How to grow hair faster

Everyone wants longer hair faster, and the internet is full of shampoos, pills and oils that promise exactly that. The truth is simpler and far less useful for advertising: hair grows about 1 to 1.5 cm a month, roughly 12 to 15 cm a year, and that pace is set mostly by genetics, age and general health. No product convinces the follicle to work faster than its own built-in schedule.

That does not leave you powerless. Your power sits on the other side of the equation: how much of the length you grow you actually keep. Most people who complain that their hair “won’t grow” are in fact growing it normally at the root, but losing it at the ends because the strands break as fast as they grow. So the most useful step is not a supplement but preventing breakage: gentle handling, heat protection, a healthy scalp and a regular trim that removes split ends before they climb the strand. In Pristina that trim is done by Besire at B&B Elegance for 15 €, and that trim, not any serum, is what keeps hair long and healthy over time.

This page separates the myths from the facts one by one: how fast hair really grows, what works to keep it long, why trimming does not slow growth, what to realistically expect from oils and pills, and when slow growth or shedding needs a doctor rather than a hairdresser.

How much hair grows in a month

Hair grows on average about 1 cm a month, some people up to 1.5 cm, which comes to roughly 12 to 15 cm a year. This figure is fairly consistent across people and shifts only a little with age, genetics and season. Younger people grow hair a bit faster than older people, and in the warm months the pace rises slightly, but we are talking about millimeters, not a change you notice within a week.

Each strand moves through phases. The growth phase, called anagen, lasts several years, and how long that phase runs in you determines how long your hair can get before it falls out on its own. Then comes a short transition phase and a resting phase, at the end of which the strand sheds and a new one starts from scratch. At any moment about 85 to 90 percent of strands are growing while the rest rest or shed. That is why losing around 50 to 100 hairs a day is completely normal; those are not “hair loss” in the worrying sense but natural turnover.

Once you understand this, you understand why real “speeding up” is nearly impossible. The follicle runs on its own biological clock. You can provide the conditions for it to work without obstacles, but you cannot force it to produce extra centimeters it does not have in its program.

Why you cannot truly speed up growth

Shampoos and serums that advertise “fast growth” do not change the follicle’s base rate. They can make the strand look healthier, shinier and less prone to breakage, and that improvement is sometimes mistaken for faster growth, because when strands stop breaking the length appears to gain faster. But the follicle works the same.

There is only one category that genuinely affects density and the hair cycle, and it is a medicine with a clinical indication, not a cosmetic. Minoxidil, for example, is a real drug used for hair loss that works for some people, but it addresses loss and density, not speed, and it is used under a doctor’s guidance because it has side effects too. That is a different thing from a shampoo promising to “grow your hair 3 cm a month,” which simply does not hold up.

The honest conclusion: do not spend money trying to speed up the follicle, because it will not speed up. Spend your energy on keeping length, where the difference is real and visible within months.

How to avoid losing length

This is where the real battle is. If hair grows 1.2 cm a month at the root but breaks 1 cm a month at the ends, it feels like it is standing still. The fix is not faster growth but less breakage. A few habits change this noticeably.

Handle hair gently when it is wet, because that is when it is weakest. Do not rub it with a towel; press gently or use a microfiber towel. Comb from the ends upward, not from the root down, so you do not drag a knot and snap the strand. Use a wide-tooth comb on wet hair. Avoid hard metal elastics and styles that pull tightly on the scalp every day.

Regular trimming is part of this strategy, not against it. When an end splits, the split travels up the strand like a seam coming apart, and the longer you leave it, the more you lose. By trimming 1 to 2 cm every two or three months, you remove the damaged part before it spreads, and the strand stays strong below. The result is that hair keeps more length over time, even though on paper you are “cutting.” We wrote about this separately under split ends and in our guide to the haircut.

Heat protection and styling that damages

Heat is the most common cause of the breakage people blame on “slow growth.” Flat irons and straightening blow-dryers often run above 180 to 230 degrees, and at that temperature the hair’s protein is damaged without protection. The strand turns dry, brittle and breaks at the ends.

The simple rule: never a hot iron or dryer on damp hair without a heat protectant spray first. Set the temperature to what your hair needs, not to the maximum just because it is there. Let hair air-dry partway before the dryer when you have time. And do not repeat the iron every day over the same ends; alternate with days when you leave hair natural.

Very tight styles, high ponytails pulled hard, and tight braids kept in day and night create constant tension at the root. Over time this weakens the follicle along the hairline and can leave thinning known as traction alopecia. Change the position of the ponytail, do not tie it the same way every time, and sleep with hair loose or in a soft tie. Anyone whose hair is already tired from color and heat should read what we said under damaged hair.

A healthy scalp as the foundation

Hair grows out of the scalp, so a healthy scalp is the foundation. This does not mean expensive products, but a scalp that is clean, free of inflammation and not clogged. Dandruff, excess oil or constant itching are signs that something is disturbing the environment where hair grows.

