When it comes to women’s fashion, all of the amazing clothes, shoes and accessories in the world simply do not cut the mustard if you aren’t also delighted with your hair. Think about it – when and where you have a bad hair day for any given reason, it’s almost impossible to take any real pleasure or satisfaction in anything you wear or adorn yourself with. Unfortunately, hair isn’t quite as easy to change and transform on a whim as clothes and accessories are – the same also going for growing the luscious locks of your dreams.

Which leads on to the million-dollar question so many style and fashion gurus are asked on a daily basis – what’s the secret to growing hair as fast as possible?  Check out public opinion and you’ll immediately find that pretty much every woman and their mothers alike have their own unique insights and opinions when it comes to speeding up hair growth. Some pop pills as if they were sweets, others believe it all comes down to praying to the right gods and so on and so forth. In reality however, some things work and something simply do not…all the wishful thinking in the world won’t work if you aren’t doing the right things.

So for those already in the midst of growing out their hair or considering doing so in the near future, here is a quick look at a few tried, tested and certified tips from the experts on how to speed things up…at least a little:

1 – Be Healthy

First and foremost, it might sound like the mother of all clichés but it’s also the number one rule in all such life lessons. In order to look your best and enjoy the very best health on the outside, you need to look after yourself properly on the inside. To put it another way, every single thing you eat, drink and put your body through in general will have an impact on the health of your hair – also the speed and strength of its growth. Brittle hair is often attributed to poor health and poor lifestyle choices, so the very first thing to do is take a look at how you live and make adjustments where necessary.

2 – The Chop

You’d be forgiven for assuming that the most counterproductive thing you could do when looking to grow out your hair would be to have it cut on a regular basis.  On paper it really doesn’t make sense, but in reality it is of absolutely pivotal importance. The reason being that to trim say half an inch off your hair every now and again is to get rid of the kind of damage and split ends that can and will, if left unaddressed, work their way closer to the root. Damaged hair is more prone to breakage and falling than healthy hair, so it’s a case of nipping problems in the bud rather than allowing them to spread.

3 – Moisturise

If you suffer from hair that’s even remotely dry, one of the most important things you need to do is ensure it is appropriately moisturised. This of course doesn’t mean lathering on a load of body lotion and walking around with constantly wet hair, but rather using high quality moisturising haircare products and perhaps treating your hair to little overnight oil. That being said, even if your hair isn’t particularly dry it might still be able to benefit from a little added moisture.  Proceed with caution however if your hair is notoriously greasy.

4 – Reel it In

If you’ve gotten into the habit of brushing each side of your head a minimum of 150 times each night before going to bed, this is exactly the kind of bad habit you need to break. In the overwhelming majority of instances, the suggestion that the more you brush, the better the results you can expect is completely misguided.  The simple fact of the matter is that pretty much every type of styling and manipulation of your hair will cause it at least some degree of damage, which means that a soft approach is way better when trying to grow strong and long hair.

5 – Gentle Styling

Last but not least, exactly the same logic can and should be brought over to your everyday styling practices. The long and short of it being that the more aggressive and intensive you are when it comes to both the styling process and the hairstyles you choose, the more damage you will be doing to your hair. Of course you might need to do something to prevent it looking a complete and total mess, but once again, gently does it!