THE TALES OF HAIRS – Basics of Hair fall

Just imagine if there was no hair fall at all. What a life would that be! But to our dismay, it’s too far-fetched. Although, some of our hairs that aren’t on our skull, don’t grow in length at all after a point in time. Ever wondered how that’s possible? 

Because the length of the hair depends on the follicles cycle. Small organs in the skin, called follicles, produce hair. All follicles go through a three-stage cycle — anagen is a period when the hair grows actively; catagen is marked by a short phase during which growth winds down; and finally, telogen is the stage of rest. The cycle is completed at the end of telogen, the hair falls, and a new hair begins its life.  

Scalp hairs (hairs on the head) have the longest anagen period — four to six years during which they grow and have just two to four months of rest stage. Eyelashes, arm hair, and most other hairs on the body have significantly shorter active growth periods of 30-45 days, followed by a 2-4 month period of rest. 

That is why these hairs are shorter and appear to grow to a fixed length. Thus the length of time that the hair is able to spend growing during the growth phase controls the maximum length of the hair. 

Fascinating how the same thing has different purposes on the same human body, isn’t it?