Wondering how to make your hair grow faster? Let the pros from Matrix reveal their top hair growth tips!

1. Set Realistic Hair Goals
You may think your hair grows slower than everyone else’s but the fact is that hair growth takes time. Scientists say the average rate of hair growth is about ½ inch per month, with slight variations for hair type. Curly, fragile hair grows a bit slower than straight, thick hair. Be sure to use strengthening masks like our Miracle Creator Multi-Tasking Hair Mask to revitalize your fragile strands. So if you’re planning to grow out your pixie cut, don’t expect to grow waist-length hair overnight, but you can expect a short haircut to be shoulder length in about 14 months.

2. Keep Your Hair Healthy
To ensure that your hair grows in step with the healthy average rate, remember this: stronger hair = longer hair. If your hair is on the damaged side, use a reparative system like Biolage FiberStrong which fortifies fragile hair. You’ll tip the hair growth odds in your favor if the hair you have is as strong and healthy as possible. “This fact,” says Matrix Artistic Director Michael Albor, “is truly at the root of it all.”

3. Start With Proper Nutrition
You are what you eat, and that goes for your hair. Nutritional deficiencies are some of the biggest culprits behind weak, damaged hair with constant breakage that refuses to grow. If you’re really concerned that your hair simply won’t grow and are desperate to grow your hair faster, check in with your doctor to see if everything is on target health-wise.

If you have an iron deficiency, for example, it can cause your hair to be thin and dull. Many doctors recommend foods containing omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin B and vitamin E to provide the type of nourishment that enhances hair growth. And many women have found favorable results after several months as a result of taking hair supplements containing biotin, vitamins and anti-oxidants.

4. Trim Hair Regularly
It’s tempting to avoid scissors completely when you’re trying to grow your hair, but frequent hair trims are actually a wise strategy. Keeping your ends crisp and neat helps prevent split ends and fraying, which can lead to hair breakage and slow down the rate of hair growth. So keep up those regular, six-to-eight week haircut appointments, and let your hairstylist “dust” the ends, i.e. remove a fraction of an inch to keep each hair strong and intact.

5. Color Your Hair with Care
Frequent forays with hair color and lighteners can cause dryness, split ends, dull hair and breakage. That’s because with hair color, you’re ultimately disrupting the top, protective layer of hair to allow the hair color to penetrate. You don’t have to give up your hair color completely, just opt for a less drastic hair color shade change. This will allow your hair stylist to use formulas that don’t have to disrupt your hair too drastically.

Also, talk to your stylist about bond repair additives that protect the bonds of your hair from damage during the hair color process, and will also prevent additional hair color damage from occurring. And to take it a step further, use an at home bond restorative system like Total Results The Re-Bond that helps fortify weakened, over processed hair.

6. Condition Hair Conscientiously
Conditioners are your hair’s best friend—they help you detangle, they keep your hair soft and shiny. “There are conditioners for every hair type,” says Albor, “and everyone should find the right formula and apply it after every shampoo. You can even skip a shampoo from time to time and go straight to the conditioner.” Leave-in treatments are great to help with detangling and protect the hair from heat. And a weekly hair mask or oil-based hair treatment will help take care of the older, more fragile ends that are susceptible to breaking off.

7. Avoid Heat Damage
High heat styling tools are surefire aids for creating and locking in beautiful hairstyles, but too much heat can have damaging long-term effects on your hair. If air-drying is an option for your hair, put your hair dryers and irons aside when possible. (A heatless hair styling crème will help put shape in your hair while controlling frizzy hair.) You can also explore alternative hair setting options, such as braids, twists and good old foam or Velcro hair rollers.

When you do opt in for blow drying, set the temperature as low as you can in order to accomplish your desired hairstyle, and keep the blow dryer nozzle at least six inches from your scalp. A lower heat setting is also the best strategy when using flat irons and curling irons, and be sure to shield your hair from heat damage with heat protection products.

8. Don’t Forget Good Scalp Care
Healthy hair growth starts with a healthy scalp. Keeping the hair follicles on the scalp clean and clear from product or oil buildup will prevent the growth rate from slowing down. Try not to over-use your dry shampoos. While they’re an excellent way to absorb excess oil on the scalp, over-using them can cause buildup that clogs hair follicles. Treat yourself to frequent scalp massages—they’re not only sooooo relaxing, they also rev up the circulation in your scalp that will keep your hair nourished. Finally, consider a weekly scalp “scrub” treatment to remove product residue and excess oil. Consider it exfoliation for your hair and scalp.

