At any given time, about 90 percent of your scalp hair is in the anagen stage (growing cycle) that lasts between 2 and 6 years. The remaining 10 percent of scalp hair is in the catagen stage (intermediate cycle) for 1 to 2 weeks before entering the telogen stage (resting cycle) which occurs over 5 to 6 weeks.
Conventional wisdom has indicated that the loss of 100 to 125 hairs a day is normal. However, recent research has shown that when cleansing daily, a loss of more than 50 hairs per day may be excessive and an early indication of a thinning or hair loss problem.
Obviously, hair must be replaced at the same rate as its daily loss to maintain existing hair density. And, following the telogen stage, it will take about 9 months for the dermal papilla’s cells to produce new anagen hair.
A new anagen stage hair first appears as shallowly rooted vellus hair. If protected, the new anagen hair matures into a stronger, deeper rooted terminal hair. It is crucial to new hair development that the follicle stays open and clean during this stage. Conventional hair care and styling products often contain sticky animal proteins and resins that weigh down fragile, thin or fine hair and often fill or block the follicle.
This prevents the new anagen hair from getting oxygen and the nutrients necessary for healthy growth. By blocking the follicle, it has the potential to prevent this new fragile hair from coming through the skin. The key is to keep the follicle clean and free of debris so that new anagen hair can grow and mature into fuller, thicker, stronger, healthier and longer-lasting terminal hair.
