Dermatologist shares 'truth' about growing long hair as quickly as possible

A dermatologist has shared the real reason certain people aren’t seeing the hair growth results they want.

‘Rapunzel hair’ has been a favoured trend in recent years, with lots of women sporting locks that reach below their hips and even longer in some cases. Many people wish to grow their hair longer - and faster - and often venture to social media for tips and advice.

Like many experts and aficionados, Dr Aamna Adel, a dermatologist based in London, has taken to TikTok to share her knowledge. She recently explained why some people have luscious long locks while others can’t get their hair to grow past their shoulders. She captioned the clip: “This is why you can't grow long hair (and it's not your fault).”

She said: “Have you ever wondered why some people can grow their hair all the way down to their butt and no matter what you do, you can’t grow past your boobies?

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“Well, allow me to explain. I’m a dermatologist, I specialise in hair, and it all comes down to this” - she then gestured to an image of the hair growth cycle. She continued: “Your hair growth cycle. So, every single strand of hair on your head is in a different part of the hair growth cycle, so it’s either growing, it’s chilling, or it’s falling out.

“Now, all the Rapunzels out there spend way more time in the growing phase which can literally be anywhere from two years all the way up to six years. So, you can imagine, if your hair’s only growing for two years before it falls out, it’s going to be way shorter than hair that’s had chance to grow for six years.

“Okay, and I know what you’re going to be thinking - how come some people are blessed to have a long growth phase while you’ve got a short growth phase? Then, you need to thank mum and dad because even though age, diet and hair breakage can all affect how long your hair grows, genetics is the most important factor."

People shared their thoughts beneath the video. One commenter said: “For everyone wondering, no you can't change this, unless there's breakage or something else stopping your hair from growing you can not lengthen past your max length.”

Another said: “So glad I got my dad’s hair genetics! My mom has always had barely any hair and it doesn’t grow past her chin.”