9. Brush Hair Wisely
First off, never brush your hair when it’s wet. Use a wide tooth comb (or a brush specifically designed for wet hair) to detangle, and work slowly and carefully from the bottom up to avoid hair breakage. When your hair is dry, brush it with a cushioned brush with boar bristles, which are gentle on fragile hair. Use the brush to stimulate your scalp and enhance circulation and healthy hair growth. About 15 or 20 strokes a day will do the trick.

10. Avoid Mechanical Hair Damage
Environmental hair damage—too much sun or saltwater—and chemical hair damage from hair color, relaxers, straighteners or perms are two ways that hair becomes damaged when you’re trying to grow it. Mechanical hair damage is another way. That happens when you wring your hair too tightly with a coarse towel, bind it too firmly into a ponytail or sleep on a rough pillowcase.

All of these bad hair habits can lead to hair breakage. So swap out the terry cloth for a soft micro-fiber towel or cotton t-shirt and blot your hair gently after shampooing. Use fabric-coated elastic hair bands to secure your ponytails and buns, and don’t put them in the same spot every day. Finally, treat yourself to a sateen or satin pillowcase that won’t cause the friction that leads to the hair tangles that can weaken your hair.

This article appeared on Matrix

In an open access paper recently published in the Nature journal Scientific Reports, Subroto Chatterjee and colleagues from Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore, MD, show that a diet high in fats and cholesterol can lead to skin inflammation, as well as hair loss and hair whitening.

Based on their initial findings, the researchers also developed an experimental drug, D-threo-1-phenyl-2-decanoylamino-3-morpholino-1-propanol (D-PDMP), hoping it would help them reverse the effects of an unhealthful diet on skin and hair.

D-PDMP regulates the production of a type of fats (lipids) known as "glycosphingolipids" (GSLs), which are part of the membranes of skin cells and other cell types.

In particular, GSLs are a major component of skin cells that make up the external skin layer and of keratinocytes, a type of cell that participates in the pigmentation, or coloring, of skin, hair, and eyes.

"Further research is needed, but our findings show promise for someday using the drug we developed for skin diseases such as psoriasis and wounds resulting from diabetes or plastic surgery," says Chatterjee.

Western diet tied to hair, skin damage

The research team tested the effects that a fatty diet would have on the skin and hair of mice, as well as the effectiveness of the specially designed compound in offsetting the damage.

Chatterjee and team worked with a group of mice that they had first genetically modified to express symptoms of atherosclerosis, a condition in which fat deposits form inside arteries, obstructing the free flow of blood.

The researchers split the mice into two distinct groups: one of these was assigned a regular mouse diet, while the other was allocated a high-fat, high-cholesterol diet — similar to a Western-style regimen.

All the mice were 12 weeks old when they started on their respective diets, and the researchers conducted their first assessments when the mice were 20 weeks old.

The team found that the mice on a Western-style diet had begun to lose hair and displayed hair whitening and skin lesions.

At 36 weeks of age, 75 percent of the mice that had stayed on the high-fat and high-cholesterol diet had multiple skin lesions, as well as more severe hair loss.

When the mice were between the ages of 20-36 weeks, the researchers gave them all D-PDMP in varying amounts, either in liquid form or in capsule form, as they each stayed on their assigned diet.

After receiving either 1 milligram and 10 milligrams per kilogram of body weight of D-PDMP in capsule form, the mice on a fatty diet started to regain their lost hair, as well as their initial hair color. Skin damage also started to heal.

Chatterjee and team also noted that treating the rodents with 1 milligram of D-PDMP in capsule form per kilogram of body weight was as effective in reversing skin and hair damage as 10 milligrams in liquid form per kilogram of body weight.

This, the researchers explain, suggests that capsules are more effective in delivering the compound.

Experimental drug may restore health

So, what did D-PDMP do specifically? The research team observed that the skin of mice following a Western-style diet showed numerous signs of neutrophil infiltration. Neutrophils are a type of white blood cell that plays a role in inflammation.

Encapsulated D-PDMP reduced the number of neutrophils observed, suggesting that the substance was effective in reducing skin damage and inflammation.

The researchers also noted that rodents on a fatty diet had modified levels of three important kinds of lipids — ceramides, glucosylceramides, and lactosylceramides — which normally help to maintain skin health.

'Faster, more effective recovery'"

Our findings show that a Western diet causes hair loss, hair whitening, and skin inflammation in mice, and we believe a similar process occurs in men who lose hair and experience hair whitening when they eat a diet high in fat and cholesterol," emphasizes Chatterjee.

While the study researchers are hopeful about the promising results they obtained with D-PDMP in mice, they nevertheless point out that more animal research has to be carried out, in order to establish exactly how much of the compound is necessary to fully treat the damage caused by Western-style diets in hair and skin.

​Moreover, the team also warns that the results seen in mice may not apply to people, as that is an aspect that is yet to be confirmed. D-PDMP's safety for human ingestion has also not yet been established.

