How fast does hair grow?
Plus the best products for thicker, fuller-looking locks.
When you're waiting for your hair to grow it seems to take forever, but when you've had your hair coloured it seems like your roots start showing within days. While there's obviously no scientific reason for this beyond unrealistic expectations, the truth is that hair growth simply isn't straightforward.
Hair growth isn’t linear. Hormone changes, different phases of life and even nutrition can affect the growth and health of our hair. As you probably know from looking at your hairbrush, we continually lose hair which slowly grows back. This is called the hair growth cycle.
How fast does hair grow? Read on to learn exactly how and when hair grows and discover the best products to give you thick, fuller-looking locks.
The hair growth cycle
The hair growth cycle is made up of three phases.
The first phase is the Anagen phase, the growing stage. This phase lasts between two and seven years. At a rate of half an inch each month, you could end up with 3.5 feet of hair in less than a decade. At this very moment around 85% of the hairs on your head are in this phase.
The Catagen phase is the transitional phase. This phase is about a week long and this is when the hair follicle renews itself. About 1% of the hair on your head is in this phase but it is an incredibly vital step in the process. This is when new growth occurs.
Finally, the Telogen phase, or resting stage lasts three months. Approximately 15% of the hair on your head is in this phase. This phase lasts about three months, during which the hair naturally falls from the scalp.
The cycle is usually straightforward. After the Telogen phase, the Anagen phase begins again. The new hair, which has been formed in the hair shaft, pushes the old hair from the scalp, if it hasn’t already been removed by combing, brushing, shampooing, etc.
Hair loss
Postpartum hair loss
If you have had a baby you have likely experienced hair loss beyond what's normal—and no, not from pulling it out! Telogen Effluvium is the name for postpartum hair loss.
During pregnancy, the hormones prolactin, estrogen and progesterone hormone cause all of your hair to shift into the anagen phase and essentially stop the telogen phase. This is why your hair is voluminous during pregnancy: 99% of your hair is in a phase of growth. Once your hormone levels normalize postpartum, your hair shifts back into its normal growth cycle, but before that can happen a LOT of shedding — a prolonged and excessive catagen stage — must occur.
Genetic hair loss
Most of us strive for thick, voluminous locks. Unfortunately, genetics has a great deal to do with how thick our hair is and whether we experience hair loss. The most common type of hair loss is called Androgenic Alopecia (ANA). This type of hair loss affects up to 70% of men and 40% of women.
And while it's common, it's not very well understood. There are lots of myths when it comes to ANA. Let's set the record straight:
- ANA is not caused by poor circulation, tight scalp, sebum blocking your pores or by microorganisms in the hair follicles.
- The causes of ANA include genetic predisposition and the presence of male sex hormones called androgens.
- ANA can be an immune reaction. This cause is the reason behind about 80% of people suffering from genetic hair loss.
- Inflammation around the hair follicle is a symptom of ANA.
- While the cause of ANA is mainly genetic, there are some benefits to having healthy follicles and keeping your scalp clean and clear.
Products that can help
Manzer has a range of products that can increase volume, reducing the appearance of hair loss. They can also improve the overall health of your hair and scalp.
Hair not as thick, full and lush as you’d like? Give it a little extra oomph with THICK.AGAIN. Our leave-in thickening treatment is designed for men with fine or thinning hair and is rich in essential ingredients that will help thicken the hair and prevent breakage. Using breakthrough eyelash thickening and lengthening technology, we’ve harnessed ingredients that will leave your hair looking thicker and fuller over time.
Benefits
- Helps to strengthen and fortify hair from root to tip
- Boosts thickness for increased body and bounce
- Helps increase microcirculation to the scalp
Help beautify, purify and detoxify your scalp. Our SCALP.SPA regimen treats your hair and scalp as gently as you would your skin. This unique exfoliating scrub is designed to gently scrub away impurities from the scalp and hair follicle to provide the foundation for optimal scalp health and hair growth. Safe for all hair types, can be used as a body scrub.
Benefits
- Gently cleanses
- Removes impurities from the scalp
- Exfoliates
Fulfill all your fullness dreams with FULL.AGAIN, our hardworking thickening lotion that boosts body and bounce. Created with an abundance of tiny rayon particles that adhere to the hair shaft making it appear fuller, FULL.AGAIN creates naturally soft movement, leaving fine or thinning hair looking lush and beauty-FULL.
Work that body and boost your hair with flexible fullness and hold. If you want to create smooth, big shapes then layer on plenty of BODY.BUILDER. Don’t be afraid to keep adding more, as our weightless, moisturizing, volumizing mousse will build beautiful body without any fear of a crunch — the end result is flexible fullness and hold.
Formulated with over 98% plant-based and naturally-derived ingredients, Cloud air light volumizing mousse delivers dynamic yet weightless performance. Natural corn starch, tilia tomentosa bud extract, and sugar cane extract offer instant volume and texture while sweet almond, linseed, olive leaf and arnica extracts protect against heat, help prevent frizz, detangle, and enhance shine. AG’s exclusive blend of orange and tangerine essential oils adds a natural fragrance. Ideal for fine to medium hair types.
Get directly to the root of flat, lifeless hair. Bigwigg is specially formulated to actively support where your hair needs it most, directly at the root. Alcohol-free Bigwigg doesn’t dry out hair and is the ideal volume booster for all hair types and lengths. Enhanced with AG’s Regenerative Complex containing clinically-proven pea sprout extract coupled with ginseng and ginger to help create and maintain an optimal environment for healthy hair growth and fuller-looking hair.
Looking for more than salon hair products that can help? Talk to your doctor or a Trichologist for medical advice.1 comment
Hi Nicole, you mention postpartum hair loss, but another big one is pari-menopausal and menopausal hair loss. Because it’s caused by hormone loss/change, I’d love to know if there are any products to help with that.