Hair health for women

Sakhi has always been proud of her thick, lustrous hair. She takes great care of it and makes sure that she doesn’t damage her hair with chemicals. For the past month, she has been worried because, every time she brushes, she seems to be losing more hair than normal. Samantha had a baby three months ago. Now her hair has started falling out in clumps. She is horrified. Is she growing bald?

The normal hair growth cycle

Though we are mostly unaware of it, the hairs on our head go through a normal cycle of growth and shedding. Each hair follicle (hair shaft) has a different cycle unique to that follicle. That is a good thing because if all the follicles went through the same cycle simultaneously, we would be going through periodic cycles of complete baldness!

The normal cycle of hair loss and re-growth contains three phases: a growing cycle (the anagen phase), the resting cycle (the telogen phase) and the shedding cycle (the catagen phase). Each phase has a predetermined duration in the normal hair growth cycle.

The growing phase (anagen phase)

The growing phase of the normal hair growth cycle is responsible for producing new hair and for allowing the continued lengthening of that new hair. During the growing phase, hair is produced at the root and growth is maintained through blood vessels, which nourish the hair. This phase lasts about four to seven years. A hair strand will stay in its secure position in the scalp during this time before falling out and being replaced by a new follicle. At any given time about 90% of the existing hair follicles are in this phase. At the end of the growing phase these follicles enter the resting phase.

The resting phase (telogen phase)

During the resting phase, the existing hair strand continues to maintain its length. During this time the hair follicle still receives nourishment but is preparing for shedding. The resting phase of each hair follicle lasts an average of two to four months after which time the hair strand is released so that the follicle can prepare for new hair growth. At any given time about 5% of the hair follicles in the scalp are in the resting phases of the hair growth cycle. Once the resting phase is complete, the shedding phase begins.