Ever stand in line at the grocery store and find yourself wishing your hair looked remotely close to the celebrities featured on magazine covers? The secrets to many of the stars healthy, full, and vibrant hair can work for you. The good news is that these tips do not require a large bank account. They are as good for the common man and woman as they are the celebrities.

How to Make Hair Grow Faster and Thicker? Let’s break it down into 4 categories, those being bath, style, salon, and health.

While Bathing

Lose the Sulfate

A common misconception is the cleaner my hair is the healthier it should be. This is not necessarily so. Shampooing too often dries hair out. For those that deal with hair breaking, this should be a primary focus. The less one shampoos their hair, the more hydrated it will be which in turn prevents hair from breaking.

How to preserve the natural oils your hair has when shampooing is another area to take into consideration. When looking for hair shampoo, look for sulfate-free formulas. They will lack, or have none, of the harsher ingredients that are found in the formulas with sulfate. These harsh ingredients remove your hairs natural oils. You can also choose to use a shampoo for hair loss which contains DHT blockers, amino acids, keratin, caffeine, biotin or argan oil. These ingredients will help promote hair growth.

What is the purpose of shampoo? It is not to clean the hair fiber. Shampoo is designed to remove oil and buildup from the scalp, so when applying focus on the scalp area, not the hair.

Increasing Circulation with Massage

So, we now know that shampoo should be applied to the scalp, since that is the area it is designed to clean. You can help your scalp in two ways when it is time to clean it by massaging the shampoo into your scalp. This will “stimulate” the circulation, thereby ensuring that your hair follicles are receiving the proper nutrients all the while cleaning your scalp.

There are shampoos available that include oils such as eucalyptus or peppermint. These types of oils also help increase circulation.

Conditioner

Do you use conditioner on the days you do not shampoo? This is another step you can take to keep your hair well hydrated. This can not be emphasized enough – well hydrated hair is less prone to splits and breaking.

Styling

Brushing

The way you brush your hair may actually be hurting your hair’s health and appearance more than helping. When brushing through the wet tangles, try not to use a small tooth comb. Instead, gently use a wide tooth comb from your roots to the hair ends. Don’t force the issue, as this creates split ends.

It’s Hot

You do not want to damage your hair’s cuticles, and applying hot tools to your hair will do just this. If you need to apply heat, try coating your wet locks with a moisturizing product, preferably creamy.

For those who need heat, ionic dryers and ceramic irons work best. Be certain that they have uniformly heated plates, as this will allow you to go over a section just once.

While in the Salon

Easy with the Scissors

If your stylist suggests a haircut to stimulate growth, seek a second opinion. The reason is simple, haircuts do not stimulate growth. Instead, ask for your ends to be trimmed.

Keratin

Once you have made the decision to grow out your hair, consider seeking a keratin treatment. This should be done every 8 weeks. By smoothing out the texture of your hair, it will be less necessary to use dryers and hot tools.

If your hair is colored or straightened chemically, a keratin coating will help prevent further damage.

Health Related

Supplements

There is a host of supplements available that will enrich your diet with essential nutrients to encourage the hair growth cycle. Zinc, biotin, Vitamin D and iron are among the best hair growth vitamins. Some people also find a basic multivitamin, taken in conjunction with biotin and a fish oil, serves them well. The key is to recognize that your hair follicles need certain nutrients for each phase of the cycle.

Medication

For the ladies, some birth control pills have a side effect of hair thinning. While the evidence is not clear on this being a direct cause, bear in mind that any changes to a woman’s hormones can result in hair loss. Seek guidance from a medical professional if you have reason to believe this is happening to you.

Stress

When a human is experiencing stress, there is a release of hormones that can result in hair thinning over time. This is an area that every person can stand to improve in their life, reductions in stress. So, why not incorporate some of the aforementioned methods to reduce your stress?

Begin your day with a scalp massage all the while using a oil enriched shampoo. This will increase circulation to your scalp, improve the scalps hydration, and finally lowering your stress level.