Cold water improves blood circulation. This enables your roots and scalp to receive valuable nutrients to remain healthy. And hence, washing hair with cold water promotes hair growth.
"There is no evidence or scientific data that cold water has an impact on hair growth," Longsworth said.
This is because cold water closes the hair cuticles and pores in the scalp. This process adds luster and shine to the hair as the cuticles have been closed. It helps in sealing in the hair's moisture and also helps in clumping your coils and curls together for even more definition.
“Rice water helps maintain a healthy scalp and promotes hair growth — the key to hair growth is starting with a healthy scalp,” says Kayla Vines, Inala's head chemist.
Coming back to the debate between hot and cold water, the best way is to use lukewarm water to shampoo your hair as this water helps to cut out the dirt and grime leaving your scalp clean. Rinse off the shampoo and conditioner using cold water since this will keep the moisture intact.
Researchers discovered a new role for goosebumps: the muscle and nerve cells involved in this response to cold trigger new hair growth by activating stem cells. These mechanisms may have implications for reversing hair loss and understanding wound healing in the skin.
Beneficial for your hair
Finishing a shower with a cold blast can help lock moisture in your hair, while also tightening your hair follicles, meaning reduced hair loss.
Disadvantages Of Cold Water
When washed with cold water, there are chances that your enclosed hair cuticles lock in excessive moisture. This may weigh down your hair and make it flat. Also, the moisture increases the binding of your hair strands, resulting in a decrease in hair volume overall.
Why Water Temperature Matters For Washing The Hair. The water temperature can make or break your hair. Very hot water can strip the hair's natural moisture, making it dry, dull, and frizzy. Apart from freezing you and giving you a headache, very cold water makes the hair brittle, dry, and dull.
However, using excessively hot water on hair can cause other issues that can harm the scalp, which can interfere with healthy hair growth, notes Dr. Lin. It can damage and dry out the scalp where follicles reside, disrupting hair growth.
Scalding water is just as stripping for your scalp and strands. It can cause the scalp to overproduce oil and can also break protein bonds and damage the hair cuticle. By triggering inflammation, overly hot water can negatively impact hair growth. In some cases, it can even lead to some hair loss.
Going from a hot to cold shower — even for a couple of minutes — might protect you from circulating viruses. The shock of cold water can stimulate the blood cells that fight off infection (leukocytes).
Cold water improves blood circulation. This enables your roots and scalp to receive valuable nutrients to remain healthy. And hence, washing hair with cold water promotes hair growth.
How Long to Take a Cold Shower. Keep it short: When first trying cold showers, aim to spend no more than 30 seconds under the cold water. You can increase the time as your body adapts. Ease in: Instead of jumping into a cold shower, start with the water warm, then gradually adjust the temperature downwards.
Hair growth is mainly determined by genetics, and on average a person's hair will grow ½” per month. So whether you live in a hot climate or a cold climate, the rate in which your hair grows will not be affected by the weather.
The sun and heat do enhance hair growth. Human hair indeed grows faster during the summer by about 10% compared to hair growth during the colder weather. Following a study conducted by the National Institute of health, seasonal changes cause changes in hair growth.
For example, our hair grows faster in summer and more slowly in the winter. But why? One reason for this is that during warmer weather, our blood circulates more freely, carrying nutrients more easily throughout our bodies, and enabling our bodies to produce more keratin (the protein that our hair is made of).
If there's one thing most hairstylists agree on, it's that a cold rinse at the end of the shower can do wonders for your hair. It is fabled to leave hair stronger, shinier, bouncier and healthier, and works by laying your hair cuticle flat.
Lukewarm water is advisable to wash your face with, but cold water has its benefits, too. Cold water tightens the appearance of your skin, so it may make you look renewed and refreshed. It also helps boost your circulation, which can help give your skin a healthier appearance, albeit temporarily.
After 30 days of cold showers, most individuals report feeling more alert, having more energy, having healthier skin and hair, improved mental health and resilience, improved circulation, and more.