You can only maintain the same crew cut or high and tight for so long before you wonder how to grow out your hair—and what life is like on the other side. What is it like to grow your hair out? you wonder to yourself. It must be so nice to run a hand through it, to slow-motion shake it back and forth after a shower, like a dog that’s drying itself off. And let us tell you: Yes, it is so nice to do these things. Plus, long hair looks really good on most guys, when it’s healthy and grown out with a bit of care and planning.
But you need to know that growing your hair out requires far more than simply growing your hair out. It’s not an excuse to wear a hat for 18 months and expect a neatly layered, nourished, Jason Momoa or Jared Leto moment on the other side. Instead, it starts with a few products, and proper intervals with your barber and eventually, with your stylist. (Yes, you are about to graduate from barbershops to salons. It’s one of the many exciting parts of the journey ahead.)
Here is our advice for how to grow out your hair, with as few headaches and awkward phases along the way.
Stay Focused
The first thing you need to accept is that it’s going to be a tedious, often awkward journey. You’re going to have a few new haircuts en route. You’re going to learn how to use new products and style your hair in different ways, only to change them out as it continues to grow. It’s kind of like losing or gaining a bunch of weight: You don’t fit in the stuff you used to, and so you have to adjust for the change and grow comfortable with constant change. Eventually, though it’s a year or more away, you will tuck that hair effortlessly behind your ear, or feel it sweep across the tippy tops of your shoulders. And it’ll all be worth it.
Speed Up Hair Growth with Supplements
One way to grow your hair out faster (and stronger) is to supplement it with the right pills and potions. Some doctors will tell you to take biotin and call it good, but there’s more out there that will expedite hair growth and strengthen it at the follicle, so that your hair stays strong for the long haul. Find vitamin-enriched serums that you can massage into the scalp, or ingest herbal supplements that thwart things like stress, hair-thinning hormones, and environmental toxins.
Consider Proactive Hair Loss Measures
While you’ve got enough hair in the first place (after all, you’re growing it out and showcasing it), it’s not a bad idea to fight hair loss simultaneously. That is, to slow down its advances, so that you can maintain your enviable hairline, or fortify the hairs you do have. This way, each follicle continues to grow strong, and you might even resuscitate some dormant follicles in the process, meaning you’ll have even more hair to show off. Visit your doctor to discuss prescriptions for finasteride (now available as a generic, though you might know it as Propecia), and minoxidil (often called Rogaine, and available over the counter). Finasteride blocks the hormones that lead to hair loss, allowing it to grow undeterred (or with slower advances of loss), while minoxidil increases blood flow and nutrient delivery to the scalp and the hair follicles, making them stronger. Your doctor will help monitor the process and will warn you of any risks involved with taking these drugs.
Some companies, like Hims and Keeps, also allow you to “meet” with a dermatologist online, and then receive these products (prescription included) via the mail. It’s fast, cheap, and easy—just don’t forget to check in with your doctor regularly.
Switch Your Hair Products
Gone are the days of waxes, fibers, and clays. You’re in a new lane now, so the texturizing products that you relied on for short, choppy styles are no longer suitable. Instead, you have to switch to lighter products that you can apply to towel-dried hair, in order to tame it as it grows.
