Does Cutting Your Hair Really Make It Grow Faster?
You’ve probably heard it a million times—from your mom, your best friend, or even your hairdresser—that getting regular haircuts will make your hair grow faster. This idea is so widespread it’s almost like a universal beauty truth. But guess what? It’s just not true. Hair growth kicks off at the follicle level, deep beneath the scalp, and this biological process isn’t affected by how often you snip the ends.
When you visit your barber or salon for a trim, your stylist is really just cutting off the ends of your hair. Sure, this can make your hair look healthier and get rid of split ends that might otherwise cause breakage. But these are all about hair maintenance, not hair growth. How fast your hair grows is actually determined by things like genetics, age, health, and hormones—all things that have nothing to do with how often you cut your hair.
On average, hair grows about half an inch per month. This growth rate stays pretty consistent, no matter how many times you get a haircut. Some people might feel like their hair grows faster after a trim, but that’s just an illusion. When you get rid of split ends, your hair looks fuller and healthier, which can make it seem like it’s growing faster. In reality, the growth rate hasn’t changed—it’s just that healthy hair looks better.
Regular haircuts do come with their own set of perks. Trimming your hair every six to eight weeks can stop split ends from traveling up the hair shaft, which keeps your hair looking and feeling healthier. Healthy hair tends to be shinier and thicker, and it’s less likely to break, which can make it appear longer and stronger over time. But remember, these benefits are all about keeping the hair you already have in good shape, not speeding up the growth of new hair.
Hair follicles, which are located in the dermis layer of your skin, are responsible for producing hair. Each follicle goes through a cycle of growth, rest, and shedding. The growth phase, or anagen phase, can last anywhere from two to six years, during which hair grows continuously. After this phase, hair enters a resting phase (telogen) before eventually shedding and being replaced by new growth. This cycle is mostly controlled by genetic and hormonal factors, so it doesn’t change based on whether you get regular trims.
While regular trims are crucial for keeping your hair healthy and looking good, they don’t speed up hair growth. Hair grows from the follicle beneath the scalp at a pretty constant rate, determined by factors largely out of our control. So, keep up with those hair appointments for the sake of appearance and health, but don’t expect them to make your hair grow faster.
Dr. Matthew Lopresti