If you, like me, are on the quest for long hair, then this is the post for you. I have blogged and blogged about tips and tricks I have practiced for speeding up hair growth, which have all been useful in terms of adding extra inches over a few months, but never have I found a product that has claimed to speed up growth. Certainly not in the region of 2 inches per month (normal growth rate – 4 months).
I initially read about FAST hair treatment in the Daily Mail (yes, I will admit, I am a DM reader) and thought, like many of its articles, it was just another one of those marketing ploys used to sell hair products. However, after a month or two, my curious nature got the better of me and I simply had to try it out. If not for me, then for you readers (that’s my excuse anyway), so that I could set the record straight once and for all, and make sure you didn’t have to waste your hard earned cash. At £25 for a set of shampoo and conditioner, it’s not a cheap buy, so I hoped I could save those wishing to try the product their money, if it wasn’t up to scratch.
Originally produced in Canada, for those recovering from Chemotherapy, and wanting to speed up the growth rate of their hair – FAST stands for Fortified Amino Scalp Therapy. Nope, I don’t know what that means either. With no sulphates, parabens or nasty chemicals, it is completely natural and claims to ‘speed up the natural growth of your hair, giving you long, beautiful and healthy looking hair’. Oh, haven’t we all heard that before.
With my cynical opinions, I wasn’t really expecting much in the first week or two. Especially as it claims to take up to three weeks to a month to see a difference, with daily use. I will admit however, I was quite wary (nervous, you might say) about using it the first time, as I had conquered up lots of freak situations that could happen should the product have side effects (it doesn’t). What if the product dripped into my eye accidentally. Would I start sprouting hair there? What if I got it all over my back? Would I end up with a hairy back after a month? And god forbid. What if it dripped all over my face (not sure how this would happen, but hey – it came up in my mind). Would I, grow a BEARD?
I’m pleased to say that after a month’s use-age, I am beard free. Hairy back free. And there seems to be no signs of hair growth in my eye balls. I don’t know how the product works, but it doesn’t encourage growth in places you don’t have (and don’t want) hair. So if you are considering giving it a go, and these thoughts are entering your head too. I can assure you that you needn’t worry. Somehow, the product only works on the hair on your head. And despite my cynicism, it really does work.
I have been using the product nearly a month now, and although I haven’t been tediously measuring my hair on a daily basis (I’m not sure if you can measure hair?), I have noticed the difference visually. Not only is my hair much stronger, with far less split ends (although I have been laying off the hair straighteners and hair dryer lately too), but it is longer. Much longer. I would say that my hair has easily grown two inches, if not more – as you can tell from my roots. As someone who has very slow growing hair, I would even go as far to say this is a miracle product.
It’s not the nicest smelling set of products. It’s certainly not sweet scented like my beloved Aussie, or fruity like Herbal Essences. It smells sort of, medical like. But it works. For £25 (from Boots), you receive two 300ml bottles of the product, one in the form of conditioner and one in the form of a shampoo. They recommend that you use both daily, however I have been using them every other day, and it seems to have done the trick. I find my hair gets quite dry and brittle if I wash it daily, so just incorporating it into your daily routine to work just as well.
In order to get the best results, you simply use a ten pence piece size (it’s expensive, so you want to make it last as long as possible), massage it into your scalp and wash out. The massage part is one of the most important, as it stimulates blood flow to your scalp, in turn – stimulating the hair follicles to grow. The product doesn’t necessarily recommend you do this, but I have found it really helps, so it is worth trying.
I started noticing results around the 1 week and a half mark, as my re-growth started to look quite bad and I could tell it was longer as my hair normally reached the middle of my bra (where it meets the strap), whereas now it reaches far below (yes, I am using my bra as a measuring indicator – it’s very accurate!). My roots are almost half the way down my scalp (my hair is light blonde naturally, so as an outsider, you probably wouldn’t notice, but I do) and there is far less breakage when I am brushing my hair or combing through it.
Overall, it is a brilliant product – which although I never thought would be worth trying, really is. Initially, I wanted to test it out to make sure no readers would have to waste money on yet another acclaimed ‘revolutionary’ product, however I can genuinely recommend it to anyone wishing to speed up growth because they are growing their hair long, or because you would like to grow out a bad haircut/fringe. I hope my review eradicates any freak fears you might have about using it, and reassures you that it really is £25 well spent, rather than frittered away.
The only negative point is that I’m going to have to spend another £65 having my roots re-done, as they have grown out so quickly! But, I am now well on the way in my quest for long hair. And FAST takes pride of place in my bathroom. It’s well deserved.