An Easy Guide to Hair Growth

Our hair grows continually from the time we are born through old age. And just as children go through “growth spurts”, so does our hair—it grows, stops growing, falls out and the process begins anew.
The first part of the cycle, called Anagen, is what is known as the hair shaft’s growth phase. This stage can last from between two to eight years and it’s the space in time when the hair begins its journey from the bulb nestled inside the follicle to the moment it sprouts and grows as a visible strand of hair. During the Anagen phase a single strand of hair can grow up to an average of a half inch per month.
The next stage, or Catagen, is the time when the hair is “deteriorating”, in other words the hair bulb is no longer linked to blood supply and the follicle is shrinking in size. This is a relatively short period, and normally spans between two and four weeks.
After the Catagen period, hair takes a breather, so to speak, and enters Telogen, or the resting phase. During this cycle the hair is inactive, and is no longer growing. In fact, it’s getting ready to end its journey and fall out, and if pulled this hair will easily come out. Telogen lasts an average of three to four months.
But a hair actually falls out, or is pushed out, only after the Telogen phase. The cycle comes back to its starting point to enter the Anagen phase once again when a new strand begins to grow. In a healthy head of hair, around 50 to 100 strands in the Telogen phase fall out daily. Our hair mimics Mother Nature—the old makes way for the new!