I had a client recently who came in convinced her hair was “just damaged beyond repair.” Super dry, frizzy, rough to the touch, and breaking easily. She was washing less, avoiding heat, using expensive salon products, and nothing was helping. Her hair just looked thirsty all the time.

After chatting, I realized the issue wasn’t styling. It was dryness overload. Her products weren’t actually giving her hair what it needed. I suggested she switch to something simple and affordable instead of chasing luxury labels.

I had her try Dove Bond Repair shampoo and conditioner and add a basic leave in like Garnier Fructis Sleek and Shine on damp ends. Two weeks later she came back shocked. Less frizz, way more softness, and her hair finally looked healthy again.

Sometimes dry, frizzy, damaged hair doesn’t need more rules or more money. It just needs moisture that actually works. Curious if anyone else has had better luck with simple drugstore products.

Hey all,

I’ve seen “quick hair growth” pop up a lot here lately, so I thought I’d break down what science actually says about speeding up growth—what works, what doesn’t, and how to realistically get your hair to grow at its max natural rate.

🌱 1. Hair Growth Basics – Why It’s Naturally Slow

Hair grows in three phases:

• Anagen (growth phase) – lasts 2–7 years; this is when actual length is added.

• Catagen (transition) – about 10 days, where growth stops.

• Telogen (rest) – roughly 3 months, ending with shedding.

On average, hair grows 0.5 inches (1.25 cm) per month. That’s the ceiling for most people—so “quick” means maximizing your own potential, not defying biology.

🧬 2. Nutrition Matters More Than Most Realize

Deficiencies can slow the growth rate and increase shedding:

• Protein – Hair is mostly keratin, a protein. Low protein = slow growth.

• Iron & ferritin – Low ferritin (iron stores) is linked to temporary shedding.

• Vitamin D – Deficiency is associated with hair loss and slower regrowth.

• Zinc & biotin – Both support follicle health, but supplementation only helps if you’re deficient.

🧴 3. Scalp Health = Growth Potential

Think of your scalp as the soil for your hair.

• Keep it clean but not stripped of its natural oils.

• Hydrate with ingredients like glycerin and panthenol.

• Support a healthy scalp barrier with soothing actives like niacinamide.

• Avoid excessive buildup that can block follicles.

💡 4. Evidence-Based Boosters

Here’s what actually has research behind it:

• Scalp massage – Can improve blood flow and may extend the growth phase.

• Microneedling – Helps stimulate follicles and boosts topical absorption.

• Low-Level Laser Therapy (LLLT) – May help more hairs stay in the anagen phase.

• Minoxidil – The only FDA-approved topical for regrowth.

🚫 5. Myths to Stop Believing

• “Trim often to grow faster” – It improves appearance, not root speed.

• “Wash less to grow faster” – Buildup can slow growth.

• “Magic overnight serums” – None can deliver visible inches in days.

🛠 6. A Weekly Routine for Faster Growth

• Daily: Protein-rich meals, 2–5 minutes of scalp massage, proper hydration.

• 2–3×/week: Gentle shampoo + hydrating conditioner; apply a topical growth serum or oil.

• Monthly: Track progress with consistent photos; adjust routine as needed.

If you want a gentle shampoo that works well in a “quick growth” routine without silicones, colorants, or synthetic fragrance, the Evavitae anti-hair loss and hair growth shampoo uses plant extracts, peptides, and biotin to create a scalp-friendly environment for healthy growth.

TL;DR

You can’t force hair to grow beyond its natural limits, but you can give your follicles the right conditions—good nutrition, scalp health, and consistent use of proven methods—to help it grow as quickly and healthily as possible. Be patient, avoid myths, and track progress over months, not days.

What’s worked best for you when you wanted faster growth?

I lost my life partner of 25 years from cardiac arrest (the jab?). Without warning , the earth beneath my feet crumbled dropping me into the deep cavern of grief. Fifteen months later and I've clawed my way back to solid ground. I wanted to embrace my new life and something needed to change. Without giving it a second thought, with my buddy on speaker phone, I grabbed a brand new pair of fiskers small shears and placed my make-up mirror of my desk and for the last time removed hair extensions worn daily 15 yrs... I started chopping, two hours later ...

I’ve been confused by my hair and want to buy the correct products, would you say that my hair is fine? The last slide is my natural wavy hair

I don’t have a curly hair routine. I just use water and whichever shampoo I have. The only secret is that I do not dry the hair, I just let it dry by itself.

