Hair Cut to Stimulate Growth?

Updated on November 06, 2008
J.W. asks from Pasco, WA
25 answers

Hi, My 19 month old daughter has very fine wispy hair. Some people have recently told me that cutting her hair will make it grow in thicker. I've always thought that was just a wives tale. I'm reluctant to cut off any of her hair that has already taken so long to come in. But if any of you say that this actually works, I might give it a try.
Thanks!

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L.M.

answers from Richland on

I am a hairdresser and it is NOT true! Nothing you do to the ends of hair will stimulate growth, because that takes place in the follicles. I think where this comes from is the idea that when adults have long hair that is split or damaged, it is better to cut the bad ends off because otherwise it will break off and then the ends will look thinner. If her hair is long enough to cut some and make it look more blunt, that may help, other wise just let it grow and go for cute headbands until it grows in!

2 moms found this helpful
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J.K.

answers from Portland on

Don't cut!!! Hair grows from the roots, not the ends. It's all based on genetics. Leave her beautiful lockes... they'll get thicker on their own as she grows.

1 mom found this helpful
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A.F.

answers from Portland on

Hi!
My daughter has the same kind of hair. Cutting it did not make it grow back any thicker but cutting it into a shorter bob with bangs makes it LOOK not as thin and is super cute. Just an idea!
Take Care!
A.

1 mom found this helpful

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K.V.

answers from Portland on

check these out:

http://www.ehow.com/how_###-###-####_make-hair-grow-thick...

http://hairloss.about.com/od/thehairgrowthcycle/f/Cutting...

http://womentodaymagazine.com/beauty/longhair.html

maybe these websites will be a bit more reliable than some of the mom's on here! remember this too: your daughter will look back on pictures and see only thin hair not some buzz or super short cut. let her hair be as it may. it'll grow and be thicker before you know it. my son was bald until he was almost 3 and of my 4 kids (the other 3 are girls who were born with far more hair!), he has the thickest hair today.

2 moms found this helpful
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K.B.

answers from Portland on

Hi Jeanette,
I don't think cutting her hair will make it grow in "thicker" but I think what they mean is that it will "look" thicker. Sometimes when you take off those wispy ends, it looks fuller - true with adult hair also...not just the kids!
Hope that helps..
K.

1 mom found this helpful
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L.R.

answers from Portland on

Cutting her hair won't make it grow thicker, but it will probably appear thicker because all of the wispy ends will be gone.

1 mom found this helpful
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K.C.

answers from Portland on

Cutting her hair won't make it thicker. However by trimming the ends it could make her hair look healthier and a bit thicker.

1 mom found this helpful
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A.H.

answers from Portland on

You're right will not make it grow in thicker. However, it will give her hair a healthier look to remove the wispy ends. I used to baby-sit a girl with similar hair and I finally convinced her father to cut it into a short bob with bangs. It made her look much cleaner and simply adorable.

1 mom found this helpful
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M.H.

answers from Seattle on

I agree with most of the responses you've already received. That it won't actually make it thicker or even grow in thicker (only time can do that) but it will appear thicker. Or really just more stylish.

Most moms are afraid to cut their daughters hair. It took so long to come in that they don't want to cut it off. But most kids at that age have very thin, stringy hair. I did the same with my first daughter I look back at pictures and don't know what I was thinking. I then decided to cut my second daughters hair into a cute bob right when it was below her ears and it was super cute and then I just let it grow from
there.

Anyway, just my 2 cents worth.

1 mom found this helpful

D.J.

answers from Seattle on

In my culture the little girls hair would be shaved, not cut at least 3 times by 12 months. I'm not sure if this is true or just good genetic path, but I know for sure that the short hair grows faster and is ticker. And yes, the women in my culture has beautiful hair. Just shave your legs and you will see the darker, ticker provement of that. May be you should just tream her hair. There is at least some logic in that, a root can feed better a smaller piece.

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J.S.

answers from Seattle on

I haven't heard about it coming in thicker, but healthy hair grows quicker. So cutting it does actually help it grow longer. After 19 months changes are her hair needs a little shaping anyhow. Don't worry about anything major, just a small trim.

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B.G.

answers from Seattle on

Why does your baby need thicker hair right now? Most babies have very fine hair. Just be patient. It will thicken up by the time she is 3 or 4.

There is no evidence that shaving ones head will thicken their hair.

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M.M.

answers from Seattle on

Cutting hair does not make it grow in thicker. I have read up so much on this and it is not true. I would say trim it to make it look better and be healthier, but don't cut it all off.

I think when we cut hair off all the way and then it grows back in, we think it is coming in thicker because of the contrast between no hair and hair coming in, not that it is really thicker!

