Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Hair Growth


Hair growth starts since birth and will grow till old age. It is one of the most hard working part of your skin because it grows throughout your lifetime and hardly stops working.

Throughout the years, your hair is bombarded with chemicals from your shampoos, colorings, perms and conditioners. It faces wind and sun, sweat and pollution yet it still continues to grow. After a while, the hair follicle rests and then starts to produce a new hair follicle again. This is known as the hair growth cycle.Before you decide to start any hair loss treatment, it' s good to understand how your hair grows first to give yourself better perspective and options when choosing your treatments.




Getting to Know Your Hair

Before we start explaining the hair growth cycle, let' s take a look at the diagram below for a brief explanation of your hair.

Follicle Layout

Your hair follicle is a small complex organ which is a part of your skin. Some of the important parts are
  • Sebaceous gland
    The sebaceous glands produces sebum, a kind of oily substance that is responsible for protecting your hair from
    • Becoming dry
    • Brittle and cracked
    • Inhibits growth of microorganism on the skin
    However, the glands can overproduce sebum that can cause oily scalp. This is usually caused by factors like stress and DHT.
  • Blood and lymph vessels
    The blood and lymph vessels are your energy and nutrient supply line to the skin and hair follicles. This supply will be disconnected from your hair follicle when it reaches the CATAGEN phase.
  • Arrector pilli muscle
    The Arrector pilli muscle is attached to your hair follicle, this soft muscle is responsible for making your hair stands up when you have goose bumps. It also function by raising the hair to catch the heat to keep you warm. Stem cells are found in the junction of this muscle and your hair follicle and are responsible the ongoing hair production during the ANAGEN phase.

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