How does hair grow ?

Hair forms in a pouch-like structure below the skin called a hair follicle. What we see as hair is actually the hair shaft, which is the keratinized, hardened tissue that grows from this follicle. The hair is attached to the base of the follicle by the hair root, which is where the hair actually grows and where it is nourished by blood capillaries. Like the rest of the body, hairs are made of cells.

As new cells form at its root, the hair is gradually pushed further and further out of the follicle. The cells at the base of each hair are close to the blood capillaries, and are living.
Everyone’s Hair Regrowth is different, depending on age, weight, metabolism, hormones, ethnicity, medications and other factors. But all hair goes through three distinct growth phases:

Active growth phase (called the anagen phase), which lasts up to several years. At any given time, the majority (85%) of our body hair is in this phase. During anagen, the hair has an abundance of melanin.

Regressive phase (catagen phase), which lasts about two weeks, during which the hair stops growing but is not yet shed. About 3 - 4% of our body hair is in this phase at any given time.

Resting phase (telogen phase), which lasts 5 - 6 weeks, at the end of which the hair falls out and a new hair growth begins. Approximately 10-13% of our body hair is in this phase at any one time. Extensive hair loss occurs when more hair enters and stay in this phase. Stress and sickness can cause shock to the human system and result in a larger percentage of hair staying in the resting phase, and hair loss accelerates.

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