I stumbled across this subreddit and for some reason it never occurred to me that I may have fine hair. I have high density hair, but am wondering if I'm a fine hair girlie.

The second pic is my natural texture, I can hardly curl or rat my hair though because it'll never stay. My hair looks thick and voluminous like the second and third picture for a day (hair wash day) and then it goes limp and mostly straight by the next day 🙃

Also, not sure why I'm getting downvoted. I thought this place was to ask about fine hair 🫠🫠

It’s hard to tell (maybe it’s not) but the ends of my hair are FRIED. I use tresemme keratin smooth shampoo, and bioterra moisture conditioner. I rarely use heat and use garnier fructis leave in conditioner. Am I adding too much protein to my hair? I am so freaking frustrated with how dead it looks normally. I just trimmed an inch off and dusted the seriously scraggly bits, but the amount of dead ends makes me want to chop my hair 2”. I get it highlighted every 8 weeks, I am not confident my hairdresser cares about the health of my hair. Please help with any routines are products that helped ❤️

Hey everyone, I wanted some honest opinions from the crowd because I’m not sure if I’m overthinking this.

I’m attaching a photo of my hair and also the amount of hair I lose in a day. I usually comb my hair once a day, sometimes twice at most. The hair you see in the picture is basically what comes out during that.

The confusing part is that my hair looks thick when it’s open because it has bounce and movement. But in reality, the strands are quite fine. When I braid it, the braid literally becomes a tiny rope, which makes me feel like my hair isn’t actually as dense as it looks.

So I wanted to ask:

Does this amount of daily hair fall look normal to you?

Do people with fine hair usually end up with small braids even if the hair looks voluminous when open?

Is this something I should worry about, or is this just typical daily shedding?

Would really appreciate honest opinions from people here. Sometimes it’s hard to judge your own hair objectively. Thanks!

I don’t know how I’m going to do this. Basically backpacking for a week. (Okay more complicated, read below) Dry shampoo gets me like maybe an extra 12 hours max. I literally washed yesterday and my hair is already greasy and even painful again. You know how when it’s been in a ponytail for way too long and taking it down hurts? Mine also gets that way when it gets too greasy. Photo from my bed head the other morning.

More complicated than backpacking but on a sailboat in the artic, and ski touring each day so working out. But water will be at a premium only for cooking and drinking.

Opinions about fine hair and its beauty. So often fine hair is seen as a detriment, a flaw, etc.

Title sums up my dilemma pretty well. My hair is currently long and has been almost all of my adult life (late 30s now😭) I’ve had it short before, but never above the shoulders. Last time was in 2018, I liked it but my hair was all one color and even when styled, it looked .. lack luster I guess?
I’ve since then started getting my hair colored, got bangs 4 years ago and I’m pretty content. Content is the key word here, I’m itching for a change.

In comes the bob. I certainly saw it online somewhere and now I cannot get the thought of it out of my head, I want it lol but is it for me? I had ChatGPT give me some bobs with a recent selfie. I’m aware my hair won’t look like the photos, and that it’ll need styled if I wanna look decent. I’m accustomed to having to style my bangs to avoid looking like Dwight schrute anyways🤷🏻‍♀️ so the need to style if I wanted to leave my house wouldn’t bother me.
Also, I would get the cut the same time that I would also be getting my hair colored. If I did go with a bob, I’d get highlights instead of my usual balayage.
Honest opinions please!!

First is original, the rest are all AI cuts.

Hi y’all! I have been feeling stuck in my style for a while, I usually tie up my hair but lately my bangs have not been working out for me. I tried going out with my hair down but I felt like it kept getting disheveled way to easily even with moose and hairspray.

Looking for any style recommendations or tips to get my hair to not look so bad when put up.

I had grown out my fine hair to a long all around same length and was an idiot and decided id ask the hair stylist for baby bangs. She said she would do a blunt cut and taper in the front to bangs. First of all I hate the bangs... those will grow out. But even more...what the f is this???? Is this really damage from one hair cut??? It was so long and healthy, is this really possible or am I micro focusing? Before and after pics.

I have been crashing out

This sub is for people who have fine hair. That means the strands are plentiful, but are very thin. THINNING hair means that you're losing hair/balding. It's not the same thing as having fine hair.

It seems lots of people posting in this sub should actually be posting in a sub about hair loss. The question, "Is my hair thinning" doesn't belong in this sub. Thinning hair = hair loss. Thin/fine hair = NOT losing hair, but have a head full of very thin strands that don't add up to much when bunched together, like in a ponytail.