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T.O.

answers from Seattle on

Yes it will! My mom cuts hair and swears by it. Also, I have three kids and we have cut all of their hair from 4 months on. It worked for my sons and my daughter. Her hair is not thicker, but looks thicker and more stylish, plus it will grow faster if the ends are trimmed regularly. We cut her's into a bob and it looks adorable.

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T.H.

answers from Seattle on

Hi J.!

As far as I'm concerned it's an old wives tale. I am now 52 and mom was always having my hair cut short as a child and young teen. To this day I still have very fine thin hair. My 3 daughters 27,26 and 16, were very lucky to be born with thick curly hair(though they are all ways doing what they can to make it straight!).

Hope this was helpful.
T.

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W.C.

answers from Seattle on

Leave it to it's own growth. I've had friends who had hair like that and it's grown into lush hair but just taken later.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

D.H.

answers from Seattle on

A beautitian told me to trim my daughter's hair
(who had thin whispy hair) and that it would grow thicker. I think when you cut the strands of hair, they become thicker strands, not more hair folicles. Kind of like once you started shaving your legs, goodbye peach fuzz hello brillo pad! LOL Anyway, I do know that keeping the ends trimmed helps the growth and avoids the breaking of and split ends of the hair itself.

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L.M.

answers from Seattle on

I have two girls with super fine blonde hair.. I finally trimed her hair around 2 year old.. wish i would of done is sooner so many people notcied and it was just to clean up the scragley ends.. :)
Lenc

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A.T.

answers from Portland on

My children have VERY fine hair as babies and toddlers. But I just left it be, and by 3 their hair was growing in thicker all by itself. I would cut it to style it if needed, but I think you'll find that their hair will grow in nicely just fine in a couple of years. (I have a 14 month old where his hair is so fine it often looks like he's bald in pics - and a 3 and a 5 year old with very nice hair now).

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M.S.

answers from Portland on

My daughter's hair was the same way, and I was so desperate for more hair that I was totally unwilling to cut ANY off. She didn't have enough hair to cut until she was 3, but once we did cut it, it did grow WAY faster and thicker.

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T.B.

answers from Seattle on

Hi J.,

I don't know about cutting as an a solution at this stage...but I can tell you there's only one reason I ever get up at six a.m. (ugh!) - if you happen to be in Poulsbo today, I'm doing a show - I make / sell an unbeatable product - a Non Slip hair barrette that can stay put on (literally) a single strand of hair - SO, no matter HOW FINE her hair, she can take her own sweet time growing it in and look absolutely adorable in the process!! The show is a holiday fundraiser for the North Kitsap High School and I sell at a great discount at this particular show - you can find a link on my homepage (http://www.maidenus.com) or catch a very short blog about it on my blog (http://www.tristansepinion.blogspot.com - just scroll down past the blog at the top declaring this the Year of The Pansy! :-). And, if you read the press page on my website, you can see the chance you'll be absolutely stunned at how great they work is pretty darned high (actually, one mom sent in a photo that is stunning - I've never seen them in that little hair myself and I've been selling them now for several years)!

Enjoy that wispy hair that will be gone long before you know it!!! And I can tell you from my own experience, some with the thickest hair in the world now started with NOTHING (I was practically a bald baby!).

Warmest Regards,
T. B.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

M.H.

answers from Seattle on

I had the same dilemma this summer when my daughter was 19 mo. I didn't want to cut her hair when it took so long to grow, but I finally broke down and cut it. Honestly, I would have cut it sooner if I knew how much better it looked with all the wispy hairs evened out. It looks thicker and seems to grow faster now. I know how hard it is to decide on that first hair cut, but for me it was worth it.

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H.D.

answers from Seattle on

I agree with some of the responses already. The only thing I would suggest is to just keep brushing/combing your daughter's hair into styles. Put her hair into ponytails, braids whatever. That's what stimulates hair growth. I have been putting barrettes in my daughter's hair since she was born. She always had something done to her hair, and now she is 6 with hair down past her bottom.

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H.D.

answers from Portland on

Not gonna help. Hate to tell you! We had our first son's hair cut at his 2nd birthday. It was his first cut. It has been over six months, and he just got his second cut and all he needed was a trim. My second son was born with more hair, but at 14 mos, still is a baldilocks with wisps that look like a mullet. I'm not cutting them yet. But both my husband and I were baldilocks, and neither of us have a lack of hair now!! So just wait and give it time. Think of it this way, you are saving $$! I can only imagine that it would be rough with a girl, but time!!

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J.R.

answers from Seattle on

I don't know if it actually makes it grow thicker, but I do think that "baby hair" is thinner. We just cut our 3 year old sons hair for the first time - it was not particularly thin, but when we cut it, it was MUCH thicker.

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