Does braiding your hair make it grow faster?

Most of us do not have a clue of how long hair is supposed to grow, and what you can do if you want your hair to grow quicker (or vice versa).

We take advice from many people but cannot choose a method for ourselves.

A question that comes to the minds of most people is-

Does braiding your hair make them grow faster?

No, braiding cannot help in the growth of the hair actually but you can notice some growth after a much longer time. It also depends on the genetic and environmental factors that support or restrict the growth of hair.

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Facts about hairs and braiding

An average person’s hair grows about a half-inch every month.

To make long hair grow quicker, you can braid it or otherwise style it to keep the ends from splitting and breaking off – this will give your scalp maximum exposure to air so that natural oils can come in contact with your roots more often.

You could also try to get a haircut every six to eight weeks, which will help your hair grow more quickly.

If you want your hair to grow slower, try wearing it up in ponytails or buns as much as possible and avoid styling it often – this way the sebum from the scalp won’t have any contact with the ends of your strands that need to be moisturized, and will instead stay near the roots.

You could also try to avoid washing your hair as often – this allows natural oils from scalp sebum to remain on the ends of your strands so that they don’t dry out or break off too soon.

How can braiding affect the growth of hair?

There are two ways that braiding your hair could hypothetically affect the growth of your hair.

1. The first is by pulling tightly on the base of a braid, which can slow down how quickly long strands grow.

However, this would only work if it was done constantly and consistently for many months – not just one time when you happen to braid your hair.

2. The second way is by cutting off the hair at the end of a braid, which would prevent oils from reaching it.

Hair needs to be cut periodically in order to grow properly.

This means that braids will need regular trimming or they could cause your hair to break sooner than normal.

The pulling of hair up in a ponytail or bun, which can discourage the scalp from producing sebum.

This might cause your hair to grow slower than it would if you left it down and kept styling it often – but again, this would only work for people with naturally curly hair because straight locks will be more at risk of drying out.

Another possible effect is by placing constant tension on the scalp, which would decrease blood flow to the roots of the hair and could slow down growth in that area.

Again, this would only work if it was done for a long period of time – not just one or two braids every now and then!

Do braids lead to hair growth?

Braiding your hair may help it grow faster or slower than normal, but there is no scientific evidence that says that doing so will make it grow any type of specific length.

You should also be aware that while the occasional braid won’t have much impact on whether your hair grows quickly or not, constant tension on the scalp from wearing your hair up in buns or ponytails could result in slower growth.

If you want to make your braids grow faster, the best thing that you can do is braid them too often – at least a couple of times a week.

The number of times that you need to do it will depend on your hair type and desired style.

For example, if you have long curly locks that are just past shoulder-length then braiding it once will be enough to get a thick braid – but for people with short straight hair who want an updo may need to do the process four times in order to achieve something similar.

The size of the braid will depend on your hair type and desired style.

For instance, if you have long hair that’s past shoulder-length then a thicker braid, would be best, in order to show off waves or curls at the end of it.

If you want more volume in your braid, you can do a thinner one.

But for people who want to keep it simple and have thin hair that’s less than half of shoulder-length, then standard three strand braids will work since they’re easier to tie off at the end without having knots or tangles.

The best way to lengthen and thicken the ends of a braid is by using products that are free of drying chemicals like sulfates and parabens – this way it won’t get damaged as much so the end doesn’t split or break off too soon in a braid.

How to make your hair grow longer for braiding?

You should know that the best way to make your hair grow is by not doing anything different.

Regular trimming

The only real change you can do with any effect on how quickly it grows would be between cutting or trimming it every six to eight weeks, and letting it grow as long as possible without ever cutting off the ends of a braid or ponytail.

Natural oils

Another way to promote hair growth is by using natural oils like coconut oil or castor oil.

You just need to rub it onto your scalp and roots of the hair, then put it up in a bun for as long as you can until bedtime – this lets sebum from the scalp come into contact with your locks longer which can help moisturize them more.

Look up tutorials

The internet has a lot of great videos on YouTube that show you how to braid your hair in various styles, and this is an easy way to make it grow faster if you’re into braids.

Hair care

You can always keep your hair healthy by using hair care products that are free of drying chemicals like sulfates and parabens – this way it won’t get damaged as much so the ends won’t split or break off too soon in a braid.

Hair wash

Another way to keep hair healthy is by washing it less often – this can allow the natural oils from scalp sebum to remain on the ends of your strands so that they don’t dry out or break off too soon.

Transitioning

Over time, you might want to transition into wearing buns and ponytails more frequently if you’ve been wearing your hair down and out a lot recently.

The less you wear it up, the more likely it will be to grow longer in time for braids.

Video – How to make your hair grow faster with braiding?

Final words

We hope you found these tips helpful for getting your hair braided!