(A quick 4 min. read)
The number one hair question we get...how do I get my hair to grow?! Faster, thicker, longer?!?
What if we told you that growth is super simple and there is only ONE real secret to hair growth?
Only one…
First things first, how does hair actually grow? As mentioned in our last post (Need a quick refresh? Click here!) the real hair drama happens at the root-the follicle. Each follicle is connected at its base to blood capillaries that provide the oxygen, hormones, minerals and vitamins critical to cell growth. As these cells - fed and triggered by the blood supply - divide and multiply they:
- Are infused with a hardening protein that gives our strands structure-keratin!
- Fill up the hair follicle and start getting pushed up & out towards the scalp.
- Die as they move away from the capillaries & tissue that fed them.
Yes, the ONLY living part of your hair is at the root! THAT’S where growth happens-fueled by the blood capillaries.
Anything that affects the blood supply/circulation to your follicles or the health and composition of your blood will affect your growth.
That includes:
- - Diet: blood quality through vitamins & minerals, including water intake & fatty acids
- - Exercise: blood circulation & quality e.g. reduction of stress hormones
- - Medication: blood composition; could have a negative or positive side effect
- -Health/Disease: blood composition e.g. anemia, diabetes, etc.
- -Stimulation: blood circulation e.g. through massage, heat, ingredients that ‘tingle’ increasing blood flow to the area
- -Genetics: DNA affects the length of time your hair grows (more on that in our next blog)
- -Hormones: can trigger or prevent growth & affect how quickly or slowly it occurs e.g.
- - puberty & aging: growth generally increases then slows
- - gender: faster growth in men than women
- - DHT (dihydrotestosterone) attacks hair follicles & leads to hair loss
- - thyroid: imbalance affects hormone levels
- - pregnancy: due to oestrogen, a woman may experience significant growth during pregnancy followed by seemingly excessive shedding after giving birth
- - stress: the stress hormone cortisol affects the function & cycles of the follicle
Did you know?
Your hair can show the history of stressful events, medication or drug use, etc. that happened over the last 3 months!
So ANY product that genuinely works on growth has to directly or indirectly affect those two things: blood circulation or blood composition. No two ways around it.
Did you know?
Living hair cells divide/grow faster than any other cell in the body, about every 23 to 72 hours.
But hair that grows does not necessarily mean hair that’s long … length & length retention are a whole other hair game. Stay tuned…
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