Still, the scientists think of their current findings as the first step toward better ways of maintaining or restoring hair and skin health.

This article first appeared on Medical News Today

Cue the celebration emoji—the scale is moving in the direction you want it to!  But...then you start to notice that your hair is falling out. Like, a lot of it. WTH?

Before you panic and assume you’re going bald, know this: What you're going through is completely normal. “We know that, clinically and anecdotally, hair loss is associated with rapid weight loss or weight loss associated with stress,” says Ken L. Williams Jr., D.O., a hair-restoration specialist, surgeon, and author of Hair Transplant 360 – Follicular Unit Extraction.
​
In other not-fair news, the more weight you lose, the more likely you are to experience some form of hair loss, says Beth Warren, R.D.N., founder of Beth Warren Nutrition and author of Living a Real Life with Real Food.

It all comes down to ~nutrients~, says Fatima Cody Stanford, M.D., M.P.H., an obesity medicine physician at Massachusetts General Hospital. People often don’t take in enough protein when they lose weight, she explains. And, when you don’t get enough protein, your body has to decide where to send the protein it does have. Given that your hair isn’t crucial to your survival, it gets the leftovers, Stanford says—and that can lead to hair loss.

Ready for the good news?

​This is temporary. “When people stop losing weight, the hair loss usually resolves itself,” Warren says.

If you’re planning to lose a lot of weight and want to minimize the...er...fallout, try keeping tabs on how much protein you’re getting, and aim to get your recommended daily amount—that would be 46 grams.

It’s also a good idea to try to get some zinc in your diet, Stanford says, since it's a key mineral for hair growth (as well as skin and nail growth). You can get it by eating:

• Veggies like broccoli and spinach
• Fruits like avocado and fig
• Animal-based proteins like eggs and lean beef

You may also want to take a zinc supplement to be totally sure you’re getting enough, says Stanford. (Just check in with your doctor first, which is a must before taking any kind of supplement.)

If you do start to lose your hair, despite your best efforts, and it’s bothering you, Williams recommends taking a biotin supplement or even a prenatal vitamin, both of which have a lot of extra vitamins your body probably is probably craving right now.

You can also try monoxidil (a.k.a. Rogaine), which stimulates hair growth, he says.
And in the meantime, repeat after me: "This is not permanent."

This article first appeared on Women's Health

There’s good breakage (coffee breaks, tax breaks) and bad (heartbreak’s just never pleasant). For better or worse, most breaks are a part of life. But the hair kind? That doesn’t need to be.

1. Think in twos.
Peanut butter and jelly, Batman and Robin, oils and silicones — one of these duos is less famous than the others, but oils and silicones are a perfect one-two punch for treating breakage, especially on curly hair. “Curly hair is so prone to breakage and damage because each strand becomes weaker at the pinch points where the hair twists,” says cosmetic chemist Kelly Dobos. Adding moisture always helps, but hair masks and deep conditioners with natural oils and silicones fully coat and protect each fiber. “These ingredients work well in combination because silicones spread quickly to smooth down flyaways, while the oils take longer to penetrate and strengthen hair. It’s a perfect mix for a mask,” says Dobos, who likes Aveda Damage Remedy Intensive Restructuring Treatment and Neutrogena Triple Moisture Deep Recovery Hair Mask.

2. Bulk up.
Your hair is made of protein (keratin), so the more keratin you put back onto your hair, the stronger it will be. Look for leave-in conditioners and masks with hydrolyzed keratin, which subs for damaged natural proteins in your hair, says cosmetic chemist Ni’Kita Wilson. (Try Briogeo Don’t Despair, Repair Deep Conditioning Mask.) Products with wheat protein fill in the little gaps in weakened strands, and baobab protein fortifies the hair while conditioning. (Try Sexy Hair Tri-Wheat Leave In Conditioneror Moroccanoil Mending Infusion.) Small saturated fatty acids (aka oils) have the ability to penetrate each strand to add and retain moisture, says Neil Sadick, a dermatologist in New York City, who likes coconut, palm, argan, and avocado oils for preventing breakage. (Try Garnier Fructis Damage Repairing 1 Minute Hair Mask or Nunzio Saviano The Cream.)

3. Don't Stress.
In clinical research, Sadick found that stress can really damage your hair. Everything from final exams or a big moving day to grieving a loss can lead to micro-inflammation of hair follicles that makes hair weaker as it grows out and even causes you to shed more than usual. “Increased levels of stress hormones — mainly cortisol — disrupt the hair cycle,” says Sadick. A study from Carnegie Mellon University showed that just 20 minutes of mindful meditation for 14 consecutive days can lower your cortisol levels during stressful times. And speaking of hormones, when you’re about to start your period, your hair becomes less resilient: “The changes in your hormones can thin new hair, and thinner hair is more prone to breaking,” says Daliah Wachs, a family practitioner in Las Vegas. “Try to avoid tight hair ties, like elastics, that week, which could put extra stress on the hair.”