Washing as often as your hair type needs keeps the scalp clean without drying it out. A light scalp massage during washing helps circulation and feels good, but do not expect miracles; it is a small help, not a magic key. If you have dandruff or itching that will not go away, address that problem with the right shampoo, because an irritated, scratched scalp damages strands right where they emerge.

What does not help are extremes: washing far too often with a harsh shampoo that dries the scalp, or the opposite, not washing for weeks in the belief that oil “feeds” the hair. Neither works. A balanced scalp is one that neither burns from over-washing nor suffocates under buildup.

Nutrition: protein, iron and the basics

Hair is mostly keratin, a protein, so a diet very low in protein slowly reduces hair production and makes the strand weaker over time. This does not mean eating extreme amounts; it means not leaving your body in deficit. Meat, eggs, legumes and dairy supply the protein hair needs.

Iron matters especially for women. Low iron and low ferritin are often linked to increased shedding, particularly in women with heavy periods or after strict diets. If you notice unexplained shedding, a blood test for iron, ferritin and thyroid is worth doing before you buy any supplement. Zinc and vitamin D carry the same weight when they are lacking.

This is also where we bust a big myth: biotin. Biotin pills are sold everywhere as “hair vitamins,” but they only help if you have a genuine deficiency, which is rare in people who eat normally. If you are not deficient, extra biotin does not grow hair faster; it simply passes through the body. Crash diets are the other side of the problem: rapid weight loss often triggers a wave of shedding a few months later, called telogen effluvium, which usually resolves on its own once nutrition returns to normal.

The myths: oils, pills and “growth” products

Hair oils have their place, but not the one advertised. Coconut oil, for instance, genuinely penetrates the strand a little and reduces protein loss during washing, so hair breaks less. That helps you keep length, not speed up the follicle. Castor oil, famous as a “growth oil,” has no convincing evidence that it grows hair; it mostly makes hair look shinier and less dry. Use oils as protection and moisture, not as a growth cure, and keep them off the scalp if they clog your pores.

Rosemary and caffeine products have strong marketing. For some of them there are small, promising studies in hormonal hair loss, but that is about density in people who are losing hair, not about growth speed in healthy hair. To be fair: they may do no harm and may help some cases, but do not expect extra centimeters a month from them.

And then there are the myths with no basis at all: cold water at the end of a wash “that closes the pores and grows hair,” 100 brush strokes every night, cutting the ends by the phase of the moon. These have no effect on growth. Cold water feels refreshing and can make the strand a little shinier for a moment; excessive brushing, on the contrary, breaks hair. Do not give them your time.

Why trimming does not slow growth

This is probably the biggest confusion. People are afraid to cut because they want length, and they think every centimeter cut is a step back. In reality the opposite is true for damaged hair.

Trimming works at the ends, the follicle works at the root, and those two points are far apart. Nothing you do at the ends sends a signal to the follicle. So a trim neither speeds up nor slows down growth at the root; it simply removes the dead, split part at the bottom.

The benefit is indirect but real. A split end left uncut keeps splitting upward, the strand weakens, breaks, and in the end you lose more length than you would have trimmed. A small regular trim stops that cycle. Anyone aiming for long, healthy hair trims a little and often, and keeps more by year’s end than someone who never trims and lets the damage spread. If you are unsure how much and how often, we explained the price and the logic on our haircut price page.

When slow growth or shedding needs a doctor

Up to here we have talked about healthy hair simply growing at its normal pace. But there are cases the problem does not solve with home care or a hairdresser, and then the address is a doctor.

See a dermatologist if shedding is clearly greater than normal daily turnover for weeks on end, if bald or thinning patches appear, if the part widens, or if the scalp reddens, itches and flakes without settling. Diffuse shedding in women is often linked to low iron, thyroid disorders, hormonal shifts, certain medications or heavy stress, and these need blood tests and a diagnosis, not products off the shelf.

Our standing rule applies here too: the salon and the hairdresser care for the look, health and length of healthy hair, while any ongoing, sudden or symptomatic shedding is a doctor’s job. An honest hairdresser tells you herself when something looks beyond her scope and points you to a specialist.

The trim that keeps hair long at B&B Elegance

If you want long hair, the most useful thing you do at a salon is not a miracle treatment but a regular trim that removes split ends before the split climbs the strand. At B&B Elegance on Jakov Xoxa street, in the Muharrem Fejza area of Bregu i Diellit, a few minutes on foot from Rruga B, this is done by Besire, the mother, with more than twenty years of experience with hair. She takes off only what the ends need to stay strong, without cutting into the length you have grown. The salon is family run: Besire handles the hair side, while her daughter Biondina covers facial treatments, so one visit can cover two needs. A haircut costs 15 €, among the most reasonable prices in the market. Hours are Monday to Saturday, 9:00 to 17:00, closed Sunday. Book by phone call, WhatsApp or Viber on +383 44 397 749 or +383 49 326 303. Say you want an ends trim to keep length, and you get a time and clear advice on how often you need it.