How to Grow Curly Hair: Keep the Length You Already Grow
How to grow curly hair comes down to keeping the length you already grow: curly hair mostly seems to grow slowly because shrinkage hides its length and its ends break off, so growing it long depends on less breakage, not on faster growth. How fast your hair grows is set by your body; what care can change is how much of that length snaps off along the way. In practice that means five things: detangle gently, go easy on heat, trim the ends you would lose anyway, loosen tight styles and protect the ends at night.
Why curly hair seems to grow slowly
Curly hair seems to grow slowly because of two things, shrinkage and breakage at the ends, and only one of them actually removes length.
Shrinkage means curly hair drawing up into its wave, curl or coil as it dries, so the hair looks shorter than its stretched length. Among the curly hair types, many people with tighter patterns find their hair shrinks more. Shrinkage takes no length away; it only hides it, which is why curly hair can keep growing for months and still look much the same in the mirror.
Breakage is the part that does remove length. Every bend in a curly strand is a point where the strand takes more stress when it is combed, pulled or rubbed, and where neighbouring strands can wrap around each other into knots. The ends are the oldest part of each hair, so they have been through the most washing, combing and friction, and a piece that snaps off the end takes with it length that grew months before. When the ends break off about as fast as new length appears at the roots, the hair stays at much the same length however long you wait.
Can you make curly hair grow faster?
You cannot make curly hair grow faster: how fast hair grows is set by your body, through your genes, your age and your health. Hair is made at the root, under the skin, and washing, conditioning, styling and sleeping all act on hair that has already grown.
So the honest answer to how to grow curly hair fast is to lose less of it: every piece that does not break off is length you keep.
How to measure your real length
To measure the real length of curly hair, stretch one section gently straight and measure it from the root to the tip, because curls measured as they hang look far shorter than they are.
- Choose one section in the middle of the back of your head, and use the same section every time.
- Measure it wet or dry, whichever you prefer, but the same way each time.
- Hold the section at the root and stretch it gently straight along a soft tape measure, without pulling hard.
- Read the length at the tip and note it down with the date.
- Measure the same section again every 2 to 3 months.
Photos are a poor guide to length: shrinkage makes curly hair look shorter in a picture than it is when stretched, so a photo underestimates how long your hair has become. Use photos to compare shape and the tape measure to compare length.
How to grow curly hair without losing length
Keeping the length you grow means reducing the pulling, heat, tension and friction that snap curly hair at its bends and ends. Each of the five practices below fits into a step you already take in a curly hair routine, from washing and detangling to drying and bedtime.
Detangle gently
Detangle only when your hair is wet and has conditioner in it, and work from the ends up to the roots with your fingers or a wide-tooth comb, never the other way round. The conditioner makes the strands slippery enough to slide past each other instead of catching, and short strokes that start at the ends and work up loosen tangles a little at a time. Go slowly, because hair is more delicate when it is wet. Skip the brush on dry curls, where it drags against every bend at once. If your strands are fine, our guide to thin curly hair explains why gentle handling matters even more for them.
Go easy on heat
Use hot tools less often, and when you do use them, keep the setting low. Frequent high heat dries the strand out and makes it brittle, and a brittle strand snaps more easily the next time it is combed or pulled. On days you don't need heat, let your curls dry in the air or use a diffuser on a cool or low setting.
Trim the ends you would lose anyway
A light trim takes off split and knotted ends before the split travels further up the strand, so you lose a little length on purpose rather than losing more of it to breakage. Take off only the damaged ends, not the length you want to keep. A trim does not make hair grow; it only removes the part most likely to break off next. Our guide to split ends explains why a split end has to be cut off.
Loosen tight styles
Tight ponytails, buns and thin elastics pull at the hairline and the roots for as long as you wear them, and a tight band presses into the same place on the lengths day after day. Choose looser styles and soft ties that hold rather than grip, such as a fabric scrunchie or a spiral tie.
Protect the ends at night
Before bed, gather your curls loosely on top of your head or tuck them under a bonnet, and keep any tie soft, so the ends stay out from under you. A smooth pillowcase, such as silk, gives the ends less to catch on than a textured cotton weave. Our rule of thumb: overnight curl routines are for damp hair with product in it, not for hair that is still dripping. The pineapple method and other overnight styles are covered step by step in our guide to how to sleep with curly hair.
Breakage or hair loss?
Hair that snaps off along its length is breakage; hair that comes out whole, from the root, is hair loss, and our guide to hair breakage explains how to tell the two apart. Breakage is what gentler handling reduces; losing a lot of hair, or losing it in patches, is a question for a doctor or dermatologist.
What care cannot do
Care cannot speed up how fast your hair grows, change your curl pattern or give you more hair; what it changes is how much of your length breaks off. Your curl pattern comes from the shape of the hair as it grows, and no step in your routine turns loose waves into tight coils. A split or snapped strand cannot be restored: care products can only hold a split together or smooth it down for a while, and the lasting fix is to cut it off. Longer hair only shows over months, so judge it by measurements taken months apart. If your hairline is thinning, or gaps appear where a tie usually sits, that is a question for a doctor.
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Frequently asked questions
How can I grow curly hair faster?
You cannot make curly hair grow faster, because how fast hair grows is set by your body; what you can do is break less of it off, so more of the length that grows stays on your head. Gentle detangling, less heat, light trims, looser styles and protected ends at night all work on breakage, not on growth.
Why does my curly hair not seem to grow?
Curly hair often seems not to grow because shrinkage hides its length and the ends break off at the tip about as fast as new length appears at the root. Measuring one stretched section every 2 to 3 months shows which of the two is happening: if the number rises, the length is there and shrinkage is hiding it.
How often should I trim curly hair when growing it out?
When growing curly hair out, trim it lightly, taking off only the split and knotted ends. Trim when you see split or knotted ends rather than on a fixed schedule.
How do I measure curly hair length?
To measure curly hair length, stretch one section gently straight and measure it from the root to the tip with a soft tape measure, using the same section every 2 to 3 months. Photos underestimate the length, because shrinkage makes curls look shorter than they are.
Does sleeping on silk make hair grow?
No, sleeping on silk does not make hair grow, because nothing you sleep on reaches the root, where hair is made. What a smooth pillowcase, such as silk, does is give the hair less to catch on than a textured cotton weave.
Is it normal for curly hair to shed?
Yes, losing some hair every day is normal, for curly hair as for any other hair. Many people with curls find that shed hairs stay caught in them until the next detangle, so they come out together and look like a lot at once. Heavy or patchy hair loss is a question for a doctor or dermatologist.
RENESSY · Updated September 2026