HAIR GROWTH: HOW DOES HAIR GROW?

We all love to have beautiful and healthy hair. Our hair is a part of our body that we can easily manage to change how we look and express our mood or how we feel. Women absolutely adore their hair, they don’t call it their “crowning glory” for nothing.

That’s why lot people, especially women, get really stressed when they find a couple of hair strands on their brush, pillow or shower drain. Is it normal to shed a lot of hair? Could this be hair loss?

Fortunately, losing some hair is normal. We typically shed about 80 to 100 hair strands a day. Hair loss is considered when we shed more than a hundred hair strands a day. Now, shedding 100 hair strands a day can be shocking for some because – that’s a lot of hair! How can our hair compensate with all the shedding?

The reason why we never go bald even when shedding an average of 80 to 100 hair strands a day is because our hair grows in cycles. The hair growth cycle consist of three phases: anagen phase, catagen phase and telogen phase.

Anagen Phase

This is the phase of active hair growth. Normally, our hair grows about half an inch a month, but growth can increase or decrease depending on the diet and health condition of an individual. About 80% of all hair are in this stage at one time. This phase could last for 3 to 5 years

Catagen Phase

At the end of the anagen phase, the hair follicles prepare themselves for the catatgen phase or resting phase. In this phase, the deeper portions of the hair follicle starts to separate from the papilla. There is no hair growth in this stage and last for about 1 to 2 weeks.

Telogen Phase

This the phase of active hair fall. In this phase old hair is pushed by newly growing hair, hence the hair fall. The telogen phase last for about 3 to 4 months.

About, 10% of all hair are in The catagen and telogen phase.