are normal shedding. Losing 50 to 100 a day is ordinary. Short pieces without a root are breakage.

Frequently asked questions

How fast does hair really grow?

About 1 to 1.25 cm a month. The speed is set mostly by genetics, and no shampoo, oil or gummy changes it much. How much of that growth you keep is up to you.

Why does my hair stop growing at a certain length?

Usually it has not stopped. Look at the last few centimetres in good light. If they are thinner, uneven or see-through compared with the hair above them, breakage is setting your length.

Do trims make hair grow faster?

No. Hair that is dusted regularly keeps more of its length, even though each trim takes a few millimetres.

Does tying hair up help it grow?

Only when the style is loose. A loose bun or plait keeps the ends off collars, bag straps and pillowcases, so they rub less. A tight ponytail breaks hair where the band grips.

How do I untangle hair without breaking it?

Use your fingers before any comb, starting at the ends and working up to the roots, one small section at a time. Once a tangled section loosens, a conditioner or detangler gives the strands slip for a comb. If your fingers get stuck, send me a photo.

Does coconut oil help hair grow longer?

No. A thin coat on the last few centimetres of dry hair helps those ends snap less, which keeps a little length. Never put a heavy coating over the whole head, and read the cool-room warning in the section on what does not grow hair.

Keep what you grow

If knots in the ends are taking more length than breakage ever did, deal with those first. A tangle that has gone solid is a mat, and a mat needs dematting by hand. Across my clients, 99% were saved without cutting. Start with the full guide to matted hair. We Save Hair, Not Cut It.

Related reading: Protective styles: benefits and risks · Which hairbrush for which hair type · Hair thinning in women: what to check

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