How Does Hair Grow?

Human hair grows on our body except for feet soles, lips and palm. Each strand of our hair consists of three concentric layers - the cuticle, the cortex and the medulla. Our hair is made at the base of a hair follicle. Then how does hair grow on our head? - There are several thousands of hair follicles on our head, however; about 80% of hair follicles are producing hair. How does hair grow is that dormant hair follicles push out an old hair while making a new one. We could be losing about 100 hairs daily as part of the hair growth process. Read more on cause of hair loss.

3 stages on How Does Hair Grow

Our hair is constantly growing at a rate of 0.5 inch per month, in 3 distinct stages that happen concurrently named the Anagen, Catagen and Telogen:

How Does Hair Grow

Anagen: Refers to the 'growing' phase that lasts between 2 months to several years. This is the first stage of how does hair grow. Some of us who have long anagen growth is able to have long hair to be grown, while others who have shorter anagen phases unable to grow longer hair.

Catagen: Refers to the 'regression' phase that lasts between 2 weeks to 4 weeks. This is part of a renewal process where hair follicles stops receiving nutrients and stop growing but does not fall out.

Telogen: Refers to a complete state of resting phase, lasting between 2 months to 3 months. The hair does not grow but remains to the follicle, where hair follicles prepare for new activities.

Hair Follicles in How Does Hair Grow

Hair is made of a structural protein called keratin. This is the same protein that made up our nails and the outer layer of skin. A hair follicle is part of our skin that grows hair. At the base of the hair follicle is the papilla, which contains tiny blood vessels that nourish the cells on our head. The living part of the hair is the very bottom part surrounding the papilla, called the 'bulb'. The cells of the bulb divide betweem 24 hours to 72 hours, which is quicker than any other cells in our body.

This article on how does hair grow describes the natural hair growth process that is ongoing in our hair follicle.