PHASES OF HAIR GROWTH

All of us love our hair. It is the one thing in our body that can totally express your mood or health and whether if our hair is naturally curly, straight, or shaggy, we can always find a hair style that we like. But have you ever wondered how our hair grow? Do you have any idea of the process of hair growth? Or does our hair naturally shed off?

Yes, we do normally shed hair. There are days when we shed a lot of hair and there are days when do not shed that much. Mostly, when we find a lot of hair on our pillow or shower drain, we panic and try to buy a hair growth stimulant, thinking that this would stop the hair fall. But there is no need to panic because we typically shed about 80 to 100 hair strands a day.

That’s right, we can shed up to 100 hair strands per day. Now that’s a lot, but how come we don’t get bald? We don’t get bald because our hair grows in cycles, every time we shed hair, it is automatically replaced by a new hair growth. Below is your typical hair growth cycle

Anagen Phase

The first cycle is called anagen phase or growth phase. This is the time of active hair growth and last about two to six years. Approximately 85% of hairs are at this phase at any given time.

Catagen Phase

The second phase is catagen phase or transitional phase. At the end of the anagen phase the hair follicles enter the catagen phase. This usually last about one to two weeks. During this stage the follicles shrinks and separates from the dermal papilla.

Telogen Phase

The last phase is called the telogen phase or resting phase. This is the time where hair naturally falls off. As stated earlier 80 to 100 hair strands shed off. Telogen last for 5 to 6 weeks and about 10 to 15 percent of hair is at this stage.

After telogen phase, the cycle starts over again. The dermal papilla reattaches with the hair follicles and starts to generate new hair growth. If for some reason the old hair is still stuck on the follicle, the new hair growth pushes the old out.