Why Won’t My Hair Grow?
You’ve noticed that your dog has a “shedding season” and a “winter coat” season. But did you know that humans also have a shedding and winter coat season?
Many women, and men become frustrated with the lack of hair growth, or thinning of their hair. Read below to find out why your hair may not be growing as fast as you want it to!
Hair reaches a proportion of follicles of over 90% in the month of March, then begin to shed until August/ September, when the least number of follicles were recorded. (RANDALL & EBLING, 1991)
The phase where hair is actively growing is called the Anagen phase; this is followed by the Catagen Phase, which is a short resting phase. During the 3rd phase, Telogen, the hair follicle has regressed to about half the size, whereas in the 4th phase, the Exogen phase, the shedding begins, research has shown that this is highly controlled and seasonal. The final phase, the Kerogen phase is the emptying of the hair follicle; this is seen at a greater rate in men and women with androgenic alopecia.
There are many factors as to why your hair may not be growing these include:
Genetics: Some people just won the lottery of genetics when it comes to how fast, and how much hair grows.
Sex: It is documented that Male hair grows faster than female hair, Sorry ladies.
Age: Hair grows the fastest between ages 15-30, and then slows down, with some follicles going into the Kerogen phase and stopping working altogether. This is why some people experience hair thinning, and going bald.
Nutrition: Good nutrition is essential to maintain hair growth and healthy hair.
Body or Mind Stress: Stress causes the Telogen phase to begin too early; this can cause up to 70% of the scalp's hair to fall out within two months! Common causes are childbirth, fever or illness, infection, over or underachieving thyroid or malnutrition, and lack of protein.
Medications: Beta-blockers, Retinoids, Calcium channel blockers, antidepressants, and anti-inflammatory medications. (Barrell, 2019)
Diets: Crash diets, eating disorders vitamin deficiencies, smoking, drug abuse.
Hair Health: Using bad products, such as elastics that cause breakage, or not taking care of the ends of the hair causing the split ends to climb upward. We recommend our Silk Scrunchies which prevent breakage, and our microfibre towel to prevent damage to wet hair which is when hair is in its most fragile state.
Scalp Health: From product build up, to dirt buildup and illnesses, your scalps health is important. taking care of your scalp can increase the rate at which follicles produce hair growth, as well as stretch the follicle creating a stronger hair strand. We recommend our scalp massage brush which helps increase blood flow to the scalp, cleans out the pores and follicles, and helps remove product and dirt build up.
REFERENCES
Barrell, A. (2019, October 23). What to know about hair growth. Medicalnewstoday.com; Medical News Today. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/326764#promoting-healthy-hair
RANDALL, V. A., & EBLING, F. J. G. (1991). Seasonal changes in human hair growth. British Journal of Dermatology, 124(2), 146–151. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2133.1991.tb00423.x
