When you’re living it, then it seems to take forever and a day for your hair to regrow after shaving it.

A shaved head is cool, comfortable, and edgy. It’s more common for men, who think nothing of rocking a buzz cut or cropping their hair in the summertime, but an increasing number of women are enjoying the freedom and fashionable element of a shaved head, as well. It’s all fun and games at first, but inevitably, you start missing your lengthier tresses.

At that point, you become impatient, even angry, waiting for your hair to grow back as long and thick as you remember it. Think about how it feels to grow out your bangs, then multiply it by ten. Just remember that even though it feels like an eternity to you, it actually doesn’t take that long to regrow your hair after shaving your head.

Waiting for Hair to Grow Back after a Shave?

You stare in the mirror every day. Each time you brush or comb your hair, you try to check the length and examine how much it grew overnight. The wait for regrowth after you shave your head never ends.

It’s frustrating and disheartening—but that’s just because you see yourself every single day. It’s impossible to notice growth when that growth is incremental. Of course, the rate at which your hair grows makes a difference, as well. See, you only see about a half-inch of growth every month.

With a shaved head, a half-inch doesn’t make much of a visible difference. The passage of a year brings about approximately six inches of new hair growth.

Even that probably doesn’t seem like a lot when you’re impatient and missing longer hair. Fortunately, you can give your follicles a boost and hurry along the process.

#1: What Happens with Your Hair

All right, so. Your hair grows half an inch per month and six inches per year—ideally. Within about three months, you’ll notice about an inch and a half of new hair, especially since shaving your hair isn’t the same as plucking or losing it—the follicle bulb is still intact.