Do You Know What The Hair Growth Cycle Is? How To Maintain Hair Health During This Cycle?
Nourish Mantra
Do You Know What The Hair Growth Cycle Is? How To Maintain Hair Health During This Cycle?
Hair growth or loss may appear to be a simple process but it involves different stages. Hair grows from the follicles or the roots, covered under the skin. The nutrition is provided to hair by blood vessels at the base of the follicles. Different hair growth stages reside between the beginning when the hair starts to grow and the end when it falls out years later. There are 4 stages of the hair growth cycle that each hair strand passes through, namely, anagen, catagen, telogen, and exogen. During this cycle, you'll experience the growth and maturation of hair and the maneuvering of the hair follicles that produce individual hair. Your every hair is at a different stage of this cycle.
The hair growth cycle time varies for each stage and its timeline can also be affected by age, nutrition, and overall well-being. This states that you can involve healthy lifestyle habits for a hurdle-free, healthy, and best for hair growth cycle.
Here are the stages of hair growth
1. Anagen: The Growing Phase
The hair growth stage begins with the anagen phase. It is the most prolonged phase of the entire hair growth cycle that lasts 3-5 years for the hair strands on your head. But for some people, a single hair may grow for 7 or more years.
This phase of the cycle works differently for different types of hair. Like, the anagen phase for eyebrow hair and public hair is much shorter than the phase of your scalp's hair. It is an active phase wherein the cells in the roots of the hair are growing and dividing at a rapid rate. A new hair is formed and propels the hair that has stopped growing or no longer falls under the anagen phase. They are pushed up from the follicles/ roots and eventually fall out. In this period, every hair strand grows about 1 cm every 28 days. Some people may notice that they face difficulty in growing their hair length, this happens because they have a shorter active phase of growth. At any time, 90% of the head hair falls under this phase.
Over time, the length of the anagen stage contracts. Eventually, your hair becomes weaker and thinner after each cycle. That's why you need to keep track of your diet. It should not be nutritionally less to maintain normal and healthy hair growth.
2. Catagen: The Transition Phase
After anagen ends, your hair moves to a transition phase called catagen. This transition cycle phase lasts about 10 days or 2-3 weeks. In this period, the hair follicles contract & attach to the root of the hair (this is when club hair forms) and the growth cycle of hair slows down. The hair detaches from the bottom of the hair follicles yet stays in place during its last days of growing. At any time, 5% of your head hair is in the catagen phase.
3. Telogen: The Resting Phase
The telogen phase is the resting stage that typically lasts around 3 months. Your hair doesn't grow at this phase, but they don't usually fall out. The telogen phase also begins when your hair follicles are at rest, the club hair is completely formed and new hair begins to form in the follicles that have just let out during the catagen phase. Pulling out the hair lying in this phase will reveal a solid, hard, dry, and white material at the root. About 25-100 telogen hairs are normally shed each day. At any time, 10-18% of your hair falls under the telogen phase. Some health experts believe that the telogen phase is the shedding phase. But many renowned scientists have categorized this stage into the telogen and exogen phases.
4. Exogen: The Shedding Phase
It is the last phase of stages of hair growth which is an extension or a part of the telogen phase. At this stage, the hair sheds from the scalp while washing or brushing. Losing around 50-100 hair strands per day during the exogen phase is entirely normal. This phase can last about 2-5 months; new hair grows in the follicles as old hair falls away.
How to maintain hair health during the hair growth phases?
To have healthy and volumized hair depends on genetics and hormones that are largely beyond your control. Still, you can manage certain factors related to incorporating vital nutrients, a healthy lifestyle, and choosing the best care products required for healthy hair growth.
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Vital nutrients for hair growth
- It belongs to the group of B-complex vitamins.
- It is also known as vitamin B-7.
- It actively aids in the synthesis process of a protein called keratin.
- It improves hair growth and reduces hair shedding,
- It is noticed that consuming biotin also boosts the strength and elasticity of the thickest layer of the hair shaft, commonly known as the cortex.
- It is a powerful antioxidant that protects hair follicles from free radical damage.
- It aids in collagen production.
- It plays a significant role in maintaining hair structure as it intensifies collagen production.
- It maintains the steady growth of the cells underneath the scalp skin.
- It braces the growth of new hair cells.
- It regulates the production of sebum that moisturizes the scalp and keeps hair healthy.
- It belongs to B-complex vitamins.
- It is also known as vitamin B-3.
- It performs activities in various crucial chemical reactions in the body and one such type is hair loss which is connected with niacin deficiency.
- It is a powerful antioxidant that prevents oxidative damage.
- It works precisely like vitamin C.
- It is stated in one of the studies that this vitamin aids in improving hair growth in those who are facing excessive hair loss.
- It is said many times that your hair is made of a protein called keratin.
- It helps each hair strand survive when its consumption is adequate.
- Its deficiency reduces hair growth and leads to excessive hair loss.
