I’ve been asking colorists and hairstylists for their best hair growth secrets ever since I started highlighting, heat-torching, and administering overall havoc on my hair back in elementary school. (Yep, I was the girl sporting zebra highlights, temporary spray color, and tinsel-sprinkled fake hair clips in her fifth-grade yearbook picture.) Considering my natural hair is already finely textured and blonde, you’d think I’d take it easy with damage-invoking things like color, heat tools, extensions, etc., but apparently, it’s just in my DNA to ignore my lofty length goals by pushing my hair’s buttons and putting it through an undeserved ringer. (I’ve dabbled in extensions, I love my flat iron, and I once had almost all my hair bleached off my head.)
Suffice to say, my strands and I have been through a lot over the years, and even though I would say my hair is probably in the healthiest state it’s been in a long time, I’m always curious to know what I could be doing better. Not to mention my friends, family, and co-workers are constantly asking what they can do to make their hair grow faster. (Apparently, when your head is the comeback kid of the century, you become an unofficial expert in hair growth.)
Since I’m not actually an expert, I decided to ask celebrity stylist and colorist Anthony Holguin at West Hollywood’s Nine Zero One Salon how I can continue to make my hair grow faster despite my still-strong highlight habit. Holguin was the last person to color my fragile strands, and considering my hair has never looked or felt healthier post-color, he was pretty much the perfect person to compare notes with. Ahead, eight expert-approved tips to expedite hair growth. Keep scrolling!