How Does Hair Grow?
Finding the right products and routines that work for your hair can often be a time consuming and costly process for most people but especially for those with kinky, curly and wavy hair. Understanding the science behind your hair can help you figure out why your hair does what it does and what you can do to help manage it. At The Good Hair Co, we pride ourselves in educating, identifying and providing you with simple and unbiased information about hair to bring you closer to understanding your hair and establishing the perfect routine for your hair profile.
Let’s talk about hair growth!
HOW DOES HAIR GROW?
If you took a microscope and had a look at your scalp you would see tiny holes (or “pores”) in your skin called follicles. A follicle is a sac-like pit in the dermis layer (second layer) of the skin which grows your hair by packing old cells together. Your hair starts to grow from the bottom of the follicle called the hair bulb which contains arteries that nourishes the root of the hair. As the cells multiply, the hair grows and gets pushed up through the skin before reaching the outermost layer of the skin (epidermis layer). This process is called keratinisation which forms the hair you can see on your head known as the hair shaft (aka hair strand). Once the hair is at the skin's surface, the cells within the strand of hair aren't alive anymore which is why you can get a haircut and not feel any pain.
Hair grows and is eventually shed and replaced by new hair in four phases - anagen, catagen, telogen and exogen.
The Anagen phase
The first is the anagen phase, the longest phase out of all 4 phases, typically lasting from 3 to 5 years. During this phase, cells in the hair bulb divide rapidly creating new hair growth through keratinisation. Generally, hair can grow anywhere between 18-30 inches (6 inches every year) depending on how long the hair remains in the anagen phase. The time your hair remains in this phase varies from person to person due to nutrition, genetics, health, age and lifestyle choices amongst other things.
The Catagen phase
At the end of the anagen phase begins the catagen phase, the shortest hair growth phase, lasting around 10 days or so. In this transitional phase, the hair follicle becomes smaller causing the hair growth process to slow down and the hair to detach itself from the hair bulb. Since the hair follicle is a sac-like pit, the hair is still held in place inside the follicle, however it is no longer receiving the nutrients it was getting from the hair bulb that enabled it to grow.
The Telogen phase
The shedding process starts during the telogen phase where the hair that has been detached from the hair bulb is waiting to fall out in order to make way for the new hair to sprout through. This waiting or resting period typically lasts around 3 months where there is no visible hair growth. Whilst this hair is waiting to shed, new hair is being formed at the bottom of the follicle in the hair bulb to start the growth cycle again.
The Exogen phase
This is an extension of the telogen phase where the hair falls out completely from your scalp to make way for the new hair to sprout through. During this phase, it is possible to lose 50-100 hairs per day on a healthy head of hair through combing, friction, washing etc. It generally takes 2 to 5 months before the new hair sprouts out from that follicle.
HOW DOES HAIR GROWTH AFFECT MY HAIR CARE?
Each follicle goes through the growth cycle independently which is why you rarely notice it happening if you have a healthy head of hair. When you experience excessive hair shedding and hair thinning, it is a sign that your hair growth cycle has been disrupted. This could be due to nutrition, medication, trauma to the body, stress, genetics, hormones or hair care practices. Understanding your growth cycle will help you evaluate if certain lifestyle choices or life changes are having an effect on your hair in order to do something about it before things become worse. It also enables you to assess how effective certain products and treatments are in helping you regulate your hair growth cycle. Since your hair begins growing deep within your skin before it reaches the surface, it is important to take care of your hair internally as it is to do so externally. Topical products may not always be enough to combat hair growth problems.
WHAT DO I DO NOW?
Now that you have an idea of how your hair grows, read our post on what is kinky hair to understand the difference between curly hair and kinky curly hair. Better yet, book your consultation with one of our certified hair experts. Get a personalised regimen consisting of highly effective product recommendations to solve your hair and scalp concerns. Let us help you discover the expert hair care advice you need to get the healthy hair you want.