7 Tips to Grow Natural Black Hair Faster

Last Updated on December 18, 2022 by Vera Aduongo

Written by Vera Aduongo

“How do you grow natural hair fast” is a question that I get asked a lot! And I can understand why. I’ve been a natural for about 7 years now, and my hair goes past my bra strap (it would be longer if I didn’t keep trimming it), and the people asking me often want to know how they can get my results but a lot quicker. Luckily, if you implement these tips (most of which I didn’t implement in those first few years), you will get there a lot faster than I did!

Caveat: While the tips below will help you to grow your natural hair faster, there is a ceiling that your genetics place on how much hair you can grow. So for example, on average, hair grows ½ an inch every month, meaning you can reasonably expect about 6 inches of growth at the end of the year.

However, African American women have been shown to grow hair slower. Take this study, for example, that showed that our hair grew about 4 inches a year. It would appear that based on genetics, our hair just grows a bit slower. These tips are meant to help you hit your maximum growth rate, which will cause you to grow your natural hair faster. Don’t be discouraged if you feel like your hair isn’t growing as fast as you like. It will come around eventually… I promise.

So without further ado, here are my 7 top tips on how to get long natural hair fast.

1. Take Hair, Skin, and Nails Supplements

I mean, I’m not even fully consistent with this yet, but boy didn’t I notice a difference when I took my supplements consistently! And interestingly, I took a Biotin supplement for about a month just to get my nails less brittle, but I noticed that my hairline started to look fuller. These supplements aren’t just some gimmick! They actually work!

And studies show they are effective. My favorite is this 2012 study measuring the effect of oral supplements on women with thinning hair. The study gave one group of women an oral supplement and the other a placebo. They then measured the number of strands on a 4 cm2 area. The number of hairs in the group that took the supplements doubled in 90 days!

P.S.: You can try out one of the best-reviewed ones on Amazon: Nature’s Bounty Vitamin Biotin Optimal Solutions Hair, Skin, and Nails Gummies.

P.P.S: Supplements are NOT a replacement for a good diet. Eat as healthy as you can, to begin with, and then add on supplements to help your body fill in any gaps that might be present.

2. Nail The Art of Detangling Gently

This! If you skip all the other steps, whatever you do, implement this, and #4. Ripping through your tangles can be so tempting when you’re short on time, and your biceps are beginning to feel sore but don’t do it.

When I first started trying to grow my natural hair, I took this for granted, and as a result, my ends were horrible and tangled a lot. My hair also kept breaking. Ironically, the more tangled my ends got, the harder it was to detangle and the more impatient and rough I became. You get into this cycle that keeps you from seeing the progress you want in your hair. So make sure that you fix this.

If you have enough time and patience for it, look into finger detangling. This is, by far, the most gentle detangling, so it will allow you to keep the most hair on your scalp. If you still love your tools, look into detangling tools, such as the Felicia Leatherwood Detangling Brush and EZ Detangling Brush. Just remember to be gentle when you use these.

3. Trim Your Ends Often

Speaking of damaged ends…. Try and get a trim every 6 months to start with. These trims usually take off the bottom ½ to 1 inch of your hair all around, which can be a game-changer if your ends are damaged, dry, and tangle-prone. If your ends are especially damaged, then you or your stylist may cut off more than that.

Then adjust the frequency of your trims once you get a feel for how long it takes before your ends are a bit ‘dusty’ again.

4. Build Consistent Wash Day & Moisturizing Routines

Consistency is the most important thing in every glow-up. Those small, beneficial habits rack up until you achieve your goal. The same principle applies when you’re trying to grow long natural hair fast.

Consistent, healthy, and manageable wash day and moisturizing routines will get you where you want to be. So take some time to map out what you’d be willing to commit to alongside your fave products and stay consistent. 

5. Protective Style A Loot!

When you’re looking to get long natural hair fast, you want to find a way to give your hair some space to grow and protect it from damage that might lead to breakage. The best way to do this is protective styling. Protective styling, when done properly, reduces the amount of manipulation your hair experiences and protects your ends from damage.

Styles such as flat twists, box braids, crochet braids, or faux locs are great options. If you’re interested in getting some crochet locs this summer, check out this article we did telling you literally everything you need to know before you get any type of crochet loc or faux loc.

6. Pamper Your Tresses with Some Treatments Once in a While

Similar to taking care of your face, your hair can benefit a lot from the occasional mask or treatment. The most common types of hair treatments are moisturizing treatments and protein treatments. These work to boost moisture levels and hair strength respectively.

If you notice that your usual moisture routine just isn’t cutting it anymore, or if it’s winter, then bust out one of your moisturizing masks.

If your hair is feeling a bit limp and kinda mushy or is breaking a lot more than usual, then it might be time for a protein boost. You’ll also want to incorporate protein treatments into your routine if you’ve had any type of chemical treatment done to your hair recently. But you can read all about protein treatments and when and how to do them here.

7. Massage Your Scalp

This one is a nice-to-have, but it makes a load of difference if you want to grow long natural hair. Scalp massages have been shown to increase hair thickness in cases with hair loss and in people who aren’t struggling with hair loss. There’s a debate out there on exactly how this works, but what we do know is it does work.

So try incorporating a 5-minute massage into your routine daily or as often as you can. Because whoever got mad at having thicker strands?!

Tip: Take advantage of your massage time to moisturize your scalp as well. Apply your favorite regular or growth oil and go to town.

Thanks for attending my little TED talk on how to grow your natural hair fast. 😁

Now go out there and be great,

XO