Hi Garvinator! WELCOME!!!
And this is a great topic, great questions.
Many people have hair that seems to stop growing and thin, fine, lifeless hair.
The first advice I give is for you to think about your overall health. If you are not getting at least half of needed vitamins and minerals that you need, it will show in your hair and nails.
Click here as this site explains it all.
With that said, I cannot emphasize stimulating blood circulation enough. It keeps hair follicles regenerating, therefore faster hair growth. Besides healthy vitamins, you need to do physical things like BRUSH your COMPLETELY DRY hair (never brush wet or even damp hair..it will break!!!) as the brush rubbing against the scalp encourages blood flow too. Scalp massage is good for this too. Just rubbing your head!
And make sure the water you wash with is not hard and full of metals or other harsh things. That the shampoo is pH balanced and not harsh, therefore stripping your hair of those same vitamins you ingested as well as the moisture content it needs to retain.
All these things along with other things that can cause abuse to your hair, will all cause breakage. This will make it seem like your hair is not getting anywhere. It MAY be growing and then the last inch or two breaks off because as the hair shaft grew out to a certain length and couldn't take the stress any more.
Many people do not realize this. Your hair is actually dead. It is only keratin (protein) that got all its nourishment under the scalp from the good food and vitamins you ate and your overall health. Each section of hair as it grows out is a result of the stages of your daily life and how well you take care of it. Each section will KEEP that prescription drug you took or the days of aspirin you had to take for a headache, etc. So to say you ARE what you eat, is very true. And for hair it is detrimental.
So you can understand why it is so fragile once grown out and we cannot abuse it further. I know you wanted a get hair healthy immediately from a great product and yes, you can further enhance your hair from the outside with great PROTECTING products.
This is why conditioner is always encouraged. Even the best shampoos can strip hair of moisture and a little conditioner (i recommend on the ends or bottom half of length ONLY) will help replace it. Heat protectant or any styling product that coats the ends and hair, protecting it from blow dryers, winter heat sources, the sun, styling appliances, etc. will help keep hair from drying out, getting damaged and therefore breaking off.
Keep your hair as close to all-one-length as possible as this will make it look thicker. Razored ends are hot right now, so that's an option and appears to be the (close to the) cut for at least one of these pics (the second image has longer layers...longer layers would appear thicker) you show here. Any styling muds, or puttys will make hair appear "heavy" too. Experimenting with them is fun and can be fairly inexpensive if you find some in a non-salon type store. I don't know where you are located in this world, but I'd am suggesting a type of department or discount store.
I do hope all of this helps. I am ***ling this blog as it has a lot of information that will prove helpful to many. Let me know if there is anything else I can help you with. Good luck!!!