Hairs The Question™
Q: Why does hair take so long to respond to treatment?
A: It is because of the hair’s physiology – that is – how the cells of the hair act to grow and shed hairs throughout your lifetime. I am going to use the big “doctor words” so you know what they are, but there will be no test at the end. Don’t be afraid of the big words either – heck, memorize them! Knowledge is power and the more you know when you speak to your doc or go online, the better prepared you will be. Incidentally, these are the three MAIN stages. There are probably two more but they are not really relevant at this point. Here goes;
ANAGEN – This is the stage of hair growth where you hair actually GROWS. This stage can last anywhere from 2-10 years depending on the genetics encoded in your hair. More specifically, it is the genetics encoded in the STEM cells of your hair that determine how long this stage is and what form the hair takes when it grows (coarse, fine, curly, straight, red, black, blond, etc.). Hair grows at about
1/4-1/2 inch per month. Ever look at the photos of people with the longest hair in the Guiness Book of World Records? Their hair has a really long Anagen phase…
When you have hair loss or thinning, (or even regrowth!) it is THIS stage that is affected. Lots of things can affect it, too; chemotherapy, beta blockers, antifungal treatments and other drugs, stress, hormones, low protein, vitamin deficiencies, thyroid problems
– you name it! This is not an all-inclusive list, by the way, just enough to give you an idea of the range of agents that are out there affecting hair.