- It is one of the essential trace minerals required for hair health in smaller amounts.
- It is necessary to use vitamin A efficiently.
- It also plays a significant role in collagen synthesis.
- It is also essential for the body's protein and cell division.
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Best food for hair growth
A great source of protein, biotin, and minerals. This nutritionally packed food helps to eliminate hair loss by strengthening the roots of your hair. It stimulates new hair growth, adds volume, and thickens your hair. The protein in eggs helps to build strength in hair while the content of fats in it conditions & improves hair texture.
It is loaded with beneficial compounds and vitamins that increase hair growth. It comprises vitamin C with potent antioxidant properties that help protect hair follicles against damage from harmful molecules known as free radicals.
This healthy green leafy vegetable is jammed up with the goodness of nutrients like folate, iron, and vitamin A and C, which is essential for hair growth.
Fatty fish like herring, mackerel, and salmon hold crucial nutrients that promote hair growth. It is a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids, strongly connected to hair growth. Fatty fish have protein, selenium, vitamin D3 and Vitamin B necessary for strong and healthy hair.
An excellent source of vitamin E in avocados supports hair growth. It is also a great source of biotin that makes hair grow healthily. It also has minerals like potassium and magnesium that seals the cuticle cells, which makes your hair look smooth & shiny and prevents hair breakage.
The variety of nuts is readily available, convenient to consume, tasty, and vital for hair growth. They provide B vitamins, zinc, and essential fatty acids that reduce hair loss.
The fantastic trail of seeds is nutrient-rich and relatively low in calories. It has vitamin E, zinc, and selenium, which are important for hair growth. Sunflower seeds have vitamin E, and flax seeds & chia seeds have omega-3 fatty acids. To get the widest variety of nutrients, it is best to have a mixture of seeds.
A compound called spermidine in soybeans promotes hair growth. It prolongs the phase of active hair growth called the anagen phase. The longer the hair follicles stay in the anagen phase, the longer they will grow.
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Tips to promote hair growth
- Regular massage with oil having hair growth ingredients not only induces faster, healthy growth of hair but also improves blood circulation, calms you down, and strengthens hair roots.
- It would be best to get regular hair trimming to avoid split ends, hair thinning, and breakage. These 3 hair issues are the signs of the third stage of hair growth, telogen. To prevent the early call of telogen, go for a regular trim every two months.
- Keep a check on your daily protein intake, as your hair follicles are made up of a unique fibrous protein called keratin that uses amino acids from protein-enriched food to grow hair. It makes your hair grow faster and gives thicker and fuller hair volume.
- Avoid using heat hair treatments on your hair as they make it brittle and dry, which leads to breakage as it strips the keratin in the hair to keep it healthy and volumized.
- Restrictive dieting is dangerous as it lacks essential nutrients and minerals that induce hair shedding (telogen phase), causing severe hair fall.
- Oil your hair scalps and strands with essential hair growth oil like argan oil, olive oil, coconut oil, sesame seed oil, rosemary oil, peppermint oil, etc.
- Use conditioner more frequently than your shampoo. Shampoos reduce natural scalp oils every time you shampoo your hair. Excessive shampooing makes your tresses dry and weak. Make sure to complete conditioning your hair after every hair wash, as it repairs the damage caused to your hair and makes them stronger.
- Brush your hair gently to detangle the knots. Harsh brushing leads to breaking off and splitting ends of hair strands. Use a wide-tooth comb or paddle brush with round bristles to minimize breakage.
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Use the best natural hair growth products
Nourish Mantra offers you the best hair growth products, hair oil, and serum for tackling your primary hair concern, hair loss. Both these products not only control your excessive hair loss but also promote healthier and volumized hair growth.
A. Cosmic Sutra Hair Oil
B. Advanced Hair Growth Serum
A leading hair growth serum formulated with encouraging hair growth ingredients redensyl, anagain, procapil, and rice water. This science-backed creation should be indulged in your daily hair care routine to improve scalp health, leading to healthy and sustained hair growth. This serum will try to maximize each hair strand in the anagen phase, awakening the dormant hair stem cells to generate a new growth phase. It also rebalances the hair life cycle, reducing hair loss and fighting premature hair loss and rice water strengthens the hair shaft & thickens the hair.
FAQ’s
1. What controls the hair growth cycle?
There are many factors that control the cycle of hair growth. Apart from genes and hormones, chronic illness also affects the hair growth cycle.
2. How can excessive hair washing, styling, and coloring affect your hair?
Excessiveness of everything is bad. Washing your hair twice a week and accompanying it with a good conditioner is a healthy habit. On the other hand, coloring or styling your hair with heat styling tools can damage your hair and eventually leads to hair loss as once your hair follicles are damaged, strands cannot grow from that follicle.
3. Do changes in diet affect hair health?
Yes, a nutritionally dense diet can result in healthy hair growth. Indulge in food with the nutrients mentioned above.