Natural Hair Growth Information

Hair on the scalp grows about a half-inch each month.

Hair grows in a three-phase cycle, beginning with anagen. Catagen follows anagen, and next comes telogen, before the cycle starts over again. Each phase serves a different process, and no two phases take the same amount of time.

Anagen

Anagen, which may also be referred to as the growth phase, lasts several years, two at the lowest and between six and eight at the most. In this phase, growth cells in the papilla, the lowermost part of hair strands, divide and produce the rest of the hair shaft. Each shaft pushes up and out of the pore, producing visible individual hairs.

Catagen

Catagen, or the transitional phase, lasts between two and four weeks. At this time, the root of the hair (or the follicle) stops growing without falling out. Instead, it shrinks, leading to telogen, the resting phase.

Telogen

Telogen occurs over the course of two to four months. At this point, hair is attached to the scalp but does not grow. After that two to four month period, the hair begins the growth process again.

Continuation

People lose about 50 to 100 strands of hair a day as part of the normal hair growth cycle. Each time a hair is shed, a new hair grows from that same follicle. Throughout the entire process, scalp hairs grow about a half-inch each month.

References

• Hair Loss Help: Basic Hair Growth
• American Academy of Dermatology: Hair Loss