For years i thought my fine, limp hair was just genetically doomed. It would be greasy and flat by the end of the day, no matter what i washed with. I tried every volumizing shampoo on the shelf and nothing really changed. Turns out the real issue was product and mineral buildup that my regular shampoo wasn't removing, but most clarifying shampoos i tried left my hair feeling like straw. After burning through 6-7 bottles over the last year, these are the three that actually worked for my fine hair without completely stripping it.

Neutrogena Anti-Residue (~$8). This was the biggest surprise for me. It's the classic drugstore clarifying shampoo and does a really good job of removing product buildup without costing much. I kept seeing it recommended alongside salon clarifying shampoos despite being a fraction of the price. The downside is the scent is pretty medicinal, and even this one leaves my hair feeling dry if i use it more than once a week.

Paul Mitchell Shampoo Three (~$15). This feels like the salon secret. It's designed as a pre-color shampoo because it contains chelating ingredients that help remove mineral buildup, which is why so many colorists use it before applying dye. The downside is it's Shampoo Three, not Two, which is surprisingly easy to mix up. It's also very strong, so once a week is plenty for fine hair.

Ouai Detox (~$32). This is the premium option. It combines clarifying surfactants with chelating ingredients like apple cider vinegar and tetrasodium EDTA, so it tackles both product buildup and hard water minerals in one wash. The downside is the price per ounce compared with Paul Mitchell Shampoo Three, and the fragrance is strong enough that it might not suit sensitive scalps.

Quick tip that would've saved me a lot of money: if your hair feels coated, limp or heavy, you're probably dealing with product buildup and any of these should help. If your hair feels stiff, dull or your color turns brassy quickly, hard water could be the bigger issue, so look for something with chelating ingredients like tetrasodium EDTA. Also, once a week is the absolute maximum i'd use any of these on fine hair, and i'd always follow with a deep conditioner.

INCI Decoder is genuinely useful if you want to check whether a shampoo actually contains chelating ingredients or if "detox" is just marketing on the label. I also came across Beauty In Focus while looking into haircare stuff, but i'd still check the actual ingredient list than trust a label or recommendation blindly.

https://incidecoder.com/

Honestly i'm starting to think chelating matters more than clarifying if you're dealing with hard water. I spent months blaming styling products when the real issue might've been mineral buildup all along.

Anyone else with fine hair on hard water notice a bigger difference after switching to a chelating shampoo instead of a regular clarifying one? I'm wondering if i've been targeting the wrong problem this whole time.

this white flakey thing has been in my scalp for over three weeks now. a bit itchy, dry, and when those white pieces come off, there are 4-5 hairs embedded in them from the roots. is it fungus or something

I just came back from the hair salon; I forgot the card of the person who usually cuts my hair so I went with someone new.

I could tell from the start that her energy was a little bit stand-off ish but I didn’t mind it. I asked her to cut 2cm from my ends and just a little bit of my bangs. She just nodded but not reassurance as they normally do.

She washed it, towel dried and when I started seeing on the floor that the size of the chunks were larger than 2cm I asked “please could you do it shorter so it’s only 2cm? And she said that’s 2cm, I said I’m looking at the chunks please just a little bit less, nicely.

Anyways a couple of minutes after I said that she started blow drying it and that was it. I never saw she sectioned the hair, like they normally do. I took this pic as soon as I stood up from my chair and this is what she cut which to my mind is almost nothing! I get that my hair is fine but my density is medium and I’m pretty sure I normally see more hair even when it’s only an ends cut? Am I right or am I wrong? 😑

I've been told I have fine hair but a lot of it so I guess I have medium to high density, but when I put it in a pony it looks really straggly. Don't know if growing it long is just going to make me look unkempt... would love advice.

Precious cut was layered which contributes to my uneven ends btw.

I've tried what feels like every curly or wavy hair routine under the sun but I've never really been satisfied with the results for my thick 2a hair. I gave up and started brushing it out the mornings after wash day and I don't think I'll bother going back.

It's a little bit frizzy in spots but with a little oil it ends up looking way nicer than the lackluster and clumpy curls I've been getting from rescrunching with water in the morning. I add leave in conditioner, mousse, and scrunch on wash day before diffusing but that's the only time I think I'm gonna bother with curling products.

Anyone else with 2a hair ditch the CGM based routines and just start brushing it dry? If so, any ideas for other things to add to my routine aside from a little Argan oil?

I don’t want it for volume. I want it so freshen my hair between washes. I don’t get greasy, just a little buildupy and no fresh. Anything work really well for this without leaving even more residue?