How The Hair Growth Works

“Life is short, but your hair doesn’t have to be.”

Everyone dreams of having long, silky, smooth hair but does everyone know the process by which the hair growth happens? Let’s dive into the process, shall we?!

Hair growth goes through four phases: anagen, catagen, telogen and exogen. Each one of the four phases is affected by the person’s age, nutrition and overall health. To some, it may seem as if their hair is growing at a speed of light, while others feel like their growth resembles a turtle crossing a finish line at a race. Slowwww! We will first discuss the four phases and what it takes to reach a desirable growth that will benefit your hair in more ways than one.

Anagen (Active Phase)

Anagen also known as the growing phase, is one of the longest phases that lasts anywhere between 3 to 5 years. Depending on where the hair is growing on the body, the length will differ in the amount of growing time. During the anagen phase, hair follicles are pushing the hairs that continuously grow until they’re cut or reach the end of their lifespan. Close to 90 percent of the hair on your head is in the anagen phase.

Catagen (Regression Phase)

Catagen starts when the anagen phase ends and typically lasts for about 10 days or so. While this phase is working its magic, hair follicles shrink and hair growth slows down. Not all of the hairs on your head are in the catagen phase, typically only about 5 percent are at this stage at any given time.

Telogen (Resting Phase)

Telogen is when the hair follicle goes into hibernation. As your old hair is resting, new hair begins its growth phase. Typically lasting for three months, it is estimated that 10-15% of your scalp hairs remain in this phase. During this phase your hair remains dormant, not much growth happens and neither will it fall out.

Exogen (Shedding Phase)

Exogen also known as the extension of the telogen phase, hair is shed from the scalp by means of washing or brushing it. As hair falls out anywhere between 2 to 5 months, the growth of new hairs in the follicles begins.

Now that we know the process in which hair grows, let’s dig into what it takes to reach a desirable growth that will benefit your hair in more ways than one.

Nutrition; our bodies act as our motors. If we feed it nutritious, whole-hearted fruits, vegetables, amino acids, healthy fats, omegas and more, our bodies will thank us and we will see it in our hair, nails, skin and energy! So although a large French fry or a Big Mac may sound and taste delicious, is it actually serving to benefit us? Probably not!
Avoiding Heat; our next recommendation to achieve silky, luxurious, healthy hair, is to stay away from curling irons and blow dryers as much as possible. When we constantly use heat, the temperature ultimately fries the hair which leads to split ends and dry and brittle hair. The damage can not only be done to the ends, but the top, all the way down takes a hit when heat is constantly applied. Allow your hair to breathe and “take a break” from the scorching heat!
Trim Regularly; many women truly despise getting their hair trimmed or cut for the fear of their hair being too short; although, the key to constantly making sure your hair remains long and healthy is to get regular trims. By avoiding the shears, you have a bigger chance of allowing any or all split ends to work their way up the hair shaft, breaking and causing uneven hair strands or thinning. When you trim regularly, you want to be able to communicate with your hairdresser as to how much is needed to cut off if you want to retain a nice length without leaving any unnecessary dead ends.
Eliminate Stress; Believe it or not, this factor takes a huge toll on our bodies when we are constantly worrying. If you feel as if you are stressed, a daily 10-15 minutes of yoga or meditation can help ease your mind of all the hurdles you may be going through in life.
Amino Acid Hair Treatments; Many people have jobs that require you to look good dressed in a suit while with a client. Dressing up to impress goes hand-in-hand with the hair to match! Women tend to spend every day straightening their hair to achieve the perfect look without the frizz added. Totally understandable!
Image waking up, showering and leaving your house without the added time of blow drying. That’s where an amino acid hair treatment such as AviGal Venus Amino Acid Treatment comes into great use, by adding the essential element to achieve the growth, frizz-free and healthy look! 88% of your hair is composed of keratin, a protective protein. For the body to produce keratin, the body needs 18 types of amino acids. The more amino acids given to the body, the healthier your hair will be.
Less Shampoo; When we constantly shampoo we think we are doing the right move by being squeaky clean but essentially we are leading to broken, dry and brittle hair. Over-shampooing removes the hair of its necessary oils that need to be hydrated to feel and look good. Some women with thin hair typically feel as if their hair gets greaser faster. If so, dry shampoo can help skip a day or two of washing your hair to retain the health and shine for a little longer before the true wash day.
Mask and Massage; did you know that there are many ways you can maximize at-home products that you would mostly find in your kitchen to help hydrate and lengthen your hair over time? Some of these ingredients include but are not limited to, Avocados, Eggs, Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, Honey and Mayonnaise. All of these can work wonders by adding moisture and shine to your hair.