# Does anything really make your hair grow faster? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 30, 2012, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anything-really-make-your-hair-grow-faster/611186 "2012-01-30T14:24:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anything-really-make-your-hair-grow-faster/611186/1 "2012-01-30T14:24:40Z")
When I was a kid _Seventeen_ always had those back pages full of hair growth pills and such. Silly, yes. But I’d like to have longer hair by the time my wedding rolls around (I have until October - well, let’s say August or September because of pictures) - not Crystal Gayle longer, just long enough to give me more options. Does biotin work? Is there anything else that does? (Actually, and safely?) ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anything-really-make-your-hair-grow-faster/611186/2 "2012-01-30T15:20:50Z")
Getting pregnant does cause your hair to grow well…but that may not be a good strategy for a wedding. ---
**Author:** ![Unstable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/65b543/32.png) [@Unstable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unstable)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anything-really-make-your-hair-grow-faster/611186/3 "2012-01-30T15:44:11Z")
I took biotin a while back to help strengthen my fingernails. It helped them grow out a bit faster too but I can’t confirm this 100%. I did also note a slight difference in my hair growth as well, it seemed to grow in a bit faster and was definitely thicker and stronger. It takes a few months to see results but it’s the only supplement I know of that targets hair and nail growth. Some have developped acne while taking biotin (I did not experience this) otherwise there are no side effects that are notable. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anything-really-make-your-hair-grow-faster/611186/4 "2012-01-30T17:52:58Z")
I take biotin supplements and can confirm that they do make nails and hair grow a bit faster and a lot stronger - which helps, because you get less breakage/split ends. However, if you reallyreallyreally want longer hair, I suspect nothing you take will work fast “enough.” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anything-really-make-your-hair-grow-faster/611186/5 "2012-01-30T18:34:44Z")
Well, it doesn’t need to be tons longer, just long enough to curl without looking like Annette Funicello, or a little old lady, both of which invited comparison last night when I dusted off my hot rollers. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anything-really-make-your-hair-grow-faster/611186/6 "2012-01-30T20:12:58Z")
Hair extensions or an updo with a hairpiece are good options for wedding hair. I wouldn’t want to risk the acne side effects, because your face matters more than your hair in those pictures. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anything-really-make-your-hair-grow-faster/611186/7 "2012-01-30T20:19:59Z")
Some people find that taking a prenatal vitamin helps, pregnant or not. Check with your doctor first if you take anything else or have any health conditions, of course. I swear by horsetail (Equisetum arvense) and nettles (Urtica dioica) for improving the look of nails and hair, but I don’t know that there’s any scientific proof for that, just my experience and a few thousand years of traditional use. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2012, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anything-really-make-your-hair-grow-faster/611186/8 "2012-01-31T17:27:32Z")
> [@rachelellogram](#): > > Hair extensions or an updo with a hairpiece are good options for wedding hair. I wouldn’t want to risk the acne side effects, because your face matters more than your hair in those pictures. No. Way. For one thing, I don’t need it that long, and for another… just no. ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2012, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anything-really-make-your-hair-grow-faster/611186/9 "2012-01-31T17:39:51Z")
In Durk Pearson’s long and (as Linus Pauling put it) “somewhat confusing” book [Life Extension](http://www.amazon.com/Life-Extension-Durk-Pearson/dp/044651229X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1328031165&sr=8-1), he states that supplementation with the sulfur-containing amino cysteine (_not cystine_—there’s a difference) will increase hair growth, making it at least thicker. He also states that cysteine is routinely added to the feed of wool-producing sheep, because it increases total wool output by 14%. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2012, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anything-really-make-your-hair-grow-faster/611186/10 "2012-01-31T18:38:17Z")
[Peanut butter](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089789/). Just don’t mix it too runny. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Illuminatiprimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/illuminatiprimus/32/11520_2.png) [@Illuminatiprimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Illuminatiprimus)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2012, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anything-really-make-your-hair-grow-faster/611186/11 "2012-02-01T11:54:00Z")
I’ve been through a course of hair replacement/rejuvination therapy (and yes it worked). Part of that was using a shampoo that made your hair grow more quickly, and holy mother did it work. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2012, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anything-really-make-your-hair-grow-faster/611186/12 "2012-02-01T12:16:49Z")
Whenever I’ve been out in the sun for several days in a row, my hair and nails grow like the bejezus and I have to shave more often. So vitamin D? ---
**Author:** ![Oly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oly/32/8255_2.png) [@Oly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oly)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2012, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anything-really-make-your-hair-grow-faster/611186/13 "2012-02-01T13:44:08Z")
I suggest [wearing platform soles](http://bigthink.com/ideas/37974). ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anything-really-make-your-hair-grow-faster/611186/15 "2013-05-15T16:53:17Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > … long enough to give me more options. In husbands? ---
**Author:** ![Tethered\_Kite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a5b964/32.png) [@Tethered\_Kite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tethered_Kite)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anything-really-make-your-hair-grow-faster/611186/16 "2013-05-15T17:09:02Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Some people find that taking a prenatal vitamin helps, pregnant or not. Check with your doctor first if you take anything else or have any health conditions, of course. I’ve noticed that growth of my hair and nails fluctuates. It seems dependent on my overall state of health. During both pregnancies my hair grew especially fast and I suspect that pregnancy and the prenatal vitamin both played a part. Some people claim that by daily scalp massage you keep a good blood flow to the scalp which encourages faster growth. ---
**Author:** ![dstarfire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dstarfire/32/5762_2.png) [@dstarfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dstarfire)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anything-really-make-your-hair-grow-faster/611186/17 "2013-05-15T21:31:55Z")
Unfortunately, it’s well documented that zombies can NOT grow hair, and actually tend to lose any they have rather quickly. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anything-really-make-your-hair-grow-faster/611186/18 "2013-05-15T22:01:45Z")
My mother-in-law, on advice from another old lady from the shtetl (Jewish hick village in The Old Country) for a while–recently, in NYC–washed her hair with onions to thicken her hair. I shit you not. How my brilliant wife turned out the way she is still amazes me. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anything-really-make-your-hair-grow-faster/611186/19 "2013-05-15T22:03:13Z")
> [@dstarfire](#): > > Unfortunately, it’s well documented that zombies can NOT grow hair, and actually tend to lose any they have rather quickly. How quickly? Real question. Not about zombies, but normal still-dead people. ---
**Author:** ![Lasciel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e79b87/32.png) [@Lasciel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lasciel)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anything-really-make-your-hair-grow-faster/611186/20 "2013-05-15T22:47:36Z")
Depends very strongly on how they’re stored. Mummies (or stored in very arid conditions) don’t actually lose much at all. There are mummies of [children](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosalia_Lombardo)with creepily perfect hair, even down to the fair downy hairs on their faces and arms. If a corpse is left out in the open, hair will either get harvested by various birds and animals, or will “fall out” when the skin decomposes to the point that the hair can get tugged or blown free of the body. That can happen within DAYS depending on conditions. In a coffin? Somewhere between mummies and open-air corpses, depending on the humidity, the air content, and the seal on the coffin. Check out this [wiki](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_farm)about how we study the processes now: NOTE - NOT FOR THE SQUEAMISH OR FAINT OF HEART. ---
**Author:** ![Lasciel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e79b87/32.png) [@Lasciel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lasciel)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anything-really-make-your-hair-grow-faster/611186/21 "2013-05-15T22:54:55Z")
Computer froze and I couldn’t edit again: the wiki linked is to a general overview of the locations of the research facilities - the links and resources at the bottom have the actual articles on studies of decomposition. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anything-really-make-your-hair-grow-faster/611186.md?page=2)