Thinning Hair Explained

Stress can be a result when a person realizes that they are losing their hair.  To deal with this stress it is important to remove some of the uncertainty around the process of hair loss and also to realize that there are ways to stop thinning hair.  It is very useful to understand the biology of the hair and what is happening that makes the hair fall out.

Fundamentally, there are two components of hair.hair shaft and follicle.The follicle is the part of the hair structure that affects hair loss.The follicle is located just below the scalp within the skin.The dermal papilla is located within the hair follicle at the base of the hair root.Nourishment for the dermal papilla to produce new hair is provided by the bloodstream. Remember this area because most of the programs to stop thinning hair are directed at maintaining or correcting how the dermal papilla functions.   This is why some programs provide a hair loss supplement as part of the treatment.

How come the dermal papilla is important to hair growth?  The reason is that it contains receptors for male hormones and androgens.Hormones that regulate hair growth are called androgens and they can cause the follicles to shrink and produce very fine hair.Genetic inclination to this problem is more common in some people than others.Eventually hair growth is cut off completely as the follicle shrinks.

A natural conditioner called sebum is an oil produced by the hair follicle.  More sebum is produced after puberty and production decreases as life goes on.Women experience more of a sebum production decrease than men.Sebum production is an important consideration, because some treatments require a hair regrowth shampoo that cleans sebum from the scalp.

The hair follicles go through a growth cycle.The three phases of the cyle are
1. Anagen
2. Catagen
3. Telogen
Anagen is the growth phase.  This is the active phase of hair growth and hair is pushed up past the scalp.Hair growth is about 10 cm. a year and this phase will last from two to six years.At the end of the Anagen phase, a transitional phase called the Catagen phase is started.Lasting about one or two weeks, the hair follicle shrinks during this phase.There is about three percent of hair in this phase at any particular time.  The lower part of the follicle is destroyed and the hair no longer grows.Sometimes this is called a club hair, it is basically just attached to the root.Lasting five or six weeks, the next phase is the resting stage and is called the Telogen phase.The amount of hair in this phase is ten to fifteen percent.In this phase the hair follicle is completely at rest and 25 to 100 hairs in this phase will normally fall out each day.

When the Telogen phase has ended, the Anagen phase begins again.New growth starts at this point and if the old hair hasn’t fallen out yet, the new hair will push it out.  A problem develops if the hair follicle is affected by the androgens or hormones.  The hair follicle may have been affected so much by these compounds that it may have shrunk too much to be able to produce new hairs. New hair growth can be blocked by sebum that has been caused to harden by the hormones. 

When trying to stop thinning hair it is important to understand the biology of hair growth, especially when you first notice it.  Any course of action that can be taken, with the exception of surgical procedures, will act upon the biology of the hair follicle and try to either stimulate new hair growth or at least maintain the follicle so that natural hair regrowth will continue.As follicles are allowed to become completely dormant chances of regrowth are diminished so it is important to start treatment quickly.

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