It’s a common desire to want hair that grows faster, and with all hair types growing at different rates in different ways, there are countless hacks to promote more rapid hair growth.
How do you get Asian hair to grow faster? There is a little secret to hair growth that has been known to strengthen strands, stimulate growth, and improve the health of your scalp.
Rice water is the water left over after cooking or soaking rice and has been long believed to help hair grow faster. It’s easy to do at home and has been used for centuries in Japan, China and parts of Southeast Asia.
How does rice water work? And does Asian hair grow differently than Caucasian and African hair? Both of these questions are important in answering the question of how to make Asian hair grow faster.
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How Does Rice Water Work?
Rice water is incredibly starchy, as individual grains of rice contains about 75-80 percent starch. The water left behind after cooking or soaking the grains of rice is what is used as rice water to stimulate hair growth and healthier looking hair.
It’s thought that rice water contains vitamins and minerals contained in the grains of rice like the amino acids, B vitamins, Vitamin E, and antioxidants. Rice water is believed to help detangle hair, make it smoother, healthier, and help it grow. By soaking your hair in rice water, many believe that you can keep it much healthier for much longer.
In history, it is believed that Japanese women in the Heian period of 794 to 1185 CE had the floor lengthed hair; they would bathe in rice water to keep healthy. This history is why this technique is considered such a long-standing open secret for Japanese women.
Even in modern-day, the Yao women of Huangluo China are known for there, on average, 6 feet long hair. Their hair even maintains color before greying much longer than the average woman, and are said not to start getting grey hair until their 80s. According to the Yao women, all of this is because they bathe their hair in rice water.
What Are Other Ways to Stimulate Growth?
Of course, rice water isn’t the only way to help the growth of your hair. There are other everyday habits that you could have that could cause your hair not to grow as quickly as it is capable of.
Stop Using Steaming Hot Water
- This is likely a bother for those of us who adore using boiling hot water when we shower, but it could be damaging to your scalp and hair. Though cold water is known to decrease the chances of hair loss, that doesn’t mean you have to switch yourself to ice showers. Mild/medium heat showers will help avoid damaging your scalp, and a quick rinse with cool water at the end and your hair will be ready for the day
Stop Washing Your Hair Daily
- This one may seem a little gross, but this doesn’t mean stop bathing daily. Natural hair oils help promote growth and strength to your hair, but washing it with harsh shampoos and conditioners every day is stripping it of those natural oils. This can lead to dry scalp, slow hair growth, and even split ends. Try training your hair to last between washes without getting greasy.
Be Careful While Brushing
- Brushing your hair too harshly can cause serious breakage and damage as well as harm the cuticle. It’s also much more breakable and easy to damage while it’s wet. As such, make sure you use brushes intended for wet hair, and even while your hair is dry, use brushes and combs designed for your hair type to avoid causing damage and breakage to your hair.
Keep Damage to a Minimum
- You can do this in a lot of the obvious ways; stop using hot tools like straighteners, blow-dryers, and curlers on your hair. These tools are commonly known to cause damage to your hair and are not doing any favors if you want to grow your hair out. It’s also suggested, however, that you switch to silk pillowcases to avoid nighttime tangles, and to stop pulling your hair so tightly into ponytails.
Growth Stimulators
- Some vitamins and supplements are known to help stimulate hair growth, but you should talk to a nutritionist before considering them. There are also DIY hair masks of mustard seed, chili pepper, eggs, and other ingredients that people believe will stimulate the growth of your hair. Of course, all of these are different depending on the person recommending and avoid ingredients you could be allergic to.
Trimming Your Hair
- Though it is a myth that trimming your hair will grow faster, there is still a good reason to trim your hair when you’re trying to grow it out. When the ends of your hair begin to break and split, trimming them off can avoid further breakage while still maintaining your length to continue growing. It helps your hair look healthier and grow longer without having unwanted breakage and splitting.
Eating Right
- Proteins in your diet through nuts, whole grains, beans, and fish can help encourage hair growth from the inside out. It isn’t just about what you can do to your hair; your diet can also influence your hair’s growth. Takin in more Vitamins A, C, and E, for example, while also adding more protein to your diet can help your hair grow healthier and quicker.
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Does Asian Hair Grow Faster Than Others?
There are three different hair types, Asian, African, and Caucasian. Each of these hair types has different growth rates, densities, and other characteristics from each other that are important to know about when looking to find ways to grow your hair quicker.
Research has shown that Asian hair actually grows the fastest of the three hair types at about 1.4 centimeters per month. This is in comparison to Caucasian hair that grows at about 1.3 centimeters per month, and African hair that grows at about 0.9 centimeters per month.
Additionally, Asian hair has the lowest density of the three hair types. It is characterized as having an even round shape. The strands of hair are wider than the other ethnic groups, and the cuticle is often thicker than the other two.
Based on the average shape of the follicle of Asian hair, it’s most common for the hair to be incredibly straight as the follicle is completely round. This hair type is also considered less fragile than Caucasian hair; for example, when it breaks off, it breaks in large pieces while maintaining its original shape. This is in comparison to Caucasian hair that fragments while it falls off.
Conclusion
There are many different well-known ways to help stimulate the growth of all types of hair. Asian hair already has the advantage of growing faster, on average, than the other two types. It was in China and Japan that we found the communities of women with incredibly long healthy hair. It’s well known that Asia is where the idea of rice water baths for your hair could help stimulate the growth of your hair.
Though there are few scientific studies around the use of rice water, there is enough personal testimony to go around about the benefits of using rice water. That it’s easy to believe in its benefits for the strength and length of your hair.