4. Tuck it in.
It takes a while to rehab damaged hair, but you can disguise it in the meantime. Naté Bova, a hairstylist at Warren Tricomi Salon in New York City, recommends working on your braiding skills: “You can hide breakage on the length of your hair by tucking it into a loose braid, or you can use a crown braid to disguise broken ends along the hairline.” If braids aren’t your style, hairstylist Vernon François recommends something much simpler. “A great way to disguise breakage is by pulling hair into a ponytail or bun,” he says. Smooth your hair back with a hydrating styling cream to get broken hairs and flyaways fully in check while giving your hair a dose of the hydration it needs. “It works for all hair textures, and it’s a clean, classic look with minimal effort,” he says. (Try Vernon François Styling Cream.)

5. Cover the damage.
​When you wear your hair down, “lightly pat a hair oil with silicones over problematic areas to weigh down flyaways,” says Xavier Velasquez, a hairstylist at Serge Normant at John Frieda Salon in New York City. (Try Ouai Hair Oil.) “Use your fingers or comb it on with a toothbrush, like hairstylists use backstage.” (It’s the perfect size for targeting frizz and flyaways.) Breakage tends to be less noticeable on curly hair because the broken ends can get hidden in the coils — “lightly diffuse hairspray all over by spraying it from arm’s length away to set the breakage into your curl pattern,” says Velasquez. (Choose an alcohol-free formula, like Herbal Essences Flexible Airspray Alcohol-Free Hairspray.) Changing up your usual part also covers breakage on the top, adds Bova.

6. Take a risk.
Cut it all off. Stay with us here: There’s no better way to get your hair back to square one than starting totally fresh. Bova says she especially likes this idea for people trying to grow out relaxer. “Have an adventure. Post a video of yourself on social media cutting all your relaxed hair off inch by inch. I’ve seen so many of these online, and it’s just so liberating,” she says. “You can grow it out and cut an inch of the damage off every three months, but you’ll need blowouts or braids in the meantime to hide it, and those things create their own damage.” You can also get extensions — “fake hair is great because you can blow-dry it, curl it, and it doesn’t matter.”

7. Institute a cooling-off period.
There are plenty of ways to style your hair without burning it into submission. “A good way to avoid over-blow-drying is to rough-dry your hair first to get a good amount of the moisture out and then smooth it with a boar-bristle brush,” says Rachel Bodt, a colorist in New York City. Be extra careful around your hairline: “The hairs there are so baby fine, you need to tread lightly with heat or they’ll continuously break,” says Velasquez. “A lot of women don’t use the nozzle attachment, but if you do, you can switch your blow-dryer to the low setting and still smooth your hairline — and the rest of your hair — without full heat.” Hairstylist Lacy Redway recommends cooling it on the hot tools once in a while. Cutting your hot-styling sessions down to twice a week can really help, and going cold turkey for a couple of months gives new hair a chance to grow in stronger. “You can always use braids or bendy rods to give damp or dry hair texture with- out heat,” says Redway. Or twist damp hair into a bun before bed to defrizz curls or give straight hair a soft bend overnight, says Bova. “Secure it with bobby pins instead of a hair tie to avoid getting a crease.”

8. Steal a colorist's rehab plan.
If you need to get scared straight, talk to a reformed bleach addict, like Bodt. Going from super dark brown to brunette with blonde highlights made her hair weak, for sure, but the extra strain from styling tools is what did her hair in. “I snapped my whole hairline off by styling the front pieces excessively. I was blow-drying way too much and never used a barrier between the heat and my colored hair,” says Bodt. Once the hair broke off, she took a break from heat styling and coloring for a month or so. “Then I started shampooing my hair just two or three times a week so I would have to blow-dry less often,” she says. She installed the T3 Source Showerhead — it filters out hard-water minerals that make hair less pliable — and started using R + Co Acid Wash ACV Cleansing Rinse, an apple cider vinegar rinse that gets rid of mineral buildup, every two weeks. “I noticed an immediate difference in the texture, color, and overall health of my hair. It used to get darker and more brassy as time went on, which was making me bleach and color it more.” Nowadays, Bodt uses heat protectants, like Kérastase Nutritive Nectar Thermique or R + Co One Prep Spray. And when she colors her hair, she uses a bonding treatment, like Olaplex, to make the dye gentler. “It locks in moisture and strengthens hair so it doesn’t break,” she says.


This first appeared on Allure