To get to the bottom of how and why hair loss occurs, it is crucial to understand the hair’s natural growth cycle. In order to slow or reverse hair loss, it is also important to recognize that one’s health, genetics, hormones, and even stress levels can disrupt the hair’s growth cycle.
What Are the Cycles of Hair Growth?
Every hair on the body goes through four stages during its lifecycle. These are called the anagen, catagen, telogen, and exogen phases.
During the anagen or “growth” phase, cells in active hair follicles are constantly dividing, adding length to growing hair strands. These strands grow an average of half an inch per month, and they will continue to do so until they are cut, broken, or enter their next phase.
The catagen or “transition” phase is a brief period where the cells cease to divide, follicles shrink, and growth stops. This is followed by the telogen or “resting” phase, where hairs remain in the follicle, but do not grow. During this phase, hair strands begin to detach slightly from the root, until they are pushed out during the exogen or “shedding” phase to make way for new growth.
How Long Is Hair in the Anagen Phase?
The length of one’s anagen phase varies widely, based on one’s genetics, stress levels, diet, and general health. The average anagen phase is around three to five years, but it can be as short as two years or as long as ten. The catagen phase is brief, averaging about 10 days, and the telogen/exogen phases take around four to six months.
How Can I Tell What Stage of Hair Growth I Am In?
In a healthy individual, most of one’s follicles are in the anagen phase at any given time. Approximately 80-90 percent are in their growth stage, while 3-5 percent are in the transition stage, with around 10-15 percent in the resting/shedding stage. If one is experiencing excessive shedding, it is likely they have a higher-than-average number of follicles in the telogen/exogen phase.
Can You Push Your Hair Into the Anagen Phase?
There are steps that can be taken to optimize the hair’s anagen phase and to ensure it is as productive as possible. Arguably, the most important is to reduce and manage stress to prevent telogen effluvium. It’s also crucial to maintain a healthy lifestyle by getting plenty of sleep, exercising regularly, staying well-hydrated, and eating a balanced diet rich in hair-friendly nutrients like vitamins A, B6, B7 (biotin), B9 (folic acid), B12, C, D, and E, in addition to lean proteins, omega-3 fatty acids, iron and zinc.
There are also treatments that can prolong the anagen phase or spur dormant follicles into their growth stage. Oral and topical medications, red light therapy, and regenerative therapies are all being used to optimize the hair’s anagen phase and to slow the effects of androgenic alopecia and other types of progressive hair loss. We are pleased to offer state-of-the-art regenerative platelet-rich plasma (PRP) hair restoration that uses the patient’s own concentrated blood platelets to stimulate dormant hair follicles.
Optimize Your Hair’s Growth Cycle for Thicker, Healthier Hair
At Rothesay Laser and Hair Clinic, we offer complimentary consultations for many of our services and are happy to answer any questions you may have about your hair’s growth cycle and how our treatments can optimize it. For more information or to make an appointment, contact us at (506) 847-8302 or contact us online. We look forward to hearing from you!
