Normal healthy hair growth is helpful for us to understand the cause of hair loss. The way our hair grows or sheds can be evidence of problems that we need to be aware of. The many causes of hair loss and various treatments become less mysterious after gaining a basic understanding of the normal cycle of hair growth.

Each strand of hair is a complex weaving of lifeless protein produced by a teardrop-shaped hair follicle. The hair follicles are made of living cells that receive nourishment entirely from the blood supply under the skin. The hair itself is actually made up of dead cells that cannot be revived to give you that luscious look that some hair product companies lead us to believe.

There are millions hair follicles in the skin covering almost every part of the body. Some hair follicles produce fine almost colorless hairs, and others produce coarser pigmented hair shafts. Each hair follicle is a miniature organ that grows a single hair during a phase of growth. That single hair can last for several months or several years, depending on how the follicle has been genetically programmed. Scalp hair follicles tend to have a longer growth phase than eyelash hair follicles, for example.

 

There are three main growth phases of hair.  They are the Anagen Phase, The Catagen phase and the Telogen phase. The Anagen phase is the growing phase where a follicle will grow back to full size and penetrate deeper into our skin.  A bulb is formed at the base of a hair follicle and inside that bulb a new hair shaft will form.  Scalp hairs will grow about one half inch per month for four to six years.The Catagen phase follows on from the Anagem phase where the hair ceases to grow and will in fact start to shrink.  During this phase the lower part of the hair follicle slowly disintegrates, and the hair follicle requires less nourishment from the blood supply. Part of this normal phase of the hair growth, hairs will start to shed.  This phase will continue for two to three weeks.The Telogen phase is where the hair has ceased shrinking and the hair will rest for another three months or so.  Normal everyday occurrences like brushing your hair, dressing  and resting ion bed will naturally shed hair. Some hair loss each day is normal.  Once they finish the Telogen period the hair will start over again with the Anagem phase.

 

On average, young people with a full head of dark-colored hair have about 100,000 hair follicles on their scalp. Redheads often have slightly more than 100,000 scalp hair follicles, while blondes typically have fewer hair follicles.

It is Important to remember that we are all individuals and the rate and degree of hair loss will vary from person to person.

 

Most people shed between 50 and 100 strands of hair each day and although this may sound like a large amount it is not enough to cause any noticeable difference as on average we have around 100,000 strands of hair on our scalp.  In brief each strand of our hair has growth and rest cycles and it is the length of each cycle as well as the quality of the growth that will determine the rate of hair loss.  The Growth cycle (anagen phase) varies between individuals but on average can last 2 – 3 years, while the rest cycle (telogen phase) usually lasts only 2 – 3 months.

As we loose hair the scalp naturally replaces the old discarded hair with new strands, however when the new hair is not replaced as quickly as it is lost then a noticeable amount of hair loss can be seen over time.  Reasons for the new hair not being replaced or the old hair being shed faster can be varied although most can be attributed to hormonal changes.  These changes can be simply due changes associated with age as well as changes bought on by pregnancy, illness and the like.

 

Causes of Hair Loss.

 

Alopecia

There are several forms of alopecia which all have differing degrees of hair loss.  Below is a list of the different forms of hair loss (alopecia).  It is worth noting that most forms of hair loss can be traced back to medical conditions that stress the immune system e.g. Lupus, or stress specific organs of the body (i.e. Coronary disease, diabetics, hormonal changes, scalp infections etc…)

 

Alopecia Androgenetic (Pattern Baldness)

Pattern Baldness in both males and females is defined by the length of our hairs growth cycle as well as the quality of the new hair being grown.  Hence as the growth cycle slows down and the resting/loss cycle becomes more accelerated hair loss begins to outweigh hair growth and pattern baldness becomes more apparent.  The quality of the new growth plays a large part because as the quality declines so does the strength of the roots which in turn adds to the rate of hair loss.  For this reason many treatments focus on strengthening or improving the quality of our re growth as not only attempting to stimulate new growth.  Often pattern baldness is Hereditary and it is the heredity factors that will determine the degree, rate and onset age of pattern baldness.

 

Alopecia Areata.

This is the most common form of alopecia and as with all alopecia sufferers is attributable to some form of autoimmune disease e.g. Lupus.  The hair loss is usually in several places on the scalp and presents as localized round patched differing in size.

 

Alopecia Areata Totalis.

As suggested by the name this form of alopecia causes total hair loss on the scalp and can occur either slowly over time or very quickly in no time at all.  The speed of hair loss varies between individuals and it is not known as to what factors contribute to the speed of loss.

 

Alopecaia Areata Unversalis.

This is the rarest form of alopecia and as results in total hair loss not only on the scalp but all over the body such as facial hair, eyebrows etc…

 

 

Trichotillomania (hair pulling)

Trichotillomania is a disorder where the sufferer has a compulsive behavior of pulling out his or her own hair.  They can pull hair from any part of the body, however it is pulling of scalp hair that is obviously most noticeable.  This compulsion far exceeds the normal level of a behavior that we perceive as a habit.

The cause of this compulsion will vary between individuals, however it is often attributed to anxiety from stressful situations in the persons life.  Trichotillomania has been described in these cases as a self-soothing mechanism used by the person to cope with the stress or anxiety that they are enduring.

It is believed that genetics can play a part in this disorder with some people being more genetically disposed to becoming a sufferer.