The key to knowing how to take care of our hair, is understanding the hair growth cycle.
By examining the different stages that hair goes through and taking a closer look at what characterizes and affects each stage, we can identify potential problems within our cycle and address them accordingly.
The hair growth cycle consists of four phases:
Anagen, Catagen, Telogen, and Exogen.
The Anagen Phase
This is the active growth phase of hair follicles during which hair strands are firmly attached to their follicles. At any time, 85-90% of our hair is in the anagen phase. Depending on genetics, nutrition and other factors, this phase could last anywhere between 2 and 7 years for scalp hair, and 1 to 3 months for our brows and lashes.
The Catagen Phase
Catagen is a transitional phase that marks the end of the growth phase where the follicle shrinks and the hair stops growing. During this phase the hair detaches itself from the follicle, yet remains placed in its root. This phase is completely natural and can last for about 10 days for scalp, brow and lash hairs. At any given time, only about 1-5% of our hair is in the catagen phase.
The Telogen Phase
This phase is called the resting phase where the hair doesn’t grow but doesn’t fall out either. Approximately, 10-15% of our hair is in the telogen phase at any given time. Telogen can last for up to 3 months for our scalp hair, and between 4-8 weeks for our brows and lashes.
The Exogen Phase
Also known as early anagen, Exogen is the phase where new hair develops inside the follicle and pushes out the old resting hair as it grows up. This is a combination of end-telogen and beginning-anagen phases, where the cycle begins again.
Washing with hot and unpurified water, applying regular makeup, cleansing our face with face washes that could cause dryness, using harsh shampoos & conditioners along with other environmental factors, all together contribute to decreasing the quality and duration of these phases. It is inevitably crucial that we incorporate the use of lash & brow serums, hair nourishing oils, hair strengthening serums and other reviving agents to restore and maintain the health of our hair!