Of course, this may vary from person to person, but if your hair and scalp are healthy, your hair should and will grow each month. To better understand hair growth, professional hairstylist Sophia Porter breaks down the four main stages: anagen, catagen, telogen, and exogen.
Anagen is the growth stage, "where your hair grows and the maximum length is determined," Porter says. This can last two to seven years, depending on the person, and is the longest stage in the hair-growth process. Next up is catagen, or the regression and transition stage. In this phase that lasts about seven to 10 days, hair growth slows and the follicles shrink. During this chapter of growth, old hair is resting and new hairs are growing.
And finally, exogen is when the hair is shed from the follicle. So, don't be alarmed if you see a few strands in your hairbrush. Don't worry if this seems overwhelming to understand. The most important thing to note is that hair growth, like all things in life, is a process, and you should, in fact, see growth if your hair and body are healthy more on this below.
Even though we know that hair should grow consistently each month, there are a variety of reasons your growth may be stunted. Hill says genetics and hormones have the most significant impact on hair growth, but there are other factors to keep in mind. Hormone change can be due to health, pregnancy, or stress.
And if we're being honest, some people just have fast-growing hair in their genes blessed. Of course, the overall health of your body can make a difference.
Chronic illnesses, fevers, and medications can affect how the hair grows. Then, there are lifestyle factors like stress; diet and vitamin deficiency play a role in hair growth, too. A healthy scalp is essential to growing healthy locks. Hill recommends using a scalp mask of oil that addresses the current need of your scalp and helps with cellular turnover. It's known, for instance, that Caucasian hair differs from Asian and African hair in several ways, e.
A study in the journal International Journal of Dermatology also found a difference among races in the rate of hair growth. For example, Asian hair grows the fastest, while African hair grows the slowest. High stress, pregnancy, infections, illnesses, and surgeries can trigger this condition. How often you need to wash your hair will depend a lot on your hair type.
Some people need to wash their hair every days, while others can go longer. However, we recommend that you go no longer than one week without washing your hair in order to remove dirt and oil buildup that can prevent your hair from growing properly. Tension You may have seen gymnasts or dancers who deal with hair growth issues from keeping their hair up too tightly for too long. However, this can really happen to anyone that keeps their hair up in tight buns or ponytails for extended periods of time.
Heat Too much heat can wreak havoc on your hair. And in a world where straightening, blow-drying, and curling are commonplace, this can be a hard thing to hear. You can protect your hair by applying heat protectant products before styling, getting deep conditioning treatments on a regular basis to combat damage, or setting a limit on how often you use heat on your hair.
For example, you might try only allowing yourself to blow dry three times a week instead of every single day. These small changes can really make a huge difference.
How to help hair grow? Healthy diet and supplements The first way that you can help your hair grow is to eat a healthy diet and supplement with vitamins as needed. You're bound to expose your scalp to harsh elements sometime, but the good news is, there are a few steps you can take to help protect yours:. There's typically nothing wrong with trying vitamins or supplements to boost your hair growth efforts. At the same time, foods in their original form usually hold more nutrients, so try to incorporate at least a few new foods into your diet before heading right to the vitamin aisle.
At the end of the day, hair growth is still a bit of a mystery to scientists and skin experts alike, so no one solution will work for everyone. Sejal Shah, founder of SmarterSkin Dermatology. But that doesn't mean you can't safely try incorporating certain products or foods into your routine to at least see if they give your hair a boost.
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