“Does Hair Grow Faster in Summer? The Surprising Truth!”

Living in California, where our company is headquartered, I am always excited for the summer. The splendor of sun-kissed days filled with trips to the pool and beach, outdoor barbecues with family and friends, and new adventures is truly captivating. There’s something about spending time outdoors that feels refreshing.

We’ve all heard from a friend or seen on social media that hair grows faster in the summer. But is this true, or just another groundless urban myth? Let’s take a closer look. Warmer weather tends to make everything blossom, and many women observe that their hair seems to grow faster during the summer.

This isn’t just an observable fact but also something that many have experienced firsthand. The scientific proof lies in the effect of longer periods of sun and higher temperatures on hair growth. These conditions create an ideal environment for growth, making the summer season particularly beneficial for your hair.

Does Hair Grow Faster in Summer? The Answer

 Hair may grow about 10% faster in summer due to increased blood circulation and humidity, which bring more nutrients to the scalp. However, growth can vary with weather conditions and personal lifestyle. Sunshine and active, healthy habits often contribute to the perception of faster hair growth in summer. 

Factors Influencing Your Hair Growth

There are a wide range of factors that can lead to slow or fast hair growth, some of which are out of your control. If you desire a healthy, full head of hair, it can be frustrating to hear that some factors you have zero control over are the reason why your hair isn’t as strong and healthy as it once was.

Fortunately, the health of your hair isn’t completely out of your control. Natural ingredients can support and encourage hair growth. By making certain lifestyle changes, you can help improve the health and growth of your hair.

Inheritance

An individual’s genes can determine how fast hair will grow, with research showing that genetics have a big influence on hair in terms of length, density, texture, and color. Luckily, genetics don’t have the final say on hair health.

Clinical tests have proven that natural and botanical ingredients can help improve it. There are steps you can take, such as adjusting how you style your hair and choosing the right products to use.

Endocrine Hormones

Many factors influence hair growth, including your hormones. For example, male hair grows quicker than female hair. Estrogen and progesterone play a part in the thickness and quality of your hair, with changes in these hormones affecting your hair during pregnancy, postpartum, and menopause.

Whether your hormone levels are unstable, stable, or elevated, they will influence how well your hair grows and its quality. Since hormones are the building blocks for everything in your body, they significantly affect hair growth. The good news is that you can balance your hormones with a healthy lifestyle and by keeping your stress levels down.

Senescence

As we age, changes in hair become more noticeable. For male individuals, these changes are often most pronounced in their 30s and 40s, when hair loss and greying occur. For women, changes in hair happen at specific moments in life.

During pregnancy, hair may appear full and healthy, but postpartum, it may thin and fall out due to hormonal changes. As people get older, some follicles may stop working completely, leading to thinner hair or even baldness.

Overall Health

How healthy you are is often reflected in how fast your hair grows. Conditions like thyroid imbalances or being deficient in key nutrients can greatly affect the rate at which your hair grows. Maintaining good health is crucial for promoting faster hair growth during the summer or any other season.

Read Also: Do Curly Hair Really Grow Slower?

Nutritional Values

Good nutrition is vital for growing and maintaining healthy hair. Ensure your diet includes all the necessary nutrients and vitamins required for healthy hair. Eating food rich in proteins and carbohydrates like avocado, salmon, wheat, and green leafy vegetables is essential.

Taking supplements that contain vitamins, iron, zinc, magnesium, biotin, and folic acid is also a key factor in encouraging hair growth. A healthy, balanced diet ensures our bodies are fueled with the right nutrients to function well.

A diet rich in key vitamins, minerals, fats, and proteins will support hair health. Staying hydrated is crucial as water is vital for all bodily functions to work smoothly. 

Lifestyle Changes

Your day-to-day habits are a key determining factor in how fast your hair grows. If you smoke or drink and don’t get regular exercise, it can slow your hair growth because your body’s system isn’t supported and is overloaded with toxins.

Exercising a few times a week can encourage your body to metabolize and remove toxins through sweating. If you don’t enjoy going to the gym, try other forms of movement like walking, dancing, or playing sports. These activities can help significantly.

Hair Care Routine

Incorporating the right hair care practices can encourage hair growth. Using a derma roller on your scalp can stimulate and restore your hair’s natural growth cycle. Pair it with a hair growth serum rich in restorative nutrients to support your hair cycle and reduce hair loss.

While heat styling doesn’t determine hair growth, it can affect your hair and scalp health. Avoid overexposure to heat to prevent drying, breakage, and hair snapping, which makes your hair look lackluster.

Quality Sleep

Getting quality sleep can greatly affect hair growth. When we sleep, our body begins its repair and regeneration processes. Since hair growth is not paramount to our body’s working, our bodies instinctively know not to prioritize it. Therefore, improving overall health and ensuring high-quality sleep can significantly boost hair growth.

