Are you a lover of longer hair lengths but feel like your hair just doesn’t grow past your shoulder length?
Well, growing your hair from shoulder length to mid-back actually requires some effort and sufficient time, as this process cannot be rushed. The best part is that it is possible, no matter what your hair length or hair type is!
From using various methods to grow your hair, to maintaining your hair in order to let it grow long, there are a few tips you could use.
Check out this article for all the information you need to know about ways to grow your hair out and what could be the possible reasons as to why your hair growth had been inhibited in the past.
How Much Time Does it Take to Grow Shoulder-Length Hair to Mid Back?
Well, let’s dive straight into answering your question – how long do you need to grow out your shoulder-length hair in order for it to reach your mid back?
So, as per the hair chart, your hair will have to grow out to around 18 inches for it to reach mid-back length, while shoulder-length hair stands at around 12 inches.
The hair of an average human being usually grows up to around 6 inches in a year. So this means that from your shoulder length to the mid-back area, your hair will require to grow 6 inches.
Hence, the answer to this question would be – 1 year! You would require at least a year for your hair to grow from shoulder-length to mid-back. But can it actually happen in a year? Well, it is very unlikely and you will soon know why.
You may be wondering why not all people succeed in actually growing out their hair from shoulder-length to mid-back in a year?
Well, each person’s hair grows at a different pace and there are many factors that can influence the smooth growth of your hair, while there could be other factors that can inhibit the smooth hair growth process in the meantime.
Therefore, a year is on an average and individually the growth process could vary. While some people might actually be able to attain their mid-back hair length within a year, for some others it could even take 2 years or more.
Ways to Grow Shoulder-Length Hair to Mid-Back Length
Regular Hair Trims And Reduced Haircuts
Just because you have decided to grow your hair out, this doesn’t mean that you completely stay away from hair trims. Yes, hair trims and not haircuts!
But wont trimming the hair reduce your hair length, you may ask? Well, it definitely will, but it will also help promote a healthier and smoother hair growth process. So it’s a win-win. You have to give some, to get some, right?
Trimming your hair has to be done at least once every three to four months so that the damaged hair tips can get cut off and it will make the hair become easier to manage and brush.
If you do not trim your hair, the hair damage like split ends for example, will begin to travel up to the rest of the hair strand and cause further damage to your hair, which will then require you to have a haircut then, in order to get rid of the damaged hair.
So stick to hair trims, but make sure to stay away from haircuts and hairstyling for a while because haircuts for hairstyles will require cutting a lot of your hair length, thus delaying the hair growth process.
Hair Moisturization
Adding external moisture to the hair is of utmost importance because the sebum (or natural oil) that our scalps secrete isn’t sufficient to keep all our hair hydrated.
Therefore, over time, our hair strands succumb to damage like worn out hair shafts, breakage, split ends, roughness and frizz. This is because the hair strands are dry.
When our hair is dry and damaged, it not just inhibits the smooth hair growth process, but will require that the hair be chopped off if it is severely damaged, thereby losing out on hair length, again hindering the smooth hair growth process.
There are many ways of keeping your hair hydrated from using hair masks that help lock in moisture, massaging your hair with hair oils that help coat the hair strands and prevent damage, using hair care serums, using keratin treatments and many more.
Reduction Of External Hair Damage
Firstly, you need to consider what are the types of external hair damage your hair usually faces.
Whether your hair is exposed to sunlight, whether you frequently use heat on your hair like hair straighteners, blow dryers, curling irons or whether you use chemical treatments on your hair like dyeing, bleaching, perms etc.
All these are forms of external damage to your hair which can be avoided, especially if you are trying to grow out your hair.
Any sort of external hair damage will inhibit the smooth hair growth process as they are some of the main causes for causing hair damage like dryness, brittleness, breakage, hair loss, frizziness and split ends.
So let’s just say it is a vicious cycle, because when your hair gets damaged, it hinders the growth process as you will require a haircut in order to get rid of the damaged portions of your hair, thereby losing out on hair length in the bargain.
Proper Scalp Care
Our scalps have pores or hair follicles from where our hair grows out from. Thus, maintaining ideal scalp health is very essential in order to provide the hair a good environment to grow in.
Well, if you are wondering what hair length has to do with our scalps, let’s talk a little about it.
Our hair grows from our hair follicles at a standard pace. But the growth can be inhibited or accelerated due to various reasons.
If the hair follicles are clogged, undernourished or damaged, the growth of our hair gets inhibited, delaying the process of attaining the desired hair length.
Therefore, in order to accelerate the growth of hair, we need to maintain scalp health (so that the hair follicles stay rejuvenated at all times), while also nourishing them from within, by using methods like scalp massages to promote better blood circulation in the scalp, thereby accelerating the pace of hair growth.
This way, it will ensure a smooth hair growth process and can help us achieve our desired hair length quicker.
Having A Balanced Diet
Having the right hair care can help promote better hair health and increase hair growth to a certain extent. But what also matters is what comes from within!
Yes, since our hair follicles grow from our scalp, they require sufficient nourishment sent to the roots in order to grow well. Therefore, the food we consume also plays a very important role in the successful growth of our hair.
Our hair requires minerals like zinc, iron, magnesium etc, in addition to vitamins, fibre and protein. Apart from supplements, these minerals and vitamins can be got from the food we eat.
When the body lacks certain hair-friendly minerals and vitamins, it will result in hair loss, lack of hair growth or maybe growth at a low pace. When this happens, our hair growth process can get delayed considerably.
Some people who often go on diets or do not have meals with a balanced variety of food, often experience inhibited hair growth and delayed growth in hair length.
So for those who do not have a balanced diet, consuming multivitamins or nutritional supplements on a doctor’s recommendation will be ideal.
Proper Hair Care
“Haircare” comes in different forms and collectively helps contribute to the smooth hair growth process. So here are some of the best hair care tips you could use, especially if you have decided to grow your hair out.
· Using the right hair-washing method: Firstly, do not wash your hair on a daily basis as it will dry your hair out. Washing your hair twice or three times a week is sufficient. Using lukewarm water to wash your hair is always the best option.
Also, use shampoo only on your scalp and conditioner only on your hair. This will help avoid scalp buildup and the clogging of the hair follicles.
· Usage of heat protectant sprays: Avoiding the use of heat on your hair, especially if you’ve decided to achieve a certain length would be ideal.
But if you really have to use heat on your hair, always use a heat protectant before starting the heat treatment on your hair. This will save your hair from excessive damage.
· Reduction of sun damage: Sun damage can dry your hair out considerably and thereby using sunscreen for the hair (yes, these products exist!) and keeping your hair covered when out in the sun is always recommended.
· Avoiding mineral and chlorine damage: Using water filters at home, to avoid mineral deposits on your hair and also using a swimming cap while getting into chlorinated pools is always a must!
· Brushing your hair the right way: Using a wide-toothed comb and brushing your hair gently, starting from the bottom and working your way up to the top will help avoid a lot of hair damage.
The Final Takeaway
Growing your hair out will require time, effort and most importantly dedication. If you keep up to all the methods of growing your hair out, then you can actually see the results over a span of time.
So it’s essential that you remain consistent and trust that the process will work and no sooner will you actually have not just longer hair, but healthy hair as well!
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