10 Ways To Grow Your Hair That Will ACTUALLY Work

So I was chatting to a few women recently, a couple of whom were brides, and we were discussing how they're going to wear their hair for their weddings. Loose princess curls, a thick waterfall braid and a statement oversized bun were amongst the things on the wish list. The problem was, that these ladies had been struggling with growing their hair for years, a problem I've heard many, many times. SO, I set about doing a bit of research, and believe to have no collated a list of the TOP tips from every corner of this vast tinterweb on how to encourage hair growth in a relatively short period of time. Struggling to grow your hair for your wedding? ... Answers solved!

1. Be Gentle Nothing genius about this point, it's pretty self-explanatory but being gentle with your hair will avoid over stretching and snapping. Try not to brush it when it's wet, and don't rag at tough knots. Try and use a natural bristled brush, or one of those cool Tangle Teezer brushes which is kind to your locks. Also, when hair is wet DON'T ring it out like a dish cloth. This is stretch your delicate wet hair and make it more likely to snap. Same goes for towel drying; a gentle squeeze with a towel is all your need, none of this crazy drying a wet dog routine!

2. Massage the scalp When washing, or just when you're chilling at home with hubster to be, indulge in a nice scalp massage (from him or from you) to stimulate hair follicles and encourage production of natural oils and growth. Just like we're told to massage moisturiser and creams into our faces to stimulate skin cells!

3. Natural Hair Masks There are a bunch of super expensive natural hair masks you can buy from fancy natural beauty shops, but if your budget won't stretch that far there are some AMAZING homemade alternatives that are just as effective and cost a fraction of the price. My personal fave is the egg mask (1 egg yolk, 1 tablespoon of honey, 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive-oil and 1 tablespoon of vodka) which you massage into your scalp and then pull through the length, leave wrapped up in a warm towel for half and hour then wash out with shampoo. If you're not keen on putting egg in your hair there's also the overnight castor oil/coconut oil/argan oil treatment.

4. Trim hair (SEMI-regularly) It's a common myth that trimming your hair super regularly will help it grow faster. But when you only grow half and inch a month (on average) you don't want to lose that prescious length as often as it's grown. So, schedule a trim every 8 weeks and not 4-6, so you grow a whole inch then only lose a bit of it.

5. Wear It Down Rubber hair bands and grips and pins can pull at your hair and make it snap. They can also restrict the flow of natural oils reaching down the length. If you can possibly manage to leave it down and totally natural (that's no straightening!) that will be the best thing for your growth.

6. Avoid Heat No straightening, no blow drying, no tonging! If you absolutely HAVE to blow dry your hair every once in a while then make sure you use a good heat protection spray, use a low heat setting and gently towel dry as much as possible beforehand.

7. Diet - Drink Water and Eat Right (lots of PROTEIN) LOOADS of water is good for everything. Your skin, your weight, your hair. It's a no brainer really, start drinking! Eating wise there are certain foods which have especially good nutritinal content for hair growth; anything with tons of protein i.e eggs, meat, is awesome since hair is made of Keratin which IS a protein. ORANGE STUFF like carrots, pumpkin, sweet potatoes are a great source of vitamin A which is super important for hair growth. You need plenty of iron in your diet too as a lack of iron leads to thinning hair, so make sure you eat plenty of meat or fish or take supplements in your're a veggie.

8. Silk Pillowcases Sounds fancy but is SUPER kind to your hair AND your skin. It's smoothness is more gentle on the locks and stops hair breakage in your sleep.

9. No Silicone (conditioners and shampoos) Check the labels of the shampoos and conditioners you buy and avoid those with solicone. Silicone coats the hair and gives it a kind of fake smooth texture which tricks you into thinking your hair is super healthy and that shampoo/conditioner is awesome. WRONG. Silicone blocks the nutrients getting to your hair and getting the nourishment it needs to grow. Silicone free shampoos and conditioners FTW.

10.Stop Washing Too Much Washing your hair everyday can strip out all the natural oils and good stuff your hair needs to grow. If you have fine hair you can be forgiven for washing it every other day, but if you have normal/thick hair you should be washing twice a week. In between washes you can brush your hair with a natural bristled brush to encourage oil to move from the roots down the length of your hair and avoid that greasy roots look.