Minimize Stress

Stress plays a huge part in causing your hair growth to be stunted. It affects your quality of life, hormones, and overall health. Numerous studies have shown the negative effects of stress on our bodies. To grow your hair long and fast, make sure to stay on top of your stress levels and relax whenever possible.

Does Hair Actually Grow Faster in the Summer?

The sun and heat can indeed enhance hair growth. Human hair tends to grow faster during the summer by about 10% compared to colder weather. A study by the National Institute of Health found that seasonal changes can cause differences in hair growth.

Factors like increased humidity and blood circulation during warm weather contribute to this effect. In the winter season, blood pools around the torso to keep internal organs warm, leading to cold hands and feet. In the summer season, blood flow is more efficient, allowing blood to circulate better throughout the body, bringing more nutrients to the scalp, which can result in slightly faster hair growth.

However, whether hair grows faster in the summer can also depend on what summer means for you. If your summer involves rain, clouds, and the occasional gust of wind, then the season alone may do nothing for your hair growth.

But if you enjoy warm air and sunshine, you might see an extra lengthening of your strands. The belief that hair grows faster in the summer could be partly attributed to hair lightening in the sun and lifestyle changes. During the summer, people are often more active, eating healthier and fresher foods, and feeling less stressed due to holidays.

These key factors within your control can encourage hair growth, suggesting that if you incorporate the same practices throughout the year, you can maintain similar results. Spending more time outdoors during the warmer months means more exposure to sunlight, making hair appear fuller and shinier.

Why does Hair Grow Faster in Summer?

It’s not just about the calendar months; good weather and the benefits it brings play a huge role in why hair grows faster in summer. Higher temperatures mean your body doesn’t need to work as hard to keep itself warm.

This allows blood circulation to focus on the skin and scalp. The enhanced blood-flow delivers essential nutrients and oxygen needed for keratin production. Keratin, a protein, is essential for hair growth, helping your locks grow faster and healthier.

Another reason is the infamous vitamin D. According to Healthline, vitamin D helps in stimulating hair follicles. Without enough vitamin D, new hair growth can be stunted. Since its primary source is basking in the sun, summer naturally boosts its levels.

On average, human hair grows about 1.25 cm a month. Lifestyle changes, stress levels, and genetics as mentioned above will also influence the growth rate. The speed at which hair moves through its three stages—anagen stage (growth), catagen stage (transition), and telogen stage (rest)—of hair growth cycle is dependent on these factors, making it unique to each individual.

Why does My Hair Seem to Grow Slower in Winter?

If it feels like your hair takes forever to grow in winter, you’re not imagining things. Hair growth does slow down in the colder months. Before you start panicking about why your hair isn’t growing as fast as you want, it’s important to remember that hair growth is a process that happens gradually. Even if it seems like your hair is growing slowly, it’s still growing, just more slowly than usual.

There are a few reasons why hair growth slows down in winter. One reason is the lack of sunlight. Sunlight can make hair appear fuller and shinier, and it can also stimulate hair growth. Additionally, winter is a time of year when we tend to be more stressed.

Stress has negative effects on our bodies, including slowing hair growth. So if you’re feeling stressed about the holidays or worried about the cold weather, try to relax and take some time for yourself. Your hair will thank you!

The other causes of slow hair development in winter are dehydration and a lack of moisture. The dry air takes moisture out of your hair, making it dry, stiff, and prone to breakage. Exposure to chilly temperatures can weaken your hair shafts, making them brittle.

In harsh winters, you may also experience windburn, which can be damaging to your skull and weaken its ability to grow hair.

Final Thoughts

A wholesome diet with nutritious foods like biotin, vitamin C, B vitamins, omega-3 fatty acids, and minerals such as zinc and iron is key for a healthy body and healthy hair all year long. The NIH study confirms that hair grows faster in summer.

So, if you want to grow out a bad haircut or get lusher brows using EES, summer is the best time. Keep following my blogs for the latest trends in haircare, beneficial health, wellness tips, and much more. Always be informed, encouraged, and empowered. Most importantly, be yourself.

FAQs

Which season does hair grow faster?

Hair grows about 10% faster in the summer because your blood is constantly circulating to cool your body down. This increase in blood circulation leads to cell growth and an efficient system, resulting in increased hair growth.

Why does my hair grow slower in winter?

In the summer, hair grows faster due to increased blood circulation and cell growth. However, in the winter, the primary causes of slow hair development are dehydration and a lack of moisture. The dry air makes hair dry, stiff, and prone to breakage. Exposure to chilly temperatures can also weaken and make hair shafts brittle.

What causes hair to grow fast?

Genetics play a major role in how quickly your hair will grow. A person’s genes can dictate this process. Male hair typically grows faster than female hair. Age is another factor; hair grows fastest between the ages of 15 and 30 before slowing down. As people get older, some follicles may stop working altogether.

Does humidity make your hair grow faster?

Many people think their hair has grown faster over the summer, but there’s no proof that humidity enhances hair growth, It might just be an observation bias.