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| UNDERSTANDING HAIR GROWTH |
TOPICS |
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Unwanted Hair :
Introduction for the M-F transgendered individual. |
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The Hair System
: The organ of hair
growth - the area targeted by electrology. |
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Hair Growth Cycle :
The cycle of growth and rest. |
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Your Beard : Changes
in facial appearance, and misconceptions concerning the beard. |
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Hair Growth Tables :
Tables showing rates of growth for different areas of the body. |
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CLICK ON AN ITEM,
ABOVE, TO GO TO THAT TOPIC
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The Hair
Growth Cycle
Hair
growth continuously occurs as new hair cells are formed at the base of
the follicle and molded by a structure, called the inner root sheath,
that surrounds the growing hair shaft. Androgens, the male sex hormone
(present in both men and women) activates specific areas of the body to
produce hair.
Hair
growth varies greatly between individuals and the specific area of the
body. Scalp hair, as example, grows an average of one-tenth of an inch
weekly. Leg hair, by contrast, grows at about half that rate.
The life
cycle of hair follicles, that is, the repeating cycle of growth and rest
phases, affects overall hair production. No new hair follicles are
produced after birth -- the appearance (and disappearance) of hair is
the result of changing ratios in the growth/rest cycle. This life
cycle is distinguished as three separate stages:
The cycle
of life for each follicle begins with the anagen phase --
the reawakening of the follicle's growth stage where a newly formed hair
begins to grow. This growth phase continues for a time lasting for
as little as several weeks (like the moustache area) or lasting as long
as several years (like the scalp area). Depending on the area of the
body, gender, hormonal and other factors, growth lasts for varying
lengths of time.
But
ultimately the level of growth begins to slow. This second stage of
slowing or arrested growth is known as the catagen phase. This
slowing continues into the third and final phase -- a period of
inactivity or rest.
Finally
during the third stage, the resting or telogen phase, the hair
has separated from papilla and is no longer able to be provided with
nourishment. At this point, no more new hair cells are formed and
the inactive hair remains in place by a thin strand of epidermal cells.
By the end of the telogen phase, the hair shaft is now only held in
place mechanically, and can be shed by brushing, combing or other
tension placed upon it. The hair shaft remaining in place at the
end of its growth cycle is called a club hair. It is not
uncommon for a club hair to remain in place while a newly formed anagen
hair is beginning to emerge, forcing the club hair to be shed.
Whether
the club hair is shed or not, the hair follicle will once again become
active and begin to grow a new anagen hair. This process of growth and
rest continues throughout our lifetime. In man, follicle activity is
generally scattered between all phases of the life cycle. Other
mammals have a more orderly growth pattern, which shows as noticeable
periods of hair growth and shedding.
This
resting phase plays an important role in electrology: Generally, a
follicle cannot be properly treated (and thereby destroyed) during the
resting phase. Focusing on the beard area as it is of prime importance,
almost half of its hairs are in the resting phase at any time. And
depending on the area of the face, this resting phase may last anywhere
from 6 to 12 weeks duration. So even if every hair could be
permanently removed from the beard, from the very fine and slow growing
to the thick and robust, only one half could be killed.
So it is
understandable that clearing (the complete permanent removal of hair) of
an area of unwanted hair such as the beard will take about one and
a half to two years at best. This time frame is based on
about 200 to 300 hours of treatment using a technique that kills about
70 percent of the hair follicles that are treated. Keep in mind
that all electrology methods do not achieve this high kill rate.
Thermolysis, may kill only 5 to 15 percent of hairs treated while the
blend method may kill about 70 percent.
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